New Year's Resolution: Video Game Canon

In 2026, the Video Games as Literature blog will be undertaking an enormous feat: we plan to play and discuss the top 100 games in the Video Game Canon! 

What is the Video Game Canon? In their own words, "The Video Game Canon is a statistical meta-analysis of 80 Best Video Games of All Time lists that were published between 1985 and 2025." In other words, it's a list of the most important games of all time (updated regularly) as chosen by a math equation created by librarian John Scalzo. For more information see "What is the Video Game Canon?"

Admittedly, it will be difficult for one human (me) and two furry assistants to play 100 games in only a year's time. Fortunately, I have already played and beaten 44 of the 100 games on the list, many of which I've blogged about in the past. I've created a color-coded document where I'm keeping track of which games I've beaten (44), which games I've started but never finished (33), and which games I've never played before (23). I'll show you this document in an upcoming video. In terms of games you can't strictly "beat" like Tetris and Street Fighter II, I'm using my personal judgement to decide if I've played enough hours in those games to count. I feel I can safely say that I know Tetris quite well -- I've played many iterations over the years and while I'm not a Tetris Grand Master, I'm pretty okay. Street Fighter II is less in my wheelhouse -- I'll never beat a dedicated fighting game aficionado, but I've played enough to know a few tricks and can at least best the noobs. I'm counting both of these as "beat" for the purposes of this project.

Ultimately, I will do my best to play as many of these video games as possible in 2026, but this project may continue into the next year or two. 

Below is the list of 100 games, copy and pasted from the Video Game Canon website:

 

1. Tetris (1988)

2. Resident Evil 4 (2005)

3. The Last of Us (2013)

4. Half-Life 2 (2004)

5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)

6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)

7. Hades (2020)

8. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

9. Super Mario 64 (1996)

10. Mass Effect 2 (2010)

11. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1992)

12. BioShock (2007)

13. Grand Theft Auto V (2013)

14. Super Metroid (1994)

15. Shadow of the Colossus (2005)

16. God of War (2018)

17. Street Fighter II (1991)

18. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)

19. Final Fantasy VII (1997)

20. World of Warcraft (2004)

21. Red Dead Redemption (2010)

22. Doom (1993)

23. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)

24. Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)

25. GoldenEye 007 (1997)

26. Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)

27. Chrono Trigger (1995)

28. Super Mario World (1991)

29. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

30. Bloodborne (2015)

31. Metal Gear Solid (1998)

32. Portal (2007)

33. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)

34. Journey (2012)

35. Portal 2 (2011)

36. Minecraft (2009)

37. Dark Souls (2011)

38. Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990)

39. Metroid Prime (2002)

40. StarCraft (1998)

41. Super Mario Kart (1992)

42. Deus Ex (2000)

43. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)

44. Final Fantasy VI / Final Fantasy III [US] (1994)

45. Disco Elysium (2019)

46. The Last of Us Part II (2020)

47. Rock Band (Series – 2007)

48. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (Series – 1999)

49. Diablo II (2000)

50. Half-Life (1998)

51. Counter-Strike (1999)

52. Silent Hill 2 (2001)

53. Super Mario Bros. (1985)

54. Pokemon Blue/Red/Yellow (1998) / Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen (2004)

55. Inside (2016)

56. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)

57. Tomb Raider (1996) / Tomb Raider Anniversary (2007)

58. Ico (2001)

59. Grand Theft Auto III (2001)

60. Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

61. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)

62. Fallout 3 (2008)

63. Donkey Kong (1981)

64. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)

65. Super Mario Odyssey (2017)

66. Celeste (2018)

67. Stardew Valley (2016)

68. Undertale (2015)

69. Ms. Pac-Man (1981)

70. Batman: Arkham City (2011)

71. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010)

72. EarthBound (1995)

73. System Shock 2 (1999)

74. Overwatch (2016)

75. Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)

76. SimCity (1989)

77. Pac-Man (1980)

78. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2003)

79. Grim Fandango (1998)

80. SimCity 2000 (1994)

81. Mega Man 2 (1989)

82. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (1995)

83. Resident Evil (1996) / Resident Evil (2002)

84. League of Legends (2009)

85. The Sims (2000)

86. The Legend of Zelda (1987)

87. Space Invaders (1978)

88. Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)

89. Okami (2006)

90. Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)

91. Braid (2008)

92. The Walking Dead (2012)

93. The Secret of Monkey Island (1990)

94. Outer Wilds (2019)

95. Lemmings (1991)

96. Final Fantasy Tactics (1998)

97. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003)

98. Civilization IV (2005)

99. NBA Jam (Series – 1993)

100. Galaga (1981)

 

Here is the part where I need your help: while I do already own most of the games on the list, I'm going to need to buy quite a few of them (mainly newer games that can't be emulated). My personal funds are limited. If you are a fan of my work and want to hear my opinions on the most important video games of all time, I would greatly appreciate it if you could pitch in by buying a game or gift card from my Amazon Wishlist, or tipping me on Ko-Fi. You can also join me on Patreon where you will receive access to the Video Games as Literature Discord (which includes discussion of the Video Game Canon as well as the Literary Game Club, where we discuss a different literary game each month), a collection of convention panels, cosplay photos, and more! 

This page will be used as a launch point for the rest of the year and I will edit it as I create content about the Video Game Canon, linking to it on this page. So feel free to bookmark this page and check back if you want to keep up with my progress playing The Video Game Canon! 

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Review: Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International

 For the last couple of weeks I have had the joy of rediscovering the SaGa series thanks to Square Enix, Red Art Games, and Keymailer, from whom I received a free review copy of Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered for PlayStation 4. 

The following is a description of the game by its creators:

Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International is a remastered version of Square Enix' classic JRPG released on PS2 in 2005 and a full remake of the original Romancing SaGa released on Super Famicom in Japan back in 1991. In addition to numerous new features and quality of life improvements, Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered International also adds French, German, Italian and Spanish localization as well as the possibility to either listen to the original Japanese or English voices for the first time ever!

While many of you probably know that I am a huge fan of JRPGs, you are likely not aware of the hit-and-miss relationship I've had with the SaGa series over the years -- though you may be able to guess, since it seems like much of America has had a similar relationship with the series. The first SaGa game I ever played was Unlimited Saga, which turned out to be very unpopular in the west. Apparently my brain follows the trends of my fellow Americans as I, too, hated Unlimited Saga. For this reason I didn't pick up any of the numerous other games in the series until years later, when I decided that I had been too hard on the SaGa series and should give some of the other games a try. Overall, I'm glad I opened my mind and played Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered. It's not without flaws, however, so keep reading to decide if you want to try it out, too.

The most important thing to know about Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song and all of the other games in the SaGa series is that, by definition, the games are not at all linear. Non-linear gameplay is the primary feature of the series and the reason Square (Enix) created the SaGa games -- they wanted something very different from Final Fantasy. If you're a longtime fan of Square Enix like I am, you may realize that they have dedicated a lot of time to exploring non-linear storytelling in their games over the years. Other games and series that Square Enix created with non-linear gameplay and story include Live a Live and Octopath Traveler, along with the rest of the SaGa series. All of these games share similar beginnings, in which you choose a character from a list and experience their story first, but eventually get to the stories of all the other characters. For me, the non-linear storytelling has always been the biggest draw to the SaGa series -- I love the idea of choosing how to begin my story and being able to customize my experience. It's the main aspect of video games that can distinguish them from books and movies. (This article copyright Kirsten Rodning; copying of text is prohibited.)

At the beginning of the game you choose which character you wish to play as first, though you will get a chance to experience all of the characters by the end of the game. The first character I chose was Claudia, of course, because she lives in the forest and has a pretty green outfit. Claudia never really has an inciting incident -- unless you count some guy showing up in the forest and telling her that she can come visit him, if she wants. Really, that's the extent of the conversation. Claudia then goes to her guardian and tells her about the man, and her guardian tells her she should leave the forest and go... somewhere. Anywhere she wants. It sounds to me like Claudia's guardian just wants some personal space. But this ends up being an apt description of what happens in the game because you, the player, can literally choose any destination for Claudia. There are no fences, no guardrails -- once you leave the forest, your only goal is to simply go somewhere and start talking to NPCs. Eventually some of the NPCs will give you quests, and then you have a little more idea of what you should do... maybe. At this point, you will probably want to look up a guide, but due to the non-linear nature of Romancing SaGa, trying to look at a guide or walkthrough would be a bad idea. You just have to trust the process and roam around,  maybe completing small quests here and there, until you are able to get a feel for the build-your-own experience nature of the game. 

Unfortunately the actual story of Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song is extremely lacking. It lacks... well, a story. While there is full voice acting for the dialogue (now in more languages than ever!), said dialogue is very basic and stilted. I can't place blame for this as I don't know whether it's an issue with the translation or the original writing. I played in English, so it's possible that other languages have more natural sounding dialogue. I will credit the voice actors, however, who did a good job with what they were given. But Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song seems to be more focused on building a unique character than on telling any sort of story. This is okay in my book -- they never claimed to be writing the next great epic tale. Just be aware going in that Romancing SaGa is a game for people who like unique gameplay and character building, not for people looking for a strong story. 

After playing as Claudia for a few hours, I decided to start anew with a different character just so I could see exactly how different the experience would be. This time I chose Barbara, a dancer. (It's possible I chose Barbara because she reminds me of Barbara Manatee.) Barbara is the most 2005 character design I have ever seen, with her boho tasseled belt and her low-rise flare jeans with embroidered flower details. She was an obvious pick. 

Barbara's story is even more vague than Claudia's. She arrives in a city driving a horse and wagon, and has no known aim. When you enter the tavern for the first time, Barbara is asked to dance and a brief cutscene plays. Once again, the story is quite minimal and the focus is more on building your character's stats. I did enjoy my experience with Barbara more than Claudia, however, because by the time I started Barbara's playthrough I was more familiar with how to play the game. It just takes time and patience to understand what you're supposed to be doing. 

In conclusion: my review is a little disjointed and non-linear because the game is disjointed and non-linear. Some people really, really love this game. If you enjoy building up your party, raising their stats, and teaching them skills, you will probably enjoy Romancing SaGa. If, like me, you usually play games with a strong story, then Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song may not hold your attention. For my part, I do plan to continue the game, probably with my Barbara playthrough. More importantly, I am now eager to play some of the newer games in the SaGa series to see how modern entries hold up. 

Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered International will release on December 9th, 2025 on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. Click here for purchase options.

Thank you to Red Art Games and Keymailer for sending me a review copy of Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered.

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