You're very good at this :)

9. Pokemon Gold and Silver, GBC (2000) Nintendo/Game Freak

This game captured the essence of Pokemania at the height of Pokemania, the true successors to the original games that promised to brought so much to the table to really make the games more dynamic, such as breeding, an in-game calendar, a system for rematches with various random trainers (and names for the trainers), along with two new elements (important because none have ever been added since), two whole regions for you to wander around, leading to a far more developed postgame than any Pokemon game had until Black and White came along 11 years later. These games just decisively nailed it, creating something infinitely engaging for its time (which proved to hold up when the remakes came out in 2010).

My end-team:

Sweet music!

Number 8 was the premier of a purple-dressed character who's widely hated for reasons i never quite understood.

Mario Tennis

Good call.

Ok, the Top 10 with descriptions:

10. Dragon Age: Origins + Awakening expansion (PC also on 360 & PS3)

A spiritiual successor to Baldurs Gate, 5 years in the making and includes a unique twist with 6 different Origin stories. The Origin stories vary in quality, but all offer extra insight into a deep fantasy world full of political intrigue, racial tensions and fear of magic (which goes on to form a core component of Dragon Age II). The Awakening expansion was fairly good, although not quite as entertaining as the main game. Unfortunately, the sequel (Dragon Age II) was pretty poor, should have really been marketed as a spin-off and actually helps to highlight everything the makes this game great.

The story is your basic modern fantasy fare; Tolkien-like but much darker (characters would frequently get covered in masses of blood to the point of looking like Kratos). However, what it lacks in narrative orginality it makes up for in old-school tactical gameplay and a mix of interesting party characters ranging from the sterotypical (Alistair) to the downright bizzare (Morrigan, Zevran). The Origin stories were an especially ambitious route to take with some rather unique twists for each one. Very few games are quite as ambitious as Dragon Age Origins and fewer still manage to implement such ambition into such a brilliant package. A great RPG from Bioware and probably the best pure RPG of the last decade. I really hope Dragon Age 3 takes more from this than Dragon Age 2.

9. Final Fantasy VII (PS, PC, PSN)

Yes I'm part of the Final Fantasy VII "crew". 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). The dreary slums of Midgar, the deep anger of the main characters towards Shinra and early conversations all hint at something much bigger to come. The following freedom after this brief intro completely astounded me at the time.

Looking back, this had nearly everything I wanted in a JRPG at the time. The story was intense and emotional, yet it maintained 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 locations and hidden extras all made up for it.

I've now played it on PS, PC and PSP/PS3. Like a lot of games of that gen it hasn't aged well yet I still find myself playing through it when a new release is available. I can understand the hype/demand for a sequel, but to be honest, I'm not sure I'd trust SE with a modern remake. Part of FFVII and all earlier FF games was their ability to ignite your imagination. With voice acting and modern day visuals, much of that charm would be lost. Can you imagine this in HD with voice acting (Yuk!):

Anyway, back to my description I 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.

8. Super Mario World (SNES, also on GBA & Wii VC)

Simply put: 2D platforming perfection! This is one of the few times I'll say "if you disagree, you're wrong!". Nintendo took the gameplay elements that made the NES games great and perfected them. Then they gave you a dinosaur to ride that could eat up your enemies! (Yoshi FTW btw). This is quite simply the pinnacle of 2D platformers. Nothing even comes close in terms of quality. 

Other than the gameplay being perfect, it also had hundreds of diverse levels, some beautiful worlds to explore, brilliant level design and countless extras including hidden worlds with ridiculously hard challenges. I found the artwork especially enchanting  (I especially liked Vanilla Dome and The Enchanted Forrest) as it really worked my imagination; I genuinely felt like I was in this amazing world where dinosaurs and plumbers could co-exist! I also loved how after completing certain levels the world would change whether it be the destruction of a castle or the formation of a bridge. Speaking of the world, the world map actually had you effectively going round in a circle:

If you look at my list I believe this is only one of 3 2D platformers and definately the highest. I remember when I was about 7-10 years old playing this almost non-stop with my cousins and staying up late during the Summer holidays addicted to the joys of Super Mario World. I'm sure nostalgia plays a big part of my love for this game, but it's one of the few games I keep going back to just for the sake of playing. I think I can actually do the level Yoshi's Island #2 whilst blindfoled. Give me a SNES and Super Mario World and I'll be satisfied for many years.

7. Metal Gear Solid (PS1, also on PSN and GC & X-box as MGS: Twin Snakes)

Back in the late 90s, everyone was talking about this game. The story, the stealth mechanics, the guards throwing grenades down vent shafts, the boss fights! I however, didn't know what the fuss was about and ignored it... until I played the demo. I then went out and bought it the next day.

So much about this game felt fresh and innovative. The stealth mechanics were amazing; constantly hiding behind cover; ensuring you didn't leave footprints in the snow; using camera blind-spots. It was all new. The level design was also superb using the keycards to gain specific access to new areas but still immersing you into the idea that this was a top secret facility that you were infiltrating. Even backtracking was fun!

It also had the unique Kojima style that rewarded clever and original thinking. The fight with Psycho Mantis is a clear example of this (switching controller input around and him reading you memory card!). Most games and designers wouldn't dare breach the fourth-wall for fear it would destroy immersion, yet in MGS it they breach the fourth wall on numerous occasions yet, in some quirky way, it actually improves immersion into the game world. Other examples of rewarding original thinking by the player include having the wolves piss on a cardboard box thereby enabling you to traverse their territory without getting attacked or using cigarette smoke to ID potential laser traps.

I haven't even mentioned the story which is probably the best in the series. It made you feel like you were truly in a movie and was a superb cinematic experience with a rollercoaster of emotions. It also had two seperate endings which always helps with the replay value and didn't go too outlandish as happened in MGS2.

In many ways, the gameplay and visuals haven't aged brilliantly (as most games of that generation), yet everything was crafted so perfectly to fit as a complete package very little compares. One observation of Twin Snakes on GameCube is that whilst they added moves from MGS2, they didn't fit with the core gameplay or design of the original. Taken as a whole package, it was probably the most well-thought out and polished game of the PS/N64 generation.

Urrggghhh... will post the rest later