Hawk's Top Games

[Hawks]

My top games I've played, not in any particular order. I'd say Tetris is the best, closely followed by Pictobits and A Link to the Past. Enjoy and ridicule my Nintendo/Lego fangirlishness if you wish.

 

A Link to the Past (SNES)

released 1992 for SNES, re-released as A Link to the Past/Four Swords for GBA in 2002, and for WiiWare in 2007

The third installment in one of the coolest franchises of all time, this game follows the general 'Save the Princess, save the Kingdom' storyline. It uses'3/4' overhead view, which I love, and the graphics are just iconic. To be honest, this game is more on here for the nostalgia and graphics than the gameplay, although it's great too.

 

Super Mario Bros. (NES)

released 1985 for NES, re-released for GBA in 2004 & 2005, for WiiWare in 2007

Okay, if you've ever played this and it didn't leave a mark on you, you need to go play it again. THE iconic 'Save the Princess, Save the Kingdom' game, with weird turtle things that drop spiky things on you and weird bowling ball type shell things with legs, etc. The wacky enemies that have become icons are one of the great things about the game. Watching the characters develop through the series from their 8-bit forms to today's full-color 3D-type characters is as fun as it is interesting.

 

Warcraft III (PC)

released 2002 for PC, expansion pack The Frozen Throne released 2003

Real-time strategy game, I guess you'd call it. It sets the stage for World of Warcraft, so if you like WoW you might want to pick up this one. There are campaign modes for each of the races (Human, Orc, Night Elf, and Undead) and a bonus campaign as well. There are a fair number of clever little easter eggs, including exploding sheep. It also comes with a Level Editor so you can create your own campaigns and maps (or just make your heroes overpowered with tons of stuff).

 

LEGO LOCO (PC)

released 1999-2001 for PC

Think SimCity for kiddies meets Lego. You build a city for minifigs to live in, including rail and roads. There are a selection of fun things to add, from a skate shop to a pizza place. The 'figs can ride the train, drive cars, and interact with each other. There are a number of easter eggs including seasonal scenery and small animals. This is probably my favorite game on this list after Tetris.

 

New Super Mario Bros.(DS)

released 2006 for DS

More 'Save the Princess, save the Kingdom' but it's all in good fun. In my opinion it shows off the graphical capabilities of the DS with the 2.5D visuals. Mario has the same abilities he's always had, with Super Mushrooms and Fire Flowers, but also Blue Shells and Giant Mushrooms. He finds new and old enemies including the great Latiku (I have stories about him/her/it from the NES version) and better-looking Koopas. It has endless replay value, as you collect coins as you play which allow you to unlock Mushroom Houses and backgrounds. The soundtrack is full of updated and fun classics.

 

Tetris (NES)

released 1989 for NES, rereleased in so many ways...

THE Soviet Mind Game. Probably THE Best Game Ever. There's something mesmerizing about the falling Tetrominoes and the Russian music that make this game a winner for anyone.(Unless you suck at it... Then you'll hate it.) I have the original NES version on my list, as I played it the most, but I have also played it on Windows and my graphing calculator. :P It's been refreshed by the Tetris Company and released as WiiWare, two DS versions, and a new Wii version, tons of mobile versions, and with too many clones to count.

 

Lego Island II (PC)

released 2001 for PC, PS, GBC/GBA

I love this game. You become a pizza-wielding, skateboarding dude and deliver pizzas to the citizens of the island to earn bricks to build your house. The last pizza you deliver is to the Brickster, Lego Island's resident ne'er-do-well. He, of course, breaks out and begins destroying the island's buildings by ripping apart the Construct-o-Pedia... You journey as Pepper to Castle Isand, Dino/Adventurer Island, and lastly to Ogel Island, where you confront the Brickster for the last time. It's full of Lego goodness, corny puns, and general fun stuff. It's got great replay value and it's always fun to ride the train, drive vehicles, and the helicopters!

 

Lego Racers (PC)

released 1998-2001 for N64, PS, PC, GBC

Once again, classic Lego awesomeness. You can build a car, build a driver, and race through different worlds based on Lego themes from the 90's. The characters are the quirky and clever Lego 'figs I've grown to know and love. The final boss, Rocket Racer, is quite cool, and the game ties into LEGOLAND (another Lego PC game) with time trial races versus Veronica Voltage, the Professor's daughter.

 

Super Mario World (SNES)

released for SNES 1991, GBA 2002, on Virtual Console 2007

I've never had the fortune to play this game on an actual SNES, but this is probably my favorite Mario title of all time. It is in this game that we meet Yoshi, the green dinosaur creature. While just Yoshi would be awesome, we get to rescue his friends (purple, orange, and yellow Yoshis!) and rescue the princess (again.). I believe this game also has the best soundtrack of all the games; when I think of Mario, I think of the music from this game.

 

Guitar Hero 5 (Wii/etc)

released 2009 for PS2/PS3, Wii, Xbox 360

Why did I pick this edition of the Guitar Hero series? By this point, they've worked out most of the bugs in previous versions and added party play, allowing me to jump in and out of songs as I wish. There's a detailed character customizer that includes Chuck Taylors. Matt Bellamy is a playable character. We can finally sing Under Pressure. In other words, they finally got everything right.

 

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (DS/etc)

released 2007 for various consoles, 2009 PC

At this point, you will ask, why another Lego game? But this time we've combined two favorites of geeks: Lego and Star Wars. And when they're combined, good things happen. The game features the improvements of the second while including the gameplay of the first, in one convenient package. Yep, it's also got the epic Lego characters and that wacky sense of humor, plus tons of gameplay with the many collectables including minikits that built ships and landmarks from the Star Wars universe.

 

Scribblenauts (DS)

released 2009 for DS

Where else can you summon Chuthulu and use helicopters and trampolines to rescue stranded cats? This game offers much fun in summoning completely random objects, even when you don't use them to solve the problem. The premise of the game is simple; summon objects that will enable Maxwell to get the Starite. Use certain objects, or use less than par, and you'll get Ollars, usable to buy new levels, music for the level editor, and more avatars.

 

Atari Anniversary Edition (PC)

released 2001 for DC, PS, and PC, 2002 for GBA

If you love Atari arcade games, this anthology is for you. Really all I've got to say about that. The PC version includes Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe, Battlezone, Centipede, Crystal Castles, Gravitar, Millipede, Missile Command, Pong, Super Breakout, Tempest, and Warlords.

 

Axis & Allies (PC)

released 1998 for PC, RTS version released in 2004 for PC

This game captures the play of the board game set in WWII in a less complicated manner: no dice or miniatures to keep track of. My brother has an obsession with this series of games, and as such, I've played it a few times as well. There is also a RTS version that includes a reworked version of the virtual board game, released in 2004; you play missions including actual missions from the war.

 

SimCity, SimCity 3000 (PC)

released in 1989 for most platforms... updated for most as well

The original SimCity is full of epicness. Who can forget scrambling to find the 'High Scores List' so the game didn't start throwing disasters at you? You could also unleash them on purpose though... Godzilla, tornadoes, earthquakes! It was originally distributed on floppy disks, but the source code is now available under a GNU license. We updated our SimCity experience with SimCity 3000 which is just like the old one, with better graphics and GUI though.

 

Animal Crossing (GC) : City Folk (Wii)

2002 for GC, 2005 for DS, 2008 for Wii

This is one of the most pointless games ever. You become a human, stranded in a town full of strange animals. Luckily, the shop owner, Tom Nook, just so happens to have houses for sale, and he'll sell one to you if you promise to work in his shop to pay it off. Of course, once you buy your tiny house, he'll offer to upgrade it, and you have to let him. So you are constantly scrambling to make money by selling junk to Nook, or running errands for the animals. It was updated for the DS as Wild World, and for the Wii as City Folk. All have some sort of Nintendo goodness within, be it NES games (the original) or Mario items obtainable from balloon presents. You can also find random Nintendo items at Redd's shop and occasionally from Nook; these include the Triforce and Master Sword. There are tons of seasonal events, and the Wii version has monthly gifts that you can get if your Wii is connected to WiiConnect24.

 

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (GC)

2004 for GC

Recently, I popped this game into the Wii, started a new game, and played it for two and a half hours straight. This game is full of awesome and totally random stuff, including opportunities to play as Princess Peach and Bowser. This time, Peach has been taken by X-Nauts, and you have to battle your way past monsters and befriend creatures to get to her. Mario has a map to the Crystal Stars, and he has to find them before Bowser does; each star gives him a special power. The combat system is simple but effective, and offers you extra chances to score damage if you time it right. All in all, a great and effective platformer RPG for Mario geeks.

 

Super Monkey Ball 2 (GC)

2002 for GC

Again, I feel they got it right here. The GameCube's controller is well suited to rolling the tiny monkeys around the worlds, and the lack of any battles, just a ton of puzzles, made this fun without having to worry about dying (unless you fall off the stage of course!) I enjoy almost as much the number of minigames included. Monkey Bowling and the shoot out games are my favorite. The background music is also great, abeit potentially annoying 8-bit style and catchy tunes.

 

Super Smash Bros. Melee (GC)

2001 for GC

I have not yet had the opportunity to play Brawl, so I'll include Melee instead. The series is by the the best (the only?) fighting game series for Nintendo, and offers up all your favorite characters as well. A number of cool 'easter eggs' are included, with the trophies and items you can use in battle. Being able to whack Mewto with Peach's frying pan? Priceless. The sound effects and random Pokemon, and numerous other equally strange and random things make this game a must have or play.

 

PictoBits (DSi, PiCOPiCT in UK, AU)

2009 for DSi

This is the best game ever (after Tetris). It combines falling-block gameplay of Tetris with your favorite Nintendo characters and games. The iconic Excitebike and Mario characters make a number of appearances. The music is updated and more-awesomized 8-bit from the original games, and the music is unlockable so you can listen to it in Music mode. At only 500 points ($5) there's no reason not to get this if you have a DSi.

 

Tetris Party (WiiWare)

2008 for Wii

This game includes the iconic Tetris as well as versus humans and computer modes. There's a Wii Balance Board mode and a beginner mode. There are also a number of Tetriominoe-related games, such as Shadow, where you race to fill a shadow with pieces to make a picture, and Field Climber, where you drop blocks to help your guy get to the top (the goal). The music isn't as good as the original, but the antics of your Mii as your blocks get closer to the top are worth it. You can also play online. Considering it's a bit cheaper than the disc version of Tetris Party, 1200 points, and includes a lot of gameplay, it's more than worth it to be able to play Tetris on your Wii.

[Shiny]

Where's the variety?

[Overdoziz]

Lego Island (not 2) and Racer were such awesome games. You made me want to download them again.

[Wingless]

There is no amount of happiness can I can express... Lego Island 2... Animal Crossing... Super Mario DS and SNES... Super Smash Melee... Lego Star Wars...

 

Awesome list <3:

[obfuscator]

A decent list, but like shiny said, there's no variety.

[Blake]

Paper Mario <3

[Demoli]

I like this list, but, like Two have said before, the lack of variety on such an arguably long lst is kind of a bummer :/

[K4ylan]

All those games kinda blend together. The fact that kingdom hearts wasn't on here made me upset, but scribblenauts made up for it.