I decided to compile a list of games that I will say holds a special place in my heart. After reading a few people's posts on Breath of the Wild in a couple of posts where they started comparing it to their other favorite Zelda games, and my own anticipation of playing Breath of the Wild in the future, I want to create a list of games that truly sung to me, and I want to list the reasons why they done so.
Because this is entirely emotional and subjective, this is by no means a top 10 kind of list. So a response of "Oh, but this game is better" just wouldn't even be appropriate because chances are, of course it would be in a world of many tastes. lol But I would like to hear other people's stories too. Also, some editions can actually feature multiple games as a single example! I will elaborate that further in the post when the example comes. I will do my list in chronological order of that which I played them, not of their actual release date. So lets begin:
Wonder Boy on the Sega Master System:
This game was my very first platforming adventure. This is where it all began! Wonder Boy was originally an arcade game, but it was later ported to the NES as Adventure Island, and later a more true port of Wonder Boy came to the Sega Master System, and since I began gaming as a Sega player, this would be my main game that started it all. A very fun adventure with gameplay that even today still impresses me, it's no wonder this game warms my heart so.
Contra III: Alien Wars on the SNES:
Contra III was my first "tough game". I spent my entire life completely obsessed over beating this game on hard. I remember the first time I beat the game using game genie with friends and just simply coming to the beliefs that this game was near friggin impossible. I remember the accomplishment of beating it on Normal for the first time. But Hard mode just felt like I would never beat. But I just kept revisiting and revisiting, and over time I eventually beat this game. It was simply the most satisfying game I ever beat.
Donkey Kong Country Series on the SNES:
Holy hell, did these 3 games ever have quite an impact. They are simply my favorite platformers of all time, no contest! I was the biggest fanboy of these games, words cannot even describe. I loved Mario 3 and Super Mario World, I loved the Sonic games, but none of these games could even compare to how memorable the Donkey Kong Country series was for me. All three games were just magnificent in my eyes. Seriously, it was during these games I truly felt like a gaming fan and just set in stone for me my true love of video games.
Super Metroid and A Link to the Past:
First, ALTTP, of course this one would be here. It was my first time truly experiencing a grand adventure, and it is by far probably the best Zelda game. Oh how wonderful this game was for its day, but you'd be surprised that this game didn't rub me in the emotional way as two others I'm about to list there now soon. However, this game truly was something special for me that I just had to add it here. Super Metroid is another game in this list that was truly memorable in its day, but there is another in this list that hits home for me much more. I feel these two games listed together makes it more memorable for me than these two games listed separately for a strange reason.
Mario 64:
The Nintendo 64 and 3d game novelty really hit home for me here. While not entirely my favorite game today, I simply cannot look at this game without a warm heart. I was always curious about 3d games after playing some random obscure random games you sometimes find on pc. Like weird ass driving simulators that barely felt like games. I was really craving for a truly great 3d game at the time. Then came the Nintendo 64 with Mario 64, and I seen the ads, and I seen friends play it, and I was going absolutely mental, I so badly wanted to play Mario 64. DKC 3 only teased me more with that old granny kong playing the n64 in her game. lol
And boy, I was not disappointed. I mean, I feel I have moved past Mario since then, and I don't think Mario 64 aged the best, and the whole collectaton genre really wasn't the best in platforming, but there was something truly special about Mario 64 for me that I cannot even describe. Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo Kazooie just couldn't do it for me exactly the same, even though I did like those games too.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time:
Oh my god! I'm sorry to those who feel that the Wind Waker was better. I just simply cannot get over this game. Is the game overrated? Sure! But the impact this game had for me during the day as a Nintendo 64 fan was tremendous. Once again words cannot describe how much I truly loved this game. Even today, I'll have more fun playing this game than ANY other Zelda game, which is crazy because I'm certain I must have at least beaten this game 50 times by now.
Goldeneye, Super Smash Bros, Top Gear Rally, and Extreme G
What an odd mix of games! But they defined my entire multiplayer experience for gaming. Multiplayer never was and never was again so truly amazing for me as these 4 right here. Oh I miss those days so friggin bad. 
Chrono Trigger and the Final Fantasy Series:
Oh my god, Chrono Trigger! this has to be the best turned based RPG I've ever played. Like Ocarina of Time, this game warms my soul that I can replay it indefinitely for the rest of time. Words cannot describe how much I love this game. Final Fantasy is still great, but just not as great for me as what Chrono Trigger was, and I simply had to put the entire series here in one spot because I loved Final Fantasy equally. Final Fantasy almost never even made this list because my love for it wasn't as high as games like Chrono Trigger, but it just barely fit in because I have to admit, I loved Final Fantasy a lot, so much that I did play most of the series.
Oracle Series:
I was a bit disappointed in Link's Awakening, believe it or not. However, the Oracle Series had me so hyped to play it, that it was the first game in my life that I dared to pirate it just to play it before it was released just to get the laughs of playing a game that wasn't even released. This means I pirated the japanese version. lol Needless to say I didn't get too far because I didn't know japanese, but I did get the kicks out of playing a game before release, it made me feel a little bad, but in a good way. I was not disappointed in the slightest when I bought the full version. These games were a forgotten masterpiece. True gems in my eyes.
Metroid Prime:
Oh my God! Another one of those games in my life that I truly fell in love with, and would be one of the last. Man, I can even remember the weather outside from the days I played this game. To think I was a bit divided in getting this game and getting Phantasy Star online when it was first revealed. I didn't think FPS would suit Metroid before playing it, but something just kept pushing me towards Metroid, and boy, I was not disappointed. This game went on to be one of my favorite games of all time. Just truly a wonderful game for me and yes, another game I can beat over and over again for the rest of time. Metroid Prime 2 and 3 just didn't do it for me as well, even though I did like them both.
Symphony of the Night and the GBA Castlevanias:
I hated Castlevania, you can blame the N64 Castlevanias for that. I just thought it wasn't for me. The SNES one didn't appeal to me much either at the time, however, my heart would change for that game much later in my life. However, the games that got me into Castlevania and made me a true fan was the Metroidvanias. These games are just so great, and truly lead to an obsession for only wanting to play this type of game for a long time.
Twilight Princess:
Believe it or not, I found Wind Waker to be a total disappointment. I was in the camp of not being a fan of the graphics, but I also didn't like the endless seas, and overall I just wasn't happy with the Wind Waker. So my hype was insane for Twilight Princess. I truly loved playing this game and it nearly gave me the same love that I experienced playing Ocarina of Time. I went as far as to completely ignore most of its problems, probably because I was high a lot when I played this game and probably barely even paid attention to the problems. lol Chances are, it was me being high all the time is what probably improved my gameplay enjoyment for this game. I'll never truly know for sure, but this is another title that warms my heart so much.
Ninja Gaiden Black/Sigma:
This was my introduction to 7th gen gaming, before I realized it was actually a 6th gen game. This game was truly remarkable for stunning graphics for its time, and it was hard as shit. This game brought back my love for hard as shit gaming. I would later, in the similar fashion as Contra III visit this game many times. I eventually found myself in a situation while going to college where I couldn't afford internet, so I only had what was stored on my computer and this game to entertain me, and that's when I went on my months effort in trying to beat master this game and beat it in all its difficulties. This was truly a strange time for me because without internet or tv and just this one game, I had to get really creative with how I spent my time. I ended up doing a lot of strange photoshop art, ride bike a lot to become the thinnest I ever been, and play this Ninja Gaiden to shit when I was not doing homework. Chances are my college experience an the uniqueness of having no internet or tv added to my experience of this game. (The actual college experience happened much later in this list though, around after the Battletoads and NES games)
Assassin's Creed 2, Red Dead Redemption, Mortal Kombat 9, Metal Gear Solid 4, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Other 7th gen titles
These were the games that just ended my run as a Nintendo fan. I had friends in the city I truly loved hanging around with, and these were the types of games we would go drinking and play. We experimented with a lot of 7th gen games, but some of them truly stuck around like the ones I listed above.
Fallout 3 and New Vegas:
Fallout 3 gave me something I wanted that time. For some reason I was craving an open world in a post apocolyptic wasteland. I was always a fan of Terminator 2 and Chrono Trigger's future timeline, and ALTTP's Dark World I just wanted to experience some unique 3d game world like that, then came Fallout 3. First time playing it was when I visited a friend. I was a little wary because the game seemed similar to Oblivian and I just felt that game was too popular and lame and I felt Fallout 3 was the same. But that setting, that world, that dark world I craved. Oh man, my love for Fallout began, and it probably was the last game of my life that I truly fell in love with. I never got into truly playing it though until towards the end of 7th gen, at least around the same time New Vegas. Speaking of New Vegas, I was absolutely in love with this game and even for so long calling it my favorite game at the time. I just love Fallout so much that it belongs in this list so bad.
Battletoads, Ninja Gaiden Trilogy in the NES, Castlevania, Ghost n Goblins, Castlevania III, Castlevania IV:
This was a time I got into the Angry Video Game Nerd. I love his web series so much, and he's responsible for revitalizing my interest in the Nintendo Entertainment System. Because I was a Sega owner, I kinda missed out truly on the Nintendo experience. I did play some of these games and not like them for their difficulty, but it was not until around 2009 that I truly fell in love with these games. This got me back into Castlevania IV and Castlevania III afterwords, but that came at a much later time in date.
Assassin's Creed 3:
Don't ask, for some reason this game also has a special place in my heart for helping me get through one rough winter. It is my favorite game in the series despite it not being received that well compared to the rest of the series. But whatever, it may be junk for some, but it was a treasure for me.
Zelda Classic Quests:
Interestingly enough, some of my best gaming moments in recent times have been from few of my favorite quests here in PureZC. Congrats to all of you who made the most memorable games I ever played.
Fallout 4, Witcher 3, Bioshock, Dark Souls series, Bioshock Infinite:
Welcome to gaming in modern times for me, where it all just feels like experimenting and looking for the best of whatever I just haven't played or just with what's good and new in 8th gen gaming. To me, 8th gen is a bit of a mixed bag, but it has truly produced some great gems, specifically Fallout 4, Dark Souls, and the Witcher 3. Say what you want about these games, they're games that I can say I truly love now. Also, I've been playing Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite which are games I missed, and it's a shame I missed them, because I love them. I bunched these games together simply because games just don't impress me anymore, and it's why I compiled this list in the first place. I know my love for gaming is waning, so if I got to take what I feel are my favorite games today and bunch them together in one pile, it truly speaks words to just how I'm feeling right now. Part of me just wants to retire from gaming at the end of this generation, and I just may yet. We'll just have to see.
Conclusion:
Well, there you got, a heartfelt topic of all my love for gaming throughout my entire life in one large written topic. I hope some of you took the time to read all this, and perhaps make your own contributions. It's a shame that I'm approaching a time where I'm considering retiring from gaming, but hell, it seems like a good run considering all the joy I expressed here. But I feel I had so much joy with gaming that I feel that I reached the max of how truly satisfied I could possibly be with this form of entertainment. But who knows, I may enjoy gaming for many more years to come and only seen a fraction of what I could enjoy. That's something I could hope for, but for now, I'll just continue gaming like I've always been doing, trying new things and looking for new favorites.
Pleasure share your entire life gaming experiences. LOL
