My Top 100 Favorite Games of All-Time: #100-91

Here it begins! The bottom 10 games in my list of top 100 games of all time! This list has been excruciatingly difficult to make especially since some games' rankings could change almost on a daily basis. But I think I have made a pretty accurate list. There wasn't much criteria I was going by when making the list - only whichever games I particularly enjoyed the most within the last 2 and a half decades of video game playing. Compilations are excluded since they contain multiple games and for games with multiple releases, I have chosen the version I have played the most or enjoyed the most, so you will notice many games on the list have been released on other platforms but I went with the one I enjoyed the best.

Anyway, I don't want to waste too much time since this is a big undertaking, but here we go - without any further ado here are game numbers 100 through 91. Enjoy!

100. Dr. Mario

(NES, 1990)

The game capturing the bottom spot in my honorable list of 100 favorite games is a classic puzzle game known as Dr. Mario. Growing up, this was the puzzle game for me. I played it a ton as a kid and even still play it from time to time. My parents even played it back in the day as well as my little sister. So you could say this was the one game that every person in my immediate family has played. I find that when I do play it I can't stop for hours. This is one of my absolute favorite puzzle games of all time and one that I can always go back to and have a great time with.

99. Adventures of Lolo

(NES, 1989)

A different kind of puzzle game than Dr. Mario, this game is another classic that spawned two sequels, which are equally as good, but I went with the original since it's the first in the trilogy and the first one I played. The sequels are also more of the same and do nothing to expand on the original. That said, this game is fantastic and is a great example of what a puzzle game can be when falling blocks or pills aren't involved. I always appreciate when games throw in the same kind of puzzle in other games, but this game alone is absolutely worth playing on its own. I played this gem as a kid but never finished it until about 6 years when I played it again on Wii's virtual console. A memorable puzzle experience that I have yet to grow tired of.

98. Kirby: Triple Deluxe

(3DS, 2014)

The newest game on my entire list, this game is one of the latest Kirby entries and is just as fantastic as all the entries before it. It doesn't do anything particularly new but every element of the game comes together perfectly and reminds me just how special the Kirby series is. The 3D effects are good and the level designs are even better. The game is just a whole lot of fun and even though I finished the game I absolutely will go back and continue it to get 100% and probably will even replay it several more times over the next decade or two. Playing this game also proved to me that even in 2014 Nintendo was still pumping out amazing games.

97. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

(PS1, 1997)

Forgive me if the ranking for this game seems low. I fully acknowledge how great this game is, but I haven't finished it, and didn't even play it until about 3 years ago, so I was late to game, so to speak. That's not to say I can't enjoy a game years and years after its release but I guess being that this was actually one of the last Castlevania games I played, my perception of the series is just a bit different from most others'. Clearly, I still like the game a lot, otherwise I wouldn't have put it on this list at all. I want to go back and give this game a fair shot and perhaps it might even work its way up the ranks. From what I played of the game (which is around 30-40%) the game is fantastic, is one of the best games in the series, and I can certainly see why this game changed the face of the series the way it did. Not to mention it has a fantastic soundtrack.

96. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

(3DS, 2013)

A fantastic game on the 3DS, and a worthy sequel to the original Luigi's Mansion. In fact, I actually prefer this game over the original. The original was very charming, different, and did a lot of things right. Unfortunately the gameplay was a little shallow and the game was incredibly short. This game is about five times as long as the original and has more puzzles. You don't have to figure out how to capture each ghost, which is the one thing I missed from the original, but there are more puzzles within the mansion itself. I didn't think I would actually like it as much as the original but I was happily proved wrong. They did an amazing job on this entry, though I still think it would've better suited the Wii U than the 3DS,but overall one of the best new games I've played in the last 5 years. Much like Kirby: Triple Deluxe, this game helped reiterate the fact that Nintendo still makes great games.

95. Advance Wars: Dual Strike

(DS, 2005)

I easily could've put any game in the series in this spot but I played Dual Strike significantly more than the others in the series. The first two on the Game Boy Advance are great in their own right but the touch screen controls just made perfect sense. Advance Wars is a currently dormant series, which is a shame since all of the games are fantastic, and this is coming from someone who doesn't even really like strategy games. This game was probably the most forgiving out of the series, had the most content, and the best soundtrack. If nothing else, this game turned me into a fan of the series and turn based strategy games in general.

94. E.V.O.: The Search for Eden

(SNES, 1993)

Enix had some real classics on the SNES and this is one of them. Absolutely one of the most obscure titles on my list, this one fetches a high selling price nowadays. Perhaps this is because it didn't sell well when it was released but is now being recognized as the wonderful game it is. I first played this gem on an emulator about 12 or 13 years ago and it was unlike anything I've played before. Even today, this is one of the most unique games I've ever played. It plays like a standard platform game, but with one significant addition - the ability to evolve. Gain experience points, add things like a tail, better teeth, or wings. And that's only the start. This game takes place over the last 1 billion + years, as you start out as a fish, then slowly evolve to a reptile, bird, mammal, and then finally a human. Truly a game for the ages.

93. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

(NES, 1987)

Don't get used to seeing sports titles on this list because this is the only one. This is easily the best boxing / sports title of all time. It is an absolute classic that just begs to be replayed over and over for the next 100 years. I still have never beat this game but I've come very close so many times. One day I hope to actually finish it. This game has a pretty brutal learning curve but it tests your reflects and pattern memorization and in my experience it actually helps improve those areas. The Punch-Out!! sequel on the Wii is also a very worthy sequel as well as Super Punch-Out!! on SNES, but to me this is the ultimate Punch-Out and is every bit as enjoyable today as it ever was.

92. Wario Ware Inc.: Mega Microgame$

(GBA, 2003)

This game completely took me by surprise in 2003. I remember reading about it prior to its release and had no clue what it even was. I played it on an emulator just after it released and was hooked instantly. I love every game in the series but this one earns extra points for being the first one and the most original. The game is very quirky and almost introduces a whole new genre to video games. It's great to play in short doses or in long hauls. Either way, Wario's got you covered! I just wish they would release one on 3DS already!

91. Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

(XBOX, 2002)

Talk about a game that sold me a system! I bought an Xbox just to experience this gem. Prior to this game's release, I have never played anything like it. I only ever dreamed of a game of this size - a game where you can literally wander the entire world and do whatever you want. My friend got this game when it released and called me over to check it out- I was hooked instantly. I have wanted an open world game for so very long, and still to this day, this game boasts the biggest fictional world I've ever seen in a video game. You could create any type of character you wanted to, go anywhere in the world whenever you wanted...it was pure magic. Few games have given me this much freedom and choice, even its sequels Oblivion and Skyrim didn't match the initial love I had for this game. Unfortunately I no longer have an Xbox and though I can play the PC version, it's just not the same to me since I strongly prefer playing on a console. But despite that, I'd love to revisit the game one day, and will hold onto the memories of wandering aimlessly in a foreign world til 5 in the morning during my college years for a lifetime. Oh, and I didn't even mention the game's soundtrack - composed by the legendary Jeremy Soule, this game's soundtrack is an absolute masterpiece, just as they are in the rest of the series.