37. Yoshi's Story, N64 (1998) Nintendo (last year 36)
The game was controversially overcute, involving baby Yoshis fighting baby Bowser in a saccharine world so sugar-sweet you'll likely go into insulin shock if you're unprepared, but at the same time it was a unique take on the platformer genre, with the individual Yoshis being your only lives, and exploration of the 2D levels being your goal, with some stages being surprisingly tough, and more than a few secrets to serve.

Number 36 was a direct sequel, in a franchise that rarely gets direct sequels, and made partially of levels that got cut from its predecessor

Super Mario Galaxy 2?

Correct

You got it.

For a game made of some spare parts, it's pretty incredible.

37. Binary Domain (X360, PS3, PC)

Sega's Yakuza Team tries its hand at making a third person cover shooter and knocks it out of the park like Goro fuckin' Majima. It was pretty surreal to play this within a month of Yakuza: Dead Souls, the zombie shooter spinoff of the studio's eponymous series. While Dead Souls had its clunky shooting mechanics shoehorned into a preexisting engine and template, Binary Domain was built to be a shooter from the ground up and plays like an absolute dream. There are a number of systems in place which set the game apart from the countless other Gears of War alikes on the market: a weapon and character upgrading system, squad shooter elements, and an interesting if somewhat half baked trust system. But what really makes it stand out is just how smoothly playable it is. The game's many huge bosses are an absolute gas to take down, and the procedural damage system even makes it a blast to take on standard foes. It's profoundly satisfying to crunch through the hordes of enemy androids as fragments of armored plating and shredded robotics shower down around you. The typically ridiculous story is perfectly game-y, briskly told and managing to strike the right balance of not taking itself too seriously while also not making a complete joke of things. What really makes it hum is the chemistry between the cast, a thoroughly affable bunch who engage one another in snappy dialogue while popping off bots' heads. Also, one of them is a French robot! All in all, Binary Domain is just so damned likeable. I'd bludgeon a whole litter of kittens to death with a puppy for a sequel, but thanks to miserable sales that is almost certainly never going to happen. It makes me intensely sad that it bombed as badly as it did, and I'd just like to say a hearty "fuck you" to everyone who failed to buy this awesome, awesome game - which, judging by the sales, was all of you.

I agree. I was quite amazing when I played it, but this game will be fairly higher up in my list.

It was just a fun game overall.

So... looking back at my list, I felt the need to change it around a bit at this point. Super Mario 3D Land has been moved up to #36.

#38: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007)
Last Year: 34

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is Retro's final installment in the Prime trilogy, and they go out with a bang. Corruption takes a more action-y approach to the series, and this is all enhanced by the system's new Wii-Mote functionality. This is the first game to get Wii pointer controls right, and the difference in control precision is immense! But the game is more than just great controls, as Corruption weaves a story that takes place on multiple planets that Samus must discover and explore. The game's pacing is nearly perfect (despite a fetch quest at the end of the game), and the action is always intense and fun. And once the credits start rolling, you're asking yourself two things: What is Metroid Dread, and what was that ship following Samus? Hopefully we'll find out sooner rather than later.

#37: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994)
Last Year: 22

The more I think about Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the less important it becomes in my mind. Not to say it's a bad game by any means, on the contrary. It's a great game, full of incredible gaming moments. But as my Top 50 gets more and more competitive, some games are going to be bumped in favor of other games. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is still a great game, as it's still in my top 50. But it's time to take off the rose tinted glasses. It doesn't help that I never even beat this game until a decade after it released (thanks to the infamous Carnival Night Zone. You know which part I'm talking about). And once I did pass that level (well, besides Ice Cap Zone. That one was pretty sweet), the race to the finish was pretty lacklustre, especially the final boss (which was supposed to be a halfway-there boss until Sega decided to split the game into two). But it still remains here in my top 50, thanks to awesome level design, great gameplay enhancements, and the introduction of everyone's favorite Echidna.

Mario Kart 64? :O

I forget the bad part of Carnival Night, though i mostly focused my play on using Knuckles in the Lock-on mode

edit: wait, is the bad part of Carnival Night zone supposed to be the barrel? Really?