PixlBit

I would recommend the first 5 games in the order they were released so one can properly evaluate the evolution of the series.

 1. LoZ so a new player has a baseline from which to judge the series. i believe origins of anything, whether it be words and their definitions or entertainment series, to be extremely important in defining what a thing so that we can judge whether any alterations or additions to that thing helped or hurt. Plus, like you said, it's quite different from the rest of the series. I personally think Nintendo needs to go back to square one with this series and bring back tougher combat, gloomy dungeons without the themed gimmicks and puzzles, and a faster pace, but with improvements to environmental variety, boss battles, dungeon layout, and item selection. Call it New Legend of Zelda and watch it be a surprise hit akin to NSMB.

 2. Adventure of Link.  Message board revisionism abounds with this game. But it remained in top 10 NES lists even past the launch of the SNES - not quite the black sheep people who probably weren't even alive then claim. Some of the best side-scrolling sword combat of the day, and it's an early example of how the series can go in a different direction while maintaining the original spirit.  It does have questionable design decisions, but like its predecessor. its uniqueness within the series makes it a must play.

 3. A Link to the Past -  Overrated to me, but still a near flawless game in terms of polish and content. Expands the series by offering more visual variety, more geographical variety, more fleshed out NPC interaction, more narrative thrust.  The series would become more whimsical and fairy tale-like from this point on. A must play just because of the extreme high quality and, being a turning point in the series, for comparison to what came before and after.

4. Link's Awakening - A better version of Link to the Past, imo. Not as groundbreaking for the series, but so well crafted. And somehow recaptures the spirit of the original game while maintaining the additions of ALTTP.

 5. Ocarina of Time.  Huge game for the series and 3D games in general. Its structure would define LoZ going forward, sometimes to a fault. Due to this, it's the only essential 3D game in the series.  Introduced Z targeting. Made themed dungeons the status quo.. Established the type of puzzles the series is now known for.  Introduced mounted/piloted transport (as far as I'm aware).  It's just one of the most significant releases in the series and in video games in general. 

 Maybe I should have made my own blog on this, but that's my take on the essential games. 

I didn't do Ground Zeroes either, for the same reason.  Plus the scenario on hand didn't look interesting. 

I wonder if PP will have the gun-porn of MGS4. Being somewhat of a gun nut, it was cool to have all those weapon options, but at the same time I like the elegance of design that MGS2, 1, and the 2D games had (weapons had more clearly defined uses), plus the multiplayer in 4 didn't allow access to all the weapons from the single player, which I think was a sorely missed opportunity for more interesting vs. play. 

The last single-player FPS that really got me hooked was S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. So, so good, one of a kind. I hear the Metro games are similar in tone but with a conventional corridor structure.  Before that it was FEAR. Underrated. No FPS has had better gunplay since.

It's funny because I recently restarted Bioshock (didn't finish it when it came out because during that time I had finally gotten System Shock 2 to work on my PC....Bioshock just couldn't compare after that). I've progressed further than I did before, but I'm remembering why I quit in the first place. Then a couple days ago, I look over and see my FEAR box sitting across the room and think to myself "Why am I not playing a FPS with good shooting instead of BS?"  Yeah, I don't think I'll be finishing Bioshock anytime soon. Plus, FEAR 2 has recently come into my radar. Want to see how it compares to the original.

Point is that it wasn't even that long a go when FPS were still bringing interesting gameplay to the table. WTF happened?  Borderlands is fun, but it can't compare on a mechanical level.  Bulletstorm has that two gun bullshit. Destiny looks slow and pedestrian as fuck. Other than Metro: Last Light and Wolfenstein: NWO, the genre is lacking imo.

I've never played a Sacred game, but what they did to 3 is some bullshit. I intend to get on Sacred 1 one of these days.

I'll add Divine Divinity to your list of recommendations.  It's a Diablo-esque game on the surface, but is actually a fully fledged RPG with some rather complex quests, an open world with non-linear progression, charming writing and NPCs. It's so good. I know you played Divinity 2, but DD is different enough to stand on its own.

Basically it gives you some of that Bloodlines RPG depth with Diablo/Sacred/Torchlight action and character building. 

System Shock 2 (and 1) is a game relatively few people have played, yet has influence games for 15 years after its release. Think how many games in this last gen that have had audio logs, an omnipresent radio contacts who guides you through your mission, and unreliable "narrators." 

I think it's a must play even if it's just for the sake of game scholarship. That it's stil as compelling today as it was upon release is a nice bonus.

Love Dead Rising 1 and 2.  I think the time structure is what makes these games stand out, and I personally wouldn't have it any other way. There was really nothing quite like the first game when it came out.  It was the chaotic, sandbox arcade game that State of Emergency tried to be but failed at.

Bioshock Infinite is a nice virutal museum tour. That's as much as I can say about that piece of software.

I missed your 80s write up, and I missed most of these shows in the 90s. I might have been peripherally aware of them but now I only remember that there was a Double Dragon show.  I never saw a single episode of any of these, so this is pretty interesting.  The Super Mario Super Show was the last game related program I actively watched, and mostly just for the Legend of Zelda episodes on Friday. Before that it was waking up early Saturday to watch Captain N.  Dat nostalgia

I will say, regarding your 80s article, that a 90s, hand drawn Dragon Quest anime would have been so money with the Toriyama look. Add some top drawer anime sword fighting, and I'd probably revisit it every few years. Same with an LoZ with a similar look to the Katsuya Terada illustrations from AoL. Toongasm. 

I already saw the Last of Us movie when it was called 28 Days Later and The Road.  One of the issues with adapting games to film will be getting past how so many games are blatantly derivative of movies, to the point where they may only appeal to audiences that enjoy watching the same genre, plot points, and beats over and over. This isn't a problem for Metal Gear which is as idiosyncratic a work as exists in video games, but games like that are few and far between.  

Reaper of Souls almost makes up for all the problems with D3. Adventure mode makes the campaign obsolete in my eyes. Way more fun and satisfying.