9. Puyo Puyo Tetris
It would be damn-near impossible for me to pick what I think is the greatest video game of all time, because I think that lists that seek to rank video games objectively have to ignore that video games exist for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes they tell a story, sometimes they make political statements, sometimes they're purposefully extremely challenging, and sometimes they're just fun to play (to name but a few examples).
Having said that, though, I think one could make a solid case for Tetris being the greatest video game ever made. Literally everyone has played it. It's extremely intuitive, having a very low learning curve. It does still, however, have the power to be challenging enough such that great players can spend lifetimes mastering it.
The game of Puyo Puyo is spiritually similar enough to Tetris that it makes perfect sense to put them in a game together. And not just "together" in the sense that you can play either; you can literally play Puyo Puyo on screen next to an opponent who is playing Tetris, and somehow this makes perfect sense.
There's even a Swap mode where players must switch between playing a Tetris board and a Puyo Puyo board about every 45 seconds (I think -- it's been a while!). This leads to some seriously fun 4-player gameplay.
Believe it or not, there's even a story mode!
Being able to choose from a cast of characters before you dive into gameplay is so wonderful. Each has their own personality and various catchphrases that they yell as you perform different drops or score tetrises and puyos.
I personally relate very much to Klug, a loudmouth nerd who doesn't like loud noises but still shouts a lot during gameplay.
It's pretty cool to remember that Tetris began with one dude working on a teletype machine behind the Iron Curtain in the Soviet Union and see all the wonderful forms it's taken since. And Puyo Puyo Tetris may just be the finest incarnation it's ever had. (Prior to its release, I'd have said that was Tetris DS.)
This is a must-own for literally anyone who plays video games!
