Just a very, very rough draft in progress as I search my memory banks for games that I recall particularly fondly - which could lead to a fairly eclectic list. From the recent to the not-really-all-that-recent. Mostly the latter.
I won't be going into great detailed synopses of these games - there's plenty of info on them about the interwebs, I'll just try to think of something brief and suitably flattering to say about them .
What to say about Skies of Arcadia? It's a fairly standard cliché JRPG "Collect the magic McGuffins" and "Defeat the evil Empire!" plot. But it's the vibrant, interesting world, likable characters, sense of exploration and sweeping orchestral scores that give such a standard story a lot of life and colour. It's an example of a time-honoured, standard story being done -well- for a change.
I'm not the kind of person who can have a 'favourite' game. But this one was very dear to me growing up. Still is.
This game is difficult in the best possible way. The way that compels you to keep trying again until you succeed, because nothing in the game feels 'impossible'. You can normally see exactly where you're going wrong and how to pass the obstacle within a death or two, and respawns are so quick that you barely register your lost progress a lot of the time. The levels are well-designed and the controls are some of the most fluid 2D platforming controls I've ever used.
The game gets special merit for coming along at a time when I was personally getting pretty frustrated at how user-friendly and watered-down game difficulty seemed to be getting in general. Then Super Meat Boy came along and kicked me right in the ass with a steel boot. On fire. It was a good feel.
Screw the Cotton Alley though. Dear GOD.
It's probably the silliest installment of the series, but the art style and level design come together just right to make this one of the most memorable. One of my favourite personal picks for a quick co-op game experience and a welcome addition to my Live Arcade library.
If you had one of these games as a kid/teen then you know exactly what I mean when I say, "This game owned my LIFE."
You seriously could not avoid the massive Pokémon phenomenon back in the day and it was sometimes hard to forget that it was all based around a game rather than a TV show/Comic/Trading card game/Collectible figurine range...you get the point.
But a game it was. A surprisingly deep RPG built on a kid-friendly franchise that just got deeper and more complex (some may say 'convoluted') with each installment, but it all started back here in the days of schoolyard battles on your GameBrick, bliss.
And just for the record? Bulbasaur for life, yo.
