The Top 5 List

Hello All,

Looking back at all of the blogs I've done I have realized that I haven't done one on my top 5 favorite games. As someone who loves games and is a game student narrowing down my favorite games down to my top 5 is very difficult. I've played so many different kinds of games throughout my life and a lot of them have taught me things and impacted my life somehow. Being born in 1995, I was raised on playing games. When I was really young, I would play my cousins NES and play Mega Man and Super Mario Bros. As most of you already know I grew up watching my dad play our PlayStation, and once when my sister and I did our chores and were being well behaved our parents bought each of us our first Gameboy. At that point in my life I played games as much as I could. I really enjoyed games then, and it wasn't until I watched my cousin play Age of Empire and Diablo 2 until I realized how much I loved games. From then on I really did everything I could to get my hands on any game. Over the years, I played, or rather experienced many games. I am typically drawn to games that have a story that is emotional or games that have good enough gameplay that I just can't put the game down. As most of you probably already know I play mostly Role Playing Games (RPG's), and Action Adventure games. So you'll mostly see those kinds.

So lets go ahead and get started:

  1. The Walking Dead: Season 1

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGhhf5wDBN8"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi7KPDi_yQI&feature=youtu.be[/su_youtube]

So if you have ever played this game you know that there are some serious feels that come with finishing the game. All of the choices you've made up until the end feel like nothing compared to the last choice you have to make. Let's be honest, I don't know many people who haven't cried at the ending of this game. This game takes into account every choice and answer you select and reflects the consequences of these actions later in the game. And trust me, when I say all. I mean all of the choices. If you've never played this game, it is about a convicted felon on his way to prison when an apocalypse reaches him. In search of somewhere to hide he stumbles upon a young girl who is alone in her home because he caretaker has turned into a zombie. Lee, the main character, decides to care for Clementine, the young girl, and tries to get her to safety and to bring her to her parents. Along the way they meet many different people of all kinds of personalities. As they journey Lee and Clementine build a father daughter relationship that is very sweet despite all of the madness going on around then. As the story unfolds, each choice you have to make gets more and more emotional until the final choice. I've only played the first season of this game series and I love it.  You really feel a connection to each character. These characters, despite the art style, feel like real people. They have very real personality and the way the react to events and situations is also very real, which once again makes the ending much harder to go through.

This game is # 5 on my list because the story was so well done it brought me to tears. I really do look forward to playing season two and even season 3 when it comes out because I know the story will continue to be painfully good.

  1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHrskkHf958"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi7KPDi_yQI&feature=youtu.be[/su_youtube]

I have mentioned this game quite a bit recently because I just finished the last DLC just about a week ago. This game is another game that really makes you feel for the characters due to their grounded personalities. Even in a fantasy world like this one, the characters have personalities that really bring them to life. Some of the struggles you face are ones that are a bit exaggerated but similar to the ones we face in our own world. The Witcher games follow Geralt of Rivia, a “witcher” or essentially a genetically enhanced hunter and his life. This particular game is focused around the theme of family and what you’ll do for those family members. Geralt’s unofficial daughter, Ciri, is on the run from what they call the Wild Hunt. The game is about Geralt’s search for Ciri and his attempts at saving her from the Wild Hunt for good.

This game is on my list because it is literally everything I look for in a game. This game took me months to beat. The story was phenomenal, and very in depth. It really drew me into the story to care about each character. It wasn’t just the story that brought me into this game but the gameplay. I love games like this and Skyrim that have missions that will occupy my time for hours. Having 70+ hours in the game I have only cleared 2 of the areas completely of all of the markers and missions. I love games that are really time consuming because it shows a lot of effort was taken into the world. I also love how the game is played. I think the Witcher is a very unique game in how they choose the combat system. I really have to strategize and plan before I fight something instead of going in blindly like most other games I’ve played.

  1. Final Fantasy IV

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss4jCXhiopw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi7KPDi_yQI&feature=youtu.be[/su_youtube]

Oh man. This game was very difficult for me to beat. Final Fantasy IV was one of the first games I have ever played that has stayed with me to this day. I originally had this game for the DS and since I’ve gotten it on the PSP as well. I absolutely love this story. Just like most games on this list the characters were very driven and each of them had a purpose. I got to know and cared for each and every character. This is also one of those games that I learned a lot about self-sacrifice, and trust. I will never forget Palom and Porom, and Tellah for what they did to help their friends. This game has so many moments ranging from funny (You Spoony Bard!!!!) to serious and sad. The story was quite complex for a younger me and it wasn’t until a couple years later I found myself replaying this game and loving it even more because of all of the characters. I could go on forever talking about how unique each character was in this time period but I’ll stop myself before I do a full analysis.

The reason this game is on my list is because it is one of the games that truly spoke to me and has stayed close to my heart after all of these years. I have always loved this story and being able to play as Cecil and Rosa’s son in The After Years on the PSP was like a blast from the past. Square Enix has done many amazing games but I truly think this is one of their best.

  1. Age of Empire

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSempPDd3ck"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi7KPDi_yQI&feature=youtu.be[/su_youtube]

When I was younger and lived in Michigan I would sometimes go over to my cousin’s house while my parents were out with my other family. My eldest cousin, Andy, would babysit my sister and like any good babysitter he would let us watch TV which he played games on the computer. Instead of watching TV or playing Barbie’s with my sister and my other cousin I would usually sit next to Andy and watch him play his games. He was usually playing either Age of Empire II or Diablo II. He would try to shoo me away telling me these games were too mature for me but I would just stick around and watch anyway. As soon as my parents let us choose what games my sister and I wanted to play on the computer I told my mom I wanted to play Age of Empire. Still to this day, I play Age of Empire when I have down time. It is a great game that has a lot of strategy to it and can really take up your time. For this game it wasn’t the story that drew me in but my imagination with the gameplay. I would play normal campaigns against 3 or 4 other empires and in my mind it would be an intense battle that had a story of its own. As I’ve grown older, when I play I truly have fun just planning and building up my army to soon destroy the other empires.

I have a sentimental attachment to this game, and I will never take this off of the list of games I can always go back to play. This game is #2 because I actually learned a lot while playing it and my cousin and I had a lot of fun when I was younger playing this game. Its replayability is very high and it is honestly just a lot of fun to play.

Before I go onto my favorite game of all time I wanted to make a small list of honorable mentions. As I said in the beginning of the blog, it was very difficult for me to choose just 5 games. Some other games that I have really enjoyed were Final Fantasy XIV, Uncharted 2 and 4, the Tomb Raider series, the Kingdom Hearts series, The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess, and Skyrim. These are all games that have great stories or have impacted my life in some way. I’ve spent many, many hours playing some of these games and have grown to love them.

 

  1. Final Fantasy X

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3AUTerXl5M"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi7KPDi_yQI&feature=youtu.be[/su_youtube]

Final Fantasy X has a lot of meaning to me. Even after putting in over 200 hours into this game I would do it all again just because I love it. This, along with Final Fantasy X-2, were the first games that actually played with the intent of getting 100% of it completed. It was also the first console game where I played it entirely on my own. Besides the sentimental value, this game has an amazing story. It’s honestly pretty linear, but it’s a touching story of Tidus, who mysteriously gets sent 1000 years into the future and joins Yuna and her Guardians on an adventure to defeat Sin, a Giant monster. Along the journey there are some cliché story twists but also some that give you the feels. Beyond the story there is plenty to do. If you’re not working on the story or grinding to get the next spell for Lulu, you can go find the special weapons collecting all of the Aeons as well as do a whole bunch of other things.

This game is number one on my list because besides it having a lot of sentimental value, it does give you plenty of stuff to do when you’re not working on the main story. Each character has a lot of avenues you can go down to get the abilities that you want or the weapons you want. This game, like many other games on my list, gives each character a personality and a background. I am one of the rare fans of Final Fantasy X-2. I enjoyed it because I liked to see the development that each character went through in between the games. It was also one of the first games I played with the ability to get multiple endings. While others prefer Final Fantasy VII or VIII as their favorite of the series this is my all time favorite. It had great gameplay, and quite a bit of customizability for it's time.

 

That’s all for today!

Karina

Posted on Jul 21, 2016 10:59:25 AM by Admin in Blogs, in top 5, in top 5 list, in visual, in Game Studies

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