Guessed by @drbunnig

It's actually kinda funny going back through my previous lists and seeing just how many games used to be in front of Ocarina of Time and have since fallen behind it, some off the list entirely. For as much as I liked to call this game dated, these lists are the irrefutable proof that it has stood the test of time. Tell that to my 19-year-old self.

Seriously though, watching a first-time playthrough of it made me remember all just how much of a masterpiece it is. Well, that is, after they got through the opening third of the game, which was still as dull as I always found it to be. Especially Jabu-Jabu's Belly, it still boggles my mind that they thought that dungeon was okay. But for real, everything after that, it blows me away. I liked to think that its beginning made it lesser than other Zelda games, because only two thirds of it are as "serious" as other Zelda games, but now I've realized - when Ocarina of Time gets real, it really gets real. Like, way more than nearly any other game in this franchise ever did. The feeling of dread when you come back from the Temple of Time and see the town market, from that point on you know this game isn't fucking around anymore. It isn't just about a fun little kid's adventure, it's gonna have shocking moments, scary moments even, and if anything, it is only empowered by its slow-paced opening, because it is way more impactful to see the world you're in recontextualized, than it is to only see the aftermath of it. The truth is, Ocarina of Time is an absolute epic, and it will continue to blow people away decades from now regardless of how dated it is.

Top 50 >>

Sorry for the multiple notifications drbunnig, felt like adding a bit more to that text than I originally wrote. Anyway, all caught up now, hopefully the last time we have to go through this (probably not). So, time for the next hint! Should be another easy one, I think.

I actually got a bit interested to check this out in detail and it shocked me just how many there are, so, for our Ocarina of Time enjoyers, here's all of them:

- Star Fox 64 was ahead for 8 years, it's now at #28.
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U was ahead for 7 years, it's now at #29.
- The Wind Waker was ahead in 6 years, it's now at #27.
- Portal was ahead for 3 years, it's now at #31.
- Metroid: Samus Returns was ahead for 3 years, it's now at #39.
- Super Meat Boy was ahead for 3 years, it's now at #45.
- Super Mario Odyssey was ahead for 3 years and has since fallen off the list entirely.
- GTA: San Andreas was ahead for 2 years and has also fallen off the list.
- Metroid Prime 3 was ahead once, it's now at #32.
- Splatoon was ahead once, it's now at #34 (though it was off the list last year).
- Splatoon 2 was ahead once, it's now at #35.
- Twilight Princess was ahead once (lol), it's now at #41.
- Hyper Light Drifter was ahead once, and has fallen off the list this year, though it still made the honorable mentions at least.
- Spirit Tracks, Star Fox Zero, Smash Bros. Ultimate, AM2R, and Tekken 5 (lol) were all ahead one time and have disappeared from the list.

So that's 18 whole games Ocarina of Time saw falling behind it. Which is funny because Ocarina of Time debuted at #17 in my first list. Since then, it has stayed in the #23-27 range every year. It's like, every year I convince myself that my opinion of it has improved just enough for it to stay roughly at the same spot, while everything else explodes.

umm, I hope that wasn't too uninteresting

Metroid Prime?

One last attempt at hinting for these. Probably gonna reveal them later today.

30) 264 floors
Hint 2: In the tower that you climb at night in this PS2 JRPG.
Hint 3: The turn-based combat involves a lot of shooting yourself in the head.

29) In a way this game's world is comprised of sounds
Hint 2: Since according to the lore the world of this other PS2 JRPG is made up of vibrations of energy that emit sound. It has only been ported once since, to the 3DS.
Hint 3: This series is always one of the most represented on my list

26) Several lines from this game are permanently ingrained in my brain:
"My old enemy..."
"I've been thinking-" "Don't hurt yourself."
"I. Am. DYING."
Hint 2: "You thought you were so clever... that you'd outwitted us all."
"That's how we do it in Kingsport!"
"The kingdoms of the worlds shall bow to the might off... THE LORD OF GOATS!"
Hint 3: Though the most famous quote of the series comes from an old man that has been in all 3 games.

No this is very interesting. Yes, while those games are all good, they’re indeed not that good.

This also reminds me I should make a neat spreadsheet of this where I can do this whole thing more efficiently. I now have simple .txt files for every year. I make neat spreadsheets for everything else so I might as well do it for a Top 50 Games list too.

Radiant Dawn was my first contact with the Fire Emblem series. And it did quite impress me. It was challenging but fair, was nice on the eyes and had a compelling story with interesting characters. I went on to play more Fire Emblem titles, as turn-based tactics happens to be a genre I like very much (as more entries in my TOP 50 prove). But as this was the first contact, it left an impression and I still think this is a great title in the series.

This game was the direct sequel to the Gamecube entry Path of Radiance and followed the events of that game. I really do like a lot of the tactical options, like height or the ability to shapeshift of some units. The game is quite hard, it is needed to keep the characters you use leveled.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwougPPy9Ro

More hints:

#25

-Remake part 1 of 3 (Final Fantasy VII Remake)

#24

-The culmination of a story spanning seven other games across three different nations and dozens of characters (The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV)

#23

-Or you could just wait a week to progress

-That's a very tall ladder

#22

-A kingdom of insects

-You are a failed vessel that managed to escape the Abyss

#21

-With civil war in full bloom, you must first find all your friends from the previous game before you can do something about the conflict

-Picks up roughly a month after the end of the first game

Yesterday posting still was a bit shaky, today it works well again. So let's catch up:

#27: Meet a talking skull.
Also meet a talking zombie, chained to the wall in the dungeon.
And a talking donkey, that plans a revolution together with the rats.

#26: Guessed by UnderwaterFunktown: A Short Hike
Just get up the hill, to have phone reception for an important call.
You can talk to a lot of people on the way.

#25: Guessed by Machina: UFO: Enemey Unknown (aka XCOM: UFO Defense)
Fight sectoids, cyberdisks, chryssalids, mutons and more.

#24: Guessed by UnderwaterFunktown: Zelda: Breath of the Wild
You can see your final goal sitting in the landscape throughout the game.

_{ranking in the guessing game, list so far}

#25 - One of the XCOM games, not sure which though. Enemy Unknown?