80. Final Fantasy IV (1991)

The first of five(!) mainline Final Fantasy games to make my top 100, Final Fantasy IV is a game I came to well after the fact. I actually first played it on Nintendo DS, which included new 3D graphics. Then I went back and played the original PlayStation port on my PS3. The whole interplanetary story isn’t really my favorite, but Final Fantasy IV has great characters and a fun, turn-based combat system. It’s also just really cool to go back to the series’ roots.

79. Katamari Damacy (2004)

What a weird, beautiful little game. It’s hard for me to differentiate between all of the later Katamari games, but I remember my first experience with Katamari Damacy — and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. The story of an intergalactic prince sent to rebuild the stars by collecting random crap is just too perfect, and it’s impossible not to smile as you run over paper clips, then cows, then entire skyscrapers. And oh boy, the music takes it to an entirely different (and insane) level.

78. Mass Effect (2007)

Mass Effect: Andromeda may have put the series on ice for at least a few years, but at least we can still enjoy the first three games. The first entry stands pretty far apart from the two sequels in the trilogy, with its more hardcore RPG mechanics. I personally love the deep character customization options in the first Mass Effect, but find the combat to be less than stellar. The world it establishes is still one of my favorites, though, and Saren is a surprisingly multi-faceted villain.

77. Life is Strange (2015)

Life is Strange is a great build on what Telltale typically does with its adventure games. The characters, relationships, and story still take a front seat to any real “gameplay,” but there’s more on offer here than just picking dialogue options. The time manipulation piece is such a great hook that encourages replayability, and every episode ends with some huge cliffhanger that makes you want to dive into the next one.

76. Horizon Zero Dawn (2017)

The promise of Horizon Zero Dawn is more appealing to me than the actual execution, but as my second favorite game from 2017, I think it still more than earns its spot on this list. I think overall the game is a little too simple in its open world structure and exploration, but the universe that Guerrilla Games created here is overflowing with unique lore and mystery that’s fun to uncover — despite some audio log info dumps. And while the combat overstays its welcome a bit by the end, the bow-based systems have a ton of variety.

75. Mega Man 2 (1988)

My personal favorite Mega Man game, Mega Man 2 just has more memorable bosses than Mega Man 3. Air Man, Wood Man, Heat Man… such imaginative names. But in all seriousness, while the second game doesn’t include huge mechanical changes like the slide, it has extremely clean platforming and arguably the best soundtrack in the series. To this day, Mega Man 2 is still one of the GOATs of side-scrolling action games.

74. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

The multiplayer in Modern Warfare 2 quickly turned into a dumpster fire of noob tubes and racial slurs from which there would be no recovery, but man if it wasn’t still a fun-ass time. To date, Modern Warfare 2 is probably in the top five for games I’ve played the most. And that doesn’t even mention the single-player campaign, which is awesome in its Michael Bay-inspired action. The sense of spectacle more than made up for the loss of more intimate moments in CoD4, at least by comparison.

73. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (1991)

This game holds a special place in my heart. Going to the arcade was never really a part of my adolescent gaming experience, but every trip there — or to a bowling alley, or Dave and Busters, or anywhere that had arcade machines — included more than a few quarters being lost to Turtles in Time. And then when it was ported to SNES? Game over, man. Raphael was and will always be my main.

72. Mario Kart: Double Dash (2003)

Double Dash is my all-time favorite Mario Kart game, which I know probably puts me in the minority. Part of that reasoning belongs to the fact that I just played the most of it on Gamecube, but I also really enjoy the two-driver aspect. There’s an additional level of strategy there that’s since been replaced by the ability to stock two items at once. But that’s less fun! Plus, this version of the game boasts some awesome levels, back before the series became overly reliant on updating old tracks.

71. Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018)

Insomniac’s Spider-Man game captures the feel of swinging around New York City even better than 2004’s Spider-Man 2, which is saying something. Some of the side missions become repetitive and the combat isn’t as difficult as you might hope, but the characters and story in this game are film-worthy. The game also looks and sounds amazing (pun intended).

Check out the next page for more great video games!