1. Chrono Trigger
Why it's perfect to me: After Final Fantasy VI introduced me to RPG's, it was Chrono Trigger that sealed my love for them. It has some of the best characters in any game, great art, one of my favorite soundtracks, a killer story, great villains, and a plethora of endings to see. No pun intended: it's timeless. It came out like 30 years ago and I still play it to this day.
2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Why it's perfect to me: Before Chrono Trigger came out, this was the game. I'd never played an adventure quite like it. The game design is simply flawless, the dungeons were all fantastic, all the bosses were great, the Zelda atmosphere was strong with this one, it was decently challenging (well, when I played it at a younger age), and the world was full of surprises and things to find. It still remains as one of the greatest remnants of gaming the SNES left behind.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Why it's perfect to me: Like everyone else, I was on the edge of my seat for this one to come out. I scoured every page of every Nintendo Power for the next glimpse at the game. I suffered through each month, day, nanosecond between it and ALttP. So when it finally came (I was a sophomore in high school) I couldn't quite believe it. And the feeling remained throughout the entirety of the game. Zelda had successfully made the 3D leap and it was something to gawk at. The greatness of the dungeons, the look, the feel, the everything of Zelda was intact and there to stay. The N64's swan song.
4. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Why it's perfect to me: God, another Zelda game, right? Well, yeah. Right. I wouldn't put it here if I didn't think it belonged. Many argue this game to be "OoT redux" and while I find this somewhat true of the first three dungeons or so, the game really does become something of its own. When I play a game, I play it; I don't sit around and look for bad textures or other technical slumps. I acknowledge them, sure, but it was built ground-up for the Gamecube, so while I had the Wii version, I treated it as a Gamecube game, at least graphically, and I was highly impressed. I didn't think the Gamecube was capable, at least not capable to handle such a high level of visual mastery throughout the entire quest, but it did. Combine that with great play mechanics, some of the best dungeons in the franchise (and bosses for that matter), and the most in-depth and neatly handled story, and you have a game I definitely consider one of the greatest ever made.
5. Resident Evil 2
Why it's perfect to me: Finally, no more Zelda taking up spaces. What an asshole. Anyway, yes, you're seeing this right: Resident Evil 2. I'd hand out 10's to this sucker any day of the week. It's just a wonderful game from top to bottom. Not only do you have great visuals for the time, cool, memorable characters, awesome locales, great atmosphere, and creepy music; but you also have... the alternate scenarios! Dum dum dum... anyway, the alternate scenarios turned this already great game into a perfect one. They were like... an entirely new game... but two of them. Bitch was like getting four games in one! I mean any developer could have put out Resident Evil 2 with just one scenario where, like in the first installment, it lets you pick a couple of characters but pretty much the same shit happens... but no. They give a disc each to Leon and Claire, each with two scenarios, and the additional scenarios go the extra mile to add everything from new cutscenes to new enemies and locations... it's crazy. Amazing stuff.
Other games I would list:
Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, 3
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Super Mario 64
Super Metroid
Metroid Prime
