Guessed by @Mnementh and @Darashiva

For the second year running, Ōkami finds itself at #2 on my list, but if I get asked what's my favorite game, there's a decent chance I'll name this one. I certainly still think of it as that, regardless of which spot it takes here.

It's hard to describe in words just why I feel this strongly about it. The moment you boot the game up and see the first seconds of the intro, you already feel like you're living a legend. There's so much ancient culture and folklore infused into it, and a distinct visual style that feels pulled straight out of classic Japanese art. The story is so grand, but it's entirely told through silly moments and light-hearted characters, a counterbalance that would be right at home in any traditional fairytale. And even in gameplay, the beautiful way Amaterasu runs through the open fields, creating flowers and life behind her, and using a pencil to draw on the world around you, everything makes it feel like you're living a work of art made centuries ago.

And within that beauty that permeates every second of this experience, there is a lot of heart. The way the writers juggle your emotions is almost a little scary, capable of drawing tears of laughter, happiness or sadness, or many of those combined, pretty much any time - and usually at very unexpected times. You might be having the silliest conversation with some dumb-looking character that is clearly irrelevant to the overarching story and lore, but then they'll drop the most real line of dialogue you've ever seen and it's gonna stick in your head forever. And through a bunch of ridiculous tiny moments that are inexplicably memorable, the game builds up to an inevitably incredible ending, because you've been made to care for every single character you came across on your journey.

So because Ōkami's made me cry, like a lot, and the protagonist who is incredibly positive all the time is also the sun goddess, it's become normal for me to get emotional whenever I open the window in the morning. Life would definitely suck without a sun. So, thanks for being there for us, Ammy.

Top 50 >>

#6 (incorrect guesses - Monster Hunter World)
- Local wildlife numbers are likely to drop when the protagonist arrives on location.
- “Pierre, you litter bug”
- The developer claimed an innocent slip of the hand gave the protagonist their sizeable assets.

#5
- I’m pretty sure one of every living creature is involved with getting 100% in this game.
- You’ll have to interact with them in just the right way though, otherwise your collaborator will have difficulty doing what he does best.
- There are a number of side quests and mini games, as is normal for the franchise. In addition to the above, these tasks include post sorting, playing battleships, and taking part in auctions.

#2
- By the end of the second level, you’ll have faced more human foes than you had in the entirety of the previous game.
- Finding the trio of dragons in a level will get you a reward.
- This game introduced vehicles to the franchise. It also introduced a number of new weapons, different costumes depending on the environment, and an item that allows you to light up darker areas.

#1 (incorrect guesses - Grand Theft Auto V
- Vehicles you can command include a car, a helicopter, a train, and a submarine.
- I’m not sure many thought passing through a frog’s digestive system would be on the agenda.
- A regular foe that first appeared in the previous game is given a name and prominence in the story. Before each boss fight, they’ll taunt you and cast magic to make an encounter with a regular enemy more dangerous.

My list so far

Very possible the final hint post. Only 2 games remain to be guessed and both from the same developer and with a lot in common. Let's see if someone can figure it out:

5) A stealthy character that you don't play as in any of the three main campaigns offers major guidance in all three
Hint 2: He (The Dark Prelate) is essentially to Amon what Gandalf is to Sauron.
Hint 3: The characters you play as in the three campaigns are a space cowboy, a Queen of insects and the Hierach of the Firstborn
Hint 4: Like #2 but in space

2) Contains countless references to other media, particularly Lord of the Rings and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Hint 2: And references to two other big series by the same developer, including a certain Leg.
Hint 3: Most references are part of voice lines that happen when you click a unit a lot of times
Hint 4: Like #5 but fantasy

#5 sounds like it could be Starcraft, although some things don't right fit, so I say Starcraft 2 because I didn't play that.

#2 if it is Blizzard, and it is similar to Starcraft, then it has to be Warcraft. Oh, there are so many of that. it probably isn't the first, as it couldn't reference that much as it is earlier. Let's go with the third one.

#2

YoY: =         My Rating: 9.8/10

There are obviously certain games where nostalgia plays a huge factor in how I view them. Some games I loved as a child end up not holding up all that well when replayed years later, for one reason or another. Fortunately, there are also certain games that I not only have an immense amount of nostalgia for, but which also hold up when I play them today. The Legend of Dragoon is one of them. I replay it every few years, and every time it seems like I end up liking it even more than I did before.

Now, there are obviously some elements that don't hold up to scrutiny anymore. First, this is a PS1 game, so the visuals have aged quite a lot, though many of the backgrounds still look great. The voice acting is typical of its time, meaning average at best and often just plain awful. Finally, the localization is unfortunately quite shoddy, the writing often coming off clumsy and unrefined. If there was one aspect I wish I could improve, it would the writing, because the English language dialogue and narration leaves quite a lot to be desired. At least there aren't any mistakes that change the story like in some other games of the era. With all that said, this is still my second favourite game ever, and nothing has changed that in over 20 years.

In some ways, the thing that makes The Legend of Dragoon stand out so much to me is difficult to explain. While I love the story, characters, battle system, and music, there's also an intangible element to it. A feeling that I haven't experienced with any other game I've played, an atmosphere that is wholly unique to this game. It's the thing that makes me want to start a new game every single time I talk about this game during these year end events, and since it has been quite some time since I last played it, I might just go and do that soon.

So, there we are, all the list has been guessed. So it's time for the honourable mentions, before I'll get to the Top 3 (well, and #4, because I didn't think this through and now I can't make a nice Top 3 post because I should've posted #4 together with #7-5, but anyway). The honourable mentions, also great games, and some there because of their personal meaning, but this year they're not enough to make it to the main list. Here's to these!

• #14: Gunfighter, Videopac G7000 (1979)
• Age of Empires, Windows PC (1997)
• Anno 1404, Windows PC (2009)
• Banjo-Kazooie, Nintendo 64 (1998)
• Crazy Taxi, SEGA Dreamcast (2000)
• Empire: Total War, Windows PC (2009)
• The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo Entertainment System (1987)
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Nintendo Wii (2011)
• Luigi's Mansion 2, Nintendo 3DS (2013)
• Professor Layton & Pandora's Box, Nintendo DS (2009)
• Resident Evil: Revelations, Nintendo 3DS (2012)
• Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force, Windows PC (2000)
• Star Wars: Dark Forces, Macintosh (1995)
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Windows PC (2005)
• Step On It!, Macintosh (1996)
• Super Mario 3D Land, Nintendo 3DS (2011)
• Super Metroid, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (1994)
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Sony Playstation 3 (2011)
• Virtua Tennis, SEGA Dreamcast (2000)
• Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Windows PC (2002)

Here at the end, also comes the end to the guessing game. Here's the stats on those, well done and thank you. Veknoid_Outcast won handily. He knows me too well it seems, but congrats Veknoid! Ten games went unguessed, though there's the caveat of a certain black sausage incident that offed the site for a few days so I had to cut four games short there. Interesting also is that of the four 'Sim' games on my list, only the first one, SimCity 2000 at #41 was guessed, and 3000, 4 and Tower weren't. All six Zelda games on my list however were easily guessed.

Solid reasoning because they're both correct!

And with that...

Sniff Sniff 

This game is something else

^^ I still barely played it. I bought it a few years ago after this very Top 50 event and everyone convinced me, but I never played more than the intro. There's just no time.

2: Uncharted 2

Uncharted 2 is a genuine roller coaster of a game. I've played through it 15 times. The pacing is pitch perfect.

It has some absolutely fantastic levels like the train level which plays an important part story wise, and it also is my favorite set piece from the Uncharted games. It's an all around joy of an effect, and it's a joy to play on.

The melee and the shooting all feel good to me. I know some people have issues with that. 

Haven't quite clicked with another Uncharted game to that level. Uncharted 4 came pretty close, but pacing wasn't as good.