Mariane asked me to name 10 games that were important to me in some way, without thinking too hard about it. Well, my list has 11 and here it is, in no particular order: 1 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1988/1990) With gorgeous graphics and awesome soundtrack, this didnt look or feel like a NES game at all. I used to play this a lot in my younger days, and I remember waiting over 10min for an old vacuum tube TV to heat up so that I could have yet another adventure trying to save Princess Toadstool while I was a guest at a friends farm. I later went nuts on the SNES version included in Super Mario All Stars, and had a great time playing it recently with Mariane, Ila and my facebook-shy friend Ninja. This game starts off easy but gets brutal in its level design in worlds 7 and 8. Masterpiece! 2 - Final Fantasy VI (SNES, 1994) This game changed everything for me. It made evident that games could have epic, larger-than-life storylines and music that could make grown men cry. To this day I remember what it was like playing the opera sequence for the first time, or sitting on the floor, jaw dropped, as stars flew by after the ending. I was truly impressed. 3 - Final Fantasy VII (Playstation, 1997) I had my father buy me a N64 back when the next Final Fantasy was meant to be released for it, and a while later I had to have a Playstation before it was released. Indeed, I was able to play it as soon as it was out, and it was worth the wait. From the short and thrilling opening sequence to the grand finale, this game has it all: great story, amazing music, interesting characters and solid gameplay. Ive played this at least 10 times, and every time something big happens (if youve played it you know what Im talking about) it gets to me all over again. Such a shame that this was the very last good Final Fantasy. Final indeed. 4 - StarCraft (Windows, 1998) Having played Dune 2 and Warcraft 1/2 a lot, I was always fond of the RTS genre, but also always felt that it missed something. Some polish, some character. Then came StarCraft. And it was legendary. So many dialup games, so many lunches and evenings spent on Big Game Hunters. This may be the game Ive played the most, but theres no way to be sure because Steam wasnt available to tell me how many hours Ive spent on it. 3 races, 3 different UIs and play styles, so many different combinations, all in perfect harmony. And the expansion Brood War made it all better. I picked up StarCraft 2 a couple of years ago and, while it was indeed good, I never cared for it that much. Maybe I should give it another go. 5 - Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night (Playstation, 1997) Best platformer ever. I rest my case. And oh the graphics and soundtrack. Go play it if you havent. And go play it again if you have. Get it on PSN or XBLA and do it. You owe it to yourself. 6 - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PlayStation 2, 2004) Those who know me are aware that Im a big fan of Kojima and the MGS series as a whole, but this one takes the best in the series cake. I just love the stealth gameplay, the thrill of not knowing whether or not Ill be spotted, and the satisfaction of going through a section completely undetected. Sure, the story is a bit absurd and the enemies are completely ludicrous, but it all adds up to a game with a lot of character. Fun fact: Cynthia Harrell gave her voice not only to the games theme Snake Eater, but also to Castlevania SOTNs I Am The Wind. Singing Snake Eater is a blast - you can find an instrumental backing track on YouTube. 7 - Flow (Flash, 2006) This game is, to me, pure gameplay beauty. Simple enough that it doesnt require a single word or explanation, yet complex enough that youll find yourself spending quite some time learning exactly how it works. I compare every game I play and work on to this. I love all games by Thatgamecompany, but this one perfectly synthesises my game mechanics philosophies. 8 - Left 4 Dead 2 (Windows, 2009) Let me start by saying that Im not a fan of the FPS genre. I much prefer to sit on my couch with a DualShock in hand and play comfortably on the big screen, and dual analog sticks dont belong in an FPS. But Ill gladly sit on my desktop to play this with friends. This game isnt about blood or zombies, its about cooperation. Its about helping one another. Its about realising that the best chance you have to survive is to help your teammates. Sure, some will say that they have fun going online and playing this with random people. To me, however, L4D2 is all about discipline, its all about knowing your team. Its all about getting in formation and anticipating your teammates moves, its all about being safe when possible, and sacrificing yourself when it makes sense. Its about being economic and decisive when things are tense, and being silly when everything is under control. Playing this on Expert Realism, when your team gets good enough, is simply awesome. With over 400 hours logged by Steam, this is the only game that rivals StarCraft for the title of most played by me. I guess well never know for sure. 9 - Rock Band 3 (PlayStation 3, 2010) When I finally picked up a PS3, this was what I wanted to play. Sure enough, I picked up a Rock Band starter kit that included a guitar, microphone and a 4-piece RB1 drumkit. And I shortly decided that it wasnt enough, so I got RB3 and a RB3 Pro Drumkit by MadCatz, and had tons of fun with it. Wed have Rock Band parties every weekend, wed practice every day, and I was slowly becoming a drummer (which was something I had always wanted to do). I soon decided that the Pro Drumkit wasnt enough and that I wanted more. I started to look for alternatives and found my dream setup: an Alesis DM10 Pro with the RB3 MIDI adapter. So I bought one when I traveled to LA, took it home to Brazil (taking it home is a story in itself) and assembled it, only to find that I couldnt play - it was too loud for an apartment. So, months later and mainly because of that, I moved to a house (The Jungle) and Missy was finally set free. The perfect Rock Band setup was real at last. Ive spent over 500 USD on DLC over the years, and it was totally worth it. So many songs, so many moments, so much fun. And Missy is so beautiful. It breaks my heart to know that half of her is back in Brazil. 10 - The Last Of Us (PlayStation 3, 2013) Ill confess I didnt have high expectations for this. I dont really like Uncharted, and I knew that the companion gameplay elements advertised by Naughty Dog werent going to work. But I knew that this was big, and I had to give it a shot, so I bought a digital copy on day 1. The game starts really well, railed but really dramatic. Then it grinds almost to a halt. Its repetitive and a bit boring, but thats all part of it - youre supposed to feel bored and detached. The thing about The Last Of Us is that its a masterfully crafted experience. Theyre really effective in making you feel exactly what they want you to. And you dont feel cheated for it - you gladly go along. Square, take note: this is a lesson on how to emotionally engage your audience. As has been said before, the game really shines when Winter comes along. If you get that far, youll be hooked for life. And everything up to that point is a perfect buildup. Its all absolutely necessary, its all so that youll care for the characters. This is a character-driven story. The background doesnt matter, the setting doesnt matter. And the game is really linear, but you wont feel cheated because of it. Its really masterfully executed, and youll love it in the end. Masterpiece. 11 - Minecraft (Java, 2009/2011) How can I not include here the game that created an industry? Alex and I picked this up back when it was in Alpha, and quickly set up a dedicated server. With each update and new world, our ambitions became bigger, our designs more intricate and organic, our machines more complex, and all done in Survival mode, every single block having been previously mined/dug/collected. This gave us an enormous sense of accomplishment after each task. To this date this is one of the best games Ive ever played, and I imagine that itll be a while before I stop considering it as such. The genius in this game was in the way it was developed iteratively, seeing what was going on in the community. If something didnt feel good it was either improved or cut. If someone came up with a cool enough mod, it was incorporated. In a way, even though the game was developed by Notch and Jeb, it was designed by everyone. And it was made in Java. Honourable mentions: - RoboCop (the first NES game I played on my own NES) - Ninja Gaiden - Maniac Mansion (my first adventure game, on the NES!) - The Incredible Machines (hot coco and TIM on winter nights) - Dark Souls (the first one, awesome RPG, absolutely love it) - Civilisation 4 - Journey (pure beauty in graphics, sound, gameplay, multiplayer experiences) - Braid (brilliant level design) Im sure I forgot many more.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 16:26:07 +0000
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