You HAVE to play this

Made this thread in the anime section then realized that it would also belong here! What is one game that you think people should make an effort to play in their lifetimes, and why?

It's really hard to tell. I've got my personal tastes in games, & more often than not, you don't share at least half of them. Thus, what game that I feel that you should play in your life IMO might not be anything that you'd want to play.

Just my 2 cents. Take their recommendations to heart, but in the end, the choice is yours to make.

Zero escape series and trails in the sky.

Cave Story is one of my favorite games and a shining example of perfect game design in my opinion, I tell a lot of my friends looking for games to play to give it a shot.

To anyone who is a fan of JRPGs or just games with a good storyline I strongly recommend the Golden Sun games; primarily the two on the GBA. They have excellent characters, battle mechanics, soundtracks, plots and graphics which I think have aged really well (considering the first game is 12 years old). The DS game was a bit weaker, but still fun to play in my opinion.

If you want a game with a beautiful story give Final Fantasy 7. While it hasn't aged very well it's story still holds up today.

If you want a game so insanely difficult that you rip out your hair then play Megaman 2, Megaman Zero 2, Ninja Gaiden, or Dark Souls.

If you want a solid Fighting Game then get Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat.

And lastly if you want a game you could spend years playing then get Minecraft.

I'd probably pick seven games that are key to appreciating video games, story-driven experiences, while also promoting creativity and strategy.

1. Half-Life 2
2. Fire Emblem: Awakening
3. Minecraft
4. Civilization IV (or V)
5. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
6. Super Mario Bros.
7. Team Fortress 2

Half-Life 2 is one of my all-time favorite games. Not only does it have one of the best stories and universes, but you're instantly transported to that setting and it brings you in. Fire Emblem: Awakening is an awesome game with a great story. The turn-based gameplay lends itself well to really pretty environments and the characters, while not the deepest, still make you like them. It's fantastic. Minecraft is great for creative people and it's especially wonderful when you're able to play with friends. I've played Minecraft at least a hundred hours and it's an endless amount of fun. :) Civ IV is an awesome strategy game with some unique gameplay. I've played well over four hundred hours of IV and just purchased V finally. Another great one to play with friends, unless you want to keep them as your friends because if you nuke them, they get really angry (Morkula). :D Mario RPG is a classic game with a really fun story and world. I would do anything for a remake or sequel. Mario Bros. is the classic game and one of the best there is simply for the fact to see where gaming has been and to now see what it has become. TF2 is an awesome FPS with some deeper elements and upgradeability that makes it a unique shooter. It's been out for years and is free-to-play now, but it's still one of the best there is. Another fun one to play with friends to really make it better.

If there's one game I think everyone should play at least once in their lifetime, it would be The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (or the 3DS remastering, which would help with the whole test-of-time-thing). That game is just so... perfect, in every way tbh. I personally think it's the pinnacle of the gaming industry and easily the greatest game ever made, but that's just an opinion (that very many share might I add).

Runner-ups I think would be:

• Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube)
• Jet Force Gemini (N64)
• Ratchet & Clank (any of the original trilogy games or the future trilogy, they're all masterful and ridiculously fun)
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (if you're into FPSs idk)

Battlefield 4 if anything immediately comes to mind, single player to be precise. I'm sorry but the first few minutes of playing this one simply blew me away and I'm usually unimpressed by a lot of games out there nowadays, I don't know how others may feel about it but that would be my answer if someone were to ask me about the game. Another one that's not too bad would have to be Ocarina Of Time off the top of my head yet again.

I've played an awful lot of Ocarina of Time and Banjo-Kazooie. If you haven't played these, I don't think you can truly understand me on a genuine level lol

For someone who likes RPGs and JRPGs then you must play Chrono Trigger, a very defining game which brought the 2 leading companies in JRPG games together to create a dream team, Enix and Squaresoft created the greatest RPG of all time. The plot is fantastice and the alternative endings are amazing. The game is literally everything.
And after that Tales of Vesperia and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

My personal catalog of played video games isn't exactly huge (it's tiny as hell), but I'm going to say Shadow of the Colossus. That game was just pure beautiful, honestly. It was just so simple, but thrilling. Agh, I need to find it and play it again. o_o

One series I would definitely recommend people to try is Rayman. Lately, they've been releasing amazing games, with Origins and Legends being two, great examples. I've played both, and loved each and every moment. Personally, I like Legends better, as it's got better overall graphics and more content, generally. Their handheld ones are pretty fun, too, but I don't think I've ever tried any for 3DS (not exactly sure if they'd ever released them, either, even though I should).

If you guys haven't attempted playing Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword before, then you should definitely give it a go. Not sure about others, but in my opinion, this is one of the best games of this series; its story is very engaging, and art style is simply fantastic. When playing, you're going to feel as if you're actually a part of it (especially considering how the game utilizes WiiMote), and not just someone who's watching from a television screen. So far, I've completed Skyward Sword about four times, and am currently up to my fifth run. Maybe sixth. Regardless of how much I play, however, this game never seems to get boring.

I would have to go with Dragon Quest 8. Its like the traditional RPG equivalent of Xenoblade. Smaller world, random encounters, and turn based combat, but the world is as beautiful, and you zigzag across it in such a spectacular way. You're never gonna truly get lost, but you can explore most of it when you get the ship, but never going to progress. After the disc one boss, it just opens up into one of the most spectacular games.