For me it's Diablo II. Granted I've played my fair share of D2 since launch, and also recently on a private server with a comrade from hexbear, but I still feel like years later the game didn't grab me as much as D1 did.
Granted I don't hate D2, but for a game that I keep coming back to, D1 takes the prize.
Do the resident evils after the first three count? I was pretty young when the first game for ps came out back in '96 and it scared the shit out of me. Loved everything about 2 and 3. Even loved the remake of the original for GameCube and code Veronica was...alright?
I know everyone loves 4 but my opinion at the time was that it was a good game but not a good resident evil game. That's prob my most boomer take but I grew up playing the first 3 so I wasn't a big fan of the action elements of the game.
Just finished playing the remake of 2 and, I mean it's fine I guess? I liked some things about it but they left so much out. Probably won't play the rest. Yeah, that's my old man take.
But if we're gonna stick with the main themes of the thread: Parasite Eve. The first game was a masterpiece. The second one is indeed a game.
You're not wrong about 4. It's a fantastic game in my opinion but it's so far removed from resident evil, even the games that came after when it comes to the story, it could have been it's own thing and sold a lot less. It was needed at the time for sure, the series was getting real stale real fast but it's a major departure in style and story. I've actually still got my launch GameCube version of the game. I usually play the wii version since I've got both and my GameCube is a wii. I love an arcade shooter and it's kinda the best arcade shooter ever.