There’s a lot that goes into making a great video game. I wouldn’t know from experience, but when compared to writing songs, which can be done in a matter of minutes, or writing books, which really only takes determination, imagination (or experience) and time, creating a video game from nothing is a process that I can scarcely imagine. Over the course of the 60+ year history of video gaming, the industry has come a long way; from bouncing square balls to shooting down gunships in hyper-realistic HD, no entertainment industry has changed as drastically in such a short span of time. Listed below are the ones that have impressed me the most listed by order of release.

Final Fantasy VI (1994)

Final Fantasy VII (1997)

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

Pokemon Red and Blue (1998)Final Fantasy IX (2000)

Pokemon Gold and Silver (2000)

Fire Emblem (2001)

Kingdom Hearts (2002)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2005)

Shadow of the Colossus (2005)

Kingdom Hearts II (2006)

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006)

Super Mario Galaxy (2007)

Fallout 3 (2008)

Halo: Reach (2010)

Heavy Rain (2010)

Mass Effect 2 (2010)

To the Moon (2011)

Mass Effect 3 (2012)

The Last of Us (2013)

Bloodborne (2015)

Ori and the Blind Forest (2015)

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)

Pokemon Sun and Moon (2016)

Final Fantasy XV (2016)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)

Octopath Traveler (2018)

Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020)

The Last of Us Part II (2020)

Psychonauts 2 (2021)

Chained Echoes (2022)

Elden Ring (2022)

Octopath Traveler II (2023)