Smith Classics

(5 points) - Identify your 5 favorite video games. What are they about and why are they your personal favorites? (1 pt for media + description/analysis of each title)

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Nintendo, SNES (1991)

One night, a girl's voice awakens you from your sleep. "I am in the castle dungeon." She telepathically pleads.You jump out of bed not knowing whether the voice was part of a dream or reality.

Zelda has been one of the most influential video games series in history, and it was responsible for starting my own love of video games. While I had a NES and had played many older games (and have since emulated many more), Link to the Past was the first game that I was determined to finish. At 5 years old, these puzzle games imprinted problem solving skills and have made me appreciate that almost every challenge has an a solution.

I have since played and completed almost every single Zelda game, most to 100% completion. LttP > MM > OoT > BotW > OoS/OoA > LA > WW > Minish Cap > Link Between Worlds > PH > TP > Zelda 1 > Spirit Tracks > Zelda 2 > SS

Chrono Trigger

Square, SNES (1995)

All Life Begins With Nu And Ends With Nu.

Chrono Trigger is one of the all time great JRPGs (Japanese Role Playing Game). JRPGs are finely woven experiences that thread story, puzzle solving, and math crunching to complete. I attribute my strong sense of mental math to JRPGs, since I was always performing calculations towards some game-goal ("I need to defeat 15 encounters with 3 monsters that each give me 22 experience to get to the next level").

Chrono Trigger's story was based on the complex concepts of time travel. You travel back and forward through time to save the planet from a parasitic time-traveling world-devourer (Lavos). Changes you make in the timeline affect other parts of the game.

The art was directed by Akira Toriyama, which lead to my appreciation of Dragonball and anime.

Final Fantasy Tactics

Square, Playstation (1997)

Delita PSX: "Don't blame me. Blame yourself, or God."Delita PSP: "Forgive me. 'Tis your birth and faith that wrong you, not I."

My love of JRPGs didn't actually start with Chrono Trigger, but Final Fantasy. While I have completed and exhausted other games in the series (FF4/6/7/8/Mystic Quest), Final Fantasy Tactics is my favorite of the lot. As a turn-based strategy RPG, the dependency on numbers reached a new level, with almost everything in that game being quantized (HP/MP/CT/Level/XP/Height/Faith/Brave) and impacting gameplay.

The "Zodiac Brave" story is one of my favorite in the series. The introductory chapter, "War of Lions" is a game-of-thrones epic about royalty and divine-right, full of double-crossing and backstabbing nobles. It is revealed that these wars were orchestrated by high ranking religious figures exploiting their power to murder anyone at an attempt to become literal gods; this has in many ways impacted my own leery relationship with religion.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Nintendo, Gamecube (2001)

The year is 20XX. Final Destination, No Items, Fox Only.

I love the competitive aspect of fighting games. While I have a fond spot for Street Fighter II, Marvel Vs Capcom, Killer Instinct and Mortal Kombat, Super Smash Bros. was the series that I invested hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of play. The satisfaction of getting good at Smash and then smacking down the trash-talkers started with Smash 64. The skill curve for Smash is deceptive; if you think you are good at Smash, you probably aren't. The Smash Bros documentary is an example of the amazing potential players can achieve and a stark realization that there is always someone more dedicated and better at almost anything we do.

Smash Melee is considered one of the best in the series, and it is still played at competitive tournaments more than 20 years after its release. I spent years practicing advanced techniques with my friends, getting better at wavedashing, r-cancelling, and shine spikes, but never even coming close to the precision of the pros. The countless nights playing local with friends are some of my fondest memories of gaming. I will support the Smash community for as long as I'm playing games. Smash Ultimate is also my favorite Esports title and our largest Sylmar Esports community. Marth/Peach/Falco Melee main.

Halo 2

Bungie, Xbox (2004)

Master Chief: "This is Spartan 117! Can anyone read me? Over."Lord Hood: "Isolate that signal! Master Chief, mind telling me what you're doing on that ship?"Master Chief: "Sir. Finishing this fight."

Halo 1 was a masterpiece in first person shooters. It wasn't my first FPS, since I had played and completed Doom, Hexen, Goldeneye 64, Perfect Dark and a few others prior. While the gameplay of a fast paced arcade shooter was rewarding, it was Halo's story that made me appreciate the series. Halo's science-fiction world was one that incorporated philosophies on the nature of life, the persistent threats to that fragile nature, and our own uncertainty about grand societies in our own human past. For all we know, the ancient Mayans or Egyptians could have been as advanced as the Forerunners, the sentient pre-cursors to modern man that helped curbed the proliferation of parasitic Flood. I played through Halo 1's Legendary campaign more than a few times. Halo 2 expanded on this universe and incorporated themes of religious persecution, heresy, and the concepts of AI manifestation.

While I did play Halo 1 LAN and on Xlink Kai, online multiplayer for consoles was in its infancy, so most players were not very experienced. I had a modded Xbox, and Halo 2 had a very infamous leak of the French version of the game nearly a month before retail launch. I played that copy through Legendary before the game launched, and even had the opportunity to play against some Halo pros in Xlink Kai lobbies. On opening weekend, I knew all of the maps and the strategies for our first 16 person LAN, so my team dominated.

The launch of the game on Xbox Live has been marked as a huge turning point for online gaming, and my head-start advantage was a huge part of the fun.

World of Warcraft

Blizzard, PC (2004)

South Park: "How do you kill which has no life?"

World of Warcraft has been a huge part of my gaming past, and there is no question that it is the game I have spent the most amount of time playing. I have a difficult time calling it a game, though, since the function of modern MMOs (massively multiplayer online) is more akin to a psychological addictive machine designed to steal as much time and money from their players as possible.

I have played the game since the original launch, and have played nearly every expansion for a good amount of time as well. My main character has achievements that are so rare and prestigious, I can sell my account for thousands of dollars (similar to this one selling for $10,000). I have lead raids of 40+ people, became one of the most accomplished PvPers on my server, and made friendships in this game that have lasted nearly 20 years. While I have exhausted nearly every aspect of the game and played every class competitively, I main a Druid; a shapeshifting caster that supports teammates with healing.

I attribute many of my tech abilities to this title, since it forced me to type quickly and also motivated me to dive deep into automation. In order to cut out the grind of leveling and stay at the top of the ladder, I have used and made many black market bots. Though I have been banned many times, I keep coming back.

Honorable Mentions

Super Mario 64

Smite

Metroid Prime

Pokemon TCG

Mega Man X

Leisure Suit Larry 2

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