And so we get to the last list, the one you were probably expecting and the one you were waiting for!
My favourite video games of the last 42 years
1972 – n/a
1973 – n/a
1974 – n/a
1975 – n/a
1976 – n/a
1977 – n/a)
1978 – Space Invaders (arcade)
1979 – Galaxian (arcade)
1980 – Rogue (unix)
1981 – Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (Apple II)
1982 – Robotron: 2084 (arcade)
1983 – Moria (unix)
1984 – Elite (BBC)
1985 – Super Mario Bros. (NES)
1986 – The Legend Of Zelda (NES)
1987 – Final Fantasy (NES)
1988 – Final Fantasy II (NES)
1989 – Cadash (arcade)
1990 – Super Mario World (SNES)
1991 – Street Fighter 2 (arcade)
1992 – Shining Force (Genesis)
1993 – Ogre Battle: March Of The Black Queen (SNES)
1994 – Final Fantasy VI (SNES)
1995 – Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (SNES)
1996 – Super Mario 64 (N64)
1997 – DoDonPachi (arcade)
1998 – Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX)
1999 – Valkyrie Profile (PSX)
2000 – Diablo 2 (PC)
2001 – Final Fantasy X (PS2)
2002 – Metroid Prime (Gamecube)
2003 – P.N. 03 (Gamecube)
2004 – World of Warcraft (PC)
2005 – Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS)
2006 – Elite Beat Agents (DS)
2007 – Etrian Odyssey (DS)
2008 – The World Ends With You (DS)
2009 – Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP)
2010 – Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)
2011 – Minotron: 2012 (iOS)
2012 – Diablo 3 (PC)
2013 – Puzzle & Dragons (iOS)
2014 – ?
Games are listed by the year of first release (not necessarily when I first played them) with the platform they were first released on. If this says Apple or BBC, then I would have played them first on the Commodore 64, probably a year later.
As I formed this list I asked myself: Would I still play this game today? For everything listed, the answer is yes. This doesn’t mean I overlooked games I loved in my youth for games I prefer as an adult, because you can rest assured I played the hell out of all of this stuff way back when it was released as well 🙂
This was another near-impossible list to assemble. In my youth I must have played virtually every single arcade game I ever saw, and over the years have played thousands (no exaggeration!) of console games. How to distill such an experience down to 42? In 1985 alone the release of the timeless Super Mario Bros. meant that other classics such as Paradroid, Ultima IV, Star Quake and a wealth of arcade shooters (Gradius, Exed Exes, Slap Fight, Tiger Heli) missed the list. 1990 was another impossible choice, with Super Mario World facing off against Ultima VI and Wizardry VI! In recent years I have spent more time on fewer games. It’s very hard to single out just one 🙁
The choice of Diablo 3 for 2012 may require some explanation, since I once described it as the largest disappointment and did not give it my ‘game of the year’ award. Since then, I have played the PS3 version inside out and enjoyed every moment of it. Furthermore, just last week Blizzard (finally!) massively overhauled the PC version and ‘fixed it’. The wrongs have therefore been righted, it seems, and I believe that Diablo 3 will be giving me enjoyment for a long time to come.
So, fellow gamers, what do you think? I’m sure I have a few controversial choices on here. What did I miss?