Nathan's Blog » toplist http://nathan.studiodifferent.com Wired World Wonderings Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:50:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Top 10 Video Games http://nathan.studiodifferent.com/2006/04/06/top-10-video-games/ http://nathan.studiodifferent.com/2006/04/06/top-10-video-games/#comments Fri, 07 Apr 2006 04:13:42 +0000 nathan http://nathan.studiodifferent.com/2006/04/06/top-10-video-games/

Video games have long been a hobby of mine. Asteroids at the local laundromat, Super Mario Bros on the NES, and several generations of increasing bits later — I’m still a casual console gamer. I recently happened upon my friend Nuch Vader’s “favorite games” discussion of Wonder Boy, and I decided to write a simpler top-10 list.

Let me begin with a side note – Nuch Vader is an expert in all things gaming. During the 16-bit Console Wars (TurboGrafx/Genesis/SNES) we served in the same unit. Our tour of duty ranged from Keith Courage’s Alpha Zones through Resident Evil’s Raccoon City — He went on to start his own video game store. His first “favorite games” blog entry discusses Wonder Boy. I had forgotten how many good games came out of that franchise.

Now, on to my top 10 favorites…

The List

10) God of War (PS/2)
I was shocked to play a game this good so late in the PS/2 life cycle. Amazing storyline and gameplay are complemented by some of the best A/V seen on the PS/2. Control accepts input from mashing to professional combos.
9) Legend of Zelda (NES)
When playing Zelda, little things – like eating – became somehow less important. The persistent world, enabled by battery backup, encouraged you to try bombing every rock. The graphics, while simple, .
8) Combat (Atari 2600)
This title isn’t here simply to kitsch up the list — there weren’t too many solid 1-on-1 console games in those days. Combat’s tanks and planes made Pong look like child’s play. Tanks are even more fun with bouncing bullets. Any how, my fondest 2600 memories are of Combat.
7) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Multiple)
GTA: SA is the most advanced of the series, adding Sims elements and seamless loading. While considerable attention is paid to the questionable content in the GTA series, the games wrap adventure, racing, stealth, and collecting in period-centric packages that redefine free-roaming adventure.
6) Metroid (NES)
A game with a scale beyond it’s era, Metroid offered a then-vast universe with plenty of powerups. What 8-bit gamer can’t recall the rush of getting the ball power up the first time?
5) Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)
Simplicity is a virtue in the iconic Genesis platformer. What Sonic lacks in complexity, it makes up for in pure frenetic fun.
4) Wipeout (PSX)
The first killer app for me on the Playstation, Wipeout’s first iteration featured the most replayable tracks in the series. Never again has a racing game compelled me to shave milliseconds from my lap time. A soundtrack as modern as the game sealed the deal.
3) Castlevania IV (SNES)
My favorite SNES exclusive, a surreal color pallete paints the game’s diverse environments, and is complimented by the best audio I can recall from the entire 16-bit era.
2) Street Fighter II (Arcade, etc.)
Not only did I line up my fair share of quarters, but I’ve owned almost every console iteration as well. I suspect that I’ve spent more man-hours playing Street Fighter than Tetris.
1) Super Mario Bros. (NES)
Arguably the most influential platformer, SMB is also my favorite game. An obvious choice, perhaps, but this game was popular for a reason.

Disclaimer

Such a list is difficult to create. It is hard to distill 20 years of gaming down to 10 ordinal favorites. On another day this list may have been different, but rest assured that each of these games deserves a place in the Hall of Fame.

Other Lists

I did some quick searches for other top-n lists of video games to see what others thought, and below are some selections. Surprisingly few such lists appear on search engines, so perhaps I’ll add more as I find them:

  1. Newthread.org’s Top 100 Video Games
  2. IGN Top 100, 2005
  3. Will O’Neal’s Top 10 on cnet.com
  4. Top 100 Video games at blog-city.com
  5. Famitsu top 100
  6. JD’s Top 100
  7. Grand Pescado’s Top 10
  8. GameFAQs Top 100
]]> http://nathan.studiodifferent.com/2006/04/06/top-10-video-games/feed/ 3 "I Love Toys", Annotated http://nathan.studiodifferent.com/2006/04/03/i-too-love-toys/ http://nathan.studiodifferent.com/2006/04/03/i-too-love-toys/#comments Mon, 03 Apr 2006 20:56:30 +0000 nathan http://nathan.studiodifferent.com/2006/04/03/i-too-love-toys/

VH1 recently aired I Love Toys, top-100 list of toys using the same format as the other “I love…” shows. Inspired by Matthew’s post on Hard Blog Life, I annotated the VH-1 list as well.

Missing Items

First, I’d like to say that I agree with a VH1.com forum poster that the ball is a major omission. Hey, if a bike can make the list, then why not a ball? Also missing from their list: Chinese Checkers, Old Maid, Stratego, Cards, …

Personal Top 5

5. Speak and Spell
4. Stratego (preferably electronic!)
3. Transformers
2. Nintendo Entertainment System
1. Legos

Annotated VH-1 Top 100

100. Magic 8 Ball
99. Thumbalina
98. Dungeons & Dragons
I spent more time collecting dice and books than I did playing, but it still provided hours of OCD fun. I even had a 30-sided and a 100-sided.
97. Spirograph
96. Pong
My neighbor had Pong, complete with wood finish. Many other games try to take credit for the home video game explosion, but they shall all kneel before Pong.
95. Chutes & Ladders
94. Laser Tag
93. Sea Monkeys
92. Remote Control Cars
I had a Porsche 944, and upgraded it with silver stickers.
91. Uno
Much more fun, and colorful, than war.
90. Model Sets
89. BB Guns
88. Care Bears
87. Dominos
86. Ouija Boards
85. My Little Pony
84. Gumby
I had Gumby and Pokey. Not sure how they made this list though.
83. Memory
82. Little Golden Books
81. Wooly Willie
80. Baby Alive
79. Trivial Pursuit
Fun for the whole family.
78. Army Men
77. Stickers
I loved my 80’s-rific hologram and rainbow stickers, but I would call these decorations rather than toys.
76. Balsa Wood Planes
My rubberband always broke, but it was fun when it didn’t.
75. Weeble Wobbles
74. Erector Set
Good concept, but I found the rails and crappy wrench to be unwieldy.
73. Rainbow Brite
72. Color Forms
71. Walkie Talkies
Before there were cell phones… I had an army green set with a morse code beep button.
70. Candy Land
69. Slip & Slide
68. Smurfs
Better cartoon than toy.
67. Tinker Toys
Fun for 10 minutes. How many spokes and cubes can one make?
66. Risk
65. Jig Saw Puzzle
64. Roller Skates
This should be top-50, for sure. Mine attached to my shoes, but they were still a blast.
63. Rubik’s Cube
I graduated from solid faces to bullseyes to taking the thing apart. Great fun.
62. Life
Loved it. I was surprised that others apparently did too.
61. Operation
60. Tickle Me Elmo
59. Simon
I ran through several AA’s on the Radio Shack pocket version, even though it only had four red LED’s where Simon® had huge colorful lights.
58. Madlibs
57. Stretch Armstrong
56. Barrel O’ Monkeys
Like many others, I was surprised to realize this was a game. Amusing, but #56?!
55. Mouse Trap
54. View Master
Maybe the MPAA could reduce piracy if they released movies in the View Master format.
53. He-Man
Stinkor, who actually stunk, and Lock-Jaw were my personal faves. My friend had Castle Greyskull, with the action-crumble tower.
52. Speak & Spell
I can still vividly recall every letter – “Aitch”. Amazing technology for ‘83.
51. Lincoln Logs
Not the most flexible toy, but you could make several sizes of log cabin.
50. Gameboy
Gameboy is to portable gaming what 2600 is to console gaming. Any toy popular enough to get banned in school rates high in my book.
49. Clue
48. Little People
Some call them simplistic, but I say it leaves more room for imagination! The garage was sweet. New Little People are too detailed, and are too big to become lodged in one’s throat. Safe is boring!
47. Evel Knievel Action figure
46. Hungry Hungry Hippos
45. Frisbee
44. Raggedy Ann
43. See & Say
42. Jump Rope
41. Transformers
By far, my favorite cartoon-toy franchise. I had more of these than I can remember. I had some Gobots too, which used die-cast metal, but they barely looked like robots when transformed.
40. Big Wheel
Slower than running, but much more fun.
39. Tea Set
38. Pogo Stick
Might as well save yourself the frustration and humiliation – skip trying to pogo and just slam your head on the ground, because I’m convinced these are not meant for mortals.
37. Mattel Classic Football
36. Strawberry Shortcake
35. Tonka Toys
34. Connect Four
33. Ninja Turtles
32. Shrinky Dinks
31. Twister
30. Battleship
29. Cabbage Patch Kids
28. Crayola Crayons
27. Silly Putty
How many toys can make sculptures, bounce, and copy newspapers?
26. Lionel Trains
25. Lite Brite
It loses a bit of it’s magic when you run out of the preprinted construction paper, but it’s still fun to make stuff.
24. Water Guns
23. Nerf
22. Teddy Bear
21. NES
I always wanted a Sega Master System, but I eventually joined the crowd and got a Nintendo. Super Mario Bros and Zelda forever changed my life.
20. ATARI
I never had one, but Combat was fun, as was the flickery, square Pac Man.
19. Easy Bake Oven
18. Scrabble
17. Rock’em Sock’em
16. Etch-A-Sketch
15. Match Box/Hot Wheels
14. Bike
Another imposter toy, but I’ll let it slide since I enjoyed my bicycles so much. It really broadens your world when you no longer have to walk everywhere.
13. Snoopy Sno Cone Machine
WTF? How did this thing edge so close to the top 10? Surely the EZ Bake is the more significant and timeless foodmaking toy.
12. Radio Flyer
A great tool-turned-toy. Forget pull – I’d prefer a push, so I could use the makeshift “steering wheel”.
11. Play-Doh
Fun and delicious!
10. Wiffle Ball & Bat
9. Slinky
I don’t know about stair-walking, but it was sure fun to “juggle” stretch, etc.
8. Yo-Yo
7. Star Wars Figures
6. Monopoly
5. Mr. Potato Head
4. G.I. Joe
3. LEGO
This should have been #1! Fun for girls and boys, Legos provide a platform for any scenario you’d like to create.
2. Barbie
Not my preference, but my wife assures me that they deserve to be this high on the list.
1. Hula Hoop
This fad does not deserve first place! Top 50, maybe, but who seriously remembers hula-hooping for hours on end?
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