Hello everyone
Today I decided to try to make a list of the best games like GI did because I was bored and to try to be as unbiased and fair to the gaming culture as possible to make a universal list using reasoning mostly based on impact, cultural suggnificence and fun. Of course with all the games to come out it's impossible to make a perfect list with such little time and research but here is my go at making something at least halfway non offensive lol. Let me know what you guys think and maybe everyone can try to make a list up to top 20 or so if they want. Not sure how big i'll make mine yet
And we can all try to do the gaming world justice after the atrocities of the two game informer lists lol.
1. Super Mario World (My reason for SMW being #1 all time is when I think what is a game that will never become stale, never be dated or loses it's fun factor no matter how much time goes by, and a game that literally any walk of life from any age group until the end of time can pick up and smile ear to ear forever. That game is Super Mario World
. It's truly a cult classic and a staple of generations from it's inception until infinity. A game that entire families can bond with, people can grow with, love and enjoy no matter their skill level, or genre or background. That's what gaming is all about. Inclusiveness, accesiblity, bonding and fun. And while their are more technical games or games with deeper plot. That may appease us purists.
This game is number 1 to me because it's so open and for everyone. Purists can love it, casuals can love it and even non players can have fun. No game i can think of is as universally perfect on every front as SMW. From the beuatiful 16bit animations that look maybe even better even 20+ years later to the soundtrack that from 5 to 50 people still hum till this day. Orchestral notes, memorable boss battles. Simple but flawless gameplay. Just the cultural power it has. Is why I think when all preference is put aside it should hold the number one spot
and while they gave it to LTTP. I don't think LTTP is the type of pick up and play and enjoy icon that SMW is. It's more of a pure gamer, sit down and put hours in and it's not for everyone. The number 1 spot imo should be a game for everyone. And that's SMW
)
2. The Legend of Zelda OOT - Now while not my personal favorite of the bunch, I can see why so many people revere this game. It was the first step to bringing probably the most acclaimed and consistent video game franchise of all time to 3D visuals. A stepping stone that games like BOTW, Skyward Sword, TP, WW and all the other amazing, beautiful, breath taking 3D zelda games used to get accross. A true icon. The first time we seen link really assume his identity. The first time we felt so invested. The boss battles, the ambiance and the nostalgia. The game was light years ahead of it's time. And just for what it did for the Zelda franchise alone I think it should be 2.
3. Grand Theft Auto V - Everything from it's world, to it's story, heck even the side missions are better than some full fledged games. This game as painstakingly made with so much attention to every detail. The characters are so easily invested in and the plot being broken up into 3 protagonists, all 3 of which so varying in background but all coming to culminate in pure glory to invest your mind and soul into each of their trials and tribulations was something that is rarely exectuted with such perfection. You get 3 stories interwoven in one in a vast, sun trickled beautiful metropolis set in los santos. The buzz it garnered was surpassed by it's epicness and even it's multiplayer universe is amazing with fun missions, races, open world combat, and amazing updates that keep gameplay fresh. GTA V is a bar that ALL open world games are held to. Even the likes of Rockstar may never hit a homerun this big again)
4. Final Fantasy VII - Squaresoft perfection at it's finest. A JRPG that was so groundbreaking and innovative and so instilled in every gamers heart. And while some of the SNES FF games win the purists hearts. I think this game goes down as the greatest entry for the franchise
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5. Pokemon Red/Blue - Out of all the games I think the original list undermined, this one was so grossly undervalued in terms of what it did as a cultural impact and in the landscape of gaming. It's not like it paved the way for the best selling handheld game franchise and literally made gameboy what it was or anything lol. Pokemon as a whole was a craze that at it's peak enveloped japan, europe and america equally in a trifecta of pure legendary hype that will most likely never be seen before. From cards, to movies, to shirts, to pogs. And the games were the center piece of all of it. Every school bus, and every reccess had kids hudled up with transfer cables trading haunters. It was the Iphone before the iphone with how much it took up a kids mind. But even for adults, it's such a blast to play with easy to learn but hard to master control schemes and moves.
6. Minecraft - Minecraft is essentially the biggest video game craze of all time. And much like SMW it's a game that an 8 year old and his 30 year old dad can sit and both become completely lost in the endless creative world that is Minecraft. The game is your inner mind lol. It plays how you want it to play. And as my reasoning was for SMW. This is yet another game that anyone, from anywhere can pick up and know what to do and enjoy themselves at least somewhat. Than although different games, we factor in the tell tale story mode games which I will because it's part of the minecraft aura. The series get new life. It carved it's own lane in gaming with a genre that was either little utilized or not at all. It's your virtual bag of lincoln logs to enjoy and i'm sure kids will be having fun for a very long time. And if this was the modern generation's 8-10 year old's list 10 years from now. This is their Super Metroid lol.
7. The Legend of Zelda: A link to the past - The legend of Zelda: A link to the past is like the girl scout cookies of the gaming universe. Something so held sacred and well loved that it's reason for fights if you insult it during a midnight launch lol. A game as amazing orchestrally as it is visually and yet another 16 bit masterpiece that helped SNES win over Genesis. It's as close to perfection as you can get but only falls below SMW as the king because I find it slightly less pick up and play worthy. It's a game you are invested in 100 percent at all times and can lose hours to. SMW holds the SNES crown because of how simplistic and open to everyone it is.
8. The last of Us - The last of us is story telling brilliance at it's finest. Never in video games have I felt what it feels like to be a father not once but twice. From the tears of the beggining part of the game with your daughter (to avoid spoilers) to basically becoming the protective father figure role with Joel as you protect ellie. Watching a father struggle with the loss but also find meaning in another fathership role with the unraveling of post pandemic hell around him is just a bitter sweet symphony. It's the silver lining of beauty that lies under the horrors of a zombie apocolypse. The artistic portrayal of the protagonists as their character development grows on you more and more. Than the DLC content where Ellie grows to become the lead with what she's learnt through he endeavors. Just badass after badass character. Insane Zombie AI. The game pulls every heart string, every fear string so effortlessly. I think the reader list overated it for sure but I think it has it's place in the top 10
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9. Super Metroid - Trying to keep this list diverse is harder than I thought
. Mostly because SNES yet again has another dozen golden grails to get through but how many games have an entire genre named after them? Literally Metroidvania lol. Super Metroid is sidescrolling perfection. The dark eerie soundtrack, the brilliant level design. It's what made Samus the huge chunk of fabric on the video game cloth she is. We all have had our fun with this gem.
10. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 - You know at first, I was skeptical about it being top 10. 7 being surely too high. But then I realized It's such a meme to hate on the path COD has gone with the same old sci fi rehashings over and over. And a lot of us dislike COD. But we can't forget how impactful the franchise is in the landscape of gaming. As a huge fan of the franchise I give it the benefit of the doubt although I can understand the distain. But all the acclaim the franchise has garnered. It all stems from the huge blockbuster success COD 4 was. The game was near perfection on 3 fronts. Campaign, Multiplayer and Co-Op. So much so that it shot COD into the fore front of gaming where it still leads in total platform sales till this day during every console gen. Just off the war themed FPS copy cat clones by the boatload that came after, COD deserves a game to represent it on the top 10.
11. Bioshock - One of the most unique and beloved FPS of such a competitive and FPS riddled console gen. Very epic plot and setting
12. Mario Kart (Pick your favorite) - I know pick one is a cop out, but truly it's so devicive. Personally I think MK8 is the best but it has nowhere near the culturally impact or love as 64 or Super MK. But Mario Kart is family fun and an endless classic for families all over the world so it belongs high on the list.
13. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the wild - With so many iconic classics in the Zelda franchise, this one imo has the biggest, best, brightest and most expansive world, amazing fun side quests and a breath taking boss battles. It's got so much depth and is a huge reason why the Switch has shattered many sales records for new consoles.
14. Super Street Fighter II Turbo - Arcade classic, SNES classic that ate all of our quarters. The greatest fighting game ever made. Mic drop lol.
15. Metal Gear Solid- MGS redifined the stealth genre forever. It's so sad to see where the franchise has gone after the brilliant mind of Hideo Kojima was done so wrong
16. Super Smash Bros Melee - It was stunning to see the most beloved tournament fighter of all time fall to #50 on the original list. Smash Melee is truly yet another game that follows by the same formula Minecraft, Street fighter and SMW followed by that I think makes a perfect formula for an amazing culturally loved game. And that's being able to be picked up and enjoyed by anyone at any time until the end of the time. Not all games can have that power but games like SSBM do
17. The Elder Scrolls: Marrowind - Now while Skyrim gets so much praise, Marrowind gets so underated. I was going to put Skyrim to appease the masses but I think a lot of people here concured that their were better Elder Scrolls games as well. I always loved Marrowind
18. Final Fantasy VI - FFIII as it's called in the states is yet another SNES JRPG powerhouse and squaresoft classic. Beautiful orchestral soundtrack as we've come to expect from the SNES library of epic games.
19- Tetris - As we see another entry that follows the golden rule. So easily played by all and culturally loved. It's so easy to lose endless hours and it's a game that will be played until the end of time in every doctor's office waiting room lol. Simplicity and lack of substantial gameplay bar it from a top 15 of the greats imo though
20. Halo 2 - I find it slightly better story wise than Combat Evolved but both paved the way for the FPS genre and redefine multiplayer FPS Sci Fi combat forever.
21.Super Mario 64- The first time we set our eyes on the 3D visuals was so ground breaking for the time.
22. Grand Theft Auto Vice City
23. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
24. Pacman (Arcade)
25. Chrono Trigger
26. Mike Tyson's Punchout
27. Mass Effect 3
28. Super Mario Bros 3.
29. Donkey Kong Country
30. Gran Turismo 4
31. Mario Galaxy
32. Mega Man 2
33. God of War II
34. Batman Arkham City
35. Fall Out 3
36. half life 2
37. CastleVania Symphony of the night
38. Kingdom Hearts
39. Final Fantasy X
40. Portal
41. Secret of Mana
42. Crash Bandicoot
43. Walking Dead: A tell tale games series
44. Red Dead Redemption
45. Resident Evil 4
46. Doom
47. Need for Speed Most Wanted (2005)
48. Contra
49. Sims 2
50. Mortal Kombat II
51. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time
52. Super Mario Odyssey
53. Metroid
54. Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
55. NBA Jam: TE
56. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
57. Donkey Kong
58. The Witcher 3
59. The Legend of Zelda: The WindWaker
60. Secret of Mana
61. Sonic Adventure 2
62. Kingdom Hearts II
63. Far Cry 3
64. Goldeneye 007
65. The Legend of Zelda
66. Guitar Hero II
67. Marvel Vs Capcom 2
68. Super Castlevania IV
69. Super Smash Bros. Wii U
70. XCOM Enemy Unknown
71. Forza Motorsport 3
72. LittlebigPlanet 2
73. Bioshock Infinite
74. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
75. Tecmo Bowl
76. Earthbound
77. Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsonal
78. Final Fantasy Tactics
79. Dark Cloud 2
80. Rise of the Tomb Raider
81. Pong
82. Mario Party
83. Batman (NES)
84. Ms. Pacman
85. F-Zero
86. Star Fox 64
87. Maximum Carnage
88. Overwatch
89. God of War III
90. Fall out New Vegas
91. Pikmin 3
92. Ninja Gaiden
93. Super Mario Maker
94. Alladin
95. Galaga
96. The Simpson's Hit and Run
97. Streets of Rage 3
98. SSX Tricky
99. Crash Team Racing
100. Mass Effect 2
There is my rendition of the top 100 games of all time
. Wow was it tough and exhausting and I'm sure I made many misjudgements along the way
. But I went one go without much edits. Let me know what you guys think of the list or if it's offensive lol. Feel free to play along with your own lists if you want
. I think it'll be fun to see what people think is the best game of all time especially.
