5. Super Mario 64, N64 (1996) Nintendo

This game is the cornerstone of my collection, the first game, received for my tenth birthday, but also the game i played most before i got into gaming, more or less the entire reason i'm here. The bright colors and music were what largely drew me in, but what i found on the other side was a fun game about the challenges of getting from point A to point B. This game also spoiled me: i have a low tolerance of poor camera work (although it isn't a game-breaker for me, as future entries will show), because Super Mario 64 was the first full 3D game to really get camera control right, and its standards should at least be the minimum for all 3D games since. Neat little secrets, lots to do, surprisingly epic boss battles for its primitive era, this game is a standard against which i subconsciously judge many games, in related genres or no.

Of course, the early programming allowed for some insane shortcuts

Number 4 was basically the only online game on its platform, direct successor to one of the first major console online multiplayer games.

5. Final Fantasy VI (1994)

Dropping slightly from 3rd is the end of the two dimensional numeric entries in the Final Fantasy series which went out with a bang.  Ultimately the transition to the third dimension meant a short lived setback, both graphically and otherwise.  The game breaks itself up into two sections, at the start trying to prevent the world from being destroyed and later dealing with the results of your actions.  The second section means regrouping your party through a series of events based around the individual characters.  Largely the characters you bring back into your fold may be done at your leisure and you get the option of who you want.  Blitzes were a more involved version of the limit type attacks seen in later games and varied amongst the different characters.  The customization level in equips led to a bunch of flexibility up to the point where you can attack 8 times or quadruple cast ultima and allows the enemies to throw more potent attacks at you.  The story in the game remains one of the more epic entries in the series as well.

Phantasy Star Online Episode 1&2.

Bingo.

The whole "basically only online game" comment was a dead giveaway. Yet that game alone was more than worth the investment in a GC Modem.

After playing the first on the Dreamcast my friend tried to find it for years because this one got local co-op too.

7th -

Trials and Tribulations is my favorite Ace Attorney game. The game was overall amazing. The new proscecutor was an improvement over Justice for all and the same goes for the soundtrack. Case 4 was just shocking, I never would have thought of the conclusion happening. I did not think that Capcom would have gone there. Aside from that, the game was a general improvement over its predescessors. I did not think in the beginning that the series was anything special and I'm glad that I was wrong. I can't wait for the release of Ace Attorney 5.

#5 - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is an amazing feat of game-engineering. It was the third Zelda game I'd ever played and the first on a handheld system. I feel, that this game is heavily underrated, as it is truely one of the greatest games ever made. Everything about it is correct. The story, the length, the difficulty, the sound and music, the level-design, the enemy design and the item roster. And that's what made this game great. This entry is for the 'DX' version of the game, because Color beats No Color. When the game first came out, it was on a system that was of course less powerful than it's home console counterpart, like a handheld always is. However, the Zelda entry on this handheld beat it's 'big' console brother in every area thinkable besides resolution. Link's Awakening features many 'firsts' for the Zelda series; among them useable musical items, sidequests, cutscenes and mini-bosses. Not to mention the Fishing mini-game. The game also features dungeons and bosses which are at least as elaborate as A Link to the Past's, and in some cases also surpassing them (like the Eagle Tower dungeon, and the final boss of the game). All this still make me wonder how this game was possible on GameBoy. So while it is an absolutely beautiful game, the biggest legacy this game has for me; is that one cannot judge something by the package and that underneath something subtle like a GameBoy box can be something that transcends all expectation!

#4 - ?

This game is usually overshadowed by it's very well known spiritual predecessor. Maybe it's the slight 'childish' look of the game...

Chrono Cross?

#5: Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
Last Year: #5

I honestly consider every game from #6 down to be perfect in their execution. Each of these games had a vision, and through hard work and dedication by their development teams, achieved this vision with extraordinary success. Super Mario Galaxy, like Ocarina of Time, is a game that reaches this incredibly lofty goal. I was cautiously optimistic for this game, as Super Mario 64 and (even moreso) Super Mario Sunshine had taken the Mario formula and expanded it through exploration and wide-open level design. As much as I love these games, their "open-world" style of gameplay didn't allow for cosistency in creativity on the developers part. Super Mario Galaxy reversed this open-world experience in 3D Mario Games, and the game's tight focus and more linear level-design allowed for the developers' brilliant ideas to come to the forefront. Every level was a brand new experience, and everything felt so fresh and fun to play. It's obvious that the developers were having just as much fun developing this game as I was playing it. Simply an incredible gaming experience. Oh... and dat music.