#17 Hint: Highest new entry in my list. This is the long awaited sequel (22 years!) to one of my favorite games ever.

#18:

CGHVEFNCOS VG RTEEVEU GAMRY

SECOND HINT:

The Room of Love holds the best ending.

#17:

Right at the very beginning of this game, you can start a combat you're not supposed to do (since it is hard to do it underleveled, and by the time you've gained exp this combat is no longer here), which, given that you win, the foe in particular would mock you by saying "I thought you were supposed to be a good guy!"

SECOND HINT:

Paper...

Hint for #16 - This recent entry in a long-running series mixed up the formula in a number of ways, with varying degrees of success. Who knew school life could be so difficult in this location?

#17
Banjo-Kazooie (N64, 1998)
guessed by artur-fernand

Between 1994 and 2001, Rare (then Rareware) was on top of the world. Not even its benefactor Nintendo managed to surpass the British studio in terms of the quantity or quality of its games over that period. One of the games that best represents that golden age for Rare is Banjo-Kazooie, a creative and technically-superior platform game that excels in level and character design, sound design and music, graphics, and, of course, a uniquely British sense of humor. In the game, players control the bear-bird duo of Banjo and Kazooie as they explore Spiral Mountain in an effort to rescue Banjo’s kid sister from the evil clutches of the witch Gruntilda. Banjo-Kazooie was followed two years later by a sequel, Banjo-Tooie.

Hint for the #16: No one can't say good games don't come early into a console generation, and this classic from the 6th is no exception.

#16 Hint: A marvel of science and sorcery, engineered by the brightest Zoni in all of existence and constructed in the exact center of the universe! Give or take 50 feet.

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in TIme

Exactly correct. You folks know your games.

#18. Don't forget your crowbar.

#17. It's KLOBBERIN time.

Half-Life and GoldenEye 007 (1997)?