Birthdays mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. It can be a nice family dinner, a craz☂y party, or just another day. All types of things can happen on a birthday, even an unwelcome surprise party. Maybe you want to celebrate but all your friends forgot. It happens, sadly.
If nothingඣ else, you will always have video games. Some are nice enough to remember your birthday and celebrate on your special day. So, if your birthday does not live up to the hype, just pop in one of these games and celebrate! Why party with real-life friends when could eat a virtual cake? Here are the best games that greet players on their🀅 birthday, ranked by their Metacritic scores.
Updated August 4, 2021 by Brady Akins: With the release and subsequent critical success of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the list of video games that include player birthday celebrations now has a new highly-regarded installment. The latest in the series of Animal Crossing games stands out among reviewers and players alike, along with a few other video games that celebrate and provide gifts or even gameplay changes based on the birthday of the player from previous years.
15 🌼 Kirby: Squeak Squad (Nintendo DS) - 71 ♌
Across the landscape of video games that go out of their way to celebrate the player's birthday, rarely are the celebrations ever as cute as they are in Kirby: Squeak Squad.
The fan-favorite Pink Puffball finds his way on the list thanks to a 2006 installment from the developers at HAL Laboratory. Upon booting the game up on whatever date is set as the user's birthday on the Nintendo DS device, Kirby: Squeak Squad's launch animation will be edited to include a happy birthday message in the form of an animated card. Not a game-changer, but a nice nod to the player on their special day.
14 🐬 Tomodachi Life (Nintendo 3DS) - 71 ไ
When it comes to celebrating birthdays through the medium of pixels and game development, there are few that go further and are more extravagant than the team at Nintendo. 2014's Tomodachi Life for the Nintendo 3DS stands as a testament to the company's joy of birthdays.
Tomodachi Life goes beyond the point of simply acknowledging whatever date the player listed as their birthday, but goes out of its way to throw a celebration in honor of the player. The collection of user-made Mii's that populate the island in Tomodachi life will come together on the user's birthday to throw a party on the island the game takes place. Some people like to lay low on their birthday, without much fanfare. This game is not for them.
13 Mega Man ZX (Nintendo DS) - 76 🎀 ❀
Sometimes, it's the smallest gestures that mean the most. Or, at least, that was the philosophy in the inclusion of the birthday celebration in 2006's Mega Man ZX. A massive party would feel a tad out of touch with the tone of an old-school style Mega Man adventure, but that doesn't mean the game can't find some way to recognize the player on their birthday.
The simple inclusion of a slice of cake means as much as any extravagant birthday bash ever could. If the player speaks to Sherry, a character who can be found in Area C-1 of the game, on their birthday, they will be gifted with a slice of cake as an item. Not only a fun acknowledgment of the player's birthday but one that also gifts a worthwhile item that restores eight life points to the player.
12 🌞 Wii Fit (Nintendo Wii) - 80
In one aspect, Wii Fit doesn't use your birthday as a source of celebration but a source of shame. It measures your center of balance, Body Mass Index, and body control to calculate your Wii Fit age. It's a difficult pill to swallow when the Wii Fit age is older than your actual age. When it's your actual birthday the Wii Fit board will tell you happy birthday, before commanding you to go work out. Maybe you just want to work out for your birthday. Wii Fit thinks it's a healthy option.
11 🐼 Death Stranding (PC, PS4) - 82
Apparently, Hideo Kojima is a big fan of birthdays. There are three of his games on this list and they all make the player feel a little special. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Death Stranding was a divisive game about a delivery man in the apocalypse. Part of Death Stranding's birthday celebration involves a huge spoiler, which will not be detailed here. The short version: a birthday cake appears in one of Sam's safehouses. This is a small moment but it has a special meaning with the narrative.
10 🍷Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1) - 83
Perhaps a bit of a stretch in the grand scheme of video game birthday celebrations, but for as much as the game of Final Fantasy Tactics can shift based solely on the date the player enters as their birthday, this acknowledgment could not go unlisted. In as simple of terms as possible, setting your birthday in Final Fantasy Tactics will determine your zodiac sign, which will, in turn, determine how much damage your character can deal based on the zodiac of other enemies, as well as the zodiac of the members in the player's party.
Final Fantasy can get confusing, but to put it plainly, the birthday you enter in Final Fantasy tactics matters greatly to the gameplay itself-- standing alone in th❀at regard against many of the other entries on the list.
9 Gran Turismo 5 (PS3) - 84 ♉ 𓂃
Gran Turismo has a tradition of doing something rather unique for the player's birthday. The famous racing game is 23 years old with the latest release being Gran Turismo Sport. The fifth installment is one of the highest-rated Gran Turismo games of the last decade, according to Metacritic. If you log into Gran Turismo 5 on your birthday, you'll receive a ticket for an unlockable car from your birth year. A free car would be a nice real-world present, though. Too bad it's virtual. At least it's one of the better video game gifts; who cares about digitized cake anyways?!
8 🔯 Castleva🥂nia: Portrait Of Ruin (Nintendo DS) - 85
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin was a handheld version of the famous game series. Castlevania has become iconic in the video game world and even sparked one of the greatest video game adaptations. One entry in the franchise, though, celebrates the player's birthday. In Portrait of Ruin, a shopkeeper named Vincent can sell the player a birthday cake for 3000 gold. The cake is only sold on the player's birthday but you can cheat the system by changing the date in the DS settings. Vincent may think he is being nice, but who, in their right mind, makes you buy your own birthday cake?
7 𒁃 Pokemon X & Y🎃 (Nintendo 2DS & 3DS) - 87
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokemon X and Y brought players to the new, star-shaped region of Kalos. Just like any Pokemon game, X and Y took the time to acknowledge the player's special day. X and Y doesn't just give you some cake; it actually throws you a surprise party. Well, it's not a surprise anymore. When you enter the Pokémon Center, you'll get scared because the screen freezes. Don't worry, the game didn't crash, confetti will rain down and the receptionist will wish you a happy birthday. What a nice little scare that was!
6 Animal Crossinꦗg (GameCube) - 87 ꦺ
The original 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Animal Crossing, a life simulation game known for its cute villagers, initiated a beloved Nintendo franchise. It also started the franchise trend of celebrating birthdays. The player will be pampered in the virtual world, and this continued in its various ports. Case in point, the franchise's GameCube outing.
Here, the player's in-game mother will send a birthday cake. The cake can be displayed inside the player's house, the recommended action for receiving any birthday cake. The sweet villagers will also send the player presents. It's a rather heartwarming experience, if we're being honest.