I knew you were going to guess this.  I can only think of you and Soriku on VGC who would've even played this game :P

Correct, of course.  I consider Virginia the lead because the story certainly felt focused around her more than Jet, Clive or Gallows... and as you say, it was always her vs. Janus or her vs. Maya, etc.

But yes.  Fantastic game regardless.

Pokemon Red/Blue (previously Red/Green)

Final Fantasy.  Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind Orbs.

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Hints

20.  Advertised on the box as "hard to beat."   

19.  First time you saw this character in a game, anyone else else think the male robot was a girl?

18.  Your allies can use magic, climb on the ceiling, or turn into a bat.

20. Final Fantasy X (21)

In many ways this feels like the last of the more traditional Final Fantasy games but if that's the case it will end up being a wonderful one.  With only two equip slots the game remained a surprisingly customizable experience.  Level ups on the sphere grid let you do whatever you wanted with your characters and the ability to control what charged overdrives turned them into more of a strategic choice.  The new summon mechanics turned them into a more fluid battle experience with the ability to use them in multiple ways.  The interesting addition of moves having a visible effect on the turn order in battle allowed you to plan for your opponents actions (and let enemies be a little stronger).  It would be difficult not to fall in love with the story and characters as they wind through the world looking for a way to bring peace to its shores.  The change in setting from traditional games also causes this to be what I believe is the most elegant of the  Final Fantasy worlds to date.

Yes!

Clue for 18: The best movie based game in history.  Unbelievable developer who was up with the big dogs of the world internationally, but began releasing way sub par releases after starting their second major partnership.

GoldenEye 007

*salutes*

#20

'Pokémon Blue'

for the Nintendo GameBoy released in 1999.

Late in the 4th Generation's handheld cycle, in fact, in the console-arena the 6th Generation was already about to begin and the GameBoy Color was already released, came 'Pokémon Red/Blue' finally to the classic GameBoy in Europe. Years overdue, three to be exact. After already conquering, almost literally, Japan and making North America bow down it was Europe's turn to be captured by the phenomenon of Pokémon. As the rest of the world did, so did Europe. And I was no different.

The game was like nothing the world had ever seen, it came with an onslaught of merchandise, a tv-series and a full-blown movie. I was at the perfect age to be swooped away and still, people of my age have lingered on for one-and-a-half decade now in the Pokémon world buying sequel after sequel. The game was enormous, with 151 Pokémon to capture and many towns and landscapes to explore.

Back then there was still mystery in the world, and I fondly remember me and my friends in school discussing the game and each discovering it's secrets and trading Pokémon through the clumsy link-cable. Urban-myth and rumour surrounded the game at all times. This is the only game that ever did that in my surrounding, the first game I knew of that was able to be influential enough to create a 'community'. But, of course, it was also just a very satisfying and addicting game to play.

#19 Hint:

The sequel to this game, released this year, sadly got rid of the 'Family Tree'. I'll post this in just a couple hours, because I'm way too late with my #20 entry...

well done.  Next round Frigate, teams, no Klobbs.

19. Pokemon X/Y
3DS (2013)
Game Freak

I love sprite based graphics. I really do. They've been part of some of my favorite games of all time, with the Pokemon franchise being part of that. However, after playing Pokemon X/Y... there's no going back. Game Freak's first mainline 3D Pokemon game gives the world of Pokemon life like I've never seen before. Each Pokemon is given so much more expression and liveliness that it really brings a freshness to these creatures not seen since their appearance in 1998. Not only that, but the music is incredible, and the world of Kalos is diverse, beautiful, and alive with different people and landscapes. It's been truly wonderful to play through this game. 150 hours are under my belt, and it feels like I'm just getting started, thanks to the best use of online connectivity yet. The world of Pokemon has been given a tranfusion thanks to its big step into the third dimension, but it's a great game because of its fantastic adventure and pitch perfect gameplay. Also, Yveltal > Xerneas!