Other Great Video Games

Over the past ten weeks I've been going through a list of my top 10 favourite video games of all time. But there were many other great games which didn't make the top 10. And so here, in no particular order, is a quick run down of some other great video games that I like.

ActRaiser

From the same makers of Soul Blazer comes ActRaiser, which was released first. Part action platform levels, and part town building simulation levels, the game sees you take on the role of a god restoring the world.

Illusion of Gaia (a.k.a. Illusion of Time)

Another action RPG from the makers of Soul Blazer, which sees you take on the character of Will as he travels around the various ancient sites of the world.

Mystic Quest Legend (a.k.a. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest)

Described as an entry level RPG, this Final Fantasy game hasn't received much love over the years. Whilst it may be the runt of the Final Fantasy litter, it isn't a bad game! It was the first turn-based RPG game that I played, and whilst it took me a while to get used to this system, I now very much love turn-based RPGs...

All Those Other Final Fantasy Games

Whilst Final Fantasy VI made it into my top ten, many other games in the series are also great games. The series has gone downhill with the more recent games in the series, but the earlier games are all classics in their own right. My personal favourites, in addition to VI, are IV, V, VII, and VIII, and I is pretty good as well...

Breath of Fire

Another RPG, this one made by Capcom, but first published in the west by Squaresoft. A very involving game with a vast world to explore. Plus you get to turn into a dragon!

Chrono Trigger

An RPG which also involves time travel, made by Squaresoft. When this was first released it was described as a cross between Final Fantasy VI and Secret of Mana...

Super Mario RPG

Everyone's favourite Italian plumber gets his own RPG adventure, in this collaboration between Nintendo and Squaresoft. It's best to play through this game with a full walkthrough, to ensure that you don't miss any of the enjoyable hidden bits...

Vandal Hearts

An enjoyable strategy RPG from Konami for the PSOne.

Suikoden / Suikoden II

Also from Konami, and for the PSOne, were the first two games from the Suikoden series of turn-based RPG games, involving large detailed plots. The second game also made use of your saved file of the first game! (I got these games fairly cheap close to when they were first released, but they're now incredibly rare and hard to find...)

Gradius III

Famous side-scrolling shoot-em-up from Konami.

Parodius

A parody of Gradius, also by Konami.

Pop 'n' Twinbee

Another crazy shoot-em-up by Konami.

Axelay

A more serious shoot-em-up from Konami. This one is notable for having a mix of vertical scrolling and side scrolling levels.

The Legend of the Mystical Ninja

I'm not even sure how to classify this one, also from Konami! It's a bit nuts...

Street Fighter II

I don't play beat-em-ups all that often, but I can always make time for the various versions of Street Fighter II from Capcom, one of the leading games of the genre. My favourite iteration would probably have to be Super Street Fighter II (and, erm, yes, Cammy may have something to do with this...).

Sim City

A game where you can build up a city from scratch - and then send in a monster to destroy it!

Mega-Lo-Mania

A game where you vie to become the god of a new world, through various ages in its history. Also teaches you how nuclear deterrents are intended to work ("We've nuked them!", "We've been nuked...").

Command and Conquer

I'm not overly fond of the main one-player mode of the Command and Conquer games. But the game is fun when you link two PSOne's together and play an epic battle against a second player!

Sonic the Hedgehog

Everyone loves this fast blue hedgehog from Sega. My favourite game from the series is Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Megadrive, which sees Sonic joined by Tails the fox...

Rock 'n' Roll Racing

A racing game where you get to blow up your opponents!

Outrun

A classic racing game, but one where you're only racing the clock, as you try to get to the next stage before the time runs out. The oldest game in my collection is a copy of this for the Sega Master System, dating from 1987 - I have friends who are younger than this game!

Gauntlet

Classic, seemingly never ending, dungeon game.

True Pinball

I've spent many hours playing (and mastering!) the Vikings table of this game for the PSOne.

Star Control II (a.k.a. The Ur Quan Masters)

A non-linear space exploration game where you have to make alliances with alien races in order to defeat the Ur Quan, who have enslaved the Earth...

And there you have it! Whilst this only a selection of the games that I have in my collection, these, along with those in my top 10 list, I feel is a pretty awesome set. If you're a gamer, are there any great games which you feel I've left out? (And before you say Zelda, I'll be coming to that in a couple of week's time...)

For the past few months I've been looking at great video games. Join me again next week when I'll be revealing what I consider to be the worst video game of all time...