#4 The Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past
It does not hurt to be the first game of its kind that I experience. This year's ranking has definitely a sort of old age bias. The first Zelda game I ever played, the first original snes game I played. It has many firsts. I have viewed all other entries as a sort of copy of this game, at least the Zelda games I have enjoyed. It acts as the blueprint for what I want. Semi-linear progression, secret items outside of temples with actual usefulness, two interconnected worlds, difficulty and a few puzzles.
I still play this game pretty regularly, a lot thanks to the awesome modding community creating the fantastic randomiser. For some reason all the fantastic design decisions become even more clear when the usual experience is shuffled around. Each items full potential is utilised. The only thing I could want more of is puzzles. But this game at least introduced more advanced puzzles and challenges that felt like it demanded at least some brain power to figure out. I will always be in dept to the game store worker who recommended my parents this game when they went out to buy us a Christmas present. This series means a lot to me and it started with a pink haired Link.
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