Cowpoo's Top 100 Games of All Time - Part 6

What makes a game, a good game? Of course for me, music plays a big part. Graphics and audio quality are not as important as the way they are drawn and composed. Nostalgia is another huge factor. Basically, I like those games which are minimalist, surreal, wacky, or which simply bring back good memories. The following are the best representations of these factors:

10:

Toejam & Earl
Year: 1991
Platform: Sega Genesis
Comment: Another game introduced to me by Ahmeow. Fantastic for chilling out.

09:

Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries
Year: 2002
Platform: PC
Comment: We have since moved on to other things, but Blade and BTJ will always hold sweet memories of Gila Kuching Dua. It was Oida who first inspired me to collect 80's J-pop music.

08:

Warsong
Year: 1991
Platform: Sega Genesis
Comment: With Satoshi Urushihara and Noriyuki Iwadare producing its graphics and music, this is an instant classic.

07:

Final Fantasy Legend II
Year: 1990
Platform: Gameboy
Comment: This game has had more influence on the design of my PB series than any other.

06:

Kanon
Year: 1999
Platform: PC
Comment: It may have been the anime series that I watched first, but the game is every bit as perfect in the smoothness of Lac'qua. In fact, the stories have more depth to them and are even more dramatic.

05:

Der Langrisser
Year: 1994
Platform: SNES
Comment: An improvement over Warsong in every aspect.

04:

Pulirula
Year: 1991
Platform: Playstation/Arcade
Comment: The ultimate chillout game. Total stress relief!

03:

Championship Manager 2
Year: 1995
Platform: PC
Comment: Minimalism at its finest - truly black heaven. I have been manually updating this game almost every year since 1996. Trivia: Mohammed Sappho played CM2 for more than 12 hours in a row during one of our overnight sessions.

02:

Konami World
Year: 1988
Platform: NES
Comment: I don't mention this game much, but it was by far my favourite NES game. Featuring appearances by Gradius, Contra, Castlevania, Twin Bee, Getsufuu Maden and other Konami games, this is a gold compilation of all my 80's console nostalgia.

01:

Phantasy Star 2
Year: 1989
Platform: Sega Genesis
Comment: The obvious winner! Enough said.

Cowpoo's Top 100 Games of All Time - Part 5

To build some suspense, let's have ranks 11-20 this week. By now you might be able to tell which games are in the top 10. I hope I have not forgotten any important ones because at this point it is too late to add them in!

20:

Romance of the Three Kingdoms III
Year: 1992
Platform: PC
Comment: The midi music in this game is very relaxing, although the game itself is quite mind intensive.

19:

Megaman 3
Year: 1990
Platform: NES

18:

Defender of the Crown
Year: 1986
Platform: PC
Comment: I still play this 4-color strategy game ocassionally. That makes it 23 years of warring in England.

17:

Tecmo Cup Football
Year: 1993
Platform: Sega Genesis
Comment: Ahmeow introduced this fantastic RPG soccer game to me.

16:

Phantasy Star 3
Year: 1990
Platform: Sega Genesis
Comment: Despite its flaws, Phantasy Star 3 still holds lots of memories for me.

15:

Dune 2
Year: 1992
Platform: PC
Comment: Dune 2 inspired a few DRBR cards. One of the best strategy games.

14:

Streets of Rage
Year: 1991
Platform: Sega Genesis
Comment: Needs no introduction!

13:

Double Dragon 2
Year: 1989
Platform: NES
Comment: You can think of this as an 80's version of Streets of Rage. One of the best NES games I ever played.

12:

Wing Commander
Year: 1990
Platform: PC
Comment: A favourite of mine in the early 90's. This scene in the game always gives me laughs.

11:

Final Fantasy Legend
Year: 1989
Platform: Gameboy
Comment: The first RPG I owned. Till today I still play it, it has nice music and a good story.

Cowpoo's Top 100 Games of All Time - Part 4

The previous installment had a number of 8-bit entries, but this one is both hands full with 8-bits. It is so NES Gold that it cannot be held by both hands. Quite a few Sega entries too.

40:

Fifa Soccer 1994
Year: 1994
Platform: PC

39:

Getsufuu Maden
Year: 1987
Platform: NES
Comment: Great overworld theme song. The game is like a Japanese Zelda.

38:

Monster Rancher 2
Year: 1999
Platform: Playstation

37:

Super Mario Brothers 3
Year: 1990
Platform: NES

36:

Super Mario Brothers 2: Mario Madness
Year: 1989
Platform: NES

35:

Deathtrack
Year: 1989
Platform: PC
Comment: Together with Michael Franks, this put the groove into the name Slai.

34:

Strider
Year: 1989
Platform: NES

33:

1943
Year: 1987
Platform: NES
Comment: Top-down plane shooters were a staple of my early video game world.

32:

Super Mario Brothers
Year: 1985
Platform: NES
Comment: The first NES game I played, it came free with the set.

31:

Phantasy Star 4
Year: 1993
Platform: Sega Genesis

30:

Neverwinter Nights
Year: 2002
Platform: PC
Comment: Highly customizable characters. A modern classic.

29:

Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link
Year: 1987
Platform: NES

28:

Dragon Spirit
Year: 1987
Platform: NES

27:

Gumshoe
Year: 1986
Platform: NES
Comment: The only game I used the Zapper Gun with. My second NES game.

26:

Forgotten Worlds
Year: 1988
Platform: Sega Genesis
Comment: Forgettable music, but still great fun!

25:

Ayuchan Punch!
Year: 2000
Platform: PC
Comment: Super chill-out game that can be enjoyed anytime.

24:

Golden Axe
Year: 1989
Platform: Sega Genesis, PC
Comment: Mainstream but classic.

23:

Contra
Year: 1987
Platform: NES
Comment: U U D D L R L R B A Start!

22:

Fifa Soccer 2007
Year: 2007
Platform: PC
Comment: I made a mistake, this is the newest game in my list. When it comes to customizability, FIFA 2007 is unmatched as you can see here.

21:

Vapor Trail
Year: 1989
Platform: Sega Genesis
Comment: This game is where the term WTLW came from!