For as much as ages of yore represent to me, the 128bit generation just comes across as the best yet, with variety, depth and above all, the most ambitious projects ever heralded. As such it was incredibly difficult narrowing down this list.
Katamari Damacy – the genius debut from
Keita Takahashi,
Katamari is a superb exercise in surrealism. A simple concept with fantastic execution, it is without question a special game. I fear it might have been surpassed by
Takahashi’s more recent
Noby Noby Boy, but unfortunately I haven’t had the opportunity to fully explore it yet :(
The world is indeed my own playground.
Virtua Tennis 2 – quite possibly my favourite arcade game, it synthetizes the core arcade values of replayability, accessibility, depth and of course fun. A game I have never tired of, and probably never will.
Man, I hate doubles matches!
The Path – being the latest of these games it might come as the least mentioned. Overcoming the hardships of being an independent release, it presented an unforgettable experience, and I can safely say it was the only game that really disturbed me. Lackadaisical and enthrancing, the path takes us through a dream we long to finish and revisit. A masterpiece that can keep me talking for days, deep as the forest you trek through.
This game has several characters, none more important than the one pictured.
Disaster Report/Raw Danger – coming from the unlikeliest of sources, seminal arcade developer
Irem, these two games marked a healthy return into action/adventures, putting up a casual and welcomed hommage to
Ico’s themes, while introducing real survivor situations, always an interesting theme. They’re varied, creative and fresh, the only downfall being the oft convuluted and off the wall stories, but they still managed to imprint an everlasting impression on me.
Keeping yourself dry is a big part of DR and RD's gameplay.
Ico – the greatest hommage to the action/adventure games of old like
Another World and
Prince of Persia, it gave us gamers a fascinating insight into human condition, braving through such complex ideas as non-verbal communication, solitude and cooperation in society and significant love, all through a marvelous rendition of the worlds of
Georgio di Chirico.
Fumito Ueda's touch: just how much can holding hands mean?
Shadow of the Colossus – because it represents the epithome of game design, the most brilliant example of evolution within the medium, going far and beyond pong and chess, the true and definite masterpiece of the medium.
SotC's story starts very much like Zelda II's.
Rez –
Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s masterpiece,
Rez defies definition. Being so much more than just a music game, it’s a game about the human condition itself, in fact, it delves upon what great writers and philosophers have been aiming at, from the teachings of
Buddha to
Darwin and
Thoreau. To mesh it with a very compelling musical skin that gets visual inspiration from
Kandinsky and alumni made it into one of the definite pieces of the decade.
Rez's hard to reach, Eden-like final stage.
Yakuza/Yakuza 2 – just because they represented the rebirth of
SEGA’s big projects, rising above the early and unfair
Shenmue and
GTA comparisons, they established one of the most compelling series in the japanese scene. One of the greatest insights into modern
Japan avaiable on ANY medium.
Yakuza's realism comes from a realistic product placement with real brands filling stores and bars.
Chibi-Robo – this is a little gem that just has so much love and detail put into it, works at so many levels that it’s hard to not consider it. A very complete game, with a fun quest and endearing atmosphere.
Chibi-Robo's original save-spot: an electric outlet. "Man, Drake Redcrest rocks!!!"
Warioware – for me this game represents both past and future. A flawless piece of game design, it’s stretched far beyond gimmick and taken a simple concept, with one- or two-button gameplay into little gems that maintain freshness and addictiveness, are perfect for the core handheld player, with a fantastic nostalgic feel, japanese quirk, and might just have kickstarted the indie-game scene modern mentality of little games with a lot of soul.
Warioware inputs several ingame references to Nintendo's own classics
It goes without saying that Shenmue 2 tops this list. After all it probably is my favourite game.
Additionally I'll mention some other games that have caught my eye but for one reason or another (not enough play, good but not good enough, haven't completed, etc) didn't make the 10:
Cosmic Smash, vibRibbon, Space Channel 5, Ikaruga, The Void, Boku no Natsuyasumi 2, Tokyo Bus Guide, God Hand, Silent Hill 2, Ôkami, RE4, Far Cry 2, KOTOR, GTAIV, Lost Odyssey, Mass Effect, Braid, Animal Crossing, Roomania #103, Doshin the Giant, Portal, Half Life 2, Prey, SuperMonkeyBall, Fahrenheit, Electroplankton, Pacman CE, Space Invaders Extreme, MGS3, Shadow of Memories, flOw, Way of the Samurai...
