The single greatest game ever created, in my opinion. I consider it to be a perfect lightning bolt of brilliant design. The art, story, characters, music, worlds and creatures are unlike anything I've ever experienced before or since in a game. I could analyze the shit out of the game, from an entirely objective point of view, and come up with a much less glowing appraisal of the game. However, as far as the irrational, inexplicable part of my mind goes, no other game compares.

From a totally objective point of view, this is probably the best console RPG ever made. The story was above and beyond the zeitgeist, the art direction, music and writing were unreal, the graphics and sound technology pushed every boundary there was to push. Chrono Trigger introduced elements to the genre like dual and triple-character team attacks and real-time combat environments. On top of that, you could recruit Magus, and Magus owns just about every videogame villain from the last two decades.

The definitive Metroid game, Super Metroid did for the series what A Link to the Past did for Zelda. It introduced 90% of the details and core gameplay elements that have defined the series ever since. The map system (mimicked by every single side-scrolling adventure game since), the Charge Beam, wall-jump, Space-Jump, Screw Attack, X-Ray Visor, Speed Boost, Super Missiles, Power Bombs, Grapple Beam and a ton of other abilities, items and scenarios that have been duplicated, enhanced and re-imagined in six different games since then. This game defined Metroid, and in turn, defined the 2D adventure genre as a whole.

Just an all-around great game. Legend of the Seven Stars sowed the seeds of an entirely different breed of RPG, even if its peculiar design elements never really spread beyond the borders of Mario's RPG series. Timed attacks, communal item and magic resources and a truckload of fun minigames gave way to the score of fun and creative design elements that have defined the Mario RPG series since.

Like Super Metroid, the definitive 2D Zelda game. A Link to the Past introduced elements to the series like the Master Sword, Hookshot, Spin Attack, lifting and throwing objects, multiple planes of action, and a much deeper story than previous entries. Anyone who doesn't really know what "Zelda" means needs to start right here.

The only "traditional" Kirby game I've ever really gotten behind. Kirby Super Star is, essentially, nine games in one package, each distinct in its own right. The real standouts being The Great Cave Offensive and Milky Way Wishes. Beyond the whole "more bang for your buck" angle, though, is my personal favorite element of the game. Kirby has the ability to devour the abilities of his enemies, and has ever since Kirby's Adventure on the NES. However, Kirby Super Star was the game to introduce many of the now staple abilities Kirby has wielded throughout the series, as well as greatly expanding upon their functionality. Each of Kirby's forms comes packaged with anywhere from three to ten different special attacks activated through various button sequences. My personal favorites among the bunch being Sword Kirby, Yo-Yo Kirby, Ninja Kirby, Fighter Kirby and Mirror Kirby.

In my opinion, the definitive SNES game. Not the best, but certainly the game that I find to have been the real milestone for the console. DKC broke technological barriers. It introduced a level of graphical and sound detail unheard of in console games at the time. It reinvented a franchise that had been long seen as defunct and useless. On top of all that, it was just a damn-fine platformer with a ton of replay value and bonus material to hunt down.

I can't really pick between the two. I love them both immensely for their combination of action/adventuring and world-building sim gameplay. I initially picked Actraiser to begin with because the sim elements are a bit more hands-on than those in SoulBlazer. However, I personally find the adventuring elements to be of a higher quality in SoulBlazer. Both feature great plot and characters, incredible music and intense action. Both are on my favorites list of all time, and as such, I can't and won't decide between the two.

This, along with Gradius III, is one of the most recent additions to my top ten SNES list. The game is just fan-fucking-tastic. If you can actually get past the fact that the game is insanely hard, and takes an immense amount of patience and dedication to conquer, you'll find one of the most intense and addictive action/platformer designs from the 16-bit era. One of the most humbling games I've ever played.

Like Super Ghouls n' Ghosts above, Gradius III has been recently added to this list entirely as a result of downloading it to my Wii a few months back. This game is one of the most tightly-designed shooters I've ever played. The upgrade system is great, forcing you to strategize and make tough decisions in a split second. Will you spend your upgrades on a Double-Shot now, or hold out a little longer for the vastly superior Lasers? Can you survive long enough to fill out your formation of Options, or are you gonna have to break down and grab yourself missiles first? The pace gets frantic, the screen fills with hazards and one wrong move will punt your worthless ass all the way back to the start of the level with no upgrades. Unforgiving, nerve-wracking and frustrating as hell, but tough to put down.