IGN's Top 100 Games

[Insane Bump Machine 0]

http://top100.ign.com/2005/index.html

 

# 100 // River City Ransom

# 099 // Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

# 098 // BattleToads

# 097 // F-Zero

# 096 // Mafia

# 095 // Herzog Zwei

# 094 // Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six

# 093 // Quake II

# 092 // Dragon Warrior

# 091 // Virtua Tennis

 

# 090 // Master of Orion

# 089 // Alone in the Dark

# 088 // Final Fantasy VII

# 087 // Thief II: The Metal Age

# 086 // Final Fantasy X

# 085 // Prince of Persia

# 084 // Ultima VII: The Black Gate

# 083 // Contra

# 082 // Gunstar Heroes

# 081 // Freedom Force

 

# 080 // Baseball Stars

# 079 // Shining Force II

# 078 // Star Wars

# 077 // Archon: The Light and The Dark

# 076 // Tetris Attack

# 075 // Crimson Skies

# 074 // Syndicate

# 073 // Return Fire

# 072 // Galaga

# 071 // Half-Life: Counter-Strike

 

# 070 // Pokemon Red/Blue

# 069 // Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs

# 068 // Starsiege: Tribes

# 067 // Rayman 2: The Great Escape

# 066 // Homeworld

# 065 // MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat

# 064 // Advance Wars

# 063 // Sonic the Hedgehog

# 062 // Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

# 061 // Sam & Max Hit the Road

 

# 060 // Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle

# 059 // Bionic Commando

# 058 // Super Smash Bros. Melee

# 057 // Mike Tyson's Punchout!

# 056 // Final Fantasy III (VI)

# 055 // Fallout

# 054 // Panzer Dragoon Saga

# 053 // Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

# 052 // Metroid Prime

# 051 // Grand Theft Auto III

 

# 050 // Wing Comander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi

# 049 // Grim Fandango

# 048 // The Secret of Mana

# 047 // NHL 94

# 046 // Super Mario World

# 045 // Battlefield 1942

# 044 // Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

# 043 // Soul Calibur

# 042 // Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec

# 041 // System Shock 2

 

# 040 // Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution

# 039 // DOOM

# 038 // Madden NFL 2004

# 037 // Wave Race 64

# 036 // Command & Conquer: Red Alert

# 035 // Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty

# 034 // Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

# 033 // God of War

# 032 // Resident Evil 4

# 031 // SimCity 2000

 

# 030 // Halo

# 029 // GoldenEye 007

# 028 // Half-Life 2

# 027 // Burnout 3: Takedown

# 026 // Final Fantasy II (IV)

# 025 // Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn

# 024 // Tecmo Super Bowl

# 023 // Super Mario Bros. 3

# 022 // Half-Life

# 021 // Deus Ex

 

# 020 // Ms. Pac Man

# 019 // Metal Gear Solid

# 018 // ICO

# 017 // Star Control 2

# 016 // Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

# 015 // Super Mario Kart

# 014 // Rome: Total War

# 013 // Chrono Trigger

# 012 // X-COM: UFO Defense

# 011 // Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

 

# 010 // Super Metroid

# 009 // Star Wars: TIE Fighter Collector's CD-ROM

# 008 // Street Fighter II

# 007 // StarCraft

# 006 // Sid Meier's Pirates!

# 005 // Super Mario 64

# 004 // Sid Meier's Civilization II

# 003 // Tetris

# 002 // Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

# 001 // Super Mario Bros.

 

Not one Winning Eleven title on the list is ridiculous, but I guess I can't expect a soccer game to appear on an American Top 100.

[TheFranchise 0]

If you were going to have a 'soccer' game on there, it would HAVE to be Sensi.

[Insane Bump Machine 0]

why? because of nostalgia? sensible soccer was great and innovative, but it's not even close to the quality of the Winning Eleven series. And i'm not talking about graphics or presentation, I mean actual gameplay, the controls, AI and the plain fun it provides in single and multiplayer matches.

 

Other than that I actually like the list. I need to finally check out ICO and System Shock 2.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

why? because of nostalgia? sensible soccer was great and innovative, but it's not even close to the quality of the Winning Eleven series. And i'm not talking about graphics or presentation, I mean actual gameplay, the controls, AI and the plain fun it provides in single and multiplayer matches.

 

Other than that I actually like the list. I need to finally check out ICO and System Shock 2.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'm biased, by System Shock 2 is well worth it.

 

I can't believe it's so far down the list, though.

[Da Maintenance Man 0]

Nice list. I'd prolly add a Jak game (most likely Jak 2 or 3) on there but good picks overall.

[AndrewTS 0]

Our list > that one, even though we only did 30.

 

IMO, PC games don't belong on a console list, or vice versa, unless they were multi-platform.

[chirs3 0]

Nice to see Super Metroid and Starcraft in the Top 10.

[Anya 0]

I hate how inconsistent these lists always are. They've got SF II up there, which HAS to be only because of nostalgia, but earlier they had VF 4 Evo which means upgrades are acceptable. How could Super SF II Turbo not be better than World Warrior?

 

They also hype up features in VF4 that are not in the Evo version.

[AndrewTS 0]

I'd assumed Evo had everything VF4 had and more.

 

What's Evo missing that VF4 has?

[Anya 0]

Kumite and the AI training.

[Insane Bump Machine 0]

IMO, PC games don't belong on a console list, or vice versa, unless they were multi-platform.

 

It's a multi-platform list, I don't see the problem with that.

 

although come to think of it...Monkey Island 2 not being on there kinda pisses me off.

[Matt Young 0]

That's ridiculous. Super Mario Bros. at #1? Fuck that. Every successive game in the series has been better, and SMB 3 and World are rated too low.

 

Gunstar Heroes should be about 75 spots higher, also.

[AndrewTS 0]

Ah. Some Evolution (I think any game with that in the title, ever, has been a disappointment).

 

Agreed on the SF2 argument. The original Alone in the Dark and Prince of Persia are borderline-unplayable pieces of crap by today's standards.

[Anya 0]

Well Evolution got new modes to replace those two, like the quest mode which is really cool.

 

Prince of Persia is so bad. The prince is so stiff and unresponsive.

 

 

It's stupid how they claim to still play SF II World Warrior all the time. I play it occasionally for nostaglia but I love old school fighting games, I can't imagine the average person still finding it playable. I bet "SF II" really just means "every Capcom 2D fighter" to them. That would explain the lack of the rest of capcom's titles.

 

Isn't SC1, SF II and VF4 the only fighting games there? 3 out of 100 is not enough.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

What was the criteria for this list? Were they going for importance of the game or actual quality of the game?

[Anya 0]

Like last time, our criteria for this uber-list of games consisted of a variety of factors, including how good the game was compared to others at the time, the overall game design, how well it stood up over the long-haul, how influential it was in the realm of gaming and just plain how much fun we had playing the damn things.

 

 

So I guess it's basically whatever they feel like.

[AndrewTS 0]

What was the criteria for this list? Were they going for importance of the game or actual quality of the game?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Like last time, our criteria for this uber-list of games consisted of a variety of factors, including how good the game was compared to others at the time, the overall game design, how well it stood up over the long-haul, how influential it was in the realm of gaming and just plain how much fun we had playing the damn things.

 

So, no actual clear criteria.

 

At least 1up's Essentials and Crucials made it clearer.

 

EDIT: And Anya beats me, narrowly.

[Anya 0]

With games that haven't aged well how do you decide how important it was to still belong on the list and what about games like RE4 that haven't even been out a year?

[Jer 0]

I don't like it when they use historical impact as a criteria, especially when it's used inconsistantly (SMB is #1, so where the hell is the original Legend of Zelda?) . Just rate the games on quality, I say.

 

FF 4 remains ridiculously overrated. Not as bad as their last list though, where it was top 10, ahead of Chrono Trigger, and they said something about it having "the most compelling characters since Shakespeare" or some nonsense.

 

And obviously their fighter rankings suck, but that's always true.

[chaosrage 0]

Their last list was better. It had A Link to the Past and FF4 in the top ten. Now they're too low. Conker which was #46 last time got dropped completely. They dropped Resident Evil 2. There's no way Super Mario Bros should be ahead of Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World. And not having the original Zelda on any top 100 list is just unforgiveable.

[chaosrage 0]

What was the criteria for this list? Were they going for importance of the game or actual quality of the game?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Obviously like with any good list, both. Just like the one we did.

[Special K 0]

And while I like it, ICO ranks an 18 on their list? Apparently if your game's just REALLY pretty, it can rank in the top 20.

 

And what's with the huge disparity between FFVI and Chrono Trigger? They're very close in quality in my book. And FFVI > FFIV in almost every way, except FFIV felt so new when it was released.

 

And Bionic Commando is OK, but there are at least a couple points in that game where you can get stuck (through pretty much no fault of your own) with no recourse but to reset your Nintendo. I would rather play ANY of the games above it than Bionic Commando.

 

All in all a pretty good list, though. Really nice to see X-COM and TIE Fighter place so high, they're pretty much the kings of PC gaming, IMO.

[Jer 0]

And FFVI > FFIV in almost every way, except FFIV felt so new when it was released.

 

Agreed. FF4 apparently doesn't have the same impact unless you played it back in like 1991. I played it after FF6 and CT and it just felt old and boring with flat characters and a predictable plot. I really think nostalgia is the only reason it's even on these lists at all.

[Anya 0]

Yeah, I played IV only about 5 years ago and thought it was pretty cool but not a classic or anything. It's just too basic. Everyone hypes up the story, like the Kain and Cecil "saga" but it's not much of anything. I guess it would have been awesome back in the day.

[AndrewTS 0]

FFIV is better because more major characters die. =/

[Special K 0]

Well, only one stays dead. Pretty much like FFVI. (General Leo)

FFVI is way more tragic in general.

[AndrewTS 0]

Well, only one stays dead. Pretty much like FFVI. (General Leo)

FFVI is way more tragic in general.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I wasn't serious, but yeah.

[Special K 0]

I replayed FFIV a couple years ago, and it was fun, but some of the plot defies belief. Cid fucking straps himself with dynamite, jumps off an airship and detonates. Next time you see him? Wow, he was pretty banged up. Engineers are tuff!

 

EDIT: Kain was still the shit though. I latched onto him early as a kid, as I'm sure everyone did.

[chaosrage 0]

Yeah, I played IV only about 5 years ago and thought it was pretty cool but not a classic or anything. It's just too basic. Everyone hypes up the story, like the Kain and Cecil "saga" but it's not much of anything. I guess it would have been awesome back in the day.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

While I think the storyline and characters are still the best out of all the FFs except for FFX, I'd say you nailed it. IGN said themselves that two of their major factors for the list are how good it was compared to other games at the time and how influencial it was. Knowing that, I can't see how anyone could be surprised that it's ranked high. Just think of what RPGs were like before 1991. I can't even remember one RPG before it where the characters said more than a few sentences through the entire game or one where you didn't have to spend hours and hours and hours leveling. FF4 seemed to change all of that. Then the characters didn't just talk. They picked with each other, laughed with each other, turned on each other, fell in love, had inner conflicts, showed sadness, and sacrificed themselves. Yeah, it's true that they did all come back to life except for Tellah (oh and Anna), but Palom and Porom, two little kids basically choosing to end their own life so the party can go on was shocking, I don't care what anyone says. When I was like 9 or 10, I felt sad every time I walked in the castle and saw them as statues.

 

I'd love to have a remake just so all the characters that died could maybe stay dead.

 

Agreed.  FF4 apparently doesn't have the same impact unless you played it back in like 1991.  I played it after FF6 and CT and it just felt old and boring with flat characters and a predictable plot.  I really think nostalgia is the only reason it's even on these lists at all.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

"Why it Made the Top 100 List: Despite the fact that the U.S. version of SquareSoft's first 16-bit Final Fantasy was heavily censored compared to its Japanese counterpart (known as Final Fantasy IV across the Pacific), it's still one of the greatest role-playing games we've ever played -- and that's not just nostalgia talking. The game introduced many of the series' most popular staples including the introduction of the active battle system, an expanded repertoire of magic spells, the use of Chocobos, and one of the most popular additions: monster summoning. Throw in one of the strongest RPG stories ever told, truly excellent graphics, and some of Nobuo Uematsu's best audio work, and the formula for near-perfection is complete."

 

 

Also everyone that wants to know what's so good about FF4 should really play the Hard Type version. At least, that's the one I'm talking about when I say it's a top ten game and has a better story than all the FFs, not the butchered game that came out in the US. It's a giant difference in dialogue and characterization. At times in the US game, some of the scenes were incomprehensible. I would be playing it and thinking Why did he say that? or Why did he react that way?, until I played HT and found out why. "Ohh, so that's what they were trying to say." FFC was a huge step up but still not as good as the translated rom.

[chaosrage 0]

I replayed FFIV a couple years ago, and it was fun, but some of the plot defies belief. Cid fucking straps himself with dynamite, jumps off an airship and detonates. Next time you see him? Wow, he was pretty banged up. Engineers are tuff!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Heh, FF6 had parts like that too though. Right after you leave the Floating Island, the airship splits apart in the sky and everyone falls out and somehow manages to survive.