I wouldn't say Guardians of the Galaxy feels like a legend, even a "modern" one. The way in which it explores its characters with such depth and humanity, it feels extremely realistic to me - that's the main reason I connected with both the films and this game, they are some of the only works of art where I ever felt like these characters onscreen were real people. And that strong connection becomes love through how deeply I relate to Rocket.

Legends are, comparatively, more black and white, and they hide their messaging in allegories. In Okami, when you're helping people with their inner demons, this is represented by quite literally fighting evil demons that show up. In Guardians of the Galaxy, when addressing each of their inner demons, it's more realistic, it's something that takes a long time and has no easy fix. And even when they get better, it's no guarantee that they won't get worse again - real people don't live in character arcs, they fall down, they get back up again, they slip back down, they go again... Whereas in legends, like Okami, once someone is "fixed", they pretty much stay "fixed".

Ultimately it's just a vibe thing, though. Guardians of the Galaxy just hasn't got that legend vibe in my opinion. I look at my favourite games, and there are many I'd agree to call a "modern legend", such as Ori, Shadow of the Colossus, maybe Nier Automata - though that'd go against my argument about realistic character depth, heh. In the realm of space operas, Star Wars is something I could think of as a modern legend, too. I just don't get that feel from Guardians, I suppose. But I'm glad you do!

It is time to dedicate a post to the honourable mentions, before I post the final five games. However since I made the list with a ranking engine this time I'll use the #51 to #60 as my "Honourable mentions". Because of that things that were super important to me won't be mentioned. Like Duck Hunt on NES, which I now mentioned anyway. Without further ado, here's the games that almost made it;

• 51: Anno 1404 (alternate name: Dawn of Discovery)
• 52: Star Wars: Dark Forces
• 53: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
• 54: Virtua Tennis
• 55: Blast Corps
• 56: Dungeon Keeper
• 57: Luigi's Mansion 2 (alternate name: Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon)
• 58: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
• 59: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
• 60: Child of Light

#5 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Guessed by drbunnig When I first played The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, my mind was blown. An intro cutscene? A deep storyline with events throughout the game? Unique characters that do things, mini-bosses, fishing, a musical instrument with multiple songs usable for different situations, side-quests? This all for sure wasn't in its 'big' console brother A Link to the Past (#39). One might say I was just still quite impressionable being a child at the time, however the remake on Switch, proved I was right. This is an amazingly clever game that easily holds up as one of the greatest to this day. Yoshiaki Koizumi may certainly write more Zelda games if you asked me.

#4 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Guessed by drbunnig I assume the 'Mario' title of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, was just a marketing ploy. Because this is no Mario game in the vein of the regular Super Mario platforming series, this is its own game. And with it, I'd say it is the best 2D platform game ever created, and even the best 2D game ever created. A big part of what sells it, besides the gameplay being basically flawless and the great levels, is the way it looks. The hand-drawn crayon look is timeless and because of it, it is one of the best looking games ever to me. And oh, the crying baby? That never bothered me, it is part of the charm of the game, and it has a function. I'd just say to doubters; get good.

Super Mario 64

Guessed by drbunnig The Mario series contains plenty of great games, and most were milestones for the gaming industry in general, pioneering many elements of gameplay that would become mainstream throughout games as a whole. Anyway if that isn't enough, this one is also just an extremely fun game. Just the right challenge, just the right variety, just the right length. It is very memorable, and the soundtrack even more so. Nintendo was at the peak of their creativity at this point. I played Super Mario 64 many times, and beat it a couple times as well. There really wasn't a part I didn't like, and many parts I loved. I especially loved the slides, and I used to play those 'just because'.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Guessed by UnderwaterFunktown With Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (#16) I mentioned that it was what you'd wish the new movie trilogy to have been. Around the same time, another Star Wars game would come along where this also applies, and more. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a game that is more 'Star Wars', than any of the movies, except maybe the very first one. It is classic 'good versus evil' in its greatest form. The villain is intimidating and the story has one of the most iconic twists ever. Not to mention the amazing locales to explore and the lively characters. It is one of those games that is long, but is never long enough. It is a rare thing, but this is one of those games where I wished it never ended.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Guessed by UnderwaterFunktown Even if the previous couple of games could be labeled 'flawless', there can be only one that is perfect. At least, perfect to me. Here at the top of the list is that game; The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This games was made for me. That's what it feels like anyway, like the developers had a scan of my brain beside them when they made this game. Every aspect about this game is great, it is filled with the most epic moments and I can replay every second of it in my mind from start to finish. The remake on 3DS kept true to the source material, making it the definitive version to play. Even if I would say the Water Temple (which is actually quite linear) was made too easy. Still, and maybe forever unbeaten, the game honours its name; a true Legend indeed.

The list so far.

And with those, we've gone through the list. Here's the final update of the scoreboard. Before the top 5 it could still go either way, but drbunnig sealed it by guessing three games out of the last five;

drbunnig     13
UnderwaterFunktown     9
Veknoid_Outcast     5
Mnementh     4
Machina     3
Darashiva     3
Jpcc86     3
Pajderman     2
TruckOSaurus     1
The_Liquid_Laser     1
haxxiy     1
Unguessed     5

Thanks for reading and guessing, and finally, Happy New Year everyone!

#5

Change YoY: =    My Rating: 9.7 / 10

I remember buying a PS3 in 2007 mostly for the promise of something great to come later, and then spending much of the following year and a half looking for games to play on the thing. Titles  like Assassin's Creed and Uncharted:Drake's Fortune were fine enough, but I wouldn't consider either among my favourites on the console, so it wasn't until the release of Valkyria Chronicles in late 2008 that the first truly great game was released on the system. Initially, it caught my attention thanks to its art style and how the game looked in motion, but in the end it was the gameplay, story, and characters that turned it into one of my all-time favourite games.

If it wasn't for the next game on my list, Valkyria Chronicles would be the best game of its whole generation. While I was thoroughly enjoying my time with the game from the start, the alternate history second world war backdrop and the intriguing characters instantly hooking me into the story, there's a moment roughly around halfway through the game where it effectively cemented its place as something truly special for good. I won't spoil it, but it remains one of only two times I've literally had to walk away from a game for a time because of how much it affected me emotionally. Naturally, things like that are different for everybody, but in my case there's almost no other game that has hit me quite as hard as Valkyria Chronicles.

The deep, tactical gameplay with various characters classes and units, beautiful visuals, and one of Hitoshi Sakimoto's finest scores make for an excellent experience. I've since played two of the game's sequels, and while they're both great (Valkyria Chronicles 4 in particular), none of them have quite reached these same heights. I recently replayed the original as well, and that only cemented its position near the top of my all-time favourite games list.

#5

Final Fantasy X

9.5/10

There always seems to be a different Final Fantasy game highest on my list. And it usually comes down between three different ones. X, IX, and XII. It's because they all do different things well that I love that it's hard to decide which one is best. I guess I just choose whatever I'm feeling I like the most that year. And this year it's Final Fantasy X. 

This was the first Final Fantasy game I had ever played. I found the plot really interesting and different. Tidus was a likable and fun protagonist. And the World of Spira is probably one of the most unique and memorable video game worlds I’ve experienced.

The combat system still remains my favorite turn-based system in any game. With different actions affecting the order of turns it allows the player to adapt to each situation accordingly. Many of the games bosses especially later on in the story can be pretty challenging and you need to a good amount of planning and preparation beforehand to defeat them. The summoning system is a nice change from the previous games as well allowing you to command them instead of watching a cut-scene of an attack. it is still arguably the best system to this day. I also like the sphere grid system of leveling which eventually allows each character to learn almost every ability.

The only negative i'd list is the lack of skippable cut-scenes. somehow even the modern versions of this game do not have that feature which i find bizarre as having to watch the same cutscene after losing to a difficult boss is annoying. 

The game also has one of the best soundtracks imo. All three composers who worked on this game did a stellar job, And as the last mainline game Nobuo Uematsu worked on he went out with bang. 

#4

Change YoY: =   My Rating: 9.7 / 10

It's a little weird that a game that is this high on my list was one that I didn't actually really get along with all that well when I first played it. I got maybe eight to ten hours in, didn't really understand the gameplay or the story properly, and just ended up giving up after failing to beat the Bell Gargoyles one too many times. Some years later I watched someone else start a playthrough of the game, and after a while I decided to give the game one more chance before giving up for good. It did look like something I really should enjoy after all, and having watched someone else play for a bit helped me figure out some of those things I had missed earlier. So, I restarted the game, created a new character, and began my journey anew. You can probably guess that the second time around was quite different from the first.

Whatever the reason, this time everything about Dark Souls just clicked into place. The gameplay was challenging but in exactly the right way, as I now had a much better grasp of its intricacies, discovering small fragments of the world's history and lore felt rewarding, and as the game itself slowly opened up and I found new and interesting locations to explore, there was no going back anymore. I knew I was playing something exceptional and special. Later games in the series, as well as other FromSoftware games, have improved upon the gameplay side, but the feeling and atmosphere that Dark Souls conveys is just something unmatched by any other game of its kind.

My top three favourite games have remained the same for over 20 years now, and while it's unlikely that anything will ever change that at this point, Dark Souls got extremely close to doing so. Many of the later Soulsborne games may be better in terms of pure mechanics, but none of that has yet unseated the original Dark Souls from its spot on the top of the genre in my opinion. It's the game that made me fall in love with the whole genre after all, and the one I still compare all others of its kind to this day.

#3

Red Dead Redemption 2

9.7/10

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a masterfully crafted game. Everything from the well told story to the beautiful varied environments and gameplay interactions.

The amount of details and interactions is insane. Things like being able to shoot guns out the hands of npc's, making holes in boats causing them to sink, standing still against a charging bear makes it leave you alone. Weapons losing their effectiveness if you get them wet, Corpses decaying over time,You can land on your horse if you jump onto it from a height, certain npc's taking out their gun if they see you holding yours. there's like a hundred other details like that, And every detail makes this game world feel more real and authentic. I can't imagine the amount of hours of work it took to make all these things function. They really did not need to go to these lengths to make all this happen but they did and that shows how passionate the devs are.

The horse mechanics are the best I've seen in any game. As you bond with your horse not only does it become stronger, but your horse will learn new skills while also becoming more loyal. There is a weight system which is a cool feature I haven't seen since Gta San Andreas. The dialogue system, while simple, is a nice addition giving the player more ways to interact with the world. I also like how the health system works with eating filling up your health cores that you use to regenerate your main health bar. There are a good number of activities to take part in and encounters to see and all are well done.

I just want to say I greatly enjoyed the story in this game. I know there are some people who dislike the way Rockstar designs their missions and say that they need to be more open ended and allow more player agency. But the missions are designed that way intentionally to add more urgency to the story and create interesting and meaningful interactions between characters. I know not everyone is into that. But that's the kind of game RDR2 is as trailers showcased. It's not meant to be a game where the story takes a back-seat to the gameplay. And seeing how the story turned out I wouldn't have it any other way.

I loved Arthur Morgan as a character and I liked how the different members of the outlaw gang are people of various ages and backgrounds, and i enjoyed seeing how each one develops throughout the story. I became more invested in the narrative watching as their situation gets more dire as they are forced to move from area to area as their leader Dutch slowly loses himself. It's a well crafted narrative and one that paces itself well.

The soundtrack is actually quite good as well. I was surprised by how many tracks stood out to me. this one in particular was a favorite of mine.

The only things I'd say that are negatives are the game forcing me to walk inside camp, and having to take my rifles off my horse saddle repeatedly because the game keeps unequiping them from my inventory. but those are minor annoyances. 

To me Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of Rockstar's best games. it's up there with GTA San Andreas for me. And it is simply one of the greatest of all time. And it makes me excited to see what they accomplish with GTA VI.

#3

Change YoY: =   My Rating: 9.8 / 10

I've always been more of a console player than a PC one, but there have always been certain games and genres that have drawn me to playing on PC. Whether it was various real-time strategy games, tactical strategy games or, as in the case of this game, space combat sims, certain genres are just inherently better on PC. At the top of my list of great PC games sits Freespace 2, one of the first games that ever made me truly notice the importance of great storytelling in video games. Not that the rest of the game is any less excellent, but there was just something about the constant feeling of uncertainty that this game instilled on you during its various missions that made me take notice. Whatever the mission briefing may have said about your tasks or goals, there was always the sense that everything could change in an instant. You just could never be sure.

Whether it was a new enemy appearing to disrupt the mission, an unexpected discovery in uncharted space, or a call to immediately return from the mission due to something happening elsewhere in the galaxy, you were always kept guessing as to what exactly might happen next. It's just a shame that the cliffhanger that the story ends in has never, and probably will never, be resolved. While the main storyline of the game was concluded, the overarching story that had begun with the first game and continued here never received a proper ending. As a result, there are several mysteries surrounding the game's antagonists, for example, which will likely remain as ones for good.

The rest of the game is just as great, from its gameplay to its music, even after nearly 25 years since its release I can easily go back and replay it. The one aspect that hasn't held up, the graphics, have been vastly improved by fan-created mods, as the game's original source code was released by the developer for everyone to use in 2002. Freespace 2 is a masterpiece, the best game of its genre I've ever played, and probably the one unresolved video game narrative I would want to see concluded more than any other. 

#2

Change 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 for one reason or another when replayed years later. Fortunately, there are also certain games that I not only have an immense amount of nostalgia for, but which also hold up remarkably well when I play them today. The Legend of Dragoon is one of them. I practically 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 in the game that don't hold up to scrutiny anymore. First, this is obviously a PS1 game, so the 3D visuals haven't aged in the most graceful manner, though many of the pre-rendered backgrounds still look amazing. The voice acting is typical of its time, that is to say average at best and often just downright awful. Finally, the localization is unfortunately quite shoddy, the English language writing often coming off clumsy and unrefined, a clear sign that whoever were responsible for the translation likely weren't native English speakers. In fact, if there was one aspect of the game I wish I could improve or simply redo entirely, it would the localization, because the English language dialogue and narration leaves quite a lot to be desired. At least there aren't any mistakes that unintentionally change story details 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, and the reason is that everything else is excellent.

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 my opinion about the game. A feeling that I haven't experienced with any other game I've played, an atmosphere and tone that is wholly unique to this particular game. It's the thing that makes me want to start a new playthrough every single time I talk about this game during these year-end events, which is exactly what I did last year.

#1

Change YoY: =   My Rating: 9.9 / 10

In my opinion, there is no such thing as a perfect game. No matter how great a game is, how amazing an experience it is, there's always going to be something in it that could be improved. In the end, it's just a question of how little there is to improve when you think back on the experience as a whole, and out of all the games I've ever played the one that I can think of almost nothing that I would change about is Final Fantasy IX. This has remained true for over two decades now, and no matter how many times I play through it, my opinion has never changed. It remains to this day the best game I've ever played.

Final Fantasy IX was the second game in the series I played, and one of the first JPRGs in general I ever experienced as well. This meant that at the time I didn't really realize that it was essentially a love letter to the entire Final Fantasy series, with countless elements, allusions, and minor details that refer to one or more of the games that came before. It was simply a game that hooked me within 30 minutes of starting, and never really let go. It was completely different from both FFVIII (which I'd played before) and FFVII (which I'd seen one of my friends play), and I absolutely loved that. While FFVIII was one of my favourite games already at the time, I wanted something different with the next game, and I definitely got that.

The fantasy setting was perfect, and to this day is among my favourite video game worlds ever created. I still remember nearly every detail about Alexandria, Lindblum, Burmecia, Cleyra, Treno, and all the other cities, dungeons, and places found around the game's vast world. I scoured the overworld for every tiny detail I could find, hunted every treasure and secret until I could find no more. I remember the feeling of discovering hidden treasures on the world map with a chocobo, stumbling on an entire hidden town on the side of a mountain while riding an airship, and finding secret pathways in places I thought I already knew. Now, when I go back and replay it every few years, I can still visit almost any location in the game and instantly know where everything in it can be found, including secrets, hidden collectibles, and Easter eggs that the game is filled with. It is an experience I will likely never forget, and one I can always return to and enjoy just as much as the first time I stepped onto the streets of Alexandria almost 22 years ago.

And that's it for my top 50. I'll still write a recap about my whole list, but that's the last write-up done. Hopefully at least some people find these interesting.