My 10 Favorite Video Games -- Part 2

Hello and welcome to the second and final part of my super-special-awesome countdown, spawned from the blackest depths of my perpetual writer's block. Last post, I included some of my favorite games, and while my list of favorites is somewhat protean, I think I did a pretty good job with it. There are so many good games out there, I feel guilty for only listing ten. Enough will my rambling! Commence the countdown music!

COUNTDOWN MUSIC: Uptown girl/she's been living in her uptown world/I bet she's never met a backstreet guy/I bet her momma never told her why--

Ah, the countdown music seems to be broken. I'll have to fix that later. To number five!

NUMBER FIVE: Day of the Tentacle
Genre: Point and click/adventure
Platform: PC
Release Date: 1993

Day of the Tentacle is one of the most hilarious games I've had the pleasure of playing. In it, a mad scientist's pet tentacle drinks toxic waste, causing it to turn into an intelligent and very evil madman (madtentacle?). The only way to solve this dilemma? Time travel, of course! This doesn't work and, after accidentally sending three different teens to three different eras of time, the teens must work and find their way back to the present while also trying to destroy a future in which evil tentacles rule the world.

Makes more sense than the plot of  Waterworld

This game is kind of old. In fact, it debuted a year before I was born. I grew up watching my mom play this game, so it is really close to my heart. This was created when Lucas Arts was the leader in media entertainment, when point and click games were still cool. And they are STILL cool, dagnabit! If you want a laugh and a unique gaming experience, this is an excellent game to choose. The main characters are so funny, you get to make fun of George Washington, and learn the glories of hamster power. Rodent power is the way of the future. We should all just get a bunch of hamster wheels and attach them to generators.

On a side note, it takes me a while to beat these types of games because I have no puzzle skills, and point and clicks are ultimately puzzle games (Unless you are playing Myst. Still trying to figure that one out).

NUMBER FOUR: The Curse of Monkey Island
Genre: Point and click/adventure
Platform: PC
Released: 1997

The Curse of Monkey Island is one of the many installments in the Monkey Island series, and it is the best one. I've played it four times and I still laugh every time I play it. Guybrush Threepwood, pirate extraordinaire, has been lost at sea for a very long time, and is in search of his beloved Elaine. His ship is a bumper car, which has not sunk for some reason while in the MIDDLE OF AN OCEAN. He floats into an epic battle between Pirate Lechuck, undead dude, who is trying in vain to capture Elaine once again. Things get hairy, Guybrush accidentally turns his love into a gold statue, and then she is stolen by pirates.Things get even more fun from there. If you are willing to watch 7 minutes, here is the (very funny) intro.

For a nineties game, the graphics are great, and the art is beautiful. I love the art style, and wish they would have kept it in the future installments. This is probably the best point and click game ever made, so if you play one, pick this one. You don't really need to have played the previous games before it, although it gives relevance. The soundtrack is also really pretty. I never got tired of listening to it.

Also, his name is Guybrush Threepwood.
Why would you not play this game?

NUMBER THREE: Ico

GENRE: Adventure/Rockyoursockawesome/Platform/Puzzler

Released: 2001

Ico is the prequel to Shadow of the Colossus, and it is one of the most beautiful games of all time. It stars a young boy named Ico, who was born with horns. In his village, if a boy is born with horns, he is dubbed a sacrifice and taken to a monumental castle and placed into a sarcophagus that will slowly eats his flesh. Luckily, poor Ico escapes from him tomb and finds a young girl, and together they try to find their way out of the mystic castle. Unfortunately, the girl is not meant to leave the castle, and her mother, the master of the castle, sends strange shadow beings to bring her back. Will Ico be able to protect the girl and also save himself?



One of the cool aspects of the game is that there is practically no dialogue. Barely any words pass between Ico and Yorda (name changes depending on translation) and yet they grow such a powerful bond throughout the game. In addition, Yorda has the athletic ability of a potato. In order to get through the game, you have to manipulate the surroundings to make them suit her so she can get around. Sometimes she just can't climb a ledge, and that's when you can have Ico reach his hand down to her, and call for her to grab his hand. One time, I had a shadow being come and grab Yorda just as she had grabbed Ico's hand, and the drama of wrestling between good and evil was so powerful I was in awe. It manages to be poignant and emotional game with so little. It is truly a masterpiece.

Ico did very poorly in the US. It didn't even make it to 70k units sold before production was killed. I was lucky to find a copy that was not sixty dollars on Ebay, and was thrilled. If you can find it, play it. It's awesome.

NUMBER TWO: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: RPG
Platform: PS1
Released: 1999

Final Fantasy VIII was yet another game I watched my mother play while I was growing up. After playing twice over myself, I'm content to say that it is my favorite Final Fantasy game. It holds so many firsts for me: my first RPG, my first videogame, my first romance story, my first crush.

Oh yes. My first crush. It was on this guy:

He looks stern because Zell told Squall he looks like a woman.

Yup, Squall Leonhart was my first love. Until I realized that he was actually kind of a jerk and a bit too emo for me, he was my dream boat. I wrote stories that starred main characters with personalities exactly like his. Anyway, enough about my geeky love.

Squall Leonheart is a SEED. I don't know what that stands for, but he's a mercenary that works for a giant organization called a Garden. (HOLY SHNIKE! GARDEN? SEED? I NEVER NOTICED BEFORE) After he gets sent on his first mission, he runs into a headstrong girl named Rinoa (they met previously at a dance) and things kind of go awry after the president he is sent to kidnap turns into an undead zombie.

Final Fantasy will always be fantastical with their plots, but I love FF VIII's plot anyway. It is kind of dark, but it doesn't take itself too seriously like FF VII did. Also, the romance between Rinoa and Squall is flipping awesome, dudes, Flipping awesome. It also has one of my favorite leveling up systems. The graphics are still pretty good, as well. It has a great sound track. "Eye's On Me" is one of my favorite video game songs. The characters are cute, too.

I'm also fond of the fact that this was one of the first times the Final Fantasy series tried to fiddle with character development. FF VII never did this which is why it didn't make it on this list. (I didn't like FF VII's characters anyway)

If you don't mind spoilers and you want to spend a couple of minutes, please watch this video of Rinoa teaching Squall to dance. Yes, this probably set the precedent for all video games with romantic subplots to follow.

NUMBER ONE: Shadow of the Colossus
Genre: Platforming/puzzler/action/awesomesauce
Platform: PS2
Released: 2005

Ha, I bet you didn't see this one coming. What am I saying, of course you did! You know why? Because this game is a majestic, heart-breaking masterpiece. It begins with a nameless boy we call Wander carrying the body of his dead love across a giant bridge. He climbs his way down a tower and places her on the altar. It is quiet. And then the voices of some powerful, ancient force speak to him. Wander wants to bring her to life. They say it's impossible. He says that he must. They tell him that if he wants to revive her, he must defeat sixteen colossi. And with nothing but a sword and his trusty steed Agro, he sets out to do just that.

Hmm, I wonder how I should try to do this.

Like Ico, the magic in SotC is its simplicity. Barely any words are spoken in this game, yet you can infer a story by examining the world around you. Desolate temples, buildings, towers, all abandoned and withered with time, hint that something strange has happened here. The bond between Wander and his horse is touching, and towards the end there is a scene between the two that will melt your heart and make you cry. A lot. A lot of crying. No spoilers though, let's just say it's awesome.

The colossi are as big as buildings, and you have to climb each one of them. YAY! And to think that Wander does this all for just one girl blows your mind.

SotC has the best sound track for a game I have ever heard. I actually own it because it is that good.

I won't continue to ramble. How about you buy the game so we can talk about it, okay? I'll love you forever.
_________

And that is the end of my fantabulous countdown! You can relax, it's over! I hope you enjoyed me thrusting my opinions on you. I'll probably do it a lot because I like lists . . . ah, lists.

Hugs to the men and cookies to the girls,

Esther P.