15

Astérix (Asterix: The Gallic War)

• Sony PlayStation
• 1999

• Guessed by Mnementh

Like a Total War game, but without the complicated mechanics. In Asterix, you'll get a number of 'magic potions' which basically signify a number of armies, to distribute amongst your regions each turn. After that, you can use a number of armies in a certain province to attack one of the Roman ones. If your empire reaches all the way across France, or rather, Gaul, to the borders of Italy and you own a set of special regions, you win.

The twist in this however is that those special regions open up a special level for you to beat. This can be a platforming level, a puzzle or some sort of beat-em up level. Obviously this helps keep the game fresh and varied. The strategy involved is already challenging enough though, even if this is meant to be a children's game, it can actually get decently hard. I played this quite a few times back in the day, but I think I only got to the end maybe one or two times.

14

Lylat Wars (Star Fox 64)

• Nintendo 64
• 1997

• Guessed by drbunnig

The one liners and memes tied to this game make it immortal, and every mention of any one of them will immediately point anyone towards this game. It has a legacy, in that regard, that rivals the most well known games of all time. Obviously this helps keep fond memories alive, but this is not everything there is about this game.

It is also the best on rails space shooter ever created. In fact, I can't think of anything else that can challenge it. From the story, the characters and the missions to the environments, it is all created with love. But above all, it is a lot of fun, and this makes it endlessly replay-able.

Of course, replay-ability is of utmost importance for a game like this. It is short, and if you'd only play through it once, you'd only be getting about an hour out of it. Which wouldn't be a lot. Luckily, even while the fun is already enough to replay it over and over, levels also have secret exits that lead to different paths through the game, and a 'real ending'. And that's worth it.

13

MediEvil

• Sony PlayStation, Sony PlayStation 4
• 1998

• Unguessed

A great adventure game, which is also memorable because of its sort of 'Nightmare Before Christmas' style. And it is well done too, with creepy yet not creepy character and world design, slapstick-like animation and humour in dialogue and storyline.

There's a huge variety in the levels, which can sometimes be played out of order, and sometimes needs revisiting. Levels have wildly varying themes, scenery and enemies. I especially like the hedge maze level where you have to solve the riddles and the asylum after that.

The game got a great remake on the PlayStation 4, which proved to me the longevity go the game. It looks and plays awesome. Reviewers complained that the remake was too much like the original, and that nothing was changed. I don't get that. Why fix what wasn't broken?

12

Kula World (Roll Away)

• Sony PlayStation
• 1998

• Guessed by drbunnig

Puzzle games are a difficult genre. They need to be challenging enough to be interesting, but not impossible. They need to be familiar and intuitive enough, but not repetitive. It is a delicate balance that only a very few puzzle games achieve.

Kula World is a very original one. It is a 3D puzzle-platformer with what feels like an infinite amount of levels. The objective is simple; move you beachball across the floating beams, collect the keys and reach the exit. The difficulty, and the puzzle, is in the way you can move and manoeuvre across the beams to each key, as you can only wrap around a beam to the side or underside at the endpoints.

This is a very addicting game, and I played it for many years. I even bought the 'Classic' release on PlayStation 3 at one point, the only game I ever did. Still, for all the countless hours I played this, I never got anywhere close to finishing it. That didn't stop me from trying again and again though.

11

Theme Hospital

• Windows PC
• 1997

• Guessed by drbunnig

Theme Hospital is an all-time classic in my family. Endlessly memorable, endlessly nostalgic. But don't mistake nostalgia with rose-colored glasses, this game earns it's spot this high on the list. There hasn't been a game like this before and there hasn't been a game since.

There have been a couple of other games that were inspired by its theme of creating and managing an every-day life building like a hospital, but none that managed to hit the nail on its head as much as this one did. There were literally other hospital games that tried to replicate its feel, but they all failed at it. Granted I haven't played Two Point Hospital, a recent game by some of Theme Hospital's original creators.

In a lot ways this is the most unique game on the list, if not maybe for Blast Corps, and that makes it so timeless. I could be playing this today and be as into it as I was in the late 90s and early 2000s. In fact, why aren't I?