Twenty Five video games
Originally posted Sep 23, 2023
I have too many games I'd consider my favorites so this probably isn't even the full list.
Row 1: The primordial bangers. These are the games I could list by reflex. There's no need for considered thoughts or writeups. Each one of these games conceptually represent the best experiences I've had in the medium. I am fully ready to defend my claim that Metal Gear Rising is the best Metal Gear game.
Row 2: Shot to the heart. These games have all struck at a very particular part of me in ways both easy and difficult to explain. I can't explain why these games are great, only by experiencing them for yourselves can you feel their merits.
Row 3: I'm about kicking ass, I'm about takin' names. And we're about making games. I have always loved this era of Nintendo, where it felt like they took some really strong creative swings. They didn't always hit, but when they did. Man. I cannot list one Suda 51 game without the other. Killer 7 and NMH are intertwined for me and fundamental to why I like video games. There's a good argument to be made that Paper Mario 2: The Thousand Year Door is the best written video game on this list.
Row 4: The power of God and anime. SMTIV and Persona 4 elicit what I feel are the greatest strengths of Atlus's premier JRPG franchises. I know 7R's inclusion is going to give someone psychic damage but I cannot believe how much I love the cast of that game. Valkyria Chronicles and FE:3H are in my mind, the platonic ideal of the melding of tactics and anime sensibilities.
Row 5: BORN TO KILL. Whether it's commanding troop formations to smash the enemy flank or outflying rival aces over the skies of the Round Table, these are the games that represent the sheer joy I take in various types of simulated violence.