6. Crash Bandicoot
Crash: Woah!Crash Bandicoot was probably
Mario 64s strongest challenger at the end of the 90s, but the games had their own personality and charm and it was clear that Crash was more than just an imitation. The rapid chase sequences were especially enjoyable, with the player controlling Crash as he ran towards the camera. The first game came out in 1996 and various sequels followed throughout the 00s, although there hasnt been much activity in the last 3 or 4 years, probably because Naughty Dog has been busy with the
Uncharted games and other developers didnt have the same degree of success with the franchise.
5. Okami
Onigiri Sensei: Well, what have we here? It looks like I have an adorablelupine visitor. One of the most beautiful games ever created,
Okami tells the story of Amaterasu (Ammy) the Sun Goddess. Inspired by Japanese mythology, its the watercolour cel-shaded graphical style that make it stand out from other titles. Its very solid gameplay is clearly inspired by
Zelda (although
Twilight Princess, in which Link can transform into a wolf, came afterwards) but theres a fun paintbrush mechanic which lets you draw your attacks onto the screen, making the Wii port of the game especially enjoyable to play. The games humour is also charming, which seems to be a continual theme amongst these animal franchises. Issun, your bug companion, is a particular highlight, and often provides comic relief for younger gamers during the long mythology sections. The game received critical acclaim, with a 9/10 on GameSpot, 9.1/10 on IGN, 92.65% on GameRankings, 9.2/10 on EGM and 10/10 on Eurogamer. However, poor sales mean that a sequel is unlikely, beyond the Okamiden title on the Nintendo DS. If you havent tried Okami out yet, I recommend picking it up a remastered version was released on the 30th October 2012 for the Playstation 3. Click Next to see numbers 4 and 3 in our countdown.