Top 50 Video Games: Honorable Mentions

Thought I was just gonna post #1 and be done? Suckers. First off here's a recap of the entire list for all those who haven't been obsessively obsessing over my favorite video games for the last four months:

2. World of Warcraft
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
4. Diablo II: The Lord of Destruction
5. Final Fantasy Tactics
6. Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
7. The Sims
8. Dragon Warrior III
9. Baldur's Gate
10. Grand Theft Auto III
11. Super Mario World
12. Nhl '94
13. Culdcept
14. Diablo
15. Civilization II
16. Shining Force
17. Super Mario 64
18. Starcraft
19. Tecmo Super Bowl
20. Warlords Battlecry II
21. The Legend of Zelda
22. Super Mario Bros. 3
23. Super Metroid
24. Maniac Mansion
25. Super Mariokart
26. Ms Pac Man
27. Super Mario RPG
28. Bionic Commando
29. Sonic the Hedgehog
30. Shadowgate
31. Super Mario Bros. 2
32. Heroes of Might and Magic III
33. Icewind Dale
34. Eternal Darkness
35. Bubble Bobble
36. Twisted Metal Black
37. Mega Man 2
38. Galaga
39. River City Ransom
40. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
41. Contra
42. Magic the Gathering: Shandalar
43. Animal Crossing
44. Devil May Cry
45. Strider
46. Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle
47. Myth
48. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!
49. Gauntlet
50. Columns

Golden Axe: Not the #1 best game ever.

I find myself at the end of this long list that I've been working on for months. This is a time to reflect on the list up this point, as well as the worthy ones that missed out. I've been gaming for years, and if I made this list 10 times, it would probably look different every time. After all what seperates, for example, number 40 from number 41 really? And the initial list did change from the original draft. I tried to keep multiple games from a series from being on the list except where each game was exceptional and could be judged on its own merit. The Twisted Metal games are too similar to justify them having multiple spots on the list, while the Mario games are well varied and stand apart from each other. Some games got dropped off the list and things got moved around a bit. World of Warcraft in particular got moved up the list several times while Twisted Metal 3 and Dragon Warrior IV got merged into entries with their brethren. Here's a list of Honorable Mentions:

Super Dodgeball - This is a goofy, fun little pseudo-sports game for the NES. The game puts you in control of the US Olympic dodgeball team, squaring off against rival nations from around the world. In addition to normal dodgeball maneuvers, the players have power shots that make the ball glow and fly all crazy and knock players around the screen like rag dolls. That's just a lot of fun. Inexplicably the game gets all dark and sci-fi at the end. That's fun too.

Toejam and Earl - These two are aliens who have crash landed on Earth. You move them from stage to stage in an attempt to gather the fragments of their ship so they can get the hell off the planet. They are confronted with bald guys with lawnmowers, obnoxious women with shopping carts, crazed mailbox monsters and distracting hula girls among others. The item system is pretty cool, with items in the form of presents, the contents of which are unknown until you open them. Oh yeah - these aliens rap too.

There are mailbox monsters, fudge sundaes and rocketpacks in Toejam & Earl. Not #1.

Theme Hospital - Jimbob's probably puking in his lap right now. Granted, the ending was somewhat anticlimactic, but games are about the journey, not the destination. This game puts the player in control of a hospital, from layout and staffing on down. It's an oddly compelling game with a distinctly british sense of humor. Patients come in with Corrugated Ankles, Bloaty Heads, and The Squits. Ugh. I remember at Gencon one year waking up in the middle of the night to see Jimbob sitting on the edge of the bed playing Theme Hospital into the wee hours of the morning.

Pikmin - This game defies easy definition. Pikmin are little plant guys who follow you around. Some are fighters. Some are swimmers. Some are bombers. Like Toejam and Earl, you have to gather the pieces of your broken ship. The Pikmin help you. It's a very cool puzzle game that's weird but FUN.

Golden Axe - Classic arcade fighting action. Standard fantasy themed charcters were available with varying skill at combat and magic. My favorite was the dwarf who was shitty with magic, but could kick ass with a huge fucking axe. The best part was between stages when the characters were resting, these little guys would try to rob you and you got to kick them around (literally) and get your stuff back.

Suikoden - My favorite RPG for the Playstation. In terms of gameplay it wasn't flashy and it didn't innovate. It just did the basic RPG thing really well. And it had 108 characters to be found and added to your party throughout the game. You had a headquarters (mine was Verducci Castle) where your people hung out and had jobs. One guy would cook, one guy adds an elevator, one mans the vault, etc. Fun stuff.

Final Fantasy VII had a huge impact on the RPG genre and created a surge in popularity for roleplaying games in the US. DEFINITELY not #1.

If Couch and Jimbob made this list, I know it would be full of Final Fantasy games. Final Fantasy 1, 7 and 10 for Jimbob and probably all the others for Couch. Jimbob would also have Metal Gear Solid high on the list to be sure. Neverwinter Nights also deserves recognition for being a fine and highly customizable D&D adventure. These are all fine games, they're just not my thing. Entertainment is all subjective, and this list is by no means the be-all and end-all list for everyone. Actually, I'm kidding. It's exactly that. Your opinions are invalid. Anyways the list is drawing to a close, and I've enjoyed writing it and I'm kind of sorry to see it coming to a close. But there is always more to be written...