#10 Folklore
If there is ever one game I want to be known for, it’s Folklore. I’ll never shy away from yelling from the mountain tops about this truly original game. On a weekly basis, I walk up in a cold sweat angry that this game failed to make a splash and will forever be lost to time. It’s a genuine masterpiece.
It’s core is that of an action game, but it does things in such radically different ways than anything you’ve ever played. The mechanic of assigning various monsters to different face buttons to use as attacks and Zelda-like tools for exploration is something I’m shocked wasn’t copied in dozens of games after.
What it does best in terms of gameplay is it’s boss fights, which act more as puzzles than they do bosses. Requiring you to learn what monsters you need to find and assign to attacks, then puzzling out how you use them to beat the bosses is brilliantly done and something that I’ve never seen achieved in quite the same way.
But what brings the entire thing together is the style and atmosphere that is absolutely DRIPPING off every moment. The art direction is astonishing, bringing it’s colorful monster designs to life.
The game uses all of this to tell one of my favorite mystery stories in all of video games, with two leads that I think are two of the most well-realized characters in the medium.
I’m begging for this game to get a remaster so new audiences can finally realize how much of a forgotten gem this one was.
#9 Death Stranding
I’m not a “Kojima” guy, necessarily. You can tell since there isn’t a single Metal Gear Solid game on this list. I do, however, respect that the man can’t be accused of playing things safe. He’s always swinging for the fences, for better or worse. Sometimes he whiffs, sometimes he rockets that thing into the horizon. This is one of those games that I can totally understand someone absolutely hating.
Death Stranding is mostly hits. Sure, it still has some groan-inducing stuff in there, but it more than makes up for it by crafting the most cohesive in-universe logic I’ve ever seen. EVERYTHING seems to have a deeply thought-out explanation, and for a game that spent multiple years leading us on with teaser trailers that mostly were met with a resounding “…THE FUCK?!”, that’s pretty impressive. All the weirdness that you experience doesn’t ever feel out of place, and it allows for it to explore things in a way that no other game could ever hope to achieve.
And all this in a walking simulator. A REAL walking simulator. One that mechanically drives you nuts for awhile, but suddenly just… clicks. I found the idea of figuring out the logistics of crossing terrain as a core gameplay loop shockingly addicting. Working with other players to build a super highway I could travel along gave me a sense of true achievement that few video games ever do. It truly makes you feel like you’ve grown skillful as a player by making distances that once felt impossible suddenly fly by as you master using your toolset.
Sure, things are a bit hilariously weird sometimes, but the story has some real emotion and heart in there. Which is helped by exceptional direction and acting.
The final mission left me crying tears of joy and sadness in equal measure.
#8 Nier
Another game that never lets up on the surprises, Nier is a testiment to the sheer insanity that is Yoko Taro.
At first, this game feels like a piss take on the genre of hacky-slashy action games that was RAMPANT during the PS360 era, but it becomes so much more than that through it’s writing and characters. I have never felt such an attachment to a cast of characters as I have during my time with this game.
Every time you think you know what this game is doing, it does something you’ve never seen before. The number of times I stopped and went “no fucking way!” in total shock and awe is unmatched. One second you’re Shadow of the Colossus battling a giant boss, next you’re in a Resident Evil fixed-camera horror section, then all of the sudden the game because a… text adventure? And yet, it all just seems to make sense within the universe presented to you.
Then you hit that B ending playthrough, and the game slaps you in the face with a sobering reality that nothing is as it seems. It makes you question everything you know about video games and continues to twist the knife it stabbed into your heart for the rest of it’s duration. And what’s even more miraculous, is that it manages to do that with one of the most poorly-utilized aspects of most action RPGs: it’s side quests! Everything you do in the game feels like part of a whole, and I wish more games studied this one to learn how to do that right.
Also, sorry to Yoko Taro, but I think Daddy Nier is a better fit than Twink Nier. I’ll die on that hill.
#7 Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil
The perfect sequel does exist. It’s Klonoa 2 for Playstation 2.
A lot of cutesy platformers get by entirely on their aesthetic alone, and Klonoa 2 could easily be seen as no different. But what’s remarkable about it is that every aspect of it captures the thematic elements of dreams perfectly. Things feel surreal and just slightly off, and this is only amplified when the levels start shifting towards the nightmares of war or the sheer absurdity of reality bending and breaking around you. They really take the concept and run with it in a very different way than what came before.
Much like the first game, Klonoa starts off feeling like a simple, well-polished puzzle platformer, but it ends up becoming so much more. Every level takes it’s thematic elements and converts them into gameplay styles that feel entirely different than the previous level. A good game takes a simple idea and iterates on it, a great game thats a simple idea and completely surprises you with every moment. Klonoa 2 easily falls into the latter. It feels great to figure out what the game wants you to do and execute on it, but it never feels like it’s being unfair or frustrating, which is almost impossible for a puzzle-platformer to achieve.
While the story beats aren’t AS powerful as the original, I’d argue they’re far more meaningful. The main antagonist’s final monologue destroys me every time I see the closing cutscenes of this game. The main console Klonoa games both feel like very important games to play just to learn from them, especially for younger audiences.
Plus there is Tat. A silly lil’ cat antagonist that pops up from time to time. We love Tat. Tat’s great.
#6 Bubble Bobble
In a lot of the entries on this list, I’ve gone on and on about storytelling and atmosphere and world building and complex gameplay twists.
But sometimes all that means nothing when put up against a game that is just impossibly fun and simple. Bubble Bobble is a near-perfect game. Endlessly fun and challenging with the “easy to learn, hard to master” build that makes a true arcade classic.
This is something of a sentimental pick, as I played a ton of it on the NES as a kid growing up in the late 80s/early 90s. And it’s a game that I continously come back to, and never get sick of. It says something when a game has had several sequels, and not a single one has managed to come even close to the greatness of the original.
But what’s even more amazing about this game is that despite it’s very simple concept, it actually has a remarkable level of depth. There are so many small hidden mechanics at play that show just how smartly designed it was that can turn a simple game into a constantly evolving challenge.
Taito is something of an obsession of mine, and it all stems from them creating what might be a perfect video game. Just pure joy and fun and challenge wrapped up in a charming package with the biggest friggin’ ear worm theme in all of music.
The Mog Pile 