These last few months have been crazy for the Video Game industry. In June, E3 was held in the Los Angeles Convention Center. Microsoft revealed titles like “Cyberpunk 2077,” “Dying Light 2,” “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order,” and “Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot.” Square Enix announced a Remake on 1997’s “Final Fantasy VII” and the upcoming Action-Adventure Video Game, “Marvel’s Avengers.” Nintendo held an E3 Nintendo Direct that featured games such as “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” and “Pokémon: Sword and Shield.” This September, “Marvel’s Spider-Man” for the Playstation 4 reached its 1-year anniversary and on September 24th, The release date trailer for the sequel of “The Last of Us” was posted on Youtube. The next few years seem to be pretty exciting, but we aren’t here to talk about the Top 10 games coming this year, so get ready to write down some of these titles as I talk about my Top 10 games that never went out of style. 

1. Mario Kart Wii. (April 27, 2008) 

Kicking off our list is the 9th best-selling game of all time, Mario Kart Wii. Before we got “Mario Kart Tour” on Mobile and “Mario Kart 8” on both the Wii U and Nintendo Switch, Nintendo developed and published Mario Kart on the Wii. The thing that sets this “Mario Kart” game from all of the others is its other installments, like the motion controls. The “Wii” and its unique controls gave Players the option to play by moving the control, using the joystick that came with the Wii controller, or, like all of its other versions, Mario Kart features several characters (Twenty-four) from the “Super Mario Bros.” Series. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, and many others make their way on the track to see who would place 1st. With 32 different tracks and multiple game modes to play, you will never be bored with this amazing racing game. 

2. Pokémon: HeartGold & SoulSilver (March 14, 2010)

Before you buy “Pokémon: Sword and Shield” on November 15th, jump back into the Johto Region in HeartGold/SoulSilver. It’s crazy to think that there was a time before “Mega Evolution (X & Y),” “Z-Rings (Sun & Moon),” and “Dynamax (Sword & Shield)” were even a thing. Back then, the newest feature developed by Game Freak was a Pokémon Following mechanic,  Mini-Games for the bottom screen, and all Pokémon moves were now categorized as Physical, Special, and Status. Even though the game is 9+ years old, it is still talked about today. It has stayed one of the most popular Pokémon games of all time because of the nostalgic vibe that kids from that generation remember.

3. The Last of Us (June 14, 2013)

In 2009, Naughty Dog began developing one of “The Last of Us” won over 240 Game of The Year awards and became the fastest-selling Playstation 3 game of 2013. At the time, most zombie Video Games didn’t focus on the characters (Except Telltale’s “The Walking Dead”). Most of them were about fighting off zombies or surviving. While you still do that in this game, the main focus is on the people who are surviving. You play in a post-apocalyptic world, twenty years in the future; an outbreak of a mutant. If you do consider to play “The Last of Us” whether it’s your first or seventh time, be ready to shed tears. 

4. Super Smash Bros. Melee (December 3, 2001)

There’s something about sequels that make them so memorable. They become way more popular than their predecessors. People know there’s a first, but the sequel, most often than not, are talked about more than the prequel. This also applies to video games. Let’s talk about “Super Smash Bros. Melee” for now. Melee is another Video Game that is praised to be one of the best Video Games out there because of the mechanics the game includes. While “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” has much better graphics, more characters, and is talked about way more, “Melee” is a much more technical game with a much higher skill ceiling than any other smash Title. The gameplay is much faster than any other title and up to 4 players can choose from 25 different characters. Players will feel that every hit they take and every hit they give out will count. 

5. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (November 21, 1998)

“The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” is the highest-rated game in “The Legend of Zelda” Series. Sure, it’s the oldest game on this list and its graphics are out-dated, but by no means is it bad. In fact, “Ocarina of Time”, was so revolutionary at the time because of its Gaming Mechanics and unique story. “Ocarina of Time” was developed and released by Nintendo on the Nintendo 64, making it the first game in the series to have 3D graphics. “Ocarina of Time” takes place in The Kingdom of Hyrule where Link’s main goal is to seek and take the Triforce, thus giving him full control over the land of Hyrule. “Ocarina of Time” is the fifth game in the series that is considered canon. It is a timeless classic that will show what it was like to play one of the first 3D games.

6. The Walking Dead: Season one (April 24, 2012)

The game that started a 7-year journey. Unlike the well-known T.V. Show, Telltale’s “The Walking Dead” tells the story about Lee and an eight-year-old girl named Clementine. Unlike many other Zombie Video Games of its time where you just try to survive to save yourself, you try to survive to save Clementine. You act like a father-figure to her in this post-apocalyptic world. Each choice you make in the game affects who you are and how the group of survivors you’re paired up with seeing you. This season includes five individual episodes and you can choose how it ends… let’s just say you don’t get a happy ending.

7. Sonic Generations (November 1, 2011)

In these recent years, our favorite hyperactive hedgehog hasn’t had the best luck. His latest game “Sonic Forces” has mixed reviews and reactions and don’t even get me started on the controversy surrounding the Live-Action “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie. But we aren’t here to focus on that. Sonic Generations was released in order to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the blue blur. In this game, you explore remastered stages from previous Sonic video games, such as “Green Hill Zone”. You can also choose to play in nonstop platforming action with Classic Sonic or Experience supersonic speed as grind, slide, and boost as Modern Sonic. 

8. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (October 13, 2009)

The second game in the widely successful Uncharted Series takes our protagonist, Nathan Drake and pins him against a group of mercenaries led by a longtime business associate of Drake’s, Harry Flynn and a homicidal Serbian terrorist, Zoran Lazarević. This Action-Adventure Video Game was developed by Naughty Dog and Sony Computer Entertainment. Many people love the Uncharted series and the second installment is praised by many as one of the greatest games of all time because of how unique the story was at the time. Not to mention the fast-paced gameplay that came with it. Uncharted 2 has received the most positive review in the franchise. All I can say is, if you haven’t played any of these games, I highly recommend to check them out.

9. Batman: Arkham City (October 18th, 2011)

“Batman: Arkham City” is the sequel to “Batman: Arkham Asylum” (August  25th, 2009). It’s an open-world game where you get to explore the fictional city of Arkham. Arkham City (The location, not the game) is a maximum-security prison set in a walled-off district of Gotham City. When Bruce Wayne is kidnapped, he finds himself in a city full of Batman’s entire Rogue Gallery. This game was seen as the best Comic-Book Video Game until “Marvel’s Spider-Man” was released. It took almost seven years for another comic game to surpass it. “Batman: Arkham City”’s intriguing story, perfect pacing, and phenomenal Combat System were the key reasons why it succeeded. 

10. Super Mario Galaxy (November 1, 2007)

“Super Mario Galaxy” is the first standalone title released on the Wii. It is also the third 3D game in the series after “Super Mario 64” and “Super Mario Sunshine”. Unlike the previous two titles, this game takes place in outer space. After Princess Peach invites Mario to the centennial Star Festival, Bowser invades the Mushroom Kingdom in a fleet of airships. Mario tries to rescue her but is sent to another planet where he meets Rosalina. She is a watcher of the stars who use the Comet Observatory to travel across the universe. Bowser stole the stars, however, and Mario makes it his mission to recover them all. The game’s graphics, gravity mechanics, and soundtrack are the main reason critics praised the game.