Let's see if I can actually get through my list at some point. Covering the next couple of games here.

#14

Final Fantasy VIII (PS1)

Change YOY: =

Probably the most divisive entry in the long-running series, Final Fantasy VIII holds a very important place in my life as a video game fan. It was the first game in the series I ever played, and in a lot of ways the first game that showed me that video games could be more than just simple platformers or action games, that they could have depth beyond just the gameplay and a surface level storyline. I also credit the game for effectively forcing me to make the effort to really learn English, which means that technically I have FFVIII to thank for my university education as well as my profession as a teacher.

The game itself is excellent, with great music, fun gameplay mechanics, characters that actually develop over the course of the journey, and an engaging story that goes to places you really wouldn't expect. 

#13

Dark Souls II (PS3)

Change YOY: =

Another game often considered the black sheep of the series, Dark Souls II is still an excellent game by my reckoning, admittedly weakest in the franchise, but still great regardless. If I'd have to describe the game with one word, I'd call it unfocused. The world is more scattered than in the the other two games, the story is much more self-contained, and the gameplay has some issues not present in the first or third game. Yet, it's still a Dark Souls-game, and even at their worst they are usually better than 90% of other games on the market.

The lack of focus is perhaps most obvious in the game's bosses, as there are simply way too many of them, nearly double that of the other two games, and as a result many of them feel underwhelming and forgettable. On the other hand, the three DLC releases are some of the absolute best content in the entire series. It's a much more unbalanced experience, with more fluctuations between the highs and lows, but overall it's still a wonderful game I will return to again in the future.

A long time ago I played a level or two of the japanese version of Katamari Damacy on the PS2. And I had major fun. I didn't know much about it, but the feeling of strangeness and the fun of rolling up stuff, it got over well. So I was always aware that this game might be nice. But it never found it's way to europe. I considered one of the sequels, but never made the jump. Well, Namco ported the original as Reroll for Switch and PC (later followed by PS4 and Xbox One).

The gameplay is quite simple. You roll that Katamari through a level and everything you roll over and that is smaller than the Katamari sticks to it, letting it grow in the process. So that you can roll up bigger things. And that's it basically. In the normal levels you are tasked to reach a certain size within the time limit, other levels have different objectives (like rolling up as many twins as possible). The challenge is in meeting the goal in the time limit. You have to plan a path along items, that are just the right size. To small and your Katamari doesn't grow much and you fail the time limit. To big and you can't roll it up, wasting time and failing the time limit.

As simple as this gameplay loop is, as satisfying it is. Especially if you grow a lot in the same level. There is something strangely enjoyable in starting with rolling up telephones and cabbages, grow into a Katamari that rolls up trees and houses and end up rolling rainbows, volcanoes and entire islands. All at the same level. You can see where you started, but instead of rolling up the cabbages there, you instead roll up the whole field now. This feels just so great.

People in the level ignore the Katamari as long as it is small. But once you start rolling up humans they flee in horror and policeman shooting at it (completely useless though). Everything living you roll up still moves at the Katamari, wriggling to get free. As horrible as this is, it looks kinda funny.

The story is, well extremely strange. The King of all Cosmos (who always adresses himself as we), has drunkenly destroyed the stars. You play the little prince, his son, and as he sired you, you are indebted to him (his words) and has to fix his mess. So you roll up big Katamaris, replacing the destroyed stars. The King is kind of a dick, but the prince is nevertheless happy and works tirelessly.

I should also mention the music. It is music I would normally not like very much. But it matches the quirky style of the game so well, it just clicks and makes playing a level even more enjoyable. Yes, the whole game is a strange mix, but it just works. I think everyone should try it out. If you own a Switch, there is a free demo of the game on the eshop. You should give it a try.

A near perfect game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2zB4zucavo

Adding the very last hints for these two:

3) It's not Star Wars, but it does have both space and opera.

Both towards the end of the game.

Opera and SPAAAAAAAAAACEEE!

1) Exactly what you'd expect.

Not because it's a common pick, but to those who have played the game and/or take a look at my list so far, it should come as no suprise.

The most represented series on my list and source of my avatar.

3) Portal 2?

1) Definitely a Tales game - Symphonia?

hold the damn phone! There's like 6 or 7 games I'm vocally critical of. FFXIII is one of them, as is Skyward Sword, but more likely it's Ocarina of Time - a game I don't hate but think is horribly overrated. 

I'd still give OOT a 7/10. IT's fine. It's good. It has its place in history, but it has not aged well. 

Or maybe it's Halo. That's another mega overrated game. OR maybe it's The Last of Us or something. I dunno. There are plenty of games I think are fine 7/10 games that get 12/10 praise. 

So what is it, @

Fine, I'll make a list: 

Final Fantasy XIII

Dark Souls II/Scholar of the First Sin

Mega Man 1

Mega Man X7

Grand Theft Auto IV

Assassin's Creed Unity

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

The entire God of War trilogy on PS2/3 (I loved 2018 but hated the games that came before it)

That's my 'list of games I hate in franchises I otherwise love'. I tend to not waste energy on hating games in franchises I don't care about. I don't care for Halo but I've never been attached to it so I can't muster the energy to hate it. Same with World of Warcraft and a bunch of other franchises I generally avoid. Anthem, for example, is everything I hate in modern games but it's not a part of a franchise I loved and it's easy enough to just avoid. It's really hard to not play games like Mega Man when I'm redoing the franchise and it hurts my OCPD-addled brain to not own Final Fantasy XIII no matter how much I hate it. I also forced myself to get platinum on Dark Souls II/Scholar of the First Sin because I go platinum on every other game in the franchise and it'd be weird if I didn't do the same for it. I would hate to have that missing spot in my trophy list. 

I also bought Dark Souls 2 twice, once physically and once digitally...again, just to complete the set because my brain works funny. 

Both correct! And with that my list is complete.

I already loved the first Dragon Quest Builders game. The first game was great and deserves it's spot in the TOP 50, but DQB2 improves it in nearly every area.

And I couldn't get away from it. I tried to get back from work as fast as possible, fired up the Switch to get to DQB2 and played for hours. Only this quest, only that monster, explore this bit, get this material. And before I knew it was four in the morning and I had again not enough sleep time before work. My Switch says I played it for more than 185 hours.

So, how does DQB2 improves over it's predecessor? Well, there is the story. It is much more grand and more cohesive. The chapters aren't that separated anymore. And each chapter is longer. The free to build area is now part of the story as the Isle of Awakening and has also story parts between the chapters. And building enourmous buildings. And landscaping projects. And when you used everything you learned on the Isle of Awakening you are sent to the next chapter to learn more stuff, more room recipes, more items. And you see more stuff. Did I mention the enourmous dungeons you can find? And then there is the endgame, which in itself is bigger than each of the main chapters. And this part of the story is so great too:

Isn't that great? Already in the first area you build

The game also improves over the process of building. You get a lot more tools to build with and modify. For instance replace many blocks at once to change a wall or a floor. You can now color many blocks in lots of different colors. Including some cool light sources. Or now you can take blueprints from everything you see to copy it.

But the best, most meaningful change is that you now have a buddy, Malroth. He is with you from the start of the adventure and becomes fast your pal. He helps actually a lot. He fights with you and makes so fighting less tedious. If you harvest some materials he goes around and harvests more of the same stuff, so that you grind less for needed materials. He is deeply tied into the story. And he gives you high fives for completed tasks. This last bit may sound like nothing - but believe me, once he is separated from you for some time, you really start to miss it.

Really, this game is so great, so fun, so addicting, I don't know if Square can top it in the next game. Hell, I doubt they can get it even as good as this one. But I will be very happy if they do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1aOW2wD7kE

1) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3 continues its five-year reign at the top of my list. All of my top three are RPGs, but they're all very different in style. Skyrim is all about building your own character and forging your own path in the world. DOS2 is about delving into the mechanics underlying the world and getting to know your party. The Witcher 3, by contrast, is a curated experience. Geralt isn't you; he is his own man with strong opinions and a clear personality of his own. All the player really gets to do is nudge him in one direction or another. But what this game lacks in the freedom sometimes associated with the RPG genre, it more than makes up for in terms of absolutely outstanding, complex and clean design. Combat never really felt right in the first two Witcher games, but on this outing it's refined to perfection. The story manages both to be an epic tale about saving the world and an intensely personal one about a father trying to protect his daughter. The game world is varied and beautiful and filled with immaculately-designed quest chains. Unlike Skyrim, the main quest is also phenomenal. But as always with games this high up the list, it's the little touches of attention that really elevate The Witcher 3. There was a side quest early on in the game that I'd been procrastinating but finally got around to; at its resolution the character in question is sad and looking for something to do, so my Geralt asked her to join in and help with the next main quest. The developers couldn't possibly have known that I would leave it so late in the game to complete that quest, but they accounted for it anyway. The Witcher 3 is absolutely full of moments like this that, as much as the epic battles and tense duels and breathtaking landscapes, really make this my favourite game.

Honestly? I think if this game gets a Switch port/rerelease I'll give it another shot. I like a lot of the IDEAS in the game (A linear Zelda never bothered me. there's room for open world in Breath of the Wild and Linear in Skyward Sword), but the motion controls - which were integral to the experience - were fundamentally broken for me. In 20+ hours of play I couldn't get them to not glitch, and I had both a regular wiimote with a Motion+ expansion and two of the Black wiimotes with WiiMotion+ integrated. Neither of them worked for more than 5-10 minutes at a time (had to constantly recalibrate), and many of the puzzles just didn't work for me. I spent upwards of an hour just trying to make this eyeball spin by making it look at the tip of my sword. I looked up FAQs, I watched youtube videos, I googled information as best I could...and nothing. It just wouldn't work for me. 

So if they fix the motion controls I am willing to give it another chance. There was a lot I disliked about the game, but most of it cascaded down from the bad controls. And Fi. Fuck Fi. Seriously, worst assistant in any game ever.