Hello, Offtopic. I, Fives, have been banned from this forum for the last month, and, as such, I have not been able to reply to many posts I’ve wanted to. Chief among these was Twitchyloner’s post about everyone’s top ten games. So, without further ado, here are mine. 1. Xenoblade Chronicles [spoiler]This game is a masterpiece on so many levels. What starts as a simple revenge plot soon turns into something so much greater. The main character, Shulk, is incredibly well written, and, at multiple points in the story, I was inspired by his good morals. The world is absolutely beautiful. For how linear the game is, Monolithsoft did an amazing job of making the world as open as possible. And the superb art direction of the environments makes every location memorable. The soundtrack is heavenly, to put it lightly. The battle themes are often exhilarating pieces of symphonic metal, and the overworld themes perfectly fit their respective environments. Walking onto the Bionis’ Leg and hearing “Guar Plain” fit the first time is one of my favorite moments in all of gaming.[/spoiler] 2. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask [spoiler]I am still not sure why I love this game so much. The three-day clock is quite frustrating, and I don’t care for the dungeon designs as much as OoT.(except for the Stone Tower, which is my favorite Zelda dungeon) But something about this game’s atmosphere feels so special. There is a strange comfort in the eeriness of it. I think what really makes me love this game so much are the characters and their side quests. The way you start to understand all of the characters and their relationships with each other, by doing their side quests, is executed so well. The Anju and Kafei storyline, the mail man’s story line, and the Romani Ranch storyline all come together so perfectly.[/spoiler] 3. Mother 3 [spoiler]This is probably the most obscure entry on this list. If you have never heard of this game, I don’t blame you, as it has never been officially released outside of Japan. Mother 3 is pretty easily the darkest game published by Nintendo. Not even Majora’s Mask has such upfront themes of death and loss. What looks like a childish RPG with Pokemon-esque pixel graphics, quickly turns into one of the most depressing stories I have played through. I can’t say much story related without spoiling anything, but if you enjoy games like Earthbound or Undertale, I am sure you would enjoy Mother 3 as well.[/spoiler] 4. Elden Ring [spoiler]Elden Ring is peak high fantasy. Go play it.[/spoiler] 5. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 [spoiler]ROBBED OF BEST SOUNDTRACK AWARD AT THE 2022 GAME AWARDS. This game takes almost everything great about Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and improves upon it. The combat is deeper and the world is just as beautiful. The characters are even more likable, and they each go through well written arcs. Really, the only reason Xenoblade Chronicles 1 is higher on my list is because its story is more consistently great. But on my initial playthrough, there was one factor which almost made Xenoblade Chronicles 3 my favorite game of all time. THE END OF CHAPTER 5 AND THE BEGINNING OF CHAPTER 6. Absolute perfection. If you start this game and think about dropping it, at least play till the end of Chapter 5. During this portion of the game there is, no joke, a few cutscenes that play back to back, with *tiny* portions between just so you can save. And all these cutscenes combined take over an hour. And this miniature movie in the middle of this game will absolutely break you.[/spoiler] 6. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time [spoiler]My first Zelda game, and, at one point, my favorite game of all time. I played the 3DS version, so I didn’t have to deal with the nightmare that is the N64 Water Temple. But anyways, this game is infamous and doesn’t need much explanation why it is on my Top 10 list. The dungeons are fun, the story is simple yet charming, and the music is iconic. One time I even replayed the whole game in one day![/spoiler] 7. Super Mario Galaxy [spoiler]Best Mario game, in my very biased opinion. (I grew up playing it on the Wii) Everything about this game is just fun to play. The platforming feels great, and the gravity mechanic is an interesting twist. What really makes this game great though is its sound design and atmosphere. The music has no right being so good, for a Mario game. The grand orchestral soundtracks and the slow, lonely songs perfectly capture the grandness yet loneliness of space exploration. [/spoiler] 8. Shadow of the Colossus [spoiler] Some games are so great, yet so different than the modern game formula, that it is hard to believe they exist. Shadow of the Colossus is one such game. The premise is simple. You play as a young man called Wander, who has travelled to “The Forbidden Lands” in hope of resurrecting his deceased lover. A disembodied voice promises to grant your wish in exchange for killing the 16 Colossi who roam the Forbidden Lands. That is essentially the whole game. There are no other enemies besides the Colossi in the open world, and there are no other characters besides your loyal horse, Agro. The desolate, beautiful world is nothing like the worlds of modern games. No music plays while while you traverse it, but this is perfectly contrasted by epic scores that play while battling the Colossi. If nothing else, at least go listen to this game’s soundtrack after reading this. [/spoiler] 9. Xenogears [spoiler]I have no clue how to briefly review this absolute behemoth of a game. I have never played a game with so much story packed into 60 hours. At its surface, Xenogears is a typical PS1 RPG. Its combat system is a bit different, but ultimately quite shallow. Its dungeons are nothing special, and the random encounters are tedious. What causes this game to make its way into my top 10 is its masterpiece of a story. The closest thing I could compare Xenogears to is Neon Genesis Evangelion. Both are pieces of media with profound philosophical themes and giant mechs. What more could you want in a story? The main character, Fei Fong Wong’s, developed from a depressed coward to a determined and loving man is very well done. And his relationship with the secondary protagonist, Elhaym Van Houten, is one of the best written romances I’ve ever seen. “Elly” is a good lesson on how to *properly* write a strong female character. Again the story is far too complex to even try to summarize, but here is the briefest version I can give. It starts out about two countries fighting a war, then changes to all the people on Earth fighting a war against the oppressive country of Solaris, and finally it is about all of humanity fighting a war against god. [/spoiler] 10. Fire Emblem: Awakening [spoiler]I know this game isn’t objectively that good. Like all Fire Emblem games, its story is quite simple. But like all Fire Emblem games, the story never really was the highlight - the characters were. I think that’s why the permadeath mechanic works so well. Whenever a unit dies in battle, it is not just some replaceable soldier. It’s a character you have played with for hours and have grown to love. And as much as veterans of the series didn’t like the huge emphasis on support conversions and marriage between characters, I think it really improves what Fire Emblem is all about. It’s about a group of generic, likable friends coming together and saving the world. And sometimes a simple story like that is really nice.[/spoiler]