#16

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC (PC)

Change YOY: =

The 4th The Legend of Heroes game on my list is Trails in the Sky SC, with one more yet to come a little bit later. The series has become one I look forward to playing more than almost any other, with only Final Fantasy and Dark Souls being higher on my list of video game franchises. The main reason for this are the story and characters in these games, which I consider among the best in all of gaming. However, the rest of the game is equally excellent, with the music and battle system being a major highlight of the game as well.

Once I'm done with the game's I'm currently working through I'm planning on going back and playing through the entire Trails in the Sky-trilogy, just to experience the who story again from the start. 

#15

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS3)

Change YOY: =

Metal Gear Solid is a weird series (I know, shocking), as it's one of the few examples of stories where the actual storytelling is both one of its major strengths and weaknesses. At their best these games have given us some of the most profound, heartfelt and emotional moments in all of gaming history, but at the same time the series has more than its fair share of utterly baffling storyline details that barely make any sense in or out of context. That's just the way Hideo Kojima works I suppose. 

MGS has always balanced on a very thin line between greatness and stupidity, but even at its silliest I've always felt that whatever Kojima tries to say in these games, at least he's always sincere and makes me feel like he really cares about the stories he tells. It was in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater where everything fell perfectly in place for Kojima's special brand of writing and storytelling. As a prequel to the entire franchise it wasn't bogged down by too many high concept ideas, keeping things comparatively straightforward, which in turn made the stranger moments actually more effective when they did happen. 

5) Near the start of this game, four gay men are entertaining a crowd by singing.

This game is the spiritual successor to a much loved game. That game has a direct sequel that people don't like as much.

4) Your character talks to god through a hole in the ceiling.

He tells you about each enemy you face in turn

4. Shadow of the Colossus

Correct. 

So The_Liquid_Laser immediately guessed 4 of these 5 games in one fell swoop, but one remains. Here's a second hint.

#10: During the reveal of this game, there was a shot over the main character overlooking a pair of mountains in the distance, that looked very similar to the main concept art for this long series very first game, revealing the new game's biggest inspiration. Guessed by The_Liquid_Laser - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

#9: After numbers in the thousands, they thought why not just name it what it is, and use a single digit. Guessed by The_Liquid_Laser - SimCity 4

#8: In the recent remake of this track, it only lasts one lap, but in this game, this track was a full three laps which took like 9 minutes on the slow mode. Guessed by The_Liquid_Laser - Mario Kart 64

#7: Initially, there was a bug in this game that made it crash to desktop when you moved you cursor over the icon of the Cloth goods.

Hint 2: Cloth is just one of 23 goods and resources. A tiny amount in this oldest game in the series compared to newer ones, especially the newest one which I featured earlier in the list. Still, the idea is the same; trade those goods between your islands to supply your cities.

#6: This second game looks pretty much exactly like the first one, but because you could make buildings out of actual walls and platforms instead of terraforming a big block and making for example stalls underground, it's all the more realistic. Guessed by The_Liquid_Laser - RollerCoaster Tycoon 2

Alright, last set of hints for this year's top 50.

#5

-The small principality in the middle of Europa is rich in natural resources, prompting an invasion by the neighboring empire to fuel their war effort

#4

-A sacrifice of soul postponed the end of the current age long ago

#3

-32 years after the Great War the destroyers return

#2

-Every 108 years the soul of the god of destruction possesses a child in an attempt to return to its body

#1

-The game begins with a botched kidnapping attempt

1. Final Fantasy 9

2. The number 108 makes me think its a Suikoden game.  Suikoden 2?

Correct on #1, wrong on #2. Suikoden 2 was on my list earlier though.

Xenoblade Chronicles holds the magic of exploration in a unique setting and with an engaging story. This is one of the great masterpiece on the Wii. It is also magic, how the relatively low spec hardware on Wii was able to create such an incredibly big world.

As the game in the intro showed me these giants and zoomed in to show all the creatures living there, the people living there, the different biomes, in that moment I was already won over by this game. In each new region you can look around and see hints that indicate which part of the titan you're currently on. And this is awesome. This is especially true, if you go to the leg the first time and these gigantic plains open to you - and you realize that is only one leg. That is awe inspiring.

Although I am usually more a fan of turn based RPG, this battle system works quite well and gives a lot of depth. Especially when you learn how Melia's attacks work, this is pretty cool. The story is is an incredible epic tale, of fighting gods and the fate of humanity. And I love the characters in this game, they are all so relatable.

Also I need to mention the incredible music. I often listen to Xenoblade OST while working, as this is awesome and inspiring.

This game got a rerelease on Switch. I obviously purchased it again and played through another time. The Switch-version has much improved graphics and some quality of life improvements. It also adds an additional story mode in a new region, the shoulder of the Bionis, which was cut from the original game. This is a great addition, if you don't want to leave this incredible world after seeing the credits and have a new start screen (such a nice boon for playing through the game).

This game is a must-have for every RPG-fan and a classic in all regards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLEkwIvfOO4

Let's give hints for the next games on my list:

#6: Etrian Odyssey Untold: Millenium Girl guessed by The_Liquid_Laser
Remake of the first game in the dungeon crawler series that let's you draw your own maps.

#5
Eating gross beast flesh.

#4: Tokyo Mirage Session #FE guessed by UnderwaterFunktown
Being a japanese Pop-Idol as cover to fight mysterious otherworldly mirages.