Jowi Meli – Managing Editor
The Legend Of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
This might be considered a strange choice for a favorite in the sprawling Zelda series, but I’ve played it more times than any other game I own. How many times? I lost count, but it’s definitely over 15. Being able to carry this huge world and adventure in my pocket was astounding as a child — and though it doesn’t seem quite as big and amazing now, playing it still brings me pure gaming bliss. The chiptune music, simple Game Boy graphics and pick-up-and-play style come together to form what I consider a perfect portable experience.
Final Fantasy X
Blah blah blah, plot holes. Blah blah blah, Tidus’s laugh. Blah blah blah. Look, Final Fantasy X isn’t a perfect game, and it even has some things I definitely can’t stand (blitzball can shove it, as far as I’m concerned). But when it comes to a story that emotionally invested me, a world that immersed me, characters that I fell in love with, and a turn-based battle system that challenged and delighted me, I can’t say that any other Final Fantasy game has made me lose myself in its charms quite like this one. I just recently bought the Remaster version on Vita (after already beating it on PS3) because I simply couldn’t resist the opportunity to take this beloved adventure with me, and I’m sure I’ll be saving Spira many more times as I travel for work.
Persona 3 Portable
I first saw Persona 3 while visiting the college dorm of my first serious boyfriend. A month or so later, after single-handedly crashing and burning that relationship with my own selfishness, I turned to the portable version in a bout of self-pitying reminiscence… and accidentally stumbled upon my favorite JRPG of all-time. Persona 3’s cast of lovably-flawed characters felt like friends at a time when I desperately needed them, but more importantly, they did something that the people of the Shin Megami Tensei series do like no others — they forced me to practice empathy. The game’s story and themes serve as a powerful reflection on death and the different ways people grieve, and at the time, I needed to remember that there were people with way bigger problems than me out there — even if the ones that reminded me were fictional.
Pikmin 2
My brother and I were obsessed with Pikmin when we were kids, and we anticipated Pikmin 2 with a fervor approaching utter derangement. We’d loved exploring the huge world of the first game, but the challenge mode in the sequel meant we could actually play together. Plus, the single-player campaign is still the one to beat in the series for me: finding the real-world items, exploring the procedurally-generated caves, fighting all the weird and wonderful creatures, and just looking at those adorable little guys marching around… there’s nothing else quite like it out there, and I can’t recommend it enough to people who love a sense of discovery in their games.
999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
There is one scene in this game that really turned on the waterworks for me. That feat alone isn’t so impressive, as I’m a gigantic baby who cries at everything, but I actually had to stop for a few moments to regain my composure before I continued playing. Kotaro Uchikoshi’s first entry in the Zero Escape series might be a visual novel, but don’t let that fool you — it’s a shocking, stomach-churning roller coaster ride for your feelings. It’s impossible not to fall in love with the ragtag group of weirdos that find themselves playing a sick and deadly “game” to escape from a locked-down cruise ship, and it’s a real punch in the gut when you discover some of their hidden motives and gruesome fates. I loved Virtue’s Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma, too, but no game has made me feel quite like I did when I first played this one.
Harvest Moon: Animal Parade
This series is now known as Story of Seasons in the West, obviously, and it’s one I had an extremely hard time picking a favorite out of. This second Wii entry in the series encapsulates everything I’ve loved about the franchise since childhood: a great cast of weirdo villagers, including some adorable bachelors and bachelorettes, the freedom to customize your farm and do pretty much whatever you want, and the tranquility that comes with roaming around a beautiful country setting. Just please get with the times and let my dude character marry another dude character, Marvelous! Wizard is my husbando!
Overwatch
It may seem like a bold move to include a release from this year on my list, but the fantastic inclusivity of Overwatch represents exactly what I’d like to see more of in gaming. From its global cast of characters to its super-easy pick-up-and-play accessibility, Blizzard significantly lowered the barrier of entry to the FPS genre. Plus, this game is just so damn fun — I find myself going back to it again and again whenever I need a break from work, as it never fails to relax me and put a smile on my face. And I think it’s a pretty good sign that my fiancé, who wouldn’t touch most shooters with a ten-foot pole, has now logged over twice the hours I have and become a way better player than me.