Not in order, more chronological. It’s easy for me to think of a lot fo good games, but i was trying to think of games i would want to go back and play again. I love mech games but there hasnt been one good enough to be on this list. same with flying games like ace combat.
Street fighter II turbo something on Sega genesis - this was my first real intro to fighting games, i believe i played SFII on SNES but i didntnow how to do fireballs and sonic booms until i made friends with a kid on my school bus. He had a sega and some form of SFII. he taught me the moves and i got hooked. was introduced into lots of other games in that time also.
Super Mario World - I believe i’m remembering this right, it was the one that introduced yoshi and there was 5 secret yoshis with powers. i remember finding out about them and unlocking them all. lots of hours in that game… probably the perfect game.
Street Fighter alpha 3 - Mastered this fucking game. I dont know why but in middle school i played the shit out of this. i still have the disc and refuse to get rid of it. I memorized frames of animation since some attacks did more damage if they hit in the final frame… I dug deep into the characters back stories, making sure i beat the arcade mode with each character to see the ending. ah the brady games guide was so wonderful. It also had about a page of background info on each character. one of the only games i woke up EARLY before school to play before the bus showed up.
Brutal Legend - Something about this game hit me. Humor, animation, story, voice acting, i loved it all. One of the only games that i beat thoroughly and would like to go back to. It also introduced me to a lot of music i was familiar with. Anthrax - riding shotgun, Judas Priest - leather rebel, Breadfan… ah so much good stuff. The story ended on a cliff hanger which was a bummer. The planned sequel did not get greenlit due to low sales even tho it did well critically. There are reports that with the help of kickstarted a sequel may be created.
Saints Row II - Again, musta been the timing of it. I loved this game. thought it was WAY better than GTA IV. story was serious enough but still had humor, good mission design, good character development. playing co-op with a friend was awesome too. also still own the special edition even tho i can’t play it.
honorable mention - Legends of Dragoon. Steller JRPG for the playstation. My bro and I both played the game to the fullest.
damn and rogue squadren gamed for the 64 too… ugh… still prolly not top 5 tho…