Nerd Mentality

Top 10 Games We've NEVER Played

Posted August 28th 2009 by Brandon Schmidt.

"Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

The immortal Ferris Bueller was absolutely right; Time does slip away when we least realize it. Whether it's obligations with school, family, friends, or work, there never seem to be enough hours in the day. As we grow older, I'm sure you, like I, have noticed that you have to make sacrifices and adjustments when it comes to your gaming habits. I find that I play fewer games in general, and fewer games that require me to pick up a controller and play for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. We all make these changes though for various reasons. Sometimes it's a lack of time to play all of the triple-A games that come out. Other times, it might be a lack of funds. The younger readers out there may have missed entire generations of consoles. No matter what those reasons are, I think that we each have that list of titles that, given the resources, we would most want to go back and play. I thought it might be fun for some of the N-Philes staff and I to share our lists with you. Hit the break to see how our lists would compare to yours.

Brandon Schmidt

1. Ico – I never owned a PS2, but this game more than any other almost had me buying one. I've never heard one person say they didn't love this game. I'm into ambiance which I've heard this game has in abundance.

2. Shadow of the Colossus – There are few things I love more in a story than a moral dilemma.

3. Super Mario World – I had a Genesis during the 16-bit era and as you will see from the remainder of my list, a number of the titles were those on the SNES. I'm a Mario fiend and I should be beaten savagely for having never played one of the greatest in the series.

4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – Although I played the original Legend of Zelda, I was never a big fan of the series until the N64. Some consider this game better than Ocarina and I'm curious to see if they're right.

5. Metal Gear Solid – The series has to be popular for a reason right? I'm curious to find out why and there's no better place to start than from the beginning of the modern series. Note: I have played the original Metal Gear on the NES.

6. Dragon Warrior II – When I was a fledgling gamer long ago, I picked up a copy of the first Dragon Warrior at a used game store and loved every minute of it. I received Dragon Warrior III as a gift one year and loved that one even more with its lengthy tale and massive overworld(s). I've always wanted to go back and see the game that bridged the two that I've played.

7. Bioshock – I've had this game sitting on my shelf since April or May. I know I'm going to love it, but I want to be able to play the game in long runs which is something my busy schedule doesn't allow right now.

8. Fallout 3 – Many sites picked this as their game of the year in 2008. I've heard and read good things everywhere and I'm itching to pick this one up when they release it with all the DLC.

9. Mario Paint – I'm not still not sure why I was so fascinated by this game over a decade and a half ago. Perhaps it was because I had a subscription to Nintendo Power at the time and they hyped it up like crazy.

10. Mass Effect – I love a good story with decision-making and consequences. I also love the idea that choices made in this game will affect the world not only in the sequel, but also the sequel's sequel.

Jordan Mammo

1. Out of This World – Seems like it was, and still is, a very progressive game that I'd enjoy playing.

2. Mother 3 – It's freaking Mother 3. I even had an imported copy once until it was stolen with my old DS. I was extremely angry.

3. Chrono Trigger – This was actually the first game I bought for my new DSi but I have yet to try it out.

4. Final Fantasy VII – It seems like this title gets so much praise and grief for what it was and how it influenced games after its release that I feel like I should play it for myself.

5. Metal Gear Solid (series) – Hideo Kojima seems like a guy whose games I'd want to play, even (especially?!) if some say his games are critiques of the success of his own games!

6. Outrun (series) – As a child I used to tell my grandmother that I was going to buy a red convertible and take her for a drive in it. These games seem like they'd recreate the experience I so frequently imagined. Except with a hot chick in the passenger seat and not my grandmother.

7. Half-Life 2 – I almost feel like I've gone out of my way to not play this title.

8. Phantasy Star (and Online) – Since I've pretty much missed the boat on this series' online play, I mostly want to try it out because I like the art direction.

9. Chibi Robo – The idea of exploring a family's life through seemingly mundane activities seems appealing to me!

10. Panzer Dragoon (series) – You get to ride on dragons!

Desiré Garcia

1. LittleBigPlanet – This game just looks like pure fun. I'm slowly warming up to the idea of owning another Sony product.

2. Toki – Jared has gone on for years about what a great game this is and I feel like I might be able to relate were I to play it as well.

3. Whirlo – My cousins had this game and never ever ever let me play it, even though I was more than willing to share all of my systems with them. Jerks.

4. Grim Fandango – I had some friends that played Grim and at the time I thought it was just not worth my time. I'm kicking myself now.

5. Eternal Sonata – It looks like a game I would like, but I just never got around to playing it. I even owned it briefly and then gave it away.

6. Ghosts N' Goblins – Again, a game I was late to finding and still want to get into.

7. Kingdom Hearts (series) – I know, I know, how could any gamer girl not have played Kingdom Hearts?  I tempted to finally get a PS2 and pick this one up at our local gaming emporium.

8. Final Fantasy (series) – Because the franchise has gone on for so long, I think I just got intimidated at the prospect of getting into any of the FF games.

9. Katamari Damacy – Everyone's always gone on and on about how great it was; it was always visually appealing and very different from what else is out there, yet for some reason I never got around to trying it.

10. World of Warcraft – People play this on their laptops at our local mall because of the free wi-fi. I'd like to see what the hubbub is all about – I'm just too chicken.

Batist Tardiou

1. The Orange Box – Once upon a time I was into PC gaming with Half-Life and Team Fortress Classic. Then later, I wasn't so much into PC gaming. This was when The Orange Box came out, sadly, so I never had a chance to try it.

2. Shadow of Colossus – It's one of those games that is sitting next to the PS2 in my brother's room.  For some reason I never picked it up but want to play very much.

3. Patapon – Looks like an original and interesting game. I don't have a PSP so it was never an option to play it.

4. Resident Evil 3 – The only game in the series I never played. Too bad, really.

5. Chrono Trigger – One of those RPGs way back when I didn't like the genre.  I've warmed up to those RPGs now and regret never playing this one.

6. Final Fantasy VII – See above.

7. Final Fantasy IX – See above.

8. Ico – I didn't own a PS2 during its glory days, so Ico never had a chance to be in my gaming library. For shame.

9. Rock Band – I'm no good with music games, and I don't want to spend 200€ on a game. So I never had the chance to play it.

10. Dead Space – I don't really know why I never played it. It looks like a ton of fun.

Adrian DeHerrera

1. Guitar Hero/Rock Band (series) – Being a big fan of innovative games, I've always wanted to buy these titles. But being a cheap jerk, I hate spending money on confusing, specialized controllers. Also, the commercials seem to imply you need friends as well. In this recession, I don't think I can afford those either. THANKS, OBAMA.

2. Final Fantasy VI – Although people say it's the best game in the series, I tend not to trust people. Besides, can you really have a Final Fantasy game better than VII? The answer is no.

Stop slapping me!

3. Madden NFL – I have a few friends who spend much of their lives obsessing about their team rosters, leagues and records. Actually, the only players that scare me more than hardcore Maddenites are hardcore WoW players. Oh Tecmo Bowl how I miss your two-button simplicity!

4. World of Warcraft – No.  Never.

5. Ico – The purely awesome, awe-inspiring greatness that is Shadow of the Colossus intimidates me from playing Ico. What if it sucks by comparison (which is quite possible)? What if it's just terrible? A lot of people out there swear by its greatness. It's absolutely on my play list.

6. Panzer Dragoon – There are so many Sega games deserving to be played that I completely ignored (especially Panzer Dragoon and Jet Grind Radio). Sega, you deserve better than that. Oh Jebus, never thought I would type that sentence again.

7. Silent Hill 1 and 2 – I always considered this series a pale imitation of Resident Evil. Of course I know almost nothing about Silent Hill. But man, do I want to. I began playing Silent Hill 3 and was bored to tears but friends swear by the first two games in the series.

8. Chrono Trigger – I tried over and over to get more than two hours into Chrono Cross and just couldn't do it. Has it tarnished the name of its predecessor? Yes. Should I play Chrono Trigger anyway? Yes.

9. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – I love the '80s. Probably more than they deserve. The game looks so fun yet I've never gotten around to actually sitting down and playing it.

10. The Sims – I think if I ever play this game, you should shoot me. I do not want to play a game that is based on taking the time to run someone else's boring life. I do not care to undress and make little cyber people do it with each other. There are at least two million Youtube videos pairing cheesy songs to Sims walking around and pretending to be real. Cripes.

Jacob Barnes

1. My Stop Smoking Coach with Allen Carr – I want to see just how bad this is.

2. Left 4 Dead – I'm always in the mood for some violence that I can't get on my Wii.

3. Eternal Sonata – I love the developers, the story and I know the soundtrack is great.

4. Battle Garegga – Because it was developed by Raising.

5. Elevator Action – I missed out on a lot of older games like this, and always wanted to play it.

6. Golden Sun – I want to play through the first two before Golden Sun DS releases.

7. Out of this World – One of Suda 51's favorite games, and that's enough for me.

8. Bioshock – Looks cool.

9. Guitar Hero/Rock Band (series) – This one surprises me too; I've just never gotten around to playing them.

10. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs – Just read the title.

Gareth Trinkwon

1. Final Fantasy (series) – I've somehow managed to miss out on playing every single one of the FF series throughout my illustrious gaming career. Mostly out of never being a particularly big fan of RPGs or owning a PlayStation. Gotta say that the attention given to the huge amount of beautiful FMV sequences and epic stories does pique my interest, though.

2. Command and Conquer (series) – Always hated RTS games when I was younger, despite my favorite game of all time being Dungeon Keeper. Lately I've added some of the games from the Total War series to my top-rated list, so I really should at least check out the games that garnered the genre so much popularity.

3. System Shock (1 & 2) – I love immersive games, and the SS series supposedly has that in spades.

4. LittleBigPlanet – Really just want to play this because it looks cute. I have no idea what the concept behind the game is, other than that you push/throw things around and interact with the environment a lot.

5. Rock Band – I keep seeing people playing this and loving it, but I haven't yet had any urge to want to have a go. Passed up more than one opportunity to play it in public at E3. Noooo, thank you.

6. NiGHTS into Dreams – I got the demo of Christmas NiGHTS free with Sega Saturn Magazine back in the day and became hooked. Such a simple concept, zipping a flying purple jester around a colorful garden with the objective of acquiring as many points as possible. Pure addiction. I never bought the full game because stores were beginning to wind down their stock of Saturn titles at the time.

7. Panzer Dragoon Saga – As with NiGHTS, I played the demo of this that came free with Sega Saturn Magazine and was blown away. It was incredibly epic. The demo was pretty long and I think may have just been the first disc of the game (the full game spanned a ridiculous 4-discs). This was probably the Saturn's answer to Final Fantasy in terms of having an over the top amount of FMV and being the system's top RPG.

8. Spore – The idea is inspired, and the game looks fun, at first, but I can tell it's the sort of game that'll get extremely boring when the novelty wears off. Like Black and White.

9. Starcraft – This is supposedly the definitive RTS title that many rate as one of their top games of all time. I doubt it can top Dungeon Keeper, but I'd like to give it a try.

10. World of Warcraft – Always wanted to get into an MMORPG, but the idea of subscribing to play a single game seems somewhat unappealing to say the least. Plus I'd know I'd regret it. I get too immersed into games enough as it is.

Frankie Aguilar

1. Beyond Good & Evil – I've heard nothing but good things and it look really cool.

2. Phantasy Star – It's an RPG that's been ranked up there with every other good RPG.

3. Jack and Daxter – I played the hell out of Ratchet and Clank and this game is supposed to be the yin to R&C's yang.

4. Megaman 8 – I heard its really hard and wanna prove I can beat it.

5. Okami – Simple: It looks beautiful.

6. Persona – Looks like a good place to break into the more Japanese style games.

7. Shenmue – I always wanted it when I played Dreamcast but it was to expensive to buy.

8. FFXII – I've played them all besides this one.

9. Superman 64 – (just to see if it's really that bad)

10. Viva Piñata – I have a 360 and I love Rare.

Jared Thomas

1. Contact – Grasshopper Manufacture won me over with Killer7 and No More Heroes, and Atlus has turned lead into gold with their localization team more times than I can count.  When Grasshopper turned their deconstructionist development eye to the RPG genre and Atlus took the helm on publishing... I don't know, maybe I had a brain hemorrhage or something.  Unforgivable that I still haven't played this.

2. Worms 2 – Inconceivably, a friend and I played the Worms 2 free online demo for months, battling against the modest clans that populated the laughably unstable server and trolling the chat rooms. Eventually we bought Worms Armageddon, eager to gorge on the full banquet of an actual game, but somehow broke the CD before ever playing it.  The whole Worms ordeal reminds me of this Penny Arcade strip, and maybe it's all for the best that I never played the full version; it might have destroyed me.

3. X-Men 2: Clone Wars – The time I logged into the original X-Men on Genesis exceeded the average Somali lifespan.  I loved that game.  Imagine my surprise when I learned that it wasn't even the "good" X-Men game.  Like an abandoned pup at a train station, I wait painfully (and likely in vain) for the day this one shows up on the Virtual Console.

4. Shadow of the Colossus – There are a lot of games that, in their heyday, make me envious of the consoles I don't own.  But only a few games maintain that feeling years later, and I still can't shake the feeling that I should get a PS2 just to play this game.

5. The Orange Box – I don't have a gaming PC, and despite the low price of the Xbox 360 version, I feel like I'd be buying a cheap duplicate.  I'll probably spend the rest of my life in the Limbo I've created for myself with this situation.

6. Braid – I've been interested in this XBLA game since before it came out, I've had a standing balance of Microsoft Points in excess of its price, and yet I've never downloaded it.  I'm not quite as bad as all the other douchebags in this feature who actually own their most-coveted games but haven't bothered to open them, but I still have no excuse.

7. Beyond Good & Evil – It seems to have an open seat on every "most underrated" list ever crafted.  I feel like I have to play this just to see if it actually deserves so much tribute or if it's ironically become the most overrated game of all time.

8. Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – I put these together because they're on the list for the same reason.  I've played plenty of Metroid and Castlevania games, and with these series it feels like "if you've played one you've played them all." But apparently that adage only holds true if the "one" you've played is Super Metroid or Symphony of the Night.

9. Devil May Cry 4 – I'm a big fan of the combo-heavy, ultraviolent combat in games like God of War and Ninja Gaiden, but have never played a Devil May Cry game. This is yet another victim of my PS2-lessness, but the advent of DMC4 on 360 at least makes it accessible now.

10. Chrono Trigger – This game strikes me as one of the Seven Wonders of the Unplayed Gaming World. Like a Moby Dick of video games, it seems like it's talked about much more than it's actually played.  There's got to be something amazing in there to deserve such universal adulation.

Matt Coy

1. Okami – I borrowed the PS2 version from a friend a few years back (sorry Charlie!) and I got the Wii version for Christmas. Both packages remain unopened from the day I got them. I think it's some sort of cognitive dissonance: on one hand, it might surpass Majora's Mask as my favorite action/adventure of all time; but on the other hand, my elitist tastes might make me hate it because it's just not QUITE as good as Zelda.

2. Ico – I played Shadow of the Colossus a few years ago, and absolutely loved it. I mainly blame the fact that Ico is really hard to come by, and I'm a collector at heart, so I just haven't gotten around to playing it. I definitely want to give it a shot one day.

3. World of Warcraft – What more do I need to say? This game is the epitome of grinding, an aspect I hate about any given RPG. Also, it's an MMO, which comes as a package deal, insufferable fanbase included.

4. Final Fantasy VII – I absolutely adored FFIV, FFV, and FFVI. However, FFVII seems to be everything I hate about the stereotypical modern jRPG: random battles that take forever to complete (15 seconds from beginning animation to the ability to select an attack is just bad design), lead male characters that inexplicably had all their androgens replaced with estrogens, and a setting that's not quite fantasy, but not quite modern. Take note, Square-Enix: it's called Final Fantasy, not Final Emo Guy With Some Steampunk.

5. Final Fantasy XII – Square seemed to do a good job with a setting based in fantasy, likable characters, a good magic system, and tied it together nicely. Why haven't I played this? Because you're not supposed to play it! Put together the right set of Gambits, and the game plays itself. You literally become a vehicle to move your character from point A to point B, while the game does all the battling by itself. That's not a video game in my book.

6. Mass Effect – This game looks legitimately interesting and I honestly want to play it. However, it just seems like such a big world to tackle with the limited amount of free time I have. Those multiple endings also gnash with my completion-obsessed self.

7. Bioshock – I have this game ready and installed on my computer. I just have to finish up the Half-Life series first.

8. Fallout (series) – I wasn't too big into computer gaming when the first two games came out. When Fallout 3 came out, my PC wasn't powerful enough to handle it, and I (still) don't have a 360. Now that I actually have a good PC, I'll probably be able to play it, but that requires a little thing called money, of which I simply have none.

9. Diablo (series) – Again, I was never into PC gaming when these games came out. I still want to give it a try, though, especially with my love of fantasy games and with Diablo III on the horizon.

10. Starcraft – Simply put, I suck at strategy games, real-time or turn-based. I suck at Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Overlord, you name it! I just don't have the brain for it, and I don't plan to improve it.

ADDENDUM:

Yshua Machado

Nice list, guys.  Looks like I'm the only one here who likes video games.  But I'll help you out.  Here's a follow-up list of games I think everyone should try, in no particular order:

Valkyrie Profile (original or PSP) – Fun gameplay, huge amount of weapon and character customization. The fact that you had to chose characters to send from your party as part of the plot made me feel like I was picking which one of my kids I loved the most (I dislike all children btw.)

Final Fantasy Tactics (Original or PSP) – Solid tactics game that still overshadows many in its genre today.

Super Puzzle Fighter 2: Turbo – Any version, I win.

Super Metroid – It's still just as good as it was when it was perfect.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – What you've heard is true.

Vagrant Story – Might be hard to get past the graphics now, but it was an amazing style for the day. The game mechanics were incredibly deep and unique in a time when PSX was flooded with RPGs of every kind.

Virtual On – There was no way to make the home edition as exciting as the dual throttle tank-style controls of the full arcade machine.

Soul Calibur II or IV – Super deep weapon-based battles, big ass titties, pick your reason.

God of War series – You will not be disappointed.

An MMO, any MMO – You just have to have done it at some point.  Come on, guys.

Tags: top 10

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