10) Kingdom Hearts

9) Skies of Arcadia

8) Golden Sun: The Lost Age

7) Final Fantasy IX

6) Kingdom Hearts II

5) Tales of the Abyss

4) Diablo II

3) Chrono Cross

2) Shadow Hearts: Covenant

1) Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2

For me, this list wasn't exceptionally difficult. Digital Devil Saga 2 remains one of the greatest gaming experiences I have ever had. The characters and their story were unforgettable, and by the end I truly marveled at the long journey they had taken. It was challenging, addictive, and had one of the greatest turn-based battle systems I've ever played. Shadow Hearts: Covenant is a close contender, containing some of the greatest character development and one of the most memorable, likeable, and well-defined protagonists I've ever had the pleasure of interacting with. The atmosphere of that game was outstanding, as were the combat and side-quests, and in the end, it takes a truly well-told story and an outstanding set of characters to make deciding the ultimate fate of the protagonist in the ending such an agonizing decision. Chrono Cross is a game that was both incredibly divisive and incredibly unique. It had a far-reaching story that expanded on the impact of its predecessor without leaning too much on it, beautiful graphics, incredible music, and is full of memorable moments that even years later are still crystal clear in my mind. The rest of the games on my list are just as important to me, as they shaped my gaming preferences over these past few years. In fact, all of these games are important to me for that reason: every single game I've played since these has been colored by the expectations these games created in me. If these games can get things so right, why shouldn't all of them?