No. 6 Final Fantasy VII (PS, PC, PSN on PS3 & PSP)

The first 3D final fantasy, my first RPG and my favourite in the series. I had avoided most RPGs prior to this as I wasn't much into fantasy (oh how times change!) and they all seemed to revolve around fantasy settings. FF7 completely changed all that. A fresh new cyber punk world, an eclectic mix of characters, a combo of bizzare science & magic and ridiculously gigantic swords! The first 3-4 hours spent in Midgar & Kalm drew me into the story (and is probably the best intro to a JRPG I can think of) and then the apparent freedom of the world map completely astounded me.

Looking back this had nearly everything I want in a JRPG. The story was intense and emotional but it also had a great degree of freedom and player choice in the game world. I'll admit, the materia system isn't the best system in a JRPG as it didn't give a huge amount of customisation, and many characters seemed to be very similar no matter what materia you added. However, the plot, the world, the towns and hidden extras all made up for it.

I also think the optional quests were some of the best in a Final Fantasy game: Chocobo breeding and racing, two optional characters with backstory, the Weapon bosses, the mini-games (Submarine, snowboarding, motorbike), the range of vehicles, the hidden locations and the little tit-bits of backstory. All added to an utterly amazing game.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - N64

 I deliberately tried to come up with a reason not to include Ocarina in the top 10, in order to avoid being cliché. I really did! ... But I just couldn't. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't think of a flaw in this game. Even the three following games have some negligible issues, but Ocarina of Time is absolutely flawless.

But enough talk about what Ocarina of Time doesn't have. What it does have is a phenomenal soundtrack, devilishly clever dungeons, timeless gameplay, and many, many more amazing things I could (and have) passionately blabber about for hours upon hours.

There's a reason, why Ocarina of Time is included in virtually every major "Top 10 Games of All Time" list. It's just that good.

4. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

If I had to pick the most prominent reason I liked this game, it would be because it took everything except the boss fights out of the equation and got straight to the reason you were playing the game in the first place.  The sixteen bosses display a surprising amount of variety and each requires some exploration to discover how to approach finding its weak spots.  The limited grip strength means that your first attempt won't be successful in many cases.  I remember thinking after the first couple battles that it would always be finding a weak spot to climb onto the colossus, but many of the colossi surprised me as they would send you underwater, into the air, and onto your horse in order to meet your end goal.  Finding your way to the next colossi by watching the sun glint off your sword and then riding through the beautiful expanse until you reached a new area you didn't know existed was the rewarding alternative to fighting against smaller, ultimately unchallenging, foes.  Ultimately the simplistic storytelling forced you to look around to and discover what is happening to the characters.  After beating the game there is still plenty left to do as well, a harder set of fights, gathering new items, and completing speed runs against any of the colossi.  This is a game that really deserves to be played on a big screen because of the sheer impressive size of the colossi, and the hd/3d remakes should make it all the better.

So which one are we on?! #4?

Yes, we're at #4 and mine is the one and only

25. Jade Empire

Good god was this a fantastic game... I played the xbox version though, so there was one major flaw... *loading* it was the load times. For fucks sake, I know it's an RPG but I considered this a horror game whenever I had to go to the next room. Being a bioware game, I was slightly disappointed they didn't include their signature into the story (having sex with aliens). But other than loading, and sex, this game was pretty masterful.

It's basically Kotor set in japan (or something) and it has a great storyline w/sexy Asian girls. Or in other words, win.

Double post?

24. Heavy Rain

One of the few games to actually spawn a funny meme... X to Jason was pretty awesome... Oh yea, and Heavy Rain wasn't bad either! Actually, it's much more than that. I'm not putting this game at #24 because CGI has a gun to my head, (although that is a contributing factor... HELP!!!) I'm putting it on here because it was fing WONDERFUL! I thought it was going to fail spectacularly before I played it, both sales wise and critically. Luckily that didn't happen.

I'm not going to attempt to explain why this game is so awesome because it would be pointless. This is a game that you need to experience in order to understand. But I will say this, Heavy Rain is like an evolution of point and click adventure games, but the gameplay is much funner than what that explanation would suggest.

Great game, hope to see more from QD soon

23. Age of Mythology

My favorite RTS ever. Why? Well, because I love mythology. Great gameplay aswell... but who would expect different from Ensemble? (before Microsoft killed them that is)

You know what would've been really cool? A surprise appearance by Kratos... :D

22. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

After OoT, what a hard act to follow... but it was done.  (short and sweet, just they ways I like em')