Pretty much I'll just list games that were influential in my life...
7. Super Mario World
This game was indirectly my first ever video game. My family basically got a Super Nintendo for my sister with this game. Man, I actually got up early so I could play this thing before starting school. Good, ol' Mario. I hadn't realized how much of a mascot he was then. To me, the game was good simply because of the gameplay. I loved it so much. Just running through hitting blocks, jumping on Goombas, over those difficult Piranha Plants, and the football dudes. Man, I'll never forget them. And then I'd come across the Hammer Bros., and I was, "Oh dang! Man, they won't stop throwing those at me! Ah! Dang it, they killed me!" Yeah... Once I got the Fire Flower, I was invincible. Heh. Until I got overconfident. Yeah, playin' that game is still fun. I never tire of ye olde Mario games. It's understandable that now we just get 3D adventures anymore, but they'll never mean as much to me as Super Mario World.
6. Chrono Trigger
This is one monumental game. I just fell in love with Robo, and I was crazy about Frog. Heh. Such generic names. Nowadays, if I had picked that thing up for the first time, I would've been so skeptical about that. This game opened me up to RPG's... I think. I'm actually trying to think of other RPG's I might've played before that, and I can't think of anything. So, if I played any RPG's before this, they obviously weren't as impactful as Chrono Trigger. I understand it had a sequel, Chrono Cross, but I still haven't even seen the game yet. What astounded me was the fact that the main hero actually died. Having been swept along with the story long ago, this really made my jaw drop.
5. Super Mario RPG
The very first RPG starring Mario. Very intuitive. Great characters, great storyline, great gameplay. I'm glad that the Paper Mario franchise has kept the button-timing extra attack strength aspect. Of course, I loved Mallow, Geno, and the Axem Rangers. I actually recently played it through again. It was pretty easy for me, and I really only had to dig into my items when I fought the final boss. However, it's in my history as one of the best I've played. I'll never forget that puzzle in the ship where you had to walk through this 3D cube thing, and you couldn't see Mario any while he was in that maze-like structure.
4. EarthBound
Great game. Great mechanics. Set in modern times! Original story. You know what my favorite part about this game was? Overall? After I got a high enough level, I didn't have to get into a fight sequence, they were automatically defeated. I loved that. I followed the storyline well, and I was thoroughly joyed to find myself controlling Jeff, and later others. This RPG had characters and a storyline that I'll never forget. Oh, and let's not forget Mr. T.
3. Banjo-Kazooie
This game was a 3D platform-jumper where one could learn new tricks as they progressed through the story. I especially loved the dialogue portions. And let's not forget the transformations. One could say that Kazooie was to Banjo as Navi was to Link, but Kazooie actually served a much greater purpose, and I actually liked her. Carrying her around in my backpack somehow tickled my fancy... And I loved how she gave me so many abilties, like sprinting and shooting eggs and flying. I think I pretty much liked all of the characters. Mumbo Jumbo was awesome. If I recall, I actually got to play as him at some point. And another nod to the transformations... They all retained the yellow shorts and backpack. Heh. I think I loved the washing machine the most.
2. Super Smash Bros.
Honestly, I'm attending Smash Boards... I'd be surprised if I was you reading what I wrote and you saw I never mentioned SSB. The Nintendo 64's Super Smash Bros. had a one-of-a-kind fighting engine, and once the major gushing excitement over playing as Link or Mario or Fox (I didn't even know who anybody else was, except for Pikachu) in the same game, that kept me going. And it is a testament that they brought Samus, Ness, and Capt. Falcon into the spotlight and instigated more games for the series. This game was a trailblazer, and Sakurai should go down into history not just for this game for all its sequels, geez the man never stops doing incredible things.
1. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
I've noticed this is at the top of many lists here. And I don't want to jump on the bandwagon, but this game gained itself a huge fan when I played it. My first exposure to it was through my brother-in-law, who probably broke a couple of controllers just on Bongo Bongo. A friend of mine actually relayed the plot form start to finish to a buddy like he was telling a story--awesome idea--and he thought that was an incredible story. Imagine his surprise when he told him this was a video game. I actually went out and got a guide for this game (that's the only time I've ever bought a guide for a game) 'cause I couldn't figure out how to talk to King Zora... never occurred to me to stand out on that platform in front of him. And that Shadow Temple... man, was I ever glad to get out of there, I nearly wet my pants a few times in that temple. Remember, this was way back when.
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