What games have truly awed you?

[MaxwellGT2000]

I'm going to make a list, check it twice, and give reasons

Earthbound - Lighthearted RPG with big philosophical underlying themes, it really struck me when I played, and I teared up at the end 

Mother 3 -  I was expecting more or less another Earthbound, what I got was a shock to the system, not only did it create a narrative that struck me to the core but somehow it still kept it's identity despite the overall theme being so different, truly one of the best RPGs ever crafted.

Super Mario Bros 3 - This game set the standard for how I view platformers and not much has topped it for 2D platforming and the game is 20 years old now (in America).  

Zelda Link to the Past - The game that set the standard for which I hold the series to and all other adventure games, fun, challenging, long, and just tons to do.  Plus it was one of the best looking SNES games for which still holds up today because of its art direction.

Final Fantasy IV (II when it struck me as awe inspiring) - Some of the best music in any video game, to this day in fact, one of the best RPG combat systems, and some crazy good visuals.

Mario 64 - One of the first 3D games I played on a console, it was just a lot of fun, and had a lot of wow moments

Zelda OoT - This was the culmination of a lot of different things I saw in 3D action/adventure/platform titles that gen and when they came together in OoT it left a lasting impression

Chrono Trigger - I missed this till the PS2 era but I bought it with FFIV on PS1, even then the story and time traveling struck a cord with me.

Zelda Wind Waker - It was the first time I ever truly saw cel shading and thought man this is like a cartoon come to life, now games like Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm have taken that to the point I wouldn't mind animes done in 3D cel shading.

Super Smash Bros - The level of pure fun is what made an impression on me, it was the first game I ever got super excited to just play after getting off of school for no other reason than play against the AI and figure out what to use against my friends.

Starcraft - From the quirky story to the addicting gameplay never have I spent so much time on one game (though Brawl is giving it a run for its money), and add in the custom maps giving such variety it left me truly impressed and gave me my first real feeling of what an online standard should be.

Wii Sports - It was the first game to ever have me drooling for a new console and looking into paying more than MSRP for, I didn't of course, but after I got it, it also got the ladies over to my dorm or vice versa and that was the first time a game ever did that lol

Demons Souls - From the moody atmosphere, to the refreshing difficulty, the game made me step back for a bit and think this is what I really look for in an action RPG, and then I died.

Donkey Kong Country Returns - Never once have I ever thought of a platformer as a moving piece of artwork but this badboy has done it, cartoony it may be, but the amount of details is kind of staggering from the environments that react to your ground pounds, to the subtle hints made into the stages for nostalgia, to the game making you wonder why you just felt like you were put into a bullet hell game all of a sudden... and then I died...

Super Mario Galaxy 1/2 - I put these together as SMG1 had the impressive visuals and unique platforming I've never seen before, and SMG2 took it and perfected it but because it wasn't brand spanking new I wasn't caught off guard like I was with SMG1.

Little Big Planet - It's the first platformer that I really needed to invite friends over just to beat certain parts of stages and properly work with 4 players, but wait then it has this amazing level designer that people made some really impressive stages with, I was not expecting that at all and it made me get a PS3 for it.  Lots of fun and unique experiences to be had.

I look back at this list and see I listed a lot of awe in the current gen, but I think it's just the newness, or maybe I'm just getting old and forgetting some really awe inspiring games, or a mixture of both.  I might update later if I think of anything more.