The 2025 Desert Island Video Game Draft

[Tetsujin]

Final Fantasy X (Originally on PS2/Remastered Edition on pretty much anything including Switch)


So this one is a pure nostalgia play from me. As the first PS2 Final Fantasy, this game is honestly a bit of a mess, eschewing the to-this-point standard world map hub design of the previous entries into the series for what essentially amounts to a series of bland corridors with NPCs wandering about. The story is absolutely nonsensical even by Final Fantasy standards, let’s get that out of the way, and I still haven’t the faintest clue what the hell actually happened in this game despite having played it to completion multiple times.

Why am I choosing it then? Well, against my better judgment, it’s still simply a fun time. The battle system is the last hurrah of the traditional Final Fantasy turn-based party system and the Sphere Grid leveling system is probably the best level system/skill tree system any modern RPG has come up with. The character work is solid despite my massive misgivings about the plot, the ending of the game made young kid me cry. This is also the last mainline Final Fantasy game to be primarily composed by Nobuo Uematsu, which is sorta like being the last Star Wars composed by John Williams, and the main theme of the game remains stuck in my head some twenty years after I first played the game.

I’ve been laid out over the last couple days with a bad head cold mixed with what I’m pretty sure is a mild bout of heat stroke (them Tokyo summers are no joke) and being relatively bedridden, I’ve been stuck mostly playing the Switch 2. This, despite all its faults, is the game I’ve decided to play through again as a change of pace form Breath of the Wild. And it still hits like crack. (You’ll never get me to like the broken mechanics of the blitzball minigame though.)

 

[hrdboild]

The appeal of Pokemon has always been team-building from the enemy monster list. That as an itch to my knowledge that’s never been attempted to be scratched by the Final Fantasy series.

Perhaps ironically, my friend and I used to take the enemy profiles from one of the older Final Fantasy games and construct our own teams on paper to compete against each other. It never occurred to us until years later, we had essentially created our own Pokemon game.

Well no, I guess constructing a team from captured enemies (the gotta catch 'em all hook) isn't a part of Final Fantasy but the world map, inventory management, and turn-based battle systems are all close enough that the distinction is somewhat lost on me. And I do know of one Final Fantasy game in the PS1 era that does involve a larger roster of potential party members which you choose from and selectively level-up using the battle system. So like 85% a Pokemon game, right?

Again I'll respect the sprit of the draft and not say it's name out loud but I bet you could reason out what it is pretty quickly. In any case, my brother watched the anime series religiously when it was on so I'm guessing that setting was the biggest driving force for his interest.

 

[macadocious]

Gah, i agreed to take over because I thought some of these games would sneak through!! lol

 

[Spike]

Welp. It's time. I don't see this lasting another round.

NHL '96 (1995)



• Developer: EA Canada / High Score Productions
• Publisher: EA Sports
• Producer: Michael Brook
• Lead Designer: Mark Lesser
• Programmers: Mark Lesser, Colin Lynch Smith
• Composer: Jeff van Dyck
• Platform(s): Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo (SNES), DOS (PC), etc...

Is this possibly the best hockey game of all time? Yes.
Did I rub my thumbs raw playing as the San Jose Sharks? Also yes.

When you smacked into someone, you almost felt it. It was the first realistic hockey game out there. It was fast, it was fluid, it felt like I was actually playing hockey (fun fact: I tried out for the college hockey team. That tryout lasted about 5 minutes. Turns out basketball was where I was meant to be.)
Everything about it seemed revolutionary at the time. Announcing, commentary, crowds. A little bummed that blood was gone, but I bought an earlier version for it. Gretzky on the Blues? OK. Maybe that's when I followed players vs. teams, because I had a Blues jersey. It was also, TBT, a pretty dope jersey. Not as cool as a Sharks jersey, but here we are.

Also, if anyone wants to hook me up with a Tiburones jersey, you know where to find me.

 

[whitechocolate]

Well, I said things were gonna get weird. This is the first game I've seen in this thread that I wasn't even a little familiar with.

It sounds pretty cool

I think Kenshi is a good recommendation for a Factorio player.

 

[Padrino]

With the 64th pick in the 2025 Desert Island Video Game Draft, I select:

GoldenEye 007 (1997)

Developer: Rare
Publisher: Nintendo
Game Director: Martin Hollis
Musical Score: Graeme Norgate, Grant Kirkhope, & Robin Beanland
Genre(s): First-Person Shooter
Platform: Nintendo 64

Fate would have it that I've got the 64th pick, and I'm using it to debut the very first appearance of a Nintendo 64 game in our draft.

It's funny how nostalgia works. Though it ushered Nintendo into the 3D era, the N64 is not thought of as one of Nintendo's better consoles. However, for those of a certain age (elder millennials, primarily), it remains a touchstone gaming experience. And among the many experiences I had with the Nintendo 64, few were as electrifying as the video game adaptation of the James Bond movie GoldenEye.

This was an era in which film adaptations were exceedingly popular within the gaming world, but most of them were terrible cash grab facsimiles that were rarely elevated by the interactivity of the medium. In fact, to this day GoldenEye may still be among the very best film-to-game translations ever made. Its single-player experience follows the film it's based on pretty closely, and while it's a genuinely excellent story mode, particularly at higher difficulty levels, this game is best remembered for its multi-player mayhem.

Despite my newfound love of PC gaming, I have not made the transition to online multi-player games. I've tried my hand at a few, but I just don't enjoy them. I simply cannot find much appreciation for the experience of playing against distant human opponents. It makes me feel like I might as well be playing against a computer-controlled opponent. But I will always have wistfulness reserved for the couch competitive gaming of my youth. A few friends, a sh*tty frozen pizza, some Jolt Cola, and GoldenEye. That was my middle-school experience, memorizing the level layouts so I knew every pinch point in which to plaster the walls in proximity mines. You could be downright dastardly in GoldenEye's multi-player mode. The level of freedom and creativity it afforded players, as well as the depth of the available arsenal, made for a phenomenally good time.

In my adulthood, I mostly enjoy gaming as a solitary exercise. But there's definitely the occasional competitive or co-op experience that reminds me of those days in the mid- to late-90s, when being in the same room mattered. It was absolutely one of those "you had to be there" moments in time, but GoldenEye remains such an important piece of gaming history. Modern multi-player FPS'es owe a lot to this one.

 

[whitechocolate]

Battle Garegga Rev.2016 - PS4, 2017

Battle Garegga was released to Arcades in 1996. It was ported to the SEGA Saturn in 1998. And finally M2 ShotTriggers, the undisputed leaders in making frame perfect ports with identical performance to their arcade originals, released Battle Garegga to the PS4 in 2017. Each of these versions is an acceptable choice. I choose the PS4 version for its perfect representation of the original arcade release and the bonus features, particularly the ability to create 30 save points that can be practiced over and over, and the option to change the color of enemy projectiles making them easier to see.

Battle Garegga is simply among the best games ever made. There is not a game Battle Garegga is not worthy of standing next to. Super Mario Bros. 3? Yes, Battle Garegga is that good. Mainstream gaming culture has become extremely adverse to challenge, originality, complexity, sophisticated game design, and artistic integrity. Production value, Hollywood hallmarks, conformity and size are seen as the markers of a good game. Entire genres get cast aside as inferior or even obsolete, because the idea of playing extremely difficult, arcade length games for dozens of hours to finally be able to clear the game on a single credit, and for hundred or even thousands of hours trying to push a high score; isn't valued as a gaming experience. But for people who enjoy the process of improvement, playing at a very high skill level, and achieving difficult skill based goals, arcade genres such as shoot em ups are an oasis.

For such people who are in the know, Battle Garegga is often considered the greatest shoot em up of all time. From my experience, it is the best I've played, and easily my favorite. The graphics are great; and the music is quite superb taking influence from the Detroit techno scene. But what gives Battle Garegga its GOAT status is the gameplay. The framework of the gameplay is formed by the rank system. The higher the rank, the more difficult any given moment will be compared to if the rank was lower at the same point. The rank goes up when the player scores, collects power ups, collects bombs, plays more powered up, strategically flies over certain ground based threats, destroys things, uses special option formations. The only way to make the rank go down is to die. The less lives a player has when they die the more rank goes down. Players earn an extra life every time they score a million points. Every decision comes with a risk and reward. Tiny choices have ramifications that affect the entire play through. Variations and mistakes require present and future adaptation. As a result, the way every individual player plays through the game is unique and personal to them as a player. It's a pure, single player gameplay experience, that allows for self expression.

Clearing Battle Garegga without usuig continues is one of the landmark 1CCs (one credit clears) in the arcade community, generally considered among the harder to do so, games with ultra difficult second loops aside. I posted my 1CC of Battle Garegga in the gaming thread. Nobody acknowledged it, but I expect that. Another thing though that makes the game so phenomenal is how high it pushes the skill level. I just wanted to get through the game on one credit and didn't worry about score. That's difficult, but nothing compared to the super players who push the score. The more a player scores, the harder the game is. The rank climbs higher, bombs are used to take advantage of scoring opportunities instead of for safety, the strategic decision making process becomes increasingly dense. Players always have room to improve. And no matter how good a player gets, the balance is such that the player is always on the edge. I included a video of Kamui, the best Battle Garegga player in the world, playing the game. The video includes commentary to give you an idea of the things players think about while playing the game.

 

[Turgenev]

There are several reasons for owning a Game Boy. This was one of them. The game that started it all:

Pokémon Red and Blue (1998)

• Director: Satoshi Tajiri
• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Game Freak
• Programmers: Tetsuya Watanabe, Takenori Ohta
• Designer: Satoshi Tajiri, Ken Sugimori
• Composer: Junichi Masuda
• Platform: Game Boy

Sure, the allure of color and the appeal of more than 151 Pokemon was hard to pass up, but this was a grinder back in the day. That's right kids - some games were in black and white! You could trade and battle via link cable (what's wifi?) and it helped evolve the Game Boy into more than "just a toy."

Want to enjoy the Snorlax hotel room in Japan? You're welcome.
Typing, EV, IV, team-building - Pokemon had it all. The formula for Pokemon hasn't changed since its inception, and now that the mantle has been passed from Ash to Liko, the fun still remains. I have a 17 yr old (mine) and a 7 yr old (kinda mine) who both enjoy both ends of the Pokemon spectrum. It's hard to find that kind of universal appeal in a game, but Pokemon has managed to do it.

I would have picked this at some point. I remember an assessment we had in 8th grade English was just to present an argument for something, anything. A friend argued that Bulbasaur was the best Pokemon.

 

[Turgenev]

With the 64th pick in the 2025 Desert Island Video Game Draft, I select:

GoldenEye 007 (1997)

Developer: Rare
Publisher: Nintendo
Game Director: Martin Hollis
Musical Score: Graeme Norgate, Grant Kirkhope, & Robin Beanland
Genre(s): First-Person Shooter
Platform: Nintendo 64

Fate would have it that I've got the 64th pick, and I'm using it to debut the very first appearance of a Nintendo 64 game in our draft.

It's funny how nostalgia works. Though it ushered Nintendo into the 3D era, the N64 is not thought of as one of Nintendo's better consoles. However, for those of a certain age (elder millennials, primarily), it remains a touchstone gaming experience. And among the many experiences I had with the Nintendo 64, few were as electrifying as the video game adaptation of the James Bond movie GoldenEye.

This was an era in which film adaptations were exceedingly popular within the gaming world, but most of them were terrible cash grab facsimiles that were rarely elevated by the interactivity of the medium. In fact, to this day GoldenEye may still be among the very best film-to-game translations ever made. Its single-player experience follows the film it's based on pretty closely, and while it's a genuinely excellent story mode, particularly at higher difficulty levels, this game is best remembered for its multi-player mayhem.

Despite my newfound love of PC gaming, I have not made the transition to online multi-player games. I've tried my hand at a few, but I just don't enjoy them. I simply cannot find much appreciation for the experience of playing against distant human opponents. It makes me feel like I might as well be playing against a computer-controlled opponent. But I will always have wistfulness reserved for the couch competitive gaming of my youth. A few friends, a sh*tty frozen pizza, some Jolt Cola, and GoldenEye. That was my middle-school experience, memorizing the level layouts so I knew every pinch point in which to plaster the walls in proximity mines. You could be downright dastardly in GoldenEye's multi-player mode. The level of freedom and creativity it afforded players, as well as the depth of the available arsenal, made for a phenomenally good time.

In my adulthood, I mostly enjoy gaming as a solitary exercise. But there's definitely the occasional competitive or co-op experience that reminds me of those days in the mid- to late-90s, when being in the same room mattered. It was absolutely one of those "you had to be there" moments in time, but GoldenEye remains such an important piece of gaming history. Modern multi-player FPS'es owe a lot to this one.

I remember hiring this out from the video store and being really bad at the multiplayer.

 

[Spike]

With the 64th pick in the 2025 Desert Island Video Game Draft, I select:

GoldenEye 007 (1997)

Developer: Rare
Publisher: Nintendo
Game Director: Martin Hollis
Musical Score: Graeme Norgate, Grant Kirkhope, & Robin Beanland
Genre(s): First-Person Shooter
Platform: Nintendo 64

Fate would have it that I've got the 64th pick, and I'm using it to debut the very first appearance of a Nintendo 64 game in our draft.

It's funny how nostalgia works. Though it ushered Nintendo into the 3D era, the N64 is not thought of as one of Nintendo's better consoles. However, for those of a certain age (elder millennials, primarily), it remains a touchstone gaming experience. And among the many experiences I had with the Nintendo 64, few were as electrifying as the video game adaptation of the James Bond movie GoldenEye.

This was an era in which film adaptations were exceedingly popular within the gaming world, but most of them were terrible cash grab facsimiles that were rarely elevated by the interactivity of the medium. In fact, to this day GoldenEye may still be among the very best film-to-game translations ever made. Its single-player experience follows the film it's based on pretty closely, and while it's a genuinely excellent story mode, particularly at higher difficulty levels, this game is best remembered for its multi-player mayhem.

Despite my newfound love of PC gaming, I have not made the transition to online multi-player games. I've tried my hand at a few, but I just don't enjoy them. I simply cannot find much appreciation for the experience of playing against distant human opponents. It makes me feel like I might as well be playing against a computer-controlled opponent. But I will always have wistfulness reserved for the couch competitive gaming of my youth. A few friends, a sh*tty frozen pizza, some Jolt Cola, and GoldenEye. That was my middle-school experience, memorizing the level layouts so I knew every pinch point in which to plaster the walls in proximity mines. You could be downright dastardly in GoldenEye's multi-player mode. The level of freedom and creativity it afforded players, as well as the depth of the available arsenal, made for a phenomenally good time.

In my adulthood, I mostly enjoy gaming as a solitary exercise. But there's definitely the occasional competitive or co-op experience that reminds me of those days in the mid- to late-90s, when being in the same room mattered. It was absolutely one of those "you had to be there" moments in time, but GoldenEye remains such an important piece of gaming history. Modern multi-player FPS'es owe a lot to this one.

Dammit. I had a good story about this one, too.

Short version: friend failed a class in college because he was in the quarterfinals of our Goldeneye tournament.

 

[whitechocolate]

View attachment 13831

SimCity 2000 Special Edition
Developer: Maxis
Year: 1995
Platform: PC

The granddaddy of all "recent" sim building games, I fell in love with this the moment I started playing. As an engineer by trade, this game speaks to my desire for order, organization, efficiency, and "watching something I made just work".

While I've never played this particular version (only the "basic" version of the game), if I am stuck on an island I definitely want to have the extra content to play around with (SimCity Urban Renewal Kit (SCURK), Scenarios Vol. I: Great Disasters, and bonus cities and artwork).

So, any time I get tired of shooting things (or shooting holes in things to jump through), I can sit down with this and build something cool instead.

View attachment 13832

View attachment 13833

View attachment 13834

@Löwenherz - go!

My list coming into this wasn't even ten long. I don't know what I'm going to end up doing in those later rounds, but this probably would have been one of my picks.

 

[Löwenherz]

I have a feeling I’m about to get far more pensive over this pick than is warranted for an online anonymous video game draft, but as you’ll see, we have history.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) - 1998



There was an extended period this was my unquestioned “Favorite Game of All-Time“ and into adulthood I saw no reason to challenge its position. In my mind, Ocarina of Time was the pinnacle of the Zelda formula, a series I had followed, cherished, and invested myself in for nearly 2/3rds of my life to that point. OoT hit every single note of the foundation laid by its predecessors, and expended the universe in exciting and enduring ways.

The introduction of the Goron, Zora, and Gerudo people made Hyrule feel more alive and teaming with a diversity of culture than any entry before then. Hyrule felt bigger than in either the original NES Zelda, or A Link to the Past. Naming the Sages after the towns in my favorite entry on the NES (yes, you read correctly) was a subtle, but thrilling touch. The addition of Epona and horseback riding may be a staple in the series now, but was mind-blowingly inventive at the time. The time travel mechanics were exhilarating, but so was the simple fact of an active day and night cycle. Z-targeting set an industry standard. Ganondorf gave our series villain a compelling backstory beyond being a corrupted pig-man bent on world domination. The dungeons are inventive and memorable, from the inside of a giant fish, to a haunted forrest temple, to a graveyard catacombs, to flipping back-and-forth between time periods to complete. Even the most frustrating temple in the game and possibly the series, has a fun duel with Dark Link in the middle. The world is fun to explore, the puzzles are challenging but conquerable, the combat is effective and engaging.




But it was more than that. On a personal level, this marked the end of my Golden Era of gaming as a hobby and my adolescents as a whole. Like @Padrino, my gaming history started with the NES/SNES/N64 triad - with one of my earliest memories seeing Super Mario Brothers played on a TV in a display window of a KB Toys and even then thinking of the exciting and enormous possibilities of having the ability to explore an entire digital fantasy world. Ocarina of Time was the closest to bringing that idea to fruition before I decided it was time to put aside my childhood things and join the adult world.



As mentioned in the GoldenEye pick, the N64 is looked at as something of a failed console. It had less than 300 titles released in the U.S. and I could count on one hand the number of those that actually excited me. I gathered a small collection of my favorites, but the N64 was little more than a Zelda-playing machine for me. OoT’s direct sequel was the last game I played on the console before I boxed up all my games and systems, and bequeathed them to my sister, declaring myself retired.

And with it, I locked OoT and its indomitable status away in my memories, coated in the insular protection of nostalgia.



In the years that followed, my personal opinion was popular consensus, leading Nintendo to continuously endeavor to recapture the magic of OoT by trying to recreate the formula over and over with middling results. But with less than stellar entries populating the seriesc the online tastemakers and YouTube critics began to loudly question what had been to that point established fact: “Was OoT ever really that good anyway, or are we all viewing it with Nostalgia glasses?”

Predictably, their answer was the latter. Even leaving aside the quirky creaky of-its-time annoyances that might otherwise be forgiven for the series’ first foray into 3D, the culprit that was killing the franchise was its linearity. The OG Zelda was wildly more open for exploration than anything that came after it. Since the reviled NES sequel, the franchise had been distressingly more narrative focused gatekeeping players with linear dungeon progression instead of offering a wild garden playground to explore as was Miyamoto’s intent.

This revolution led to Breath of the Wild, and the most successful Zelda since Ocarina of Time, and in the minds of most, not just surpassing its but leaving its predecessor in the dust.




The sudden turn on a certified classic and genre trailblazer, let alone my favorite game of all time infuriated me. I was inspired to break out my boxed up N64 and prove to myself if not the masses OoT was still worthy of the title.

… and I soon discovered they were right. The control scheme on the N64 is ridiculous and not designed for human hands. Navi and the stupid Owl are obnoxious and merely slow things down. The progression locks feel incredibly confining - I became stuck because I missed a random object with no indication of how or where to find it. Kept plowing through each dungeon eager to get to “the good part” and realizing I was continually moving the goalposts as to where the good part supposedly started.

How did this happen? How could I have been so wrong? How was I tricked into loving something so flawed?

While contemplating this and staring blankly at the screen, suddenly a melody started playing from the game. Malon was nearby to offer a hint for a puzzle, but apparently at nightfall, she starts humming Epona’s song for no discernible reason. It has no impact on gameplay aside from being a fun’s DJ sweet Easter egg that I discovered for the first time at that moment. And suddenly I was flooded back with all the actual reasons this had been my favorite game and still deserved to be hailed as a heavy weight not simply as a historical curiosity, but as a blueprint for future games.

It is meant to be explored, not rushed through and beaten - which is how my adultmind approached it. It is designed for slow summer days and lazy afternoons of being immersed and lost in a world with attached progression and achievement. It hadn’t changed. I did.

OoT is still great. And I couldn’t pass up the chance to have what I consider the best games on my first 3 console together.

 

[Padrino]

I have a feeling I’m about to get far more pensive over this pick than is warranted for an online anonymous video game draft, but as you’ll see, we have history.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) - 1998

View attachment 13850

There was an extended period this was my unquestioned “Favorite Game of All-Time“ and into adulthood I saw no reason to challenge its position. In my mind, Ocarina of Time was the pinnacle of the Zelda formula, a series I had followed, cherished, and invested myself in for nearly 2/3rds of my life to that point. OoT hit every single note of the foundation laid by its predecessors, and expended the universe in exciting and enduring ways.

The introduction of the Goron, Zora, and Gerudo people made Hyrule feel more alive and teaming with a diversity of culture than any entry before then. Hyrule felt bigger than in either the original NES Zelda, or A Link to the Past. Naming the Sages after the towns in my favorite entry on the NES (yes, you read correctly) was a subtle, but thrilling touch. The addition of Epona and horseback riding may be a staple in the series now, but was mind-blowingly inventive at the time. The time travel mechanics were exhilarating, but so was the simple fact of an active day and night cycle. Z-targeting set an industry standard. Ganondorf gave our series villain a compelling backstory beyond being a corrupted pig-man bent on world domination. The dungeons are inventive and memorable, from the inside of a giant fish, to a haunted forrest temple, to a graveyard catacombs, to flipping back-and-forth between time periods to complete. Even the most frustrating temple in the game and possibly the series, has a fun duel with Dark Link in the middle. The world is fun to explore, the puzzles are challenging but conquerable, the combat is effective and engaging.

View attachment 13851
View attachment 13852

But it was more than that. On a personal level, this marked the end of my Golden Era of gaming as a hobby and my adolescents as a whole. Like @Padrino, my gaming history started with the NES/SNES/N64 triad - with one of my earliest memories seeing Super Mario Brothers played on a TV in a display window of a KB Toys and even then thinking of the exciting and enormous possibilities of having the ability to explore an entire digital fantasy world. Ocarina of Time was the closest to bringing that idea to fruition before I decided it was time to put aside my childhood things and join the adult world.

View attachment 13853

As mentioned in the GoldenEye pick, the N64 is looked at as something of a failed console. It had less than 300 titles released in the U.S. and I could count on one hand the number of those that actually excited me. I gathered a small collection of my favorites, but the N64 was little more than a Zelda-playing machine for me. OoT’s direct sequel was the last game I played on the console before I boxed up all my games and systems, and bequeathed them to my sister, declaring myself retired.

And with it, I locked OoT and its indomitable status away in my memories, coated in the insular protection of nostalgia.

View attachment 13854

In the years that followed, my personal opinion was popular consensus, leading Nintendo to continuously endeavor to recapture the magic of OoT by trying to recreate the formula over and over with middling results. But with less than stellar entries populating the seriesc the online tastemakers and YouTube critics began to loudly question what had been to that point established fact: “Was OoT ever really that good anyway, or are we all viewing it with Nostalgia glasses?”

Predictably, their answer was the latter. Even leaving aside the quirky creaky of-its-time annoyances that might otherwise be forgiven for the series’ first foray into 3D, the culprit that was killing the franchise was its linearity. The OG Zelda was wildly more open for exploration than anything that came after it. Since the reviled NES sequel, the franchise had been distressingly more narrative focused gatekeeping players with linear dungeon progression instead of offering a wild garden playground to explore as was Miyamoto’s intent.

This revolution led to Breath of the Wild, and the most successful Zelda since Ocarina of Time, and in the minds of most, not just surpassing its but leaving its predecessor in the dust.

View attachment 13855
View attachment 13856

The sudden turn on a certified classic and genre trailblazer, let alone my favorite game of all time infuriated me. I was inspired to break out my boxed up N64 and prove to myself if not the masses OoT was still worthy of the title.

… and I soon discovered they were right. The control scheme on the N64 is ridiculous and not designed for human hands. Navi and the stupid Owl are obnoxious and merely slow things down. The progression locks feel incredibly confining - I became stuck because I missed a random object with no indication of how or where to find it. Kept plowing through each dungeon eager to get to “the good part” and realizing I was continually moving the goalposts as to where the good part supposedly started.

How did this happen? How could I have been so wrong? How was I tricked into loving something so flawed?

While contemplating this and staring blankly at the screen, suddenly a melody started playing from the game. Malon was nearby to offer a hint for a puzzle, but apparently at nightfall, she starts humming Epona’s song for no discernible reason. It has no impact on gameplay aside from being a fun’s DJ sweet Easter egg that I discovered for the first time at that moment. And suddenly I was flooded back with all the actual reasons this had been my favorite game and still deserved to be hailed as a heavy weight not simply as a historical curiosity, but as a blueprint for future games.

It is meant to be explored, not rushed through and beaten - which is how my adultmind approached it. It is designed for slow summer days and lazy afternoons of being immersed and lost in a world with attached progression and achievement. It hadn’t changed. I did.

OoT is still great. And I couldn’t pass up the chance to have what I consider the best games on my first 3 console together.

I thought about using my previous pick on Ocarina of Time, but I've decided that I want no series repeats on my island. If I'm honest, this one means more to me from a nostalgia standpoint than my own Zelda pick, as it falls squarely in that same middle-school time period as GoldenEye. I'm certain I've played through OoT more than any other game in the series. Some years ago, I went back through the mainline games I missed in my time away from video games. And in my estimation, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword aren't a patch on Ocarina, though Wind Waker gets kudos for rendering Ganondorf a tremendously interesting and tragic figure.

I think Ocarina has simply been a victim of its revolutionary nature, giving Nintendo a template from which it could not extricate itself until Breath of the Wild. But it remains such a lovely gaming experience, so full of heart and joy and sadness. Stepping out into Hyrule Field for the first time was so, so special (once you got beyond that stupid owl). Meeting Epona in childhood and the promise of riding her in the adult timeline. The Fishing Pond at Lake Hylia. The legendary Water Temple. The belly of the whale. So much about this game feels so important to me. I carry it with me wherever I go whether I want to or not. I mean, my god, the music. I'm not sure there's a game in the series with more standout themes than OoT, which makes sense, I suppose, given its namesake.

The highest praise I can give Ocarina of Time is that it inspired me to write the only poem I've ever written based on a video game, so moved was I upon revisiting its version of Hyrule in my adulthood.