Chris' 30 favorite video games of all-time...

Ever since my favorite video game magazine, Electronic Gaming Monthly, was cancelled, I've had to rely on Game Informer for my gaming reading - after all, you can't trust the "Official" magazines of each individual console, which are really the only other mags left. Well, aside from GamePro, which I've always despised. I do recommend the websites Gamespot, GameFAQs, and 1up (the remnants of EGM), as well as GI's excellent site, but they're just not the same as holding a magazine in your hand. But I digress.

Generally, I enjoy GI's stuff, but I almost shit my pants when I read their absolutely horrendous Top 200 list in their 200th issue (you can read the entire list here). Sure, the majority of the games on the list deserve to be on a top games list, but Grand Theft Auto III is number FOUR?! None of the GTA games even deserve to be on a top games list, and GTA3 is forty-three spots higher than Super Mario World!

I'm calling shenanigans! I can't help but make my own list in retaliation. Of course, I'm not going to list 200 games... thirty will suffice. Even though I've been an avid gamer all of my life, I'm not pretentious enough to think that I have the well-rounded knowledge required to be qualified to make a list of the greatest games, but I know that all of my favorites are absolutely amongst those that would make that list.

These games are listed in a slightly arbitrary way, meaning that some games could switch positions with others depending on my mood. However you look at it, each of these games stole countless hours of my life that could've been spent doing community service, practicing my jump shot, working on my homework, reading, washing the dishes, or dating chicks (and I wonder why the image of a fat, reclusive, virgin gamer has become such a cliche).

I understand that these types of lists are always going to be disputed, but I think that the legit old school gamers out there will agree that most of the games on my list deserve to be there or are/were worth playing...

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System abbreviation codes:

ARC = Arcade

NES = Nintendo Entertainment System

GB = Nintendo Game Boy

SNES = Super Nintendo Entertainment System

GEN = Sega Genesis

SAT = Sega Saturn

PS = Sony PlayStation

DC = Sega Dreamcast

PS2 = Sony PlayStation 2

GC = Nintendo Gamecube

Wii = shitty gimmick

1. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997, PS)
2. Super Mario World (1991, SNES)
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1992, SNES)
4. Chrono Trigger (1995, SNES)
5. Super Mario All-Stars (1993, SNES)
6. Final Fantasy VII (1997, PS)
7. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995, SNES)
8. Resident Evil 4 (2005, GC)
9. Final Fantasy III (1994, SNES)
10. Silent Hill 2 (2001, PS2)
11. Phantasy Star II (1990, GEN)
12. Resident Evil 2 (1998, PS)
13. Tetris (1989, GB)
14. Super Metroid (1994, SNES)
15. Zombies Ate My Neighbors! (1993, SNES)
16. Tekken 3 (1997, ARC)
17. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003, GC)
18. Twisted Metal 2 (1996, PS)
19. Legend of Legaia (1999, PS)
20. Quake III Arena (2000, DC)
21. Donkey Kong Country (1994, SNES)
22. Skies of Arcadia (2000, DC)
23. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992, GEN)
24. Panzer Dragoon Saga (1998, SAT)
25. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996, SNES)
26. Phantasy Star Online (2001, DC)
27. MediEvil (1998, PS)
28. R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 (1999, PS)
29. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006, Wii)
30. Rogue Galaxy (2007, PS2)

EDIT (1/5/10, like, an hour after I posted this): I've edited the top part of the list, removing Super Mario Bros. 3 from the 11th spot and inserting Super Mario All-Stars at number 5. Firstly, it was an oversight on my part in the first place. Second, how could I not include a compilation of graphically-updated versions of four of the greatest games ever made?

EDIT (1/8/10): Another website I highly recommend is Gamekicker. After I posted this article, they followed me on Twitter and I checked them out to see if they were spammers or not. They're not, for sure. Check 'em out.