70. Metroid: Zero Mission
(GBA, 2004)
I didn't become a fan of Metroid until I played Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime and those games instantly transformed me into a huge fan of the series. Zero Mission is a remake of the original Metroid, which I still can't get into, but Zero Mission makes it a lot more accessible, despite being 90% the same game. Samus gets new moves and an added section at the end shows Samus out of her suit for the first time. Zero Mission is a truly fantastic game and if it weren't a remake I'd go so far to say it's the best 2D game in the series, but two other games I found to be a bit better. If I had to recommend an entry point into the series, I would say this is the best bet. It's one of the easier games in the series, gives you a good amount of open ended exploration, but without fully getting lost. You're often hinted at where to go next but it's not completely hand holding. It's an iconic game in the series, and is honestly one of the best remakes of any game.
69. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
(Genesis, 1992)
In the early 90's, Mario's only real competition was Sonic, and this series was almost as iconic as the Italian plumber's games, but Sonic was a different kind of platformer. It was fast, and about taking different routes to get to your goals. Unlike its predecessor, this game featured Tails for the first time and allowed two people to play simultaneously, which is something Mario didn't do until New Super Mario Bros. Wii in 2009. After all, Sega does what Nintendon't. But seriously though, this game is almost the quintessential Sonic game. It is infinitely replayable with great gameplay and a fantastic soundtrack. Sonic has had it rough the last 15+ years but he was every bit as iconic as Mario in the 90s. This proves it.
68. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
(GBA, 2002)
Although this wasn't my first Castlevania game, it was the one that got me into the series. It almost copies everything from Symphony of the Night and puts it on a portable, and I even acknowledge that Symphony is the better game, but I personally prefer Harmony of Dissonance for the fact that if I never played this game, I don't know if I'd ever have gotten into the series. This is also one of my favorite games on the Game Boy Advance. The music is kind of crappy, except for one really great theme, but it doesn't detract from the great gameplay. It is a pure "Metroidvania" style Castlevania through and through, and though it is one of the least original games in the series, it's a fantastic game. It's also a pretty big game and it's pretty impressive that they managed to cram a game almost the size of Symphony of the Night onto the GBA.
67. Metroid Fusion
(GBA, 2002)
This was my first Metroid game and I'm not sure why I even picked it up to begin with, but I knew the series was considered one of Nintendo's best, and this game got great reviews. I was definitely hooked right from the start, and it introduced to me the iconic series that would later become one of my favorites. It did everything Super Metroid did only on a handheld. Looking back, I have only two gripes with the game. For one, there is a massive difficulty spike late in the game which is kind of disorienting and secondly, the game does just a little too much hand-holding. But I can't really fault the game for the latter since it was a perfect gateway into the series for me. Like Zero Mission, it's one of the easier games in the franchise (aside from the late game difficulty spike) and is every bit a Metroid game as any other in the series. One of the absolute best Game Boy Advance games of all time.
66. Tetrisphere
(N64, 1997)
One of my absolute favorite puzzle games, Tetrisphere isn't so much Tetris as it is just a spherical puzzle game. I could get lost into this game for hours at a time. I truly wish we got another sequel, remake, or even just a port of this game. It would be fantastic on the 3DS. The soundtrack is fantastic as well, being comprised of mostly techno tunes. The gameplay is simple to understand, difficult to master, and addicting enough that you can get pulled into a trance and lose a couple hours in a day. The game also has a couple different modes to offer some variety, and each mode is equally as addicting. Talking about this game is definitely making me want to play it again.
65. Secret of Mana
(SNES, 1993)
One of the best Action RPGs ever made, Secret of Mana was a great game on the Super Nintendo. It was different from Final Fantasy in that the battles were in real time, were not random, and you could roam around the battlefield. The soundtrack is fantastic and the graphics were very good for the time, but the story was just okay. However, the fun gameplay more than made up for it. It was one of the more memorable adventures I played on the SNES, even if I never actually played this one until about 8 or 9 years ago. Better late than never, right? At least this goes to show the game stands the test of time.
64. Kirby Super Star
(SNES, 1996)
One of the best games in the Kirby series, Super Star was more of a collection of smaller games, though they were all very good. There were more abilities in this game than any other Kirby game to date, and most of them were a blast to use. The music, as always, is great, the gameplay is classic Kirby, and the adventure is well worth playing through multiple times. The variety between the different games is partially what keeps you coming back as well. Easily one of the most memorable games in the series, and a fantastic platformer that I find myself coming back to every so often.
63. Animal Crossing: New Leaf
(3DS, 2013)
Animal Crossing: New Leaf took everything the three existing games in the series did and expanded on it in every way possible. Beforehand you were only a resident in your village. Now? You're the mayor. Life simulation games are not my favorite type of game but I find Animal Crossing games to be very charming, fun, and laid back. There are no real objectives - it's really whatever you want to do. Except in this entry you also lay out the town over time. You earn money to build new projects like a lighthouse, fountain, cafe, etc. This is easily one of my favorite games on the 3DS and though I don't play as much currently, in time I will migrate back to it, as once the Animal Crossing bug is in you, it's hard to get it out.
62. Kirby: Mass Attack
(DS, 2011)
One of the games on the list I just recently discovered, this game really amazed me at how well a touch screen controlled platformer could work. I avoided this game for 3 years because I normally hate gimmicky touch screen games but this one really surprised me. One of my favorite Kirby games, actually. You control one Kirby at first, but the more fruit you eat, the more Kirbys you get to add to your army, having up to ten Kirby's at any given time. It's really a ton of fun, and a true gem on the DS that was largely ignored since the 3DS was already out and most people moved onto that system already, despite it being backwards compatible. I can absolutely see myself replaying this in a few years as this game is simply fantastic in almost every way. The soundtrack is great, the gameplay is both fun and inventive, and it's just an overall well made game that is very satisfying to play
61. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
(PS3, 2011)
If you want to get lost in a vastly deep world with great characters, a fun story, tons of side missions, complete open-ended freedom, with a classless system where you can literally make any kind of character you want - Skyrim is your game. If I had to fault it for anything, it would be that the game is just too big. I hope to actually work my way through this game one day but I already put probably 40 hours into it and I barely scratched the surface. There are just so many ways to play and so many things to do, that I might actually be content if this game were to be the only game I had to play for the next few years. No joke, I could probably play it for a good three years and still see new things. Like Morrowind and Oblivion before it, one of Skyrim's biggest strengths is the deep lore of the world found in the game. This can be discovered through exploration, conversation, or even reading through books throughout the game. It works so incredibly well that you honestly do feel like you're in this giant fantasy world. It is honestly the best open world adventure ever created.
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