Before I start this review I want to say thanks to the people who have been patient enough for me to finish this and if a game you may have thought would be here and is not it’s probably on my honorable mentions list, I have a lot of games I haven’t actually played or wasn’t interested in which makes me think I missed a few very revolutionary games of the past decade, and to the one person who has put input into this list and made me rethink a few last minute additions Julian, sorry GTA4 didn’t make this list, but GTA3 was just more revolutionary at the time it was released. Okay let’s get on with this now I can’t believe I’m done.

Game: Mother 3
Release Date: April 20, 2006

Only once before have I felt this over whelming sensation of mixed emotions over a video game and that game was this games older brother Mother 2 (EarthBound for us Amurricanns). Mother 3 is a game 12 years in the making, first planned to be released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1996, this was delayed and the project was then moved to the Nintendo 64 DD (disk drive), the after that failed in Japan now moving production over to the Nintendo 64 to meet it’s ultimate demise, or so we thought. EarthBound was a commercial failure in America, it just for some reason was not the hit Nintendo expected it to have been. That kind of layed the ground work for Mother 3 to fail, we heard nothing more about this game, until… 2003. Shigesato Itoi who created the Mother series announced in a commercial for a Mother 1+2 bundle for the Gameboy Advance with a message at the end declared it’s ressurection on the Gameboy Advance, fans rejoiced! Only problem was Nintendo of America didn’t have any plans to release this bundle or Mother 3 in America.

All of us Mother fans kept dreaming, looking at screen shots of it’s failed 3D life and Japanese websites for it’s return to 2D, why Nintendo of America would use Ness, the star of EarthBound in its Super Smash Bros. series but act as if Mother never existed is beyond me, well, besides the fact that Hal Laboratories worked on both series, but why tease us like that? Fans kept up with the process of the game and petitioned it to also be released in America to no avail, we try again, Nintendo of America head Reggie Hil-Aimes says “too bad” the game was doomed. We try once again and got 300,000 signatures, but yet again are told no. The game was released on 4/20/06 after the first announcement in ‘03 but only in limited supply, American fans were tired of waiting on Nintendo of America to have a change of heart, and that’s when we took it into our own hands. Starmen.net a fan site dedicated to the Mother series created a seperate site as they took the job Nintendo of America did not want and started translating the game their selves, they ran into coding issues and thought they’d be halted, then pushed right through it! The progress was updated periodically on this new website with screenshots, issues, and good news. Thinking Nintendo would stop them any day all the workers took psuedo names, to much surprise it was not necessary. Nintendo had seemed to turn a blind eye and let it go on. 10/17/08 was the glorious day this patch was released! Not aiding to stealing the game no link for a ROM was attached. The translation received 100,000 downloads in the first week.

Lucas and Ness then made it into Super Smash Bros. Brawl but not including a demo to Mother 2 or 3 in the American release, the only game on the disc to not be included, fans felt snubbed again, Japan got it, why not us? Nintendo of America gave a few answers for this, copy writing issues was the biggest though (there’s mention of Beatles tracks, characters who vaguely resemble The Blues Brothers and song similarities) but there’s no excuse to why Mother 3 will never be released in America. Brownie Brown even stated if Nintendo of America asked they’d work on getting all three games released for the Nintendo DS. EGM said it was coming, twice in ‘08, it’s now 2010.. The U.K. thought they were going to get it, also in ‘08, the rest of the world may never get this game the way it was intended to. UGO.com considers this “Gamings biggest heartbreak” and it honestly is.

This game is not even given a change, and I’m sure if it was it would do well just because the issues it’s gone through. There’s no issue with copy writing in it like there is in EarthBound (so many so that N.O.A. wont release it as a Virtual Console release). So why Nintendo of America wont release it is because it may fail? This coming from a company who took a risk with the Wii? Failed with the Virtual Boy and Gamecube so, why Nintendo? I’m pleading right now to Reggie and most importantly Shigeru Miyamoto, you’ve taken bigger risks, so why not give it a shot? You wouldn’t be disappointed.

Now, why I love this game, like I stated before, there’s so much emotion involved, it’s a little hard for me to go on without spoiling why, so I wont. There’s multiple stories in this game, the main one being Lucas; the star of this game. Other stories revolve around Flint, Lucas’ father, Salsa; a monkey trying to save his love, Duster; a thief, and Kumatora; a princess. All the stories intertwine with one another making the complete story that brings up destruction of the planet by man-made machinery. How you see it is really up to you though, that’s just my opinion. Nintendo has said the fan translation is correct in every possible way so if you were thinking how faithful is it to the Japanese story, it’s completely faithful besides a few westernized changes (such as names and standard phrasing). Shigesato Itoi has stated this is the last game in the series and has no plans for a Mother 4, but….it’s not out of the question to make another, so until that has been decided, we can only dream what may (or may not) come.

Honorable mentions will be up in the next few days, for now I’m after a Bad Movie Beatdown, Video Game Movies addition.

#20. Megaman 9 - Well, if you haven’t noticed yet I’m a bit of a Capcom whore. I love Capcom, but what I love more than Capcom is Megaman. My earliest gaming memory is of my Father and Uncle playing Megaman 2, so for this 8bit Megaman to come out as an adult I am filled with childhood glee. It’s a great addition to the Megaman series and sad to say better than…sigh…Megaman 10 (not to be confused with Megaman X).

#19. Mass Effect - I have to be honest about this game, I love what BioWare is doing with it, I love that they consider what they’re doing is making the Star Wars of Gaming (seeing how the majority think that’s HALO) it’s got an awesome voice cast and I love that they basically did the same exact thing they’d done for Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. I guess I just love games that give you the option of how you’ll lead the story.

#18. Power Stone 2 - Power Stone was awesome, but Power Stone 2 was the best thing ever to come out at the time that it did. As the Dreamcast felt like it was dying there were the few gems that seemed like the best games ever! How I miss those days sometimes.

#17. Street Fighter IV - Why? Why else? How long did we have to wait for this game? When I was 12 I believe Street Fighter 3rd Strike had come out, that was almost eleven years ago, seeing how Street Fighter IV came out before my birthday in ‘09, it was about ten years for this beast, and it pleased.

#16. God Hand - I believe that I’ve put every game from Clover Studios catalog in this list, but doesn’t that say something? Their games are some of the best looking creative games made in recent history. God Hand is no different, except for the major issue with a moment in the game to whoever has played and beat it might know what I’m talking about. Totally exciting, fun, challenging, and hilarious with this big, major flaw….All I’m saying is it’s a shame that Clover Studios is no more and Capcom owns the right to this beast.

#15. Jet Grind Radio - Oh, hell, yes. I love this game, I don’t know anyone who was as excited about this game as I was when it was first talked about (still titled Jet Set Radio which I still call this game to this day). With a rockin’ soundtrack of hiphop and rock music and the awesome stylized visuals (cel-shade all the way!) JGR will be a game you wish you never missed.

#14. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem - A game that takes the term “Survival Horror” and bitch slaps it and makes you a little crazy while doing so is always awesome. This game is rare, so rare I’ve seen it a few times in store but it is very far and few, but if you’re given the chance to play this, you really should but just remember; You are going crazy.

#13. Final Fantasy XII - FFXII is probably the best Final Fantasy game since VII, that’s all I’ve got to say about this, forget the other FF’s and just go on to XII. Oh, and play it while listening to “He Poo’s Clouds” trust me.

#12. Bully - Oh Bully, so much fun, My biggest complaint about Bully is actually how it ends, it leaves you wanting more, but isn’t every Rockstar game that way? Bully is no exception and my favorite game (next to Red Dead Redemption) from the company.

#11. We (Heart) Katamari - NA-NA na na na na na na NA-NA KATMARI DAMACY NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA. Sorry about that, but the songs in this game are just so damn catchy! I love it so much yet feel so bad doing so, you see, Katamari Creator Keita Takahashi has gone on to state that Katamari is basically about life and consumption and how we just keep consuming to never being finished. Harsh. The games did well but it was a big mystery to if there would be a new sequel due to financial issues, luckily they pushed through and we have multiple Katamari’s to roll up.

#10. Psychonauts - Talk about an artsy game, Majesco made one of the silliest oddest games out there, with a lot about being in your head this game definitely makes you feel a bit weird on how your mind may work, but all in a hilarious manner.

#09. Muramasa: The Demon Blade - This game is just one big art piece, I love how it works RPG elements with Action game play, it works out very nicely and also with it’s 2D side scrolling plate, I couldn’t imagine choosing another game here.

#08. Bioshock - All I can say about this game is; What? Atlas!? Too bad the ending sucked, but the adventure to it was most definitely awesome.

#07. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - I had a tough one with this game, I love it (obviously) but it’s odd to see the normally Lefty Link being a Righty…Now, being a Lefty myself, I loved that Link was left handed, and to tear that away from me…just….”TEARS ME A PART LISA!”

#06. Resident Evil 4 - Wow, now, what can I say about this masterpiece that no one else has ever said? I can’t it’s impossible so I may sound a bit cliche but honestly, this game is just insane! I’ve played through this game on every console every mode and am still not sick of it, when I’m bored, I play RE4 when I’m frustrated, I go onto RE4 and take it out. Also being great is the storyline they developed, seeing the footage of what this game should have been and what it became is weird just because, they both look great! I would love to play the game Capcom developed before scrapping to make this gem.

#05. Marvel VS. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes - “Gonna take you for a ride” does no justice to this game, the songs are awful but annoyingly catchy, mostly due to the fact that they’re about a line repeated over and over…but enough about that, this game is still a monster, and with the announcement of MVC3 you’d think it might slow this game down, but no. If anything I feel like it made the game even more successful.

#04.Shenmue - Remember when I was talking about the few gems on Dreamcast that made the system the best thing ever? Yeah well one of those gems is Shenmue. Heavy Rain may have been what they were aiming for while making Shenmue, but what they came out with is probably the greatest game that came out for the Dreamcast.

#03. Okami - Well here it is, the last Clover Studios game and their own personal Zelda. Where do I begin with a game like Okami? Artfully it’s beautiful, it has that pen on paper (cel-shade GO!) look that makes you feel like you are actually controlling your celestial brush, you’d never be let down by playing this game, and now with a sequel coming out for the Nintendo DS I’d say there’s no better time to play this game now.

#02. Shadow of the Colossus - Well, here we are. I didn’t think I’d get to this point in my list but here I am and here you go. Shadow of the Colossus, first thing I have to mention is it’s weird that the game plays a significant role in the 2007 Mike Binder film Reign Over Me as one of the ways Adam Sandler’s character copes with his primary struggle – with aspects of the game mirroring the tragedy that befell Sandler’s character (Shadow of the Colossus’ falling giants mirroring the crashing towers of the 9/11 tragedy in which his wife and children died, and the game’s lead character trying to resurrect his deceased love are two of the main themes which strike a similarity). Sandler is said to have ad libbed a detailed description of the control scheme in a scene with Don Cheadle, who plays his old friend. Both actors are said to have become experts at the game during the filming. Weird, but yes, basically this game has so many aspects that make it that amazing, by the end you don’t know if you’re the monster or if the Colossus are.

#32. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Why? Because, it was too much fun and anticipation for the game my only real gripe with it also is a minor issue with demo games they are lacking..Oh well can’t win them all, either way it’s a great game with a great replayability value there’s so much to do with a story mode that’s pretty expansive and has a few awesome cameo’s.

#31. Metroid Prime - My first thought about Metroid Prime was not very positive, I’m not a huge FPS fan so I was really thinking I would hate this game and found out that “I did NAHT” .

#30. Dead Rising - I love that Dead Rising starts in Colorado, I love that it is basically Dawn of the Dead, I also love that it add’s a small pinch of Pokemon Snap! Ah what a great game, but in my opinion when Capcom makes a game right, they do a hell of a job!

#29. God of War - My God, this game is the greatest thing to have ever happened for Greek mythology. The story is very cinematic which I love just because I love how the in game goes straight into cutscene and vice versa.

#28. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney - “OBJECTION!” PWAA is probably one of the most entertaining games ever made for the Nintendo DS, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t kind of a Phoenix Wright ho, I love this game too much but it is all hilarious, fun, and kinda interesting and play with your brain a bit so, “Take That!”.

#27. Mad World - Sin City as a game? Hell yeah! Jack is basically Marv if you think about it but Platinum Games (once Clover Studios) did a smart thing by making this artsy game, it pushed the boundaries for what Wii games should be, I mean, sure there were odd violent games for the Wii, but none like this.

#26. Pikmin 2 - Why Pikmin 2 over the original you may ask yourself to what I’d say was a dumb question, because although I adore the first Pikmin the second definitely fixes any issue there may have been in the original. It’s a great cute game that makes you feel like a God.

#25. Viewtiful Joe - Ah Viewtiful Joe, where I got my last E-mail address from and where my love for Clover Studios started, I don’t know what it is about games/movies/comics with characters who live this fantasy of being in a world they love that makes me connect with these characters so much (really!?) but it’s one thing someone can do to make me fall in love.

#24. Silent Hill 2 - Why I love Silent Hill 2 over the original or other sequels is because I felt this one was generally the creepiest, and had a very compelling story. It also looked great when it first came out for the PS2.

#23. Manhunt - Oh man, I love this game not because it’s violence but more so the gross feeling that overwhelms you when you’ve finished playing it. You feel dirty, very, very dirty.

#22. Batman Arkham Asylum - The last great Batman game was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, since that Super Hero Video Games have basically all been flawed and just the oddest games ever. Arkham Asylum basically came out saying “this, is what i super hero game should be” when all we wanted to think was “Batman Forever 64”…

#21. Animal Crossing City Folk - I love mundane games with mundane tasks, reason why Animal Crossing is here and not in the 40’s… I love it too much. Plus I had to have City Folk over Wild World or the original because of the online activity and community around City Folk, Thanks online friends for making my town an awesome town!

Release Date: June 30, 2005
Platform: Nintendo DS 

I honestly don’t have much to say about this game so we’re gonna keep this short, it’s kinda if someone made Grey’s Anatomy into a game, wait..they did that? Oh, well…this was probably better…I’m sure. It’s actually pretty fun and made for a great tool to test out your stylus skills, although I would say I’ve had more fun with it on the Wii this is a great game! That’s all I’ve got to be honest like I said there isn’t much to it but it’s basically a surgery simulator.

Next on the list is going to be a great one, and may cause…a Brawl….heh. Not funny.

If you like my posts you should probably let your friends know about me! as I’ve said I’m going to be a couple new things during this list because it is genuinely killing me! I love doing this but have a feeling it’s causing people to follow me less (WHY DO YOU HATE!?) so there will be quite a few new topics and articles that may interest you! Tell your friends! Please, I’m lonely here….

Release Date: January 22, 2008
Platform: Nintendo Wii

Ah, No More Heroes, how I love thee. I have no real complaints at this game, it would be higher on my list, but the fact is, the games I have coming up just get better and better, with the exception of a few that I’ve looked at and been “what were you thinking?”. Like I said no real complaints….except…for one….I’ll get to that in a minute. I’m going to do this entry in a “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” style…so here it goes!

The Good:
Wow, from the moment the game loads up and has you press A it is nothing but action. Most definitely my favorite new game series to be released it has some great WTF moments that add onto the great cell-shade art stylings and post-apocalyptic samurai western feel to it. I absolutely love the Characters, Travis Touchdown is a god, and yes, Sylvia Christel is pretty damn sexy. The game works on a free roam system but the story doesn’t advance until you make some money pay the UAA and get onto killing the top ten assassins to get to number one, I wont get too into the story, but it is very interesting and throws you for a loop at times.

The Bad:
Like I said, no real bad here! Okay sometimes the controls may feel a bit broken but that’s more of a situation for the next category..

The Ugly:
The Motorcycle sequences…are absolutely, god awful! At times I felt like I wasn’t going to continue it seemed to frustrating at times, you get used to it, but that’s not really saying much. It was a huge handicap on the game and made you feel like they should have given it more time, or just do away with it, which they did in the sequel that is a lot better and well tuned than the original, but sadly it couldn’t make the list. 

Release Date: January 15, 2007
Platform: Nintendo Wii

Wackiness is the name of the game in Smooth Moves, you need to be pretty comfortable with looking like an idiot because let’s face it, you will. Everything about this game is weird, but that is what makes Warioware so much fun! I’ve had plenty of fun drinking with friends and making fools out of ourselves* while the few to embarrassed of doing so just watched and made fun. To really explain this game is too hard, well, I guess it’s really just a bunch of mini-games to accomplish in a short time span and as you beat them they go fast until you lose. It can get pretty tough, if you’re a lame, but you will fail more so than pass at the beginning unless you let loose and let yourself look stupid. I can’t figure out more to say about this honestly, I’m sorry? You kinda just have to try it for yourself “but don’t take my word for it..” …..Actually let’s get back to the weirdness, the voice over, it’s extremely odd and semi erotic? It makes you feel odd.

*To my underage readers underage drinking is bad…and ILLEGAL. Not condoning here =)

Release Date: April 22, 2007
Platform: DS

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl are great additions to an already fun RPG series, I loved the original Red and Blue series (obviously) but hadn’t played a Pokemon game since. I was already going into High School when Silver and Gold came out and all these new Pokemon were random and new to me, some I feel adding a little more absurdity so I really just didn’t care, of course though having added Wi-Fi did a lot for me but the original series indeed got stale, you can only rehash a game so many times until fans get tired of it. They needed something more fresh, and Wi-Fi did make it better. so much so that I just purchased Heart Gold. That’s what makes Pokemon great though, they CAN put out the same game with a little difference and it makes it a lot better. I do not own Diamond or Pearl but loved playing it on my computer (don’t tell..) so Heart Gold is my first Pokemon game purchase since Red/Blue but I will always have a soft spot for the series that pretty much gave me a lot of the friends I had and have today, so thank you Nintendo, and thank you Pokemon.

Release Date: November 15, 2009
Platform: Nintendo Wii

What can I say about this game? It’s the first Mario game since the original arcade game to have multiplayer gameplay? It also marks Yoshi’s triuphant return to the main game series. To highlight the unique quality of the game Nintendo chose to package it in a red case instead of the traditional white case Wii…’ve come costum to. The game is similar to the old side-scrolling titles of our childhood, save Princess Peach and defeat Bowser! Easy enough right? Right. New elements have been added to spice up the gameplay such as new power ups (Penguin Suit, Propellar Hat, Mini Mushroom, etc.) and the big one I mentioned, Multiplayer! There isn’t too much else I can say about this game without just gushing over it to be honest, I mean…It’s back to basics with this great multiplayer addition, yet I’ve heard it works, brokenly, but works. So what’s the point of going on? There isn’t one..So I end this here…Sorry to disappoint.

Release Date: September 21, 2004
Platform(s): PS2, XBOX, GC

I’m a little stumped on what to say about this game, it’s probably the best X-Men game since X-Men on the Sega Genesis. Also helping the game was the multiplayer, if it wasn’t for that it would just seem like any other RPG, oh yeah this game plays out like an RPG. AWESOME! All battles happen in real time so you don’t have to deal with a segment to take you into battle, this added a lot of excitement to the gameplay. Players can play as one of the fifteen X-Men Characters, great scott! While I do love this game I am running low on thoughts about it, it’s been so long since I’ve played it but I do remember your first mission is in old school uniforms and have to retrieve Emma from the Brotherhood who have kidnapped her, literally have forgotten beyond that.

Release Date: January 31, 2000
Platform: PC

The game that turned normal regular people all into gamers, and addicts to be frank, how could I not add this game to the list? I got really into The Sims like everyone else did, the commercial. I feel like the ad campaign was half the fun of The Sims and it’s many expansions. It’s also simple to see why you’d get addicted to this game, you can have and do anything you want. All those expansions I mentioned earlier, they really add to the experience, the game basically then just kind of becomes SimCity, a SimCity you can see the people and if you got tired of your character kill off. Ever hated someone so much you wanted to see them get bit by a hamster and die? Weirdo, but you can do it in The Sims, or if you’re like me you’ll make them go through a door leading into what would basically be a closet and take away the door so they eventually piss their pants and eventually starve to death…Was that sick?