So I was thinking the other day, and thought it might be fun to do a post about some of my all-time favorite games. I mean, I talk about “OMG THIS GAME IS AWESOME, I LOVE THIS GAME” so often that I may as well have several dozen favorites, but I decided to challenge myself to narrow it down. This’ll be tough for me, but let’s see how it goes.

1. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

This is, hands down, my all-time favorite game of all time. Are there better games from a technical standpoint? Yes. But this game shall always hold a special place in my heart for being the first game that grabbed me both in terms of gameplay and story, and for showing me what video games can really do as a medium for both.

Genre-rise this is, as the name would suggest, an RPG. It was made by Square back when they were Squaresoft and still making games for Nintendo. They made it in between making Final Fantasies VI and VII, and it shows– the game and many of its little nuances (billions of unnecessary items or ridiculously superfluous magic spell animations, anyone?) have a very vintage Final Fantasy/Chrono Trigger feel.

The game combines this classic RPG gameplay with a need for almost rhythmic timing for button combos, and when you toss what was, at the time, the deepest storyline twelve-year-old Pike had ever seen before in a video game into the mix, you get a game that has really stood the test of time and hammered itself into my mind as a firm favorite.

Also, Geno. Best. Character. Ever.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Remember how Super Mario RPG did it for me by combining good gameplay with a good story? Yeah. This game did the exact same thing.

This entry on the list probably doesn’t come as a big surprise to anyone. There are plenty of people out there who didn’t like this game as much as most people did, but very few people will deny that this game had something going for it, something that captivated the better part of a generation.

About a year or so back I replayed the first half or so of this game and was pleased to see that it’s still just as captivating now as it was back then. And even those huge blocky polygons couldn’t change that.

3. StarCraft: Brood War

Longtime RTS players will frequently point to a Command & Conquer game or, more often than not, Age of Empires II as being the pinnacle of the genre. And you know what, those games were great. But for me, there is one king of RTS and that king is StarCraft.

I don’t know if there has ever been a strategy game where the races/factions were all so very different and yet so very balanced. If there is, I certainly haven’t played it.

StarCraft is sublime. Easy to learn, insanely difficult to master, with strategy layers that I swear are endless. I’d just play games over and over again, trying different strategies or trying to refine a previous one. Back in the day, I’d load this game up in the morning and play it until night. Twelve or thirteen hour StarCraft marathons were not a rare thing for me.

Funny bit of trivia for you though: I’ve never played through the story mode. I just played multiplayer or (more frequently) custom games against the AI.

(P.S. Yes, I also like StarCraft 2, but frankly I consider that game to mostly be just a graphical upgrade of the original StarCraft, with a couple new units tossed in for flavor. So the original gets my vote here.)

4. Civilization 4: Beyond the Sword

I know, I know. I’m super behind the times and didn’t start playing this until recently. And yet it’s already on my all-time favorite list. Biased? Nope. The game is just that good.

Let’s see, what’ve we got here. Nuanced strategy, a whole bunch of different ways to win each game, a crazy learning curve that will have you learning new things about the game months after you’ve started playing, a mix of history and humor, Gandhi nuking the stuffing out of you, and above all, fiendishly addictive gameplay. Yup. This is the best 4X game of all time. Every time I play it, I remember why I fell in love with it in the first place.

5. …uh, yeah, this one is up in the air.

Okay, you’ve got me. I have no idea how to narrow #5 down to just one game. I’ve got a bunch of candidates. Depending on mood, time of day, and the thickness of my current pair of Nostalgia Goggles, I’d go for Dig-Dug, Yoshi’s Island, Super Mario Bros. 3, Banjo-Kazooie, Goldeneye 007, Halo, Pokemon Gold, Final Fantasy VI, Metal Gear Solid, or The Oregon Trail. Or probably several others that I’m forgetting. One of these days I’ll sit down and figure out a definitive Number Five, but today is not that day.

Alrighty then! Your guys’ turn! Top five favorites?