On Twitter recently the hashtag #7FaveGames has been trending and is essentially just a way for people to share their seven favourite video games. I’m not sure why seven is the number people are going for for this, but I suspect it might have something to do with the Twitter character limit. Anyway, for today’s blog post I wanted go over my own seven favourite games, as it seemed like a nice idea to elaborate on.
- Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest
This is a game which is fun, full of memorable characters and just plain beautiful. The graphics are really good for their time and do a really good job of creating a world which looks both fantastical and realistic. This game was also the one which gave us Dixie Kong (who I love) and it has a really incredible soundtrack as well. Amazing.
(read my review.) - Minecraft
I liked Donkey Kong Country 2 a lot and I thought that maybe my enjoyment of it was clouded by nostalgia, meaning I would never enjoy a game quite that much again – Minecraft proved that wrong. The completely open world of Minecraft coupled with its strong creative aspect and ambient soundtrack is why I love this game so much. I also love that it crosses over with things like Doctor Who and Donkey Kong via skin packs.
(read my review.) - Banjo-Tooie
What I love about Banjo-Tooie is that it manages to build a real, living world out of the 3D platforming genre. The large interconnected world is so big and mysterious and it is populated with entertaining, memorable characters. Finding out the ways that all the different things you encounter fit together is hugely satisfying and it’s all so fun to explore.
(read my review.) - The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
What I love about this game is that it takes the traditional Zelda story and combines it with an end of the world tale. In three days the moon is going to crash into the Earth and kill everybody – pairing this with the fantasy adventure that we’d come to expect of the series was simply profound. Exploring the world was so satisfying and getting to know all the characters and find out about how they had come to terms with their pending doom was incredible.
(read my review.) - Mother 3
I loved EarthBound and I wasn’t sure what to expect of Mother 3, but frankly it was even better. I never expected that a game, especially one that doesn’t have any voice actors, could be so emotional, but this is one of the saddest pieces of media I have ever consumed. The fact that such sad emotions are contrasted against a lot of humour and quirkiness helps them to stand out even more. An amazing game with a compelling story.
(read my review.) - Fire Emblem: Awakening
I already loved Fire Emblem before I played this, but this cemented it as one of my favourite Nintendo franchises. Not only does it have a deeply engaging and exciting fantasy story, but also a rewarding style of tactical gameplay. This is the only game I’ve played to really reward you for cultivating relationships between characters and it was really great to see friendships and romantic relationships grow between the characters as they went through the story.
(read my review.)
7. Animal Crossing: Wild World
I have played a lot of life sims over the years, but this one is the one which captivated me the most. Whether it’s the fact that it’s hugely immersive and moves forward through time with you or just that there is so much to collect, I really loved this game. I honestly wanted to do every single thing in it.
(read my review.)
I intentionally limited myself when writing this and kept it to one per series: this stopped me from just listing Donkey Kong and Banjo-Kazooie games! What would you pick?
(Don’t miss today’s Finger Puppet Show!)