PixlBit

1. Chrono Trigger (MC #3, not owned) 

I almost bought this back in ‘08, and now I wish I had. I’ve wanted to try it out forever, but it was always a little pricey, and especially so nowadays. I seem to have missed its downloadable versions on Wii Virtual Console and PSN as well. Today it seems it is only available on Steam for PC. So, I’m kind of out of luck. I still wonder why its sequel, Chrono Cross, got a remastered digital version recently and not Trigger, one of the most lauded games in history. Someone explain that to me.    

2. Mario & Luigi: Bower’s Inside Story (#5) 

BLORBS! I feel like I got The Blorbs too and am still recovering from it. AlphaDream developed all the Mario & Luigi games. I love Partners in Time because it was my first, but most seem to agree that Inside Story is the best of the series.  

3. Advance Wars: Dual Strike (#7) 

Intelligent Systems’ AW: Dual Strike was my first handheld game since Mattel Electronics Baseball in the 70s. Dual Strike was a system seller for me. I went through several versions of the DS until I settled on my favorite, the DSi XL, which I still have. This game was the third in the Advance Wars series, but six "Wars" games were made for only Japan by both Intelligent Systems and Hudson Soft before this. By 2008 the series would be done. It seems like Intelligent Systems focused more on the Fire Emblem series after that.  

4. The World Ends with You (#11) 

This is a complex action RPG I learned about from podcaster Kat Bailey back in ‘07. It takes place in Japan’s Shibuya shopping district and involves youth culture and fashion in the gameplay - dress in the fashionable outfits for a battle and you get performance boosts. I’ve played only a few hours of it a while back. It has a unique battle system that takes up both screens and has two characters fight at once. I found it a little confusing at first, but I’m excited to give it another play. Jupiter developed it with Square Enix. Jupiter is known for many Nintendo Picross games.  

5. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinel of the Starry Skies (#13) 

So, surprise, surprise, I didn't realize that the first six games in the series were developed by Chunsoft (1-5) and Heartbeat (6-7) alongside Square Enix. DQ VIII (the game that introduced me to DQ) and IX were by the great Level-5, makers of so many great games, most recently: Prof. Layton New World of Steam and Fantasy Life i. I played DQ IX once before and it (like VIII) exhausted me with its seemingly endless story and content. I hope to last a little longer this time around. 

6. Kirby Canvas Curse (#19, not owned) 

i am generally skeptical of these games that predominantly use the stylus for gameplay, but it's Kirby, and so I'm in. Unfortuneately, Kirby games are pretty pricey used, and it's doubtful I'll be able to get a copy; but, one can dream, can't one. 

7. Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (#20) 

You know that game that you feel only you discovered and championed for so many years - in this case, since 2009? This was mine. Turns out, critics made it the 20th best DS game, so I wasn't alone after all. Darn it. It was developed by Canadian dev Capybara Games (now just Capy). Because of my love of this game, I followed them but never really took to any of their subsequent games, their most recent being Grindstone. Clash of Heroes has a really unique battle system that I later found in another indie game called, Merge & Blade.  

8. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (#21) 

I played this in 2005 on a rental from Gamefly and got totally hooked. I loved the battle system that combines platforming into timed, but turn-based, attacks. I can't wait to play it again. 

9 – Planet Puzzle League (#22, not owned) 

Wow, I forgot this was an Intelligent Systems game (Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Paper Mario, WarioWare). Now I'm doubly mad I didn't pick it up when I saw it a few months ago at one of my game stores. I'm having trouble finding it now. I'm sort of hot and cold on puzzle games. Sometimes I really get into them and sometimes they just annoy me. I'm hoping, when I find and play it, to not be annoyed. 

10 – Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (#24) 

Just like Partners in Time, I rented this from Gamefly in 2008 and fell hard for it. One of those hot puzzle games and not cold ones that annoy me. Level-5 really does a complete and thorough job on games: gorgeous graphics, wonderful music, interesting stories, and engaging gameplay. You can't lose with them. I actually cried at the end of this game, an extreme rarity for me with games in general.  

And that's 1-10. It's a phat list of goodies that will take me a while to get through since I own a lot of them still. Oh joy!