‘My Favourite Games’ is a regular MossRanking feature which gives us a chance to get to know our fellow Spelunkers a little better. In each edition, we put the spotlight on one member of the community, as they pick three of their most treasured video games ever and give their reasons why. Featured members are allowed to pick whatever games they want... except for Spelunky. In the eighth entry, we go to MrEikono, a regular member and occasional streamer. You can find him on Twitter and Twitch. Below are his three games... Crash Bandicoot: Warped (PlayStation 1, 1998) For some people, their first video game they can remember playing is special. That is the case with MrEikono and Crash Bandicoot: Warped, the third game in the popular platforming series. “When I was a small child, we used to have a PlayStation 2 and a motley assortment of games, one of which was this one,” MrEikono shares. “Though I never did beat it, it was my favourite PS2 game as a child and actually the first real game I think I’ve ever played.” The game sees the player control both Crash and Coco, as they travel through time. MrEikono never finished the game, but years later, Warped remains inspiring and meaningful to him. “Even though the furthest level I beat was level six, it all still made me think, ‘Wow! Actual video games are really cool!’, and in that regard was the very first thing that pushed me in the direction I hope to go in the future, working as an indie game developer,” he says. “I loved how the controller would rumble in my hands as certain things happened, and I generally just enjoyed the whole aesthetic of going through lots of different time periods, running away from dinosaurs and stuff.” And one of his favourite memories with Warped lies with the first boss -- a large beast named Tiny Tiger. “In particular, I remember sitting there trying to beat it for ages, accompanied by the undying encouragement (and sometimes attempts to help) from the rest of my family, before I finally won the fight. I’ll never forget that,” he recalls. Fantasy Online (Browser, 2010) MrEikono’s second game is this browser-based MMORPG. Heavily inspired by role-playing games of the Super Nintendo era, Fantasy Online took over MrEikono’s life until it shut down on New Year’s Day in 2014. “I loved it to death,” he says. “I would play it all the time. It had an incredible amount of depth, the pixel art was gorgeous, and it’s the Flash game I have the fondest memory of.” MrEikono did it all -- including being part of a guild and making friends during his time with the game. He even went through ‘rebirth’, a new game plus feature of sorts. “In Fantasy Online, reaching level 60 allowed you to rebirth, which put a skull next to your level number and made you start from the beginning again but with perks,” he explains. So it felt like the end of a significant era when Fantasy Online closed. “I had put a lot of time into the game, and then I found out that it was being shut down because [developer Pixelated Games] wasn’t willing to be in charge of the game anymore and didn’t want to put anyone else in charge of it. Absolutely ridiculous,” he says. “I kept playing up until its end, though.” Terraria (PC, 2011) MrEikono’s favourite game of all time is none other than Terraria. This 2D sandbox game blew MrEikono away. It was the first game he bought on Steam, and to this day he has spent 700 hours on it. "As soon as I saw it, I had to get it. I knew," he says. “The thing about Terraria that made me spend so much time with it was the amount of depth it had. Going from being a useless nublet to an overpowered monster took a long time, but you had a lot of things to do along the way. A lot.” MrEikono calls Terraria “timeless”, and does not hesitate to call the game -- at least for him -- perfection. It has an incredible amount of replayability, and for MrEikono, it will probably never get old. “When you finish everything by yourself, that’s the point where that world and that character pretty much transitions into creative mode, because you’re able to gather anything you need to build anything you want, no risk,” he says. “And you can go through everything with a friend or multiple friends, bringing more experiences you just can’t get alone! “I just about died of laughter when one friend helped me figure out -- after almost 600 solid hours -- that planting acorns make new trees! Such a stupid, trivial thing that I figured out so, so late. “Terraria is a game that, to me, really can be played forever. Terraria has just got something about it that makes it absolutely perfect.” -- What's ahead... 'My Favourite Games' season one will be wrapping up, with entries #9 and #10 coming over the next two weeks. The series will then go on hiatus until (at least) after the end of the upcoming All Shortcuts + Olmec Tournament. If you would like to express interest in being featured for 'My Favourite Games' season two, contact me on the Spelunky Discord. Allow me to also say a big thank you for everyone's support. It's been amazing to see the positive response this feature has received. -- hbix Previous 'My Favourite Games' entries: Kazzy (#7) Konato_K (#6) ShinGraywords (#5) Meowmixmix (#4) MikeIsMyIke (#3) Twiggle (#2) Kinnijup (#1)