#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 Dark Souls, and after a while decided to give it one more chance before writing it off 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 in many significant ways, but the feeling and atmosphere that Dark Souls conveys remains unmatched to this day by any other game of its kind.

My top three favourite games have remained the same for well 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.

Current list - https://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread/248646/post-only-once-the-official-thread-the-15th-annual-greatest-games-event/4/#4

09 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
- This sequel takes players outside of the United States for the first time, with competitions based in France and Mexico. That said, there are still plenty of American locations to visit.
- One of the bonus levels sees you dropped from a helicopter onto a small platform in the middle of the ocean, whilst the other gives you the opportunity to skate around Heaven itself.
- One of the unlockable characters in this highly rated extreme sports sequel (which has the name of the most well known star in its title, and was remade in 2020) is a web slinging superhero.

05 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
- The only game in this series in which the playable character has a sibling.
- This sibling being taken is the event that properly gets this adventure underway.

03 - Super Mario Bros. 3
- Taking flight for the first time. There’s three power ups that allow you to do this.
- In the air is where you’ll also be battling all of the end of world bosses (final boss aside).

02 (incorrect guesses - Tomb Raider III)
- You will have faced more human enemies by the end of the second level, than you did in the entirety of the previous game.
- Collecting the trio of dragons in each of the first 16 levels will see you rewarded.

01 - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
- Dinosaurs running a relay, with a human as the baton.
- This small human baton will definitely let you know if you lose him.

Two games still left.

#4 Dark Souls

• "...and with fire came disparity"

#3

• Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance (GTVA)
• Humanity has been cut off from Earth
• This space combat simulator ends in a cliffhanger that has never, and likely will never, be resolved.
• The developer, which was shut down in 2023, is best known for a series of open world games that began as a GTA clone but became increasingly ridiculous which each new entry.

#2

• "Count 108 years, and when the Moon That Never Sets glows red..."
• "...the Moon Child descends to the earth to fill the world with holy bliss." So states the legend.
• Sony's challenger for Final Fantasy on the PS1.
• Though the game initially wasn't meant to include any CGI cutscenes, the final product features around 30 minutes of them.

#1 Final Fantasy IX

• Alexandria

One of these is Divinity Original Sin 2

9) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2?

5) Wind Waker

3) Super Mario Bros 3?

2) Eh think this Tomb Raider, but don't know which one is missing. Tomb Raider 3?

1) Yoshi's Island

2) The Legend of Dragoon

The time has come mortals to list the top 5 games of my life. Lo and behold!

Yep. No. 3 is Divinity OS and No. 2 Is Divinity OS 2

So close to clean sweep here. All are correct except for 2 - TR3 is already on my list at number 30.

Clean sweep part II - is it Tomb Raider 2 then?

Correct you are - and with that, my list is complete.

#6 Diablo

The first Diablo. The best Diablo. The darkest Diablo. The most unforgiving Diablo. Each kill matters when you find your way going down and down and down until you reach the very fires of hell. The sound editing is perfect. Almost all of the iconic sounds from this game have been transported over to later games in the franchise. Unique items were actually unique. One actually cared for the few townsfolk, something not replicated. The godfather of action RPGs and for me never beaten.

I have a bit of saying that when I do not play Diablo I wish I did. And when I play I just long for when I finish it so that I can replay it. The knock back present in this game will probably throw new players off. But it made foes actually challenging. The darkness and gory environments as well as some creatures roaring and rushing for you when you enter a new area in the randomly generated levels made it almost a horror game as well. And that ending. My God how long it stayed in my late night spoke outs, the implications and the feeling that after all that my journey might have only created another cycle of the dark lord of hell, Diablo.