Tell us why your favorite games are your favorite games

[kingjohn3]

Tell us a story behind your love of certain games. What special memories, if any, do you have?

Thanks, Megatron, for the idea

[Dravenae]

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. I remember starting the Paramonian Temple and discovering Elum. My mind was blown.

I still play that game with my Mum, at least once a year.

I completed it once and ended up with 49/99 Mudokon's. I still have to go back and get 99/99. I completed Exodus twice; the last time I got like 280 Mudokan's. I shall get 100% in both one day!

I love Abe's Oddysee, Abe's Exodus, and Strangers Wrath. I dare say all three are within my top 10, or at least 20, games of all time.

It makes me sad that they haven't released a new game since Strangers Wrath. I know we have New and Tasty to look forward to, but its a remake, its not a new game.

My best mate keeps complaining that Dark Souls 2 isn't coming out until next year, I remind him that I've been waiting for an Oddworld game for the past 8 years. That shuts him up.

EDIT: Other games I love are Metal Gear Solid 1 - 4, Final Fantasy VI - X, Shadow of the Colossus, The Legend of Zelda series (bar the two on the DS; the controls ruined it), Castlevania Order of Ecclesia, Castlevania Rondo of Blood, Castlevania Symphony of the Night, The Last of Us, Dead Island, The Elders Scrolls IV - V, Gears of War 1 & 3 (2 sucked), and Red Dead Redemption. There's plenty more that I can't think of at the moment, but there's some to name a few that I completely adore.

[kaysow]

Suikoden II

Final Fantasy VII was a revelation back in 1998. i was 14, making me the target audience, and it reignated my interest in games which had kind of dwindled after the nes. i remember a journalist writing that it was sad how spoiled all the newcomers would be, expecting anything to reach it's levels of excellence and he was right; it stayed up there on the pedestal all the way till 2006 when i finally got around to playing Suikoden. the games were contemporary with ffvii but didn't have enough acclaim to be a huge priority. but from what i gathered, apart from ffvii and xenogears, ff tactics and suikoden 2 were also absolute must-plays.
it's one thing to blow the mind of a kid who's never seen an RPG before, but Suikoden 2 had as big an impact on me when i was 22, basically a grown-ass man. it's reminiscent of a typical jrpg universe in the same way game of thrones is reminiscent of a typical fantasy novel universe. there's a TON of history and culture in there, even if they never forcefeed it to you like xenogears or final fantasy tactics did (which i also need to really have a go at some day). politics play a HUGE role in every story, and the series is totally devoid of that typical anime quasi-philosophy that can drag a game like valkyria chronicles down with it's hamfisted morals and lifelessons. it's beautiful and vibrant, but mortality is big deal and noone is ever safe. the game lets you know early on that anyone can die.
first game was less impressive but i'm glad i played it because it's vital in setting the stage for the sequel that topped FFVII. i'll just say that i still fail to grasp how you could tell a story like this. just, the narrative, it's so engaging, and it's so manipulative to make you miss important clues and bring you just to the emotional state it needs to strike with full force and i don't even know. it was like i was a kid playing ffvii for the first time again, only it worked on a totally jaded adult. so i can safely say that nostalgia has nothing to do with it's status as an underrated cult gem, and more important to me personally; it proved to me that even as an adult i can still be completely blown away by a fantastic videogame.
when the credits had rolled i just wandered around to digest what i'd been through. then i restarted it again right away. then i opened up some old documents to continue working on a script i started back in 1998, wanting to make my own final fantasy. still working on it, but final fantasy is less of an ideal these days.

[Superchop]

The game that I probably consider my favorite game would be Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

This game was at the time the sole reason I wanted an N64.  I didn't have an SNES and for the NES I didn't have any Zelda games but I had played them and I've always enjoyed them.  The game and system were both a Xmas present (can't remember the year) and it just made the upcoming year that much better.  Me and my cousin played that game for hours and hours.  I was enthralled with the puzzles, the 3d graphics, the analog, pretty much everything.  It took me a little while to get used to the controls and at times I had a much harder time playing the game then i'd like to admit, but there was never a moment where I wasn't enjoying it.  I replayed that game over and over, did multiple runs and just tried to get everything out of the game as I could.  Even with other games like Perfect Dark, Jet Force Gemini, Majora's Mask and the like that I loved, there has yet to be a game that I could sit and replay over and over and not get bored.

[Megatron]

Glad I could help inspire this!  I really like reading WHY someone loves something.  Helps clarify, especially when it's not an every day title.

I already explained in the top games list why Mass Effect was my favorite game of all time, and because I doubt anyone wants me to repeat myself, I thought I'd take the opportunity to say that I love the Legend of Zelda franchise.  Before Mass Effect, it was my favorite game series for about 18 years.

The original Legend of Zelda is a CLASSIC...but I actually find Zelda II The Adventure of Link to be a superior title.

That's right, I prefer Zelda II over the original.

The original game is a masterpiece in every sense of the word.  Hands down, a landmark of game design.  But in the years since, I think that other titles in the series have taken that formula and greatly improved.  A Link to the Past is arguably one of the top games ever made, and the Minish Cap took the groundwork laid by these and ran away with it.  My point is that the original LoZ was so good that they emulated it over and over.  And I think it has been done better since.

Zelda II is unique.  There are no titles in the series like Zelda II.  Some are similar, in terms of learning abilities, etc.  But a side scrolling RPG would never again be used in the Zelda series.  And I don't fully get why. 

I didn't always feel this way, but over the years I have played the LoZ style so much that the original lost some of its magic.  When I want to play a top down Zelda I jump to LttP, Minish Cap, the handhelds and maybe the original.  These days I have way more fun playing this title than the original.  I know it's not perfect, but it's fun.  And it's hard.  I can beat the original with my eyes closed.  Yes, it's challenging, but you are strong enough at the start of the game to really beat the game.  II has more of an RPG element which turned some people away from it.  And I agree it can be annoying, but I really have fun powering up and sticking it to that freaky thing with the axe (those who have died a million times on this guy know who I mean).

The side scrolling feels more like a classic NES style.  The various skills mean you have to adapt your play style and really think to overcome enemies.  Yes it's a difficult game, but if you approach it with a strategy and not just run and gun, most of the difficulty is manageable.  There is also a lot of variation on how you can go through the game.  It's much more linear than the original, but all of them have been since the first.

This game has its flaws, and I am not saying it's the best ever made, but when I am in the mood for some good, 8 bit Zelda, this is my go to title.

[venkman00]

Ninja Gaiden II on the Xbox 360 just might very well be my favorite game of all time. I was a latecomer to the 7th generation, getting the console the same day NGII was released. The gore in this game just completely blew my mind, I hadn't seen anything like it yet. At least to this extreme. The music was really great, too, especially during the Lycanthrope's Castle level.