EB Minion's Top 25 Games of All Time
by EB Minion

How is it possible to play this game and not like it? How can it possibly not engage a person's heart and soul? This mystery eludes me, but I guess there are just some people who don't like rhythm games. Bottom line is, this game is FUN. There's no way else to explain it. If I had to pick the one game I'd play for pure fun factor, this is it.

Why does this game kick ass? I'd have to say that it's the combination of story with music. What's more universal to human nature than music? Elite Beat Agents automatically connects with me just by being a music game. But by giving the beat-hopping a higher sense of purpose (via hilariously stylistic comic-book illustrations), there's nothing that feels better once you clear a stage purely for fun. Trying to go back and master that stage? Not so fun. It's gotta be done in the spirit of having fun.

Now when I say that I connect with the game, let me be specific on how I mean that. I finally managed to make it to the highest difficulty and was playing the final level, and had finally developed the necessary level of skill and precision to beat it. By the time I reached the end, my heart was pumping furiously and my fists were sweaty and I was so goddamn excited I threw my fists in the air in celebration, pumping them over and over again in total amazement and awe that I'd actually done it. This was not simply the exhilaration of overcoming a major challenge, though. It was the exhilaration of being the good guy and winning as completely as it was possible to do so, with everybody cheering me on through the illustrations, everybody coming together and saving the freaking EARTH. I've never felt so naturally high before.

And then I threw an "EBA party" later, which involved buying candy for everyone. Good times.



This is another weird game that I'm sure only I know about. Let's hit the basics - you're a pink-haired kid in shorts whose basic abilities include latching onto and hurling enemies around, and hitting stuff with a super-extendo weapon. It was made by Whoopee Camp, and I'm equally sure that it's the only game they ever made, save for Tomba 2 (definitely not as cool as the first).

Now the game has an interesting style. In running around trying to accomplish the primary tasks of the game, there's a ton of side-quests to accomplish. There's a big world to explore once you finally go everywhere, and you can always go back any part that you visited previously. There's a lot of things that you can go back and finish, which is actually pretty cool to accomplish using a 2D platformer format. Less of a Zelda 2 and more of a Mario RPG without the battle screens. And because you get the dash function right near the beginning of the game, well, you know by now how much I like fast-paced platform games.

A damned cool part of the game is the animated cut-scenes that you get. There aren't many, in fact the only two major ones are at the beginning and end of the game respectively. But they add an element to the game that really couldn't have been expressed by reading text boxes, especially since Tomba is a silent protagonist who uses the occasional high-pitched yelp, laugh or sob to indicate his general mood. Finding a small cut scene here or there gives the game a little more character, of which it has plenty.

Why this game kicks ass: It's just a funny little game that latched onto my heart. It has a cute sense of style and is never particularly serious, which makes it a good game to relax with. The characters are funny, the enemies are fun to toss around over and over, and I like exploring the world because it doesn't ever take long to get from Point A to Point B. If nothing else, it's a very unique game that never got much love.



This game is just great. I'd never played a third-person shooter before, but running through film noir's version of New York City and shooting up criminals was a very exciting change of pace compared to the RPGs I usually play. I think the best part about the environment is that you can actually see it change - you feel like you're actually running through a city and not an endless maze of corridors. The game always puts you in different situations, and eventually tones your mind to think fast and shoot faster. Seeing myself actually become good at the game was a very rewarding experience.

So the gameplay was indeed excellent. But I think the story was even better - seeing the cut scenes play out like a comic book was great, and the voice acting was spectacular. It felt a lot like watching a movie, and kept me waiting to see what was going to happen next.

This game was REALLY well written. I don't just mean the story itself, but all of the normal characters. It's probably the first time I've ever run through a warehouse full of thugs and stopped myself from busting in on them at first because they were having a really interesting conversation and I wanted to listen to it. The television shows, too! It almost feels like listening to characters in a Tarantino film talking sometimes, and is one of those small things that made the experience really enjoyable when I'm not acting like an unstoppable force of nature and bullets.



I have a burning spirit of justice! Or at least that's how I feel while I'm playing this game. As far as game concepts go, I think this is a pretty awesome one. Particularly when the company in charge of the game wisely decides to simplify the workings of the law enough for a casual gamer to get into. The style of the game, everything from the writing, to the music and the special effects, is designed to make the entire concept seem a lot more exciting than it ought to be. Damned if it doesn't hook me right in, though. This is particularly true when the story starts bending the boundaries of believability with stuff like spiritual mediums.

This game is a series of murder mysteries wrapped inside of a Russian novel, packaged inside of Crisis on Infinite Earths. We're talking Grade-A convolution by the time the chapter is wrapped up. But it nevertheless makes the game a fun one to experience - many of the answers to the mystery aren't ones you'd expect, and so it keeps you on your toes. It never once detracted from my experience of the game, though, and I appreciate its central theme of the pursuit of truth. Completing this package is a variety of likeable characters and fun little sequences of humor that maintain the game's feel. All in all, it's definitely a good series and I look forward to seeing the next Phoenix Wright game. Thanks, Capcom, for making this game.







We've gone a few games without referencing a solid RPG. Let's go back to that, shall we? Threads of Fate is a Squaresoft title better known as Dewprism in Japan. It actually has a lot of ties with Brave Fencer Musashi; both are action RPGs, the character art is practically identical, and both games have a great deal of character and personality. In fact, one of the things which makes Threads of Fate kick so much ass is the sheer amount of character packed into it.

To be fair, the cast is small. This allows a certain amount of coverage to be allotted to everyone you meet in the game. There are no throw-away NPCs in the game, and nearly everybody has a chance to shine. In fact, one of my favorite sequences in the entire game involves two of the side characters, Duke and Rod. You actually get to see a cut scene of them teaming up to fight the dragon Wylaf. Just watching the interaction between these two characters, who really do act as thought they've just met (which they have, in the story), brings their characters clarity and realness. You find this a lot throughout the game and its two scenarios, but the Duke-Rod combination can't be beat as examples go. I was laughing my head off when I first saw it, though I also thought it was one of the most awesome moments I had seen away from the main characters.

Moments like those are what I really got out of the game. It has a strong narrative that is backed by these characters who feel exceptionally real and entertaining. Seeing them react to one another makes these special moments that are particularly inspiring to me. It's a short game, but it's got a lot of dynamite wedged in there.

...Figuratively.