I’ve completed my months-long task of painstakingly recreating all of my lost GOTY lists over the course of my professional career as a writer. The links to that are at the bottom of the article.
But what I have yet to ever do (quite the impossible task to people nostalgic for a certain era of games) is make a game of the year top ten list for when I was in high school, and work my way backwards. The goal is writing my GOTY lists now for the years when I wasn’t a professional in the field. The field of wordsmithing. I good at the words.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll go past the year of my birth! But I will be limiting myself to only one sentence per game, as both a challenge to myself and a relief to my editor. He needs another vacation very soon; I put him through so much.
2003
Honorable Mentions: “Pokemon Ruby,” “WWE Crush Hour,” “Ikaruga,” “WarioWare Inc.: Mega Microgame$,” “Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising,” “Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour,” “F-Zero GX,” “Final Fantasy Tactics Advance,” “Viewtiful Joe,” “Tony Hawk’s Underground,” “SpongeBob: Battle for Bikini Bottom,” “LOTR: The Return of the King,” “SOCOM II U.S. Navy SEALs,” “Mario Party 5,” “Need for Speed: Underground,” “Ape Escape 2,” “Max Payne 2,” and “Mario and Luigi” Superstar Saga”
10. “Soul Caliber II” — If I was better at 3D fighting games, this would have been at the top of the list. The single player offering plus Link? Best in the series.
9. “XIII” — One of my favorite art styles and multiplayer modes, maybe ever. The voice cast is also insane.
8. “Pac-Man Vs.” — Childhood memories and friendships were forged over this throw-in. But it’s brilliant, and should be ported to Switch.
7. “Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge” — I will murder somebody in cold blood in the street to get a remaster or sequel to this; so much better than any Star Fox.
6. “The Simpsons: Hit and Run” — The best Simpsons game and the best GTA clone ever.
5. “Mario Kart: Double Dash” — Remember when Nintendo would just come up with a great idea for a game instead of slapping “Wii” at the end of it and calling it a day?
4. “Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow” — I would argue that this is the second best game in the entire franchise’s history, behind “SotN.”
3. “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker” — The fact that they didn’t bring over the HD remaster with the faster sailing flag for the end-game to the Switch 2 is a crime.
2. “Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando” — The jump in quality from the original to this is almost unparalleled, until you see this to “Up Your Arsenal.”
- “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” — They just don’t make games like this anymore, folks. And they never will. Remake be damned.
2002
Honorable Mentions: “Serious Sam: The Second Encounter,” “Maximo: Ghosts to Glory,” “Medal of Honor: Frontline,” “SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs,” “Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance,” “Star Fox Adventures,” “Burnout 2: Point of Impact,” “Unreal Tournament 2003,” “Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2,” “Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee,” “TimeSplitters 2,” “Mario Party 4,” “LOTR: The Two Towers,” “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City,” “Age of Mythology,” “Metroid Fusion,” “Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance,” and “RollerCoaster Tycoon 2”
10. “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4” — If only they didn’t botch the remake…
9. “Animal Crossing” — The last AC game I played. I was in that world for years, and just never felt the urge to play another one.
8. “007: Nightfire” — The best Bond game up until 2026! They don’t make first-person shooters like this any (editor pulls me aside to yell at me for using that phrase too much)
7. “Super Monkey Ball 2” — The best in the series! The mini-games alone were the reason to buy this game.
6. “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell” — My entry to stealth games, and a staple of the era for lighting and sound design.
5. “Super Mario Sunshine” — Everyone shits on this game and they shouldn’t! It’s good!
4. “Ratchet and Clank” — An excellent platformer and shooter with a funny story and memorable characters. The start of a blue chip series.
3. “Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus” — Pails in comparison to the sequels, but this is platforming at its finest.
2. “Kingdom Hearts” — All time action RPG shit right here, with mind blowing graphics for the time that still hold up! Plays like a dream.
- “Metroid Prime” — Somehow still the best one and no one, not even Retro or Nintendo, has figured out a way to crack the code a second time. What a masterpiece from beginning to end.
Image Credit: “Metroid Prime”
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