LK's Top 30 Games of All Time #30-26

30. Okami (PS2, Wii)

Okami, in 2006, was considered the best game of the year, and though I never played it at the time, calling it better than the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess made me ridiculously angry. But after I finally played it for the first time on the Wii in 2008, people can finally take my opinion for more than a grain of salt. But what I ended up playing was not only better than Twilight Princess, but it ended up being one of my favorite games ever made.

Okami is a water painting come to life. It is literally a work of art from just the visuals themselves. Okami using the beautiful cel-shading visuals like in the Wind Waker. It does get a little confusing looking at certain points of the game, but Okami is easily one of the best looking game ever made, in terms of artistic design. The game also has a ridiculously amazing soundtrack to boot. No voice acting sadly, but the fantastic soundtrack makes up for it.

Okami is essentially a Zelda game made by Capcom, but not only did they master the kind of adventure Zelda games made famous, but they perfected it to make a monster of a game that can take people more than 40 hours to complete, never being bored at any part of the game. It has clever level design, a beautiful and gigantic world to explore, and a great sense of humor. Okami is an amazing game, and is my 30th best game I have ever played.

29. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1)

Though the Castlevania franchise has been terribly hard in many of the games, the platforming and action is top notch. Symphony of the Night took the great 2D platforming and action made famous in the previous titles, and totally revolutionized it. Instead of the normal level progression of past games, they switched the whole game to take place in one gigantic castle. What it came out to be was a magnificent game from start to finish, that is my 29th favorite game of all time.

What made Symphony of the Night so special is that Konami made a new Castlevania title for the new generation of consoles, keeping the gameplay that made the past games special, but making it more of an adventure game instead of a action-platformer. Exploring the massive castle is truly fun, and having a trusty map at your disposal is a giant plus that makes exploring a blast. Everywhere you explore adds more and more to the massive map, and eventually you’ll find more and more shortcuts to find your way around. penus

Another major improvement was the technical aspects of the game since its new to the 3D generation. The game is still 2D for the most part, but there are lots of 3D effects thrown in to make things interesting while also keeping the 2D parts as beautiful as ever. The soundtrack was also atmospheric and some of the areas of the castle are some of the most memorable tracks I’ve ever heard.

If you’re an old school Castlevania fan, you don’t have to worry, the game is blast to play, is hard, and has some great boss fights. Everything about the game is amazing, and if you want to put yourself through the agony of the trying to complete this beast, then by all means, go right ahead, I highly suggest it. It could have had a bigger impact if it was fully 3D, but still on a 2D view, but the overall game is still fantastic and is Link Kid’s 29th favorite game of all time.

28. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (X360, PC)

I never played an Elder Scrolls game before the fourth installment of the series, Oblivion. As saddening as that is, it doesn’t change the fact that I absolutely loved Oblivion, and I think it’s not only one of the favorite games of all time, but also my favorite game of 2006. It’s a pretty massive game from to bottom, and if you’re no familiar with the type of game it is, you’ll be very confused right off the bat, and oh gosh, I was. But after you get used to the game, and how to travel, it becomes a blast to play.

Oblivion plays like an action adventure game with a giant world to explore and dungeons to crawl through, but it has a lot of customization options that really make it end up being an RPG. But the combat is nothing to be saddened about though, because even though its not very deep, it’s fun to play, and that’s what games aren’t meant to be right? But Oblivion is not thin by any means, it’s a very thick and deep game with tons of the sidequests to take part in, while also taking part in the main story line.

The only major gripe is the confusion on what to do half the time, but once you figure out how to use fast travel on the map, and also learn how to navigate through your journal that keeps all of the your current quests in, it becomes a lot easier to understand. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is not a game I can suggest to anyone, a lot of people wont understand what to do, and how to do it. I do recommend this game to Action Adventure and RPG fans though, but it’s the two genres mixed into one, and is my 28th favorite game ever.

27. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (X360, PS3, PC)

Infinity Ward was the team responsible for the 2 best World War 2 shooters, Call of Duty, and Call of Duty 2. But Call of Duty 3 was then given to Treyarch to complete, so Infinity Ward could then go back and create the next Call of Duty, which ended up being one of the greatest shooters of all time: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Not only did they perfect the dual analog stick control, they made the game one of the best visual games ever to hit consoles, and it also has an online community that is rarely matched by Halo or Grand Theft Auto.

Call of Duty 4’s single player campaign is pure genius with great action, awesome in-game cutscenes as well some pretty emotional moments. It really took the shooter genre to a whole new limit wit the amount of things happening on screen, and also what you could do yourself in every situation. The campaign did end short, which is the most disappointing part of the game, but everything you do in the short time you play is simply amazing.

But what made up the bulk of the game was the online play which dare I say is better then Halo 3’s. Call of Duty 4 added a perk systems which allows you to customize your character by adding different enhancements like being able to carry more grenades, or increasing your weapon damage. What the coolest thing about it is that no one’s two perks will be the same, there are so many to choose from, and they’re all pretty balanced to boot.

The gameplay is the same old Call of Duty in terms of control and how you aim your gun, but it’s still one of the best shooters ever made with all of the great enhancements like the brilliant online modes and the kick ass, but short campaign. But the fact still remains that I would easily play this game over Halo 3, especially the online, and to say anything that makes Halo 3 better than Call of Duty 4 is just plain wrong. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is my 27th favorite game of all time.

26. Super Metroid (SNES)

Playing games late is never a good idea, especially after 14 years, but I finally got my hands on the Virtual Console of Super Metroid in 2008, and I loved the hell out of it. Super Metroid is considered to be the best Metroid game in the franchise, but though I don’t agree, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s absolutely amazing from start to finish. It’s an action game with guns-a-blazin’, with a very adventurous feel by all of the platforming an exploring you do throughout the entire game. Super Metroid is one of the best games of 1994, which was full of amazing titles.

Since it’s an action platformer, it will feel nothing like a normal platforming, like a Mario or a Sonic. Super Metroid’s world is free roaming, with no level progression like in a standard platformer. Instead, you play as Samus as she roams the world searching for answers with her trusty arm cannon. The game’s enemies are very unique and instead of jumping on them, the idea is to shoot them by aiming with the D-Pad, and shooting with one of the face buttons. Samus also collects different types of weapons and can be switched with the Select button.

Once you first start playing Super Metroid, it’ll feel very atmospheric, and there’s a huge sense of seclusion. You wont meet any different humans, or friendly

beasts (well, a very little amount). All of the creatures that inhabit the land are your enemies, which makes the game that much more atmospheric, and well, awesome. Getting through the game is a lot harder than a normal platformer, and what makes it so difficult is the lack of communication with anything. If you’re stuck, you’ll have to find out what to do yourself, the game will never tell you.

Super Metroid really defined the Super Nintendo. It had amazing visuals, a great and atmospheric soundtrack, with well crafted gameplay as well. It is easily on the best of 1994, one of the best of the Super Nintendo, and one of the best of the generation. It’s too bad I played the game so late, I really wish I played it in 1994 (though I would be 5 years old), but even playing it 14 years later and still loving it really tells you how timeless Super Metroid really is. It’s on the Virtual Console for 800 points, do yourself and favor and pick it up. Super Metroid is a blast, and is my 26th favorite game of all time.