I just listened to both of those.  Those are both really good.  Kind of makes me want to play FFX again.

Actually one negative effect this thread is having is that it is greatly increasing my backlog of games.  I both want to replay a lot of my old favorites as well as try some of these other good games that I haven't played before.

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Correct.

Almost, you've moved one of two steps in the right direction.

Is this Link's Awakening?  It really does not sound like Link to the Past.

Yes.

A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time always get credit for inventing everything, but Link's Awakening surely has it's place.

Are you sure it's worse than Four Swords and Triforce Heroes?

*ahem*andSkywardSwordandBreathoftheWild*ahem*

#6
Shadow of the Colossus
Previous Year: #6

Shadow of the Colossus is the best game on the PS2 in my opinion, and to this day a wholly unique experience that no other game has ever managed to match or really even come close to. The feeling of isolation and loneliness the game creates as the player traverses the vast empty landscapes with only his horse Agro as company is often truly astonishing, especially as this feeling is suddenly broken by an emergence of one of the game's 16 colossi. Many of them can be counted among the most well designed and memorable creatures and encounters in video game history. Shadow of the Colossus is by no means a perfect game, as its gameplay can sometimes feel a but clunky, but it does so many things so well that none of that matters in the end. A genuine masterpiece that has only ever been bettered by a select few games.

Hint for #5:

As the Valkyria awaken the fate of Gallia stands in the balance.

#10 Pokémon Gold & Silver

These games are the perfect example of taking the concepts of the original games and just making everything better. It also added lots of new mechanics, such as breeding, a day-night system... And the best thing about this game: you get another region to explore after you beat champion!
I played SoulSilver, which was an amazing remake (unlike ORAS). The game combined the greatness of the originals with all the cool new stuff that the franchise has got in the third and fourth gen.

#9 Super Mario Maker

This is one of the games of which the concept is so good, that it couldn't possibly have gone wrong. The idea of designing your own levels (with numerous options), sharing these levels with the world and playing other people their levels, is simply amazing. Of course, most of the levels were pure garbage, but there were a few that were way more creative than anything we've ever seen in a Mario game.

#8 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Due to the funny cartoony look, I just can't help loving this game and it's world. The game is well build and very polished. Never does it feel like a chore. Whenever you've completed a part, something exiting happens and you can't stop playing. But the main reason why I prefer this game over other 3D Zelda's such as OoT, MM or TP, is because it never gets too hard. It certainly isn't too easy either, but you always know what to do and where to go. There's also lots of stuff to do in between the temples, which makes the game even ten times better.

#7 ???

#6 Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart is one of the most fun, if not the most fun franchise in existence. It has always been, but now it's better than ever with its latest installment. The tracks feel fresh and creative, there are lots of modes and options, and even the online is good. The graphics are also really good - I usually care very little about the technical quality of graphics, but racing is one of the few genres that really needs to look at least decent.
I played both the Wii U and Switch version. While the Switch version doesn't really add much (especially if you've already got the DLC on the Wii U), the things it does add are all really good.

#5 Pokémon X & Y

I just love this game so much that the fifth and seventh gen feel a bit like a disappointment. First of all, Kalos is without a doubt the best region in the franchise. Everything feels so charming, just visiting the towns and lookings around is already exiting. Secondly, this is the first Pokémon game with a good online. If I recall correctly, ORAS made it even better, but S&M kinda ruined it again. Thirdly, the sixth generation Pokémon are some of the best designed in the whole region. Fourthly, The graphics are really good. Fifthly, ...
In short, it's one of the best games in one of the best franchises out there.

#4 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

To be honest, I haven't even finished it (too little time ). But after 110 hours I can already say that this is one of the best games ever made. It's very welcoming, yet challenging. You'll definitely die quite a few times in this game, but luckily you can play it at your own pace. Another big plus is that you can do lots of things in this game, but you don't need to. Just do whatever you want to do. The world is huge, and wherever you go there are enemy camps, shrines and korok seeds waiting for you. This game really gives you all the freedom that you'd want from an open-world game.

Well, there could possibly be people that enjoy those, but you won't hear good things about them from me in any case.

5

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

• GameBoy, GameBoy Color, Nintendo 3DS
• 1993
• Adventure
• Nintendo EAD

High up in the list we find the highest placed handheld game 'The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening'. It's a brilliant game, more than worthy of the title "best handheld game ever made", yet sadly often overlooked. The original release on the GameBoy is already sufficient for a place this high in the list, but the 'DX' version on the GameBoy Color a couple years later, makes it definite.

It is a very original game for the 'Legend of Zelda' series, where Link, the same Link from 'A Link to the Past' and the 'Oracle' games, is shipwrecked during a storm at sea and finds himself on an unknown island populated by people and talking animals, as well as strange foes. As the story goes on, and not only for a Nintendo game is this one very story-heavy, hints and events allude to a greater mystery that surrounds the island. And it all culminates in a bittersweet ending, with a tiny ray of light.

This game still amazes me. It is a GameBoy game, but it is one seemingly impossible to have existed on the system. It runs circles around it's "big" console brother released a year earlier in every way and I am not at all bummed by the fact that I have bought this game four times on three different devices. What's also mostly unknown however is that this game actually pioneered much of the series' mainstays. Mini-bosses, bosses with multiple radically different stages, a guide-character, musical instruments with different songs, fishing and the collect-a-thon and trading sidequests all started with this game. A truly amazing one at that.