Whew, I'm finally all caught up!! Sorry about the huge spam everyone, hopefully I'll keep things steady from now on.

I'm still not 100% sure on the final positions of my Top 20, but I'm getting there. I promise I'll send the list as soon as I have it 100% decided, but I'm gonna get things started on this Top 20 and put that pressure on myself to think it through sooner rather than later! Have a couple hints:

#20 - A 5th generation, animal mascot game from an IP that is dead/dormant nowadays... but not a platformer.

#19 - The only game in this series to feature no recurring "characters"... well, at least not before you get to the post-game.

Current list - https://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=249858&page=1#6

25 (incorrect guesses - The Witcher 3)
- One particular port of this game is often cited as highly impressive for cramming so much content onto one cart.
- Once you complete one scenario with one playable character, you are able to play the corresponding scenario with the other playable character.
- This game introduced a character that will feature in the next game in this horror series, which is released early next year.

24
- This game originally started as a spin off before eventually becoming a numbered entry in this popular series.
- In some regions, the name of one of the most notable enemies in the series was the subtitle for this game.

23
- One of the titular characters in this 3D platformer first appeared in another game of a different genre.
- The character mentioned in the previous clue can take flight in both this game and the other game mentioned above, although the method in which he does so is different.

22
- In this ‘90s first person shooter, you need to collect ancient artifacts that then enable you to revisit levels to reach previously inaccessible areas and level exits.
- This game went by different names depending on the region it was released in. The 2022 remaster combined both names in a clever way.

21
- This game takes place on an island shaped like the head of the titular character.
- The titular character’s favourite fruit has been taken.

You got 3 down! 20, 19 and 18 are all correct

Good point, I've linked it now. And yeah maybe the use of the word "pupeeteering" was a slight exaggeration (though it's a nice gestral pun unintentionally), wasn't sure how to describe it in short form.

20) Star Fox 64?

Yup!

#35

Change YoY: -2   My Rating: 9.2 / 10

The first of many (seriously) The Legend of Heroes games on my list, Trails of Cold Steel III was akin to a second start for the series, as it not only made the series' debut on a new console generation, but also introduced a new set of main characters that took the centre stage for much of the game. In general, the four Trails of Cold Steel games feel like two distinct pairs, the first two centring around the same core group of characters and storyline, while the latter two take place after some time has passed and, as mentioned, feature many entirely new characters in addition to the already familiar cast. This soft reset is both a blessing and a curse. It definitely gives the game a feeling of freshness, but on the other hand, in some ways it also feels like you're restarting a lot of stuff from scratch after spending two full games getting familiar with the original set of characters.

Once the story gets going and the new characters have been introduced and made familiar, then the game hits its stride again. Not that the beginning is bad or anything, the game just takes a moment to essentially collect itself and put everything in place for what's about to happen. Effectively, we're setting up new pieces on the board for the final game in the series after quite a few of the major storylines were already wrapped up in the second game. None of this makes the game bad by any means, quite the opposite, just means that it takes a little while to get going, and when it does the result is one of my all-time favourite games, with a genuinely heart-wrenching final twist. It may be the weakest of the four Cold Steel games, but as this ranking probably tells you, that doesn't make it any less great overall. The gameplay, characters, story, and music are still all fantastic, and the slightly weaker elements are essentially a necessity for setting up the events to follow in the final Cold Steel game.

Guessed by @UnderwaterFunktown

In recent days, I've been thinking almost nonstop about the Star Fox game I wish existed. Of course, the specific thing I envision in my head can't ever exist, but my imagination only dreamed it up because of how badly this franchise missed its potential. These iconic characters, this iconic setting, they deserved better than to have one great game. They deserved a series, full of creative storylines, long-running character arcs, they deserved a deeper look, we deserve a deeper look. They deserved to see their universe grow and evolve along with the generations of videogames.

I think most other companies would've seen the potential here and tried to do just that, because the appeal of Star Fox is not inherently in its gameplay loop or genre, it's not in the videogame mechanics attached to it, the appeal is entirely in the characters and setting. Hell you could throw them outside of gaming and they would make for a great animated show or movie. Thus, it'd be natural for this series to evolve into more narrative-driven games that really embodied that Saturday-morning-cartoon vibe while also having more of a deeper meaning. Unfortunately, Star Fox belongs to Nintendo, and Nintendo can't see how to evolve the franchise because they don't believe in narrative-driven games. They think the appeal of the franchise is directly tied to not only its gameplay, but also the specific story of "Fox & gang go fight Andross after James' death" repeated over and over. Star Fox 64 was a great success by doing that, so Nintendo thinks that's all the franchise should ever be... it's depressing, honestly.

But yeah, Star Fox 64 is great and I will always adore it. These characters struck a chord with me, and if their lives are to continue being neglected by the powers that be, so be it - they will continue to live on in the imagination they sparked in me.

Top 50 >>

Guessed by @TruckOSaurus 

We finally caught up! Entering the top 20 and directly following my Game of the Year for 2025, we have my Game of the Year for 2024! Both highly ambitious JRPGs and both amazing games that I have some decently sized complaints about. I could fill a whole article with how I feel about Rebirth and probably would have if it hadn't been a bit too early for 'A Late Look', but I'm gonna try my best to keep it short here. My number 1 complain that I rarely see anybody talk about is that they dumbed down Cloud's gameplay. From the on-point sword slinging Merc gameplay of Remake to instead making him fly around the battlefield like post-Peter-Pan Sora and giving him the ability to dance around and shoot beams at enemies from a (usually) safe distance. I don't get it and I don't get why they didn't get more flack for it. There's a few other issues like bloat in the otherwise mostly great open-world and two games in I can't say I'm completely onboard with the story changes.

But... somehow the positives still outweight all that: The remakes bring these already amazing characters so much more to life, both games look and sound incredible, for some reason I'm an absolute sucker for card game mini-games in RPGs (seriously always), the combat is still great despite their attempts to change that and the ending is so epic that it's hard to feel too miffed about any of the story changes that led to it. So yeah, a flawed masterpiece and I'm both excited and terrified to see where Part III goes from here (Cloud is gonna be wearing clown shoes isn't he?).

30. One of two highly regarded games in the same franchise released on the same day.

29. The ultimate crossover fighter.

28. The least mainline Super Mario game.

27. An RPG spinoff that followed the platform's trend of using the letters D and S to make a title.

26. The fourth entry in a handheld dungeon-crawling series.

25. Another handheld RPG, from the same publisher as #27 and #26.

24. Say, this protagonist's hair isn't usually pink!

23. An ordinary high school student in the distant future of 2035 goes on a wild field trip during an eclipse.

22. What a thrill...

21. Overshadowed by its remaster, which is STILL selling to this day.

30. I'm guessing either Metroid Prime or Fusion... gonna say Fusion.
29. Smash Ultimate?
28. Hmmm, Super Mario Sunshine?
27. Advance Wars: Dual Strike?

24. A Link to the Past

21. Mario Kart 8?