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! 

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.

Summer Literary Game Reviews: Part Two

 This summer I was fortunate to be able to play several new games coming to Steam. My first few game reviews from this series were posted back in July, and you can read the reviews here. Thank you to Keymailer for sending me review copies of the following games.

Super Farming Boy

Have you ever said to yourself, "I really want a game that combines the gameplay of Stardew Valley with the art style and humor of Cuphead"? Wait, you have said that? Well then, Super Farming Boy is definitely the game for you!

I'll openly admit that I had no idea what to think about this game going into it. I could see that it was going to be a unique take on the farming game genre that has now embedded itself forever in gaming culture, but I had no idea just how unique it would be. I can honestly tell you now that Super Farming Boy is one of the most unusual farming games I have ever played -- and that's definitely not a bad thing. The farming genre has admittedly grown a bit stale, with hundreds of Stardew Valley imitators popping up on Steam constantly. Super Farming Boy is NOT a Stardew Valley imitator by any stretch. Instead, it's one of the few games I've played recently that actually goes its own way and defies the expectations that modern day gamers might want to place on it. Honestly, I can't really think of any currently existing labels that actually fully fit this game. Even Steam seems to be having trouble defining Super Farming Boy -- the labels currently showing on its page are "farming sim," "arcade," and "match three." If I hadn't already played the game I would, frankly, be confused by those labels, and rightly so. Probably the most similar game I can think of would be Plants Vs. Zombies, but even that's a bit of a stretch. Basically all I can say is that you should play Super Farming Boy if the idea of crop-based-combat interests you.

Story:

There isn't a lot of story to Super Farming Boy, but the story that does exist is harrowing. The game opens abruptly with so much action on the screen you might get overwhelmed and quit before you even start (genuinely: if you are neurodivergent and get easily overstimulated by lots of bright, moving colors, activity, and sounds, be aware that those are the things that most define the aesthetics of Super Farming Boy). Shortly after you are dropped (or... spat out by your living, gelatinous home) into this world, an absolutely terrifying menace that personifies the evils of capitalism shows up, takes everything you own, and kidnaps all of your friends (including your mom!?). His name is "KORPO™®©" and he makes Tom Nook look like the nicest guy you've ever met. From here on, the story consists of working for the man and trying to buy your friends back from him. 

TLDR:

Overall, I recommend this game to anyone who loves farming games but has become bored with the banality of recent farming game offerings. It's also a perfect game for those who love unusual indies, interesting combat styles, or Cuphead-style cartoon art. If you are looking for cozy games, however, I would warn that while Super Farming Boy could be described as cozy in a roundabout way, its bright colors and frantic time schedule could be off-putting to someone who is trying to wind down and relax. 

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this product from https://www.keymailer.co

Gecko Gods

I was given a chance to play the demo for upcoming game Gecko Gods, and I'm very glad to have done so! At first glance, Gecko Gods looks like a basic platformer -- you play as a gecko, which is a really cool concept, but really, how different is that from games like Yooka-Laylee? It turns out Gecko Gods is very different from Yooka-Laylee and its anthropomorphized brethren, a fact that I might not have realized if I hadn't played the demo. For one, the gecko protagonist in Gecko Gods is a fairly realistic representation of a real-life animal, and I found it fun to run up the walls like a real lizard! But more importantly, the gameplay may be described as platforming, but it is really less like Crash Bandicoot or Spyro, where the focus is on traversing difficult paths and looking for collectibles, and more similar to The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, with a focus on exploration, puzzle-solving, and story. Alongside Wind Waker and the earlier handheld Zelda games, I would say that Gecko Gods is also similar in feel to Shadow of the Colossus, though a tad more colorful. As a huge fan of the Legend of Zelda series and other Zelda-like games, I am excitedly anticipating the release of Gecko Gods in late 2025. 

Review: The Necromancer's Tale

 The Necromancer's Tale is a new RPG created by Psychic Software that came out on Steam in July 2025. According to the developer, 

‘The Necromancer’s Tale’ is a narrative-driven top down story-rich gothic RPG with an isometric viewpoint. Master the rituals of an ancient spellbook. Raise an undead army to march against your enemies. Commune with the realm of the dead & struggle with your descent into madness. Progress through secrecy, diplomacy, blackmail, coercion & seduction until ready to reveal yourself. 

 

When you begin the game you spend a fair amount of time creating your character -- not in a visual character creator, but in a story book where you answer multiple choice questions to create a backstory for your protagonist. I was immediately impressed by the complexity of the backstories you can create for your character; most RPGs with strong story elements give you a paragraph or two of backstory for each character option, but this game allows you to create several pages worth of story about your protagonist. 

After you finish creating your character, the game dives into a battle in a top-down, third person viewpoint reminiscent of ARPGs like the Diablo and Torchlight franchises. The gameplay style actually makes me feel most nostalgic for the classic Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale games of the late 90s and early 2000s. In these older Dungeons and Dragons computer games, roleplaying a character you create was an important feature (just like in the tabletop games they were created to emulate). The Necromancer's Tale uses similar story roleplaying elements and even allows you to use your own artwork for your character, if you have it. The main difference I noticed between The Necromancer's Tale and Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale is that The Necromancer's Tale is easier to play solo than the older games. BG/Icewind Dale strongly recommended a multiplayer experience (again, like the original tabletop Dungeons and Dragons), which is how I played them -- over a LAN connection -- back in the day. The Necromancer's Tale is much better for the hermit I have become in my old age. 

I have only played The Necromancer's Tale up to chapter three, so I can't speak on the entire game yet, but so far the story and mystery-solving aspects of the game far outweigh any battle elements that you might expect from an RPG. For me, that doesn't slow the game too much as I enjoy stories more than fighting, but many RPG players who like a lot of combat in their games may be turned off by this. My biggest difficulty with the game is that I am playing it on Steam Deck, but it's very clearly created to be played with a mouse and keyboard. Steam says that the game is verified on Steam Deck, but I have had a lot of frustrations with the controls. Fortunately the developers have been actively patching the game since its release and I suspect that controller support will improve in upcoming patches.

The TLDR:

I recommend this game to anyone who loves the roleplaying aspects of roleplaying games. It makes a great personal-time activity for someone who plays DnD (or other TTRPGs) with a gaming group, but who then wants even more roleplaying when they get home. Do you love talking to NPCs in Dragon Age: Origins? If yes, you'll love The Necromancer's Tale. But if your idea of playing an RPG revolves more around combat, like in the Diablo series, this may not be the game for you. 

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this product from https://www.keymailer.co

A response to NPR article, "A high school student's mural angers parents[. . .]"

 Today I read an article published by NPR and written on October 20, 2022 by Vanessa Romo titled, "A high school student's mural angers parents over what they say are hidden messages." I'm a little late to the party, as this article was written almost three years ago, but I want to respond to the event discussed in the article. Click here to read the NPR article before you read my response. 

First, I want to thank NPR for their sensitive and empathetic reporting on this topic. The following is a brief summary of the situation as reported by NPR:

School district officials and a high school student in Michigan have drawn the ire of parents who allege that a painted mural contains LGBTQ propaganda, a depiction of Satan and a message of witchcraft.

The painting covers a wall inside a teen health center at Grant Middle School in Grant, Mich., and was created by a local high school sophomore who won a competition.

 When I look at this mural, I see standard images that would be expected in a children's health center: anthropomorphized animals dressed as nurses administering care, smiling kids, and a few images from popular culture, like Hatsune Miku and Hello Kitty. This is a cheerful mural and it looks a lot like something I may have submitted to a contest when I was a young teen. 

Now, I'm not even going to address the homophobic comments from some of the "parents" (or possibly community members who insert themselves into discussions centered around kids -- this happens far too frequently). If you know me you know that I do not tolerate hate speech and will not give a platform to people who use hate speech. I applaud the Grant Middle School administrators for doing the right thing by also disregarding the hate speech presented to them. The NPR article reports:

"At Grant Public Schools, we are committed to promoting civility, respect, understanding and inclusion. We do not condone, and we will not tolerate discrimination, harassment or bullying whether in word, deed or on social media," a district statement read.

 What I do want to address is the following assertion: "Throughout much of the meeting, incensed parents claimed the artist intentionally subverted the mural's "Stay Healthy" theme to promote anti-Christian messages." This claim refers specifically to one small doodle to the right of the brown nurse bunny, which adults claimed was a depiction of Satan. Many of my regular readers may already know by this point where I'm going with this blog post. The image in question, when viewed by a regular gamer or by anyone who is even half-way familiar with Japanese mythology, is clearly an Oni mask. The teen who drew the picture was likely referencing Fortnite, a game that is extremely popular with younger audiences. In Fortnite, "Oni Masks are a type of item and a gameplay mechanic [. . . that] were introduced in Chapter 6: Season 1." (Source: Fortnite Wiki) In fact, the artist even said something to this effect when she addressed her adult bullies: 

The student explained that the so-called Satan mask is a character from a video game and that the painted hand is a Latino symbol of protection. She eventually left the meeting in tears.

 While the artist may have simply been referencing Fortnite or another game that evokes Oni imagery, I feel that the accusations made in the meeting were also insulting towards Japanese culture as a whole. Note that I am not Japanese. I am just a humble scholar who studies literature and folklore from a variety of cultures. While I can't speak for Japanese people, I can defend non-European cultures against blatant Christianity-oriented bigotry. 

Sessen Doji Offering His Life to an Ogre (Japanese Oni), hanging scroll, color on paper, c. 1764. Painting by Soga Shōhaku (1730–1781).

The Oni is a common image in Japanese mythology that dates back to at least the Heian period (794–1185). (source: Wikipedia). While oni are frightening creatures, often depicted as evil, it would be unfair to the culture to compare them to Satan, which is a Christian construct. Translators in the past have often translated the term "oni" to the English word "demon," but modern best practices would tell us that this is a poor translation practice, as you cannot equivocate Japanese Buddhist and Shinto cultures with western Christianity. Michael Dylan Foster writes in his work The Book of Yokai, "[R]eligion in Japan is notoriously complex; the very idea of "religion" as such is really a modern "invention." (Foster 20) This means that a person who was raised in the Christian (or any other monotheistic) religion may have difficulty understanding concepts from Japanese religion and folklore. 

Parents and other ignorant adults have been disparaging innocent pop culture like this for years. Probably since the beginning of human history. I have memories from the 1990s of my child-self having to defend video games against overly critical adults who were offended even by depictions of angels... because angels were "new age." (Wait, aren't angels from the bible? I can't make these arguments make sense.) See "satanic panic" for more on parents going wild in the '90s. 

How can we, as a society, quell the fears and bigotry of the average parent and citizen? One idea I have is that schools could, or perhaps should, bring in experts to speak to parents and explain concepts that may be new or foreign to them. The Michigan school discussed in this post could have brought in an (adult) expert on video games, pop culture, or folklore to explain concepts like oni, or other mythological imagery used in the mural. I believe that education is the best way to combat ignorance, and a calm, patient talk from a credible expert could do wonders to help people understand things with which they are unfamiliar. I am not the only person in the world using my degrees to study and write about popular culture. Colleges and universities the world over have begun to introduce programs about video games, film studies, and the like. If you are a school administrator and you would like to hire me to speak to your parents, faculty, or staff, feel free to contact me at the email address provided here. I am available for online meetings and local (North Georgia area) short speaking engagements.

Works Consulted and Suggested Further Reading:

Foster, Michael Dylan. The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. University of California Press, 2015. 

Nishimoto, Keisuke. Strange Tales from Japan: 99 Chilling Stories of Yokai, Ghosts, Demons and the Supernatural. Translated by William Scott Wilson, Tuttle Publishing, 2021.