21. Age of Empires II Gold Edition - PC (49 last year):

I've spent more hours on this than almost any other game and I still never bore of it.  I'm not really a PC gamer, but I regularly play this and love every second of it.  When I was about 9 or 10 nearly all my time gaming not consumed by SSB Melee or Pokemon was taken by this RTS gem.  This game sees a large jump up my list from last year as I'm been playing more of it recently and I've remember how much I enjoy it.

20. Skies of Arcadia: Legends - GC (13 last year):

Skies of arcadia has to be my favourite DC game and overall the GC version is superior.  Although the music quality took a slight hit due to the struggle to fit in onto one disc, the Legends version has less random encounters and all the Dreamcast DLC alrady loaded on the game.  An essential purchase for all fans of RPGs I think.

19. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - PSX (29 last year):

Out of the few Castlevania games I've played, I think this is easily the best one.  It's atmosphere is almost unparalleled, partly due to the scene setting soundtrack.  I'm always changing my mind whether I prefer this game or Super Metroid (which will appear later on), next year the order could well be reversed.

18. Ogre Battle 64 - N64 (11 last year):

More people need to play this game, it's as simple as that.  For only 1200 Nintendo points (will probably be cheaper in Japan/North America) and at least 60 hours plus gameplay, this game is excellent value for money.  It is also one of the few RPGs released for the N64, Paper Mario being the other main one.  Ogre Battle 64 truly illustrates that despite the limitations of the platform's cartridge storage medium, a deep engaging RPG is possible.

05 - Donkey Kong Country 2 (SNES, GBA)

Where the original Donkey Kong Country initiated something great, and the third expanded but had some weird design choices, the second was perfection. It took the gameplay of the first and cranked up the difficulty; it took the visual and audio and perfected them by giving us some of the moodiest, most atmospheric worlds and soundtrack the world has ever seen; and it added a bunch of gameplay features that made it stand out. More worlds, more secrets, more animal buddies, better graphics, and one of the best game soundtracks of all time makes this a worthy entry into my top 5 games.

04 - Megaman 2 (NES)

What was once my #1 game of all time lost its spot becuase I came to realize that its nostalgia factor played into it more than anything else. That nostalgia still is there, as it was the first game I ever mastered and probably the single game I've played more than any other game in existence (having beaten it more times than I beat all three Donkey Kong Country games combined), but the gameplay is still tight, the characters still memorable, and it's still fun as can be. There's a reason I was so happy to see that megaman 9 basically took everything from this game to make a proper sequel.

03 - The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past (SNES, GBA)

Here we go, the final descent into the last three. I don't know what to say, other than the fact that A Link to the Pas was....epic. I still don't really care much about the story, but everything else was awesome. The dungeons were all cleverly designed, the world was alive, there were so many side quests and hidden items to find that most could easily spend 50+ hours looking for them all...on the SNES. Sure, I can beat the entire game in a matter of hours (did the entire light world in 32 minutes), but that's because I loved it so much that I basically memorized the entire game, all the heart pieces, all the secrets, and...you get the point. Regardless, I loved this game but didn't care much for its successor: Ocarina of Time, becuase at the time I wasn't accustomed to the idea that all zeldas are basically the same, so it just felt like an uglier, glitcher version of Link to the Past in 3D. Also, LttP was my first Zelda game!

That brief reading almost had very well tempted to get and play the game.

Then I remembered how I asked you to play Catherine and you refused... 

I am growing increasingly attracted to you.

#3) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Seriously Sega, cut down on the compilations)

Remember when I said Super Mario Bros. 3 was head and shoulders above every other game in its genre? I lied.

This is how you make a sequel. Improve the controls, physics and the gameplay in general without messing with the fundamentals, add more content, and just generally improve upon just about every imaginable aspect of the preceding game. This game is the finest piece of platforming paradise I have played in my life, and I'm willing to fight tooth and nail with anyone who tries to convince me otherwise.

Think I'm blinded by nostalgia? I had never even played this game until 2009.

1. I knew I loved you.

2. Dude... that's awesome.

Also, I think there's one more 2D Platformer that juuust beats out this game's brilliance... and looking at my avatar and knowing that Sky Sanctuary Zone is my ringtone... I think you know what that game is.

But yes, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is amazing. AMAZING!!!

Alas, my post on Super Smash Bros Melee (my number 3) ended up as somewhat of a rant against tourneyfags (a word i hesitate to use, though let it be known that it reflects in no negative way upon homosexuals), which is the only point that has soured my memory of that game, but since tourneyfaggotry played only a small role in how i enjoyed that game (it was only one or two of my friends who were of the "no items Fox only final destination" persuasion) it still holds its pre-eminence in my list

Just like last year then. Wait, last project? That's a shame

03: Uncharted 2: Amongst Thieves ps3

So here we are at the top 3 and who should we have at the #3 spot but Mr Drake himself!

There's a reason why this game was my 2009 goty. The game didn't get over 50goty awards for no reason. The experience was some kind of awesome. The gameplay, the visuals, the dialog, the script. usually games are accused of having terrible scripts and unimaginative character dynamics. I think Uncharted 2 tries and succeeds in many ways to challenge the idea that a game can not be a good story telling medium.
Whilst the story of Uncharted 1 was a much tighter affair, Uncharted 2 decided it needed to turn everything up to 11. Big set pieces, big scenarios, much bigger everything but still manage to retain the feel of the first game.

The relationships between the characters are second to none, the interaction between firm favourites are top class and the addition of newcomers Chloe and Flynn seem to add an extra something to an already exciting universe.

I could say a lot more about this game, mention the gameplay, the visuals, the music, the amazing online and much much more but I'm lazy so I'll just post these instead.

3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PC, also on PS3 & 360)

The prequel to the highly acclaimed Deus Ex, this really could have gone either way (especially after the disappointing sequel Invisible War). Fortunately, the devs took everything good from Deus Ex, but rather than make a pure carbon copy they also added their own inventive spin on the stealth, story and art style. Very few games manage to blend the genres of shooter and RPG so brilliantly.

For the most part the gameplay was pure Deus Ex. Every level quest and level had multiple paths and methods for completion. You need to get into the police station. Do you hack through a terminal? sneak through the vents? use one of your augmentations? smooth talk your way through the front? go in guns blazing or kill all the civilians and pile their bodies up to get access to the fire escape?! The possibilities were virtually endless. You played the game in your own style and tailered the experience to your own playstyle.

The futuristic setting was superbly realised. The science was actually handled incredibly well and you could see a huge amount of research was done to ensure the setting was as realistic as possible whilst still being fun. It also helped the storyline which was far more mature than the vast majority of video games (and most Hollywood films for that matter). Rather than go for the typical action Sci-Fi story of most video games or even the heavy conspiracy theories of the original, they go for a more personal and philosophical approach by questioning what it is to be human. Very few games manage to pull off a story of this nature so successfully and still make the game fun. 

The new additions were generally good. The stealth cover system was actually very good and the new third person perspective added to the game rather than ruining immersion as I'd originally feared. The art style obviously had a lot of thought and look stunning in all its renaissance, cyber punk glory. However, the game did have a few faults, namely the addition of compulsory boss fights. This was in complete contrast to the rest of the game, but the rest of the game really makes up for it. The ending also felt rushed and the final choice felt a little cheap. Even with these faults, it still manages to blend so many great elements of FPS, TPstealth and RPG genres so incredibly well that it it's my third fave game of all time.

Updated everything but #1 (though anyone who knows me should be able to work it out)

5   - Wii  - Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo)
4   - VC   - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Nintendo)
3   - N64/VC - F-Zero X (Nintendo)
2   - Wii  - Endless Ocean 2: Blue World (Nintendo)

I originally owned F-Zero X on the N64, and that was where I spent most of the play time. It is, I think, the only game I have ever bought twice. I now have it on the Virtual Console, though I have only spent 16 hours on that version (that is still the third most played of my VC games, only behind SM64 and LoZ:MM, neither of which I had played before getting them on VC)

The only other game I have played extensively on 2 consoles is LoZ:Ocarina of Time... which, as I mentioned earlier in the thread, I originally played and completed on my friends N64 but didn't own it until the GC version that came with my WindWaker pre order.