1. Sonic & Knuckles (Gen)
So It's finally come down to this... my favorite game of all time. Ya know, I could spend paragraph after paragraph explaining to you, my dear reader, of why I love this game so much. But I'll just give you this link and go on from there.
Many will combine Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles as one game, and that's alright. I don't. I never saw them as one game when I first played them and I really don't need them to be one game now. The sheer brilliance of Sonic & Knuckles is all on its own, and the experience of this game surpasses all others. I really see this cartridge as the perfect example of a video game. It's not just all about perfection either, since this game have provided me moments of many emotions, among them joy, loss, and hope.
I say that this is the perfect video game experience because every facet of the game, including story, is within the gameplay. There's no words, no cut-scenes... just you as either Sonic or Knuckles, running through the goregous and wondefully designed levels, and everything else just flows. You can tell that for each act you complete, you're getting closer to a destination... even if you really don't know where that destination will take you. All you know, as you go through loops, climb pass bottomless pits, and avoid boulders... is that you're accomplishing something very important in this world you're in.
And when you get to the Hidden Palace Zone, you realize that you're on this adventure that's much bigger than anything else you've accomplished before, and that you're almost done. You can see the ending in sight... but at the last moment, all hope is lost. The treasure that you sought has been stolen, and the one doomsday device that you've been fighting to stop since Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is now active once again. Everything you've worked for is lost. It's a rather strange moment in the game, to feel such defeat in the moment of victory. But even then, you know this adventure isn't over... it can't be. And it isn't.
One of the greatest moments I've spent in gaming is playing through Sky Sanctuary Zone. This piece of gaming is the best representations of renewed hope I've ever played (played, not seen... which is why this game means so much to me). Despite the loss, determination and a new friend lead me onwards. What's so brilliant about this level is that it's vertical and not horizontal like every Sonic level before it. It's such a beautiful and well structured level too. Everything just feels right in this moment of gaming, and it's pretty darn great. Not even a mechanized version of yourself can hamper this renewed hope, this feeling of purpose as you climb higher and higher into the sky.
So yeah, this game is great (and I didn't even mention the fantastic final boss... but that's in the link). It's my favorite gaming experience of all time and has stayed that way for 16 years. Sonic & Knuckles is the greatest game of all time in my eyes, and deservedly so. What a spectacular game.
