20-16, starting to get down there, running into games I want to replay, oh dear.
20. Mario Kart: Double Dash (GC)
Of all the Mario Kart games I felt like this one offered my favorite selection of tracks. The two player kart mechanic added extra fun for parties and a little more strategic choices in items. In addition the changes to the powerslide technique were welcome to at least me due to my distaste for figuring them out in Mario Kart 64 time trials. Among the tracks I liked: Baby Park - This one felt completely original for its small size and was quite interesting with more laps. Daisy Cruiser - running through all the different paths on, of all things, a cruise ship felt like a really creative course. Walugi Stadium - Took all of the great parts about the Wario Stadium course and somehow turned every race into a completely crazy adventure. DK Mountain - It had a cannon and a long windy downhill section, end of story. The Entire Star Cup: Wario Colosseum, Dino Dino Jungle, Bowser's Castle, Rainbow Road - The courses felt complex enough that people were going to make mistakes and it really would let you figure out who was the best. I still think that these are the best Bowser's Castle and Rainbow Road courses created to date. The addition of more racers in grand prix was also great and I the blue shells are slightly less of an annoyance because of how fun it is to try to dodge them or at least get others caught as well.
19. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (GBA)
This game really shined because of the variety of classes available to use, and I don't think I even managed to use half of them on a regular basis. The ability to build your own world map makes it so every game can be a little bit different and moving around becomes somewhat interesting. Similar to Fire Emblem, adding special characters to the cast provides extra incentive to try to complete as much of the missions as possible. The law system forces you to use a little more than a basic set of allies for most of the game (until you get Cid later on) and can make what seemed like it would be an easy battle a bit harder. There are plenty of missions to do and items to obtain which mix together well to get somewhat of an open world feel to the game. The variety in available moves provides a large number of viable strategies although high damage moves work a little too well at times. Setting up your attacks so you don't hit your allies with a spell keeps the battles from becoming too clustered. Overall the story keeps from getting too dull and offers a second ending for a more complete playthrough.
18. ICO (PS2)
Perhaps one of the best things about ICO is how much story it can tell with so little. The team for this game did an excellent job of telling story without resorting to a mess of dialogue. The solitary flaw for this game is the fact that the combat seems nothing more than an annoyance. The idea of having to save another person from being captured is solid but the lack of variety in weapons (not as bad) and enemies (worse) led to most of the excitement being taken a short while into the game. On the other hand the game's final combat felt like a wonderfully crafted battle that I would love more of. The platform puzzling in this game is what ultimately shines through. Unlike many platformers, the next move is usually less than obvious and requires a little thinking to puzzle out where you're going. Somehow the developers made the destination always seem so far away, even though the entire game world is decently small. A lot of this could come from the fact that the game flows freely between areas without any sort of modular level scheme. The castle is beautifully crafted and I wished I could have wandered away from the game and explored the whole building. This game exceeded all of my expectations, even knowing what other people had thought of it.
17. Pokemon SoulSilver (DS)
The definitive pokemon for me it improved ever so slightly on the original Silver version with the addition of new pokemon and extra events. The critical feature of the two games that extends them beyond any of the others is the size of the world. You feel like you're done at the elite four but there is still an entire set of gyms, a more powerful version of the elite four, and a battle with red atop Mount Silver to complete. Add in what this game added to the series, different pokeballs, new ways to evolve, the pokegear, and that tiny breeding thing and you have a masterpiece. SoulSilver went further to bring your pokemon into the world with you giving another chance to see those that you have collected.
16. Final Fantasy X (PS2)
In many ways this feels like the last of the more traditional Final Fantasy games but if that's the case it will end up being a wonderful one. With only two equip slots the game remained a surprisingly customizable experience. Level ups on the sphere grid let you do whatever you wanted with your characters and the ability to control what charged overdrives turned them into more of a strategic choice. The new summon mechanics turned them into a more fluid battle experience with the ability to use them in multiple ways. The interesting addition of moves having a visible effect on the turn order in battle allowed you to plan for your opponents actions (and let enemies be a little stronger). It would be difficult not to fall in love with the story and characters as they wind through the world looking for a way to bring peace to its shores. The change in setting from traditional games also causes this to be what I believe is the most elegant of the Final Fantasy worlds to date.
Pokemon Silver was the first game I've ever pre-ordered. Let it be known, I was excited about this game. At this point in time, I was a full fledged Poke-maniac and couldn't wait to get my hands on a new game with a new world to explore and new Pokemon (!!!) to capture. It was just a brand new adventure in the Pokemon world I loved so much, and so I counted down to when the game would finally be mine. And when I finally popped the game into my trusty GameBoy Color, I was blown away from the start. The new Pokemon were so cool (picked Totodile as my starter of course, always go with the water types!) and the world of Johto was an incredible world to explore. The game was the perfect mix of old and new, tapping in to that wonderful Pokemon Red/Blue nostalgia (battling Team Rocket, teaming up with Lance) but always keeping things fresh by introducing new Pokemon, new types (Dark type!), and new trainers to battle.
