1. NieR
Over the course of my life, there have only been a handful of games that caused me to shift my paradigm around what I wanted. The 2010 release of NieR showed me the things I wanted in a game that I didn’t even know I wanted. The series’ tradition of excellence continues, but I’ll never forget what I saw, heard, read, and played. The swift genre shifts, the excellent supporting cast, the whole plot and concept stemming from an absurd final ending in the first Drakengard… If you want to know the kind of game I get excited to try, it’s something bold and crazy like NieR.
2. Secret of Mana
Two things that rarely went hand-in-hand, certainly before the advent of MMOs, were “RPG” and “multiplayer.” I remember Christmas of 1993 and the heavy snowfall around that time very well, because in my household we had a Multitap for the SNES and a brand new copy of Secret of Mana. So many of my happy memories during that time were centered around that snowfall and quality time with my older and younger siblings. We committed to playing through story and dungeons together, while anyone feeling ambitious (read: me) could grind levels solo for the whole party.
While I have since sunk some serious hours into MMORPGs like Final Fantasy XI and Star Wars: The Old Republic, it was Secret of Mana that taught me I could enjoy longform gaming content with family and friends.
3. Alundra
It may be a dumb joke, but when people ask me what my favorite Zelda title is, I often answer with Alundra. In this game, I found a surprising mix of challenging puzzle platforming, mature themes, great worldbuilding, a brilliant soundtrack, and what is probably Working Designs’ least silly localization. And yes, you can argue that you can find many of the things I just described in many Zelda titles. But Link just can’t jump like Alundra.
4. 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
I’ve had an appetite for visual novels for as long as I’ve known about the genre. Combining the story-heavy genre with puzzle elements (a la the Ace Attorney series) sweetened the deal even more. But creator Kotaro Uchikoshi took it up a notch when he made escape rooms the central feature of the Zero Escape trilogy, which began with the Nintendo DS game 999. I was hooked on this clever mystery title from start to finish. The feeling of uncertainty that comes with 999‘s premise made for great surprise twists and also served as a perfect stage to toss philosophy, science, pseudoscience, history, and mythology at players, further entrancing and befuddling us.
5. Persona 3 Portable
I have heaped plenty of praise on the Persona series throughout my life. But the one that I’ve enjoyed the most is Persona 3 Portable. Yes, specifically P3P over all other versions. I love the setting of P3, but I often find myself exhausted by silent protagonists who are set as a stand-in for men (typically, straight men). And while I happen to be a straight man, I found the FeMC experience much more interesting, particularly where Social Link dialogue would change. I think P3P was my accidental introduction to otome visual novels. And frankly, I think that’s a good thing.
Non-RPG 1: Super Metroid
We’ve never come up with a better genre title for whatever these games are than “Metroidvania,” have we? And while I certainly love the RPG-infused half of that portmanteau (starting with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night), my first love in this genre is the SNES classic Super Metroid. I play through it yearly and try to pick up advanced tricks as I watch top speedrunners blow through this masterpiece with mock balls, spike suits, baby skips, and plenty more crazy tech. Super Metroid is a game that has truly gotten better with age.
Non-RPG 2: Halo 2
As a genre, first-person shooters rank pretty low for me. I need something with plenty of plot, dialogue, atmosphere, and fun game-breaking glitches to keep me absorbed. In my college years, both Halo and Halo 2 scratched that itch for me. Both intended and unintended secrets throughout these games — especially Halo 2 — had me screaming and laughing once I saw them for myself. Have you ever knocked a giant soccer ball around with a handheld scarab gun? How about unlocking the blooper voice acting by surviving the “I would have been your daddy” Skull challenge? Have you attempted to snipe your co-op partner from 4 kilometers away while strolling on the enormous out-of-bounds landmass in Delta Halo? Those were such fun to me, and they still are. To me, the early Halo titles just ooze personality and fun.
