Some Of My Favorites

As I said previously, my current gaming habits are mostly dictated by games I used to play when I was younger. Generally I often play sequels of games that I particularly enjoyed, or I'll play remakes of games that I once enjoyed, now remade with better graphics and orchestrated music. Here's a list of my top five favorite games of all time, and how they've influenced the games I currently play.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Although the rest of the games on this list are in no particular order, I felt that I had to put Majora's Mask first, as it is definitely my favorite game of all time. I can't even begin to count the number of times I've replayed this game. The Legend of Zelda games have always been important to me, beginning with A Link to the Past that I used to play on my Super Nintendo, but MM is, in my opinion, by far the best. It changes up from the usual format of the Zelda games, and brings the player into a darker, twisted version of characters and sceneries introduced in Ocarina of Time. Everything about this game is brilliant, from its darker color pallette used throughout, to the dramatic three-day format that forces players to figure out as much as they can before they lose it all, to the mask function that gives players different abilities depending on which mask they have equipped. As for how MM has influenced games I play today, I'm always looking for games that mimic the dark, twisted feel of MM, and games with a similar color pallette. If any of my readers know any games that "feel" like MM, please let me know as I'd love to play it.


2. Halo: Combat Evolved

As I mentioned it in my previous post, Halo is definitely a game that I have to include in this list. Halo has so many great aspects, but my favorite part of  Halo is the story. Halo has a fairly generic storyline, silent hero vs. alien horde, but takes a turn near the end of the game with the introduction of a second, all-consuming enemy: the Flood. Halo's storyline makes the entire game so much more replayable, and adds a factor of enjoyability. I'm all about how the game plays, and how it feels to immerse yourself in the game world, and Halo makes it easy to do just that. The environments are stunning, and the game includes vehicle sequences that were absolutely amazing to me, as I've never played games with vehicles that were that controlable and easy to handle until then. Halo has influenced my current gaming habits by introducing me to the FPS, the first person shooter. I generally never played first-person shooters until Halo, but now I'm totally open to that genre, and seek out FPS games whenever I can.





3. The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind

Although there were two other ES games that came before, the Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind was my introduction to the series. My cousin bought me a copy of the game's Game of the Year edition for my birthday, and I popped it into my xbox as soon as I got home. I can honestly say that Morrowind is one of the best games I've ever played. I love games with open environments, immersive stories, engaging characters, and fantastic graphics, and Morrowind had it all. Morrowind's graphics have aged pretty terribly compared to its successors, but the sense of nostalgia I get from replaying it is immense. Morrowind's ability to play as either a vampire or a werewolf also changed the game entirely: choosing either of the two monstrous transformations changed the way the whole rest of the game was played, adding skills, quests, and a multitude of new things to do once you chose a transformation. And the game was already huge as it was. To this day, I've still never beaten the main story of Morrowind, and it holds a sort of legendary status in my mind: unconquerable, mythical, and only achieved by people who don't actually exist. As for how it's influenced my current gaming habits, Morrowind introduced me to Massive Role-playing Games, and I look for games with immersive habitats, and intense story-lines.

4. Pokemon: Emerald Version

Sorry, I'm not sorry. Pokemon has to be on this list. I played Pokemon: Blue, Pokemon: Silver and Crystal, and Pokemon: Ruby before I played Emerald, but I put Emerald on this list because I genuinely enjoyed it the most out of all the Pokemon games. An extended version of Pokemon: Ruby and Sapphire, Emerald improved on the previous two games in the sequence by slightly retouching the graphics, and adding small changes to the storyline and endgame. Emerald was also the first version to introduce the Battle Frontier to the series, which provided a whole new element of competitive battling. To this day Emerald still retains a high amount of replayability, and has aged fairly well, bringing along full-color graphics and detailed sprites. Emerald influenced my gaming habits by introducing me to the turn-by-turn battle sequence, and I currently look for games that hold the same sense of discovery and awe every time you find a new pokemon, or evolve one that you currently have in your party. And yes, I'm totally getting the Hoenn Remakes as they come out this winter.


5. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

And the last on this list, of course, is Ocarina of Time. Another installment in the Legend of Zelda, this game actually came out before Majora's Mask, but I recieved it as a gift after I had initially played MM. Ocarina of Time is what I would describe as the Perfect Game: it has a high replayability factor even now, almost two decades later. Ocarina of Time seems to have gotten everything right: it had amazing graphics for its time, the story was seamless, and the ability to go through dungeons and conquer bosses while acquiring new gear was an experience that most other games simply couldn't rival. Ocarina of Time is another game that I've replayed counteless times, because its just that good. I even got the HD remake as soon as it came out, and bought the 3DS mainly to play this game once again. Ocarina of time cemented the Zelda series as one of my most favorite game series of all time, and I constantly look forward to future games in the Zelda series, having been hooked by both this and Majora's Mask.

And those are my top five. If you'd like to share your favorite games with me, or want me to play a particular game that you think is similar to those listed above, please share it with me in the comments below!