N64 - Golden Eye (is there any other acceptable answer?)
PD was better. Actual storyline and improved upon the combat. I don't know why people cling to Goldeneye 007 like it's the messiah of N64 games. Sure it was there first, but it didn't do it best. Maybe all the guys who love it so much couldn't afford expansions paks.
NOTE: These are MY favorite games. it only lists games that I have played and love on consoles that I own/owned.Anyways, back on topic. Only one game? WOW. There are so many that I remember from my childhood, youth and even nowadays.
I think the one game that blew me away the most, the one game i'd have to list as my "All time favorite" was
Ace Combat 04. Fantastic game and the PS2 controller was so right to play it. Great graphics, even nowadays. Incredible OST and the way they didn't baby you with this "press the stick sideways to fly sideways" garbage made you know you were playing a real game. None of this handholding bull****, you either learned to play the game properly, or you didn't play the game at all. and what a game. I loved all the Project Aces games even past when the quality started dropping with Zero. I have both for the 360 but never bothered to play em much. The controls just feel off with the staggered sticks. . . I dunno. I must have played through that game from start to finish 7 times.
Maybe i'll hook up my PS2 to the new 47" TV for old times sake tonight. . .
Other honorary mentions:
Killer7 (GCN) : This game is ****ed. Like straight screwed up. nothing about it is mainstream. It's an on-rails, cel-shaded, superstylized puzzle/shooter. It was VERY difficult to get into. I put it down for nearly a year because I got so frustrated. After I picked it up again I played through it at least twice, though. It's got a story to tell, and if you don't understand what's going on that's too bad, because that's Killer7. There are so many things left open to interpretation and nothing is just left on the table for you. This game is more a work of art or philosophy than an actual game, but functions well as both. Fits well into the "Games you've never played, but should" category.
Half Life 2 (PC): Marked my transition from consoles (PS2 and N64) to PC gaming. Got the ultimate pack (probably payed too much) with the Lambda T-shirt (now well loved, worn and full of holes. In all likelihood it ended up as a rag in my dad's shop after being worn for years) and what a game it was. I think I was just as impressed with the PC experience as much as HL2 itself. The whole thing just blended into one big gamegasm.
Portal (& Portal 2) (PC) : Portal was the REASON I bought the Orange Box, although ultimately I logged far more house in TF2. I remember being on at midnight and being bummed out at 12:01 because I didn't account for the time change for the game to unlock. Stayed up all night and beat the game in one sitting. Fantastic concept, fantastic puzzles and an incredible experience.
Pokemon (Versions Blue, and Silver) (GBC): What needs to be said about pokemon. It's the perfect RPG. 152+ characters to choose from, no two of them alike. A whole ton of out-of-game experience with the TCG, cartoon, talking and trading with friends so it had the social aspect before there WAS a social aspect besides 2 player games. . . Truly a revolutionary RPG, and there's a reason it's a multi-million dollar franchise.
Mario game X (most any nintendo console): With a handful of exceptions, you couldn't name a bad game with "Mario" in the title. My favorites from select generations would have to be SMB3, (NES), Super Mario 64 (N64 derp) and SM 3D Land was surprisingly good (3DS derp). The torch has been passed. My son plays SM64 on a regular basis, and at the age of 3 and a few months, can "beat the bomb guy" and has won a few races against koopa the quick. I still have to beat bowser for him though so he can watch the end credits.
Super Smash Bros. (N64, GCN, Wii): As noted above, they didn't make a bad Smash game. It's an incredible fighter, and the only one I enjoy because you can move so freely. It's not like most fighters where you're running around and can only jump 2 inches but throw fireballs out of your feet or whatever. It goes all out cartoon. nothing makes sense and it's a total riot. The AI is very competative even at higher levels and the games just keep improving upon themselves. A blast for 2-4 people and a great game to hang out with.
A few other games that influenced my childhood, but I won't go so in-depth about them, are listed here
(NES)
Jackal (awesome music, Nintendo Hard game.)
Blades of Steel (BLLDS FF STEEEEEEEEEEL!)
Star Soldier (another Nintendo Hard game.)
Faxandu (300 golds?)
Solomon's Key (definition of Ninteno Hard)
Bigfoot (lol)
LoZ 2 (I don't care what you say, it was a good game. Different =/= bad
(Genesis)
Sonic 1 & 2, Sonic & Knuckles (HUGE into sonic as a kid, read the comics, role played as him in the backyard, he was just so cool! too he got sold out so hard. He used to be an icon, man)
Toejam & Earl (Jammin'. This game was full of funk. I never really "got" it as a kid, but it's embedded in my mind. If I had a chance to play it today i'm sure i'd still enjoy it.)
Game Gear
Garfield Caught in the AC (Another stinker, but I played it so much as a kid I could probably still run the levels from memory)
Ristar (Got so far, but never beat it. Didn't help the Game Gear ate batteries like a starved hog. 6 AA's aren't cheap!)
(N64)
Hybrid Heaven (i'm a sucker for stat builders. It wasn't a very good game, but it was pretty memorable for me.)
Jet Force Gemini (in retrospect this was kind of a stinker)
Perfect Dark (Goldeneye as well, since they're the same game, but PD is better. The XBLA version is awesome, but the controls still suck lol)
Pokemon Stadium (You can play the GB version on it and beat the crap out of your buddies in 3D, what's not to love!)
(PS2)
Katamari Damacy (so strange you can't help but love it.)
Ace Combat series (as explained at the start of post.)
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (weird ass plotline, but I logged 80 hours on it so it must have been good. The weapon statbuilding was cool)
Dark Cloud: (RPG with worldbuilder, unique statbuilding weapons, dynamic dungeons? Yes, Please. Could have done without the multiple characters, though. Always ended up with 2 strong ones and 5 boat anchors)
Gran Turismo 3, 4. (So much love in these games. I love pimping out a used VW jetta and smoking cars 10 years newer than it on the sunday circuit. This game literally taught me probably 80% of what I know about cars and driving in general (how to take turns, general car parts and explinations.))
(GBC) (GB and GBP games are rolled into this since it's what I had and it played all 3.
Most any Kirby game, (yes even the puzzlers and the pinball one. I loved em all.)
Crystalis (great RPG, highly reccomended on any console)
Dragon Warrior 1&2/3 (I played these more than the originals, and appreciated being able to hotsave.)
Game Boy Camera (does this count as a game? I spent way too much time with this thing, and i got it for dirt cheap since they were clearing out at wal-mart)
(GBA/SP)
Golden Sun (such a stellar title. The graphics blew my mind at the time. The plot was great. Combat was a little watery but the Djinn function was very well executed, making you choose between being strong in general, or unleasing ultimate attacks)
Boktai 2 (great fun, and the solar sensor encouraged you to play outside.)
(DS)
Scribblenauts (not so much fun as a game, but for a sandbox it's a hoot)
Chrono Trigger ( Yeah, I know this is on SNES, but I played it on DS.)
(PC)
Civilization series (been hooked ever since 3, and I love em all. Still play a full game of 5 GaK weekly or bi-weekly)
X-COM series (Late to the party. Picked up the original on steam a few years back, but I love the new one now too.)
Just Cause 2 (BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM. Basically a god simulator in soldier form. let off some stress by airlifting a car and smashing it into stuff.)
I'm sure there are ones i've missed, and believe it or not, this is a trimmed up list of my favorite and most memorable games. Took probably over an hour to compile but here it is.
Bear in mind that this is almost 25 years of gaming rolled into one post.
TL;DR Ace Combat 04 was great and I play too many video games.
