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[Madridy]

1. World of Warcraft ; One of the most magical (first) 10-50 Hours I've spent in video games. It was unbelievable at that time since I've never played huge open-world RPGs before and it was only my 2nd online game after playing Halo 2. During my first week with my Human Warrior I was so immersed and absorbed by Azeroth that I only thought about WoW 24/7. Exploring the different zones while getting lost and ending up in Ashenvale by accident and then having my first PvP encounter with a Hunter and winning it, even-though he was 3 levels above me, was one of the most memorable moments in my gaming life. Tanking Deadmines, my first instance run, and then discovering a HUGE fucking pirate-ship inside the mines and fighting Edwin VanCleef felt incredible. And other way too many great experiences and encounters during that honeymoon period to talk about. I can only hope that this sense of gaming bliss can be rejuvenated with another game someday.

2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ; If you open the dictionary and search for the word 'Fun', San Andreas will be under it. That is how much fun I've had playing this game. It was probably the very first game that I've finished 100% and had an absolutely amazing time doing so. Any other Dev who wants to do a modern Sandbox open-world game should look at this for reference.

3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ; the best story told in video games imo. So moving and touching and my favorite ending ever. Incredible Boss fights and great characters. Shame that I've only played the original version and not the Subsistence, didn't like the camera nor the menu managements (minor issues) but otherwise it is still one of my favorite games of all time.

4. Half Life 2 ; One of the Best FPS games ever, and one hell of a journey. I've only played it in 2008, and it was an amazing experience. Still I'd probably be more impressed with it if I played it the year it came out.

5. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door ; I literally had a smile on my face most of the time playing this game. One of the best games Nintendo ever produced without any doubt.

6. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay ; The surprise game of 2004. It came out of nowhere, and it was amazing. The way it starts being imprisoned then fighting your way out of prison and that satisfying melee combat! While also having great stealth mechanics.

7. Halo 2 ; The best Co-op experience I had at that time. Also my very first online experience in video games was in Halo 2, and it was Glorious!

8. Ninja Gaiden ; The best Action game I've ever played until Bayonetta. The combat is So intense, heart pumping, and fast that after each won battle the sense of accomplishment is massively rewarding.

9. Fable ; I came into this game with no expectations whatsoever, I was impressed. It was Only my 2nd wRPG that I've played after KOTOR. Although Easy, it was great fun. Shame what the series turned into.

10. Tales of Symphonia ; The 1st jRPG that I've played which I thought is gunning for the FF crown. Amazing combat, music and that feel of adventure.



Honorable mentions:

X. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
X. Rome: Total War
X. Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
X. Onimusha 3: Demon Siege


2004 was an amazing year for all kind of gamers. It is one of my favorite years ever.

 

[ZealousD]

1. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ; Absolutely love this game. Very underrated.

2. Tales of Symphonia ; This game started my absolute love of this series. I am so nostalgic for it.

3. Half Life 2 ; This game just needs no introduction.

4. Metroid: Zero Mission ; I personally enjoyed it more than Fusion!

5. World of Warcraft ; I've played more WoW than any other game I've ever played. Something like over 150 days (3600 hours). But the addiction also is part of the reason I hate the game now. I both love it and hate it. I have a weird opinion.

6. Unreal Tournament 2004 ; I personally enjoyed the original better, but there are very few games with Deathmatch as good as this.

7. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ; Again, needs no introduction. Was actually my first MGS game.

8. Ninja Gaiden ; If this was Ninja Gaiden Black, I would have ranked it higher.

9. Halo 2 ; I personally found it better than the first. Screw the haters!

10. Astro Boy: Omega Factor ; Such a little gem on the GBA. Loved it.

 

[Minion101]

This thread made me realize how stupid it was to buy Baten Kaitos over Tales of Symphonia

 

[AniHawk]

2004 was a great year. it was part of the 1998 lineage, when the developers of the best games of that year complete their latest projects. every three years since then is usually a banner year in gaming.

funny thing was, in 2004, it actually felt like it, but i didn't play a majority of the games i loved until later.

10. the legend of zelda: four swords adventure ; i recently played this game a second time with friends a few months back, and i was impressed with the level design. it might have been because this time there were four of us playing instead of just two like in 2004, but everything clicked. the way the mario-like level progression made for an interesting take on the series.

9. phantom brave ; one of the first times i ever spoke with and disagreed upon something with amir0x over was this game right here. i had bought disgaea, la pucelle, and phantom brave all within a year of each other, greatly enjoying the previous two. then this came along and i thought it was rather boring thanks to its insane difficulty level. about five years later i returned, playing it hours on end and finally 'got it.' it's too bad a sequel is probably never going to happen. i don't care about the characters or the story, but the battle system is great.

8. metal gear solid 3: snake eater ; looking back, a lot of my love for this game had to do with its presentation. i wasn't in it for the stealth elements (i was usually not very good at that), and certainly not for the combat (which i was terrible at). there was a lot of good design when it came to working in the narrative.

7. paper mario: the thousand-year door ; this game came as a surprise. the first paper mario was a nice game- a good swan song from intelligent systems for the n64. this was a much more polished experience. it's the only mario rpg i consider funny, and one of the few rpgs in general i would consider replaying.

6. star wars knights of the old republic ii: the sith lords ; my original 2004 game of the year. my enthusiasm for this game came right after i had very recently beaten it. now i don't have such strong memories for it, but i thought despite not having an ending, it was a great game with a strong cast.

5. katamari damacy ; just delightful. a great arcadey experience with good upbeat music, and a simple concept that delivered far more than it should have.

4. grand theft auto: san andreas ; still the best gta. growing up in southern california, it felt very familiar to me, and so much of the scope of the game just works. it's huge. you have the los angeles area, the mountainy regions, the desert, and then the sort of vegas area. at the time, the fact that it was all streaming was pretty remarkable. it went further than any previous gta, letting you hijack trains, planes, and jetpacks. it might have been the most videogamey of the 3d games, but i loved it for it. would be nice if a return to san andreas would see a return of the freedom this series was once known for.

3. chronicles of riddick: escape from butcher bay ; my first exposure to this was bish's 'you're all fired' thread. then i picked it up for a couple of bucks a month or two later. i didn't believe 'first person adventure' was really a thing, and then i played this. it does such a great job of building its world and giving you a sense of power when you finally start upgrading your weapons. the tutorial is one of the best, most clever tutorials i can remember. when the tutorial can be remembered for being so good, it's definitely doing something right.

2. pikmin 2 ; between the time majora's mask released and twilight princess came out, ead was in something of a lull. mario kart, super mario sunshine, the wind waker, and metroid prime all failed to live up to my expectations for one reason or another. the first pikmin was a neat, tense little game, but the sequel made the survival tactical game thing into more of an adventure. slowing the game down and allowing for a lot of exploration made it ead's best during their otherwise lukewarm era.

1. half-life 2 ; an incredible game from start to finish, and it started me on the path to loving valve as one of my favorite game companies. you just have to look at the sequence leading up to 'we don't go to ravenholm' to get a sense of how far ahead of their time valve was in 2004. or still are in 2012.

games from 2004 not on this list:

xx. metal gear solid: the twin snakes ; formerly my tenth game, i still find the twin snakes pretty entertaining in hindsight. i think the entire series is pretty silly, so going over the top with it seemed like a pretty logical thing. this was my introduction to the series though, so i can see where some people might not care for it.
xx. ratchet & clank: up your arsenal ; formerly my sixth game. i loved it in 2004, but the single-player was better in going commando and going commando was made better with a crack in time. and while i loved the multiplayer, i don't think i would hook up my ps2 to give it a shot (if i could) when i have team fortress 2 available. it's certainly a game of its time, and maybe a little ahead of it.
xx. metroid prime 2: echoes ; originally my fifth game. man what was i thinking. i know by the time i originally voted for this, it was shortly after i'd beaten it, and to be fair, sanctuary fortress has fantastic level design, so that impaired my judgment a little. however, i don't think that one area of the game should speak so loudly for the other parts.
xx. metroid: zero mission ; formerly my fourth game. i believe i played this on the game boy player the first time around and it was a pretty damn great experience. having never played the first metroid, i know many view this as being the supremely neutered version. to me it was more of a super metroid zero. regardless, it's unfortunate that it's eight years ago where classic metroid rests.


honorable mentions:

xx. donkey konga ; a pretty simple, but fun rhythm game right around the time these things were about to take off. i remember mastering oye como va on gorilla mode. it was pretty great.
xx. tales of symphonia ; i really hated heather hogan as the blonde in this game, but the cel-shaded look, the fighting system, and the rest of the voice actors won me over. it was a deceptively long title, but that was fine with me. i don't think i'd go back for another round though.
xx. la pucelle: tactics ; after disgaea, i gave this a shot. i wasn't disappointed, but i thought the story was oddly serious after the extremely zany disgaea. even though it's older than disgaea, and is sort of a prototype for that game, i felt it was a lot of fun.

 

[The Librarian]

Okay. This is going to be hard. I have to choose between two games I really love: Half-Life 2 and Halo 2. Um...

1. Half-Life 2 I'm a single-player man, so I rank games by their campaigns first and foremost. I remember picking this up back in 2006, I think, after hearing how great it was. Played through it, didn't like it, but I was ready to give it another chance with the release of The Orange Box. 2007 was when everything clicked and I fell in love with the game. I love the Eastern European dystopian city, and how the world slowly changes as you progress through the game. I am in love with the level design – its guided exploration, and I love how I feel I can, if I was so inclined, simply turn around and end up at the beginning of the game. I love the atmosphere, I love the levels – Ravenholm, Highway 17, Follow Freeman!, Anticitizen One, Nova Prospekt – and the subtle story is great. Honestly, I love everything about the game except two things. Thing one: weapon feedback. Most of the weapons in the game feel okay to shoot (shotgun, combine pulse rifle, and the .45 pistol being the great exceptions), and the rest only give very little feedback. Thing two: encounter design. Half-Life 2's encounters are almost always scripted (they play out the same way time and again) and this hurts the game's replayability. This covers the AI's bad...AI too. I wish the game was more of a sandbox like Episode 2.

2. Halo 2 Most of my enjoyment for this game came from the MP which is why it's number two on the list. I have so many good, though very rose-tinted, admittedly, memories of the game's multiplayer. I remember so many custom games on Lockout. I remember firing up the game with my friends to do glitches on the maps. So. Many. Glitches. I remember going online to find new glitches to do with my friends. I loved super bouncing and finding new ways out of the maps. Of course, this led to problems online, and my inability to keep up and be able to perform the button glitches led to many unhappy times, among other things, but I could still have good times in MM (BTB when I could get a game). Halo 2 is often remarked by many people on GAF as being a bad game. I see it all the time: "Halo 2 sucks", etc. The campaign did meander a lot, true, but the sandbox from the first game is still there and expanded. Whether or not you liked what was around those encounters more than what was in Halo 1 is what matters. Recent plays of Halo 2 has me convinced that the game does interior combat better than its predecessor, and of course the story is LEAGUES ahead of Halo 1. Speaking strictly about gameplay, I think Halo 2 ends better than Halo 1. You're not stuck re-playing worse version of previous levels but with monster closets in tight corridors. Personally, I love the cliffhanger cutscene, especially with Halo 3 being out. It's badass.

I should also note that I missed Halo 2's hype pre-release, so my impressions of the game are probably different than someone who purchased Halo: CE day one.

3. Jak 3 The Jak and Daxter series is close to my childhood. I haven't replayed this game in years, but I remember enjoying Jak 3 from start to finish, as I did with all the other Jak and Daxter games. I loved the platforming, the hub worlds, the epic story, HOVERBOARD, and a lot of other stuff.

4. Pikmin II I remember having so much fun with this game. Don't remember finishing it though.

5. KotOR II I really liked this game, not as much as its predecessor, but it was a fun ride. Don't remember much about it except the ending where you fight Krea (whatever her name is), and I remember wanted more.

 

[KingK]

1. Tales of Symphonia; The first time I played this game, a friend and I played for 12 hours without stopping. I've since played through it 3 times, each time spending well over 60 hours on the game. Easily one of my favorite RPGs ever made.

2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater; I really loved the survival and camo in this game, and the story is easily the best in the series, with dat ending. The controls felt clunky, but that was the only problem the game had.

3. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door; Better than the first Paper Mario in every regard. The story, visuals, and everything else about this game oozed charm and humor. It was also pretty packed with content and I spent hours exploring the game.

4. Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal; This is still the best Ratchet game released, I think. I'd have to play it again to check (guess I will when the HD collection comes out), and I think A Crack in Time comes close, but UYA is the perfection of the Ratchet formula.

5. Jak 3; Jak 2 was longer and had a better level of challenge and difficulty, but Jak 3 was still awesome all the same. The Jak trilogy, overall, was probably my favorite series of games on the PS2 at the time, and Jak 3 could have made the top of the list, or at least top 3, in several other years. The fact that's it's placed 5th is just a testament to how awesome 2004 was.

6. Katamari Damacy; One night, while playing games with a friend, I inserted a demo disc I had (I think it came with Soul Calibur 2?) and we discovered this fantastically crazy game called Katamari Damacy. The premise seemed so ridiculous, but we couldn't stop playing and having fun. I got the game shortly after playing that demo and loved every second of it.

7. Sly 2: Band of Thieves; I actually liked Sly 2 more than the first, which may be an unpopular opinion, but whatever. I really dug the large hub worlds, and the almost Ocean's 11 style setups and heists. Plus, like all Sucker Punch games, the controls were great and just moving around and jumping felt amazingly fun.

8. Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green; My first Pokemon game was Silver, so this was my first time playing through the original Kanto game. It was fucking amazing and I played past the point where the clock stopped keeping track of my hours played.

9. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes; This game felt disappointing after Metroid Prime, which is in my top 10 games of all time, and I kind of got bored with the fetch quests when I first played the game in 2004 and didn't end up finishing the game until yeas later. Easily my least favorite of the 3 Primes, but even the worst Metroid Prime is still a fantastic game. I ended up liking it a lot more upon revisiting it.

x. I wanted to include The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, until I saw that it didn't come out in NA until Jan of 2005. It's my 2nd favorite handheld Zelda behind Link's Awakening.

 

[IrishNinja]

Just looked up 2004 and wow that was such a fantastic year, will vote on this later.

right? is anyone else looking at these noms like "holy shit i had no idea so much quality dropped in '04"?
this is gonna be hard.

 

[AniHawk]

updated the tally.

-holy shit time sure took a beating to pikmin 2's recognition
-other games are doing a lot better than they did too. the top ten has mostly the same games, but in different places
-come on people, you can't seriously just list one fucking game for 2004 eight years later

i keep forgetting about ninja gaiden. it's the reason i bought an xbox in 2004. then i returned it to the store and bought the twin snakes with that money instead.

also, i have nocturne around, but never got back into it. i should do that one of these days.

 

[Version 3.0]

I just noticed "RE4 demo" in the original results. That's hilarious. I'm not saying a demo of RE4 isn't better than a lot of games, I just didn't think a demo would "count". Also, I don't recall a demo for RE4 - I thought only the Japanese version (Biohazard 4) got a demo, which I have.

 

[AniHawk]

I just noticed "RE4 demo" in the original results. That's hilarious. I'm not saying a demo of RE4 isn't better than a lot of games, I just didn't think a demo would "count". Also, I don't recall a demo for RE4 - I thought only the Japanese version (Biohazard 4) got a demo, which I have.

rules didn't get set until that next year.

 

[WhyMe6]

It's interesting you raise Pikmin 2's decline in popularity. Maybe, in hindsight, it's simply a great game rather than a standout. I'm still not finished with my NPC Pikmin 1, which is why the sequel is absent from my vote. I can't believe so many people played Warioware Twisted in 2004.

Also, banning people for not listing comments? I'm sure glad I didn't post an unfinished draft entry that I was going to complete a few hours later.

 

[Anth0ny]

I just noticed "RE4 demo" in the original results. That's hilarious. I'm not saying a demo of RE4 isn't better than a lot of games, I just didn't think a demo would "count". Also, I don't recall a demo for RE4 - I thought only the Japanese version (Biohazard 4) got a demo, which I have.

It would probably be #1 on my list. I played the fuck out of the Biohazard 4 demo :lol

 

[MidnightCowboy]

1. Knights of the Old Republic II: A glitchy, unfinished game, but I enjoyed it so much nonetheless. It's written better than KOTOR, and the party member mechanics are better.

2. Metal Gear Solid 3: My favorite MGS game. I love stealth gameplay.

3. Paper Mario 2: At first, I wasn't that impressed. I picked it up half a year later during spring break and played it through completely. So funny.

 

[ecierif]

1. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ; The gameplay, graphics and sound were impressive. The bosses and mini-bosses were numerous and creative, sometimes involving items rarely associated with combat. The two worlds setting, though sometimes used in interesting ways, slowed pacing and sometimes felt like filler.

2. Burnout 3: Takedown ; I feel that Burnout has a greater sense of speed than most racers. The emphasis on taking out opponents made races much more exciting than usual. The Road Rage and Crash events were unique and, sometimes, even more fun than the actual races.

3. Metroid: Zero Mission ; This reminded me of Super Metroid. I appreciate the Primes, but the 2D games were refreshingly straightforward and faster paced in comparison (though the slower pacing and scanning in Prime are generally done well). The ending scenario was unexpected and an interesting take on Metroid gameplay.

4. Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures ; It was a fun return to 2D, though it wasn't a traditional adventure. It's a great attempt to turn a traditionally single player game into a multiplayer one, and managed to require cooperation while encouraging competition through rankings.

5. Gradius V ; The level and boss designs were varied and imposing. The weapon arrays were cool and could really change how you played. Allowing you to immediately respawn was much more convenient than the usual checkpoints.

6. Ninja Gaiden ; I think NG had the most cohesive world of the trilogy. The fights were quick but intense, which made the game feel better paced than many of its peers. The hub world was a cool idea, though I don't mind that it was dropped afterwards.

7. Half-Life 2 ; I'm not a big shooter fan, but I liked the oppressive futuristic setting, the unique weapon, and the varied levels and scenarios. At times it felt like an adventure.

8. Prince of Persia: Warrior Within ; The "mature" elements seemed out-of-place, but I found them more humorous than annoying. I remember the gameplay being as good as it was in The Sands of Time. The challenging secret areas were highlights, and the two towers setting was varied.

9. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ; The characters and setting felt inspired and (somewhat) grounded compared to the other games. The camera felt unintuitive. The camouflage, food, and injury menus slowed the game's pacing.


There were several games that piqued my interest but, for some reason, I didn't play, particularly Paper Mario, Pikmin 2, and Onimusha 3.

 

[Para bailar La Bomba]

2004 was the best year for stealth fans -- Thief, MGS3, SC: PT.

Doesnt get much better than that.

 

[Phinor]

1. Half-Life 2 ; My favourite game of all time. Enough said?

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth ; a solid RTS. Not great but combined good gameplay with decent fantasy world. Why is it as high as second on my list? Because 2004 was a terrible gaming year...

3. Counter-Strike: Source ; It's not even necessarily better than the original CS but so bad was this gaming year for me that I have to put CSS in third place.

4. Battlefield Vietnam ; Wasn't amazing by any means but had couple of neat ideas such as lifting tanks. I've no idea if it was practical but doing it was pretty amazing.

5. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines ; Interesting but I don't think the game works as a whole. I can't really explain it but somehow non-Valve games using Source engine rarely feel like proper games. That's pretty weird, right?

6. Unreal Tournament 2004 ; Highlight of some LAN parties. Not something I'd want to play for years, though.


Ok, as a PC gamer (with some console gaming also in the mix) this year had the highest high of all time in the form of Half-life 2, my favourite game ever. It was also a terrible PC gaming year, probably the worst ever. I'm actually unable to make a list of ten games that I think even deserve to be on a list like this. Browsing through this thread shows that I'm pretty much alone with my thoughts but that's pretty common. There are couple of games that would be on my list if they were actually released in Europe/PC in 2004 but these games were delayed to 2005: World of Warcraft (ranks high in my all time list and carried me through the early next-gen years when almost nothing good was released), GTA: San Andreas (not my favourite GTA but still a good game), Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 - The Sith Lords (again, a great game but PC version was released in 2005).

Notable PC games missing from my list: Doom 3 and Far Cry. These two just never did anything for me. Far Cry was fun for the first half-hour or so and was pretty impressive tech-wise as was Doom 3 but even with my short list, I don't consider either of these worthy of being in a top 10 list. Painkiller was a decent effort too. Some good stealth games were also released in 2004 but I rarely enjoy stealth gameplay. Nothing against stealth itself, just the gameplay that feels too clumsy with a monitor because you can't really see and hear as much as you'd like.

 

[billy beane]

My list is a little weird, because this was during the time I probably played video games the least I ever have done. My playing habits were the rentals that I got every month or two, and that years Madden. But here we go.

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PlayStation 2)
One of my top 5 favorite games of all time, and the game that made me fall in love with the Metal Gear series.

2. Half-Life 2 (PC)
Although I didn't play the game many years later due lack of gaming PC at the time, it was still a fantastic playthrough, and along with Episode One and Two add up to a great package. Really wish Episode Three were a thing though.

3. Burnout 3: Takedown (PlayStation 2)
I remember renting this game on whim, not thinking too much of it. Turns out it's one of the best arcade racers of all time. I spent countless hours in Crash Mode alone.

4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PlayStation 2)
I remember my friends and I being really hyped for this game, and all being really annoyed how our local Blockbuster didn't have an available copy for months. However, when we got it, we all feel in love with the world. While I'm one of the few who actually enjoy the shift the series took with IV, I still really enjoy some of the goofiness in San Andreas.

5. Madden NFL 2005 (PlayStation 2)
Back in 2004 I wasn't too big a gamer. As a junior high student, I had little to no money for games. But every year I would do work over the summer and save money to buy Madden. In my opinion, the series peaked with 2005. So many great additions were made to the game this year. I probably had a franchise mode than went well into the year 2020.

Those are really the only notable games I can think of. Like I said this was a really weird time in my gaming habits. I really didn't get pick up again until the next year.

 

[BIONIC-ARRRMMM!!]

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater: No other game has affected me as much, truly a masterpiece in digital form.

2. Metroid: Zero Mission: I was in awe the whole time playing this game, amazing follow up to Fusion.

3. Half-Life 2: An amazing ride (almost) all the way through. I'm still waiting for a fully fledged sequel dammit.

4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas : An amazing experience and the first GTA game that I've beaten, such a shame what happened to IV…

 

[A Link to the Past]

1. Half-Life 2 ; A pretty requisite inclusion. Half-Life 2 had a great story, great pacing, great gameplay, and great visuals. Aside from a few hang-ups such as the water driving area (which I like more than others it seems), most of the areas are fantastic.

2. Cave Story ; Cave Story's like one of my favourite games ever. Gameplay is solid, story is deceptive, graphics and sound are perfect with the kind of game Pixel was trying to go for. Totally my favourite retro-style game ever made, and I'm glad I played it back when I had no idea what was going to happen with the story. (from the US)

3. Katamari Damacy ; It's funny how many people hated it after only watching it played. My Mom, my Dad, and my sister scoffed; however, once they played, my Mom and Dad played it to completion and my sister bought her own copy (and all copies forthcoming). It's addictive, charming, and it's an awesome sensation to go from a small ball to a world-consumer.

4. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door ; As much as I loved Paper Mario, The Thousand-Year Door improved on the first in every single way. It was funnier, more unique, and the gameplay was so much more solid. By what I see, TTYD's criticisms come more from the "where are the big numbers?!" argument; since that's a stupid argument, TTYD must be flawless.

5. Metroid: Zero Mission ; Probably one of my favourite remakes ever, if only because I could never get into the original Metroid (and not even counting that the original Metroid is available with the remake, too). Even if you've played the original, Zero Mission still feels like a new experience (even discounting the new shit).

6. Pikmin 2 ; Pikmin was a great game, no doubt about it. However, it really hadn't truly hit it off until its sequel. Two new Pikmin that drastically change the gameplay, multiplayer, no time limit, Underground sections, and awesome fourth-wall breaking items (Duracell battery and The Legend of Zelda Famicom Disk) made this game well worth it.

7. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness ; Disgaea had a fun story, fun dialogue, and most importantly - a ridiculous amount of min-maxing. It may be a cheap way to build up game length, it was strangely entertaining - especially since there were so many layers to the min-maxing.

8. Astro Boy: Omega Factor ; An unappreciated gem. Not only was it a fantastic beat/shoot-em-up, alternating between scrolling flight levels and sidescrolling action, it was also one of the most amazing anime homages I've ever gosh darn seen. It includes nearly every single property that Osamu Tezuka had ever worked on, making it less an Astro Boy title and more a title about the entire Tezuka universe from Astro Boy's perspective. The gameplay and art are great, as is the story, and the element of meeting new characters causing Astro Boy to become stronger is such a neat idea.

9. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ; San Andreas was a really fun game, and probably the last great Grand Theft Auto - if only because it was such a fun sandbox game. It had so much stuff to do and so much stuff to explore, that I've never even come close to actually beating it.

10. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen ; The original Red/Blue is still playable - and still holds a place in my heart - but this version is, objectively speaking, the better one. It fixes most of the problems with the series, and introduces new ideas from more recent games, making it feel worth a playthrough, even if you've played the original to death.

 

[Gamemaster_ca_2003]

1.Unreal Tournament 2004 ; Hands down My Favorite game of 2004 and on of my Favorite FPS Games ever.
2.R-Type Final ; One of the greatest side scrolling shooters of the Decade.
3.Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ; So much to do, most of it really good.
4.Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection ; At the time this was the best Video Game
Pinball outside of Visual Pinball.
5.Atari Anthology ; Still one of my Favorite Classic Gaming Collections on the PS2
6.Astro Boy: Omega Factor
7.Alien Hominid ; Crazy Insane fun.
8.Gradius V
9.Spider-Man 2 ; Still one of my favorite Games based off a Movie.
10.Far Cry
x.Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
x.Outrun 2
x.Rome: Total War.

 

[Violet_0]

Anyone who thinks Echoes is worse than Corruption is out of their mind.

All in all, Corruption is the better game in my opinion. Echoes only really got good once you entered the Sanctuary Fortress, whereas Bryyo, the Space Pirate planet and especially the Sky City were all great areas to explore in Corruption. Though Echoes probably had the better bosses and ending. I also didn't really mind the Bounty Hunters in Corruption.

This thread made me realize how stupid it was to buy Baten Kaitos over Tales of Symphonia

well, Baten Kaitos might not be ToS, but it's still a pretty good game (with an amazing combat system). It's most unfortunate that BK2 never made it to Europe.

 

[Dan Yo]

The three biggest games that year as I recall were Halo 2, Half Life 2, MGS3, and San Andreas( and WoW which I never played).

Objectively, the answer is Half Life 2. Subjectively, I spent more time on Halo 2 multiplayer than anything else, but it a lot of that may have been due to the greatness of XBL, and not so much that the multiplayer was all that revolutionary. It did introduce matchmaking though.

MGS3 was decent, but the last MGS I cared to play. San Andreas was a good iteration in a series that was already becoming stale, and WoW would probably the one to contend with Half Life 2 for game of the year had I played it. But WoW is so unconventional as far as how that game is played and the type of commitment involved with it that if I had to give it to the "traditional game" it would be Half Life 2.

Ninja Gaiden would be the runner up.

 

[revolverjgw]

updated the tally.

I changed one of my selections since then, will that be accounted for?

 

[Anth0ny]

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The best MGS game, and one of my top ten games of all time. Fits into the overall MGS lore, but still fantastic as a standalone game. The characters, the music, the story, the level design, the bosses, THE ENDING... what more can be said about this masterpiece? Without a doubt the best game of 2004, and for me, damn near the best game of the decade.

2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

I can never decide which GTA I like best between Vice City and San Andreas. That's not a bad thing, as both games are absolutely incredible. San Andreas turned the dial to 11, with an enormous world to explore, RPG elements, a fantastic soundtrack (help me out!), and memorable characters. I wish I could say the same about its successor. Even now, as I prepare to play through the game again, San Andreas is a blast.

3. Paper Mario 2

I was always a huge fan of the first Paper Mario, but didn't get a chance to play Paper Mario 2 until last year. I missed out, seriously. Despite the fact that backtracking and dialogue boxes go a little far in a few places, the game is awesome. Every party member is unique and interesting, the wrestling chapter standing out above the rest. I only finished the main story, so I'm looking forward to 100%ing the game some day.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap

I finally managed to play Minish Cap for the first time last year as a part of my Zelda playathon leading into the release of Skyward Sword (just before I'd get it for free via the Ambassador program. Lucky me!). As a huge fan of LTTP, expecting MC to live up to its standards is a little much to ask. It didn't, but I still had a very fun time with Minish Cap. Although some influence is there, the horrible pacing and forced tutorials of the recent console Zelda games are absent from this title. The game is often bashed for its lack of difficulty... I thought it was fine. It also has the best dungeon in 2D Zelda history in the Palace of Winds. Overall, a fantastic game that I highly recommend for any Zelda fan. It's a shame it was overshadowed by the DS launch and the LTTP style was ditched for the god awful DS Zelda style.

5. Halo 2

I spent many hours playing Super Smash Bros Melee and Halo 2 with friends. Easily the best multiplayer experience of any Halo title in my opinion, and one of the best multiplayer games of last gen period. The single player was good too, but not quite at Halo: CE's level.

6. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

Another often overlooked Zelda title. Definitely not your traditional Zelda game, as it revolves around collecting rupees, solving puzzles and combat using four Links, and making your way through stages as opposed to exploring one giant overworld. Although the game is short, I had a blast playing it all the way through.

 

[Grassclipper]

Wow its been a long time since I played some of these games. And I still haven't played a lot of the games that have "best game ever" status. Like Snake Eater or Half-Life 2. The games on this list are the ones I can remember playing.

1. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
No doubt is this my favorite game from 2004. One of the games I've spent most time on I think. The amount of stuff you could do still puts recent releases to shame.

2. The Sims 2
Despite the flaws it had and bringing the computer I had back then to its knees, I still think it was a great game.

3.Spider-Man 2
Even back then I hated the voice acting, and most of the game has ages pretty bad. But the strength was always in the swinging, and that still holds up. Probably one of the single greatest game-mechanics ever.

4. Killzone
I don't think I ever played through the whole campaign, but me and my friends spent an ungodly amount of time in the multiplayer.

5. Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
I loved Sands of Time so I would want to put this higher. But by stripping away every single bit of endearing atmosphere they ruined one half of the game. Fortunately the other half, the platforming was still awesome. So that saved the game. And I never cared for the revamped fighting system, and actually greatly preferred SoT's.

6. Tony Hawk: Underground
Really got no business being on this list, but I don't really remember playing any other game. I remember playing this and enjoying it so it gets a spot.

 

[ctrayne]

.

 

[Santiako]

A very good year, indeed.

1. Ninja Gaiden ; Still the best 3D action game in my opinion. Super polished and extremely fun.
2. Halo2 ; The game that cemented my love for the franchise, fantastic in every way. Playing as the Arbiter was mind-blowing and unexpected for me at the time.
3. Fable ; I didn't know about all the Molyneux promises, so for me this was only a fantastic game experience.
4. Thief 3 ; A bit underwhelming compared to the previous entries, but still one of the best stealth games available.
5. Knights of The Old Republic 2; Not as good as the first one, very unpolished and felt unfinished, but it is oh so good.
6. Half-Life 2; even though I hate the vehicle sections, it's one of the best fps ever made.
7. Syberia 2 ; I got it for free with a magazine, an amazing adventure.
8. Metroid Zero Mission ; I love 2D Metroids, and this was no exception.
9. Wario Ware DS ; My first DS game, and one of my favourites.
10. The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap ; Very good Zelda, I replayed it last year when it hit 3DS.

 

[Version 3.0]

I changed one of my selections since then, will that be accounted for?

According to the OP, it will be.

 

[Violet_0]

It also has the best dungeon in 2D Zelda history in the Palace of Winds.

not in a world where Eagle's Tower exists

 

[kingkaiser]

1. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
I played this gem in a time where i have lost all my hope in JRPGs. In the boredom of always repeating anime-style and stale gameplay i encountered in other JRPGs, this game just took me by surprise. From the unique artstyle to the incredible music and refreshing combat-system it was just perfect for me. A truly masterpiece.

2. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Just the successor to best game of that generation. Darker, grimmer but it's the gameplay where it really shines.

3. Half Life 2
One of the few first-person shooters that i really enjoyed. It also has probably the most realistic and likable cast of npcs i have ever encountered.

4. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords
It was the first WRPG i cared enough to finish and enjoy it. I guess that says it all.

5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
I am a fan of the series and this game is second best after the first MGS.

6. Ninja Gaiden
Graphics and action in perfection.

7. Halo 2
Probably the best story in the Halo franchise, unpredictable combat that never turns out the same twice. Beautiful music and highly enjoyable vehicle sequences.

8. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
The R&C formula never gets old for me. Best platformer in 2004.

9. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Maybe not that atmospheric like Vice City for me because of the lack of 80s stuff...but still a goddamn good sandbox allrounder.

10. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
A solid remake of one of the best games ever.

 

[AniHawk]

I changed one of my selections since then, will that be accounted for?

yeah if you can just pm me the changes, i'll go ahead and change the tally.

cheesemeister/timetokill use parser. a lot less votes are going to be counted that way, but it's also much more accurate than me doing it by hand (i'll still do it manually though because i hate myself).

 

[transience]

1. Metroid: Zero Mission ; The perfect 2d game. I've beaten this game at least 50 times. I just love it to pieces.
2. Shadow Hearts: Covenant ; I modded a PS2 for this game since I figured it would never have a chance of coming out in the US. Awesome music/story/comedic value/atmosphere/main character/etc.
3. Katamari Damacy ; The sequel makes it look bad, but at the time? This was super fresh and really fun.
4. Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls ; It totally nerfed the difficulty, but I did like all the bonus content.
5. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne ; This game drove me nuts, but I did end up liking it despite it abusing me. Except Matador. Fuck Matador.

 

[Tookay]

-holy shit time sure took a beating to pikmin 2's recognition.

I think not keeping this series in the public eye has something to do with it. Everything else that's going to comprise the top ten seems like it's coming from a franchise that's still visible today.

(I know Pikmin 3's coming, but it's vaporware to most posters still.)

 

[AniHawk]

I think not keeping this series in the public eye has something to do with it. Everything else that's going to comprise the top ten seems like it's coming from a franchise that's still visible today.

(I know Pikmin 3's coming, but it's vaporware to most posters still.)

that's a pretty good point. it would probably do better after the npc release in north america.

i'm toying with getting rid of the one-game vote-posts. it wouldn't alter the results, but it would make them more interesting.

 

[AniHawk]

not in a world where Eagle's Tower exists

link's awakening is consistently a great game. the minish cap is uneven, being boring for the first half and downright excellent in the last half. i think the last half is the best in 2d zelda, but it's only half the game.

i should really give it another go. i've forgotten a lot about it.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Minish Cap was my favourite 2D Zelda for some time, until I replayed Link's Awakening for the first time in over a decade last year, amazing how well the old GB game holds up, that said Eagle's Tower was not one of my favourite outings if only because it took me long enough to get the main premise of the dungeon.
Back to Minish Cap, the final castle is probably one of the better finishes to a Zelda game and the boss wasn't a pushover either.

 

[AniHawk]

Minish Cap was my favourite 2D Zelda for some time, until I replayed Link's Awakening for the first time in over a decade last year, amazing how well the old GB game holds up, that said Eagle's Tower was not one of my favourite outings if only because it took me long enough to get the main premise of the dungeon.
Back to Minish Cap, the final castle is probably one of the better finishes to a Zelda game and the boss wasn't a pushover either.

i tried jumping into an old save file just to beat the game again, since it was in the gba. not a good idea. got my ass handed to me right quick.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

1) Shin Megami Tensei 3 I'll quote myself from a previous SMT3 Love thread:

Tied with Crono Trigger and Vagrant Story as the crown jewels of Japanese Role Playing Games and tied with Vagrant Story as my favorite game of all time.

It is mysterious, bleak, maddening, dense, ominous, daring, ambivalent, epic, purposeful, clever, brutal, deep, dark, and difficult...an RPG that respects you, the player, enough to call you an idiot with gameovers and give you access to all the tools to avoid them than treat you like one and hide you from them.

It is Atlus at the height of their powers, battle system, dungeon design, artwork, music, everything; when I played this on Christmas Day, 2004, I knew Square had been dethroned.

2) World of Warcraft Like the above, I got into this expressly on advice from friends. OH what good taste my friends have. I had come from the dying Shadowbane, (a hardcore PvP MMO), was bothered incessantly by guildmates to join them in this as they were having a blast, yet I was weary of both WoW's lesser dependance on PvP and getting into yet another MMO. Just one night in Tirisfal Glades sealed my loyalty for 4 years (got the all the PvP I craved and more in STV, too!) Enjoyed the dynamic healing model so much, not only did I fall in love with the role, I to this day make this the number one criteria for a new MMO purchase (I'm a dynamic giver of life, not a heal bitch dammit!)

I'd trade the polished, sedate MMOs of modern day for this, the loot bugs, gear frozen at alpha stat values, non-existant specs, and crashes for the complete package WoW was at the beginning included, and I feel others would too once they think about it.

3) Phantom Brave I enjoyed the hell out of Disgaea, and Phantom Brave was everything it was cranked to 11, then Nippon Ichi broke off the handle. Wanna fight with a mine cart? You have 8 special attacks using it! Titles titles titles! Also has a God Tier OST that Tenpei Sato hasn't reached before or since. I think it gets less love than the Disgaeas get due to its less "nucking futs" plot and characters, but their loss.

4) Tales of Symphonia My gateway drug to Tales of combat and character building. ARPG done right, and I appreciate the art and world design more and more with each subsequent APRG playthrough. Music is hands down the best in the series (sadly it has no real competition), and Raine is still the best healer in it as well (HELP IS ON THE WAY! NURSE!!! *clutch heal*)

These are the 2004 titles I own that I swear upon a stack of Power-Up copies that I'll get to some day which should be on this list once all is said and done:

Metal Gear Solid 3
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Half-Life 2
Shadow Hearts Covenant

 

[Seda]

4) Tales of Symphonia My gateway drug to Tales of combat and character building. ARPG done right, and I appreciate the art and world design more and more with each subsequent APRG playthrough. Music is hands down the best in the series (sadly it has no real competition), and Raine is still the best healer in it as well (HELP IS ON THE WAY! NURSE!!! *clutch heal*)

I was actually listening to the soundtrack today. It's amazingly good.

 

[The Wheel of Fortune]

1. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door; It's my favorite Paper Mario game, my favorite GC game, and one of my favorite games of all time. The characters (including the NPC's) are amazing (Bobbery's story gets an honorable mention), likeable, and interesting (which many games fail in pulling off...); the settings(levels) are by far the best of the series (The Glitz Pit's mysteries and atmosphere, Twilight Town and the Creepy Steeple was just plain awesome

Spoiler

[even with the excesive backtracking, and Doopliss is great!]

, Three Days of Excess was something different that was pulled off nicely, I could go on and on about every chapter) because each felt like something unique and with amazing atmosphere that matched the setting perfectly (Maybe the first chapter is not that good, but it's still a good "intro"). Don't get me started on the music, it's amazing! Riddle Tower's creepyness, the Neopet'sRawk Hawk's theme is just great overall, even the Sewer's theme (which you end up hearing for quite some time) is amazingly composed and don't get me started on the epic

Spoiler

pre-final

boss battle with Bowser. The difficulty is just right, if you don't level properly the final boss battles end up being a pain, and there's even optional things (partner and boss) and sidequest which make the experience even richer. It's so well constructed overall that I don't think IS can pull off another one like this. If you haven't played it yet, I'd recommend you to do so. Great, solid gameplay, exploration, and dialogue make this game one of the best games of all time.

2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas; I don't think I need to express how good this game is. It's so solid overall and just plain fun that I think it should be played by everyone.

3. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen; Now, this game definitely relies heavily on nostalgia, but it's, in my opinion, how a good remake should be made. Amazing as ever, even now.

4. Super Mario 64 DS ; Amazing remake which saved the DS launch window. The gameplay is a little dated but the game is extremely good and the extras (those minigames) were a really welcomed addition to it. Excellent job, Ninty.

5. The Sims 2 ; Great game overall, the expansions later made it an even better package that was a great time sinker and diversion.

6. Half-Life 2 ; No words. A great game!

7. Pikmin 2 ; In my opinion, this game took everything the first one had and made it better. It's a great game that, with the new Wii release it's getting in America, I hope more people get to be able to experience.

8. Silent Hill 4: The Room ; I've yet to play Downpour, but so far it's the best "modern"(after 3) Silent Hill. I don't understand why some fans look down on this game, it's good overall if you're looking for a Silent Hill experience.

9. Need for Speed: Underground 2 ; Great game, I remember my father buying it one day and playing it nonstop for quite some time. The mechanics were amazing and I enjoyed it a lot.

10. Sly 2: Band of Thieves ; I remember playing this with my neighbor, such great times with it's fun gameplay and distinctive art style.

Sorry for the TTYD opinion, I don't know if it's too long... I love that game.

 

[AdventureRacing]

I'll post mine tonight. 2004 really was an incredible year, some of my most played games of all time came out in 2004. WoW alone pretty much completely changed my gaming habits for the next 5-6 years.

 

[Jasconius]

1. World of Warcraft; before this came out, I was really sad that Blizzard was wasting their time making an MMO that I would never play - little did I know that I would succumb to its lure only 2 weeks after launch and play it on and off for 7 years...
2. Katamari Damacy; this was such a great game - one of my gf's favorites as well
3. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne; unexpectedly awesome - I'd never played any before
4. Trackmania; never has going around in circles been so much fun~
5. Summon Night Swordcraft Story 2; another fun entry in a great series
6. Pop'n Music 10; didn't play it as much as 9 but still good
7. Mario Party 6; probably my most played mario party
8. Baten Kaitos
9. La Pucelle Tactics
10. Phantom Brave

 

[Zabuza]

Love all these Symphonia nominations. Makes me a happy man.

 

[AniHawk]

Love all these Symphonia nominations. Makes me a happy man.

it is definitely doing better than it did last time.

one game that isn't doing as well as it did last time is halo 2. i know halo 2 received some backlash after its release for its single-player, although at the time the original voting was done, i think it still wasn't as strong.

 

[braves01]

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - Since release, it's become a major keystone for the franchise in the same way Shadow Moses and MGS1 are. It looks gorgeous, the story is maybe the most grounded in the franchise despite featuring supernatural enemies, and CQC makes it the most refined, flexible MGS control scheme ever. It's also very repayable, which for me is one of the hallmarks of a truly great game. The only knocks against it are the frequent trips into the menu for camo face paint healing backpack etc. and the uninteresting healing mechanic.

2. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - As visually arresting as MP1, though slightly more linear. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing though since it just brings you more quickly to best bosses and enemies in the series. The light/dark mechanic though uninspired really added a positive tension to the game as did the limited ammo count for certain shot types. Too bad the key/artifact collecting made it into this game. It's the game's biggest albatross.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures - The best Zelda game since Ocarina of Time. Underneath the appearance of a multiplayer experience no one asked for, is a great multiplayer experience AND a great 2D Zelda game. Despite being arranged as stages, it manages to incorporate nearly every element of the classic formula: puzzles, trading quests, rupee collecting, boss fights, and so on. It looks fantastic and was clearly a precursor to the NSMB trend Nintendo embarked on. The whole GBA-GC link cable unfortunately means most people haven't played this as it should have been played. It demands a Wii U re-release or sequel.

Will add more later.

 

[The M.O.B]

1. Half-Life 2 - An FPS with an interesting and engaging story.........Haven't said that about any game since......well HL2: Ep 2. A shooter that does more than shooting. In fact, Half-Life 2 is more of an adventure than anything. Going from the base being overun to Ravenholm is one of the greatest memories I have of any game. The stark contrast between Ravenholm and everything else in the game gave me chills. Half-Life 2 is not only my goty for 2004, but it would also be my game of the 2k decade. Valve are masters of the single player experience, nobody has come close to giving me such a satisfying, gripping, and well told FPS story like Half-life 2. Valve..............Gabe............stop messing around.

2. Pikmin 2 - It took Pikmin 1........and then went deeper. Randomly generated caves, more variety in enemies, environments, and Pikmin meant and more challenging and a more tactically stressed game. You develop routines, grab 30 reds, 10 blues, 10 yellows, 5 purples, 5 white and explore. Having unlimited time unlike the first put off a bit of stress, but what remained was still a challenging game requiring smart preperation before even thinking about exploring. This is a game that would make me drop down $349 when the next sequel comes.

3. Burnout 3: Takedown - Fun and challenging. It had the type of gameplay that made you come back to it again and again. Crash, mess up in a race, restart, try again. You can play this game for a few minutes or a few hours but you can always feel you got something done. It had the perfect difficulty, hard but it always left you with confidence that if you make a sharper turn, or crash into one more truch that you could succeed.

4. Doom 3 - It's a Doom game............that successfully brought the series into the modern era and set itself VERY far apart from its predecessors. It was scary, the shotgun was awesome, and it had demons from Hell to shoot...........OH and it had some of the best lighting for the longest time.

5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - The pinnacle of the series. Kojima no longer has the drive to make anything better. How boring the 4th was made me appreciate Snake Eater even more. Not much else to say.

6. Metroid: Zero Mission - It's 2d metroid, I have to put it on my list somewhere.

7. ESPN NFL 2K5 - It is the king of football and it still has some things that Madden STILL doesn't have or do well enough.

8. OutRun 2 - While Ridge Racer raced into obscurity, OutRun 2 drifted into obscurity with style.

9. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal - Huge R&C fan, played every single one of them expect the crappy co-op one that just came out. Up Your Arsenal was the best PS2 game in the series by default. It had more weapons, moves blah blah blah. I can't honestly say I remember too much about this game besides the final boss fight.

10.Tales of Symphonia - The gamecube only had a small portions of RPG's worth playing, this was one of them. This was my first experience with the Tales games(before going back and playing the old ones) but I loved the combat and thought the story was decent.

 

[Anth0ny]

not in a world where Eagle's Tower exists

I knew someone would bring that up. It's #2!

 

[Alastor]

There's no game on this list that I actually played in 2004. Back then I've had a shitty PC and no consoles (I bought PS2 in 2005). Don't get me wrong, I played a lot of games in 2004, but it was all older PC titles, mostly RPGs. But I think I caught up with pretty much everything I wanted to play.

01 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater; the best game in the series.
02 Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne; challenging and addicting RPG with awesome mechanics and visual style that still holds up today
03 Burnout 3: Takedown; the high point of the series - give me a Burnout HD collection!
04 Half-Life 2; great shooter that I truly appreciated a couple of years later
05 The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay; the best use of a license ever, and yes, I played Arkham Asylum
06 Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines; if the meele battle system was more fleshed out (I pretty much ignored the guns) it would be near the top, because I loved, LOVED the atmosphere and characters in it.
07 Killzone; I bought it with zero expectations (I was not familiar with it at all), it was my first console FPS and one hell of a ride. I still remember most of it.

 

[Yoshi]

1. Pikmin 2; Incredible game design, charming and fun, still one of the best games ever released imo. I love Pikmins and I'm especially pumped for Pikmin 3!
2. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door; One of the best RPGs ever. Super funny, tight gameplay, really long game. Only the last stretch is dragging it down a bit. Only Mario & Luigi 3 beats this game in its genre imo .
3. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes; Retro Studios is one talented studio. I usually hate first person games, but Metroid Prime is so extaordinarily great in its level design qualities, that this game deserves a mention - in a high spot.
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap; A bit on the short and easy side, but one of the highlights of GBA's line up. Sad that Flagship dissolved, they made great games!
5. Sonic Heroes; Fast and tight gameplay, no real bullshit, the cleanest experience of the Dreamcast-level Sonics. It has its problems, namely its enormously large levels and boring fly-characters, but still I think this game is severely underrated.
6. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures; Creative and fun, Four Swords Adventure shines as a singleplayer experience as well as as a multiplayer one. It also was my first ever reviewed game, so special nods go to that .
7. Fire Emblem; I didn't play it when it released, but several years later and now I love the series. Really difficult game design, fun mission design, overall one great game.
8. Metroid Zero Mission; I don't like 2D Metroid as much as I like the Prime series, but still, this was a great game. A bit easy though.
9. Sonic Advance 3; Dimps was on the right track in finding its grips with that franchise. Sonic Advance 3 was fun, fast and had a nice level design.
10. Prince of Persia: Warrior Within; I hate the graphical design of this game, its whole direction just sucks. But - and that's always the most important part of a game - the gameplay worked great. It featured some really tight platforming, often amongst the best of the series, it was not too easy and offered some really great flow. It could have been a bit more linear though.
x. Pokémon LeafGreen
x. Beyond Good & Evil
x. Super Mario 64 DS
x. Pokémon Emerald



Remark: I didn't vote for BGE because it would be prohibited under the new rules, even though I only played the GCN version (and 360 version), which was released 2004. PS2's version was released 2003 though, so I didn't vote for the game. I didn't vote for Mario 64 DS or Pokémon Emerald, because these games was released in 2005 in Europe

 

[IrishNinja]

again, this was harder than i thought! good year.

1) Metal Gear Solid 3 - some of the best bosses of the series, and an ending that gets quoted every 5 threads around here. series hasn't been this good since.

2) Katamari Damacy - Still a go-to game for me, i just loved it. great price too.

3) Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne - my first proper SMT, and the soundtrack/atmosphere made me want to keep coming back when the game itself stomped on my balls. such a great game.

4) Def Jam: Fight for NY - as a fighter/wwf and hip-hop fan, this was amazing. such a badass lineup....ICON didn't come close.

5) Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - I wish i had more RPG's like this. Gonna replay on dolphin later this year.

6) Metroid Zero Mission - I missed out on so much greatness on GBA, i didn't even know this was a great remake of 1 with that awesome extra mission. like Fusion, i'll prolly replay this one (hopefully when it hits eshop).

7) Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap - Ive only played a few hours, but i was impressed with how much capcom "got it". got it as an ambassador title, totally playing it through this summer.

8) Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines - finally played just this year...man, it was cool when RPG sidequests were about building character, or otherwise had a point.

9) Pikmin 2 - Taking away the clock was the best thing they could've done for the series.

10) Half-Life 2 - not the second coming it was sold as by some around here, but a great game. "We don't go there anymore" was my favorite bit.

Honorable mentions:
Metroid Prime 2 (i gotta get back to this one)
KOTOR 2
Pokémon FireRed
Silent Hill 4
BG&E