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Kevin's Top Video Games: 10-6
By Kevin - 04.03.03
10. Secret of Evermore
1995 - Super Nintendo
 Due to its title and the inevitable comparisons to another Square game, this title has never received the celebration it deserves. Yes, Secret of Mana is a better game, yes it borrows from the SoM engine, and no, it cannot support as many players as SoM (a major list spoiler if ever there was one.) Screw the nay-sayers, Secret of Evermore is a significant, beautiful game for many reasons. It was the first game to be completely developed by Square of America, which means that it was created by less experienced programmers and probably had less funding: however, when one truly views the scope of the game, it becomes sometime not unlike a low-budget indy movie by a fresh director…an underdog but a true star.
The "hero" and his dog are oddly transported to lands far removed from reality, each with a distinctly different civilization. Throughout the journey, the player will visit such diverse places as Prehistoria, a hybrid Greek/Roman/Egyptian civilization, a medieval land and finally a space station in the far future. Your dog changes appearances throughout the game, beginning as a gruff wolf-like thing and ending up as a toaster who shoots lasers from its mouth. Weapons are upgradeable, spells are found in the unlikeliest of places, and the money (talons, credits, coins, etc) flows like wine. One of the game's great legacies is the second appearance of the handy-dandy circular menu (our friend SoM came first,) menus which can be simpler and faster in some instances then the classic up/down text block. Since this is an action RPG, your battle prowess has to do not only with your level, but also with your skill as a strategist. It is possible to beat the game at a blistering pace by simply going through the motions of the story, or one can choose the path of mastery and find everything.
 The trivial parts of the game are often the most fun. I can recall many a fun afternoon spent scurrying about the marketplace in Antiquia, bartering goods. You can purchase basic commodities like rice and beads, and then continually trade them for cooler and cooler things: with enough poking around, you can get all sorts of unique items and relics, as well as make all of your money back from continually dealing with the right people. Additionally, finding all of the spells can at times seam like trouble, but I applaud the game for making the player do some work. For example, in order to find the "Sting" spell, which pretty much sucks but is nice to have, you literally have to run around nigh-aimlessly in the desert until you find an oasis with a man who looks like Homer: he gives it to you and you become ultimately satisfied.
To sum it up, this game has many particular pleasures that set it apart from Secret of Mana. While it is certainly similar to its older cousin, it is also an extremely fun and rewarding game. Seek this baby out.
9. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
1992 - Super Nintendo
I'd have to say that 1992 was a great year for video game players everywhere, due in no small part to the porting of this game stateside. In keeping with the standard Nintendo strategy, the SNES was launched with a great show-off title, Super Mario World, but was devoid of another masterpiece first part title…until this game. This game came to define the entire Adventure genre for the system, and until 1996 was still a "yardstick" game, unsurpassed in 4 years.
I'll spare most of the details of the story: Hyrule is about to be proverbially fucked, you are Link, Princess Zelda is captive, Gannondorf is pissed, pendants and triforce are necessary, and you start it all with 3 heart containers. Instead of having two "quests" like the Legend of Zelda, there were instead two worlds: light and dark. For total n00bs, this could have come as a huge surprise, but for wizened warriors, it meant more bang for your buck. Can we say replay value? Just checking. I hope you didn't actually say it aloud, because if you are in a public place, now everyone probably things you are a horrible person. There are so many items in so many pots/chests in so many caves/caverns that it is certainly something special to finish the game with everything found. On the down side, the game is at times excessively easy, but any revamping of difficulty could make certain parts of the game nigh-impossible.
I'd venture that my favorite part of the game is the first time you explore Death Mountain and its environs. The first time around, I was simply in awe as to how much there was for me to do, beat and explore…to this very day, thinking about that part of the game is a mini-Christmas. Gods be praised, A Link to the Past is a mighty fine cart. Nintendo knows this, as they have just recently re-released the game for the Game Boy Advance, complete with a new 4 player mode. I wish that our favorite 8-letter-company would do the same for other SNES beauties…only time will tell.
8. The Legend of Zelda
1986 - NES
 Super Mario Brothers was the first truly innovative game indigenous to the NES: a side-scrolling world of near limitless possibilities (in 1984/1985 terms.) The Legend of Zelda was the second most innovative game for the system, but perhaps the most involved game to make its way to a console ever. Adventure games were not new: Zork had been around for years, and even obvious ones like Adventure had explored the concept. Role Playing Games certainly existed, with titles like Ultima and Wizardry gracing computer screens all around. Yet, the delicate synthesis of the two beautiful worlds was the goal of this wonderful cart. What, you ask, is The Legend of Zelda? Well, one might call it a scrolling, multi-screened world that is explore-able by Link, an unlikely hero, and is populated by all manner of odd monster. Oh yeah…AND IT WAS THE FIRST NES CART TO FEATURE BATTERY BACK UP! Better than passwords, better than starting the game over each time you turn it on, battery backup was the only real choice when it came to games the size and scope of The Legend of Zelda. So now that innovations have been aptly discussed, why not turn to the game itself?
 Well, it all starts on that enigmatic first screen…you walk into that weird cave and get your Wooden Sword. You know that you have to somehow rescue Princess Zelda, you know that Gannon is a bastard, and you know that you need some weird shit called Triforce…you have learned all of this from the extensive documentation that comes with the game. What you don't know is that there are tons of weird-ass enemies on every screen, lots of decently puzzling palaces, some falling rocks around Death Mountain, and lots of odd-as-hell shopkeepers. Some of the most fun moments come when you first walk into a shop or secret cave, only to find odd dialogue and shitty items. In fact, those aren't fun moments, so totally forget that you just read that sentence.
OK, so you think that you have done all there is to do, seen all there is to see…well my friend, you are wrong: DEAD WRONG! That's right folks, as if they above innovations were not enough in themselves, this game added a devious little prank that meant much more game play but much lass sanity: the Second Quest. Suddenly, the longest and best game that you owned for the NES was twice as long…same enemies and items, but everything was in a weird place. I'm sure that most people who dropped out of school in the mid to late 80s did so because of this game. Much like any good thesis paper, I shall now conclude the argument. The Legend of Zelda is freaking amazing.
7. Tetris
1989 - Game Boy
I wish I had my copy of Game Over: Press Start to Continue with me- I would recount, in detail, the saga that is Tetris. However, I don't have it and I simply don't have the will to go over it all: so, take my word for it, there is a great story behind the development and successive leasing of this game. But why all the fuss over this seemingly simple game? Well, I will assert that it is the most widely-appealing video game of all time, and that it is perhaps the most successful title on an international level. Seriously, what other game appeals just as much to a 7 year old as a 70 year old? This game is addictive, challenging, and fast, it never stagnates, and it leaves your fingers in pain.
 
In 1988, Nintendo realized that it had a cool little hand-held system, but did not have a real marketing strategy. Luckily, they decided that the packed-in game should be one of universal appeal and substance. Arguably, the Game Boy was successful because of Tetris. Certainly Tetris was the top grossing game of all time for the system.
So, falling blocks that need to be put into certain formations in order to make themselves disappear. Sounds simple enough: but then things get fast. The game has infinite replay value as most puzzle games do. Games can be as long or short as you make them, so it is a great "on the go" game. Of course, the better you do, the more the game will reward you, either with points or with a cool rocket launch when you bite the bullet. In fact, that is the all consuming quest of the game- you must survive and get shitloads of points in order to launch a huge rocket. If you do not, you are a total communist and should be hog-tied by Reagan and burned in front of the White House. Or not.
I guess simple game means simple explanation. There really is no way to refute the supreme success that is cart. Fun has never been so small and compactable.
6. Final Fantasy IV (II)
1991 - SNES
 Ok, prepare for a diatribe the lengths of which you have not seen since War and Peace. If you haven't seen the size of the book, just imagine a large tome that dwarfs all other novels and novella. This game represents my introduction to the GOLDEN AGE OF VIDEO GAMES. Well, historically speaking, not THE golden age, so much as MY golden age. I must first give props where props are due…I probably owe my entire obsession with SNES rpgs to one person, my friend Todd. The first time I met him was at another friend's house, and he was playing FFII. For about the first week that I knew him, all I think I did was watch him play the game, as all other activities were superfluous. I had an SNES, and I liked video games, but I had never seen anything like it before. Was this game the child of God? All signs pointed to yes. I waited 5 more months until my birthday, and boldly asked for the game. The rest is history. I love RPGs, computer or otherwise. This game ruined me…sent me on the downward spiral that landed me a position as the man who has made a tribute site to all D&D licensed computer games (*cough http://www.virtualfools.com/ssi cough*.) So, FFII, you win major points for having been that game to change my world view.
It is called Final Fantasy 4 in Japan, because there were 3 Final Fantasy games to come before it…that story checks out. It was the most story-driven FF game at that point, and is still significant for having solid characters with well-defined roles. The scope of the series kept growing, with more then one world map: you had the surface, the underworld and the moon, not to mention all of the wonderfully large towers. What I most fondly dwell upon are all of the great items/skills/quests that come as a result of obsessive playing. I cannot possibly convey to you how much of a joy it is to find the items that allow you to have the Mage and Imp summon spells, which have to be gained in weird ways. They suck, true, but are such a good bragging right. Also, the quest for the Adamant armor is about the ultimate narcissistic exorcise: you have obviously played the game long enough to obliterate any enemy at any time, yet you must obsessively look for the Pink tail so that you can give it to the blacksmith and eventually make an armor that will render you more invincible then before. WOW. That was a mouthful to type. The enemies are nice little static renderings, very well detailed. Some of the females are quite obviously female, and the disgusting monsters are rendered nicely disgusting.
 Edge is the best character ever in a video game. I named my pet rock from 4th grade Edge, and he still lives in my sock drawer. Edge was a NINJA. He could use magic, two weapons at once, was fast, could throw stars, and had phat hit points. He is everything that an awesome FF character would, could and should be. Shadow from FFIII was a nice try, but he cannot hold a candle to Edge.
I shall refrain from saying anything more about the characters. Oh wait…the dwarves are awesome, as is Cid.
Final Fantasy II is a game that will forever be remembered as the trailblazer of the SNES RPG craze. It made the system viable for mature gamers, despite the cool image of the Genesis. I think that this game did more for me then all 2 years of middle school.
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