I’ve been gaming for pretty much my whole life. Some of my earliest memories go all the way back to the early 90s, sat in front of a TV, controller in-hand, playing Sonic The Hedgehog 2 or The Lion King on the SEGA Genesis. I’ve played a hell of a lot of games over those almost-30-years, some which have left a strong impression on me and have shaped me into the person I am today, so I thought I’d put together a list of the ones I love the most.

Honourable Mentions

I wanted to limit this list to 5 games otherwise this post would end up being way too long. However, I at least wanted to mention some games that didn’t make it into the list, but I still consider them to be some of my favourites:

• Mass Effect 2
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
• Final Fantasy VII
• Final Fantasy VII Remake
• Pokemon Ruby/ Sapphire/ Emerald
• Pokemon Gold/ Silver/ Crystal
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Fallout 3
• Kingdom Hearts 1
• Shadow of The Colossus
• Chained Echoes
• Triangle Strategy
• God of War (2018)
• God of War: Ragnarok
• Dragon Quest XI
• GTA: San Andreas
• Gravity Rush 2

Persona 5

If I had to imagine my ideal video game, it would probably result in something quite close to Persona 5. Anime art-style. Jazz fusion soundtrack. Turn-based combat. Vast amounts of content. It’s all there bundled into a tightly-woven package. I’ve sunk over 400 hours in total across the base game and Persona 5: Royal, and I could easily go back and sink in hundreds more hours.

With games that are long (especially JRPG’s) it’s so important that there’s a strong cast of characters, and thankfully the main cast of P5 is one of the best. Not even just the main cast, the supporting characters are great too which makes all of the social links really enjoyable and doing them never felt like a chore.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this game has my favourite soundtrack in any piece of media, not just video games. I still listen to the P5 soundtrack at least a few times a week – it’s ridiculously good. The battle theme, “Last Surprise“, never gets old despite me hearing it so many times. Then, somehow, composer Shoji Meguro was able to top that with P5: Royal’s battle theme “Take Over“. Even songs that play during minor, unimportant moments in the game like “Life Goes On“, “Tokyo Daylight” and “Butterfly Kiss” are remarkable.

I’m still a Persona-newbie as I got into the series with this game but I’m planning on picking up Persona 3: Reload and I have Persona 4: Golden ready to play. If those games are as good as P5 (which I hear that they are) then I’m going to have a lot of fun with this series.

Final Fantasy IX

I was really late to the party when it came to playing Final Fantasy IX. I’ve been a fan of the series for a very long time but missed out on this, only getting round to playing it in 2022. Before that, I’d constantly heard people say that this is one of the best, not just Final Fantasy games, but JRPG’s ever but I never really paid much attention to that as in my mind, I could never imagine another entry in the series that could ever compare to FF7. I was very wrong.

I loved every second of my journey through Gaia and really fell in love with the excellent party that accompanies you throughout the adventure. Three characters in particular stand out though. Zidane, the main character, seems like your typical cocky ladies-man at first but show’s himself to be extremely honourable as the story plays out. The highlight of the story is this scene in particular, where he feels like all hope is lost but his friends rally round him as he had done so many times for them prior to this point. Garnet, the female-lead and Zidane’s love interest, grows from a reluctant-princess who shirks responsibility, to a worthy leader (the scene when she cuts her hair is another of my favourite scenes in the game). But the star of the show is Vivi. His journey of finding out the truth of his existence and having to come to grips with his own mortality is absolutely heart-wrenching, but his bravery in the face of it all is hard not to respect.

The gameplay is your fairly-standard turn-based JRPG but there’s enough in there to set it aside from other games in the genre. The mini-games are extremely fun, especially the treasure-hunting mini-game Chocobo Hot and Cold which has a really fun pay-off if you manage to see it through to the end. The world of Gaia is pretty big and superbosses are hidden throughout, and these all provide a real challenge.

Overall, this is an incredible game and if the rumours of a possible remake are true, then I can’t wait to experience it again (hopefully) very soon.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is probably the most iconic and recognisable video game of all time, and for good reason. It’s such a beautiful game. Maybe not visually by today’s graphical standards, or even gameplay-wise with it’s clunky (again, by today’s standards) controls and combat. But with the subtle way it tells the coming-of-age story of Link; the way it deals with themes such as responsibility and leaving the past behind; the incredible soundtrack composed by Koji Kondo (exhibit a,b and c); and the memorable cast of characters (from Navi to Saria to Ruto to Darunia). Gameplay elements that have become the norm today were first introduced in Ocarina of Time – things like horse-riding and horseback combat, free-roam exploration on a 3D-plane and even locking onto enemies (or z-targeting as it’s known here) – and the fact that I can go back and play it – almost 30 years after it came out – and still enjoy it is a testament to how well it’s stood the test of time (pun intended).

Metroid Prime

Is there a game that handles exploration and discovery as well as Metroid Prime? Setting foot on Tallon IV for the first time and being given free-reign to find out more about this strange world and explore it is something I’ll never forget. Experiencing the game again via the remastered version on the Switch last year reminded me how much I adore this game. I love how you start out with a basic arsenal of weapons and only a limited section of the map to explore, but as Samus re-discovers her weaponry and becomes better equipped the world of Tallon IV gradually opens up, and it’s so much fun to explore. There are few things in gaming that are as satisfying as getting your hands on a new piece of equipment in a Metroid game and then realising that a new area that was previously inaccessible, can now be accessed. That’s the classic Metroidvania gameplay loop. However, Metroid Prime stands as probably the gold standard of the genre because of how interesting the world is. There’s deep lore hidden throughout, a variety of fascinating locations, a plethora of enemy types with their own strengths and weaknesses, hidden secrets like weapon upgrades and data logs, intense boss fights (the Omega Pirate is one of the best boss fights I’ve ever encountered) – and then on top of that, the game is visually stunning (especially the remastered version). Nintendo, where is Metroid Prime 4!?

Kingdom Hearts 2

My love for Kingdom Hearts as a series runs deep. From the moment I first loaded up the original game and heard Hikaru Utada’s Simple and Clean in the opening cutscene, I became obsessed and still make it a habit to revisit Kingdom Hearts 1 every couple of years or so. As much as I love it though, Kingdom Hearts 2 is really when the series began to hit it’s stride and 18 years later it still remains my favourite game of all time. The first game is a simple story of a teenage boy, Sora, who is chosen by the Keyblade as he travels across various Disney world’s to find his lost friends. However, the second game ramps everything up tenfold. More Keyblade’s, more Disney world’s, more villains, expanded lore, vastly improved action-based combat, more Hikaru Utada – it all comes together to create an amazing experience.

Some of legendary composer Yoko Shimomura’s best work can be found in KH2. “Tension Rising“, “Sinister Shadows” and “The 13th Struggle” are just a few examples of boss themes that work to make each encounter that much more intense. And oh man, the boss fights in this game are fantastic. The Groundshaker feels like something straight out of Shadow of The Colossus; fighting fan-favourite character Roxas is one of the coolest one-on-one duels I’ve ever experienced; and the final boss fight against main antagonist, Xemnas, with Sora accompanied by Riku is the perfect way to cap off such an excellent adventure.

I could gush about Kingdom Hearts 2 forever but I’ll stop here, just so this post doesn’t get too long.

And that’s that! What are some of your favourite games of all time? Do you have any recommendations? Let me know in the comments below and thanks for reading!