BlueKunai
1996
The first game I ever played. Clunky and under-developed in areas but a certified classic for a reason.
A sequel done right. Building off the foundation of the original while controlling better and streamlining in all the right ways.
2005
General gameplay is pretty rough around the edges for DoubleFine's first whack at a the action platformers of the 2000s with a little mix of adventure game design that Tim Schafer is known for. It's well and truly made up for with its memorable cast of characters, inventive worlds, striking visual design and top notch writing.
Kingdom Hearts peaked here. The combat has an unmatched flow and overlooked depth to it that every subsequent entry has tried and failed to emulate, and the story had a definitive end to it and was leagues more digestible than the tangled mess the series devolved into after Nomura's brain fell out somewhere around 2009.
2010
I played NieR for the first time in late 2014 after hearing buzz about it's hidden gem status. The gameplay was functional but stiff, it ran like shit and visually it felt more at home on the original Xbox. In spite of all that, it was one of the most gripping games I played in the 2010s. The story and characters became fast favourites of mine, the bizzare changes in gameplay elements kept me interested on what was going to happen next, and the OST to this day is at the top of my list.
The criminally overlooked sequel to Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. While I prefer the stages and story of the original, this one takes the gameplay of the first and polishes it to a mirror sheen. The difficulty is ramped right up but balanced out with the new Quick-save system that alleviates Oddysee's frustrating checkpoint-based saves. The selection of hazards and creatures is greatly expanded and provides all matter of creative and challenging gauntlets. The Magog on the March segments are also the height of the comedy in this series.
TWEWY is the quintessential DS RPG that is just incapable of being replicated on other platforms from both a presentation and gameplay perspective. The Pin-based combat system allows for a massive amount of customization, the story and characters are leagues above anything else Tetsuya Nomura's name has been attached to and the visual design and soundtrack embrace the mid-late 2000s in such a charming way.
Crash 2 but bigger, basically. The Time Trials, power-ups and massively improved boss fights are a welcome addition to the series, let down only by the gimmicky vehicle levels.
Perfectly servicable licensed platformer with cute visuals and varied level design. Sadly peaks in the first half in regards to level design and creative secrets.
2002
A mildly enjoyable platformer with a striking visual design and surprisingly banging soundtrack for something so obscure. Almost insultingly short though.
A servicable albiet clunky collectathon platformer with an impressive amount of content and really captures the Looney Tunes energy.
1998
Essentially a prototype of what would become the much beloved Toy Story 2 licensed game. While it doesn't have the level of polish, interesting level design or charm of Toy Story 2 it's still worth checking out if you were a fan of TS2. The dynamic seed-based puzzle solving and platforming are good enough for it to not be entirely overlooked.
1999
CTR doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves for how satisfying the boost system is to learn and master. The rich mechanics and track designs elevate it far above all the other Mario Kart clones of the time even comparing it to the 2019 remake.
2000
Playing with friends really is the only way to get the most out of this game. The minigames are fantastic where they work but utterly frustrating where they don't, and the story mode is an exercise in misery if you plan on collecting everything due to some crippling handicaps and the often stupidly over-buffed AI.
Another in the myriad of license platformers I played in the early 2000s, but one of the handful I've still gone out of my way to play multiple times. Nothing groundbreaking, but pretty enjoyable and with plenty of laughs not just lifted straight from the movie.