Asklemmy

Hmm, tough choices. In no particular order.

The Legend of Zelda - A Link To The Past This game was great when it was released and it's great now, and thanks to the randomiser community it's now infinitely replayable as well.

Super Metroid A series that literally helped define a genre, Super Metroid was everything that I suspect they wanted Metroid and Return of Samus to be but the hardware couldn't keep up. The world is built for speed running as well with so many shortcuts that experienced players can utilise, and again, with the randomiser community making it infinitely replayable (not only on its own, but with a crossover with ALTTP!), this game easily makes it onto my list.

Final Fantasy VII My original introduction to JRPGs and a game whose story and mechanics still hold up today even if the graphics don't as much. Obviously a lot of people feel the same way thanks to the Remakes, which while slightly out there have had so much nostalgia to play through them.

Final Fantasy XI The original Final Fantasy MMORPG and my introduction to MMORPGs generally, I put about 10 years into this game and still to this today occasionally reinstall it and see where I was last up to.

Final Fantasy XIV I tried several times to start FFXIV, but never got past the first few dungeons until COVID lockdowns hit, and since then am fully on board. The story, while a slow burn, is so good, and being a live service game means there's always new content coming or changes to learn. But really, the story in FFXIV is easily good enough to qualify as a mainline FF title, and any FF players who haven't tried it yet, should.

Doki Doki Literature Club You have to play this blind. Don't watch a let's play, and avoid any spoilers if you can. It's worth it. But when it's all done, if you're playing on PC, people have written entirely new mods and story for it, and the good ones really know how to make you connect with the characters.

Persona 5 Royal I discovered the Persona series with Golden, and was super excited to play Persona 5 when it released, but Royal is the definitive version that you'll want to play. The story is great, the gameplay is lots of fun, and the combination of JRPG and slice of life makes you feel a lot more connected to the loveable cast.

Factorio Just perfectly tickles that itch for resource management. The factory must grow.

Metal Gear Solid 2 A main memory I have of this game is the first time playing it where I bought out a whole box of those chocolates they sell for fundraising - was supposed to sell them to other people but they were great for late night snacking while I played. The stealth, the tension, the weird everything towards the end, it was a trip from start to finish.

Duke Nukem 3D Duke wasn't my first foray into FPS games (Wolfenstein 3D manages that title). But it holds a special place in my heart as it was the first game I ever played online multiplayer on. But I did it before the internet, so literally had a modem to modem connection running over an IPX network. Realistically, there's been plenty of better FPS games since, both modern and classic, but the irreverent humour, plus the fact I was a teen who probably wasn't supposed to be playing a game with strippers and highly pixilated tits in it, just edges it into my top 10.