Hello g1s and those who visit ScrewAttack.com. This is my first shot at doing a blog entry on the site and really want to give it a try. Today I am going to try a top 5 list. I would do a top 10 list, but I want to start with something small. If this works out, I might try different ideas or even videos as well, but we will see based on time and work. I hope you all enjoy this list and hope this will make you think of something to write as well.

Onto to the list itself. I figure I start with something I know I can talk about and that is video games. I have played them for as long as I can remember from the early days of Atari to the next gen Wii U. Over the years I have played a lot of great games and have had a lot of fun. That's where this list comes in. Now I am going to impose a couple rules like a lot of people who do these lists. Rule one is that I will pick one game per franchise, not only to show parity, but to also show different tastes in games. I will also choose it on the platform I most remember playing on, so if it has had a lot of remakes, I will only choose one. I am also going to mention again that there are some spoilers in this list, but I want to keep the intrigue of these games if you have not played them yourself. Also, I am going to keep it as simple as possible with only going in depth on what makes each game stand out for me. Finally, keep in mind that this is MY personal list, if you do not agree with it, I respect that. I want this to inspire some discussion and maybe bring back some feelings of nostalgia. So without further ado, I'm igsman7793 and this is my Top 5 Favorite Games that I have Played

#5: Castlevania IV (SNES)

This is a farily recent entry onto my list. This is one of the games that got me into collecting retro games and started playing these kind of games again. This was my first time playing a game from the series and boy did it not disappoint. The graphics were great for the SNES and it really gave that feel that I was facing off against Dracula and his hordes of evil. I remember playing this game this past summer at night, lights off, and no one else but myself and my controller playing on the SNES. The difficulty of the game was great, it started off easy to get a feel for the controls and made you really work hard at adapting to the incoming challenges of the underworld. I am a purest when it comes to the horror genre, and seeing vampires, werewolfs, and other minions of the shadows in this setting. The best part was the controls. I played the other games after this one and man was it different. The NES games were great in their own right, but this game gave full control of SImon Belmont's whip and made it easier to work the secondary weapons. Now the usual quirks of the series were there, such as being pushed backwards after being hit and somehow falling in the conviently placed hole (pretty much my luck), but it was a great experience. If you are looking for a great SNES game, this is one that I recommend.

#4: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

And this is my first entry into the next generation. I love this series. Nathan Drake is one of my favorite video game characters (possibly another list idea) mostly because he reminds me of my hero, the fictional archeologist named Indiana Jones. His adventures are some of the best that I have played through and it really is like watching a movie. The production values are great and the shooting mechanics are also well done. Now, the reason I like this one over the other two is two-fold. First, playing the train stage was probably one of the best levels I have played not only in this series, but one of the best levels I have played through period. The build-up fighting along the long stretch of train cars, fighting random grunts, and avoiding the helicopters coming to shoot you down. The scene is executed perfectly and is still fun to play through. The other reason is that I liked the characters more in this game than the other 2. This is really not fair to say about the first since there were only a few in that one, but it definitely did the job better than the third one. Watching how they developed, I felt a better sense of accomplishment after beating the game. Mostly what did it for me was the ending. After beating the final boss, which was the best in the series, you had to fight and claw your way to the end. Once you did, you could turn off the PS3 and take in the fact that you had finished a great, hard game. Overall, it basically took what made the first one so good and made it better. A great game, a great payoff, and worthy of the #4 spot.

#3: Final Fantasy IV (SNES)

And let the fanboy hate parade begin. I know what you all are thinking: "why not FFVI or FFVII? Those games are much better." If I were to rank these my favorite FF games, my top 3, in order from 3-1, would be VII, VI, and IV would be #1. This is mostly because this was the first game I played way back when on the SNES and was the first game in the series I beat. Honestly, I feel that this game did the most for me. While VI had the best villain in the series with Kefka (curse that evil laugh), this game had a lot going for it. It has a great story of redemption with Cecil casting off the shadows of the dark knight for the light of the honorable paladin. It was really a tough battle for him within his own mind to fight for what he believed was right. The music was some of the best in the series whether it be its catchy battle music or the "Theme of Love" when Cecil and Rosa were around. This game also featured one of the first character deaths in the series with the sage Tellah. They even got to go to the moon, how cool is that? I like themes in my games and this one had some of the best. It had the fight between light and darkness with Cecil, friendship with Kain and Cecil, and the bonds of family with Cecil and Golbez...I am seeing a pattern here. Anyways, this game was great with the ATB system and introduced new takes on the series with set character jobs and the idea of the complex plot in the series. This introduced me to one of my favorite RPG series and I hope to continue to play them...even FFXIII (yes I actually liked that game).

#2: Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

Notice how I like the oldies? Not like I played the remakes or downloads, but I prefer the original feel of the controllers and cartridge systems. Back to my list, the Legend of Zelda is probably my favorite series of all time. The adventures of a man/boy fighting the hordes of evil to save the princess. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. I know people give the series crap for follwing this same formula, but LoZ just does it so well. This was probably the hardest choice I had to make for this list. It was between this and the recently released Skyward Sword. LttP won out for one huge reason: this was the first game I ever beat, EVER. I played this game forever and when I beat it, it was the best feeling in the world. I enjoyed the overworld view of the game and how it was split between 2 worlds. It went back to the first LoZ game and how it was built after the Adventures of Link went mroe the side-scrolling RPG route. It seemed that it was how it was meant to be, and it showed how great it would work in the 16 bit era. The dungeons were well put together and the bosses were some of the most fun I had. The final battle against Ganon was great and really worked my thumbs as a kid. My favorite part of the game was when you went to get the Master Sword. The music was well placed and the mystery of the forest added to the environment. The items in this game were also great. This game also had some really strong events that added to the overall experience. The most memorable being the flute boy. Seeing him transform into the tree after playing a one final song for him was probably one of the more heart wretching moments in the series for me, just because of what he represented: a man cursed to that life for ending up in the dark world. From helping your uncle save the princess to saving the world with the Triforce, this game had the complete package for me and was worthy of the first game I ever beat.

#1: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (PS2)

And so I reach the end of my list, and really did save the best for last. I played P3P and later wanted to try my hand at this one, and boy did it not disappoint me. This game has it all. The plot is one of the best I have come across with its great character development, social link stories, and the twists and turns of the mysterious murder case that plagued the city of Inaba. The plot made you think about who was responsible for the cases and you really felt for the characters. I actually shed a few tears for a one part. The battle system is far and beyond better than the original version of P3 and the ability to stack Personas (or Personae? I am not sure but oh well) reminded me a lot of the Pokemon series with the leveling, movesets, and weakness systems. The soundtrack is beautifully done with the battle themes to the varying times of the year and the weather. The voice acting is superb with the right amount of emotion felt in the words being spoken and the homage to the Japanese style of speech, i.e. the use of senpai and other various namesakes. I have played P4 Golden on the Vita, which is actually better, but there are other reasons why I like this game. Like I mentioned in my take on FFIV, I like themes in games. The ones in this game, have really made me look at my own life, especially with how crazy my life is right now. I admit that I have a hard time expressing my true self to others and try to hide certain things about myself to fit in the crowd. I actually experienced a moment where it felt like my "shadow" was about to take over me. I learned from that experience that I do have friends and family around me that will be there for me and to also be true to myself. I know that it may seem weird that I kind of took this to another level, but I feel like this is how video games can impact us in a positive way. Much has been said on how video games can lead to violence and all that, but this is a great example on how it can lead to someone's awakening and make something good happen. Overall, this game is the best RPG I have ever played and, without a doubt in my mind, the best game I have ever played.

And there you have it, my top 5 favorite games I have ever played. As you can see, I went a little bit more indepth than just how a game looks or plays. I really hope you enjoyed reading my personal take on these games and I hope to continue to do so in the future. I might try more details on each one in the future, an old vs new (maybe P4 and P4 Golden), or maybe more lists. What are the top 5 games on your list? Thanks again for reading, and until next time, happy gaming.