24. Pokemon Red/Blue, GB (1998) Nintendo/Game Freak (same as last year)

Ahh youth. Here is the only game i followed into from a fad, the height of anticipation of my 4th-grade self, and so it wins major nostalgia points despite being horribly unbalanced compared to later Pokemon titles. Still, the core formula is there, as were some interesting glitches that gave the game a lot of life (Missingno. and its family of glitches)

My #24 is Banjo-Tooie.

The much-anticipated sequel to Banjo-Kazooie again pits the bear-bird duo against the evil witch Gruntilda along with her two wicked sisters. As in the first installment, players explore several enormous game environments with hidden collectables, the most important being “jiggies,” golden jigsaw pieces that allow the player to progress through the game. Additions include the ability to play as former non-player character Mumbo, new moves, and the option to split Banjo and Kazooie apart, thus taking advantage of the unique skills each possesses. The varied and expansive worlds include a prehistoric wasteland, an amusement park, and a factory. Banjo-Tooie also features several hidden Easter eggs that first appeared in Banjo-Kazooie.

Clue for #23:

The origin of cloud gaming?

Final Fantasy VII

As guessed by no one, lol (the Star Wars game I mentioned was Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, which was simply a copy of the game below!):

24. Age of Empires II + The Conquerors expansion (PC)

Sequel to the award winning Age of Empires and one of the greatest multiplayer RTS' ever created. There was a whole range of civs to choose from, each had their unique specialties (I both loved and cursed British longbowman!) and were incredibly well balanced. Take your Civ from the Dark Ages, through to an era of castles, trebuchets, cavalry charges, infantry rushes, Korean war wagons and those blasted longbowman! A great RTS.

Clue for 23: Two Sebastian's, "it gives you wings" and an old airfield.

That's the one!

#24. Metroid Prime (GC)

"A first person view Metroid.. .that'll never work" I thought. It did work and it was magnificient. The way Retro Studios managed to reproduced the feel of earlier Metroid games but in this totally new perspective still surprises me to this day. You've got backtracking, missiles, different beam weapons, the morph ball, the spider ball, bombs, all the familiar Metroid features made brand new.

The game looks really good and the controls become a second nature within a few minutes of playing the game. The planet you're exploring is huge and the enemies you face are varied and deadly. The music helps you immerse yourself in this world and features new versions of old classics (like the Magmoor Carverns). I don't remember much from the story but that's because all I care about is getting that next power up so I can go back to where I saw a missile expansion that I couldn't get to before.

#23 Hint: Is Retro the new Rare?

The answer is yes :) Although I don't think anyone can ever recreate what Rare did from 1994 to 2001.

Donkey Kong Country Returns?