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[SpiceRacz]

Super Mario 64 - This game not only inspired just about everything that came after it, it informed 3D game design as a whole. It's remarkable that Nintendo didn't just make a competent translation of Mario to 3D, they fucking nailed it on their first try. It's as important to the history of video games as the original Mario Bros imo. Never has a game felt like such a gigantic leap from one generation to the next. Sometimes I feel like I'm still playing video games purely because I'm chasing the feeling this game gave me when I first experienced it.

Shenmue - This game really stretched the boundaries of what the medium was capable of. It feels dated now, but it pushed the industry forward as much as any other game at the time. I bought and played through it shortly after launch and I'll probably never play it again. It was a special experience and I think I need to preserve that memory as it was.

Super Mario Galaxy - Galaxy is perfect. Nothing about this game should have worked. Mario in outerspace? Manuevering Mario around 3D spheres with a fucking nunchuck and remote? Bizarre physics and camera angles that are almost nausea inducing? Nothing about this game is conventional and yet, it not only works, it's maybe, the best 3D platformer game ever made. Nintendo swung for the fences here and that's when they're at their best.

Mega Man 2 - This one is hard to articulate why it's so special. Mega Man 2 is not exceptional in that the level design is pretty simplistic. The bosses are not crazy difficult. It's visually inferior to some of the later MM games on NES. You can really breeze through it if you know what you're doing. With all that said, to me it's Mega Man in it's best/purest form. It's simplistic like the original without the insane difficulty and more interesting levels. It doesn't hurt that it has one of the best soundtracks ever.

Chrono Trigger - Not a lot to be said about this one. Chrono Trigger nails every aspect of a great RPG - story, characters, dialogue, battle system, etc. The story moves along at a brisk pace and can be completed rather quickly. Chrono Trigger is the perfect RPG with all the fat trimmed off.

Virtua Tennis - In typical Sega fashion, they took a very simple concept and made it incredibly deep yet accessible. This is still the gold standard of tennis games. Sega released several sequels and none of them have touched the original. I still to this day cannot beat the final challenge in the world tour mode, yet I'm still playing through it annually and I will probably never stop.

Castlevania SoTN - Super Metroid set the standard and SoTN elevated the genre to another level - Larger map, more enemies, voice acting, experience system, more items, etc. Several have come close, but none have achieved the level of SoTN.

Donkey Kong 94 (GameBoy) - Donkey Kong 94 throws you for a loop - It quickly goes from the original 3 levels of arcade Donkey Kong, into a really challenging puzzle platformer. There's 50+ levels here and the game is constantly throwing new mechanics at you. It's an incredibly challenging and unique take on my favorite arcade game of all time.

Fallout 3 - I will never get tired of wandering the wasteland.

Super Mario Bros 3 - Super Mario World is overrated.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Tetris - Almost any version of it. It’s the quintessential video game.

The Legend of Zelda - A revolutionary game. Very simple to pick up and play, yet very challenging. I still replay it to this day.

Chrono Trigger - The most accomplished JRPG ever. Perfect cast, perfect pacing, perfect ending. Doesn’t outstay its welcome. New Game +. Legendary OST. What’s not to love?

Chrono Cross - Possibly the best graphics on the PS1. The most striking OST of its generation. Incredible locations. Spectacular combat. Fat-free gameplay. And that story is probably the best rendition of “man vs destiny” ever.

Final Fantasy VII - It’s highly praised for a reason. The amazing cast and dialogue carry on a story that may not be the best, but it’s certainly one of the best told, way more mature than anything else at the time For console standards. The Materia system is a breath of fresh air vs specialized characters. The key moments in the story are fantastic. The graphics still hold up in a charming way. The music is epic. There’s minigames everywhere.

Resident Evil 1 - Still the perfect haunted house game. A most carefully crafted adventure game that encourages exploration and progression by simply offering an interesting environment to explore. The graphics were perfect, as was the original music. The puzzles never felt silly or contrived in context. The documents scattered around the mansion added greatly to the atmosphere. RE2 expanded the scope of the game turning RE into a sprawling saga, but the feel of the original game was never recaptured.

Zelda: Majora’s Mask - One of Nintendo’s most original, moody, memorable games. Majora’s Mask is one big puzzle - everything in the game is basically a puzzle. And the satisfaction you get from figuring out every solution is unmatched. The atmosphere of impending doom is played masterfully, and the quirky characters only add to the ever-present sense of uneasiness that pervades the game. The dungeons are among the best in the series, the many little individual stories are unforgettable, and the ending is probably the best in all of Zelda.

Zelda: Link’s Awakening - The 2D version of Majora’s Mask, the best Game Boy game and one of my most loved games ever. It plays so much better than ALTTP, with free jumping being the funniest addition to 2D Zelda. The overworld is gigantic. The dungeons are brilliant. The puzzles and sidequests are great. The characters are charmingly crazy. And that ending...

Ace Attorney Series - Half between adventure game and graphic novel, the AA series struck a chord back in the mid-2000s. It brings Japanese zaniness to a somewhat serious context, and if it clicks, you’ll never forget it. The beauty of AA is how everything - the writing, the character design, the animations, the music - perfectly contributes to the whole, which is much more than the sum of the parts here. A simple line of unimportant dialogue, a single breakdown animation, is enough to justify an entire section of a trial and make it unforgettable, bringing a smile to your face every time you think back to it.

Doom - Doom is all about gameplay. Relentless, impeccable gameplay. Going back to the old Dooms is never a problem, because the game was never about graphics. It’s all about atmosphere, sound, level design, and the sheer, neverending joy of shooting the spawn of Hell to a bloody pulp. Whichever episode of Doom you’re playing, you can’t go wrong.

Super Mario World - The best 2D Mario game. Simply perfect in every aspect. Huge, always creative, always surprising, full of secrets. And it plays like a dream.

Donkey Kong Country 2 - A stunningly well-crafted game. Whether it’s the best 2D platformer of its time is debatable; it being a monumental platformer, it’s not. The level design is simply impeccable, with every level showing a perfect progression from beginning to end. The secrets are cleverly hidden. The gimmicks are always interesting. The difficulty is perfectly balanced. This is by far Rare’s 2D magnum opus.

Super Metroid - What initially looks like a very modest game for 1994 turned up to be one of the most perfectly crafted games of all time in the end. Its modest beginnings, and the memory of the first two Metroid games, could never let one imagine what SM would bring. The game’s world is perfectly designed, SM being a masterclass in worldbuilding in every aspect, with an insane amount of detail. The in-game progression is flawless, with the world opening up a piece at a time, keeping the player anxious with uncertainty and expectation all the time. The atmosphere of mystery and tension is so thick it’s almost palpable, also thanks to the outstanding sound design. The gameplay may feel a bit slow, but it’s perfect for the pace of the game. Finally, Super Metroid does cinema leagues better than modern games do with all their professional VA, mo-capped cutscenes and bombastic orchestral music. The buildup to every boss battle is phenomenal, and everything that happens after Samus puts her feet in Tourian is one of the best stories ever told in a video game - without the need for a single line of dialogue.

Metroid Prime - One of the best 2D-to-3D transitions of all time, an impossible achievement considering the premises of its development. Yet what we got with MP is one of the best-ever designed games. The moment-to-moment gameplay is incredibly satisfying, the environments and setpieces are unforgettable, the overall level design is majestic, the music is perfect. Metroid Prime is one of those games I simply have to finish once I’ve started it; it’s not a game, it’s an addiction.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - 2D Castlevania at its finest. Two playable characters. Fast, precise gameplay. Outstanding level design, with branching paths that allow for multiple replays. Phenomenal boss battles. Catchy CD tunes. It has it all.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - By far the most accomplished Metroidvania CV. While it may not be the funniest to play, or the most creative of the bunch, it’s the overall package that makes it the best. The castle’s design, the voice acting in all its cringy splendor, the bosses, the music, the secrets, the ending. Konami tried so many times to replicate all of this, and always came short of it.

Dark Souls - The most influential game of recent times. Like Symphony of the Night for Castlevania, Dark Souls 1 is the episode that gets just everything right in its series. Never before, and never again, the Souls series achieved this level of coherence and completeness. Everything in DS is as it should be. The design and progression are incredible. The variety of builds is stunning. The bosses and setpieces are unforgettable. The music is perfect. It’s just a joy to play again and again, and there’s so much to discover.

Tomb Raider 1 - Whether it’s the PS1 original or the Anniversary remake, the first adventure of Lara Croft is the essence of adventure. It’s the Indiana Jones game Indiana Jones never got. It’s an incredibly designed adventure, that takes you to incredible places, challenges you with dastardly puzzles and hazards, puts you against terrible creatures, and just provides fun in spades. Tomb Raider was never this pure again, because the minute it put hordes of human enemies into the frame, it lost what made Lara’s lonely explorations of long-lost places so captivating.

La-Mulana 1&2 - La-Mulana isn’t for everyone. Actually it’s probably not even for me, because I could never even dream of beating any of the two games without a lot of help from guides. But it’s such a perfect adventure game. It introduces you to the nightmare with what seem reasonable enough puzzles and challenges... then you find yourself totally clueless, in spite of the abundance of clues scattered everywhere. There’s nothing bad in getting help from outside though, because La-Mulana is a game that just wants to break you and is never afraid to show it. And persevering through all of it just to see how crazy and creative everything gets, with that amazing music quickly taking control of the unconscious parts of your brain, is absolutely worth it. It’s a game that you will hate, only to find that you’ve come to love it.

Mega Man (classic NES series) - My favorite run-and-gun series, ever. MegaMan games just play so smoothly, the moment-to-moment gameplay is so fun and satisfying and the music is always excellent. While they may seem interchangeable, 9 and 3 are the best of the bunch, with 4 being very solid and 2 being the most iconic thanks to the music and bosses.

 

[rofif]

no special order (off the top of my head)

Death Stranding - Amazing graphics, music, story, graphics, atmosphere. Love the relaxing gameplay. INNOVATION
The Darkness - atmosphere, style, nice gory shooting
Gears of war 1 - start of the genre, atmosphere, graphics, gamepaly
Gears of war 2 - as above but also great characters, interesting story, balls on walls
Gears of war 3 - fitting end to the trilogy, more balls on walls
Dead Rising - Zombies in the mall. Made by japanese. Best zombie game ever
Uncharted 4 - Amazing graphics, detail, atmosphere, pacing, characters... everything
Last of Us 2 - as above + more feels and one of best new characters (abby)
Half-Life 2 - Everything
The Last Guardian - atmosphere, tears, graphics, style, relaxing
Shadow of the Colossus - Atmosphere, graphics, relaxing exploration
Dark Souls - Start of best genre ever. Incredible gameplay, style, music graphics
Dark Souls 2 - my fav souls. Love different environments, builds and feeling of everything being lost in time
Dark Souls 3 - Dark souls 1 but perfected in gameplay and movement. Graphics, music, RINGED CITY
Bloodborne - Style, atmosphere, graphics. Needs 4k60
Grand Theft Auto 4 - Best city ever in game, physics, fantastic story and characters. Gta 5 ruined all of this serious tone.
Chronicles of Riddick - atmosphere, unique hub design, pacing
Soma - omg amazing atmosphere and story. The feeling you get with this game... man
Resident Evil 2 remake - pacing, gameplay, atmosphere
Max Payne 2 - style, gameplay, characters

plenty of more but you see where I come from. I would also add isaac, gungeon, ff7r, alyx, fuel, fear and TONS more but let's stop here. That list would be different made on different day

 

[gtrwll]

In no particular order:

Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Even with its flaws the game is a masterpiece of character chemistry, worldbuilding and diverse and satisfying combat.

Deus Ex
Still the best game ever made. Did things that no game ever had, and kept surprising me for years and many playthroughs.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Managed to be a worthy successor to the original, which was unlikely. Captures the essence of Deus Ex, and the design is magnificent.

Super Metroid
A masterclass in game design. The atmosphere, the feeling of exploration, the music…

Metroid Prime
Pretty much the same as above, but in 3D.

Trails in the Sky SC (and the rest of the Trails-series)
The single best game series ever made. The worldbuilding and storytelling is just on another level, no one else does it like this.

Mass Effect (pick one, OG trilogy)
I liked the whole trilogy, but would probably pick 2 if I had to. Fantastic writing.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
My favorite Zelda, and the first to master the Zelda-formula. The world is just so inspiring and the gameplay is fun.

Jade Empire
Probably my favorite Bioware game, it was an interesting setting and the story was good. Shame it never got a sequel.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Well yeah, the story’s great and probably the best Star Wars game made. Not sure what to expect from the remake.

Halo 3
Finish the fight! Everything is just so epic, and fun to play.

Halo: Reach
The Halo-formula mastered. The combat is so fluid, Bungie at its peak form.

Ys VIII: The Lacrimosa of Dana
Fluid gameplay, interesting story and great pacing.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Morrowind and Oblivion were great as well, but Skyrim takes the crown.

Fallout 3
The first Fallout in 3D was a great experience, and in my opinion the best of the series

The Last of Us
Even with repetitive gameplay the story is great.

Outcast
Ahead of its time, a vast and beautiful world, and that soundtrack is truly something else.

Super Mario World
Still the best Mario game IMO. Coming to SNES from C64, this felt revolutionary.

Secret of Mana
Weird and quirky, not flawless but still an enchanting journey.

Nier: Automata
One of the few games that have managed to genuinely surprise me in my 30 odd years of gaming. You have to play this to understand.

 

[Mildudon]

Not in order.

The 1st one was a xmas gift from my brother and sister. I have loves the Series and crpgs ever since.
Baldur’s Gate
Baldur’s Gate II

Two years before infinite came out I lost my mom. The games theme(lose) and ending brought back the sadness
Bioshock Infinite


Dark Souls


Banjo Kazooie
Star Wars Rogoue squran 2

Some very good coop time with my friends.
Rocket League

A game I just played for hour when I first got it because it was so good. It jusy
Red dead redemption


No one lives forever

OW and BF4 again super good times with friends playing
Overwatch
Battlefield 4


StarCraft
Warcraft 2
Grim Dawn
Wonderboy III
Star Wars: Knights of the Old republic
Zelda ocarina of time
Zelda Breath of the Wild
Borderlands 1
Borderlands 2

 

[killatopak]

Resident Evil Franchise.

 

[GametimeUK]

I have 10 in best order I can make.

Dark Souls

Greatest game of all time for me. I love the inter connected world, online system, combat, artstyle and pacing (in the first half at least). There's a great sense of discovery and mastery with that game.

Wind Waker

The first Zelda I fell in love with. I love the sense of adventure and the pacing. The gameplay loop of overwold then dungeon really resonated with me.

Super Mario World

The game that got me interested in games. I loved the art, music, world map with so many secret exits and super tight controls. It's the first game that taught me how to git gud as some of the levels (especially the special world) were really challenging as a child.

Uncharted 2

Hollywood blockbuster the game. Just fun with varied locations and a lovable set of characters. Set pieces are mind blowing and the gameplay has just enough depth to keep me interested, but is dumb enough to smash through.

Resident Evil 4

Not much to be said. Great controls, awesome environments, incredible pacing. It's unapologetically gamey and camp


Okami

Pretty much why I like Zelda games. Loved the world and characters. The art was great. Once again sense of exploration and adventure. Combat was fun and the brush mechanic is refreshing.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

3D platforming done right. Varied level design with crazy mechanics that are used once and disposed of so you never get bored of it. You see so many ideas at play in this game it boggles my mind how creative the developers are.

Metroid Prime

Wow exploration and adventure again. I think I found the main thing I enjoy about games. I like this game because of typical metroidvania reasons. Get power ups and unlock more areas.

Metal Gear Solid 2

I just appreciate how in depth mechanics are in this game and how much new stuff you can find on playthroughs still to this day. The world was insanely interactive for the time. Story was insane, characters are great and I just adore anything involving stealth.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Multiplayer

Games I'm considering top 10 and 20

Forza Horizon 4
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Shovel Knight
Bayonetta 2

 

[Finsksvenskan]

The list can be so long but here’s mine, in no particular order:

FFX
FFVII (+ remake)
Suikoden
Suikoden 2
Chrono Trigger
Xenogears
FFXII
FFXIII-2
Diablo 3 (mostly because of the memories connected to it)
Darkest dungeon
FFVI
Resident Evil (I like 1-6 & CV but I think the first one is my favorite)
MGS 2
MGS 3
FFIX
Ghost of Thsusima
Last of Us 1-2
Seiken Densetsu 3 (remake)
Bastion

And the list can go on! A lot of these games have a special place in my heart, effected me deeply &/or have some wonderful memories connected to them.

 

[Fess]

At the top of my head, not sure these are my absolute top 20 games ever but they were the 20 first games I thought of - Oct 3rd 2021

Super Metroid - Best game of all time. Perfect.

Zelda BOTW - Open world, complete freedom, exploration, physics, just awesome.

Skyrim - Best open world RPG ever. Impossible to finish because I always find something that pull me away from main quests. One of my most played games of all time.

No Man’s Sky - Best open world sci-fi survival crafting trading farming Minecraft thingy. I’m addicted.

The Last Ninja - I just love it. It’s nostalgia.

The Secret of Monkey Island - Brilliant humor.

IO - Tight and awesome shmup from the great 80s.

Oblivion - Like Skyrim but more lush. Bad level system but otherwise fantastic.

Turrican - Lots of nostalgia here, the music alone makes it worth playing for me.

Cyberpunk 2077 PC - I already loved it at launch, love it even more now after patches and mods has arrived.

Legend of Grimrock - It’s Dungeon Master = Awesome.

Dungeon Master - Awesome.

Ratchet & Clank PS5 - Best Ratchet I’ve played and has the best localization ever for Sweden since the dawn of gaming. GOTY 2021 so far.

MS Flight Simulator - I have seen my house in a game. I live near the polar circle. Mind blown.

Zelda ALTTP - Best top down Zelda.

Zelda 2 - Great Soulslike before the genre was born.

Mass Effect 1-3 - Best trilogy ever in gaming?

Castlevania SOTN - Closest to Super Metroid you can get without playing Super Metroid. Can’t go wrong with that.

Ikaruga - Shmup perfection.

Moss - The reason I bought a Quest 2. Can’t wait for the sequel!

 

[Underpants158]

1. Skyrim: I just loved being in that world and exploring it.
2. Metal Gear Solid 2: I remember where I was when I finished it. I just wanted it to keep going.
3. Undertale: I loved the atmosphere and quirk and the way the enemies conveyed emotions through their bullet hell mini games.
4. The Witcher 3: Same as Skrim
5. Mass Effect 2: I loved my crew
6. Final Fantasy 7
7. The Last of Us 2: Should have ended earlier. The last leg was a bit ridiculous but everything else was amazing.
8. Metal Gear Solid
9. The Last of Us
10. Final Fantasy X
11. God of War (2018)
12. Sly 2: I should mentioned I played this for the first time years after it came out. Maybe 2017 or something. And I holds the fuck up.
13. Suikoden 3: Ive never played Suikoden 2
14. Grand Theft Auto 5:
15. Yakuza 0
16. Metal Gear Solid 3: Probably if I wasn't dying to continue the story from 2 this may be my favorite MGS.
17. Ori and the Will of the wisps: Really great gameplay and a beautiful world.
18. GTA: San Andreas:
19. 13 Sentinels: I feel like as time goes on this game will go lower on my list. because I cant believe I am putting it this high on the list.
20. Half Life 2

 

[Midn1ght]

1. Final Fantasy VII
Back in 1998, FFVII is the game that lit the fire for me. Before that, I was only into platformers and sports games and didn't care much about videos games in general. Playing and finishing FFVII opened my eyes on what the medium is able to do and my passion for video games really started at that time. I played it to completion probably 5 times but didn't play VIIR just yet. I just love this game.

2. Portal 2
Portal 2 opened my eyes on PC gaming in general, 10 years ago. I was a console player only since 1991. The idea to play a game with keyboard and mouse was very unappealing to me. I did not care about the 60 fps thing, games looking better on PC, etc... I was on PS3 and I was happy. Got myself a good PC for work at home and played Portal 2 maxed-out at 1080p/60. The experience was mind blowing and a game changer for me. Switched to PC as my main platform and never looked back.

3. Mirror's Edge / Catalyst
I'm putting both Mirror's Edge. It's hard to explain why I love these games so much. There's something about the colors, the music, the songs, the city, the freedom, I don't know why but these games at time will actually make me emotional. I lived 11 years in a huge city (Saigon, Vietnam) and had an apartment on the 30th floor with an amazing view. I used to absolutely love the place and I think Mirror's Edge reminds of me of that time. I dream of a third one but I don't think it's ever gonna happen.

4. Limbo / Inside
Hard to explain once again, something about the mood and tone of the games. The sound especially is top notch and the music while subtle gives an incredible vibe to those games. I adore both of them and can't wait to see what's coming next for PlayDead.

5. Sleeping Dogs
Clearly my top games are tight to personal experiences. Sleeping Dogs isn't perfect, far from it but the visuals and the world has so many similarities with the city I was living in at the time, it was a home run for me. I went for 100% trophies/achievements 4 times across 3 different platforms. "Why don't you have a Pork bun in your hand?"

6. Dead Island
It's a weird one but I can explain. I bought a PS2 when it launched and played it for around 2 years. After that, I didn't play video games for almost 10 years. I was traveling, studying and just living life in general. Around 2011/2012, I finally settled down and bought myself a PS3. The first game I played was Dead Island. Last game before that was GTA Vice City so playing Dead Island 10 years later was a slap in the face. I loved every minutes of it and replayed it twice. Never played Riptide for some reason.

7. The Walking Dead: Season 1 and Season 2
Love the TV show but so glad they went with a different story and characters. Having a daughter myself probably influence how I feel about the relationship between Clementine and Lee. And don't get me started about Kenny, I'll be on team Kenny until my last day on earth. In 30+ years of gaming, I cried 3 times playing a game. Season 1 and 2 account for 2 of those times.

8. Half Life 2
I played this really late, around 2014/2015 I think but I still enjoyed every seconds of it. There's something epic about the journey that I haven't found in any other single player first person shooter up until now. I also love the sounds and how smooth it feels to play. A classic.

9. The Last of Us
Story telling done right. I had so much anticipation for this game and would watch trailers and videos over and over before launch. When it finally came out, it was everything I expected and more. I remember being exhausted by the end but glad I experienced a truly wonderful game. Joel, the visuals, the music and the last "Okay" from Ellie,... I absolutely love this game. I never enjoyed a single Uncharted game before so it was a nice surprise. I can't judge Part 2, I never played it. I will get to it one day even If I know most of the story already.

10. Donkey Kong Country
My favorite platformer of all time period. The graphics blew my 9 years old mind away and I played it countless time. Just listening to the Aquatic Ambiance track today is bringing back so much great memories. Love it.

End of Part 1 (20 is a lot dude), I'll post part 2 later.
I love reading your lists guys so keep them coming!

 

[Finsksvenskan]

Shenmue

This was truly a special game and I really liked the realistic gameplay. It’s time consuming in a different way than other games. I really enjoyed it because of the person I played with. Playing it with someone definitely made it more fun!

 

[TheDraconian]

1. Final Fantasy VII
Back in 1998, FFVII is the game that lit the fire for me. Before that, I was only into platformers and sports games and didn't care much about videos games in general. Playing and finishing FFVII opened my eyes on what the medium is able to do and my passion for video games really started at that time. I played it to completion probably 5 times but didn't play VIIR just yet. I just love this game.

2. Portal 2
When it comes to revelation, Portal 2 opened my eyes on many aspects of PC gaming I use to ignore 10 years ago. I was a console player only since 1991. The idea to play a game with keyboard and mouse was very unappealing to me. I also did not care about the 60 fps thing, games looking better on PC, etc... I was on PS3 and I was happy. Later I got a good PC at home for work and played Portal 2 maxed-out at 1080p/60. The experience was mind blowing and a game changer for me. Switched to PC as my main platform and never looked back.

3. Mirror's Edge / Catalyst
I'm putting both mirror's edge here. It's hard to explain why I love these games so much. There's something about the colors, the music, the songs, the city, the freedom of parkour, I don't know what it is but these games at time will actually make me emotional. I lived 11 years in a huge city (Saigon, Vietnam) and had an apartment on the 30th floor with an amazing view. I used to absolutely love the place and I think in some way mirror's edge remind of me of that time. I dream of a third one but I don't think it's ever gonna happen.

4. Limbo / Inside
Hard to explain once again, something about the mood and tone of the games. The sound especially is top notch and the music while subtle gives an incredible vibe to those games. I adore both of them and can't wait to see what's coming next for PlayDead.

5. Sleeping Dogs
I think it's evident by now that my top games are tight to personal experiences and don't actually reflect on the overall quality of the games. Sleeping Dogs isn't perfect, far from it but the visuals and many other things present in the game had so many similarities with the city I was living in that the game was a home run for me. I went for 100% trophies/achievements 4 times across 3 different platforms. "Why don't you have a Pork bun in your hand?"

6. Dead Island
Yes I know, it's a weird one but I can explain. Back in the day, I bought a PS2 around launch time and played it for around 2 years. After that, I didn't play video games for almost 10 years. I was traveling, studying and just living life in general. Around 2011/2012, when I finally settled down, I bought myself a PS3 and the first game I played was Dead Island. My last game prior to that was GTA Vice City so playing Dead Island 10 years after was a slap in the face. I loved every minutes of it and replayed it twice. I love this game. Never played Riptide for some reason.

7. The Walking Dead: Season 1 and Season 2
I love the show on TV but I'm so glad they went with a different story and characters. Having a daughter myself, I could talk a lot about the relationship between Clementine and Lee but I'm sure it has been discussed over and over already. And don't get me started about Kenny, I'll be on team Kenny until my last day on earth. In 30+ years of gaming, I cried 3 times playing a game. Season 1 and Season 2 account for 2 of those times.

8. Half Life 2
I played this really late, around 2014/2015 I think but I still enjoyed every seconds of it. There's something epic about the journey that I haven't found in any other single player first person shooter up until now. I also love the sounds and how smooth it feels to play. A classic.

9. The Last of Us
Story telling done right. I had so much anticipation for this game and would watch trailers and game-play videos over and over before launch. When it finally released, it was everything I expected and even more. I remember being exhausted by the end but glad I experienced a truly wonderful game. Joel, the visuals, the music and the last "Okay" from Ellie,... I absolutely loved this game. I never enjoyed a single Uncharted game before so it was a nice surprise. I can't judge Part 2, I never played it. I will get to it one day even If I know most of the story already.

10. Donkey Kong Country
My favorite platformer of all time period. The graphics blew my 9 years old mind back in the day and I played it countless time. Just listening to the Aquatic Ambiance track today is bringing back all those memories. Love it.

End of Part 1 (20 is a lot dude), I'll post part 2 later.
I love reading your lists guys so keep them coming!

Its kind of rare finding another Inside/Limbo fan around these parts. And yes, the games have a sort of noir, lonely feel to them, coupled with the eerie music and 2.5D cam, keep me at the edge of my seat every damn playthru. Too bad PlayDead takes ages to release games, we really need more experiences like those.

PS. How do you type and link text like that? Not really that savvy so just curious.

 

[NeverYouMind]

01. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (PC)
The refined parkour, fantasy pirate setting, exotic adventures, world conquest, and a strong narrative make it an unforgettable experience.

02. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (PC)
The flexibility in tackling a heavily branched, fully realized, dark medieval fantasy world with minimal obstructions, visually customizing your character in thousands of ways, and easily upgrading to a powerful build for every weapon and magic type make it endlessly replayable.

03. Dead Rising (PC)
A fully interactive video game adaptation of the Dawn of the Dead with an original plot where an investigating photojournalist can dispatch enemies with a huge selection of items across the world, parkour/skate/drive across a giant mall, save survivors, and string together somersault kicks, knee drops, giant swings, wall kicks, and disemboweling against his enemies while on his quest for the truth.

04. Devil May Cry 3 HD (Switch)
Take arguably the most stylistic 3D action intellectual property in its prime with respect to boss, weapon, and combat design and add the flexibility to switch styles and weapons on the fly for the greatest experience in the genre.

05. Dragon Quest V (PS2)
Update of the only epic tale across the JRPG genre to be comparable to a traditional myth with a fully realized turn-based combat system and medieval fantasy world with the added fun of monster recruitment.

06. Dungeon Explorer II (Turbo Duo)
A perfect fusion of the arcade hit Gauntlet and classic JRPGs with the flexibility of changing characters and stats while earning upgrades from boss battles.

07. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PC)
Play an enterprising thug in a comic book version of 80's Miami with the most expensive all-star cast and licensed soundtrack in all of gaming upgraded with camera options and controls that can be customized to not suck.

08. Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
An action RPG where the player travels across Disney intellectual properties and experiences their story beats in a far more involved manner than even an expensive trip to Disney World can provide.

09. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PC)
A western RPG with a uniquely great combat system, a vast medieval fantasy world, and an insane level of world interactivity.

10. Psychonauts (PC)
A one of a kind platformer with RPG elements, fantastical worlds, an interesting cast, and an exciting narrative.

11. Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles (Wii)
An unrivaled light gun shooter that manages to fit the plot of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Code: Veronica into a single package.

12. Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube)
The quintessential third person shooter about a secret agent sent in to find the President's daughter with B-horror vibes and game exploits to make it even more enjoyable (like Striker speed glitch, TMP maze skip, mine cart skip, island laser puzzle skip, and no weapon wrecking ball room glitch).

13. Silent Hill (PS1)
A classic horror tale of searching for a lost daughter realized in a surreal fog covered town overrun by monstrosities with Twin Peaks vibes.

14. Soul Calibur III: Arcade Edition (ARC)
All characters across franchise history are fully realized and made unique in an installment with an unrivaled art direction.

15. Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Transformed (PC)
The kart racer made perfect and expanded with equally fine tuned flight and water sport elements and Sega fan service up the wazoo.

16. Tekken 6 (X360)
The most balanced Tekken installment with a cast that finally has tools for every situation. Even better, it includes the most in-depth customization system and arguably the overall best looking visuals in the franchise.

17. The King of Fighters '98: Final Edition (PC)
The biggest 2D fighter cast with no clones, great balance across the whole roster, and a gameplay system so perfect it brings a tear to one's eye.

18. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2x (XBOX)
Take everything you loved about the first two arcade style skateboarding games and import it into the refined engine and gameplay system of the third game and you get this gem.

19. Virtua Fighter 5 (X360)
The most polished installment of a franchise with unrivaled martial arts representation and balance before the simplification of the throw system and removal of ending the match by jumping on or beating your unconcious opponent.

20. Yakuza 5 (PC)
A mixed bag of a modern 3D beat 'em up with 4 playable characters that has the best prison escape story and batting cage minigame in all of gaming. Oh, and there is a way to turn your opponent into a snowman and you even get to fight a giant bear after being trained by a mountain sage.

 

[Midn1ght]

Its kind of rare finding another Inside/Limbo fan around these parts. And yes, the games have a sort of noir, lonely feel to them, coupled with the eerie music and 2.5D cam, keep me at the edge of my seat every damn playthru. Too bad PlayDead takes ages to release games, we really need more experiences like those.

PS. How do you type and link text like that? Not really that savvy so just curious.

You're spot on about the lonely feel to them. I also love that they're not telling you exactly what the games/stories are about. You play them and figure it out by yourself or understand it the way you want.
They're taking their sweet time for sure but I'd rather have them making something truly special and polished like their 2 previous games.

If you haven't already, you should try Little Nightmares, it's very good.

About linking text it's very easy :

- Write something, highlight it and then click on Insert link above.

 

[Melter]

In no particular order, and only one game per series:

Prince of Persia Sands of Time
Metroid Prime
Super Mario Galaxy
Luigis Mansion
Unreal Tournament 2004
Chrono Trigger
Castlevania Symphony of the Night
Super Mario World
Super Smash Bros Melee
World of Warcraft (before they ruined it)
Diablo 3 (yes 3)
Dark Souls (all From Software SoulsBorne games included)
Street Fighter 3 3rd Strike
Portal
Counter Strike Source
Pokemon Emerald
Metal Gear Solid 4
Persona 4
Runescape (pre 2007/OSRS)

 

[Phase]

Half-life
Deus Ex
Halo
Super Metroid
Super Mario 64
Super Mario
Dark Souls
Bloodborne
Stalker (all three)
Counter-Strike
Max Payne
Tribes
Morrowind
Unreal
Unreal Tournament
Diablo
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask

That's all I can think of.

 

[Jaybe]

Thank you for the contributors and especially those reminding me of games I had forgotten.

Not necessarily in order but I’ll put my favourites closer to the top:

RDR2 - get like an interactive TV series, enjoyable characters abs dialogue abs with the knowledge of the prior game made it so satisfying

Tlou1 - well written, great relationship story, cares about the characters, the setting, ambiguous ending in the grey area

The witcher 3 - Geralt is top character and story is fantastic

hades - my current love, gameplay, uniqueness, writing all make me want to do another run

RDR - it’d been a while but some of the music and themes still are etched on me

Tetris - Playing ‘Tetris effect connected lately made me remember my love for the puzzler

Portal 1 & gameplay (so unique) and writing

halo 3 - fun and decent story plus solid multiplayer

COD4 - got me hooked to the multiplayer and enjoyed the campaign thoroughly

Fallout 3 and NV - my favourite of Bethesda rpgs, loved the choice and open world

mass effect 2

super Mario world

super Mario odyssey

gears 4 horde

gta 5

uncharted 4 & 2

tlou2

 

[EruditeHobo]

Super Mario 64 -- pitch-perfect 3D translation of what makes platforming genre great, still relevant/impactful today

Unreal Tournament -- unique arena shooter which was completely excessive, sought balance through imbalance (in a weird way), had the best CTF of all time, and has one of the very best arsenals in the history of shooters/gaming

World of Warcraft -- delivered on epic online world better than anyone else, constantly improved and served playerbase quality content for a number of years even past their peak, the vastness of the game and sheer variety of gameplay over the years is staggering

Super Metroid -- prototype for one of the best genres in gaming, design & worldbuilding is still hugely relevant today

A Link to the Past -- the best adventure game of all time and the perfect Zelda game, as good now as it was at the time

Tetris -- best puzzle game of all time

Final Fantasy 7 -- epic single-player fantasy storytelling on a level never seen before in the medium, still a great ATB & leveling/progress RPG system, easily one of the best mainstream JRPGs of alllllll time

Half-Life 2 -- incredible marriage of the technological and artistic elements of game design

Those 8 are my very tip-top games, personally, and arguably among the very best games (in their genre, I guess) of all time. The rest are more... just my favorites of all time. For various reasons.

Tekken Tag Tournament
Final Fantasy Tactics
Xenogears
Sam & Max Hit the Road
The Secret of Monkey Island
Portal
Metal Gear Solid
Resident Evil 2
Symphony of the Night
The Division
Red Dead Redemption
The Last of Us Part II

 

[Zombie9ers]

I’m mainly a single player focused gamer, and am a bit of a zombie fanatic. Couldn’t have settled on 20- had to do top 25:

25 - Battlefied: 1943
24 - Animaniacs
23 - The Simpsons: Hit & Run
22 - Zombies Ate My Neighbors
21 - TimeSplitters 2
20 - Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out
19 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
18 - Starfox 64
17 - Twisted Metal 1/2
16 - God of War 3
15 - Bloodborne
14 - Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1/2
13 - Star Wars Battlefront 1/2
12 - Uncharted 2
11 - God of War (2018)
10 - Uncharted 4
9 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
8 - Red Dead Redemption
7 - The Last Guardian
6 - The Legend of Zelda
5 - The Last of Us: Part II
4 - Resident Evil 1/2
3 - Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
2 - Left 4 Dead 1/2
1 - The Last of Us

 

[Mozzarella]

This is very hard to do. But as you said without much thinking into it i can write 20 games.

In no order ofcourse

• Final Fantasy VII
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
• Baldur's Gate 2
• Deus Ex
• Warcraft 3
• Morrowind
• Resident Evil Remake
• Dark Souls
• Fallout New Vegas
• Witcher 3
• Portal 2
• Half-Life 2
• Bloodborne
• Divinity: Original Sin 2
• The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
• Super Mario Bros 3
• Mass Effect 2
• Outer Wilds
• Suikoden 2
• Heroes of Might and Magic 3

That should be enough, i want to give some Honorable mentions to: Breath of the Wild, Mafia, Bioshock, Prey, Hollow Knight, Pathologic 2, Amnesia TDD, Thief 2, Arcanum, Resident Evil 2.
I know you asked for 20 but 30 came up so i decided to list them too.

 

[SaintJonathan]

Jesus, alright this is going to be difficult. I'll give a little blurb for the top 5


1.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Purely from a nostalgic view. This is the first game I ever remember playing all the way through and beating start to finish by myself, not counting Mario games. Nothing I think will ever dethrone this absolute gem of a game.

2.The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild

By all rights this game should be higher then Ocarina, it has everything. It was my personal favorite game of 2018 (when I finally got my hands on a switch) and is objectively a better Zelda game. But here we are. So it will stay at number 2.

3. Red Dead Redemption II

I don't even know where to begin with this game. I waited for what felt like an eternity for it to finally release. From the pure beauty of the world Rockstar built. To what I think may be one of the best written Stories in video games.

4. Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic

This is peak Star Wars story telling. To me personally, it doesn't get better then this. The twist going into the third act of the game, the gameplay itself. The overall story is simply amazing.

5. Red Dead Redemption

When this game was originally announced I wasn't overly excited about it. I was never really a big fan of westerns. But then I started paying attention to the gameplay videos Rockstar put up, and the rest is history. John Marston has such a compelling story that you want to see through start to finish, which was only added onto is RDR 2.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic II
7. Assassin's Creed II
8. Assassin's Creed: Origins
9. God of War (2018)
10. Spider-Man (2018)
11. Left 4 Dead 2
12. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
13. Star Wars: Jedi Academy
14. Battlefield 4
15. Total War: Rome II
16. The Forest
17. Sea of Thieves
18. Grand Theft Auto IV
19. Alien: Isolation
20. Shadow of Mordor

 

[Jennings]

1. EverQuest
I made a lot of friends, I made a lot of enemies, and even if I never directly interacted with some players on my server (which typically hosted 1-2k players during peak hours), I could more or less recognize all the regulars and their respective haunts by sight alone. EverQuest is the most social game I've ever played, and player interaction, both positive and negative, was more or less forced by design. For all intents and purposes EverQuest was more of a chatroom with a game attached, rather than an expansive MMO with a chat window. And back in the game's hey day (pre-WoW), no matter where you went or what you were doing, the game was stuffed full of adventure, discovery, and social spectacle. And it added a lot to the experience that I played this game side by side with my significant other.

2. Age of Wonders 3
While I've played plenty of 4x games in my years, none have enthralled me like this game. I can spend just as much time creating and customizing characters (heroes) as I can playing in a night, and enjoy every minute of each. AoW3 resurrected a long-dead franchise I never expected to see the light of day again, and until it released I thought I'd be spending the rest of my life playing AoW 2: Shadow Magic. One thing that sets this game apart is the tactical combat. Unlike typical Civ games, AoW offers a wonderful tactical experience that fully delivers on the promise of playing a fantasy game with fantasy units, as each unit is unique in its collections of stats, abilities, strengths & weaknesses. And although this entry is the newest game in the series, and although the latest entry (Planetfall) does offer many improvements and streamlines certain areas, I personally find the setting of AoW3 to be much more appealing.

3. Duke Nukem 3D
While this isn't the first first person shooter I played in online multiplayer, it is by far the one I put the most hours into in the mid 90s. Only Quake 3 Arena even comes close to the time DN3D stole from me during the 90s, but the game just didn't have the personality, weapon variety, or soul that Duke Nukem had in spades.

4. DOOM 2016
Much to my dismay, by 2016 the balls-out psycho arcade shooters of the past were becoming a distant memory. Military sims, battle royales, and the dreadful story-based shooters just never worked for me, so when DOOM 2016 dropped I honestly didn't expect much. DOOM 3 had really let me down back when it first released (due to pacing and stylistic genre choices), and I just didn't think Bethesda had it in them to publish an straight up action shooter with a focus on ACTION. But this game trims the fat, punches the whole idea of a story in the balls, and gives players the first real chance to rip and tear that we've had in many years. I couldn't have been happier with this game... except that i wanted much more of it and no single-player DLC ever dropped for it. Thank god Eternal finally released, years later.

5. Mario Kart Double Dash
Many of my favorite games earned their placements here because of how much fun I had playing them with my wife. This is one such game. While the Wii is by far one of the best consoles I've ever owned, it wouldn't have delivered nearly as much fun for me if I didn't have a devout player 2 with whom to party up with and go on adventures. And while we played a whole lot of Wii games together, this one probably kept us must busy during that time.

6. Street Fighter 2
Back in the early 90s I would drive all over town playing all the variants of this game in the arcades, gas stations, donut shops, and family fun centers we had all over. I played with friends. With family. With strangers. And by myself. More quarters passed from my fingers into the bellies of these machines that any other entity on the planet. I lived and breathed this game, but I only played for the fun of it. I would never claim to have been any good at it whatsoever.

7. Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness
This was the first real time strategy game I ever played, and 25 years later I still find myself quoting the game on a regular basis. It was my first experience with the idea of orcs and introduced a lot of fantasy elements to me that I'd never before though a whole lot about. AD&D entered my life just about this same time, and it gave me a huge appreciation for the concept of humans fighting orcs. these were great years. And I remember that the guys who taught me how to play AD&D had never played computer games before, and I was able to introduce them to Warcraft 2 and blow their minds as much as AD&D had been blowing mine. I consider it nice payback.

To be continued. ...

 

[Bonfires Down]

16. The Forest

Ma man! Didn't expect to see The Forest on any list here but it's a great survival game (with a few flaws).

BF4 is top tier too.

 

[DonJorginho]

Just gonna list mine as cba to justify why I like these games, I just like them a lot is all.

IN NO ORDER

1. Death Stranding
2. GOW (2018)
3. Area 51 (2005)
4. The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
5. MGSV
6. The Last Of Us
7. Silent Hill 2
8. Super Mario Galaxy
9. Borderlands 2
10. Red Dead Redemption II
11. Batman Arkham Origins
12. Shadow Of The Colossus
13. Halo 3
14. MGS 3
15. Half Life 2
16. Goldeneye (Wii Remake)
17. Resident Evil 4
18. Bloodborne
19. Deathloop (probably recency bias but fuck man did this game hit every sweet spot)
20. The Witcher 3

 

[SpiceRacz]

Prince of Persia Sands of Time

What a game. I feel like it's overlooked a bit these days. I only included my top 10 in this thread, but this would probably make my top 20.

 

[SaintJonathan]

Ma man! Didn't expect to see The Forest on any list here but it's a great survival game (with a few flaws).

BF4 is top tier too.

The Forest is great. Super pumped about the sequel whenever they get around to releasing it.

And BF4 is just mindless fun. Wasted I don't know how many hours of my life with it haha. I wanted to put BF1 ahead of it, but when it came down to it, I just had much more fun with 4.

 

[Sidney Prescott]

Hard to name 20 for me but I know my Top 5 at least:

They move around a lot but usually Vice City and San Andreas are pretty consistent. I always switch my mind about with the others, Mario 64 could be a bit higher maybe. Although COD4 and Halo 3 were literally my teenage years. I didn't need any other games.

1. Vice City
2. San Andreas
3. Call of Duty 4
4. Halo 3
5. Super Mario 64

 

[NeverYouMind]

12. Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets

Which version? There are five separately developed videogame adaptations: PS1, GC/PS2/XBOX, PC, GBC, and GBA.

 

[fart town usa]

OG Resident Evil 1996 - It's amazing. Hands down one of the best designed games of all time. Tons of replay value, you can effectively play it any way you want with the resources the game provides, optional cut scenes, multiple endings, still challenging, etc.
RE2
RE3
RE: CVX - An absolute masterclass in game design. The story is meh but the gameplay itself is flawless. Can be crushingly brutal in it's difficulty for newcomers but this game is a total gem when it comes to classic era Survival Horror/RE
Zelda: aLTTP
Zelda: OOT
Zelda: Twilight Princess - Haters are wrong, this game is amazing
Mass Effect 1 - The sense of mystery that this game gives off is just magical. The atmosphere, the music, the story, the characters. Brilliant game through and through
Thrasher: Skate and Destroy -
Skate 2 - edit: Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time - One of the best games of all time. Just an absolute joy to play. great story, music, gameplay, etc.
Skate 3 -
Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding - Like with the Skate series, just a total chill game to play. You can be competetive or you can just chill out and enjoy the game. It's leisurely as hell.
Sam and Max: Hit the Road - It's like playing a saturday morning cartoon, one of the best adventure games of all time
Dragon Quest V - Just a total treat. Great music, simple but rewarding gameplay. Fantastic story.
Super Mario RPG - Music, Story, gameplay. Just a complete treat.
Vampire Hunter D - Just a fun RE clone that isn't too difficult. Has plenty of issues but is super rewarding for those who take the time to learn the controls.
GTA: San Andreas - Fun as hell, captures that time period really well. Just a fun game to drive around it and explore.
Resident Evil 2 Remake - Brilliant, just a brilliant, terrifying gaming experience.
Super Mario World - The best Mario title. the art style, music, overworld map. Love this game.
Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean - 1990s Victor Ireland Working Designs translation, has that charm. Magnificent OST, good story, nice sprites. Game has bad loading in and out of battles, by no means a GOAT when it comes to JRPGs but this game will always have a special place in my collection.

By no means a comprehensive list. Like the title implies, these are off the top of my head.

 

[MacReady13]

Resident Evil 4- simply the greatest of all time. Perfect pacing. A masterclass on how to keep ones attention always piqued in a video game. Perfect length. Hard when it needs to be. Story is shithouse but who really gives a toss when it's this much fun? Gaming at its best.

Super Mario World- timeless classic. Plenty of secrets. Controls perfectly. Amazing level design. 2D platforming perfection.

Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night- who the hell said 2D gaming couldn't be done to perfection on the PlayStation? My fav soundtrack mixed with expert level design and spot on controls. The best of the "metroidvania" games.

Silent Hill- nailed the atmosphere. Creepy and weird story. Perfect encapsulation of a nightmare in a game.

Resident Evil- 1st time I played a video game and felt like I was involved in a movie! Captured the Romero zombie movies in game form perfectly. Adore this game.

Super Mario Bros 3- perfect level design. Tough later on but doesn't ramp up the difficulty quickly. 2nd best 2D platformer of all time just behind it's SNES brother Mario World.

Mega Man 3- the best in the Mega Man franchise PERIOD!. The best music. The best bosses. The best levels. Just when you think it's over it keeps going! And it's tough enough to give a great challenge but not impossibly tough. Love this game so much.

Silent Hill 2- not as flat out scary as the original but has a better story. And damn, this game is deep in symbolism and an allegory in depression... I think?!? Finish it then read up the many different interpretations of the game.

Super Mario 64- really showed that 3D gaming could work. Changed everything once this arrived. I remember getting my N64 with Mario 64 and not quite believing what I was seeing. Controls are tight. Camera is buggy but for a 1st up effort who can really complain? A masterpiece.

LadyBug- I was born in 1980, so grew up with my parents' ColecoVision until I got my NES. I played the fuck out of this Pac Man clone and loved it. So difficult yet so addictive and fun.

TMNT: Turtles In Time- does this game ever get boring? I've finished it countless times but continue to go back to it. The graphics mixed with the incredible soundtrack and the tight controls make this a winner.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest- Played this to completion in my younger days right up to (I believe) 102%. Found every secret and loved every second of it. Loved the other 2 but this is the pinnacle of the series.

Uncharted- I could have put either part 2 or 3 here but I have such fond memories of the original. Showed that games can truly be like movies. I fell in love with Nathan, Elena and Sully. 1st time I actually cared about a story in a game.

Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare- for mine the single best FPS on console I've ever played. Great single player campaign but the true fun lies in the deep online multi player. It never got better than this for COD.

Doom- the original and still the best. The level design is top notch. The sound is perfect. Music is thumping. A game without fault.

Doom 64- I am a MASSIVE fan of this game. Sits just below Doo but my god this game came close to toppling the original. Level design is so good. Almost like a puzzle game wrapped in a horror FPS. And that Aubrey Hodges soundtrack...

Goldeneye 64- Amazing single player campaign with the best couch co-op I've ever played. 1st time I felt 1st person shooters were done justice on a console.

Super Metroid- not as good as Symphony Of The Night but what an achievement on the SNES! Perfectly balanced gameplay. Ingenious level design. Expertly crafted game.

Soul Calibur- arcade perfect on home console? YEP! Easily made the dreamcast worth the purchase for this game alone. Best fighting game I have ever played.

The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time- amazing world mixed in with a superb soundtrack and really tight controls. Again Nintendo show how to design a near perfect video game. Never a dull moment and that fucking water temple!!!

 

[SpiceRacz]

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest- Played this to completion in my younger days right up to (I believe) 102%. Found every secret and loved every second of it. Loved the other 2 but this is the pinnacle of the series.

Doom 64- I am a MASSIVE fan of this game. Sits just below Doo but my god this game came close to toppling the original. Level design is so good. Almost like a puzzle game wrapped in a horror FPS. And that Aubrey Hodges soundtrack...

Excellent choices. I played through DKC2 way late, like a few years ago, and was blown away. To me, it's the best platformer on the console. DKC2 makes Mario World feel like a kid's game in comparison. The music is also on another level.

 

[MacReady13]

Excellent choices. I played through DKC2 way late, like a few years ago, and was blown away. To me, it's the best platformer on the console. DKC2 makes Mario World feel like a kid's game in comparison. The music is also on another level.

I would still consider Mario World the slightly better game but damn, DKC2 is a fucking masterpiece. For me it is Rare at their absolute best. I actually remember going to our "local" Toys R Us here in Melbourne (Highpoint) when I was about 16 years of age by tram to go buy the SNES console bundle with DKC2... If only i'd bloody kept it.

 

[CapnAmaricrunch]

1- Super Mario 64
2- Half Life 2
3- Soul Calibur
4- Jet Set Radio
5- Mortal Kombat 2
6- Marvel V Capom 2
7- Costume Quest
8- Nintendogs
9- Wave Race 64
10- jikkyou powerful pro yakyuu
11- Everybodys Golf
12- Super Mario World
13- Outrun 2006
14- Burnout Paradise
15- Street Fighter 4
16- Team Fortress 2
17- Overwatch
18- Left 4 Dead
19- Portal
20- Castlevania Dawn Of Sorrow

 

[kunonabi]

I'm bored so I'll just post my whole top 100.

100. Legend of Mana
99. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
98. Dancing Eyes
97. Lucky & Wild
96. Thousand Arms
95. Bomberman 64
94. Illbleed
93. The Witch and the Hundred Knight
92. Moero! Justice Gakuen
91. Psychic Force 2012
90. Splatoon
89. Pikmin 3
88. Resident Evil
87. Pandora's Tower
86. Hybrid Heaven
85. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
84. The Misadventures of Tron Bonne
83. 007: Nightfire
82. Mystical Ninja starring Goemon
81. Attack of the Friday Monsters: A Tokyo Tale
80. Virtua Fighter 4: Final Tuned
79. Trace Memory
78. Tetris
77. Sunset Riders
76. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
75. Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
74. Real Bout Fatal Fury Special
73. Castlevania Bloodlines
72. Beach Spikers: Virtua Beach Volleyball
71. Haunting Ground
70. Flashback: The Quest For Identity
69. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
68. Mega Man X
67. Shining Force II
66. Metroid II: Return of Samus
65. Fighter Destiny 2
64. Capcom vs SNK: Millenium Fight 2000
63. Eretzvaju
62. Bushido Blade 2
61. Parasite Eve
60. Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
59. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
58. Deadly Premonition
57. Nintendo Land
56. Silent Hill 2
55. Chrono Trigger
54. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
53. Bayonetta
52. Fear Effect
51. Dead Rising
50. Klonoa
49. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
48. Final Fantasy Tactics
47. FFIV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
46. Battle Balls
45. Metroid Prime
44. Tomodachi Life
43. Flower, Sun, Rain
42. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
41. Clock Tower
40. Mischief Makers
39. Xenoblade X
38. The Wonderful 101
37. Jet Set Radio
36. King of Fighters 96
35. Sonic Adventure
34. Star Wars Episode 1 Racer
33. Space Channel 5
32. Xenogears
31. Mega Man 3
30. Mega Man X2
29. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
28. Metroid: Other M
27. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
26. Wave Race 64
25. Castlevania
24. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
23. Resident Evil Outbreak
22. Street Fighter Alpha 2
21. A Link to the Past

Top 20

20. No More Heroes - Peak Suda51 as far as I'm concerned

19. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - First Zelda I loved from top to bottom since ALttP

18. Super Mario Galaxy - The game that renewed my love video games when I was about to drop the hobby entirely.

17. X-Men vs Street Fighter - The fighting game of my youth

16. Actraiser - Got it for Christmas with SNES and it's what really sold me on the system as a kid. The concept was just amazing.

15. Super Metroid - One of the first games to elicit an emotional response and the game I played at every hotel we stopped at when my family moved from MD to TX

14. Bust-a-Move 2: Dance Tengoku Mix - The multiplayer game for my crew growing up

13. Final Fantasy VI - It's the best Final Fantasy and always will be

12. Shenmue - I was a huge Dreamcast nut and Shenmue was an unforgettable experience that as never been matched by anything else.

11. Shenmue II - see above

10. Elevator Action Returns - my go to game whenever my mom left me at the arcade.

9. Eyeshield 21: Amefuto no Yarouze Ya!Ha! - This was the only game I played for like 2 years

8. Final Fantasy X-2 - In terms of side content and battle system this is tops for me as FF goes. I was also a big of the story and Yuna's characterization.

7. Silent Hill - Harry Mason is the video game dad. The game was just so different from everything else at the time.

6. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis - I got a job specifically to buy this game. Easily my favorite RE.

5. Silent Hill 3 - Heather is probably my favorite protagonist of all time and the game hits every mark for me.

4. Final Fantasy IV - This was the game that changed my mind about RPGS. I absolutely hated the genre before this.

3. Castlevania 64 - My favorite CV game. There are some special circumstances that gave the game a stronger first impression than it should have had but I think the end result would have been the same.

2. Vampire Savior - Best fighting game ever made even if my main isn't in it.

1. Revelations: Persona - While I still believe P2:EP is the best RPG ever made I give the nod to this since it was such a mindblowing experience at the time. Just turned my image of rpgs on its head and the atmosphere, tension, presentation, and story are truly excellent.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Now look what you've done. You made me spend a couple days compiling a "Top Videogames" list that morphed into a Top 100. So here it is. I might turn this into a full-scale writing project or book or something.

One note about this list: I wanted to limit myself to one entry per series. This would save me from having to crowd out my list with the same handful of franchises that always appear in these things. I wanted to dig a little deeper and choose video and computer games that I loved since childhood, and especially shine a light on quirkier and weirder titles. My all-time favorite platform is probably the Atari 8-bit and I wanted to highlight a number of classics that are no doubt obscure today.


Top 100 Videogames (Alphabetical Order)

1. Advance Wars 2
2. Afterburner
3. Ballblazer (Atari 800, 7800)
4. Baroque (Saturn)
5. Brutal Sports Football (Jaguar)
6. Burgertime
7. Castle Wolfenstein (Atari 800)
8. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (Genesis)
9. Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest
10. Conker’s Bad Fur Day
11. Contra (NES)
12. Daytona USA
13. Devil’s Crush
14. Dodonpachi
15. Donkey Kong
16. Double Dragon 2 (NES)
17. Electrocop
18. F-Zero
19. Fast Food (2600)
20. Final Fight CD (Sega CD)
21. Fire Shark
22. Gaiares
23. Galaga
24. Ghouls ‘N Ghosts
25. Golvellius: Valley of Doom
26. Gunstar Heroes
27. Gyruss
28. Herzog Zwei
29. Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy
30. Hydro Thunder
31. John Madden Football 92
32. Just Dance 1
33. Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer
34. The Legend of Zelda
35. Llamatron 2112
36. LSD Dream Emulator
37. M.U.L.E.
38. Mario Kart Wii
39. Mega Man 2
40. Montezuma’s Revenge (Atari 800)
41. Ms. Pac-Man
42. Murder on the Zinderneuf
43. Myst
44. NBA Jam
45. NFL 2K1
46. NHL 94 (Genesis)
47. Nights Into Dreams/Xmas Nights
48. Ninja Gaiden (NES)
49. Panic/Switch
50. Panzer Dragoon Saga
51. Phantasy Star Online
52. Powerslave (Saturn)
53. Q-Bert
54. Quake 3
55. Radiant Silvergun
56. Rampage
57. Revenge of Shinobi
58. Roadblasters
59. Robotron 2084
60. Saturn Bomberman
61. Sensible World of Soccer
62. Seven Cities of Gold (Atari 800)
63. Shadowgate (NES)
64. SimCity (SNES)
65. Sonic 3 & Knuckles
66. Soul Calibur
67. Space Invaders (2600)
68. Spy Hunter
69. Spy Vs Spy (Atari 800)
70. Star Fleet I: The War Begins (Atari 800)
71. Starflight (Genesis)
72. Starquake
73. Star Raiders (Atari 800)
74. Star Wars (Arcade)
75. Street Fighter Alpha 3
76. Streets of Rage 2
77. Strider (Arcade, Genesis)
78. Submarine Commander (Atari 800)
79. Super Mario 64
80. Super Mario World
81. Super Metroid
82. Tale of Beta Lyrae (Atari 800)
83. Tecmo Super Bowl
84. Tempest 2000
85. Tetris
86. Thunder Force 3
87. Todd’s Adventures in Slime World
88. Tony Hawk Pro Skater
89. Track ‘N Field
90. Virtua Cop 2
91. Virtua Fighter 2
92. Warlords (2600)
93. We Love Katamari
94. Wii Sports Resort
95. Wipeout XL
96. World Series Baseball 98 (Saturn)
97. Worldwide Soccer 97/98/France World Cup 98 (Saturn)
98. Xevious
99. Yars’ Revenge
100. Zeppelin (Atari 800)

Update 10/5 5:45 pm: I realized that Wipeout XL (PSX/Saturn) was left off the list for some reason, so I bumped Pinball Construction Set to make room.

 

[Digity]

1. Metal Gear Solid 3
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Uncharted 2

In no particular order:

4. Metal Gear Solid 2
5. Final Fantasy IX
6. Gran Turismo 4
7. Chrono Cross
8. Legend Of Dragoon
9. Escape From Tarkov
10. Death Stranding
11. Castlevania 4
12. Xenogears
13. Super Mario All Stars
14. Crash Bandicoot 3
15. Crash Team Racing
16. PUBG
17. Driver
18. Vagrant Story
19. Sonic & Knuckles
20. Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2

 

[BadBurger]

Man 20 is a really large target. How about I give my top three, as it stands today?

3. Mass Effect 2 - The pinnacle of how to effectively merge genres. Story was excellent

2. Baldur's Gate - Everything a Forgotten Realms fan could want

1. inFAMNOUS: Second Son - What can I say? I loved the locale, the acting, the story, the characters, the gameplay. It was my jam

 

[NinjaBoiX]

Ocirana of Time
Breath of the Wild
Mario 64
GTA3
GTA4
Metal Gear Solid
Uncharted 2
The Last of Us
The Last of Us: Part II
Doom
Goldeneye
Final Fantasy 7
SC: Chaos Theory
Oddworld: Strangers Wrath
CoD4
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Skate 3
Pure
Metroid Prime
Street Fighter 2

 

[Nico_D]

Grim Fandango
Day of the Tentacle
The Curse of the Monkey Island
Mass Effect 1
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
Thief 2 - The Metal Age
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed Unity
LoD Wind Waker
LoD Twilight Princess
LoD Breath of the Wild
Uncharted 4
Deus Ex: Human Revolution DC
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
The Witcher 3
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Super Mario Galaxy
The Witness
Xenoblade Chronicles 2

 

[D3SCHA1N]

• skate
• modern warfare 2
• red dead redemption 2
• batman arkham city
• far cry 4
• god of war 2018
• halo
• skyrim
• splinter cell chaos theory
• gears of war
• ghost of tsushima
• the witcher 3
• the last of us
• assassin's creed brotherhood
• shadow of mordor
• spider-man ps4
• thps 3
• horizon forbidden west
• gta 3
• dishonored

 

[Tschumi]

Put list through a randomizer, so in no particular order:

Command & Conquer: Red Alert
It was so cool filling an APC with troops then letting them out. Cool cutscenes and music. Still fun to play.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Nice world and dungeons. Pretty cool game.

Halo 3
Fun campaign, fun multiplayer. Maybe the most fun launch of a game.

Counter-Strike
Countless hours played. It's fun seeing the green numbers go up when you get a kill.

Final Fantasy VI
Cool that you can get so many characters and they all have their stories that you can explore. Just so much fun stuff to do and explore.

Gran Turismo 2
It had really good progression from buying a used car and upgrading the muffler in order to earn enough to win some races. The racing upgrades were very cool that gave your normal car a racing paint job and stickers. I was disappointed with GT3 because of how good GT2 was.

Super Mario World
Pretty top tier jumping game. It's good.

Final Fantasy IV
The story is really solid and fun to follow all over the world, up and down. Final Boss is tough!

Team Fortress Classic
I prefer this over TF2. It's fun playing sniper on 2fort or playing a pyro and harassing the snipers on 2fort.

Halo 2
I think I liked Big Team Battle best in Halo 2 over all the rest. Good all around in all modes.

Super Mario Bros. 3
Another good jumping game with nice colors, fun items and enemies.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Cool game to explore and find new things and fight cool bosses and it keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Yeah the multiplayer and maps and kill cams were cool. I like dual P90's with extended mags, just holding down the triggers as soon as I spawn and try to get a kill before they run out of ammo.

Parasite Eve
There's really no other battle system like it out there that I know of. We need more JRPG games like this with guns.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The ambiance is sooo good in this, it really pulls you into the world of the game.

Final Fantasy VII
Best game of all time. Better than the Remake, not that they should really be compared.

Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
They took the gameplay seriously. The volleyball and the jet skis were really good. It was cool to have good gameplay mixed in with the bikini fun.

Snatcher
Still the best Cyberpunk game? It captures the cyberpunk feel and can get pretty scary. Fun investigation game that felt close to the feel of a rated R movie.

A Plague Tale: Innocence
This game had such a nice balance for what it is. It can be depressing and oppressive at points and then you find sections of calm. Walking by a creek listening to the ambiance on headphones really made me like it. It's nice that it used it's own game engine when every other game is looking the same on Unreal engine.

EverQuest
One of those games where you had to be there and play it at the time. Everyone worked together and it wasn't about a quest check list.

red alert 1 was so great, often when i think of my best c&c experiences it turns out i'm thinking of ra1... i love that mission where the truck is driving around the town broadcasting propoganda... was that ra1.. or ra 2 or world in conflict... i dunno but it could very possibly be ra1...

i love how u can comandeer civilian vehicles (this all from rather spotty memory) i love the way scuds looked, especially when they were angling up to launch... love the way troops look when they get running, love that u can like destroy bridges and stuff yeah, freaking awesome game

 

[Stefan.North]

Since it's off the top of my head, these are not ranked

- smb3
- tloz alttp
- sup metroid
- mega man 3
- mega man x
- chrono trigg
- smw
- resi evil 2
- resi evil remake
- diablo 2
- blaster master
- sonic 2
- ewj
- metal slug
- gunstar heroes
- mm zero
- river city ransom
- hollow knight
- shovel knight
- dkc2

 

[Hoppa]

Tekken 4, 5 DR and 6
Marvel vs Capcom 2 and 3
Street Fighter vs X-Men
Street Fighter III Third Strike
Mortal Kombat Trilogy and 9
Uncharted 2 and 4
TLOU 1 and 2
Resident Evil 4
Red Dead 2
GTA V
Skate
COD4
God of War PS4

Mostly fighting games and third person action/adventure. Can't think of any RPG/JRPGs ..don't think I've ever managed to finish one before

 

[Melchiah]

In no particular order...

Silent Hill
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 3
Bloodborne
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Demon's Souls (2020)
Let It Die
The Last of Us
Shadow of Memories
Resident Evil 2 (1998)
Horizon Zero Dawn
Journey
What Remains of Edith Finch
Abzu
SSX
WipEout HD + Fury
Driveclub
Unreal Tournament 2003
Resogun
Mass Effect 3 (largely for the multiplayer)

 

[bajouras]

In no particular order:
-Ratchet and Clank Going Commando
-Journey
-Enter the Gungeon
-Binding of Isaac
-Poney Island
-Jak2
-iNinja
-Trackmania Nations
-Time Crisis
- Star Wars Pod Racer
- Star Wars Jedi Academy
- GTA 5
- Bloodborne
- Overwatch
- COD Mw
- Noita
- Garry’s Mod
- Castlevania SOTN
- Thps 3
- Skyrim

 

[Tschumi]

Now look what you've done. You made me spend a couple days compiling a "Top Videogames" list that morphed into a Top 100. So here it is. I might turn this into a full-scale writing project or book or something.

One note about this list: I wanted to limit myself to one entry per series. This would save me from having to crowd out my list with the same handful of franchises that always appear in these things. I wanted to dig a little deeper and choose video and computer games that I loved since childhood, and especially shine a light on quirkier and weirder titles. My all-time favorite platform is probably the Atari 8-bit and I wanted to highlight a number of classics that are no doubt obscure today.


Top 100 Videogames (Alphabetical Order)

1. Advance Wars 2
2. Afterburner
3. Ballblazer (Atari 800, 7800)
4. Baroque (Saturn)
5. Brutal Sports Football (Jaguar)
6. Burgertime
7. Castle Wolfenstein (Atari 800)
8. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (Genesis)
9. Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest
10. Conker’s Bad Fur Day
11. Contra (NES)
12. Daytona USA
13. Devil’s Crush
14. Dodonpachi
15. Donkey Kong
16. Double Dragon 2 (NES)
17. Electrocop
18. F-Zero
19. Fast Food (2600)
20. Final Fight CD (Sega CD)
21. Fire Shark
22. Gaiares
23. Galaga
24. Ghouls ‘N Ghosts
25. Golvellius: Valley of Doom
26. Gunstar Heroes
27. Gyruss
28. Herzog Zwei
29. Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy
30. Hydro Thunder
31. John Madden Football 92
32. Just Dance 1
33. Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer
34. The Legend of Zelda
35. Llamatron 2112
36. LSD Dream Emulator
37. M.U.L.E.
38. Mario Kart Wii
39. Mega Man 2
40. Montezuma’s Revenge (Atari 800)
41. Ms. Pac-Man
42. Murder on the Zinderneuf
43. Myst
44. NBA Jam
45. NFL 2K1
46. NHL 94 (Genesis)
47. Nights Into Dreams/Xmas Nights
48. Ninja Gaiden (NES)
49. Panic/Switch
50. Panzer Dragoon Saga
51. Phantasy Star Online
52. Pinball Construction Set (Atari 800)
53. Powerslave (Saturn)
54. Q-Bert
55. Quake 3
56. Radiant Silvergun
57. Rampage
58. Revenge of Shinobi
59. Roadblasters
60. Robotron 2084
61. Saturn Bomberman
62. Sensible World of Soccer
63. Seven Cities of Gold (Atari 800)
64. Shadowgate (NES)
65. SimCity (SNES)
66. Sonic 3 & Knuckles
67. Soul Calibur
68. Space Invaders (2600)
69. Spy Hunter
70. Spy Vs Spy (Atari 800)
71. Star Fleet I: The War Begins (Atari 800)
72. Starflight (Genesis)
73. Starquake
74. Star Raiders (Atari 800)
75. Star Wars (Arcade)
76. Street Fighter Alpha 3
77. Streets of Rage 2
78. Strider (Arcade, Genesis)
79. Submarine Commander (Atari 800)
80. Super Mario 64
81. Super Mario World
82. Super Metroid
83. Tale of Beta Lyrae (Atari 800)
84. Tecmo Super Bowl
85. Tempest 2000
86. Tetris
87. Thunder Force 3
88. Todd’s Adventures in Slime World
89. Tony Hawk Pro Skater
90. Track ‘N Field
91. Virtua Cop 2
92. Virtua Fighter 2
93. Warlords (2600)
94. We Love Katamari
95. Wii Sports Resort
96. World Series Baseball 98 (Saturn)
97. Worldwide Soccer 97/98/France World Cup 98 (Saturn)
98. Xevious
99. Yars’ Revenge
100. Zeppelin (Atari 800)

Wow man awesome! Way to put in an effort! Your #1 is insane, believe it or not at the moment it and AW1 are the only games i play on my new 3ds

 

[Tschumi]

1. EverQuest
I made a lot of friends, I made a lot of enemies, and even if I never directly interacted with some players on my server (which typically hosted 1-2k players during peak hours), I could more or less recognize all the regulars and their respective haunts by sight alone. EverQuest is the most social game I've ever played, and player interaction, both positive and negative, was more or less forced by design. For all intents and purposes EverQuest was more of a chatroom with a game attached, rather than an expansive MMO with a chat window. And back in the game's hey day (pre-WoW), no matter where you went or what you were doing, the game was stuffed full of adventure, discovery, and social spectacle. And it added a lot to the experience that I played this game side by side with my significant other.

2. Age of Wonders 3
While I've played plenty of 4x games in my years, none have enthralled me like this game. I can spend just as much time creating and customizing characters (heroes) as I can playing in a night, and enjoy every minute of each. AoW3 resurrected a long-dead franchise I never expected to see the light of day again, and until it released I thought I'd be spending the rest of my life playing AoW 2: Shadow Magic. One thing that sets this game apart is the tactical combat. Unlike typical Civ games, AoW offers a wonderful tactical experience that fully delivers on the promise of playing a fantasy game with fantasy units, as each unit is unique in its collections of stats, abilities, strengths & weaknesses. And although this entry is the newest game in the series, and although the latest entry (Planetfall) does offer many improvements and streamlines certain areas, I personally find the setting of AoW3 to be much more appealing.

3. Duke Nukem 3D
While this isn't the first first person shooter I played in online multiplayer, it is by far the one I put the most hours into in the mid 90s. Only Quake 3 Arena even comes close to the time DN3D stole from me during the 90s, but the game just didn't have the personality, weapon variety, or soul that Duke Nukem had in spades.

4. DOOM 2016
Much to my dismay, by 2016 the balls-out psycho arcade shooters of the past were becoming a distant memory. Military sims, battle royales, and the dreadful story-based shooters just never worked for me, so when DOOM 2016 dropped I honestly didn't expect much. DOOM 3 had really let me down back when it first released (due to pacing and stylistic genre choices), and I just didn't think Bethesda had it in them to publish an straight up action shooter with a focus on ACTION. But this game trims the fat, punches the whole idea of a story in the balls, and gives players the first real chance to rip and tear that we've had in many years. I couldn't have been happier with this game... except that i wanted much more of it and no single-player DLC ever dropped for it. Thank god Eternal finally released, years later.

5. Mario Kart Double Dash
Many of my favorite games earned their placements here because of how much fun I had playing them with my wife. This is one such game. While the Wii is by far one of the best consoles I've ever owned, it wouldn't have delivered nearly as much fun for me if I didn't have a devout player 2 with whom to party up with and go on adventures. And while we played a whole lot of Wii games together, this one probably kept us must busy during that time.

6. Street Fighter 2
Back in the early 90s I would drive all over town playing all the variants of this game in the arcades, gas stations, donut shops, and family fun centers we had all over. I played with friends. With family. With strangers. And by myself. More quarters passed from my fingers into the bellies of these machines that any other entity on the planet. I lived and breathed this game, but I only played for the fun of it. I would never claim to have been any good at it whatsoever.

7. Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness
This was the first real time strategy game I ever played, and 25 years later I still find myself quoting the game on a regular basis. It was my first experience with the idea of orcs and introduced a lot of fantasy elements to me that I'd never before though a whole lot about. AD&D entered my life just about this same time, and it gave me a huge appreciation for the concept of humans fighting orcs. these were great years. And I remember that the guys who taught me how to play AD&D had never played computer games before, and I was able to introduce them to Warcraft 2 and blow their minds as much as AD&D had been blowing mine. I consider it nice payback.

To be continued. ...

You have successfully prompted me to pay aow3 which has been sitting in my library for about a year now never quite doing enough to yank my attention from other games.

(Sorry for double post you guessed it, on mobile and editing new posts into old ones hasn't worked for me since the gif finder feature update)

 

[salva]

Squad
Battlefield 2
Halo 3
Arkham City
GTA Vice City
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis
Battlefront 2 (original)
Arma 3
Z
Tenchu 2
R6 Raven Shield
Ghost Recon (original)
Jedi Knight Academy
Far Cry 1
Counter-Strike: Source
Crysis
Star Wars ep 1: Phantom Menace (PS1)
Unreal Tournament 2
Super Mario World

 

[Daymos]

Take all the jrpgs on everyone's list, average them out, and make it my top 20. Final fantasy, dragon quest, legend of heroes, ys, persona, Xenoblade, suikoden.. whatever, they're all great!

Ive been playing and actually finishing rpgs on consoles since 1988 and now they all seem to be called 'jrpgs'. That's the genre that I love to play and the ONLY genre that consistently holds my interest until the end. 30+ years of data and 100 or so games.. all while I bought 500 other games from other genres and mostly didn't beat them.