The very first time I was a guest writer for Kotaku, I wrote about Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV, which was my favourite in the series. I’ve played ROTKIV too many times to count as its strategy gaming at its best. I did play many of the games after IV, but missed IX-XII. With the recent announcement of ROTKXIV, I picked up part XIII to see what had changed in the past decade and how the series had improved using the graphical capabilities of the PS4.

Whether it’s Link in Link’s Awakening, or Mario in Super Mario Bros. 2, Nintendo characters have strange dreams.

It’s been so long since a game has truly scared me that A Plague Tale: Innocence caught me completely off guard. Tense, terrifying, and meticulously crafted, Plague Tale excels at making you feel utterly helpless. Set in late 1349 in Aquitaine, France, the medieval setting is one of the game’s strengths, distinguishing itself with the backdrop of a dark, and tragic, history.

There are great sequels. And then there are all the crappy ones that seem like little more than cynical cash grabs. I’m going to focus on the former.

There are so many great, memorable levels in the Zelda series, from Majora Mask’s Stone Tower Temple to the Arbiter’s Grounds in Twilight Princess. But a level that’s always stayed with me from the series is the Palace of Winds from the Minish Cap. 

There was a time I was obsessed with American urban legends, especially the horror-themed ones. Learning more about their roots and origins, and how a story evolves over time to fit the social mores of its time was fascinating, if terrifying. Death Mark is kind of like a mix track of creepy Japanese urban legends packed into an interactive visual novel.

A mix of The Legend of Zelda and the works of Hayao Miyazaki, Crystalis was an incredible action RPG for the NES whose surprisingly complex story helped elevate it above many of its peers. It’s also one of the games I most fondly recall from my childhood, so re-playing it on the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection brought back lots of good memories.

Root Letter made me miss Japan.

The original Castlevania was one of the first NES games I played. So when the sequel came out for the NES in December 1988, I knew I had to play it. Simon’s Quest mixed up the first game’s action-platforming formula and gave players a Metroidvania-style game with RPG mechanics, revolving around a curse that Dracula has inflicted on Simon Belmont.

Dragon Quest XI is a very long game full of tragic twists and turns, so when my journey finally came to an end, it felt like a real accomplishment. The credits rolled. I’d defeated the main villain and brought peace to the land. I actually felt sad that my time with my companions was coming to an end because I liked them so much. There was a “The End” screen marking the quest’s conclusion. I was about to turn the console off when to my surprise, another line of text followed that read “to be continued...”

I still have a classic Nintendo DS that even plays the old GBA games, but I only take it out when I go on aeroplanes. Recently having finished Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations, I turned to Hotel Dusk: Room 215, knowing nothing about the game. I quickly became addicted to the mystery interactive novel developed by Cing in 2007, playing it for the majority of a heavily delayed plane trip. Hotel Dusk quickly became one of my favourite DS games with its rich story and intricate characters.

The world is in ruin, relationships are in tatters, and dreams are being crushed. How to help all these people? According to Elite Beat Agents, it’s through the power of love - er, music.

Talking about Final Fantasy has become complicated. A lot of my favourite Final Fantasy memories are from games in the series that are over a decade old.

How do you improve the seeming perfection of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? Breath of the Wild took everything that was great about the Zelda series and made it grander and more epic.

I bought the original PlayStation just so I could play Final Fantasy VII. Until then, all I’d had was a SNES and a Genesis, so I was in awe when the opening cutscene for FFVII began. The rest of the game was equally stunning, the visuals beyond anything I’d thought possible in a game. I couldn’t wait to find out more about this "SOLDIER" named Cloud who was fighting to save the planet while suffering from PTSD that had fractured his psyche.

Ghost Trick is what you’d get if the film Ghost met Groundhog Day. Directed by the creator of the Ace Attorney Franchise, Shu Takumi, Ghost Trick makes death a puzzle you can play over and over a la Edge of Tomorrow. The core mystery at the heart of the game is your main character’s death. Who killed the red-suited Sissel right before the beginning of the game and why?

Pikmin is a weird, but beautiful, 2001 game for the Nintendo GameCube where you play as a villainous alien intruder, Captain Olimar.

For the longest time, I’ve been telling people how special Link’s Awakening is. I had to explain that even though it was for the original GameBoy, it’s one of the best Zelda games Nintendo made. Similar to Super Mario Bros. 2, it was part of a dream world, but that was what made the game so distinctive.

Up until recently, I didn’t play many portable games. Even when I did, I liked to play them on a TV screen, which is why I used the Game Boy Player for my GameCube to play many of my favourite GBA games like Metroid Fusion, Astro Boy: Omega Factor, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, and Golden Sun.