Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 (edited) The wait is over, the panel has submitted the lists, and here it is. The Master List~! Bow down in awe and worship this list as if it were your video game system! Top 30 1) Chrono Trigger - Super Nintendo 2) Super Mario Bros. 3 - Nintendo 3) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Nintendo 64 4) Super Metroid - Super Nintendo 5) Metal Gear Solid - PlayStation 6) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - PlayStation 7) Final Fantasy VI - Super Nintendo 8) Tetris - Nintendo 9) Final Fantasy VII - PlayStation 10) Legend of Zelda: Link To The Past - Super Nintendo 11) Mario 64 - Nintendo 12) Gunstar Heroes - Genesis 13) Super Mario Kart - Super Nintendo 14) Final Fantasy Tactics - PlayStation 15) Super Mario Bros. - Nintendo 16) Resident Evil - PlayStation 17) Mike Tyson’s Punch Out - Nintendo 18) Secret of Mana - Super Nintendo 19) Xenogears - PlayStation 20) Resident Evil 2 - PlayStation 21) Legend of Zelda - Nintendo 22) Soul Calibur - Arcade 23) Suikoden II - PlayStation 24) Super Mario World - Super Nintendo 25) Mega Man 3 - Nintendo 26) Legend of Zelda: Adventure - Nintendo 27) Street Fighter III: Third Strike - Arcade 28) Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo - Arcade 29) Resident Evil: Code Veronica - DreamCast 30) Golden Eye: 007 - Nintendo 64 And there you have it. The list of Top 30 games. Marvel at it. In a few moments I'll filter a few posts of individual lists of who voted where. But there you have it! The list of TSM's Top 30 Games! Edit: Due to a "minor" botch concerning Legend of Zelda, the list has been "corrected". Edited May 16, 2005 by Lightning Flik Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 (edited) 1.Final Fantasy VII(PSX) The most important RPG of all time. Square's masterpiece single handidly gave Sony much needed credibility and introduced RPGs to millions of gamers. The game's story is unforgettable and the cast includes some of the most popular characters in all of gaming. 2.Metal Gear Solid(PSX) As much a movie as it is a game, MGS is one of the first and still the best cinematic action games. The story is told with great voice work and amazing cutscenes. The gameplay is just as good, with some very clever bosses and stealth action that's been copied many times. 3.GoldenEye 007(N64) GE's single player game was one of the first FPS to use mission objectives and a more cinematic approach but it was the multiplayer that stole the show. Deathmatch in FPS had been standard in PC games for years but it was GE that really started the trend for console games. 4.Tekken 5(PS2) After 10 years of Tekken games Namco has perfected the 3D fighter. The game has a large cast of characters, beautiful stages, tons of extras and deep gameplay. 5.DOOM(PSX) Wolfenstein 3D came first, but it was DOOM that got the FPS genre off and rolling. The deathmatch mode changed the face of PC gaming forever. Primative by todays standards, the game's perfectly designed enemies, levels and weapons continue to make the game fun. The PSX version features most of the levels from the first two games as well as co-op and deathmatch via link cable. 6.Super Street Fighter II Turbo(arcade) The original SF II is one of the most revolutionary games of all time. Super Turbo takes what was great about that and updates it with new characters, new moves and new game mechanics. Refined and revised to perfection, Super Turbo is one of the most balanced fighting games. Despite being a decade old the game is still played in tournaments. 7.Mortal Kombat Triloy(PSX) The ultimate MK game. MKT takes MK3's gameplay and adds in all of the characters from MK1-3 and most of the backgrounds. 8.Resident Evil(PSX) Basically invented the survival horror genre. The voice acting is horrible, but it only adds to the charm. 9.Final Fantasy VIII(PSX) FF VIII gameplay was much different than the traditional FF with the draw system replacing MP and weapon upgrading instead of purchasing new equipment. Squall & Rinoa's story is the best love story in a rpg. 10.Super Metroid(SNES) A game way ahead of it's time. Super Metroid is cinematic without having many actual cutscenes, instead telling it's story through atmosphere. The final boss battle and escape sequence is one of the most thrilling climaxes ever. 11.Metal Gear Solid 2(PS2) Even more cutscenes and story than the original. Full of surprises, including a new main character and frequent plot twists. New additions to the gameplay include a first person view and new moves. 12.Resident Evil 2(PSX) The mysterious mansion setting is gone, replaced with the entire town of Racoon city. Much more action and fighting than the original. The unique "zapping" system allows you to experience the game from both characters perspectives. 13.Mortal Kombat II(arcade) Takes the original and doubles the content. Twice as many characters, stages and finishing moves. Considered by many fans to be the best in the series. 14.Streets of Rage 2(Genesis) The perfect beat em up. Special moves and team up attacks added more depth to the gameplay. The soundtrack is a 16 bit era classic. 15.Megaman X(SNES) A complete overhaul of the classic NES Megaman game. Great level and boss design and plenty of hidden weapons to find. 16.Twisted Metal 2(PSX) The original TM invented the car combat genre. The second has much smoother and faster gameplay and fighting game style special attacks. No car combat game has yet to dethrone it. 17.Castlevania Symphony of the Night(PSX) Basically Metroid in the Castlevania universe. Beautiful 2D art and a haunting soundtrack. 18.Killer Instinct(arcade) At the time the graphics and sound were stunning. The chain combo system was revolutionary and is copied in almost every current fighting game franchise. 19.Megaman X4(PSX) The first 32 bit MMX game. You can pick between X and Zero and each has their own seprate game with different bosses and weapons. 20.Final Fantasy X(PS2) A great love story. Has new features like an elimation of the typical LVL up system in favor of a sphere grid and full voice work. More importantly the characters are some of the most memorable in a RPG. 21.Halo(Xbox) The best FPS since GoldenEye. A single player mode as good as the multiplayer. The two weapon system and vehicles seperated it from other FPS at the time. 22.Knights of the Old Republic(Xbox) You don't need to like Star Wars to enjoy Bioware's Xbox RPG. The thing that makes the game great is the massive amount of different conversations and options you have when dealing with people. Your created character is not just an avatar with no personality, but a fully fleshed out person. 23.NBA JAM TE(arcade) One of the most influencial sports games. The simple, arcadey gameplay is easy enough for anyone to play, fan of basketball or not. The hidden characters were a popular feature that's been copied in many future games. 24.Street Fighter Alpha 2(arcade) The sequel to a prequel to the sequel to Street Fighter. Added custom combos and debuted popular character Sakura. 25.Grand Theft Auto III(PS2) One of the most popular games ever. Although it was the third in the series it's 3D gameplay made it a totally new experience. The open ended gameplay allows you to nearly go anywhere and do anything. Take on missions however you want and complete them at your liesure. 26.Final Fight(arcade) A classic beat em up. Team up with a friend to battle the evil Mad Gear Gang. Several of the characters went on to join the Street Fighter series. 27.Street Fighter III 3rd Strike(arcade) One of the most deep and balanced fighting games. Perfectly refined 2d gameplay with an innovative parry system. 28.Donkey Kong Country(SNES) DKC's unbelievable graphics sent a clear message that the 16 bit era wasn't quite over yet. The levels are full of secret room and items. 29.Starfox 64(N64) Sequel to the 3D flight game for SNES. Branching paths and medals to earn add replay value. You don't spend all your time flying, there are special tank and submarine missions for added variety. 30.Sunset Riders(arcade) A 4 player Contra style sidescrolling shooter with hilarious voice work. There's all kinds of wacky situations like riding a horse while bad guys throw barrels at you or running on top of stampeeding cattle. Edited May 16, 2005 by Lightning Flik Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 1. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64) 2. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) 3. Tales of Symphonia (GameCube) 4. Gunstar Heroes (Genesis) 5. Chrono Trigger (Super NES) 6. Resident Evil Code: Veronica (Dreamcast) 7. Fire Pro Wrestling D (Dreamcast- import only) 8. Soul Calibur (Dreamcast) 9. Animal Crossing (GameCube) 10. Halo 2 (Xbox) 11. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (GameCube) 12. Phantasy Star Online (Xbox) 13. Super Mario World (Super NES) 14. Resident Evil 2 (Nintendo 64) 15. Capcom vs. SNK 2 (Dreamcast- import only) 16. Sim City (Super NES) 17. Mega Man 3 (NES) 18. Contra III: The Alien Wars (Super NES) 19. Mario Kart: Double Dash (GameCube) 20. Perfect Dark (Nintendo 64) 21. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GameCube 22. WWF No Mercy (Nintendo 64 23. ESPN NFL 2K5 (Xbox) 24. Ultra Bust-A-Move (Xbox) 25. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES) 26. Mega Man X (Super NES) 27. Dance Dance Revolution (various) 28. Oregon Trail (PC) 29. Grand Theft Auto III (Xbox) 30. NBA Jam Tournament Edition (Arcade) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 1. Xenogears - Greatest storyline in games, best music, innovative battle system, it's just the perfect game. Yes, even disc 2. 2. Chrono Trigger - Fun lighthearted time travel story, likeable characters, my favorite battles in any RPG. The setting and atmosphere is really well done. Each time is detailed and has it's own characters with their own certain type of personality. 3. Resident Evil - This is the game that in 96 (at at time where I had just stopped playing about everything except for RPGs) made me take a step back and say "No RPG can do this." Playing RE without a memory card, 4-5 hours into the game, I was seriously creeping around, walking slowly, scared to death of what was in the next room because I didn't want to have to start all over. It's one of the best experiences I've ever had with a video game. It was the original story, I personally think the music fit the game the best in the series, the crappy controls actually ADDED to the survival horror feeling, so did the non-moving camera angles. The angled view always made it seem like it was someone watching you. 4. Final Fantasy X - Playstation 2 - Like a combination of the best FF qualities. Combine the plot and fast battles of FF4, the characters and music of FF6, the same appeal FF7 had with graphics, throw in a battle system that manages to sucessfully pull off character individuality and custimination without making the game super easy and you get FFX. I don't usually make a big deal out of how it looks but some of areas of FFX were breathtaking and it really made a difference. The character voices made Spira come alive even further. 5. Dragon Warrior 4 - Taking 100+ hours and spanning a world maybe 5 times the size of the biggest Final Fantasy, no game feels as epic as a DW. What sets DW4 apart from the other DWs is it has 9 characters all with different stories told in different chapters forming pieces of a great plot. 6. Final Fantasy 4 - Excellent story, battles, and music. It's here above FF's 6-9 because it's challenging (An easy game is a boring game to me), it has character individuality in battles (meaning Kain doesn't use the same spells as Tellah and the characters aren't just a collection of materia/magacite slots), and there's always something happening. Although I'm not certain, I believe it may have revolutized RPGs by being a game where you didn't have to stop and level up at all and also for bringing the active turn base system into RPGs. 7. Secret of Mana - Take Zelda and give it an interesting story. Being able to play it with friends made it more fun to me than any Zelda game. 8. Battletoads - It's my favorite 2D platformer because of the variety of the stages. There's 13 totally different stages, and each one plays different. It's a blast with 2 players both in double teaming enemies and randomly decided to kill your friend. And the fact that it's hard as hell and I've still never managed to beat yet is what makes me keep going back to it thinking "Maybe I'll do it this time" and why it's above Super Mario 3. 9. Super Metroid - The atmosphere did an incredible job at making you feel alone in a strange planet. And the stage design was some of the best ever. 10. Lemmings - SNES - Highly addictive and challenging puzzles. Obstacles vary in every stage keeping you guessing on what to do next. Thanks to the fun 20 stage 2 player mode, the SNES is the best version. 11. Resident Evil: Code Veronica - The best storyline of all the REs and the creepiest villain. 12. Zelda - Still hasn't been matched in terms of exploration and probably never will be. Not only did you have to burn random bushes and blow up random rocks to find shops, hints, and casinos, but you had to do it to even just find the dungeons. Especially in the second quest. 13. Eternal Darkness - Perfect voice acting and music. Creepy Lovecraft inspired settings. Amazing storyline told with different chapters and the game also has a twisted sense of humor. 14. Final Fantasy Tactics - Most fun strategy RPG. 15. Castlevania: SOTN - Castlevania meets the level design of Super Metroid and the stat building of a RPG game turned into one of the greatest platformers. 16. Final Fantasy Adventure - The actual first game in the Secret of Mana series, gameplay was great with having to use all kinds of weapons and spells to get past puzzles. A moving storyline with some serious sad parts, such as when you had to kill the girl traveling with you because she got poisoned by a monster before she turned into a monster herself. 17. Zelda: Link's Awakening - Like the original Zelda, a huge world with secrets everywhere. I love the fact that you can jump and it was the first Zelda game where you could combine different items. Shocking for a Zelda game, it has a really awesome ending. The ending didn't pull any punches. There's no princess saved or evil conquered, just all the characters you getting to know throughout the game ceasing to exist. 18. Super Mario Bros 3 - Forever changed the way platformers were looked at with the hubworld. Gigantic lands with different environments. Hundreds of enemies. Lots of new abilities for Mario such as the ability to fly. 19. Metroid Prime - I had my doubts about Metroid turning into a FPS, but it worked. They actually took the gameplay of Super Metroid and gave it even more atmosphere in a FPS. It seriously felt more like a Metroid game than the 2D Metroid on Game Boy Advance. 20. Conker's Bad Fur Day - Hilarious from start to finish. I don't want to spoil it by giving examples but most of the humor really doesn't come from the swearwords but the general sillyness of the situations. First 3D platformer that honestly felt like an adventure to me because of the size of the world and everything you have to do in it. The gameplay and setting is always constantly changing and so it never gets old because you're always doing something new. 21. Resident Evil 2 - Playstation - The scariest RE. There's almost nothing like walking through a hallway and having a big 10 foot tall undefeatable monster with a trenchcoat bust through a wall to come after you. 22. F-Zero GX - Gamecube - I've always been a big fan of F-Zero because of the speed of the cars but this game goes even faster. Super Mario Kart single player and Gran Turismo just doesn't give you the same thrill in their races. There's 40 different cars, you can design cars, and it has a story mode. This game kept me addicted for weeks. 23. Lufia 2 - SNES - Awesome dungeons and puzzles, well developed characters, fun battle system 24. Blaster Master - NES - Years before its time, BM blew me away with suprisingly atmospheric stages. If you go to the claustrophic level 4 sewers, then come outside to the relaxing level 1, the difference is like night and day. Every world feels different. Tight controls, gigantic mazes, two modes of play, extremely hard, good music, 8 parts for the tank making the way you play the game change a little bit after every stage. It starts to get insane when you can make the tank walk on ceilings. 25. Earthbound - SNES - Reason it's on the list is because of its uniqueness. To this day, there's nothing that quite resembles it. What other game is set in modern times and lets you go to Stonehenge, use an ATM machine, go to shopping malls and arcade, and order a pizza? Also has some nice changes to tradtional RPG gameplay. You can sneak up behind enemies and surprise them, or they can sneak up behind you on the screen and catch you by surprise. When you're mortally wounded, you don't instantly die. You have a bit of time to save them (just like in real life). I love the concept of HP going down slowly. It makes battles much more exciting because it forces you to hurry. Also I get tired of the same epic dramas with angsty characters where you have to save the world, sometimes I want a lightheared story that makes you laugh and pokes fun at everything. Whoa, this is getting a bit long. 26. Zelda: A Link to the Past - SNES - It's hard to explain why this game is so great in just a few sentences. It's more just a result of everything in it coming together to make a really fun solid game. Excellent dungeon design as always, great music, a ton of secrets and puzzles. The dark world is immersive, you really feel in danger and out of place. 27. Final Fantasy 6 - SNES - Impressively detailed characters, wonderful mood setting music, and a pretty good plot for at least half of the game. 28. Mega Man 2 - NES - The useful weapons really sets this apart from all the other Mega Mans and makes it more fun. IMO it has the best music in the series. Mega Man 3 comes real close and it has the slide making the controls even better, but in the end I just had more fun with MM2. 29. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - PS2 - With probably has the biggest world in any video game, you could spent hours and hours just having fun in it doing random things completely outside the missions. Also has better gameplay than all the other GTAs, a fun stat system which lets you improve yourself, and a great setting. 30. Super Monkey Ball - Gamecube - The best multiplayer game ever made. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 I don't think the chat log is really necessary to post. *shrug* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 1- Zelda OOT (N64) 2- Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles (Megadrive) 3- Mario world (Snes) 4- Resident Evil 2 (PS) 5- Metal Gear Solid: The twin snakes (GC) 6- Mario 64 (N64) 7- Megaman 3 (NES) 8- Sonic 2 (Megadrive) 9- Street fighter 3: 3rd strike (Arcade) 10- Ratchet and Clank 3: up your arsenal (PS2) 11- Goldeneye (N64) 12- Kingdom hearts (PS2) 13- Nights into dreams (Saturn) 14- Chrono Tigger (Snes) 15- The King of fighters 98 (Arcade/neogeo) 16- Metal Slug 3 (Arcade/Neogeo) 17- Viewtiful Joe (GC/PS2) 18- Resident Evil 4 (GC) 19- Castlevania Aria of sorrow (GBA) 20- Shenmue 2 (DC) 21- Daytona USA 2 (Arcade) 22- Devil May Cry 3 (PS2) 23- Katamari Damacy (PS2) 24- Snatcher (Mega CD) 25- Gunstar heros (Megadrive) 26- The curse of monkey island (PC) 27- Dynamite Headdy (Megadrive) 28- Streets of Rage 2 (Megadrive) 29- Captain Tsubasa 2 (Famicom) 30- Sunset Riders (Arcade) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest JebusNassedar Report post Posted May 16, 2005 I would like to add a disclaimer that I disown the top five games. Just saying. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 30. Metal Slug 3 - Arcade 29. Chrono Trigger - SNES 28. Super Smash Bros. Melee - Gamecube 27. Street Fighter Alpha 2 - Arcade 26. Super Mario Kart - SNES 25. Starfox 64 - Nintendo 64 24. Goldeneye - N64 23. Guardian Heroes - Saturn 22. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - PS1 21. Grand Theft Auto III - PS2 20. Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact - Arcade 19. Katamari Damacy – PS2 18. Gunstar Heroes - Genesis 17. Metal Gear Solid - PS1 16. NBA Jam – Arcade 15. Ms. Pac-Man - Arcade 14. Final Fantasy Tactics - PS1 13. Metroid Prime - Gamecube 12. Soul Calibur 2 - GC/X-Box/PS2 11. Halo - X-Box 10. Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando - PS2 9. Tetris - NES 8. Devil Dice - PS1 7. Legend of Zelda - NES 6. Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past - SNES 5. Super Mario Bros.- NES 4. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - N64 3. Mario 64 - N64 2. Super Metroid - SNES 1. Super Mario Bros 3 - NES Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 #30 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 Whether you liked it or not, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater changed the way people look at gaming, as it took a genre previously seen as being hopeless and legitimizing it, starting a genre that, love it or hate it, is a hot thing right now. But, the first game is not NEARLY as good as it’s sequel, which improved every good thing about the first game. #29 Sonic and Knuckles By no means the best Sonic game, but the only one with an original concept that worked. The idea to essentially have four games on one cartridge is ingenious. The actual Sonic and Knuckles game is probably the most artistic Sonic game since the first one, and is a lot of fun to play. Just not always as fun as the addon cart games, which is why this game is so low. #28 Rise of Nations Real time strategy games are a hard genre to define, as they encompass every possible subject, spreading from history to nonfiction, but of all of these games, the best is Rise of Nations. It takes every advance made in Real Time Strategy made in the last two decades, wraps them into one, and creates the best real time strategy game of all time, plain and simple. #27 Virtua Tennis Tennis games are odd, in that the sport is so easy to learn as well as being great exercise, it makes you question even playing a Tennis game. Well, Sega has just enough to keep a skeptical actual Tennis player like myself playing it day in and day out. It takes Tennis and changes it enough to be simple enough for your drooling mentally handicapped younger brother entertained, but has just enough depth that it keeps it addictively challenging as you go on. #26 Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt KERTAAANG!! The best pack-in in gaming history, having two exceptionally fun games in one cartridge. Super Mario Bros is, well, Super Mario Bros, and Duck Hunt stands tall as the greatest lightgun shooter of all time, despite the advances made in technology. Now if only you could shoot that damn dog. #25 Worms Turn based invertebrate warfare. This was the start of something that didn’t end up great, but for a while there, you couldn’t have more fun than you could with a two player game of worms. The game wasn’t entirely original, as the concept is not new, but the tounge in cheek humor as well as sheer ease to play make the game fun every time you play. #24 Daytona USA The single greatest arcade racer of all time, and one of the first that were any good. Compared with modern games, it is in no way distinct, but you have to keep in mind that most of modern arcade racers come from Daytona and the example it set. It wasn’t the first arcade racer, but it was the undeniable best. #23 Rampage One of the greatest multiplayer games of all time, and a game who’s follow-ups have failed to tarnish it’s incredible reputation. Rampage was a simple game that was so fun, you could not help but continue to play until your eyes bled. There was nothing complex about the game, but the accessability of it is what made it so amazing. #22 Dynamite Heddy Certainly not the last time Treasure is gonna show up here. Dynamite Heddy is a truly amazing platformer, with the most unique presentation in the history of the genre, a consistant theme, a great mechanic with the multiple heads, and most importantly, replay value, just to see it all unfold once more. #21 Warlords The short version? Four player pong that’s a ton of fun. In longer form, Warlords is the original must-play 4 player Multiplayer game. The game is a four player game with four trackballs, and starts with one ball. Each player has a castle of sorts, and the point is to hit the portrait of the player in the center of their forts, while keeping yourself alive as more balls start to fly. The last one standing wins, and even if you do win, the urge to play again and again is so overwhelming, it keeps you occupied until the arcade ends up closing. (This game is better known as the extra game on Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete on one of the extra discs.) #20 Katamari Damacy It’s fucked up. It’s just really, really fucked up. I could talk about how original the gameplay is, or how awesome the music is, but that’s beyond the point. The point is, this game is so hilariously fucked up it’s one of the greatest games of all time. #19 Garou: Mark of the Wolves The only competition that Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike had in the time of it’s release, not to mention SNK’s last truly great one on one fighting game, and it’s most revolutionary effort for the one on one format. The depth of the game was amazing for a fighting game, and the character design was some of the best in fighting game history. Not a single character is forgettable, and each character plays entirely different, even if they share the same moves. Such depth in a 2D fighter hasn’t been seen since Street Fighter 2. #18 Giga Wing 2 Shmups are probably the single most accessable genre in gaming, and Giga Wing is easily the best of this genre since it’s first game, Space Invaders. While not one of the single greatest games of all time like the genre’s originator, it is certainly #2, and probably the best in recent history, with simple gameplay, and stunning challenges and levels. The first game was exceptional. The second was awe inspiring. #17 Civilization 2 The turn based strategy game is one of the most common genres of all time, with simple controls and deep strategy. Every system had one or two amazing turn based games, normally turn based RPGs, which we’ll get to later. Of the turn based strategy genre, the best series in the genre is by far, Sid Meier’s legendary Civilization. The prolific genre peaked at Civilization 2, by taking everything that made Civ 1 an incredible experience, and making it better, creating a game so deep that no game has matched it, AND been fun like this game.. #16 Phantasy Star IV Compared to all other real time RPGs, Phantasy Star IV stands tall. The game’s story is completely enveloping, drawing you in from the very beginning with an impressive narrative. The game has some of the greatest characters in gaming, from Rune, smart ass magician, to Raja, priest with no comedic timing. The battle is simple but always entertaining to play, making this the first game where random encounters are actually not a complete chore. #15 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night While Metroid made the room-by-room action adventure game, Konami took that concept, and made Nintendo look absolutely foolish. The game has action, adventure, RPG elements that work, and hundreds of ways to play through the game, as well as multiple endings, tons of secrets, and everything you need to make a game an experience that is worth coming back to, even after so many years after it’s release. #14 Virtua Fighter 2 You know you’re good when Smithsonian recognizes you as the best. The 3D Fighter genre is still very young, but when it’s all said and done, Virtua Fighter 2 is the best. Solid gameplay, amazing characters, depth where it counts, and shallowness where it should be. Everything about the game is designed to be the most fun possible, and for this goal, it succeeds. #13 Astro Boy: Omega Factor Anime games are iffy, to say the least. More than 90% of the time, you end up with something so contrived and boring, like the dreadful Lupin The 3rd game, that it even turns off fans of the genre. With Astro Boy, this is so not the case that it’s insane. Astro Boy is one of the greatest sidescrollers of all time simply because there’s nothing wrong with it. It plays like a dream, looks great for a GBA game, and has a story that is almost as entertaining to follow as the game is to play. #12 Marble Madness Difficult? Yes. Irritating? Definitely. Addictive? Most certainly. Marble Madness is the best “marble in a massive nonsensical maze” game ever. The game does not have a single bit of competition, as no games are even halfway like it, and that’s probably a good thing, as I don’t think the world could deal with two Marble Madness games. #11 The Mark of Kri Unique visuals, Hong Kong Action Movie violence, tense stealth sequences, and the most original gameplay in years make The Mark of Kri a game that no one bought, but everyone should have played. There is but one flaw in this game, and it’s only replay value. The difficulty is high, but not enough to keep new gamers away, the presentation is alluring, the combat system is absolutely brilliant, the animation style is crisp, and the game is fun from start to finish, and even afterwards. The Mark of Kri is the single greatest PS2 Action Title ever made, possibly the very best of this entire generation. #10 River City Ransom The beat’em up genre has been around for a long, long time, and unlike most genres, the very first is still the very best. River City Ransom combines elements of roleplaying and adventure, but put those on the side to favor the sheer viciousness of combat. While by todays standards, it doesn’t look so great, the game is dazzlingly fun. While it may not be pure beatings like Double Dragon, it was varied enough to keep players coming back time after time after time. #9 Space Invaders Like beatemups, shootemups are an old, OLD genre, with only a few games that really define what being a shootemup is all about. And the best nonstory based shootemup is inarguably Space Invaders. While Centipede was fast and furious, and Galaga served as a template for modern shooters, Space Invaders was the most addictive of all of them, not to mention most fun. #8 Shining Force Take an RPG with a captivating story, add incredible strategy elements, and you have Shining Force, a brilliant turn based RPG. It was accessible enough for everyone, but deep enough to keep gamers interested, and as you progressed and got better, you actually felt like you were really getting better, and not tricking different enemies into traps like the second game. An overall amazing game that broke a lot of ground. #7 Street Fighter 2 There were fighting games before this one, yes, but I defy you to name one with the tremendous impact this game had. The template for modern fighters, SF2’s impact is so immense that current fighting game fans still play the game like it was just released. #6 Pac Man A game so fun it had it’s own song. Pac Man took the simplicity of those weird maze books, and added pellets, ghosts, and fruit, making it essentially a living maze. The game is frantic, challenging, and so simple to play even 2 year old s could play the old arcade version. I wouldn’t put it past babies to be able to play it. #5 Metal Slug 2 Easily the world’s most violent sidescroller, Metal Slug 2 is a brutal animated adventure, and while the areas traveled don’t actually make a lot of sense, it doesn’t have to, as the gameplay is more than enough to keep you enthralled. While not the apex of the platforming shooter (that’s coming up soon) it’s enough fun to ensure that many, many generations of people will play this awesome game. #4 Super Mario Bros. 3 THE platformer. Nothing really needs to be said about Super Mario Bros. 3, as it’s reputation precedes it. #3 Gunstar Heroes Now THIS is the apex of sidescrolling shooters. Gunstar Heroes is also Treasure’s crowning achievement, and remains unmatched to this day. The game is bursting with originality, from the weapon combination system to the variety of enemies. Sure, the game can be difficult, but when you hit the ending, it’s just that more satisfying. #2 Half-Life Doom made first person shooters. Half-Life took them to an entirely new level. By truly making you the main character, the game presented an original experience in a truly limited genre, at the time. A huge arsenal of weapons and now legendary fan support took this game to the next level. Truly the greatest FPS of all time, and that says a whole lot. #1 Tetris The greatest game of all time. It created a genre full of cheap imitations, and to this day, remains the best puzzle game of all time. A game that appeals to all ages, cultures, genders, and careers. A professional pessimist will love this game, and will for all time. The best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 30) Wario Ware 29) Devil May Cry 3 28) No Mercy 27) Knights of the Old Republic 26) Super Mario Kart 25) Disgaea: Hour of Darkness 24) Super C 23) Shining Force 22) Shenmue 21) Tales of Symphonia 20) Super Mario Bros. 19) Mike Tyson's Punch Out 18) King of Fighters 98 17) Phantasy Star IV 16) Eternal Darkness 15) Metroid Prime 14) Ico 13) Street Fighter: 3rd Strike 12) Blades of Steel 11) Crystalis 10) Tetris 09) Ninja Gaiden 08) Sonic 2 07) Mega Man 3 06) Space Invaders 05) Final Fantasy VII 04) Super Mario Bros. 3 03) Super Metroid 02) Chrono Trigger 01) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 1. Street Fighter II: This title belongs on any top game list. It's popularity in the 90's practically single handedly created the fighting game genre and all other after it are just imitiations. Some of improved and even surpassed the franchise, but this is the originator. 2. Tetris: Create lines by dropping different shapped blocks. Fun. Addictive. Who hasn't spend hours playing this game? 3. Final Fantasy I: The first truly popular rpg for the home console, this game let you create your own party, customize it and had plenty of features. It was groundbreaking when it came out and I still like it. 4. Pacman: Weaving through a maze avoiding ghosts and collecting dots. Simple and addictive. 5. Metal Gear Solid: Superb graphics and gameplay, dark, gritty and excellent BGM. A must have for any special-ops fan. Downsides: Too many FMV and I didn't care for the anti-nuclear stance, otherwise a great story. 6. Final Fantasy 6: Arguably the best in the Final Fantasy series, and certainly better than anything that came before it. With over a dozen characters yet each is given a story that developes as the game goes on, all without detracting from the main storyline, but enchancing it. A must have for your library. 7. Star Ocean 2: Very non-linear game with a real active battle system and the best customization features, letting you create weapons, armour, equipment, spells, learn special abilities, write books and create music, among others. Up to 80 different endings. Awesome RPG. 8. Secret of Mana: You play a hero, who happens to be descended from the Mana Knight, you find 2 other allies (a girl and a sprite) and together you set out to protect the Tree of Mana and save civilization. Action RPG, non-turn based. 9. Seiken Densetsu 3: The sequel to SoM and superior in every way. You can choose from 6 main characters, and 2 allies from the remaining 5. Class systems based on choices you make and the number of characters each with their own storyline gives this game excellent replay value. 10. Chrono Trigger: Travel through time to save it. Excellent story and character development and probably the first RPG with multiple endings. A pity its sequel Chrono Cross is not as good. 11. Final Fantasy Tactics: Brought to you by the same team that made Tactics Ogre (which I haven't played), this strategy RPG is an FF title in name only; it stands well enough on it's own with mixture of intrigue, warfare and a story that slowly unfolds as you play it. Unlike other heroes, you are not praised, but reviled as a heretic. Graphics could be better, especially in light of the other FF games. The music is second to none. My favourite game. 12. Xenogears 13. Tekken 4 14. Soul Blade 15. Pirates! 16. Street Fighter Alpha 3 (PS1) 17. Zelda II 18. Final Fantasy 7 19. Super Mario Sunshine 20. Animal Crossing 21. Golden Sun 1 and 2. 22. The Sims 23. Contra 24. River City Ransom 25. Bionic Commado 26. Bomberman 28. Gran Turismo 29. Gunstar Heros 30. Sonic Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Askewniverse Report post Posted May 16, 2005 I don't think the chat log is really necessary to post. *shrug* I agree. There's a lot of useless filler in the chat log. The overall top 30 list is all you really need. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 #1 -- Mike Tyson's Punchout NES -- This is the game I find you can always go back and play over and over again. The gameplay is tremenously addicting, it may be the top game ever for people of my age reminicing about the good old days. The graphics still look great today and the charactors are all memoarable. Not my favourite game ever but one of them #2 -- Ninja Gaiden NES -- It brought us cinema scenes and less hair on our head because we were always pulling it out. The controls are excellent, the story is cooler than ice and the whole game is just one big adrenaline ride. It was beautiful how the cineam scenes in this game gave you the inspiration to get through the thing. And of course they had the boss after boss after boss thing at the end which I always love. #3 -- Resident Evil Playstation -- The first game to bring fear into everyone's hearts this is the game that really got the Playstation on a roll. Screw what everyone else thinks. The controls add fear to the game. Just a whole new experience. Nobody ever forgets the dogs breaking through the windows. #4Super Mario Kart SNES -- Even girlfriends and wives who nag their boyfriends and husbands love this game. For that alone this game makes it up this far. The 2 player combat was terrific. 1 player was sweet as well #5 -- Ms Pac Man Atari 2600 -- I know Pac Man caused coin shortages. I don't know if Ms Pac Man did but I say it's the better game so it gets this posistion. Still addicting to this day. I love it. #6 -- Zelda (original) NES -- A game responsable for bringing alduts to the NES. Fantastic although frustrating at times this was the beginning of the famous series. #7 -- Zelda The Orican of Time N64 -- Zelda in 3D which still has the spirit of the 2D games. What more do you want? #8 -- Zelda II The Adventures of Link NES -- A great adventure which I feel is underrated in the Zelda universe. #9 -- Super Mario Brothers NES -- HOw could this not be here? Everybody played this and it's still a great game today. One of the most famous games ever and one of the first games to wow us for the NES. A new generation of games was here. #10 -- Tetris NES -- The most famous puzzle game ever which doesn't take any time at all in learning how to play. Extreamly addicting. #11 -- Resident Evil II Playstation -- I love it. Yeah, that's my reason #12 Super Smash TV SNES -- Great 2 player game though I had just as much fun on one player with it. Tremendous graphics and a great game for learning how to use the SNES controller. Instense as anything and it never lets up. Just plain old fun. #13 -- Contra III SNES -- I feel this is perhaps the best of the series. You're climbing up walls with gun in one hand and holding on with the other while you have Predator like music coming out from your SNES. You jump you shoot and you annihilate. This is what videogames are meant to be. You beat the game on hard and you get more even fun. I love it. #14 -- Chrono Trigger SNES -- Cherish the music score. I play RPGs with the lowest levels possable and this was one of the games that gave me the funnest challenge while doing that. #15 -- Final Fantasy IV SNES -- Blew me away more than any other RPG ever has. The music is the best. #16 -- Metal Gear Solid Playstation -- It earned its hype coming in. Full of cool new stuff and it's one of those games that you can tell the creators put a lot of effort into. Everything was perfect especially Mei Ling's voice #17 -- Bionic Commando NES -- Could be off here but I'm just going completely by memory here with myself, my brother and my aunt's boyfriend all really enjoying this. An instinct pick to a degree #18 -- Resident Evil Code Vericona Dreamcast -- It kind of got me back into video games. #19 -- Mystical Ninja starring Goemon N64 -- Loved the sense of adventure, the wacked out humour and the soundtrack. Just fun, fun, fun, fun. #20 -- Double Dragon II NES -- 2 player mode was great. I'm a mark for going from area to area and just beating punks up. Just like Dukes of Hazzard Billy and Jimmy are true men. #21 -- Super Mario Brothers III NES -- A tremendous piece of work #22 -- Double Dragon NES -- I just love the scenery, going from place to place and beating thugs up. Seeing how long I can last each time I play. #23 -- Battletoads NES -- Kind of like Metal Gear Solid -- Lots of imagination and lots of different things to do. Fun and challenging all the way #24 --- Contra NES -- The first of the series so I'll put it here. It's great for a lot of the same reasons COntra III is great. Plus it's one of the best known games for the Konami code. #24 Final Fantasy NES -- Along with Dragon Warrior responsable for starting the RPG craze #25 Super Castlevania IV SNES --Ghrapics, gameplay, medusa heads, it's all here. #26 Xenogears Playstation -- It made me think and the charactors I liked especially Elly. Tremendous adventure and I love redheads. #27 Teenage Mutant NInja Turtles NES -- Everyone always seems to talk about this game and I remember it fondly so I'm putting it here #28 Final Fight SNES -- They had a wrestler charactor when wrestling wasn't cool. They showed breast cleavage. The main villan at the end goes out the window just like the guy on the starting of Kung Fu The Legend Continues. The best of the beat'em ups after the NES days. #29 Pong Atari 2600 -- Because it's largely responsable for getting video games off of the groun #30 -- Metroid NES -- Even though I haven't played it I am going by what I know and other's opinions plus influence on the gaming industry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 30: Snatcher: graphic adventure Huh, huh, huh. Snatcher. A rarely played Sega CD graphic adventure. More an interactive click and read game, it succeeds with it’s terrific mood, suspense, great supporting characters, attractive graphics, and terrific world-building. You can really see this leading into the ultra-cinematic MGS games (this is a Kojima game). A very cool cyberpunk adventure. 29: Legend of Zelda: Adventure Well, we all know this one. From the minute you saw the gold cartridge, you knew this was a winner. Excellent game that still plays well today, with very inventive enemies and items. Each new weapon was a treat. It also had great (though repetitive) music. A truly massive game for the time as well. 28: ICO: Puzzle/Adventure This may seem like heresy, but this game’s on here almost primarily for its visuals. No other game (well, maybe Wind Wakers to a lesser extent) has had such beauty. Individual frames of this game look like soft watercolor paintings. Not just eye-candy, the expansive, professionally designed architecture, and expressive character models evoke a sense of child like wonder, and quickly make the player form an attachment to the main character and his helpless charge. God I want to play Shadow of the Colossus. 27: Sonic 2: Platformer with BLAST PROCESSING My favourite Sonic game. Great bosses, multiple characters, and blistering fast gameplay. Still fun to pick up and give a whirl. It’s really a tossup between Sonic 2 and Sonic 3, but I remember the Gem World stages being more fun in this installment, so, yeah. 26: Silent Hill 2: Horror Silent Hill 3 and Fatal Frame II may be a tad scarier, but Silent Hill 2 wins for me for having such a sad, human, fucked up story. The designers truly outdid themselves with the monster design for this game too. Pyramid Head and the cellophane-wrapped enemies will fuck with you. Very scary, very sad, and pretty decent gameplay to boot. My favourite horror game (haven’t played RE4 unfortunately.) 25: Doom II: FPS There’s not much to say about this game besides: it has great level design, and the action is fast and crazy as hell, as you’re swarmed by hell almost from the start. I’ve never been a huge fan of FPS games, but I’ll still pick Doom II up every now and then and givew it a whirl, it’s video game crack. 24: Final Fantasy VII: RPG The unbelievable sheen of Hollywood graphics has faded a bit from this game, which was downright awe-inspiring when it came out. I’ll say this: we’re left with a game with still very good graphics, characters and story, a great system, great music, and a ton of depth to the gameplay, I can still play this game and have a terrific time, and the opening cinema still blows my mind. I think this game is both unfairly overestimated and vilified more for what it represents and led to than what it is. If only this game had received a better translation. 23: Wipeout XL: Futuretastic Racer The only racer you’ll find on my list. A top notch techno sountrack, pretty good controls, and a great learning curve. But I’ll admit, the only reason I have this game on my list is that I still think the feeling of speed it gives when you really get flying is unparalleled. Not the most realistic or deepest racer, but for my money the most fun. 22: Final Fantasy Tactics: Strat RPG Wow, this game had a bad translation. It also suffers from a somewhat convoluted but ultimately sort of dull story, and has an uneven difficulty. You’ll have to level for an hour or two to beat a boss, then breeze by the next 3 hours of the game.. It’s here for the gameplay. The number of classes, amount of items and abilities to master, monsters to raise, secrets to find, and smoothness of the system is phenomenal. Appealing graphics and music add to the whole. Easily the most satisfyingly complex strat RPG at the time, perhaps only recently eclipsed by the Nippon Ichi games. 21: Gunstar Heroes: 2D Platformer Shoot ‘em up I really like Treasure, and this is one of their best. Fast action with inventive, hilarious and big bosses. I believe there were 12? Possible weapon combinations to use. The controls were so quick and responsive, it seemed unbelievable for only a d-pad and a jump, fire, and weapon select button. This game is pure, cotton candy, fun. 20: Curse of Monkey Island.: Point and Click Adventure How can you not love Guybrush Threepwood? This installment really made the series come to life with great voicework and lovely cartoonish animation. It’s really hard to say if any of the first 3 Monkey Islands are better than the others. I’ll take this one, maybe just because I’m partial to Murray, the talking skull. 19: Disgaea: Strat RPG This is one of the most bizarre games I’ve ever played. The adventures of Laharl and co. are truly some of the weirdest, most bizarre and funny things I’ve seen. It’s a good thing it’s also backed up by a RIDICULOUSLY deep system, perhaps prohibitively so. You fight, you mentor subjugates, you bribe parliament, you can enter every item and level it up. Just about every NPC you see can be killed. You can carefully set of crazy chain-reaction light shows. You can got to level 9999. You can get just about any monster to join you. This game is seriously involved, but if you’ve got a little strat RPG knowhow, it may just be some of the best 400 hours you ever spent. Who am I kidding? A zombie attacks you with a “horse wiener.” 18: Defender (original): Arcade I love this game. It’s quite simple in concept (controls are another matter), but it exemplifies great old-school arcade to me. It starts out with you blasting baddies with impunity, laughing at their attempts to take out your precious humans. This doesn’t last long, as you’re zooming around as fast as you can, trying to take out the ships and guide the humans safely back to land. The intrigue in to this game is that direct attacks are really secondary to your careful attempts to quickly line up a shot so as not to kill your own precious human, while you see yet another one being abducted right behind you. I think this strikes the perfect balance of passive and aggressive. 17: Half-Life: FPS One of the games that just clicked with me. Great enemy design, going from simple runts with a pack mentality to vicious enemies with really good AI. A fairly involving story for a FPS, ret shirts to hop along with you, tremendous, tremendous level design with some nice puzzles. I’ve never enjoyed an FPS nearly as much as this one. If I’m ever rich enough to afford a nice computer, I may play the sequel! 16: Sam & Max hit the road: Point-and-click adventure. Funny as hell, with two of the best leads ever in a game. It’s been a while since I’ve played this game, but I have memories of playing it with a big, shit-eatting grin on my face. 15: Grim Fandango: Don’t-Point-and-click adventure. Almost as funny as Sam and Max, and a very simple interface that did away with ‘Pixel hunting’. Brilliantly inventive world and characters. Mix Dia de los Muertos with Sam Spade and maybe a little Glengary Glen Ross and you’ve got yourself a bone-a fide winner! Hahaha ffffphhhhbt. 14. Tetris Screw writing about this game. It’s blocks, it’s addictive. 13. Metal Gear Solid: Tactical Espionage Thriller Adventure Movie The only stealth game I really enjoyed. A good story, fun fucking with the guards, GREAT bosses, tons of Easter Eggs. Oh, and a Metal Gear that was actually intimidating and a hero who was too cool to flip around like Rob Van Dam while buck-naked. Thanks a lot MGS2. 12: Contra III: Shooter Contra with bigger badder enemies, cooler weapons, giant Snatchers, and some really cool ideas (the roulette boss, creaming a boss while jumping between missiles). This is one of those shooters that’s so fun, you’ll work at it until you’re good enough to beat it on hard, which is no mean feat. 11: Super Metroid: Side Scrolling Adventure This is a game that will probably be on most people’s lists. This game truly feels vast, is challenging, has a shit-ton of secrets and good enemy design. The X-Ray Scope helps a lot with the randomness of some of the hidden passages in the game, and it feels great when you finally get Samus to walking arsenal status. As a caveat, I’ve always had a bit of an issue with the Metroid series’ floaty-feeling controls. That said, anyone who like the genre should probably give this a try. 10: Suikoden II: RPG Goddamn I’m glad I got a copy of this game. Suikoden already had fun, simple-yet-deep gameplay. Suikoden II added a terrific storyline, even more shit to do with your castle (the epic cooking game!) More sidequests, cooler runes, and a TON of memorable characters. There’s 108 you can recruit for your team alone, and you’ll remember more of them than you’d think. Perhaps most importantly, this game has not one, but the two BEST villains ever, ever, ever in a game, in Luca and Jowy Blight. THAT’s an accomplishment. 9: SSX Tricky : Sports I was never much for the Tony Hawk series. I had some friends who were simply phenomenal with that game, but I always felt like I needed for thumbs to handle all the tappy-tappy button combos. SSX Tricky, a game in a similar vein, feels delightfully fluid and gives a great sense of speed. Its hilariously over-the-top and mostly likeably characters certainly don’t hurt. Rahzel and Run DMC also have to earn it a couple points. And there’s nothing like finally landing that final elusive trick for your character’s ultimate board. I need to play SSX 3, which by all indications is even better. 8: Street Fighter II: Turbo: Fighter This game was downright magical when it first came out. Turbo added four worthwhile fighters, and made the comboing and pace that much better. Huge sprites, a plethora of attacks, almost none of them useless, pretty darn good character balance, and it’s still a whole lot of fun to play today. I wish I could include an incarnation of Super, because Cammy and Dee Jay are the shit, but this game just felt the most responsive and effortless. 7: Super Mario Bros 3: Platformer One of the most anticipated launches in video game history, Super Mario 3 more than lived up to the expecMARIO’S in a SHOE! AND HE’S FREAKIN’ INVINCIBLE! Look at you! Thought you were all safe from my stomping with your hard exoskeleton, didn’t you? WELL I JUST NEEDED A BIGGER SHOE, MOTHERFUCK! 6: Soul Caliber: Fighter The best example of a fighter that is deep, but surprisingly intuitive and easy to play. This is a terrific party game, and with a little handicap tweaking your scrub friend will be giving you a challenge. There are some balance issues, to me, but the characters are really varied and most are a blast to play. 5: Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: Adventure Great music, great controls, great level design, great items, big, badass (and challenging) bosses. The graphics looked nice enough they’re basically still the same today in games like Four Swords and the Minish Cap. A nice little story thrown in, and the first example I can remember of puzzle solving through switching between alternate worlds, done many, many times since. 4: Chrono Trigger: RPG THIS is the way to introduce anyone to RPGs. In terms of general gameplay, it’s a bit simple, but the time travel concept is used to phenomenal effect, and the game has story and atmosphere to spare. Great music and graphics that still look wonderful today just add to the experience. The characters are archetypes, but they’re lovable archetypes. This game truly feels like Square went balls out trying to make the most plain-ol’ fun game they could, and it shows. 3: Robotron 2084: Arcade Shooter. Older arcade games generally frustrated me. In most of the good ones, you were constantly running away as in Pac-Man or Donkey Kong, or you were simply pathetic (Space Invaders) Not in this game. You can move in eight glorious directions, and moreover, SHOOT in eight glorious directions. And you shoot FAST. You’re a little death dealing dervish, perhaps the nastiest little hero of the golden age of arcade games. Too bad you’re completely fucked and you’re going to die. There are simply too many of them. Their missiles fire in oblique directions and crazy patterns. They’ve got hulks to block your shots, and let theirs through. Yet when you’ve gotten (relatively) far in the game, and the little bastards drop you three times in a row, you don’t feel mad at the game. You feel guilty. I mean, you can run and rapid-fire in eight directions! No one should fuck with you. So you drop in another quarter. Metal Slug, Doom, Blazing Star, basically every sweaty-palm-inducing shooter made holds a debt of gratitude to this great game. 2: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Side-scrolling Adventure This game sorta seems like the swan song of 2-D games, looking back. It has some of the most beautiful 2-D graphics ever made, that perfect control that seems simply unattainable with 3-D games. The enemies are huge and awesome, and have a great gothic design sense. It’s a good thing you’re bad motherfucker Alucard, and you have more moves than just about any video game character in history, and a gay-porn voice. The main games just fantastic, with so much to do and try it seems overwhelming at times, but always a joy to play. Also, elevator shoes and catching peanuts in your mouth should have been a staple in every adventure game from this one on. The ONLY thing I can count against this game is that it really is quite easy. “What DO you here?” 1: Final Fantasy VI: RPG The greatest RPG, and the greatest game of all time. Maybe the best RPG system ever, with distinct character classes that nonetheless can be customized out the wazoo. One of the best plots seen in a game. Where a normal RPG would end, this one takes a completely tragic turn and leaves you to pick up the pieces. This game sported the world’s greatest video game villain until the Blights came along and dethroned him, but #3 still ain’t bad, especially for an incompetent, lunatic clown/fop. It takes a great cast of heroes to make you root against him, but they’re more than up to the task. It’s simply foolish to attempt to describe the hundred fun and often unique sidequests in the game. It happens to have the best musical score to grace a video game, bar none. You owe this game a try, even if you don’t like RPGs. I’ve probably spent well over 200 hours on this game, and I enjoyed every one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 30. Zombies Ate My Neighbors Zombies. Hockey-masked maniacs wielding chainsaws. Football players. Martians. Werewolves. Evil dolls. A baby that is 40 feet tall. What do they all have in common? They’re all enemies in the often overlooked game, Zombies Ate My Neighbors. The game is very easy to pick up and play. The objective of each level is to rescue a certain amount of people before they’re killed by your enemies. Very simple, yet very fun. The variety of weapons and enemies are what makes ZAMN such a blast to play. How could you hate a game where you can mow down zombies with a weed-whacker, use popsicles to stop blobs, knock down "Jason" with tomatoes, or use silverware to kill a werewolf? If you’re a horror movie fan, or if you’re simply looking for a good two-player game, check out ZAMN. 29. WWF WrestleFest Nostalgiamania runs wild!!! The sequel to WWF Superstars, WrestleFest boasted an array of top WWF stars from the early ‘90s including Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, Mr. Perfect, Ted Dibiase, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Demolition, and others. The graphics and gameplay were improved over its predecessor, making it a much more enjoyable game. Though the game only had two modes, Royal Rumble and Saturday Night’s Main Event (tag mode), WWF WrestleFest remains one of my favorite wrestling games. The move list wasn’t very expansive, but most of the superstars had their finishers and trademark moves. I still remember being excited after pulling off a Perfectplex and being dazzled after a Doomsday Device. As a kid, I spent many quarters trying to lead the team of Ted Dibiase and Mr. Perfect to victory over the game’s "boss," The Legion of Doom. Even today, the game holds up relatively well. The game may not be as deep as current wrestling games, but for sheer fun and nostalgia, not many can top WWF WrestleFest. 28. NBA Street Vol. 2 A terrific arcade-style basketball game, EA Sports Big took everything Midway did with the NBA Jam/Showtime series and improved upon it in every way. A tutorial mode is included, making the game very easy to pick up and play. The over-the-top tricks are a major part of what makes NBA Street Vol. 2 such a fun game to play. You don’t have to be a basketball fan to enjoy the game. The single-player mode is good, but the two-player mode is where it’s at. Grab a friend, neighbor, family member, the bum down the street...whoever, and forget about fireballs, three-string combos, and fatalities for a moment - basketball has never been so much fun. 27. Mega Man 2 This list wouldn’t be complete without an appearance by the little blue guy. Most people consider either MM2 or MM3 to be the best NES Mega Man game. Though MM3 introduced Rush, Proto Man/Break Man, and the ability to slide to the series, I prefer MM2. I thought the bosses and weapons were cooler than the ones in MM3 (top spin, anyone?) and I thought MM2 was a bit more challenging. The final boss in MM3 was a total pushover. 26. Shinobi 3 When the topic of ninja games comes up, Shinobi will inevitably be mentioned. Not too long ago, the series made the transition to 3-D. However, to many "old-schoolers," Shinobi will always be remembered as a 2-D side-scroller classic. Shinobi 3 is arguably the best in the series. The original Shinobi game lacks the polish of the sequels, and Shadow Dancer is better off left unmentioned. That leaves Revenge of Shinobi and Shinobi 3 as contenders for the title of best Shinobi game. Shinobi 3 added several new moves to Joe Musashi’s arsenal, including wall jumping, dashing, and diving kicks. The ninjitsu powers are the same ones from RoS, but they’re still fun to use. The only things missing from Shinobi 3 are The Terminator, a Batman knockoff, and Spider-Man. 25. Gunstar Heroes An often forgotten Genesis classic, Gunstar Heroes plays like a combination of Contra and Metal Slug on speed. The game is literally non-stop action. In addition to shooting your enemies, you can also throw them into each other. Add a second player into the mix and you’ve got a very chaotic (in a good way), fast, and fun game. 24. Resident Evil (GameCube) A remake of the original, the GameCube version of RE greatly improved upon previous entries into the series and bumped up the difficulty a notch. The laughably bad voice acting from the original has been redone and the story has been tweaked a bit. The most notable change from the original is the addition of Crimson Heads. Crimson Heads are zombies that have been resurrected. They’re much faster and more powerful than regular zombies. You can prevent zombies from becoming Crimson Heads in two ways: (1) blow their head off or (2) burn them. The addition of Crimson Heads adds to the game’s creepy atmosphere and also makes the game more difficult. The game contains several hidden secrets and modes, which adds to its replayability. 23. Street Fighter Alpha 3 My favorite Street Fighter game. The large cast of characters and the inclusion of three different "Isms" makes SFA 3 one of the better 2-D fighting games. The home versions contain several different modes, such as Survival and Team Battle, which greatly adds to the game’s replay. The single player mode has been bumped up as well with the addition of World Tour mode. Overall, SFA 3 is a good fighting game package. 22. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker Ignore the complaints about the cartoony graphics - Wind Waker is a fantastic addition to the revered Legend of Zelda series. The gameplay remains largely unchanged from Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, which isn’t a bad thing. Two things keep me from placing the game higher (or is it lower) on my list. One of the biggest complaints about WW (not just from me, but from many others) is the excessive sailing. Even with the warp points, the sailing gets tiresome rather quickly. My second complaint is the quest to find the pieces of the Triforce. In order to find the Triforce pieces, you have to first find the Triforce charts. The entire mission, combined with the sailing really slows down the game. In my opinion, the whole Triforce finding quest seemed like it was added at the last second to make up for the lack of an extra dungeon or two. Despite those minor gripes, Wind Waker remains one of the best GameCube games currently available. 21. ESPN NHL 2K5 When it comes to sports games, most fans are divided between EA’s games and the ESPN/2K games. The EA series seems to be more popular, but popularity doesn’t necessarily equate to a better game. When it came to ice hockey, EA’s NHL series was my game of choice..until ESPN NHL Hockey was released. Because sports games are updated every year, I chose the most recent edition of the ESPN/2K hockey series, ESPN NHL 2K5. The most important thing to me in a sports game is gameplay. In my opinion, NHL 2K5's gameplay is superior to EA’s NHL 2005. NHL 2K5 is a better simulation game than NHL 2005. The control in NHL 2K5 is also better, especially with the inclusion of Intense Contact controls and Total Stick controls. 20. Super Mario World One of the first SNES games remains one of the best. Unlike previous Mario games, SMW included many hidden levels. The hidden levels could be found by finding a second exit in certain levels. Levels which had more than one exit were marked by a red dot on the in-game map, while levels with only one exit were marked with a yellow dot. Though the hidden levels were not required to beat the game, the inclusion of them makes SMW a very replayable game. SMW is also notable for introducing Yoshi to the series. The gameplay, characters, and stage designs made SMW one of the best 2-D platformers of the 16-bit era. 19. Tekken 3 Much like the Virtua Fighter series, Namco’s Tekken series emphasized substance over flash. Instead of having having weak, medium, and strong attack buttons, the Tekken series assigned buttons to each limb (left arm, left leg, right arm, and right leg). The control system added balance and made for a much deeper fighting game. At the time of its release, Tekken 3 was one of the best fighting game packages ever. The opening and ending FMVs were impressive, the gameplay was great, and the game contained several extra fighting modes in addition to two entirely new modes, Force Mode and Ball Mode. The variety of extras and hidden characters made Tekken 3 one of the most replayable games on the PlayStation. I put more time into Tekken 3 than any other installment, making it my favorite of the series. 18. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! A highly entertaining arcade-style boxing game, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! is one of my favorite NES games of all-time. The game was very addictive and easy to pick up and play. A large part of the game’s charm comes from its list of baddies, including characters such as King Hippo, Piston Honda, Mr. Sandman, Super Macho Man, and of course, Mike Tyson. It stands the test of time very well, as it remains one of the most entertaining (and challenging) games ever made. Even after all of these years, I still haven’t been able to beat Mike Tyson without cheating (one punch from Tyson could knock you on your ass). As far as I’m concerned, anybody who can legitimately beat the game deserves some type of recognition. 17. Devil May Cry An amazing action game, Devil May Cry remains one of Capcom’s finest achievements. The gameplay of DMC is the big selling point. Few games can compare to the action of DMC. Basically, you run, jump, shoot, and slash the hell out of everything in sight. You start out with handguns and a sword, but you can upgrade to bigger and badder weapons. Oh yeah, I almost forgot - all guns have unlimited ammo. That’s right. No need to search for bullets or shells in this game. Having unlimited ammo plays a significant role in the kick-ass, take no prisoners mentality of the game. You can blast the hell out of your enemies, then finish them off with several slashes of your sword. Or you can slash the hell out of them first, then top it off with some firepower. The choice is yours. Thanks to the ability to switch between blades and firearms at any time, players can bust out some awesome combos. However, don’t let the unlimited ammo thing fool you. Even on Normal, the game can be pretty challenging. 16. Streets of Rage 2 SoR 2 was everything a sequel should be - bigger, badder, and better. It improved upon the original in ever way imaginable. The gameplay, characters, and number of moves available puts SoR 2 above most other beat-‘em ups. The game is easy to play and the controls are very responsive, which is always a big plus. SoR 2 also has a killer soundtrack. The music in SoR 2 remains one of my favorites ever in a game. For a real challenge, try playing the game on the "mania" difficulty setting. 15. Super Mario 64 One of the most influential games of its time, Mario 64 paved the way for games such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Sonic Adventure, and more. For the first time ever, Mario 64 brought the Nintendo mascot into a 3-D world. At the time of release, Mario 64 was one of the biggest games ever. The large world of the Mushroom Kingdom was incredible. Super Mario 64 could legitimately be considered a revolutionary game, as it set new standards in the industry. Though it’s been overshadowed by other 3-D games, such as OoT, Mario 64 holds up relatively well. Grabbing Bowser by the tail and tossing him is just as fun now as it was eight years ago. 14. Conker’s Bad Fur Day Don’t let the squirrel on the cover fool you. Conker’s Bad Fur Day is a game meant for adults. The characters and large amounts of profanity aren’t exactly kid-friendly. Mature gamers, on the other hand, will get a big kick out of the game. The game itself is a lot of fun. It’s a 3-D platformer much in the style of Mario 64, but the little things, such as the various movie references and unique characters put it over the top. Because CBFD came out during the dying days of the N64, it often doesn’t get the attention it deserves. That’s a shame because CBFD is not only the last great N64 game, but it’s one of the best games on any system in the last 5 years. 13. Madden NFL 2005 EA’s Madden NFL series is one of the most beloved and popular video game series ever. Every year, a Madden NFL game is among the top selling games of the year. The speculation of which athlete will be on the cover of the new Madden game is regularly a major topic among sports fans. Because a new, updated Madden game is released each year, I chose the most recent edition, Madden NFL 2005. The Madden series is popular for a reason. They’re good football games. However, in my opinion, they’re not the best. Which leads me to my next pick,... 12. ESPN NFL 2K5 EA’s Madden series may be more popular, but as far as I’m concerned, the ESPN/2K series are better. Much like the NHL 2K5 vs. NHL 2005 issue, I thought NFL 2K5's gameplay was better than its EA counterpart. In my opinion, ESPN plays more like a simulation. The ESPN presentation is another plus. NFL 2K5 adds two features, both of which improve the replayability of the game. The first new feature is the 25th Anniversary Mode, where players can recreate 25 classic scenarios. The second new feature is the VIP system, which basically allows the CPU to “scout” you and create a profile on your playing style. The franchise mode is as good as before and now allows you to train players for upcoming games. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to try to bring the Niners back into championship form. 11. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past One of the most critically-acclaimed SNES games of all-time. LTTP took everything great about the original Zelda game and improved upon it in just about every way. LTTP has just about everything you could ask for in a game - action, adventure, large environments, and great gameplay. So why isn’t it in the top 10? Three reasons - (1) I think LTTP is the second best Zelda game, (2) that better Zelda game is in the top 10, and (3) I didn’t want to put two Zelda games in the top 10. 10. Soul Calibur At its time of release, Soul Calibur was considered by many to be one of the best fighting games ever. The weapons-based fighting system sets it apart from other fighting games. Each character has a distinct style which complements his/her weapon. The game implements an eight-way run mode, which allows you to move around the environment in every direction. Unlike the Tekken series, you won’t be able to run away like a little bitch in Soul Calibur. If you stray too far, you’ll fall over the edge of the "ring." Whether or not that’s a good thing depends on the player. Personally, I like it because it allows for more exciting matches instead of the annoying hit-and-run strategy that some people use in other 3-D fighting games (such as the Tekken series). The Dreamcast version contains a new Mission Battle Mode and a ton of other hidden extras, giving the game an extremely high level of replayability. Not only is the gameplay great, but the graphics (especially the characters) were spectacular as well. Character animations flow smoothly and beautifully. The stages are awesome as well, especially Venice. In my opinion, Soul Calibur looks better than a lot of the games of today. Soul Calibur was one of the three main reasons I bought a Dreamcast and it remains my favorite 3-D fighting game. 9. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec The first game to truly showcase the PS2's graphical capabilities, Gran Turismo 3 is the third installment (duh) of the critically acclaimed driving/racing series. Sporting photo-realistic graphics, terrific sound, great car physics, and excellent gameplay, GT 3 is one of the finest driving games ever. The game contains over 180 licensed cars, which should be enough to please many gear-heads. Those who are impatient might want to stay away from Gran Turismo 3. By no means is it a easy game. Even the best gamers will need quite a lot of time to finish the game and unlock all the cars. If you’re a bit lazy like me and simply want to unlock all the cars as quickly as possible, I’d recommend doing what I did: copy a friend’s save file onto your memory card. That won’t necessarily affect the game’s replayability, because you can always go back and finish any missions you haven’t tried. 8. Super Mario Bros. 3 In my opinion, Super Mario Bros. 3 is pound-for-pound, the best of the series. There’s a reason why it’s one of the best-selling games of all-time. It’s a fun, excellent game. While SMB 3 retained the same basic gameplay elements of SMB, it also made many improvements. One of the biggest changes is the map system, which allows gamers to choose which levels to play. Players can now backtrack through a stage in case they want to go back and pick an item they might have missed. The stages are bigger, longer, and the difficulty was bumped up a notch. SMB3 added bosses at the end of each castle and several battleships throughout the game. Mario and Luigi were also given new abilities, including the ability to fly. Players could also obtain three different suits, each of which gave Mario and Luigi special abilities. As with any truly great game, SMB3 holds up well. It’s every bit as good now as it was 15 years ago. 7. Tecmo Super Bowl THE defining football game, Tecmo Super Bowl was one of the most influential and revolutionary games of its time. It was the first football game to include all 28 teams and be officially licensed by the NFL. It set new standards of excellence for football games to come. It paved the way for the Maddens and ESPNs. The gameplay was simple, yet a lot of fun. Though it may not have the bells and whistles of ESPN NFL 2K5 or Madden NFL 2005, Tecmo Super Bowl remains an excellent football game. 6. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Arguably the best Castlevania game ever, SotN is also a top contender for the title of Best PlayStation Game. SotN combines elements of traditional Castlevania, Simon’s Quest, and Super Metroid into one excellent 2-D game. SotN puts you in control of Alucard, the son of Dracula, instead of the usual whip-toting Belmont. The gameplay, huge variety of weapons, items, and abilities, level design, soundtrack, and twist "ending," makes SotN one of the most enjoyable games of the PS/N64/Saturn era. 5. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 You don’t have to be a skateboarding fan to enjoy this game. As good as the original was, THPS2 managed to improve on it. The most significant change was the addition of manuals (it’s the name of a move, not an actual manual) to every skater’s arsenal. The gameplay is what makes THPS2 such a great and fun game. The game is very easy to pick up and play, and is surprisingly addictive. The single player modes are just as good as the two player modes. THPS2 contains a killer soundtrack, highlighted by the title theme, "Guerrilla Radio." Several top skaters from around the world are included, as well as a few hidden characters, including a certain web-slinging superhero. If you don’t care much for the pro skaters, you can create your own. The create a skater mode adds a lot to the game’s replayability. THPS2 also allows you to create your own skate parks, which adds to an already high level of replayability. Those who are reluctant to try THPS2 or any other Tony Hawk game because “they’re just skating games” are really doing themselves a disservice. The Tony Hawk games are not only some of the best sports/extreme sports games available, they’re some of the best games period. 4. Super Metroid A true classic, Super Metroid is one of the best and most influential 2-D action/adventure games ever. Super Metroid placed emphasis on exploration, making it feel like an epic adventure. The gameplay is excellent and the graphics were among the best of its time. The graphics, gameplay, large environments and different endings make Super Metroid a game that people will want to play over and over again. 3. Metal Gear Solid It was one of the most anticipated games of its time. It was also one of the most hyped games of all-time. People were calling it the best game ever before they even had a chance to play it. So, how good was Metal Gear Solid? In my opinion, it was pretty damn good. The gameplay is MGS’s strong point. Unlike most action games, MGS emphasizes stealth. Gunning down everyone in sight won’t get you very far. As most people are probably familiar with MGS’s gameplay, I’ll move on. The story is another strong point. The script, voice acting, and production values make MGS similar to a Hollywood blockbuster. Strangely enough, that’s also one of the weak points. At times, MGS seems to have too many cut-scenes and Codec sequences. Critics of MGS argue that more time is spent watching the game then playing it. That’s a valid criticism, but the strong, innovative gameplay more than makes up for it. 2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time In my opinion, Ocarina of Time is one of the best games ever. In fact, I’d probably say that it’s the best overall game that I’ve ever played. The gameplay is excellent and the combat system is intuitive. The boss fights are awesome and stand as some of the best ever in any game. The final fight is one of the best in its genre. I still remember my reaction (as well as the reaction of those who were watching) when the final boss made its appearance. Though the boss was relatively easy to beat, the epic feeling of the battle makes it memorable. OoT is also aesthetically pleasing, as the graphics and sound are among the best ever in a video game. The huge world of Hyrule is impressive. The attention to detail is incredible, especially the transition between night and day. OoT includes several side missions and mini-games, all of which add to the game’s replayability. Even the best players will need many, many hours to completely finish the game. The gameplay, graphics, music, battles, huge dungeons, immersive environment, side quests, mini games, and hidden items make OoT a truly epic gaming experience. 1. Grand Theft Auto III Is it the best game ever? Depends on who you ask. Do I think it’s the best game ever? No. Truth be told, OoT should probably be in the top spot. So, what possessed me to put GTA at the top of the list? Quite honestly...a bit of bias and my fondness of crime movies. Now, don’t get me wrong - I’m not a GTA fan boy. If I were, Vice City and San Andreas would be on the list as well. From an objective standpoint, GTA III isn’t even the best in the series. There were a few little things that put this game at the top of my list. GTA III is pretty easy to pick up and play. Within minutes, you’ll be stealing cars, cruising through Liberty City, running and gunning, beating people down, and blowing shit up. If you don’t feel like playing the missions, you can just run around wreaking havoc. Either way, the game is a lot of fun. The game has a high replay factor. Finding new ways to beat certain missions adds to the game’s replayability. There are numerous side missions (taxi, ambulance, vigilante, rampage, etc.) and hidden packages which also add to the game’s replay factor. Finally, there’s the story. GTA III’s story and "feel" are what put it at the top of my list. I’m a huge fan of mob movies and GTA III plays like one. La Cosa Nostra (Italian mafia) and the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) are a major part of the game. The voice cast is another strong point, as it contains several well-known actors in the world of gangster/mob movies and shows, such as Frank Vincent (Goodfellas, Casino, The Sopranos), Joe Pantoliano (The Sopranos), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), and Robert Loggia (Scarface, The Sopranos). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matt Young 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 When was the chat? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 30. Silent Hill (psx) -Released with little fanfare in the wake of the first two Resident Evil's, this game manages to do something those games failed at. That something is being damn scary. I first played this game around 3 am during a restless night of insomnia and after a couple minutes in I knew I shouldn't be, but I continued anyway. Soon after the game's atmosphere sucked me in, my cat jumped on me out of nowhere and messed with my nerves enough that I couldn't play the game at night again. The controls fit the way the main character, a 32 year old novelist, should play, but really, the mood in the game is great enough to give it a spot on the list by itself. 29. Tecmo Superbowl (Nes) -The first sports game I really ever played outside of Atari, and in many ways the most fun. Even to this day, most of my friends and I would take this over Madden any day of the week. 28. Street Fighter 3 (Arcade/PS2) -The most fluid animation, some of the best control, so many ways to play your character(s), nice chracter balance, and some of the best(fair) opponent AI that I've seen in a 2d fighting game. Does get a point knocked off for not having Dan. 27. Dance Dance Revolution Extreme (Arcade) -The only arcade game I liked enough to blow the money on buying the game for my house. Just can't beat the song selection and the fun involved in playing. I sold the game for space reasons and burnout, but it's still my favorite DDR. 26. Mega Man 3 (Nes) -It was either this or Mega Man x, and I gave this the nod for coming first. The addition of the slide, the debut of Rush, something bordering on a storyline, great controls, and the fact everything just comes together so well earns this a spot. 25. Mike Tyson's Punch Out! (Nes) -You know, it's been maybe 17-18 years since this came out and there still hasn't been a boxing game that's near as much fun. For the longest time, this was just one of the games I could never beat, but the moment I did was so much sweeter for the wait. 24. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2) -Often gets overpraised, but really is a damn fine game. Large game area, tons of play options, one of the better voiced main characters around, and one of those games you can just pick up and play and get right into. 23. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (psx) -A game that manages to improve upon it's already great predacessor. You can have fun playing this if you suck, or if you've already spent many hours getting everything down. One of the best games for giant replay factor. 22. Virtual On: Ontario Tangram (DC) -Sadly, one of the games people just haven't heard enough about. Come on, it's robots fighting in a great game. I had a blast on the normal DC controller and I'm told it's even better if you have the twin sticks for it. You really have to play to appreciate it. 21. Secret of Mana (Snes) -One of the reason's I miss sprite based games. Was the closest thing to a multi-player Zelda game for years. Really, just one of the classics and a game I wished had been copied by others. Only annoyance really, was one of the chracters getting caught on the corners of the various areas far too often. NOTE: Didn't include part 3 because of never fully completing it. 20. No Mercy (N64) -Best North American Wrestling game by far. Incredibly high replay factor, a very good CAW, awesome controls, the only game that Steven Richards can be considered a threat, just the best. I managed to go for 4 years before the memory erase bug hit me, and on that day I was saddened. Slows down a bit with 4 guys on the screen, but that doesn't take away form the greatness everywhere else. I hear the japanese equivalent is even better, but never got around to tracking it down. 19. Fire Pro Wrestling D (DC) -the only wrestling game that I've played that I'd put above No Mercy. Insane level of customization, over 200 hundred wrestlers, great attention to detail, even had moves you could download. The interface is all in japanese, and there is a hell of a learning curve for people unfamilar with the Fire Pro series, but don't let that scare you off from probably the best video game wrestling you'll find. 18. Radiant Silvergun (SAT) -I <3 Treasure. If you like the old fashioned shooters(none of that FP), this is a game that's worth tracking down a Saturn for(no, really, it's that good). 17. Metal Slug 3 (NEO/Arcade) -Sorry snk fighting game fans, I still consider this the best thing they have ever produced. Great attention to detail throughout, fun bosses(except boss 4, I think it was), nice rock soundtrack, and in my book, the greatest final stage in the shooting genre. Stop reading and find a way to play this game. 16. Secret of Monkey Island (PC) -How appropriate, you fight like a cow. 15. Tetris (GB) -Like I heard someone say recently, they'll be playing a version of this long after we are all dead. Great soundtrack, especially considering it's a gameboy game. My favorite puzzle style game. 14. Super Mario Brothers 3 (Nes) -The pinnacle of 2D platform jumpers. Really, if you don't know how good this game is/was, me telling you won't help. 13. Chakan: The Forever Man (Gen) -The best example of a game that walked the line of ball busting hard, and cheap, but never crossed over it. I think having your first child is the only thing more satisfying than beating this game. Supposedly, many of the features and ideas from the cancelled Dreamcast game were used in one of the Legacy of Kain sequels. 12. Super Mario Kart (Snes) -It's around this point that I realize I should have started at the top and worked my way down on this list. I like all these games but this writing is getting to be a bit much. I could try to break down why this game is so great, but it really is more fun than the sum of it's parts. Never really dug the sequels as much as the first. 11. Xenogears (psx) -The first half of this game is probably my favorite RPG. That being said, the second disc is rather lacking due to time restraints and/or money/personel being shipped over to FF8. A bit wordy perhaps, and voices that did not fit the characters, but a great combat system that was more than button mashing, a really fun card mini-game, a very good plot with a twist that actually snuck up on me, and big fighting robots. Oh, and Big Joe. Shame the pseudo-prequel(s) blew/will likely blow. 10. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time (N64) -A game that gets overrated by a lot of people because it was their first exposure to 3D games, kind of like the Battle Arena Toshinden thing, but the big difference is that this game actually is very good. 9. Phantasy Star 4 (Gen) -C/P'ed from a previous post. Even back in the day it was worth the $80 price tag. Battles were fun because you could set up "macros" which would have your characters carry out preset actions, allowing you to set up multi-character techniques that were just so fun to uncover through trial and error. Character balance was very good with no character really blowing away all the others until maybe the end of the game. The characters had pretty good ingame portraits that would show off a nice amount of emotion and the story is unveiled through a series of pop up still pictures in a very effective way that I'm surprised wasn't stolen more. Shame Sega didn't get behind it enough or it would've been better known as one of the top 3-5 RPG's of the 16 bit days. 8. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (psx) -Combining two of my favorite games; Castlevania and Metroid seemlessly, with some of the best game music, tons of weapons and places to explore, this really was the first game for Playstation that was great. Even the laughably bad voices added a charm to this game. If there was anything about the game that I could change, it would be to make it much harder. 7. Suikoden II (psx) -I have been offered over one hundred dollars for this game by two of my nephews and I've declined. Just another one of those games that are better than the sum of it's parts. plus it had an Iron Chef mini game, which would have probably gotten it on the list even if the game had sucked. Also, what other game is there that let's you have not one, not two, not three, but five squirrels in your attack party? 6. Super Metroid (Snes) -Just another reason why the Snes was my favorite system. Fantastic graphics for it's day that are still quite solid. Perfected the item collection platformer to a degree that only Castlevania :SOTN has come close to. Had one of the more effective contol schemes and possessed some of the better designed areas with the sounds needed to create another great atmosphere. Some really memorable bosses, a few light hearted moments, and a sad, yet touching sacrifice near the game's end. I'm glad they are keeping the 2D Metroid games going on GBA, even if they can't match this game. One negitive I have to mention, and this is true with a lot of the older games is that the battery saves have all died, and in the process of changing my battery I must've triggered something because I get an anti-piracy message when I try to play it now. Oh well. 5. Legend Of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Snes) -The game that saved the franchise(no offense Adventure of Link fans, but it's true). 4. Chrono Trigger (Snes) -Another game where not a whole lot needs to be said. I will freely admit to using the New Game+ option to replay the game until I got to the point that I maxed out every stat that was possible for every character. I know it's really not fair, but the sequel was distasteful enough to me that this game suffered for it and dropped a few notches. 3. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) -I wrote a long review recently, and don't feel like going over it again, so I'll just say great atmosphere and mood, 4 different versions of your character to play as, great NPC interaction, and a plot that's better than OOT's. The style of saving your game, and the 3 day limit can scare off some. 2. Final Fantasy 3/6 (Snes) -The opera scene was enough to get FF3 on this list. The other positives of this game are well known enough that I really don't have to get much deeper than that. I will mention that Kefka is by far my favorite villian, and this game is still easier on the eyes than going back to play FF7. 1. Final Fantasy Tactics (psx) -First off the bat, this game has pretty questionable translation at points which makes bits of the story hard to follow, and the game itself will seem very hard to many people who have never played a game similar to it. That being said, the rest of the game has very few flaws. Some of the best usage of sprites, very good music, a story that shies away from alot of the typical rpg cliches, and one of better developed characters that you really don't get a full view of until the game is over(and it works very well for it). But these are all secondary to one of the deepest battle systems you'll find. People have been playing this game nonstop since this game came out and are still finding new tricks, and various challenges have been created to keep getting play out of this game. But please, do not mention the gba game in the same sentence as this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 did you misplace my comments, Flik? I can post them if you did. EDIT: Here they are: 30. Metal Slug 3 - Arcade SNK’s humorous Contra-clone reaches its absolute peak in this chapter of the series. Featuring a wide variety of vehicles, multiple branching paths, incredible bosses and gorgeous level design, and the same core run-n-gun (with optional co-op) play, it remains the peak of the series and one of the best of the genre two sequels later. 29. Chrono Trigger - SNES It’s comparably simple plotline will not top some most modern RPGs or even the best of it’s time. . Even though its soundtrack is still immensely enjoyable, and it remains one of the best-looking classic RPGs, Chrono Trigger’s excellent game play is the major factor that makes it a classic. Doing away with random battles, in CT enemies appear in the field, and players can maneuver around them rather than be forced to fight every group that appears. However, combat actually takes place in the field, and the enemy formations can be used to players advantage, with attacks that focus on a limited area, a line of enemies, and so on. In addition, as more magic skills and “techs” are discovered, the characters can master a wide variety of double-team and triple-team moves. Sometimes, knowing just what challenges lay ahead preparing for them with the proper team line-up is key to being successful. In addition, the characters, quests, and dungeons scattered along the multiple timelines offer a constant breath of fresh air, and taking advantage of affecting the past in order to change the future is necessary to uncovering all the secrets of the side quests. With the brilliant New Game + option, allowing characters to restart the game with the same stats and most of the non-story items, players can not only get the chance to beat old foes with their new skills, but also uncover the game’s many, many secret endings, ranging from humorous, to dramatic, to flat-out strange. 28. Super Smash Bros. Melee – Gamecube With more characters and modes of play than it’s predecessor, this simple-to-play, but difficult to master pseudo-fighter allows 1-4 players to take control of classic Nintendo characters (as well as a handful of related characters, such as Pikachu) in 2-4 player fights in appropriately-themed worlds. Despite the deceptively-simple game play, a large tournament community has been built upon the game and the original Smash Bros. Mastery of all of the background elements, the multiple environments and maneuvering around the often-changing fighting arenas are key to success. 27. Street Fighter Alpha 3 – Playstation Despite the confusing mish-mash of “ISMs” within the game, the downgrade in music quality, and questionable changes in basic game play mechanics, the variety of characters in this third, dream-match-style entry of the Alpha series offers players more ways to play, compete, and show off than even before. However, like the slightly more balanced Street Fighter Alpha 2, the Custom Combos/V-ISM can be a little too dominant. Going far beyond being a simple port, the home versions offer World Tour mode, allowing players to perfect varied skills as they battle through varied challenges. With Survival Mode, handicap fights allowing two fighters to gang up against one for a fight, home console-exclusive bonus characters, this is the most complete and high-value Street Fighter title available. 26. Super Mario Kart – SNES Mario, ever the trend setter, starred in the first of the major “kart racer” titles. Boasting use of the SNES’ “Mode 7” technology, brilliantly designed tracks, excellent control and game play, addictive 2-player game play, the title was a big hit and an instant classic. To this day it still spawns imitators, and even Nintendo themselves have had a difficult time trying to top it. 25. Starfox 64 - Nintendo 64 Making use of the new FX chip, Starfox brought polygon graphics home in a rather simple, but well-executed 3D shooter for the SNES. After the debut of the N64, players clamored for an update to the classic game, which, while still enjoyable, its pitiful frame-rate and bare-bones textures screamed for a dose of the N64 treatment. The result, Starfox 64, managed to be everything demanded and more. The first game to make use of the Rumble Pak, the game play had been improved and deepened, more levels were available, but the game still retained the ability to take multiple pathways. Each level contained myriad secrets for obtaining the top score, heading onto the other paths, and avoiding enemy fire. Unlike the original, Starfox 64 offered ground-based levels where you were able to control a tank. Although response was mixed, they offered an excellent diversion from the rest of the game. While the frame-rate suffers, the game also offers up to four players to battle each other in a dogfight. The Gamecube has had a pair of Starfox follow-ups, neither one quite capturing the essence of the original or Starfox 64 so well. 24. Goldeneye – N64 Goldeneye, despite a recent attempt at a direct sequel, multiple attempts to usurp it (later Bond games, and even Rare’s old Perfect Dark) has still stood strong as one of the best games for the N64, and one still played and vastly enjoyed today. While it suffers the common problem of 3D games (it’s visuals look extremely dated today), the incredibly diverse and fun missions, level structure, and most importantly—the multi-player, leave it towering over many First Person Shooters released even today. 23. Guardian Heroes - Saturn In a simple phrase—the best “beat ‘em up” ever created. More elaborately, Guardian Heroes was Treasure’s beautifully-executed effort to take one of the stalest, most stagnant genres in gaming, the side-scrolling beat ‘em up, and turn it into a magnificent, extremely replayable gaming experience. Start with a beautiful fantasy setting, throw in a charming cast of characters, add magic complete with dramatic effects, add RPG elements (careful customization of your characters are possible as you level up), add in a well-paced set of intermission scenes moving the story along, and for good measure add the ability of one-on-one fighting, allowing players to use defeated enemy characters for fights. You have the recipe for perhaps the perfect beat ‘em up. If Golden Axe didn’t suck, it would have turned out somewhat like Guardian Heroes. 22. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - PS1 A Castlevania game…with stellar control?! Whoa! Not stopping there, Konami’s daring 2D Playstation addition to the Castlevania series shamefully, blatantly, ripped off the basic structure of Super Metroid and infused RPG elements into the game. The son of Dracula, Alucard, enters his pops’ castle(s) on a mission to find the missing Richter Belmont and off his pops once again. Controlling very differently from a Belmont, Alucard has more of a penchant for blades than whips, and is able to become stronger by gaining experience points, leveling up, buying stronger equipment. With some of the best 2D visuals on the Playstation, a fantastic soundtrack, and the best game play in the series up to that time, the game’s biggest flaw appears when Alucard frankly becomes too strong, making most of the game a breeze until the final boss. While the game hasn’t quite topped the game that it has drawn the most inspiration from, it’s various portable sequels—especially Aria of Sorrow, have all been extremely well-crafted as well, and taken various new twists and turns on SotN’s gameplay, and have surpassed the more recent 2D Metroid games. 21. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - PS2 Hello, hello—it’s stupid old white men’s (and women’s—can’t forget Ms. Clinton) favorite poster boy for violent video games and their effect on pre-teens. While it’s easy to characterize the games as being little more than “murder simulators,” the game offers diverse and well-designed mission-based game play while retaining a rich, extremely fun to navigate world besides. Often ignored is the presence of the law in the games which provide penalties for the sort of rampant violence the game allegedly glorifies, as well as the well-told story. Vice City takes place prior to Grand Theft Auto 3 chronologically, and adds top-notch voice acting, a better soundtrack, better graphics, and deeper game play. However, it still should not be played by young kids ever. So parents beware: this game is not for little Johnny, you stupid assholes. So quit trying to **** it up for the rest of us. 20. Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact - Arcade After nearly a decade in the making, Street Fighter III didn’t make the splash Capcom had hoped. Arriving at a time when the arcade scene in the US had been shrinking, and when no current consoles could support the game, the game was doomed from limited distribution. However, it added depth, improved gameplay, and even more stunning animation over its predecessors. However, it was with the upgrade, 2nd Impact, that the game got a little more interesting. With universal overhead attacks, new characters, and minor upgrade tweaks, Capcom delivered a vastly superior title even more worthy of play, although it suffered from the same problems as the first, despite finally finding a home on the Dreamcast. The game would be further upgraded in 3rd Strike, but with some overpowered new characters and questionable balance issues, 2nd Impact is perhaps the best overall value for the casual fight fan. 19. Katamari Damacy - PS2 A sleeper hit of 2004, Katamari revolves around the simple concept of taking a small ball, and rolling up objects slightly smaller than it, forming a larger and larger ball until a player can reach a set objective. The simple, silly, fun story adds a bizarre charm to the game, and the objectives get more difficult as your protagonist is relentlessly browbeaten by his father, the King of the Cosmos. While there are gift boxes carefully hidden throughout the stage (requiring players to not only just find them, but collect them at the appropriate time), even a complete lack of secrets would not make Katamari Damacy less enjoyable. It’s an instant classic that never suddenly becomes boring. Older objectives become easier to master, and even then, you’ll want to take the stages for another roll. Go for a better time, go for a bigger katamari, go for a higher score—pick your goal and go for it. Katamari Damacy is pure gaming bliss, and bless Namco for bringing it over to America’s shores. 18. Gunstar Heroes – Genesis Gunstar Heroes, created by the team of ex-Konami programmers known as Treasure, perhaps is not only still the finest game they’ve created to date, but the best game on the Genesis/Megadrive. With a brilliant and extremely flexible weapon system that allows players to combine different power-ups for a wide variety of weapons, rich and varied levels, eye-popping visual effects, great music, rich colors that defy the hardware, it’s difficult to think of one better. 17. Metal Gear Solid - PS1 When Konami reached back in their catalogue of classics and chose to do a new Metal Gear game, many retrogamers rejoiced, and neophyte gamers suspiciously became trivia sponges for a series none of them had played and one that had been rather unappreciated in its day. With Metal Gear father Hideo Kojima at the helm, backed with a vastly talented team, MGS combined stealth-based gameplay with the Playstation's capability to put gamers closer to the action, giving multiple angles and viewpoints for gameplay, and supporting rich cinemas to push the story forward. MGS simultaneously showed how far video game storylines have come, while leaving considerable room for improvement. Despite the game's overwhelming postives, it still contained a fair number of cliches (odious comic relief/character the gamer is supposed to "identify" with, a love interest, and bosses that seem somewhat silly). It makes for a dish comparable to a fine filet mignon with Kraft singles melted on top. While tasty and palatable, it *could* have been improved oh-so-slightly. 16. NBA Jam - Arcade Despite the guaranteed hit sales of nearly every major licensed sports release these days (such as…the EA games, and of course the EA games), it’s the rare sports title that can appeal across the board to every gamer. That is, the nerdy, non-athletic gamer completely disinterested in sports. If a company aims to program such a game, the most common approach is to copy Midway’s excellent 2-on-2 hoops classic. Start with Midway’s Arch Rivals game. Add an official NBA license and a handful of each team’s biggest stars. The official NBA rules? Gone; out the window. You can run back and forth along the court and shove your opponent without penalty. No free throws. Aside from goal-tending and a shot clock, no real penalties at all are enforced. Your object is to win by any means possible, and while you can shoot 3 pointers and take jump shots in the paint, it takes a backseat to the game’s showpiece—the dunks. By utilizing the game’s Turbo button (boosting player speed and performance like a sudden burst of…adrenaline), rushing towards the paint and tapping shoot, players can leap 10, 20, sometimes up to 50 feet in the air, and after mid-air acrobatics, and slam the ball into the rim. Smaller players can only manage the weakest of dunks and often lay-ups, but had their own unique strengths; selecting a team and set of players to match a play style added a bit more depth to play. While NBA Jam won’t satisfy hardcore hoops fans’ desires for a realistic basketball sim, they still can’t help but enjoy the high energy play of NBA Jam. Many of the top sports franchises of the day up to even today will often include an “arcade” mode, with the game’s rules adjusted to be a little more like Jam’s approach. 15. Ms. Pac-Man - Arcade Despite the decision to replace Pac-Man with a female character as an apparently shameless attempt to court more females into playing, Ms. Pac-Man also gave Namco the opportunity to refine the original Pac-Man a little. With improved level designs, the addition of the “Pac-Booster,” and the solid Pac-Man game play still intact, they had improved on what was already nearly perfect already. 14. Final Fantasy Tactics - PS1 The collaboration of talented individuals working on this game automatically set high expectations. Surprisingly, nearly all of them had been exceeded. Arguably the finest game to sport the Final Fantasy name, Tactics is actually a turn-based strategy title. While the links to the Final Fantasy series are loose, they are nonetheless numerous, from many of the animals populating the game, to the design of the black mages (Aeris appears and Cloud is playable, however). However, the biggest and most influential carry-over from Final Fantasy is the job system of V. Expanded and refined, it now allows party members to learn a plethora of skills and specialties, and to combine skills of different classes to provide for wide combinations of well-rounded fighters. While the battle engine itself has been improved upon over time (Disgaea being a fine example), and the battles move rather slowly, the implementation of the job system, the ability to capture and tame creatures, add and build up new recruits, and even plan out your lineup so that the zodiac signs of the fighters will provide the most compatible mix (!), it stands head and shoulders above nearly all traditional console RPGs because of the depth and execution. While FFT’s story is solid and told well, it can be rather confusion to follow. Aiding this, the game actually provides a log of the story and major plot points as you progress. Even though console RPG fans may be a little turned off by the longer (but more plot-relevant) battles that make up the majority of the game, it is hard to deny the quality on display. The GBA sequel, however, does away with many of the things that made the original Final Fantasy Tactics so good. 13. Metroid Prime – Gamecube When it first sunk in that the two “new” Metroid games, Fusion and Prime, that would be hitting Nintendo’s consoles would be and the former would be a traditional 2D game made by Nintendo, and the latter would be a 3D, First Person “Adventure” developed by some Texans called Retro, the end results seemed predictable. Little did I expect that Retro would churn out the 2nd best Metroid game yet. The presentation of the game is, of course, fantastic. Visually, aurally, control-wise, everything is spot on. However, somehow Retro managed to translate the Metroid gameplay to 3D almost flawlessly *and* make it work. While not a true first person shooter, Prime manages to keep the platforming and exploration portions of the game in larger focus. The camera angle tilts during jumps to assure that players can land exactly where they need to be, and even double-jumping and grappling can be accomplished without worry once you’ve dialed in the controls. While the combat is varied and often, the game’s lock-on targeting assures that players won’t be struggling with simply aiming at the varied and quick enemies of Metroid Prime. Despite this, it isn’t necessarily easy, because players will have to contend with multiple targets, enemies that need to be attacked in the right spot, and massive bosses often requiring some special trick to be defeated. The story is told primarily through expository information Samus acquires by “scanning” the environment around her, especially from Space Pirate computers. While this may be somewhat disappointing to players more accustomed to cinematic storytelling in games, this leaves more gung-go players the option of skipping it entirely. Unfortunately, scanning as much information as possible is essential to unlocking the game’s juicier secrets. Good for those who prefer to explore their Metroids, but speed-runners will be a little disappointed. Retro should have allowed speed runners to unlock them with good times providing an either/or option (this was also overlooked in the sequel as well). While Prime comes close to besting its legendary SNES ancestor, the degree of backtracking (which is faithful to the Metroid legacy, but rather tedious in the vast, 3D environments of Prime) and the excessive scanning called for keep it a few notches short of Super Metroid. Despite this, it’s still an incredible game worth checking out, and the spectacular fight with the Metroid Prime itself is one of the best boss encounters in any game. 12. Soul Calibur 2 Within the fighting genre, nearly every single title falls neatly within the 2D fighter or 3D fighter genre, with the former being (ideally), fast, fluid, strategy and combo intensive brawlers with impressive, super-human attacks; and the latter, which is often much more realistic, slower, even more strategy-intensive, but with more emphasis on controlling the ground and less emphasis on longer combos or any control of the air. The Soul games have been straddling the line ever since Soul Edge’s debut, with fast, fluid battles, dazzling combos, but with extensive use of strategy and a greater emphasis on using the entire 3D arenas than most “3D” fighters. The follow up to the classic arcade and Dreamcast title, Soul Calibur fixes up some minor game play issues, boosts the character roster, adds new backgrounds, expands SC’s Edge Master far beyond the version found in the original Soul Blade, and throws in (vastly overpowered) console-exclusive fighters to boot. 11. Halo - X-Box Halo’s ability to almost single-handedly sell X-Boxes and keep the system afloat in its rocky starting months, as well as its enduring sales, is impressive enough. However, it’s not the X-Box’s former game drought that is solely responsible for it’s success. Halo manages to nearly live up to all of the hype, with brilliantly designed and playing single player missions that helped put it on the map. What it kept it there was its multiplayer. With the resources to connect multiple TVs and X-Boxes up, it truly is one of the most fantastic experiences in gaming. While the sequel was disappointing to some, and Sony continues to try to search for its own Halo-Killer (see Kill Zone for their most recent failed attempt), Halo still stands as one of the finest first person shooters around, alone or with friends. 10. Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando - PS2 From humble beginnings (a game built upon the Jak & Daxter engine), Insomniac has crafted one of the finest 3D platformers around. On the surface, it could be understandably mistaken for one of the dime-a-dozen cute mascot games that have hung around on the PS2, despite that genre’s heyday apparently a distant memory. However, once serious playtime is invested in the game, a wonderful and deep 3D platformer (with plenty of focus on combat) is discovered. Far too many 3D platformers have allowed fighting to tack a backseat to platforming and exploration (even Mario 64’s enemies were mostly a minor nuisance at most), however, Ratchet and Clank puts it at the forefront, and throws a wide variety of weapons (many of them comical) to deal with the problems. Wiping out the many alien scum in Going Commando is every bit as fun as the rest of the game, keeping it a well-rounded experience that doesn’t quickly become tedious like the many cute-mascot titles littering the current consoles. (Note: Up Your Arsenal is, by many accounts, even better, but I’ve yet to play far enough through it to place it on my list) 9. Tetris – NES With a back story as colorful and interesting as the game itself, Tetris is an enduring classic that has been considered the definitive puzzle game, and one of the titles that even a non-gamer and many a parent can easily become addicted to. Describing the game itself and how it plays is unnecessary—everyone should know. While the game deserves all of the praise it has lavished on it, the worst thing than can be said about it is that it is so successful, it has indirectly stunted the puzzle genre. Far too many puzzle games are built on the “falling block/match color” concept even today, with far too few innovators… 8. Devil Dice - PS1 And when something arrives that manages to put a new spin on it, often it is overlooked. Devil Dice is one such game—although many may scoff at the oft-proclaimed “better than Tetris” boast. Devil Dice takes place in a ¾ overhead view of a board divided into squares, while dice pop up from the floor. Players don’t simply match up the numbers, though. The “devil” itself stands atop one of the Dice, rotating it as he/she walks, and has the ability to run atop and rotate one of the dice directly next to the previous one. With the rule of thumb that the opposite sides of the die equal 7 (the bottom and backs of the dice are obscured from view, making this essential to remember), the industrious devil must shuffle the dice to make as many melt into the floor before the board is full. Once a series melts into the floor, the devil can act quickly to built combos onto the area before time is up, Skeptics should give the game a serious shot, and then draw their own conclusions. (Renegade told me there’s a PS2 sequel, Bombastic, BTW, which I’m going to try ASAP) 7. Legend of Zelda – NES With a fair share of ideas borrowed from Adventure, infused with a fantastic soundtrack, challenging dungeons, and a vast world to explore, Legend of Zelda solidified itself as an instant classic from the moment gamers plugged its shiny gold cartridge into their NES. Time certainly hasn’t been kind to its graphics and story, but it stands the test of time well worth playing today. 6. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - SNES The third game in the series…which takes place first…yeah. With fans rather disappointed with Zelda II overall, the series returned to its roots. Despite its confusing chronological placement, A Link to the Past was the long-awaited follow-up to the original classic, offering better graphics, sound, a large world (and the “dark world” besides), dungeons filled with new and trickier puzzles, and naturally plenty of optional side quests to tackle. The loose game structure, putting less focus on story than exploration and combat, returns. For many Zelda fans, this game is the best in the series, offering a steadier and more stable learning curve (unlike OOT, which admittedly drops off after the Water Temple…), and stays truer to the spirit of the series. Regardless of the debate, its difficult to deny Link to the Past’s status as one of the top games in one of the greatest video game franchises to date. 5. Super Mario Bros.- NES Without Super Mario Bros, it’s unlikely that the gaming industry would even exist today. The game that made the NES a must-have “toy” for millions of kids, put Nintendo on the map, and was essential in reviving the video game industry after the Atari-helmed crash of the 80’s, Super Mario Bros. also set the standard for the action/platformer. From it’s iconic soundtrack, bizarre gameplay conventions, the immensely enjoyable levels, and even glitches that are memorable, the game is just as fun today as ever. Although it’s arguable if it is even possible to judge the game without nostalgia taking over, brought together all the right elements to suck in casual players, enthrall the hardcore, and keep them both attached to the controllers as long as they possibly can. 4. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - N64 If only for its presentation, Ocarina of Time could have been a direct rehash of the previous games, the development team could have closed down early, and it still would have likely been a critically acclaimed and beloved game. It worked for Final Fantasy VII, after all. However, that wouldn’t satisfy the dedicated staff and the brilliant Shigeru Miyamoto. More than just containing magnificent visuals and wonderful dungeon designs, Ocarina of Time absorbs the player in an adventure more mature and dramatically told than the previous games. Although the structure is a little tighter, exploration is still encouraged and necessary to reap the most rewards and enjoyment out of the game. Link starts his adventure in a magical forest that is filled with an otherworldly quality, but quickly the stage is set for darkness about to descend upon the land. As the young Link unexpectedly encounters more and tougher challenges, he eventually discovers just far he has yet to go to complete his adventure. The dungeons are even more picturesque and menacing in full 3D, but retain the series’ classic puzzle solving and featuring improved combat thanks to the simple but effective Z-targeting. 3. Super Mario 64 - N64 Less merely the old Mario series in 3D and more a bold, innovative approach to gaming in general, Super Mario 64 shattered many of the barriers restraining the series previously, namely the timer, the flat 2D worlds, a mere 2-button setup, the constant runs towards a course's end goal, and especially the digital pad. The first mainstream console game to make intelligent use of analog control, the N64's controller and its peculiar new input device was essential to putting you inside of the plumber's shoes. However, rather than trotting across huge 3D worlds doing much of the same, Mario had to collect Power Stars. Many of the SM64 clones seem to be based on the belief that merely collecting baubles can make for intriguing game design. Not so. After rushing around Princess Peach's castle, and selecting a painting, Mario is thrown into mini-world with a hint at how to find one of these stars. With hundreds of unique tasks to complete and few prerequisites, Mario is given the chance to explore and encover them. Each one ingeniously hidden, and the opportunity presented to replay again at a later time, the reaching the stars is the true aim and focus of the game. Despite that, the game's structure allows players to experiment, explore, and have fun in so many myriad ways, SM64 is less just another game and more an experience rarely rivaled in gaming even today. 2. Super Metroid - SNES Non-linearity often is a big selling point in modern game design. When done right, it can be welcome feature in a tightly-playing, excellently-crafted title. Gamers can be given a chance to choose their own path through a game, free from the shackles of A-to-B game design. More often, though, it may be used as a blanket method to cover up the flaws of a game that lacks a quality central, enjoyable theme, gameplay, narrative. This "junk drawer" approach to game design has spawned vast numbers of GTA clones, and is a growing used in many a genre. However, when the original Metroid integrated it into a side-scrolling platformer, it was a revolutionary game design. Not only could players travel left to right, but right to left, up to down; walls could be destroyed, new items obtained that opened old areas. Ultimate mastery of the game belonged to those either with a photographic memory or with the patience to painstakingly map the caverns of the game. After a disappointing Game Boy sequel, Metroid 3 finally came to the Super Nintendo. Managing to do everything better than its predecessor, including a more richly nuanced visual style, huge and difficult bosses, an auto-mapping feature, new weapons, more distinct and beautiful worlds, and one of the greatest soundtracks in an SNES title. Gamers can either carefully trek through the game, collecting everything and unravelling the game's many secrets and mysteries, or blast through the game on a "speed run," collecting as few power-ups as possible, attempting to get the best time, and facing up against the game's bosses and enemies with a small assortment of health tanks. Then start a new game and try another method, attempt to "skip" important events and items. Some of the game's ingenious design has been attributed as accident by the late Gumpei Yokoi, director of SM and the original classic. Regardless of how, the game still stands as one of the most sought-after and loved classics, despite the many sequels since. 1. Super Mario Bros 3 - NES For many people, the most famous, most played, and most loved entry in the Mario series is the SNES' Super Mario World. While certainly a wonderful game, for those familiar with the previous entry in the series, Super Mario Bros. 3, it seems rather unfulfilling. SMB3 offers longer courses, more challenge, more to see and explore, and better level design. It takes more than a save feature (available in the All Stars/GBA version of the game anyway) and a dinosaur to overcome that. The game also has the distinction of having perhaps the greatest video game commercial of all time behind it, and Nintendo saved it for last in the Mario Advance line. Super Mario Bros. 3 is, aside from the best side-scroller in the Mario series, perhaps the finest game ever created. With level design so well-crafted, a nearly-perfect difficulty curve, it still stands tall over the side-scrolling platformers than relentlessly tried to copy it. The overworld map, with it's many features, special challenges, the ability for more skilled gamers to skip ahead a little (thanks to the design of the overworld map) or newbies to stay behind and learn the ropes, the alternating co-op play, and so much more, SMW's seems to merely copy it while taking a little away from it. Mario's powerups go far, far beyond the mere fireballs and invincibility star, allowing Mario various forms to explore the courses, including Hammer Mario, Frog Mario, and the infamous Raccoon Mario. Unmatched in its day, and still with almost no rival, it’s no wonder that after it Shigeru Miyamoto himself seems to have wary of attempting another 2D encore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 When was the chat? 5pm MST, 7pm EST. did you misplace my comments, Flik? I can post them if you did. Didn't get yours, remember? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 1. Final Fantasy 6 (SNES) – FF6 is the ultimate epic RPG, with a grand plot that is beautifully told and an appealing cast of characters with enough backstory to make them worth caring about. The first half of the game is standard, although extremely well done RPG fare that does a good job setting up the story. The second half of the game, the free-form World of Ruin, is where the game really becomes a masterpiece. RPGs often feel too rigid, but usually giving the player total freedom results in lots of boring wandering. The World of Ruin is structured freedom, where the player knows their objective and can easily advance the plot, but can also take time off to explore the world and the many various subquests. The freedom is liberating compared to most other RPGs, and really made FF6 a pleasure to play. The ending was truly satisfying, a fitting end to an amazing game. And unlike most RPGs, the game is fun enough that it actually has replay value. Of course, story is critically important in RPGs, and FF6’s story of finding hope in a dying world is as good as it gets. FF6 just has it all; amazing plot, amazing characters, excellent gameplay and the best score I’ve ever heard. It’s the perfect RPG and the perfect videogame. 2. Chrono Trigger (SNES) – Square’s other SNES masterpiece is just as perfect, with another amazing cast of characters and another great story. Chrono Trigger doesn’t feel as epic as FF6, but each character is developed better, and so character focused stories work. Frog’s and Magus’ story, in particular, really hit home. All the stories are really well done, though, so even characters that aren’t particularly cool, like Robo and Ayla, still result in some compelling scenes. As good as the characters and story are, though, what really drives Chrono Trigger is the gameplay. RPG gameplay is usually a means to an end, something you have to endure to get to the plot. Chrono Trigger, however, has such an awesome battle system that dungeons are something you actually look forward to. Seeing the enemies on the map is vastly superior to random battles, and it still baffles me why it’s not the norm. The range based combat and multiple character techs were amazing innovations that kept the gameplay fresh the whole way through. Chrono Trigger also excelled in terms of replay value, another area where RPGs are usually weak. New Game+ combined with multiple endings made you actually look forward to playing the game again. On top of that, the music is magnificent and the graphics are incredible, still some of the best ever seen in RPGs, even though the game came out over a decade ago for the SNES. Like FF6, Chrono Trigger really does excel in all areas. 3. Metal Gear Solid (PS1) – When MGS was released, it had totally innovative stealth gameplay that has gone on to create a genre all its own, and one of the greatest casts of characters ever. The gameplay is now looking a little dated, particularly compared to its sequels. However, the impact of the gameplay on the videogame world can’t be denied. The plot and characters, on the other hand, are as brilliant now as ever. Grey Fox, Revolver Ocelot and Sniper Wolf are some of the most compelling characters in videogames, and are involved in some all time classic scenes. Sniper Wolf’s death scene in particular is amazing, and is as moved as I’ve ever been in a videogame. 4. Tekken 5 (Arcade/PS2) – With Tekken 5, Namco decided to take fan input into account and fix everything that was wrong with Tekken 4, and they did an absolutely fantastic job. The gameplay returns to a more T3 feel, but is modernized and improved. The sluggish, jab-heavy feel of T4 is gone, and the fast, juggle-focused gameplay that was so popular in T3 and TTT is back. That, combined with a public beta that has resulted in better (if not perfect) balance, has helped T5 make a huge impact on the tourney scene, drawing back players that quit after T4 and even bringing in some 2D players longing for something new to play. Beyond gameplay, though, T5 also returns style to the series that had been declining since T2. T2 played like ass, but was still a favorite to some because of the awesome stages and music. T5 finally returns that feel to the game, with vastly improved music and some amazing stage concepts. Moonlit Wilderness is particularly amazing, but damn near all the stages are impressive. I don’t normally particularly care about graphics in fighters, but T5 looks so good and so stylish I couldn’t help but be impressed. Overall, it’s the best Tekken both in style and in substance, and is best 3D fighter ever and the future of the 3D fighter tourney scene. 5. DDR Extreme (Arcade) – DDR’s kind of a love it or hate it thing, but I love it. I got totally addicted to it as soon as I played DDR Konamix, and it’s been my main source of exercise since. I love the music too, and much of what I listen to now I discovered directly or indirectly from DDR. Even after three years, a new DDR mix is still a big event that has me trapped in the basement playing every song on every level. I just can’t get enough of it. Anyway, as far as which DDR mix to choose, DDR Extreme arcade is easily the best mix ever. It came out to be a final mix when DDR was dying in Japan, and had pretty much all the songs that made DDR great. With 250 songs, all the ten footers (at the time, anyway) and nonstop and oni modes, it’s pretty much the definitive mix. 6. Metal Gear Solid 3 (PS2) – The poor feedback from MGS2 led to MGS3, which has a story that is much more realistic and a little less ambitious. That’s ultimately for the better, although there are fewer “holy shit” moments than there were in the previous two games. Still, the ending, which is my favorite of all time, more than makes up for it. As far as gameplay goes, MGS3 is the best stealth game ever, with gameplay that’s significantly more strategic than the previous games. I thought I was going to hate not having radar, but it actually made for a more enjoyable experience. Overall, MGS3 didn’t have quite the impact of MGS1, but it’s essential for the gameplay. 7. Suikoden 2 (PS1) – Suikoden 2 is a pretty standard Japanese RPG, except that the plot and especially the characters are so good. The relationship between Jowy and the hero is really well done and ends up being genuinely touching, especially when they reunite at the end of the game. Luca Blight is one of the best villians ever, and every scene he’s in is gold. Plus, the Suikoden gimmick of controlling an army in a war is just very cool in itself, and is done better here than ever, with the most interesting mini-battles and the best strategist. The gameplay isn’t anything innovative, but is done really well, and the castle management is hot. Suikoden 2 has the best castle, and the best minigames because of the food battles. The Suikoden gimmick is always fun, and Suikoden 2 does it the best, and has one of the best plots in videogames to boot. 8. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1) – The best action RPG ever, as far as I’m concerned. The graphics were beautiful, the music was brilliant, and the gameplay was flawless. The upside-down castle was incredible, one of the coolest extras ever. Even though the game is pretty easy to beat, it has so many secrets that you’re going to want to play it for hours to get up to 200 percent completion. It’s hard to see 3D Castlevania ever approaching the quality of this. 9. Vagrant Story (PS1) – Vagrant Story is a refreshingly unique game. The combat mode and equipment system was really cool and not like anything in any other RPG. What really made the game great, though, was the atmosphere, plot and characters. Even with PS1 graphics, the world of Vagrant Story had a great creepy beauty to it the whole way through. The story was amazing and told in a great, cinematic fashion, and the characters were multidimensional and memorable. The only flaw with the game is that the combat system had some issues, particularly with timing, that little tweaks could improve. This game really needs a sequel. 10. Final Fantasy 7 (PS1) – FF7 amazed me more while I was playing it then any other game ever has. It felt truly monumental. Aeris’ death left me more surprised and wide-eyed than I’ve ever been playing a game. The whole ending sequence was just breathtaking. The first time I played through it might have been the most enjoyable 60 hours I’ve ever spent playing a videogame. And for that reason, it goes on the list, even though it doesn’t hold up nearly as well today. Playing it now, without the three years of hype and with graphics and FMV that are nothing special, a lot of the thrill is gone and a lot of plot holes and tedious dungeons become more apparent. It’s still a great RPG with a lot going for it, but it’s the impact it had when it first came out that really earns it a place on the list. 11. Super Mario Brothers 3 (NES) – Mario 3 was unbelievable for its time, and still stands as the best Mario game today. The level design is top notch as usual, with lots of variety. The difficulty is perfect, challenging without being too hard. The variety of cool items and the item inventory were both awesome, and it’s a shame that later games didn’t do as good a job with them. Anyway, 2D Mario is the best platformer series ever, and Mario 3 is the best game in the series. 12. Metal Gear Solid 2 (PS2) – This won’t be a popular pick, since MGS2 has not been judged well by (often revisionist) history. Still, although the ending is indeed horrible, the other 95 percent of the plot that doesn’t involve Rose is still very compelling, if a little over the top. The ending detracts from the rest of the story, but not enough to keep it from being excellent. And as far as gameplay goes, no other stealth series can even compete with MGS. MGS2’s gameplay was gold when it came out and is still great now, with the only game that’s better being MGS3. 13. Street Fighter 3 Third Strike (Arcade) – Third Strike is as good as tournament fighters get. All tourney fighters have a lot of depth, but even compared to other tourney fighters, Third Strike is really sophisticated. The amount that you have to understand about spacing, oki and character specific matches to be good at Third Strike is staggering, and the psychology that you can see going on in a match between two top players is really beautiful. Third Strike matches are some of the best tourney matches to watch. Unlike VF4, though, the game is actually fun at less than top level. It’s an amazing top level fighter that’s still accessible enough to be fun to play for average players. 14. Super Mario Kart (SNES) – The Mario Kart series has always been a whole lot more fun than traditional racing games, and the original is still the best. The newer Mario Karts have nicer graphics, but the original is just more fun. The tracks are shorter but more interesting, which makes for faster and more interesting races. The battle mode is one of the greatest party games of all time, and is more fun than the sequels even without four player support. 15. Tekken Tag Tournament (Arcade/PS2) – TTT is a very polished fighter that features an excellent, extremely involved tag system that keeps the game worth playing even with T5 out. T3 was already an excellent game, and a tweaked version of T3 with tag is a pretty much a dream game that may be the most popular 3D fighter ever with tourney players. It’s still being played at Evo this year, six years after its release. It does have some balance issues, with half the cast being pretty much unusable competitively, but that’s to be expected when a game has 34 playable characters. 16. Guilty Gear XX Reload (Arcade/X-Box) – Guilty Gear came out of nowhere to offer the first truly fresh series in the 2D fighting world in ages. Each Guilty Gear (except the weak Isuka) has been a steady improvement over the previous one, introducing new gameplay concepts and tweaking balance, and Reload now stands as one of the best tourney fighters. The character design and art are both truly unique and vastly better than anything Capcom has done, making it easily the most stylish 2D fighter out there. 17. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out (NES) – No real boxing game has ever even come close to being as much fun as Punch-Out on the NES. The game is just perfectly designed, with simple, intuitive controls and fun, memorable opponents that get harder at just the right difficulty curve. The last few fighters are amazingly well designed, and hard enough that it’s truly satisying to beat them. The game has held up perfectly, and is every bit as much fun to play now as it was when it first came out, and much more fun to play than its watered down SNES sequel. 18. Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo (Arcade) – SF2 is the game that created fighters as we know it, and SSF2T is the most polished version of the original SF2 and also the game that introduced supers to Capcom games. By modern standards, it lacks gameplay options, but there is an art in figuring out how to get out of traps without modern options like rolls or parries. It has been a staple on the tourney scene for over a decade due to its balance and the skill required to play it at high level. It’s also a game that most gamers have at least played casually, so it’s always fun at parties. 19. Final Fantasy 10 (PS2) – The FF series got back on track after a couple disappointing installments with FF10, which made some nice changes to the formula. The voice acting could have been a disaster, but it was really well done and actually added to the game. The changes to the battle system and leveling system were also welcome and well done. Plot is what drives FF games, though, and FF10’s plot was very good the whole way through, and, for once, had a really satisfying ending to tie it all up. The characters were also excellent, and thankfully less angsty than in 8 and 9. FF10’s only major flaw was way too much walking through linear areas. Very tedious. 20. Super Mario World (SNES) – Not as challenging as Super Mario Brothers 3, but an amazingly charming game that’s absolutely wonderful to play, and has tons of neat secrets to keep you coming back. As always with 2D Mario games, the level design is clever and gameplay is fast and tons of fun. The 3D Mario games were never really able to recapture the 2D Mario feel. 21. Soul Calibur 2 (PS2/X-Box/GC) – People tend to look at the DC port of Soul Calibur with loving nostalgia, but the reality is that for the most part SC2 is the better game. It has a more diverse group of characters, better graphics and less focus on ring-outs (which most people will see as a postive). At all but the highest level, the game is flashy, fast-paced fun. The easy move inputs compared to most other fighters make it a great game to introduce people to the genre with, and yet it’s sophisticated enough that there will always be something new for the average player to learn. The only real flaw with it is that a couple system glitches make the highest level of play pretty strategically rigid, which has limited its life as a tourney fighter. 22. Doom 2 (PC) – Modern FPS games offer more in terms of graphics and an involved story, but none have ever matched the fun of Doom. The level design is what really set Doom apart. Doom 2’s single player was as enjoyable as anything that’s come since simply because the levels were so well laid out. The Doom atmosphere is also amazing. Even with dated graphics, the creepiness of it still shines through today. 23. Dragon Warrior 3 (NES) – The best of the NES Dragon Warriors, DW3 had the length and challenge that DW is known for, but also had lots of variety due to the fact that you can pick your own party, and a cool plot. I marked out pretty hard when I realized that it was going to be a prequel to DW1. It was a really neat twist that was a great ending to a great game. It also featured betting on monster fights, which was just about the best minigame ever. 24. Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution (PS2) – VF4e is a conceptually great game that’s too hard to be fun for all but the best players. The learning curve is so steep that competitive play tends to come down to low jabs, throws and a safe mid for most people, even people who are tourney level at other fighters. Still, top level play is beautiful, and the game deserves credit for its potential, even if almost no one reaches it. The port is also easily the best single player fighting game port ever, and keeps the game fun even if you’re not willing to put in the ridiculous amount of time it takes to become good at it. 25. Gran Turismo 4 (PS2) – The Gran Turismo series has always been the best in racing, and GT4 is the best game in the series. No other series even comes close to GT in terms of realism (except car damage) or depth (amount of courses or amount of cars), and the simulation mode is extremely engaging and gives the game a whole lot of gameplay hours. The only drawback of the GT series is that they’re all very similar, so there’s not much reason to have more than a couple of them, but playing one is pretty much essential. 26. Mega Man X (SNES) – The Megaman series needed some reinvention after it started to stagnate in the late NES days, and Megaman X did the job perfectly. With much more diverse gameplay, excellent art that still holds up very well today and a story that was actually really solid, Megaman X is more fresh and lively than the NES games. The only drawback is that some of the challenge was lost, but it is still by no means an easy game. 27. Civilization (PC) – A really cool, innovative concept perfectly executed. Civilization has a lot of depth and strategy to it, but it still manages to be very accessible. The historical backdrop makes the game very appealing. It’s one of the most addictive games ever, and a great way to kill a whole lot of time. 28. Ms Pac Man (Arcade) – Most pre-NES games don’t hold up very well by modern standards, but Ms Pac Man (with speed enhancement) has stood the test of time. The simplicity and charm give it universal appeal, while the varied levels of gradually increasing difficulty give it a challenge and diversity lacking in the repetitive original. 29. Mega Man 2 (NES) – The best of the NES Megamans, Megaman 2 had excellent boss, weapon and level designs and managed to be extremely challenging without being unfair. The Wily stages are some of the best ever in the Megaman series, and the music is excellent; some of the best on the NES. 30. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis) – The Sonic series doesn’t have as sophisticated and elegant gameplay as the Mario series, but Sonic 2 is still an extremely slick, fast, fun and challenging game that helped give the Genesis the ‘cool’ image that Sega was going for. It holds up well today, and is much more enjoyable to play than any of Sega’s 3D Sonic attempts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Use Your Illusion 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 Take Andrew's list, whack my name on it, and you've pretty much covered my opinion as well. I'd replace GTA:Vice City with Metal Gear Solid 2 though. *bails* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 Take Andrew's list, whack my name on it, and you've pretty much covered my opinion as well. I'd replace GTA:Vice City with Metal Gear Solid 2 though. *bails* Heheh, thanks. I think we can blame Flik and CronoT for #1. I still like it, but I had lost a lot of interest in RPGing and that was one of the few I still enjoyed. I know it was Zelda-heavy, though. Color me surprised that Zelda 2 made the list and the original Legend of Zelda did not. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 WOW, somebody actually likes Worms beside me but Scorched Earth should get the credit for the gameplay concept. Worms 3D is the best of the series IMO due to its single player missions which is more than just target practice. I have yet to play Worms Forts since I do not have a PS2 and the fact that Acclaim is out of business so there is no chance of it making it to the GCN. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anya 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 Tekken 5 was robbed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Baron 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 I'm surprised Halo wasn't even on this list Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matt Young 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 As you can see, I ranked Halo 2 quite highly, 90% due to it being one of the, if not the, most addicting games ever when playing on Xbox Live. I can't believe I forgot Conker's Bad Fur Day! And no, I did not forget Super Mario 64. It's a very good game, but is also incredibly overrated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest wildpegasus Report post Posted May 16, 2005 1. Xenogears - Greatest storyline in games, best music, innovative battle system, it's just the perfect game. Yes, even disc 2. 2. Chrono Trigger - Fun lighthearted time travel story, likeable characters, my favorite battles in any RPG. The setting and atmosphere is really well done. Each time is detailed and has it's own characters with their own certain type of personality. 3. Resident Evil - This is the game that in 96 (at at time where I had just stopped playing about everything except for RPGs) made me take a step back and say "No RPG can do this." Playing RE without a memory card, 4-5 hours into the game, I was seriously creeping around, walking slowly, scared to death of what was in the next room because I didn't want to have to start all over. It's one of the best experiences I've ever had with a video game. It was the original story, I personally think the music fit the game the best in the series, the crappy controls actually ADDED to the survival horror feeling, so did the non-moving camera angles. The angled view always made it seem like it was someone watching you. 4. Final Fantasy X - Playstation 2 - Like a combination of the best FF qualities. Combine the plot and fast battles of FF4, the characters and music of FF6, the same appeal FF7 had with graphics, throw in a battle system that manages to sucessfully pull off character individuality and custimination without making the game super easy and you get FFX. I don't usually make a big deal out of how it looks but some of areas of FFX were breathtaking and it really made a difference. The character voices made Spira come alive even further. 5. Dragon Warrior 4 - Taking 100+ hours and spanning a world maybe 5 times the size of the biggest Final Fantasy, no game feels as epic as a DW. What sets DW4 apart from the other DWs is it has 9 characters all with different stories told in different chapters forming pieces of a great plot. 6. Final Fantasy 4 - Excellent story, battles, and music. It's here above FF's 6-9 because it's challenging (An easy game is a boring game to me), it has character individuality in battles (meaning Kain doesn't use the same spells as Tellah and the characters aren't just a collection of materia/magacite slots), and there's always something happening. Although I'm not certain, I believe it may have revolutized RPGs by being a game where you didn't have to stop and level up at all and also for bringing the active turn base system into RPGs. 7. Secret of Mana - Take Zelda and give it an interesting story. Being able to play it with friends made it more fun to me than any Zelda game. 8. Battletoads - It's my favorite 2D platformer because of the variety of the stages. There's 13 totally different stages, and each one plays different. It's a blast with 2 players both in double teaming enemies and randomly decided to kill your friend. And the fact that it's hard as hell and I've still never managed to beat yet is what makes me keep going back to it thinking "Maybe I'll do it this time" and why it's above Super Mario 3. 9. Super Metroid - The atmosphere did an incredible job at making you feel alone in a strange planet. And the stage design was some of the best ever. 10. Lemmings - SNES - Highly addictive and challenging puzzles. Obstacles vary in every stage keeping you guessing on what to do next. Thanks to the fun 20 stage 2 player mode, the SNES is the best version. 11. Resident Evil: Code Veronica - The best storyline of all the REs and the creepiest villain. 12. Zelda - Still hasn't been matched in terms of exploration and probably never will be. Not only did you have to burn random bushes and blow up random rocks to find shops, hints, and casinos, but you had to do it to even just find the dungeons. Especially in the second quest. 13. Eternal Darkness - Perfect voice acting and music. Creepy Lovecraft inspired settings. Amazing storyline told with different chapters and the game also has a twisted sense of humor. 14. Final Fantasy Tactics - Most fun strategy RPG. 15. Castlevania: SOTN - Castlevania meets the level design of Super Metroid and the stat building of a RPG game turned into one of the greatest platformers. 16. Final Fantasy Adventure - The actual first game in the Secret of Mana series, gameplay was great with having to use all kinds of weapons and spells to get past puzzles. A moving storyline with some serious sad parts, such as when you had to kill the girl traveling with you because she got poisoned by a monster before she turned into a monster herself. 17. Zelda: Link's Awakening - Like the original Zelda, a huge world with secrets everywhere. I love the fact that you can jump and it was the first Zelda game where you could combine different items. Shocking for a Zelda game, it has a really awesome ending. The ending didn't pull any punches. There's no princess saved or evil conquered, just all the characters you getting to know throughout the game ceasing to exist. 18. Super Mario Bros 3 - Forever changed the way platformers were looked at with the hubworld. Gigantic lands with different environments. Hundreds of enemies. Lots of new abilities for Mario such as the ability to fly. 19. Metroid Prime - I had my doubts about Metroid turning into a FPS, but it worked. They actually took the gameplay of Super Metroid and gave it even more atmosphere in a FPS. It seriously felt more like a Metroid game than the 2D Metroid on Game Boy Advance. 20. Conker's Bad Fur Day - Hilarious from start to finish. I don't want to spoil it by giving examples but most of the humor really doesn't come from the swearwords but the general sillyness of the situations. First 3D platformer that honestly felt like an adventure to me because of the size of the world and everything you have to do in it. The gameplay and setting is always constantly changing and so it never gets old because you're always doing something new. 21. Resident Evil 2 - Playstation - The scariest RE. There's almost nothing like walking through a hallway and having a big 10 foot tall undefeatable monster with a trenchcoat bust through a wall to come after you. 22. F-Zero GX - Gamecube - I've always been a big fan of F-Zero because of the speed of the cars but this game goes even faster. Super Mario Kart single player and Gran Turismo just doesn't give you the same thrill in their races. There's 40 different cars, you can design cars, and it has a story mode. This game kept me addicted for weeks. 23. Lufia 2 - SNES - Awesome dungeons and puzzles, well developed characters, fun battle system 24. Blaster Master - NES - Years before its time, BM blew me away with suprisingly atmospheric stages. If you go to the claustrophic level 4 sewers, then come outside to the relaxing level 1, the difference is like night and day. Every world feels different. Tight controls, gigantic mazes, two modes of play, extremely hard, good music, 8 parts for the tank making the way you play the game change a little bit after every stage. It starts to get insane when you can make the tank walk on ceilings. 25. Earthbound - SNES - Reason it's on the list is because of its uniqueness. To this day, there's nothing that quite resembles it. What other game is set in modern times and lets you go to Stonehenge, use an ATM machine, go to shopping malls and arcade, and order a pizza? Also has some nice changes to tradtional RPG gameplay. You can sneak up behind enemies and surprise them, or they can sneak up behind you on the screen and catch you by surprise. When you're mortally wounded, you don't instantly die. You have a bit of time to save them (just like in real life). I love the concept of HP going down slowly. It makes battles much more exciting because it forces you to hurry. Also I get tired of the same epic dramas with angsty characters where you have to save the world, sometimes I want a lightheared story that makes you laugh and pokes fun at everything. Whoa, this is getting a bit long. 26. Zelda: A Link to the Past - SNES - It's hard to explain why this game is so great in just a few sentences. It's more just a result of everything in it coming together to make a really fun solid game. Excellent dungeon design as always, great music, a ton of secrets and puzzles. The dark world is immersive, you really feel in danger and out of place. 27. Final Fantasy 6 - SNES - Impressively detailed characters, wonderful mood setting music, and a pretty good plot for at least half of the game. 28. Mega Man 2 - NES - The useful weapons really sets this apart from all the other Mega Mans and makes it more fun. IMO it has the best music in the series. Mega Man 3 comes real close and it has the slide making the controls even better, but in the end I just had more fun with MM2. 29. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - PS2 - With probably has the biggest world in any video game, you could spent hours and hours just having fun in it doing random things completely outside the missions. Also has better gameplay than all the other GTAs, a fun stat system which lets you improve yourself, and a great setting. 30. Super Monkey Ball - Gamecube - The best multiplayer game ever made. I really, really like this list. In fact, I don't have real problems with any of the lists. 3. Resident Evil - This is the game that in 96 (at at time where I had just stopped playing about everything except for RPGs) made me take a step back and say "No RPG can do this." Playing RE without a memory card, 4-5 hours into the game, I was seriously creeping around, walking slowly, scared to death of what was in the next room because I didn't want to have to start all over. It's one of the best experiences I've ever had with a video game. It was the original story, I personally think the music fit the game the best in the series, the crappy controls actually ADDED to the survival horror feeling, so did the non-moving camera angles. The angled view always made it seem like it was someone watching you. It's almost as if I wrote this! Agree completely. 24. Blaster Master - NES - Years before its time, BM blew me away with suprisingly atmospheric stages. If you go to the claustrophic level 4 sewers, then come outside to the relaxing level 1, the difference is like night and day. Every world feels different. Tight controls, gigantic mazes, two modes of play, extremely hard, good music, 8 parts for the tank making the way you play the game change a little bit after every stage. It starts to get insane when you can make the tank walk on ceilings. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Blaster Master love. This is the game where I truly realised how fast time can go buy when you're playing video games. Definitely belongs on the list. 28. Mega Man 2 - NES - The useful weapons really sets this apart from all the other Mega Mans and makes it more fun. IMO it has the best music in the series. Mega Man 3 comes real close and it has the slide making the controls even better, but in the end I just had more fun with MM2. Yup, maybet the strongest of the Megaman series. I do like the games a touch harder though. Flik, if you made the list top 30 that means you must know what games come up next on the list. You should extend it some. Edit -- Just remembered that all the lists are now posted here so I can tell myself what games were next on the list. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jer 0 Report post Posted May 16, 2005 Agreed, it'd be cool to see the list go to like 50. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest wildpegasus Report post Posted May 16, 2005 By the way, I sent word of our list to smarkschoice and deathvalleydriver. Deathvalley's response will be interesting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CronoT Report post Posted May 16, 2005 Trust me, I'm real pissed that I missed the chat session. Today of all days had to be the "Unofficial Start of the Western Texas/Southern New Mexico Monsoon Season." We had an intense thunderstorm here, with all the trimmings: heavy rain, lightning, loud thunder, and hail, some of it golf ball sized. My cable and internet connection just came back up about 10 minutes ago after being down for the better part of five hours. Also, since it hasn't been posted yet, here's my list: #30: Mega Man 3 Generally regarded as the most difficult of the Mega Man games of the NES generation, Mega Man 3 was by far the longest of the NES Mega Man games. Having to defeat 12 levels and 16 bosses before you even get to Dr. Wily, most casual fans of Mega Man left this game after a few days. For the ones who continued on, they faced the largest game boss to that date. Gamma was a huge robot, which you could only defeat by using the crappiest power in the game, Top Spin. Also, one of the coolest bosses in the genre was in this game: Shadow Man #29: Metroid II: The Return of Samus They said it couldn't be done. They said the system was too small, and the screen too simple. But Gumpei Yokoi proved them wrong. When the news of a sequel of the hit game, Metroid, was being released, fans jumped for joy. Then, they found out it was for the new handheld system, the Gameboy. Then, they were afraid that the game was going to be like the Mario game on the Gameboy, which was difficult to play, and hard to see on the small screen. But, they didn't know that Gumpei Yokoi invented the Gameboy. What came out instead, was a great game that was even more detailed and thrilling than it's predecessor. #28: The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link Following the success of The Legend of Zelda, Shigeru Miyamoto tried going in an entirely new direction for it's sequel. Whereas Zelda had been an over-the-top view, Zelda II would be a side-scrolling game. In this game, Link is now a young adult, who has gone on a new quest to save Princess Zelda, who has fallen into a deep sleep. Using the then innovative technique of combining RPG stat building with Action-Adventure, Zelda II had Link skulking through dungeons and the overworld map, all while fighting in 2-D side-scrolling. Eventually considered a flop when put up against the other Zelda games, Zelda II is in itself a decent game. #27: WWF Royal Rumble Unlike previous wrestling games, which were graphically very bad and hard to play, LJN made two quality wrestling games for the Super NES: WWF Wrestling Challenge, and WWF Royal Rumble. WWF Royal Rumble, though, was by far the better of the two. It included many different match options, including a match never before seen in a home console: The Royal Rumble. This game also included something that hadn't been seen yet: actual wrestlers signature moves, such as Bret Hart's Sharpshooter, or Yokozuna's Banzai Splash. Until WCW vs. NWO came out, this was considered the best wrestling game for home consoles. #26: Dragon Warrior Before 1990, no one had ever heard of Enix, if you can actually believe it. But, every great company has to start somewhere. For the RPG giant Enix, it was Dragon Warrior. Counting on the large, pre-existing D&D fanbase, Enix based their game heavily on the medieval romantic era of King Arthur. Involving well-known monsters, such as dragons, wyverns, zombies, ghouls, wizards, and golems, Dragon Warrior was tailor-made for it's audience, and even managed to snag in causal fans of all ages. #25: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game Created early on in the original Ninja Turtles craze, this arcade game sucked down quarters faster than any game before it, save Donkey Kong. In this popular arcade game, you could play as your favorite Ninja Turtle; be it Mikey, Leo, Raph, or Donny. The game began with a fire in April O'Neil's apartment building, and ended with a fight against the evil Shredder, in the center of the Technodrome, far under the Earth's crust. If you were good enough, and you had enough quarters, that is. For one person to go from start to finish in this game, he or she would end up spending a whopping four or five dollars, one quarter at a time. Now that's one game that's stood the test of time. #24: Dr. Mario In his long and storied career, Mario has donned many hats, (no pun intended) but one of the more interesting ones was Dr. Mario, PhD. In this Tetris clone, Mario must use specially colored pills to rid the Mushroom Kingdom of the Blue, Yellow, and Red Viruses. Using whacky graphics and a unique electronica music track, Dr. Mario entertained many puzzle and strategy fans, not only with it's engaging single player mode, but with it's intense and cuthroat two player mode, where clearing viruses would drop more and more garbage on your opponent's side of the screen. Even the best of friends would become bitter enemies while playing this game. #23: Altered Beast One of the first games to debut on the Sega Genesis, Altered Beast was already an arcade smash. Now, you could take your mesomorphing home with you, and become a werewolf, a werebear, a weretiger, and more. Using a new technique at the time, Altered Beast featured two seperately moving backgrounds, and a unique power-up system, where you had to kill and suck the soul-power out of the Blue Ceberuses. Based on the fantastic and mythical world of Ancient Greece, Altered Beast still remains as one of the greats of video gaming. #22: WCW vs. NWO: World Tour Made by the then lesser known video game company, THQ, WCW vs. NWO was the first true wrestling game for the N64, and still stands out as one of the greats of video game wrestling. Using many recognized wreslters from WCW, as well as several from Japan, and even a few unknowns, this game was truly pick-up-and-play simple. The controls added to the fun of the game, which were very easy to use, and would have you pulling off the most eye-opening, jaw-dropping moves ever seen in a wrestling video game. #21: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes For any hardcore Turtle fan, this was "the game" to own. Featuring extremely realistic graphics, even on the NES, was a major accomplishment for the game's creator, Ultra, which was a subsidiary of Konami. Although, this was not a game for panty-waists. The difficulty started off easy, but eventually, became so hard that almost everything on the screen could kill you in a matter of seconds. The game was also one of the first that was filled with easter eggs and glitches, such as the famous Giant Mouser glitch. This game also holds the distinct honor of being the second-highest selling NES game off all time. #20: Silent Hill One of the most terrifying and malevolent games ever made, Silent Hill took the genre of Survival Horror in a new and disturbing direction. Relying less on intense action and more on psychological horror and suspense, Silent Hill took the "less is more" axiom to it's extreme, by limiting how far you could see in any direction. So, you never knew if a demon dog or a demon bird, or some other horrifying creature was out there. Your only defense was the weapons you found along the way, and a mysterious hand radio, which blasted out white noise any time a monster was nearby. Destined to be recognized as one of the truly original games of the Survival Horror genre, Silent Hill will terrify you to the bone. #19: Contra One of the greats of the NES Era, Contra featured blistering hot action, and snap-judgement decision making. You were a lone Military Commando, charged with the elimination of the deadly Red Falcon, a grostesque alien horde determined to conquer Earth. Using either one or two player mode, you had to make your way through several harrowing levels, each ending with a huge and imposibly hard boss to defeat. But, if you succeded, you would save the Earth from the alien invasion. Featuring one of the most famous easter eggs in video game history, the Konami Code, you could give yourself 30 lives, instead of the measly 3 you started out with. It also included one of the nastiest easter eggs, where player 1 could steal lives from player 2. More fist fights got started over that little cheat than any other, I'm sure. #18: Yu-Gi-Oh: The Eternal Duelist's Soul This game was one of the true real life to video game translations, whereas you built your own deck, card by card, and took on some of the most well-known and difficult characters from the Yu-Gi-Oh cartoon. While this game is limited to the Duelists' Kingdom cards, it none the less offers some of the most intense and realistic trading card game action ever seen in a video game. Honestly, which Yu-Gi-Oh fan could pass up the chance to make Seto Kaiba their bitch? #17: Super Smash Bros. Taking a cue from Capcom's Vs. series, Nintendo took many of it's flagship characters, such as Mario, Luigi, Link, Pikachu, and many others, and put them into a "Last Man Standing" Slugfest for The Ages. Now Nintendo fans and fanatics alike could finally settle the age-old arguement of who was better, by having their favorite Nintendo characters kick the crap out of each other. Who was the greatest of all time? Now, it was time to find out. #16: X-Men vs. Street Fighter: The Arcade game One of the more recent quarter munchers, X-Men vs. Street Fighter pitted many characters from both universes in an all-out brawl to the finish, to see who was the strongest. But, in a new twist, Capcom redefined the Tournament Fighter game, by making this a 2-on-2 battle. Whether you went with purely X-Men characters, Street Fighters, or mixed and matched them, this game swallowed up quarters faster than a laundromat on laundry day. It also included the first appearence of the Super Massive bosses, Appocalypse, who was easily more than three times your size, and with weapons that could kill you in seconds. Everyone learned to hate The Drill. #15: Final Fight: The Arcade game One of the most famous qaurter munchers of all time, Final Fight was the bloodiest, meanest arcade game of it's time. Using one of three characters, you punched, kicked, and maimed your way through several stages of uncontrolled mayhem, until you reached the final boss. This game also introduced one of the meanest gangs to ever exist, the Mad Gear Gang. When you eventually reached the final boss, you had a climactic battle to the end, which resulted in Belger taking a swan dive off the top floor of his building. Street Pizza, anyone? #14: Super Mario Kart The one game that started the entire kart racing franchise, Super Mario Kart blended fast-paced racing action with the unique humor we've come to expect from Mario games. Using such eclectic weapons as banana peels, stars, mushrooms, and koopa shells, racers peeled out in some of the prettiest and most detailed backgrounds ever seen. The difficulty in this game ran from extremely simple, at the 50cc class, to the Ultra-Hard 200cc class, where even Toad, the lightest character in the game, would send you bouncing around like a billiard ball in a game of pool. Definitely a true classic, this game set the standard for all kart racing gaes to follow. #13: Super Mario Bros. The game that launched an empire, and breathed life in the shattered corpse of the home video game market. Super Mario Bros. was the creation of Shigeru Miyamoto, the genius behind Nintendo's phenominal success. This game introduced us to the legendary duo of Mario and Luigi. Mario, in his red overalls, and Luigi in his green, stomped and jumped their way to the castle of King Koopa, and rescued the Princess. It's not possible to get accurate numbers on the sales of the original Super Mario Bros. considering most copies were included with the NES, but the projection is easily in the 10's of millions. Our hats off to you, Mr. Miyamoto. #12: Secret of Mana During the Hey-day of the Super NES, many RPG's were released for this system. One of the most unique, however, was Secret of Mana. Unlike most other RPG's, which were turn-based, Secret of Mana featured completely live-action gameplay, with RPG elements built in. You characters gained levels, learned spells, and even mastered several different weapons forms. Also unlike most other RPG's of it's time, which included several characters, Secret of Mana had only three characters throughout the entire game: The Hero, who was stereotypically male, the Girl, who was a tomboy, and The Sprite, who was the dedicated magic user of the group. You eventually fought against the Mana Dragon, who was simply so huge, it ook up almost the entire screen. #11: Super Metroid The third installment in the Metroid series had the intergalactic bounty hunter, Samus Aran return to Zebes, where the Space Pirates and their leader, the Mother Brain, had begun reconstructing their armies. This game featured amazing effects, lots of room to explore, and 100 items to find, in order to score a perfect game. Unlike the first game, however, the Mother Brain was not simply content to sit idly by while Samus attempted to destroy her. Once Samus destroyed the case surrounding her, the Mother Brain came to life in a horrific body, and attacked Samus with devastating weaponry, and an energy draining beam of immense power. Only through the aid of the Metroid Hatchling was Samus able to defeat the Mother Brain, but at the cost of it's own life. #10: Final Fantasy VII Hailed as one of the greatest RPG's ever made, FFVII tells the story of Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, and the rest, as they struggle to battle against a global conglomerate that's slowly destroying the world. But, unbeknownst to them, an even darker force waits in the wings, waiting for the right time, when he can mold the planet into his own twisted image. Considered one of the evilest villians of all time, Sephiroth was a villian like no other. He was determined to crash a gigantic meteor into the planet, so that he could absorb all it's energy and knowledge, and become a god.Only through the interference of Cloud and his friends did Sephiroth's evil plan fail. #9: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Billed as "Stealth Action Redefined," Ubisoft's all-original Tom Clancy-esque game truly lives up to its hype. This game introduced us to a revolutionary game engine that is based almost entirely on light and shadow. You play as the NSA's newest secret agent, Sam Fisher. As the first field agent of the new branch of the NSA, Third Echelon, you are tasked with protecting the National Security of the United States, through what is known as the Fifth Freedom; which gives you the right to steal, destroy, kill, and break any and all laws to secure the safety of the United States. Just be sure to stay out of the light. #8 Mortal Kombat: The Arcade game In 1992, a new Arcade began making it's rounds of the country. Using new characters, and an extremely bloody play engine, Mortal Kombat was like no other game before it. In all other previous tournament fighter games, you won when your opponent was KO'ed, or knocked out. In this new game, once you defeated your opponent, you were actually given the chance to kill your opponent, either by pulling his haed and spine out of his body, or by ripping his heart out of his chest, or by taking off your mask, and breathing fire on your opponent. Hailed as one of the goriest games ever made, Mortal Kombat sucked down quarter after quarter, and had both players and parents squirming. #7: Street Fighter II: The World Warrior: The Arcade game In 1991, the world of Arcades was changed forever. Unlike in previous arcade games, where two or more players would usually play in a co-op mode, Street Fighter II actually pitted two players against each other. In the original game, you picked from one of eight playable characters, all with their own unique styles and moves, including special attacks to really put the hurt on your opponent. After choosing your character, you would go on to face all seven all characters in a 2 out of 3 falls wins battle to the end. After you've defeated the first seven challengers, you then moved on to the four Boss characters: Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison. One of the lesser known secrets of the game is that M. Bison was originally named Vega, and Balrog was originally named M. Bison, which was short for Mike Bison. However, fearing a potential lawsuit, Capcom decided to change the names. #6: Super Mario Bros. 3 In the third installment of the popular Super Mario Bros. series, Mario and Luigi set out to rescue the Princess yet again. However, this time, Mario and Luigi not only took to the ground and under the water, but to the sky as well. Using the Racoon Tail power, and the new Tanooki suit, Mario and Luigi could launch into the air, and fly over their troubles; or so they thought. Bowser's cronies learned to exploit this new power, too, and took wing as well. Using some of the most innovative game mechanics seen to date, Mario and Luigi also collected cards, donned more suits than a pimp, and sent Bowser packing yet again. #5: Super Mario 64 As the flagship game of the Nintendo 64 console, Super Mario 64 was expected to make an impact; and make an impact, it did. Using a true 64 bit processor, and advanced motion-capture technology, Mario would run through Princess Toadstool's castle, jumping in and out of paintings, and collecting all the power stars that protected the castle. But, Bowser had also learned some new tricks, and he aimed to put Mario out of his misery, permanently. Using the new joystick controller, Mario fought Bowser by hurling him into the bombs, and knocking him out. We also learned Princess Toadstool's first name: Peach. #4: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past In what was hailed as one of the greatest Super NES games ever made, Link once again set out to recuse Princes Zelda from a fate worse than death. This time, Zelda, and six other maidens of the royal magicians' bloodline, were used as pawns in a grand scheme to take over the entire realm of Hyrule. Ganon, having been locked away in the Dark World, has hatched a plot to escape, and conquer both worlds. Using his puppet, Aghanim, Ganon is slowly draining the maidens of their power, thus weakening the seal placed on the portal between worlds. When Princess Zelda is finally drained, Aghanim cracks open the seal and throws Link into the Dark World. He then had to rescue the 6 maidens and Zelda, and defeat Ganon. #3: Final Fantasy III (VI) Considered by some to be the best Final Fantasy ever made, Final Fantasy III had one of the largest cast of characters in any Final Fantasy game, 14. Every character had a well designed model, and a compelling backstory that propelled them into the midst of the struggle between the Returners and the Empire, led by Emperor Ghestal. In his bind to conquer the planet, Ghestal awakened the forbidden powers of magic, by using the innocent daughter of an Esper and a human. Ghestal was eventually betrayed and murdered by his trusted right-hand man, Kefka, a sociopathic killer of unparalleled evil. Kefka then used the Three Goddess Statutes to conquer the planet, and collasped the world into a dark age of misery. Only through the actions of the Returners was Kefka's evil reign brought to an end. #2: Chrono Trigger Arguably the greatest RPG game EVER, Chrono Trigger was the masterpiece of five of the greatest game designers in the world: Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yuji Horii, Akira Toriyama, Yasunori Mitsuda, and Nobuo Uematsu. In this game, which blended sci-fi with fantasy, a young man named Crono is chosen by destiny to save the world. He must travel in time from 65 Million B.C., to the year 2300 A.D., where a cataclysmic event has thrown the world into a never-ending nuclear winter. For unbeknownst to Crono and his friends, an evil force has been hiding in the earth, all along, waiting for it's time to rise and destroy all they know and love. So, in order to save their world they must journey through time, to discover how they can stop the destroyer of their world, Lavos. Featuring some of the most brilliant character designs ever made, and some of the greatest music ever composed, Chrono Trigger lives up to it's hype and the greatest RPG ever made. #1: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time In this, the first game in the grand saga of the storyline of The legend of Zelda, Link is a young lad of ten, who lives among the Kokiri. But, he's the only one who doesn't have a fairy friend. One night, he has a horrible dream of an evil and insane man chasing a woman and a young child on horseback. Thus begins the hidden first chapter in The Legend of Zelda. The evil King of the Gerudo, Ganondorf, is scheming to overthrow the King of Hyrule. But, the Princess Zelda discovers his plot, and asks Link to help in stopping him. After collecting three treasures, Link went to the Temple of Time, and opened the closed gate to the Sacred Realm. But, Ganondorf followed him, and using the power of the Triforce, overthrew the King of Hyrule, and conquered the known world. Link, meanwhile, was sealed in the Sacred Realm, until the time when he would be ready to defeat Ganondorf. After claiming the legendary Master Sword, Link released the power of the Five Temples, and then challeneged Ganondorf. With Ganondorf's defeat, Link and Zelda thought it was over. But, it was only just beginning. Using the power of his piece of the Triforce, Ganondorf transformed himself into a raging beast, and became Ganon, the King of Evil. After finally defeating Ganon, Zelda and the other 6 sages banished Ganon to the Sacred Realm, locking him away forever, or so they hoped. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
