I decided, as it’s my 40th Birthday coming up on the 18th August, to do a complete list of video games that meant the most.

Born in 1980, I have been a gamer through the many console generations, starting with an Atari VCS back in the mid 80’s.

The games listed below are a compilation of the many games I have played across many consoles and computers.

KEYSTONE KAPERS (Atari VCS)

Keystone Kapers is one of my earliest memories of gaming, lots of fun to be had chasing Harry Hooligan and dodging the many onstacles along the way.

BUBBLE BOBBLE (Arcade/Amiga)

The one thing that first struck me in the arcades about Bubble Bobble is that unforgettable music.

Played this a lot in Greece, particularly Super Bubble Bobble, such a fun game that always makes me come back, even in 2020.

HEAD OVER HEELS (ZX Spectrum +2)

One of my favourite Speccy games, Head Over Heels was a brilliant action -adventure game. The first game I ever saw in Isometric view, with striking graphics too.

PITFALL II: Lost Caverns (Atari VCS)

Activision released some greats on Atari, and Pitfall II was no exception, I loved the depth of gameplay with it’s underground areas.

And not forgetting those deadly cobras, scorpions, crocodiles and quicksand, which were always a challenge.

WONDERBOY IN MONSTERLAND (Arcade/Sega Master System)

This Sega game is in my opinion one of the most underrated games around, and certainly one of my favourites of all time.

I never got to play this in the arcades back in the UK, but thankfully in Corfu, this became a favourite of mine.

The role playing elements are great, and the ability to upgrade your character as you navigate across Monsterland.

OUT RUN (Sega Master System)

I am sure Out Run would be on many peoples list from my generation, Sega’s famous racer was a huge hit.

This was the first ever Master System game I owned, and boy did I play this a lot!

IK+ (Amiga)

IK+ is a brilliant karate fighter, though I was late to the game with the Amiga version, this was a brilliant version of the game.

SENSIBLE WORLD OF SOCCER (Amiga)

Famously known simply as SWOS, this is my favourite Amiga game, the 20 season career mode with transfers was a breakthrough.

I preferred the later 96/97 update, later releases featured player attributes which made it easier to purchase players like pacy wingers.

COLUMNS (Sega Game Gear)

Columns is a game I had with my Sega Game Gear which was bought for me in Boots. I mistakenly handed the Game Gear to my mum who got more addicted to this game than I did.

Let me tell you, it was a battle getting my Game Gear back! Mum’s up their laughing at this story I am sure.

CASTLE OF ILLUSION (Sega Game Gear)

One of the many fabulous disney platformers on a Sega console back in the early 90’s. Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion was the first platformer to have me hooked on my Game Gear.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (Sega Mega Drive)

I first played Sonic on my cousins Mega Drive, from that moment on, I needed this console and game. A truly great game that took Sega to a whole new level, and Sonic 2 built on that great success too.

DESERT STRIKE (Sega Mega Drive/Amiga)

I had this first on Sega’s console, and then I got it on Amiga. In my opinion, the Amiga version was betterm with beefier explosions, it looked better.

ROAD RASH (Sega Mega Drive)

Another Mega Drive classic from Electronic Arts, Road Rash was highly addictive, with it’s wide range of racing opponents and the satisfaction of smashing your opponents off their bikes.

SUPER MARIO LAND 2 (Game Boy)

I was never a fan of the first Mario Land game, but when the sequel came out, this truly was the greatest platformer on Game Boy for me.

TETRIS (Game Boy)

To this day, I haven’t played a better puzzle game anywhere, Tetris was perfect for Game Boy.

Coupled with it’s trademark soundtrack, I still play this via Game Boy emulator on my RG350.

FATAL FURY (Sega Mega Drive)

This SNK classic was obviously much better on Neo Geo, however as I didn’t have access to thousands of pounds, the Sega equivalent would do.

In all honesty, I was tired of waiting for Street Fighter 2, so this was the next best fix at the time, but all the same a game I enjoyed immensly.

SUPER MARIO ALL STARS (Super Nintendo)

I never had a NES, so this compilation for the Snes was my introduction to a great selection of Mario games.

It also included The Lost Levels too, which was an added bonus.

STARWING (Super Nintendo)

I first played Starwing at my local Comet, it was during the competition weekend, those carts have become highly collectible now.

It felt like a real game changer playing Fox’s first adventure, the Super FX chip took SNES to a whole new level.

THE CHAOS ENGINE (Amiga)

A fabulous top-down shooter that is one of the all-time greats for Amiga. Bitmap brothers ambitious game looked and played beautifully, and was a very good reason to own an Amiga in the 90’s.

PROJECT-X (Amiga)

I often feel this is one of the most overlooked Amiga games, Team17’s shoot em’ up is magnificent, from that pumping techno soundtrack to the trademark Team 17 polished visuals and gameplay.

KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND (Arcade)

Capcom had a knack of making some phenomenal beat ’em ups, and this is one of my favourites, I loved how as you progress your XP the character gets stronger.

One of my great arcade memories, it also came out on SNES but was never available on PAL version.

STREETS OF RAGE II (Sega Mega Drive)

I bought this on release day, easily one of the all-time greats for Mega Drive. At a time when SNES owners were bragging about SF2, this gave Sega fans a serious reason to brag.

LOTUS 2 (Amiga)

With Lotus 2, I distinctly remember the brilliant multiplayer fun with my mates. Some brilliant race stages, and hitting those turbo boosts was always fun.

ZELDA: A LINK TO THE PAST (Super Nintendo)

This is my favourite SNES game, the first RPG game I truly couldn’t put down. There is so much story and depth to this game with the different worlds and collecting the pendants.

Truly this is Nintendo at it’s very best!

STREET FIGHTER II (Super Nintendo)

I did love the arcade version, but it was the SNES versions of World Warrior and Turbo that truly made me love Street Fighter.

Sorry Sega fans, but I will always say the Snes was far superior, I even swapped my Amiga 500 for a Snes at computer club just so I could play this game. Though I did upgrade and get an Amiga 1200 not long after.

FINAL FIGHT (Super Nintendo/Arcade)

Another memorable Capcom beat ’em up, I played this mostly on Snes and Arcade. I preferred the Arcade of course, frustratingly the Snes version only had 2 characters, Haggar and Cody, and then they released Final Fight Guy which dropped Cody, Bizarre!!

FLASHBACK (Amiga)

Delphine Software’s platform adventure game, Flashback had character animations that were rarely seen at the time. With it’s well crafted gameplay, this was a truly memorable gaming moment for me.

RIDGE RACER (Arcade)

Walking into an arcade in New Brighton, I remember setting my eyes on Namco’s racer and thinking, WOW. Ridge Racer was sucha giant leap forward from all other racers I had played.

I had the privelige of playing the original again more recently at Arcade Club in Bury, and it’s still fantastic.

COMMAND AND CONQUER (PlayStation)

The only strategy game I had got into before this was Sim City, but I loved the first C&C game for PlayStation.

The challenge of building your base and army, collecting Tiberium to build your cash and then build an army to destroy your enemy whether it was GDI or NOD.

The PlayStation game came with a Nod and GDI disc to choose your side.

GRAN TURISMO (PlayStation)

Gran Turismo was a real triumph, a racer that redefined racing games in the home. The in-depth career mode, getting licenses, trading and tuning cars to win race events.

It also featured so many vehicle types that you needed for certain events, I am so happy that GT7 is going abck to these roots on PS5 after the abysmal GT:Sport.

FINAL FANTASY VII (PlayStation)

It’s safe to say, I played Final Fantasy VII more than any other game, as a teenager I would spend all night playing this. Hooked on the story and I couldn’t put it down.

One of the many classics that thrust Sony as the new kings of video gaming, if only Nintendo didn’t choose cartridge media for N64, this game could have been a Nintendo exclusive!

SUPER MARIO 64 (Nintendo 64)

At the time this game came out, I was a pretty smitten PlayStation gamer, but walking into my local Game store and seeing the 3D graphics capability of the N64, I had to have one.

Nintendo brought Mario from 2D to 3D in style, this was yet another great triumph from the japanese giants.

MARIO KART 64 (Nintendo 64)

The follow up to the Snes Super Mario Kart was yet another great move into true 3D. The multiplayer battle modes alone were enough to play this game over and over again.

CRAZY TAXI (Sega Dreamcast)

Strolling into my local Dixons in Wrexham, I saw the Dreamcast on launch day, and I had to buy it. The ill-fated system was one of the greatest consoles to fail. But let’s blame the stupid Saturn for those failings!

Crazy Taxi was a new original game from Sega, and one of my all-time favourites. Simple and easy pick up arcade fun, that brilliant soundtrack featuring The Offspring, simply brilliant.

GRAND THEFT AUTO III (PlayStation 2)

With my failed Dreamcast now a memory, I switched oevr to PS2 like many others. And though it was Gran Turismo 3 that made me buy one, it was Grand Theft Auto III that truly blew me away.

It was the series first open-world game, a game so vast like we had never seen before, I almost beat me record set by FF7 playing this, almost!

MASS EFFECT 2 (Xbox 360)

My first entry from Xbox here, I know I missed out Halo. Mass Effect 2 was the game in the series that truly had me hooked.

The brilliant campaigns, story and scanning planets for materials to upgrade weapons, this was my kind of game, and I spent many hours playing this brilliant game.

It’s a shame EA have never really followed it up with anything good since.

PERSONA 4: GOLDEN (PlayStation Vita)

The earlier Atlus games in this series passed me by, but curiosity was too much when I read the reviews of Persona 4.

Probably the best RPG since Final Fantasy VII for me, playing this game on my vita with headphones was incredible.

At the time I was living near Dubai working 6 day weeks, so it was sometimes welcome to zone out with this great classic.

STARDEW VALLEY (Nintendo Switch)

When Eric Barone developed Stardew Valley, it was done with a clear love note to the great RPG’s on Snes.

With such story depth, and using particular gifts that build relationships between villagers, there is so much to unlock in Stardew Valley as well as rebuilding your grandfathers run-down farm.

FIFA (Erm, every console)

Ok, I put this one last, I know FIFA is a money spinning franchise with not much effort put into new career mode features. But truth is, I have bought this game every year since the mid-90s.

I have spent a lot of hours building teams and growing players and I always go back to it, even though I wish someone else would make a footie game that had great playability and a fantastic and realistic career mode.

Remember the days when you could upgrade stadiums on older footie games? Sadly those days are gone and with the money in football, surely EA Sports are restricted to what they can and cannot do.

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