I’m going to try to guess Nadia’s top video games of all time. Not in any particular order, mind you.

• Final Fantasy III (SNES): A game that she acquired through unusual means back in college, FF3 has to be Nad’s favorite game of all time. To this day, she still listens to the soundtrack and refers to Kefka as one of the best video game villians (if not *the* best) ever.
• Chrono Trigger (SNES): This RPG has to be very close to first place. The music, the story, the combat, the princess named Nadia - all reasons why this has to be Nad’s second-favorite game.
• Phantasy Star Online (DC): The day I brought this game home and logged on for the first time, Nad was enraptured by the graphics, the music, and the possibilities of endless adventures online. After viewing the gameplay for less than an hour, she ran out the door. Not too long later, she returned with her very own DC and copy of PSO. Six copies of the PSO series and several OSV compilations later, this game was responsible for my knowledge in LAN networking, a number of friendships that have lasted long after we stopped playing the game, and countless hours lost fighting Dark Falz.
• X-COM UFO Defense (PC): Once called “The Best Game Ever” by IGN, Nad and I devoted much of our precious study time in college to keeping those filthy aliens from landing on our planet. When we couldn’t shoot thier craft down over the ocean, we took the fight to them in city streets and farms. Why hasn’t this game been remade?
• Tournament Fighters (SNES): While Nad loves the Dead or Alive series, something tells me that there is a special place in her heart for this game. This Ninja Turtle fighting game was probably played by very few people, but Nad and I, as well as her brother and my brothers, enjoyed hours of turtle-on-turtle violence. RAT BOMAH!
• Super Metroid (SNES): Samus heads back to Zebus (at least, I think that’s where she goes) to stop the space pirates again. Nad never played the original Metroid, but this game kept her going for a long while. I should get her Zero Mission, the GBA remake of the original. I’ve also suggested playing Metroid Fusion (the GBA sequel to Super Metroid), but FFT takes all of her GBA time (more later).
• Super Castlevania (SNES): She still listens to the soundtrack of this game that her brother ripped (before the term “rip” was coined) from the stereo to cassette tape! There hasn’t been another Castlevania quite like this one. Sure, the new face of Castlevania (the one inspired by Symphony of the Night) may be good, but Super Castlevania is one of a kind.
• Super Contra (SNES): Contra at its best. While the original is an awesome game, and is the originator of the famous Konami Code, Super Contra is still the best. No Contra before it, and certainly none after it, matches its quality and fun factor. Whenever Nad sees another iteration of Contra, she always mutters, “It’s not Super Contra.”
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES): Probably the only Zelda game that Nad has devoted an immense amount of time to, aside from Majora’s Mask. Whenever I mention the game, she seems to remember the overworld music in the beginning of the game (you know, when it is raining) and hums it to herself.
• Final Fantasy Tactics (GBA): Portable games are designed to be played for very short intervals, like 15 minutes at a time. FFT is designed to be played just like that. Nadia doesn’t do that though. She plays for hours and hours and hours at a time. The only game she has spent more time on in her entire life is PSO - she’s clocked in well beyond 100 hours in FFT (versus PSO’s hundreds). What makes the time she has put into FFT funny is that I’m willing to bet that she isn’t any closer to actually beating the game. The game allows for tons of “experience fighting,” where you fight random enemies for more experience and money. Sometimes, I think Nad enjoys experience fighting more than she enjoys the story of an RPG. She’s had this game for two years now and plays it regularly, but still hasn’t properly beaten it. She’s even got a backlog of GBA games that she won’t start b/c she’s still playing FFT.

I originally wanted to limit this list to 5 games, including their title and console released on. A list of 5 games with no information on them seemed kind of meaningless though, so I included some details.

While there are many other games that Nadia loves (like the Lufia series, the Dead or Alive series, and the Tactics Ogre/Ogre Battle games), I imagine that she considers these 10 games to be the reasons why the interactive game medium was created.

So Nad, how many did I get right?