I'm going to make 2 separate lists because I don't think I can fairly compare games I don't play that often anymore with ones I do.
Games I primarily played within the last few years:
1) Super Mario Galaxy 2 -- Full of great scenery and music and varied, fun levels. Getting that 242nd star took may tries, but was so WORTH IT! I also enjoyed spending countless hours optimizing and finding dozens of shortcuts to improve my best times.
2) Mario Kart Wii -- I played this pretty regularly online for about a year after I got it. I also played it online with my friend when he moved to Germany for a year.
3) Tile World & CCEdit -- Of course!
4) Guitar Hero 3 -- Love the track list and the presentation more than any other GH game.
5) Donkey Kong Country Returns -- Challenging levels, great settings, AND a Time Trial mode?! Easily makes the list!
6) Super Smash Bros Brawl -- One of my friends is about perfectly matched with me in terms of skill level at this game, so we’ve had many epic battles.
7) Roller Coaster Tycoon -- Somehow building a theme park never gets old. I made it to the bottom of the Corkscrew Follies scenario list last summer--then my
hard drive got wiped.
8) Mega Man Day in the Limelight 2 -- A fun (though still in development) fangame featuring an immensely simple yet gratifying core gameplay concept that, IMHO, should’ve been present in every single official Mega Man game from the start!
9) Zelda Skyward Sword -- I haven’t finished it yet and it’s not perfect, but it’s still a refreshing change to the series.
10) Yu-Gi-Oh World Championship Tournament 2010 -- I must’ve built and tested over 30 different decks. Coming up with new, unconventional strategies is something I enjoy.
Honorable mentions: Kirby’s Epic Yarn, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Mega Man 2, 9 & 10, Portal 2, Tetris, Super Mario 3D Land
Games I primarily played at least 4 years ago:
1) Crash Team Racing -- Each time one of my friends came over, we used to play this game for at least an hour. It was so fun we even spent hours playing the demo included in Spyro 2 until I got the actual game.
2) Super Mario Bros 3 -- Full of varied and memorable stages, not to mention all the powerups, this is the closest a Mario game has gotten to perfection IMO.
3) Spyro the Dragon -- As I described it to my friends in 1<sup>st</sup> grade, “It’s the game you just gotta have!” It was highly satisfying to explore the levels and improve from just starting out to reaching 120% through the years of my childhood. More recently, I’ve also found it fun to speedrun. (Best time starting from a new game to beat Gnasty: 1hr3min.)
4) Yoshi’s Island -- Another example of a game where finishing 100% was an exciting journey of many years.
5) Ratchet and Clank 2: Going Commando -- Even though I am not a fan of shooters for the most part, I found it incredibly satisfying to build up an arsenal and then find the right weapon to use for the right job.
6) Super Mario 64 DS -- I never owned an N64, so I only got tastes of Super Mario 64 and I could only imagine how awesome it would be to play. Then with this game I got my chance to play it myself. And it was just as good as I had imagined.
7) Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon -- Better than the original: fun minigames like skating. Worse than the original: frustrating minigames like whack-a-mole.
8) NES Zelda 1 -- Alas, I fear we may never again get a Zelda game with top-down, 2D, grid based, simple but challenging maze-like dungeons that don’t have to be completed in strict order
9) Heroes of Might and Magic III -- An old but somehow still very fun strategy classic
10) Super Mario Bros Deluxe -- This reincarnation of the original Super Mario meshed best with my love of strategizing and optimizing because of the individual level score challenges.
Honorable mentions: Yoshi’s Island DS, Kirby’s Adventure, Pokémon Emerald, Super Mario Bros 2 (USA), Super Mario World, Paper Mario (original and 1000-Year Door)
Games I primarily played within the last few years:
1) Super Mario Galaxy 2 -- Full of great scenery and music and varied, fun levels. Getting that 242nd star took may tries, but was so WORTH IT! I also enjoyed spending countless hours optimizing and finding dozens of shortcuts to improve my best times.
2) Mario Kart Wii -- I played this pretty regularly online for about a year after I got it. I also played it online with my friend when he moved to Germany for a year.
3) Tile World & CCEdit -- Of course!
4) Guitar Hero 3 -- Love the track list and the presentation more than any other GH game.
5) Donkey Kong Country Returns -- Challenging levels, great settings, AND a Time Trial mode?! Easily makes the list!
6) Super Smash Bros Brawl -- One of my friends is about perfectly matched with me in terms of skill level at this game, so we’ve had many epic battles.
7) Roller Coaster Tycoon -- Somehow building a theme park never gets old. I made it to the bottom of the Corkscrew Follies scenario list last summer--then my
hard drive got wiped.
8) Mega Man Day in the Limelight 2 -- A fun (though still in development) fangame featuring an immensely simple yet gratifying core gameplay concept that, IMHO, should’ve been present in every single official Mega Man game from the start!
9) Zelda Skyward Sword -- I haven’t finished it yet and it’s not perfect, but it’s still a refreshing change to the series.
10) Yu-Gi-Oh World Championship Tournament 2010 -- I must’ve built and tested over 30 different decks. Coming up with new, unconventional strategies is something I enjoy.
Honorable mentions: Kirby’s Epic Yarn, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Mega Man 2, 9 & 10, Portal 2, Tetris, Super Mario 3D Land
Games I primarily played at least 4 years ago:
1) Crash Team Racing -- Each time one of my friends came over, we used to play this game for at least an hour. It was so fun we even spent hours playing the demo included in Spyro 2 until I got the actual game.
2) Super Mario Bros 3 -- Full of varied and memorable stages, not to mention all the powerups, this is the closest a Mario game has gotten to perfection IMO.
3) Spyro the Dragon -- As I described it to my friends in 1<sup>st</sup> grade, “It’s the game you just gotta have!” It was highly satisfying to explore the levels and improve from just starting out to reaching 120% through the years of my childhood. More recently, I’ve also found it fun to speedrun. (Best time starting from a new game to beat Gnasty: 1hr3min.)
4) Yoshi’s Island -- Another example of a game where finishing 100% was an exciting journey of many years.
5) Ratchet and Clank 2: Going Commando -- Even though I am not a fan of shooters for the most part, I found it incredibly satisfying to build up an arsenal and then find the right weapon to use for the right job.
6) Super Mario 64 DS -- I never owned an N64, so I only got tastes of Super Mario 64 and I could only imagine how awesome it would be to play. Then with this game I got my chance to play it myself. And it was just as good as I had imagined.
7) Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon -- Better than the original: fun minigames like skating. Worse than the original: frustrating minigames like whack-a-mole.
8) NES Zelda 1 -- Alas, I fear we may never again get a Zelda game with top-down, 2D, grid based, simple but challenging maze-like dungeons that don’t have to be completed in strict order
9) Heroes of Might and Magic III -- An old but somehow still very fun strategy classic
10) Super Mario Bros Deluxe -- This reincarnation of the original Super Mario meshed best with my love of strategizing and optimizing because of the individual level score challenges.
Honorable mentions: Yoshi’s Island DS, Kirby’s Adventure, Pokémon Emerald, Super Mario Bros 2 (USA), Super Mario World, Paper Mario (original and 1000-Year Door)