There were many awesome games that were released this past decade and it was hard for me to choose which ones to put on this list. But I limited myself to games that came from Asia (more specifically Japan) and here is the list that I have come up with. Keep in mind that I have limited access to game consoles, excluding my Playstation 2. So most of the games on this list are from the PS2.

Final Fantasy X
FFX was the first role playing game that I have ever played and I’m glad it was. The story is interesting, the gameplay is fun and the graphics are gorgeous (especially the backgrounds). I think this was my first game with an actual plot. The games I’ve played before this were fighting and racing games.

Persona 4
Persona 4 combines rpg turned based gameplay with question answering dating sim. It’s a surprisingly good mix. The monster designs in the game are very unique. You fight enemies looking like tables, fat policemen, gundam robots, babies, tanks, DNA- the monsters are just plain strange but they are fun to look at.

Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus is simply an amazing game. The graphics are beautiful. The controls are easy to learn until you get into battle. Each battle you participate in is sort of like a puzzle. You have to find the weak spot of your opponent and then figure out how to get to it. Sounds easy enough right? Well, not unless your enemies are as tall as skyscrapers, flies all over the place or hides underwater. Then it gets complicated.

Metal Gear Solid 3
Metal Gear Solid is one of the few games I will actually play where the main character’s main weapon of choice is a gun. Maybe beacuse MGS isn’t exactly a shooter game but rather a sneak-up-on-your-opponent-and-knock-him-out kind of game. The jungle environment is a nice change from the usual army base/factory/ship environments. Also the idea of hunting your own food, i.e. stabbing snakes for rations, gave the game a realistic feel of survival in unknown territory.

Disgaea
This cute little game is actually very complex. Battle system is based on tactics where you control your characters’ movements and actions (think along the lines of Wizard’s Chess from Harry Potter). Basically you have to think before you act in this game. One wrong move and your character’s dead. Besides the game play, what makes this game enjoyable are the characters and dialogue. There are also a few parodies and references to other video games, anime and tv shows.

Kingdom Hearts 1
I love this game to bits and pieces. I don’t know what it is but thinking about Kingdom Hearts makes me feel giddy. Maybe because of the combination of Disney and Final Fantasy characters all in one game. Who knows? All I know is that the game is fun to play. What really won me over was the opening sequece with the song Simple and Clean playing throughout the scene. It was a moment to remember.

Mario Kart Wii
This game is insanely fun and addicting. Throwing bombs and turtle shells at your opponents and powering up from mushrooms is a great way to spend time with your friends. If you could only choose one game to play at a party, I would recommend Mario Kart Wii. You could play by yourself but once you unlock all the goodies, it gets boring. Playing on Wi-Fi or multiplayer is the best way to go.

And there’s my list. I based it off of the replay value of the games and how much of an impact they had on me when I first played them.

Do you agree with my list? Is there a game you would add? Let me know in the comments below. And if you have any video game suggestions based on my list, I would love to hear them.