My video game journey began on Christmas day 1988 when I received a Nintendo (NES) as a present from my parents. I had actually asked them for an Apple computer for Christmas but for some reason they bought me a Nintendo instead. I am mostly a retro gamer as the most recent system I own is the Wii and so most of the games on my list are from the late 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s.
10: R.C . Pro-Am
R.C. Pro AM was the first race game I ever played and the second game I ever owned. In the game you always raced against the same 3 cars. They each had their own tendencies and personalities just like the 4 ghosts chasing you in Pac-Man did. I remember the cover of the game said that it had 32 tracks so I figured that once I beat the 32nd level I would beat the game. But when I finally beat the 32nd level, the game did not end and the 33rd level was the level 1 track with just higher difficulty. My friends and I figured that the game must never end.
9: Aladdin
I played Aladdin on the Super NES for the first time a couple years after watching the Disney movie that it is based on. The game had some of the most beautiful environments and graphics seen on the Super NES. The difficulty of the game was low enough so that it was easy to enjoy some of the scenery along the way.
8: Gradius
Gradius provided great side-scrolling space shooting action with gorgeous outer space graphics. The most unique aspect of game was being able to power up your ship with additional weapons and shields. It had really good, catchy music despite being only an 8 bit game. The game also featured some memorable bosses.
7: Pac-Man World 2
3D platformers that involve collecting items is my favorite overall genre and Pac-Man World 2 provides great platforming action with plenty of items to collect. The first four worlds provided a memorable experience. However, the fit and finish as well as the ambience of the final two worlds were not quite on par with the rest of the game. Some of the levels were actually bad enough to make me wonder if the developer ran out of time or money. Still the tree top world in Pac-Man World 2 alone would probably be enough to get this game onto my top 10 list.
6: Super Mario Bros.
This was the first game I ever played and still one of my favorites. At first I was really uncoordinated and it was an awkward experience. I would literally swing and move my arms around as I played. I still remember the time I discovered a warp zone by accident. I was fascinated by the amount of choice in this game because by using warp zones you could choose a short or long path to finish the game as opposed to always having to complete every single level.
5: Contra
Contra had great side-scrolling shooting action. This was the first cooperative multiplayer game I ever played. It was cool being able to play with another player and fight together on the same side. The graphics and gameplay were well ahead of its time. Compared to Super Mario Bros. your character moved and jumped in a much more fluid acrobatic motion and the graphics were better and more realistic.
4: Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4 had spooky ambience, fantastic graphics, and nice short cut scenes with a little bit of humor thrown in. There were also tons of weapons, equipment, and upgrades to buy. I loved the over the shoulder perspective and the ability to move around a bit in a 3D environment. I did not like previous installments of Resident Evil because the camera angles were awkward and your character was difficult to control. But in this installment of Resident Evil I thought all the elements came together perfectly.
3: Mario Kart 64
Mario Kart 64 took the great ideas and gameplay from the original Mario Kart for Super NES and used the power of the N64 to make an even more incredible game. It had gorgeous 3D environments and a solid feel to it that was as fun as real go-kart racing. I never played the Grand Prix mode much, but I spent hours playing the Time Trials trying to get the fastest times by perfecting my power slide, experimenting to find the most efficient racing line, and searching for shortcuts.
2: Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64 was revolutionary when it came out. This is the first 3D game that I ever played. It felt like a totally new experience being able to run around and explore in a 3D environment. Beating the game was all about trying to collect 120 stars. They were earned in a variety of ways, from racing a rabbit to reaching the end of a level. To this day I feel that 3D Mario games are better than the 2D ones.
1: The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda had riddles, mazes and dungeons. What’s not to like. I still remember buying this game at a closing out sale at a drug store for $9.99 which was super cheap compared to the other games I had. The cartridge was a distinctive gold color instead of the usual grey and it was the first game I played that could save your progress. I really enjoyed the sense of exploration and I actually loved the simplicity of the overhead grid view. In fact I still prefer the 2D Zelda games to the newer more complex 3D Zelda games.