1. Gran Turismo 5 (2010) (PS3) | Easily my all time favorite game. This was my beginnings of being a competitive sim racer. It was amazing to see with my own eyes the journey from being an absolute nobody who barely knew how to keep cars on track in a straight line to one of the top players in the world by the end of it. The people I've met and achievements I've gotten make this one of the greatest experiences of my life.
2. Gadget Racers (2000/2001) (PS2) | Also known as Penny Racers in Europe and Choro Q HG in Japan. I literally have no idea how I found this game considering it's not really well known outside of Japan, but I'm damn glad I did. The cars are cute, the customization is cute, the soundtrack and circuits are cute, literally everything about this game is cute. I was heavily addicted to this game as a child, and I still love it every single time I boot it up.
3. Gran Turismo 3 (2001) (PS2) | The first video game I ever got and in my opinion this GT game had the most enjoyable career mode. Don't have much to say about it but it absolutely deserves to be this high on the top 10.
4. Mario Kart 8 (2014) (Wii U) | Initially I wasn't going to buy this game (and a Wii U). I had lost interest in Mario Kart years ago and was heavily invested in Gran Turismo/GTA V at the time. I saw some videos on this game pop up in my YouTube recommendations about some weird advanced techs that
filthy casuals people
hated. This discovery had me hooked instantly. I got a new perspective on competitive gaming since I've started gitting gud. Some were good, a lot of it was pretty awful, however the satisfaction I get from driving on this game makes the experience all worth it in the end. It took a long time to master this game, in fact I still learn new things about it every day. Unfortunately the community is dead. Almost everyone has switched (the pun was absolutely intended) to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. If it weren't for that, this game would be #2.
5. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 (2002) (PS2) | No other NFS game comes remotely close to the amount of memories I had playing this game on my own or with friends irl.
6. NASCAR Thunder 2004 (2003) (PS2) | My favorite NASCAR game (2003 comes close though). The fantasy tracks are pretty damn great.
7. Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 (2002) (PC) | Amazing amusement park builder game. Despite the lack of features and customization that newer games in this genre give, the easy to understand controls made this game far more enjoyable than the others. This would be higher up the list, but I feel like I can never build a good park due to my lack of imagination. As a result I often lose motivation to play it.
8. Test Drive Unlimited (2006) (Xbox 360) | Amazing open world driving game. Cruising the streets and highways of Oahu, Hawaii in an exotic super car was honestly so relaxing. Sure, TDU2 has far more content, but ultimately that game was let down by Atari being Atari and a surprisingly worse handling model.
9. Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition (2005) (PS2) | Favorite Midnight Club game. Had great memories goofing off with irl friends playing this.
10: Super Monkey Ball 2 (2002) (Gamecube) | Great puzzle game. Normally I'm not into these but SMB2 was extremely enjoyable. I've actually considered speedrunning this game but never got around to learning all the proper strats. The mini games are fun as well
Honorable Mentions: Heavily considered putting these on my top 10, but ultimately they lacked the incredible moments and childhood memories that will forever have a place in my heart.
Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) (PS3) | My favorite GTA game. Great story, enjoyable driving physics, and a cool map to explore.
Gran Turismo Sport (2017) (PS4) | Fantastic competitive racing game. Way too early to put this in my top 10 but I have a strong feeling that'll change in the future as more content is added and all the annoying bugs get fixed. Hyped af for the FIA Championships next spring.
Gran Turismo 4 (2004) (PS2) | I don't get the same nostalgia effects that I do with GT3 with this game. Arguably it's the better game, but the memories don't match up.
Road Trip Adventure/Choro Q HG 2 (2002) (PS2) | This is basically Gadget Racers but in RPG form. I only got this game recently and haven't had the time to play through the whole thing, but so far it's absolutely incredible. No doubt that this will be in my top 10 later on as I play through the game.