10: ALF (Sega/1988) When this game came out, ALF was a popular TV show (1986-1990). The object of the game is to re-build your spaceship and return to planet Melmac and avoid the government agents (sort of remind me of E.T. for the Atari 2600). I also like the use of pepperoni as a weapon in the caves.
9: Alex Kidd High-Tech World (Sega/1989) The "Kidd" with big ears is back, and this time his mission isn't to save planet Aries or to rescue his dad, but to find the pieces of a map so he can get to the local arcade. Hey, after all he did in his other games, he deserves a little fun every now and then!
8: Fantasy Zone (Sega/1986) An extremely light-hearted shooter if there ever was one, with pastel colors galore, a cast comical characters, and oh-so-cute musical tunes. Starring Opa-Opa (a living space ship with wings and feet!), this game has the saddest ending of all-time.
7: Pro Wrestling (Sega/1987) This is my favorite wrestling game of all-time. Words can't describe how much fun I had playing this game with my friends in 1987. If you can't win fair, cheat by going outside the ring and using a chair. I love it. :)
6: The Ninja (Sega/1987) What attracted me to this game was the ninja theme (as I was heavily into ninjitsu in the 80's), as it was the first game starring a ninja that I ever played. You're in feudal Japan and you must infiltrate a castle and rescue a princess. Challenging and fun (watch me being chased by the wolves and you'll see what I mean!:), this game is a winner.
5: Zillion (Sega/1987) Go into an under-ground fortress with your friends, enter codes on the computer to open doors, blow the whole thing up and escape in your space ship. Sounds hard, but luckily you have Zillion on your side, a powerful laser gun which never runs out. Great title screen and tunes.
4: Ys (Sega/1988) Nice RPG where you must fight enemies by walking into them. Way cool, but the Turbo Grafx CD version (which also includes part II) blows it away.
3: Miracle Warriors (Sega/1988) This is the first true RPG I ever played, and it is simply fantastic. Meet friends, talk to towns-people, and kill, kill, kill. Very hard, this took me a month to beat in late '88, which back then was long, considering I had all the time in the world to play and absolutely no social life what-so-ever. :)
2: Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Sega/1987) Kinda like Super Mario Bros., but a million times better. Of all these types of games, this is by far my favorite one ever. A great challenge with great music, I only wish this series of games would continue on the Saturn or upcoming Katana, as it destroys the Sonic games. It barely misses the #1 spot, and I consider it one of the top 5 or 10 games of all-time.
1: Phantasy Star (Sega/1988) Right after beating Miracle Warriors, I never thought I'd like another RPG better. But not only did I like it waaaaaaay better than that game, I liked it better than ANY other game ever made at the time. The game stars a heroic young girl named Alice who saw her brother slayed by Lassic's followers. Alice vows to destroy Lassic and restore peace to her world. The ultimate challenge with awesome graphics and magnificent music, it is a true perfect 10 in every way. This four mega game is second only to Ys Book I and II (for the Turbo Grafx CD) as the best game the world has ever known. I hate to say it, but by not coming out with Phantasy Star V for the Saturn, it deserved to fail. Let's hope it makes it for the Dreamcast.