So, with a great deal of thought and meditation, I have created a list of my top 10 video games (of all time). As you peruse the list, please keep in mind that
- These are my top 10 favorite video games, not necessarily the 10 "best"
- The Morgans raised a Nintendo family, so you will detect a bias toward Hiroshi Yamauchi
With that stated, enjoy!
We're starting our top 10 countdown with Street Fighter II, one of history's finest fighting games. Bringing a whole new world of awesome to the Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and arcades everywhere, this fine addition to the Capcom franchise brought 8 of the world's top fighters right to your fingertips. If I remember correctly, Street Fighter II was the first fighting game I ever played, adding a huge nostalgic bonus. I can actually remember walking into the Dickson County Pizza Hut and watching as older guys would be duking it out with Ryu, the classic, and a big green electric monster named Blanka. Whether you were button jamming, jump kicking, or strategically using the hadouken to set up your hurricane kick, this game had something to offer every level of gamer. And this, my friends, is why Street Fighter II comes in at #10.
Best Street Fighter Memory: Jumping up and down while fighting my with my cousin Michael, then successfully launching my first HADOUKEN!
9. NFL Blitz
A highly competitive sports game with big hits, quick passes, and no rules? You had me from the start. Coming in at #9, we have my favorite sports game ever, NFL Blitz. Back in the day, I was all about the Jacksonville Jaguars. With Brunell, Keenan McCardell, and an arsenal of Da Bomb, Sub Zero, and the VTB, I was practically unbeatable. Then with the installment of NFL Blitz 2001, you could play as Steve McNair and Eddie George on a Titans team fresh off the Super Bowl run. This game is a classic for both sports and violence enthusiasts alike.
Best NFL Blitz Memory: Beating Bradley Rowlett with a walk off 80 yard TD pass to Keenan McCardell after walking him through the process of his defeat.
8. Mario Party 2
We're about to get sentimental with #8. For the longest time, Mario Party 2 was a staple of my family reunions. My sister, cousins, and I would have a duel at every holiday to see who would have bragging rights until the next gathering. It's all about winning mini games the suspense at the end when Toad announces the "Super Star", then getting to spend the next three months boasting Mario Party supremacy. I love my family.
Best Mario Party Memory: Winning and talking smack from holiday to holiday.
7. Mario Kart 64
In 4th grade I received a Nintendo 64 for my birthday. This may have been the single most exciting moment of my life. My sister and my cousins gathered around as we unwrapped the glorious N64 and raised it into the air like we had just uncovered the holy grail. We spent the rest of the evening playing Mario Kart and eating homemade ice cream. So many fun days were spent racing for the gold through cow fields, winter wonderlands, and rainbow roads. In closing, Mario Kart reminds me of a simpler time when all you really had to worry about were red shells and spinning out on banana peels.
Best Mario Kart Memory: Opening my N64 with my family and racing around as Yoshi with my sister and cousins.
We're about to get sentimental with #8. For the longest time, Mario Party 2 was a staple of my family reunions. My sister, cousins, and I would have a duel at every holiday to see who would have bragging rights until the next gathering. It's all about winning mini games the suspense at the end when Toad announces the "Super Star", then getting to spend the next three months boasting Mario Party supremacy. I love my family.
Best Mario Party Memory: Winning and talking smack from holiday to holiday.
7. Mario Kart 64
In 4th grade I received a Nintendo 64 for my birthday. This may have been the single most exciting moment of my life. My sister and my cousins gathered around as we unwrapped the glorious N64 and raised it into the air like we had just uncovered the holy grail. We spent the rest of the evening playing Mario Kart and eating homemade ice cream. So many fun days were spent racing for the gold through cow fields, winter wonderlands, and rainbow roads. In closing, Mario Kart reminds me of a simpler time when all you really had to worry about were red shells and spinning out on banana peels.
Best Mario Kart Memory: Opening my N64 with my family and racing around as Yoshi with my sister and cousins.
The super fast paced Sonic the Hedgehog 2 comes it at #6. Sega hit a homerun with this fast paced, chili dog loving hero as he sprints through a world of spike traps and flying robots to defeat the evil Dr. Robotnik. In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, you get a two tailed sidekick named Tails. He doesn't do too much aside from die and look yellow, but you never feel alone with your trusty companion at your side. Complete with a righteous soundtrack, Sonic is most deserving of a seat in my bracket of favorite games.
Best Sonic Memory: Every time I played the 3rd level, the one with the waterfalls.
5. Halo
Halo claims #5 on my list, and takes the cake as my favorite first person shooter franchise. Halo dropped for XBox when I was in high school, and it quickly won my heart. You play as Master Chief, the last spartan, a futuristic super soldier on a mission to thwart an alien race called The Covenant as they attempt to destroy Earth. With a legendary co-op campaign and epic multiplayer mode, Halo was every high school gamer's dream come true. So many colors and explosions.
Best Halo Memory: Sneaking a couch, a television, and an XBox into our high school theatre tech booth so we could play during Advanced Theatre class. Those were the best of times.
For #4, we have the Best. Party. Game. Ever.
Super Smash Brothers was my birthday present in 6th grade. My friends and I played battled for the entire night, pitting our favorite Nintendo characters against one another. Super Smash Brothers is fast, fun, flashy, and can become wonderfully chaotic as you try to knock your friends off the map and into oblivion. After the original, Super Smash only got better as Game Cube and Wii presented even more characters and crazy courses in "Melee" and "Brawl."
Best Super Smash Memory: Getting this game for my 6th grade birthday party, then playing it until the sun rose the next morning with my besties.
I remember buying my first game boy when I was in 6th grade. It was a green game boy color. To accompany my new investment, I purchased a game called Pokemon Red. Life would never be the same.
Pokemon Red comes in at #3 on our countdown because it bonded with the soul of 12 year old me. I've always been a sucker for anything with a lot of colors and endless customization options, so this was the perfect fit. Pokemon may seem kiddy on the outside, but Red featured an engaging story where you built your own team from the ground up along your journey to defeat the land's greatest duelists. With your team of murder beasts, you roam the country side in search of cash, gym badges, and more Pokemon which you either knocked out for experience or enslaved in your red and white ball Poke Ball. It was the perfect system.
Of course, from the success of Red & Blue came Yellow, Gold, Silver, and then a whole line of colors that I can't quite vouch for. There was also a Pokemon Snap spin off which allowed intrepid hearts to ride around and take photographs of their favorite pokemon. You could then take your cartridge to the nearest Blockbuster and have your best shots printed in sticker format. Looking back, this may have sparked my interest in photography. Interesting...
In summary, Pokemon Red was brilliant and my Raichu from 1999 could have pwned any challenger. Just saying.
Best Pokemon Memory: Beating the Elite Four, then crying on the Charlotte Elementary School playground.
2. Final Fantasy Tactics
You knew it was only a matter of time until a member of the Final Fantasy genus made an appearance. So, without any further ado, at #2 we find our first Sony game on the list: Final Fantasy Tactics. Tactics came into play for the original Play Station in the late 90's, a day and age where graphic were basic and story was everything. This is a big reason why I firmly hold that Square Soft's masterpiece has the best story of any video game in existence. With endless options, you customized your team of fighters to save the kingdom from demons, dragons, and backstabbing tyrants. I'm positive I logged over 70 hours into this game, and every minute was well worth it. If I had 70 hours to kill, I wouldn't hesitate to start up a campaign of Tactics right now.
As a matter of fact, I'm watching my roommate play Final Fantasy Tactics at this very moment. I love this game.
Best Tactics Memory: Beating the game and saying out loud, "Damn. That was the best game I've ever played." Oh, and becoming a lancer. It's the greatest.
1. Star Fox 64
Coming in at #1 on my list of all time favorite games, we have the legendary Star Fox 64. With more lightning paced laser blasts and barrel rolls than you can fathom, Star Fox has everything an undiagnosed ADHD kid could possibly ask for. Let's think about it. You're cruising through space in your Arwing, picking up all the bright and shiny objects, dodging the rainbow spectrum of laser beams, and bombing the evil Andross's goons into oblivion. Need I say more?
Fine.
Aerial combat, space warps, tank missions, flying robots, supersonic butterflies, submarine action, sun monsters, wolf packs, and, lest I forget, ALL RANGE MODE. Seriously, I think I had to go change pants the first time I went into All Range Mode.
I'll never forget the joy brought to my 5th grade heart the first time I navigated the Lylat System, thwarted Star Wolf's posse from blowing up the base, and flew into the core of the planet Venom to defeat the dastardly wizard on his home turf. I recall jumping in victory (I jumped a lot when playing video games as a kid) as my Arwing sped away from the exploding noxious green planet. It was true triumph. There was much jumping.
Star Fox 64 is also the first game I can remember to incorporate the "RUMBLE PACK" experience. If memory serves correctly, the game box actually came with a 3lb grinding attachment that you clunked onto the back of your controller, inevitably leading to tens of thousands of cases of carpal tunnel, but I digress... THE RUMBLE PACK WAS AWESOME! Not only did it add a top heavy sense of stability by tripling the weight of your controller, it also violently convulsed each and every time you took a hit, bumped an asteroid, or got remotely close to pretty much anything. Simply said, it gave you the real cockpit experience of Fox's Arwing.
At the end of the day, it's a bunch of talking animals flying interstellar fighter jets to stop other talking animals from taking over the galaxy and that, ladies and gents, makes it my fav.
Best Star Fox Memory: Beating the game on the highest difficulty, then following Fox's father's ghost out of the labyrinth of exploding demise. That was the day I became a man. This was about a year ago.
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