[[Writing About My Favorite Games]] ## Nine Sols The most recent game on the list. I've [[Nine Sols is a Masterpiece|written about what Nine Sols means to me]] earlier this year. I thought recency bias would throw it off the list. In reality, my feelings on **Nine Sols** have only intensified with time. It is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest games ever made. I've never been so immediately gripped by a game's narrative, and stuck on it the whole way through. I've also never finished a game, cried, and then absolutely *bawled* at the menu screen that appeared afterwards. It is a true work of art, and I'm never going to shut up about it. On that note, it's on every console, *and* PC now. Play it. ## Super Mario Galaxy 2 I have fond memories of **Super Mario Galaxy 2** because it's the game that I first burned to a CD after hacking my Wii to play it. I was 13 and no longer content with my mom's "two or three games a year" pace. I needed to know what it was like after enjoying the first game. Even taking away that nostalgia, I still think **Galaxy 2** is Mario's peak. It's a game of excess - more levels, more mechanics, more power-ups, more polish, more, more, more. The only thing it has less of - and the only reason it's not my favorite game ever - is Rosalina. Either way, **Mario** games speak for themselves, and **Galaxy 2** bellows at you to grab the controller and have a grand old time. ## Resident Evil 4 VR I have [[2021-11-17-thoughts-on-the-quest-2|mixed feelings about VR]], but I also had one of the greatest tech experiences of my life playing **Resident Evil 4 VR** on a hand-me-down Quest 2. It helps that **RE4** is already one of the greatest games ever made, but the VR version is just something else. It's scarier, of course, even with the PS2 graphics. And it just feels *cool*. It felt cool to be able to hold my knife and pistol at the same time, or to toss my revolver in the air before catching it and headshotting a zombo. Balance-wise, **RE4VR** is probably easiest version, but as a result it's also the most fun. It sucks that, as a game, it's so hard to get access to. But it's definitely worth the effort. ## Metal Gear Solid 3 It has the Boss in it. ## Gravity Rush 2 I saved this one for last because it's the hardest for me to write about. I can't explain to you what makes **Gravity Rush 2** so affecting to me, which is why I rarely write about it, instead mostly screaming *play **Gravity Rush 2**!* in a post now and then. Frankly it has a lot of flaws: the stealth sections are annoying, it doesn't always control that well, and it waits until the last fourth of the game to explain everything. None of that matters to me though. If I well and truly had to explain it, I love **Gravity Rush** because it exemplifies everything I love about video games as a medium. It leans into the joy of movement, to the point where, back when I was super depressed the year it came out, I'd just boot it up and fly around and instantly feel better. It's so unique in its aesthetic and the way it tells its story. It works around the limits of its budget to create something magical. It's also a reminder of the PlayStation that I used to obsess over, before both me and the company got jaded. Japan Studio shut down after **GR2** didn't make sales, and now we're on our fourth remake and/or remaster of **The Last of Us** and **Horizon Zero Dawn**. The long and short of it is that Keiichiro Toyama doesn't give a fuck - about the industry, about how his games are received, about budget or genre. He just makes his weird little stuff, and I think if I can garner even half of his artistic energy, then I'm doing alright in life. And given the state of this website, I'd like to say that I'm getting there.