10. Super Metroid
Who’s to blame:
Michael Ridgaway – #2
David Donovan – #13
Nathaniel Hoover – #13
The first time I played Super Metroid was at one of those demo kiosks in Wal-Mart when I was a kid. The system would reset every five minutes or so, but I timed everything out so that I could hit a save point before it reset, and then I would re-load my game and start. I did this for about two hours, much to the amazement of the store employees and my mother, who was fortunately busy buying clothes for my brother. Despite the fact that this game was resetting every five minutes and was a bit of a chore to play, it was still so good that I couldn’t stop playing it.
Super Metroid is still one of my favorite games and has definitely stood the test of time. It helped define an entire genre of adventure platformers and represents an age when videogames were starting to become more than simple diversions. The graphics are beautiful and extremely detailed, from the dark, moss-covered stones of Brinstar to the veins on Ridley’s wings to the minute movement of Samus’ breathing, and the music ranges from slow, spooky melodies that emphasize the ruin and malice surrounding the Samus to frantic, fast-paced pieces that make the boss battles that much more thrilling. Additionally, there’s just so much to explore and discover in this game that I still have not managed to achieve 100% completion after 15+ years. Many games have aspired to rise to Super Metroid’s level over the years, but it’s obvious that only one or two have ever come close.
-Michael Ridgaway
9. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Who’s to blame:
Matt Jonas – #1
David Donovan – #5
Elizabeth Medina-Gray – #21
The Legend of Zelda games don’t maintain a proper canon, and none more so than Link’s Awakening. Set in a dream world that exists only while the “Wind Fish” is sleeping, Link must discover a way to wake the great fish, escape Koholint Island and return back to reality—though doing so will make the island and its inhabitants disappear forever.
Retaining all of the original Zelda goodness, portable for the very first time, Link’s Awakening shows us to our seats in a world of complete madness. Also, Kirby makes an appearance as a special enemy in the last dungeon, which is totally awesome.
-Matt Jonas
8. Super Mario 64
Who’s to blame:
Matt Jonas – #4
David Donovan – #8
Mark Freedman – #13
Michael Ridgaway – #16
Taking the core elements of the Super Mario series, the Nintendo 64 launch title Super Mario 64 still, to this day, bewilders me. But that’s a good thing, you know. Packing 120 stars to be collected, it is a lengthy platformer that revolutionized the concept of three-dimensional gameplay on a massive scale.
New abilities, enemies, and characters breathe fresh life into the series—yet the game also remains true to its predecessors. To this day, Super Mario 64 is still a challenging game (as my two stars short of the full 120 shows).
-Matt Jonas
7. The Curse of Monkey Island
Who’s to blame:
Paul Franzen – #1
Justin Luschinski – #2
Elizabeth Medina-Gray – #8
The Curse of Monkey Island is the reason why the adventure game genre was dead for so long. (I know that, in the past, I’ve also attributed this to “horrible design choices,” King’s Quest VIII, and El Niño, but bear with me on this.) The game is a total package, building upon the already sublime Secret of Monkey Island with beautiful cartoon-style visuals, the vocal stylings of Dominic Armato (wubba wubba!), perfectly optimized point-and-click controls, an epic soundtrack, Murray the demonic talking skull, and more. In short, the game maximizes every possible attribute, and in long, it is the best goddamn game I have ever played in my entire life.
So how did it kill its own genre? Simple—they gave up. Everyone just gave up. Developers and publishers alike realized that no matter how hard they tried, they’d never be able to bring everything together as well as LucasArts did in this adventure game about a young pirate who’s accidentally transformed his fiancée into gold, and then lost her, so they decided that they’d be better off not even trying, and turning their adventure games into platformers, RPGs, and crate-puzzlers, instead. Which, of course, meant that people stopped buying the games, so then developers stopped making them entirely. Curse you, Curse! You’ve hurt us so, so good.
-Paul Franzen
6. EarthBound
Who’s to blame:
Christian Porter – #1
Michael Ridgaway – #1
Nathaniel Hoover – #3
Mark Freedman – #22
In 1994, EarthBound brought something desperately needed to RPGs: originality! Quirky humor, interesting characters, and some of the most unique music on the SNES—integrating sound clips from The Beatles, Ric Ocasek, and even Monty Python’s Flying Circus—are just a few things EarthBound brought to the table. And despite being a generally upbeat and silly game, it also managed to introduce what is very likely the most utterly creepy final bosses ever: Giygas.
It breathed new life into a genre that was flooded with endless battles between stoic heroes and puppy-kicking evil villains. It traded Buster Swords for yo-yos, battlemages for a psychic elementary schooler, and Phoenix Downs for Cups of Lifenoodles. Even today the RPG genre tends to avoid rocking the boat and usually doesn’t tread far from either the Orcs ‘n’ Elves western RPG or Magical Steampunk J-RPG, so it’s no wonder EarthBound is still revered as a classic among classics by what is almost certainly the largest cult following in videogame history.
-Christian Porter
5. Super Mario Bros. 3
Who’s to blame:
Mark Freedman – #4
Jeff Day – #5
David Donovan – #10
Paul Franzen – #15
Matt Gardner – #17
Nathaniel Hoover – #25
![Super Mario Bros. 3 (U) (PRG0) [!]_002](http://gamecola.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Super-Mario-Bros.-3-U-PRG0-_002.png)
I’m hard pressed to think of a single game that appeals to as many different kinds of gamers as Super Mario Bros. 3. Children and adults, casual gamers and obsessed gamers, even women and old people can (and do) get into this game. The easy-to-pick-up yet fun and engaging gameplay, enjoyable settings and characters, and new and improved power-ups (raccoon, frog, hammer bro, etc.) make it ridiculously fun to pour hours into what actually isn’t even a super-long game. (Which is good because, really, how long do you expect the princess to stay locked up in Bowser’s castle?)
-Matt Gardner
4. Mario Kart 64
Who’s to blame:
Paul Franzen – #3
Jeff Day – #5
Michael Ridgaway – #5
Mark Freedman – #17
Zach Rich – #20
For some reason, no one else can ever get it right. Either their controls are awkward or loose, or their characters are total unknowns, or their items are incomprehensible (or they’re rip-offs), or their courses are unimaginative, or sometimes all of the above. Whatever the case may be, no one can get the job done like Nintendo—or, as that classic 16-bit-era slogan goes, “Nintendo Does What Everyone Else Don’t, Which is Make a Great Kart Racing Game.”
Mario Kart 64 is one of the very (very) few things that both my dad and I enjoy and can bond over. We’ve been playing this goofy racing game together for over 12 years now, and that is entirely why I voted for it. I can’t really speak for everyone else (even though I’m supposed to), but maybe that’s exactly why Mario Kart 64 is so universally loved: because it’s such an incredibly accessible game, where kids and adults, hardcore and casual gamers, Halo fans and people who don’t pop their collars, can actually play together without somebody getting bored or hurling a controller. …Or maybe everyone just really likes Rainbow Road.
-Paul Franzen
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Who’s to blame:
Michael Gray – #1
Elizabeth Medina-Gray – #3
Michael Ridgaway – #4
Mark Freedman – #9
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the story of a hero named Link who travels through time to defeat the evil king Ganondorf and save Princess Zelda. We asked Michael Gray, author of “The Ten Reasons,” to come up with ten reasons why it is such a legendary game, and this is what he said:
One, it is an absolutely huge game, and just when it seems you’ve gotten all the way to the end, there is a humongous plot twist that reveals you’re not even halfway through the game yet. Two, the aforementioned plot twist is awesome; it involves time-travel to an alternate universe where the main villain rules the world (think Back to the Future 2). Actually, the overall plot of the game is really good, and the various subplots that surround the different dungeons are all engrossing in their own right. Three, there are a lot of characters with enough depth to make you care about them. This might not sound like much, until you compare it to something like the current-gen Zelda game, Twilight Princess, which has fewer and less interesting characters; people today still write more about Ocarina of Time’s characters than Twilight Princess’ characters, even though Ocarina of Time is twelve years old by now.
Four, the boss battles are so enjoyable that it’s worth creating a save point before each one, just so you can replay it multiple times. Five, there’s a tree with a righteous mustache. Six, the fishing minigame is so good that it probably could have been a complete game in its own right. Seven, this game does not include Toon Link in any way, shape or form. Eight, the Goron and Zora races are both so good that it’s hard to imagine a Zelda game today that doesn’t include them. Nine, Darunia is a dance master, and the Goron hug scene is hilarious. And ten, forget what the haters have to say, Navi is a great helpful sidekick.
-Michael Gray
2. Chrono Trigger
Who’s to blame:
Nathaniel Hoover – #1
Mark Freedman – #1
Michael Ridgaway – #11
Jeff Day – #11
Justin Luschinski – #18
David Donovan – #22
Matt Gardner – #24
![Chrono Trigger (U) [!]_00000](http://gamecola.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Chrono-Trigger-U-_00000.bmp)
While there may be other RPGs out there with more complex storylines and richer battle systems, Chrono Trigger is frequently cited as the greatest RPG of all time because it does everything right—the only way somebody wouldn’t like Chrono Trigger is if they hated robots, dinosaurs, time machines, talking frogs, battles that require actual strategy, the art of Dragon Ball Z’s Akira Toriyama, character development, and fun. There’s action, suspense, comedy, tragedy, and a phenomenal soundtrack that perfectly brings it all together, too. If you don’t at least like Chrono Trigger, then you’re not really a person.
-Nathaniel Hoover
And the #1 game of all time is…
1. Taboo: The Sixth Sense
This exceptional tarot simulator is easily the greatest–
OK fine; we’re just messing with you. Here’s the real #1:
1. Portal
Who’s to blame:
Justin Luschinski – #4
Elizabeth Medina-Gray – #5
Christian Porter – # 5
Nathaniel Hoover – #5
Michael Ridgaway – #6
If you’ve ever heard the phrase “The cake is a lie,” then you’ve already felt the cultural impact that this single game has had. Granted, everyone agrees that “The cake is a lie” has become so overused that it’s not funny anymore, but at its core, Portal truly is a perfect videogame. The puzzles are intuitive, the portal technology was innovative, the game’s one character is one of the greatest characters of all time, and it never overstayed its welcome. Portal is probably the best example of how games can become art, creating a cultural impact so large that it even transitioned over to the real world.
This wasn’t that funny of a description, so I’m going to finish this with a joke: A baby seal walks into a club.
-Justin Luschinski
And there you have it—the 50 games that are, unequivocally, the greatest games ever made. Please feel free to utilize the comments section below to say things like:
“Why the hell is Secret of Mana only #14? You guys are stupid idiots!”
“Why is BurgerTime not on the list?! You guys sux0rz!”
Or the ever-popular:
“What?! Halo didn’t even make it on the list!! You guys are all [insert insult questioning our collective sexuality here].”
Just remember, if you believe any changes should be made to this masterpiece of game journalism—you’re wrong.
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Christian Porter is a world renowned game journalist/astro physicist/international playboy. His contributions to society are numerous and include the invention of computers, Fix-a-Flat and modern aeroplanes. His personal hygiene is topflight.
XBL: Slothbot // PSN: ToxoplasmaGondii 
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Matt (1)
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Nam (1)
i love how almost every mario game i ever heard of is on the list =D
Sadly absent: Mario is Missing
^ Mario’s Time Machine. That’s the better one. I need to play it again, actually; I got the bad ending last time I did. (Yes, there is a bad ending in Mario’s Time Machine.)
Yeah, there’s a bad beginning and middle too.
Great list! Final Fantasy VI is my favorite game ever, though I though FFIV should have been up there as well. It was a nice surprise seeing Faxanadu on the list…I loved that game!
Portal? Bleh. Technical Demo with a sorry excuse for a story tacked onto it.
I’ve never played Portal. But man… really? Number 1? Also surprised to see Link’s Awakening so high. I’ve never heard anyone promote it except for Jonas. Maybe i’ll give it a try some day.
And I gotta say it : Mario Kart Wii > Mario Kart 64. It’s more accessible to your grandpa, and also, multiplayer both local and online (sans Block Fort)
Mario is not missing from the list, but Mario is Missing is.
Hmmm. I really should have voted on this list. No Grand Theft Autos, no RTSes at ALL, and FAR too many Nintendo games. Fanboys, all of you!
Portal as #1 though! Good job! I’m really glad it wasn’t a clichéd RPG from the SNES.
pretty sure starcraft and GTA3 was on my list.
Yea, I was surprised how the list turned out as well. I thought it was going to be filled with obscure JRPGS from the SNES, nor did I expect Portal to get to the top of the list. Oh well, still pretty happy with it. Can’t please everyone, right?
I shouldn’t be sour about Portal, really.
This list is such an eclectic mix of genres, like a packet of skittles exploding across time and space. It’s amazing to see what happens when many different types fo gamers attempt to agree on the games they love.
You would never get such a varied or interesting Top 50 anywhere else.
If you were curious, Mark, GTA was #80 and Starcraft was #70, not taking ties into consideration.
Overall though, I find myself complaining about this list must less than most. I think it may seem a bit bandwagon-jumpy to name Portal #1 but if you notice, nobody actually voted it #1, it was just so universally enjoyed that it stole the #1 spot. If you haven’t played it, give it a play – I’ve found the only thing about the game that is overhyped is how funny it is, but the gameplay is really spot on.
Yea, I know it’s sort of mainstream to label Portal as either “best game ever” or “overhyped piece of crap”, and what made me like it is sort of hard to understand. I went into it expecting a bunch of portal-based puzzles, but what I didn’t expect was some extremely well written dark humor and a rather large cultural impact, considering it’s such a short game and priced at half the amount you’d pay for a bland military shooter that seem to clutter gaming these days like extremely macho dust bunnies.
Granted, anybody who plays it these days probably won’t get it, considering it now looks like a really good tech demo. But I still hold up that gaming has never seen anything like it before or since, and for that it deserves it’s place in history.
Whew, I went off on a bit of a tangent there. Anyways, TL:DR Portal was innovative.
@Mark: Sure, it’s more accessible—to the point where the only time it matters how well you’re doing is the very, very end, because at any point before that, the players in last can and WILL ALWAYS get super ultra mega bonuses and zoom right to the front. It stinks, Mark!
@Christian: Any way you can post the full list as a comment here? I’d be curious to see what else people voted for.
@Everyone: Totally agree that this is a good list, and very representative of the (somewhat) varied interests of Team GameCola.
Here’s the full rankings of the 224 games people voted on. The top 50 list was probably the ideal number because everything past 50 was almost entirely stuff that only one person voted for. Also, most of these are tangled up in huge ties, so a lot of ties are just being settled by whoever was listed first on my spreadsheet courtesy of Excel.
51 Ys: The Oath in Felghana
52 The Longest Journey (PC)
53 .hack//G.U. vol 3 redemption
54 Oblivion
55 Borderlands
56 Half-Life
57 Metal Gear Solid
58 Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
59 Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
60 .hack//G.U. vol 2 Reminiscence
61 Sonic Adventure
62 SSX 3
63 Fallout 2
64 Starcraft
65 Mega Man 3
66 Banjo Kazooie
67 .hack//G.U. vol 1 rebirth
68 Pokemon Gold/Silver
69 Crystalis
70 Castlevania: Circle of The Moon
71 Shadow of Colossus
72 .hack//quarantine
73 Beyond Good and Evil
74 Extreme Warfare Revenge (PC)
75 Guilty Gear
76 Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
77 .hack//outbreak
78 Metal Gear Solid 3
79 Burnout Paradise
80 Grand Theft Auto 4
81 Legend of Zelda (NES)
82 Kings Quest VII
83 Toejam & Earl
84 Putt-putt travels through time
85 .hack//mutation
86 Advance Wars 2 black hole rising
87 Sim Copter
88 Mother 3 (GBA)
89 NHL’94
90 Kirby’s Adventure
91 Paper Mario: thousand year door
92 Oregon Trail
93 .hack//infection
94 Starfox 64
95 Neverwinter Nights 2
96 Ico (PS2)
97 Kings Quest VI
98 Civ IV
99 Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne
100 Donkey Kong 64
101 No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle
102 Duke Nukem 3D
103 Star ocean Til the end of time
104 Zelda Windwaker
105 Call of Duty
106 Megaman Legends
107 Fire Emblem Gaiden
108 Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion
109 Baldur’s Gate 2
110 Jetpack
111 Metal Gear Solid 2
112 Grim Fandango (PC)
113 Saints Row 2
114 Fire Emblem GCN
115 Shin Megami Tensei Persona 4
116 Kingdom Hearts 2
117 Heroes of Might andMagic III
118 Battlefield: Bad Company 2
119 Maniac Mansion II: DOTT
120 Timesplitters: Future Perfect
121 Metroid Fusion
122 Samurai Western
123 Pokemon Gold/Silver
124 Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
125 The Operative: Noone lives forever
126 Mass Effect (X360)
127 WWF No Mercy N64
128 LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
129 Dragon Quest VIII
130 Ducktales 2
131 Valkyria Chronicles
132 Mario Party 3
133 Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
134 Psychonauts (Xbox)
135 The Sims (PC)
136 Chrono Cross (PSX)
137 Rygar: The Legendary Adventure
138 Illusion of Gaia
139 Radiata Stories
140 Umjammer Lammy
141 Hydro Thunder
142 Tecmo Super Bowl
143 Scribblenauts (NDS)
144 Odin’s Sphere (PS2)
145 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
146 Shining Force
147 Time Hollow DS
148 Ys I and II complete
149 Shadow Hearts
150 Halo 3
151 Mega Man X3
152 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
153 Simon the Sorceror (PC)
154 Harvest Moon 64 (N64)
155 Diablo II (PC)
156 Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
157 Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
158 No More Heroes
159 Crazy Taxi
160 Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force
161 Maniac Mansion (PC)
162 PAIN (psn)
163 CIMA: The Enemy
164 Diddy Kong Racing
165 Master of Orion II
166 Out of This World/Another World (SNES)
167 Lost in Blue (NDS)
168 Professor Layton:
169 Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
170 Sonic CD
171 Donkey Kong Country
172 Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
173 Killer7
174 Mega Man
175 MechWarrior 2
176 Final Fantasy 4
177 Super Mario Land 2
178 Snowboard Kids
179 Planetscape Torment
180 Civilization III
181 Contra
182 Phantasy Star Online (DC)
183 Sam and Max Hit the Road (PC
184 Warioware Inc
185 Sam and Max Seasons 1 and 2
186 Startropics 2
187 Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando
188 Worms: armageddon
189 Soulblazer (SNES)
190 Phoenix Wright 2
191 Metal Warriors
192 Dissidia Final Fantasy
193 Shatterhand
194 Elite Beat Agents
195 Space Quest V
196 punch out
197 Resident Evil 4 (GCN)
198 Braid (XBox 360)
199 Command and Conquer
200 Double Dragon II
201 Phoenix Wright 3
202 Soul Calibur 4
203 Cave Story
204 SoulCalibur 2
205 You Don’t Know Jack (PC)
206 A Boy and His Blob (Wii)
207 ActRaiser
208 Samantha Swift and The Hidden Roses of Athena
209 Metroid Prime
210 Final Fantasy
211 Ys: The Ark of Napishtim
212 Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships
213 Super Smash Bros Melee
214 Dragon Warrior
215 nintendo world cup
216 The Lion King (Sega Genesis)
217 Theme Park
218 Hotel Dusk
219 Testgame.exe
220 Brave Fencer Musashi
221 Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
222 Ninja Gaiden (new)
223 Castle Crashers
224 Earthworm Jim 2
@Paul – Rubberbanding has been there since day one of Super Mario Kart. It’s definitely more extreme on Wii, but less-so online since you’re not racing against Skynet.
How about Worst games of all time? That sure would be diverse.
LOL @ 84. Was #196 specifically sans Mike Tyson?
@Mark
funny thing about #84 is that before anybody submitted any votes I started writing the article and the line that now reads “Why is BurgerTime not on the list?! You guys sux0rz!” I thought would be kind of funny if it referenced a game that there was no chance of anybody EVER caring about and wanting to be on the list. So it originally read “Why is Putt-Putt not on the list?! You guys sux0rz!”
and then I actually get a vote for Putt-Putt and have to rewrite it.
I was the one who voted for Putt-Putt, actually. It was #7 on my list. I can’t _believe_ Curse of Monkey Island got #7 on the official list. I enjoyed Putt-Putt TTT ten times more that CMI!
Any chance of releasing the individual voters lists? I’d love to see Elizabeth’s (my girlfriend is experiencing flower for the first time as we speak)
@James: Here’s my list of top games. Flower is really a one-of-a-kind, so there won’t be too many others like it on my list, but I’m more than happy to share! Most of my favorite games are my favorites because of their stories (and characters) and emotional impact, but things like originality and overall fun are important to me as well (and of course there’s the inevitable nostalgia factor). :P
I was actually thinking earlier that it’d be really interesting to see everyone’s individual lists that went into this Top-50 list. I think other people should post their lists here as well!
1. Flower (PS3)
2. The Longest Journey (PC)
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
4. Okami (PS2)
5. Portal (XBox)
6. Beyond Good and Evil (PS2)
7. King’s Quest VII (PC)
8. Curse of Monkey Island (PC)
9. King’s Quest VI (PC)
10. The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker (GC)
11. Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney (NDS)
12. Katamari Damacy (PS2)
13. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (SNES)
14. The Sims (PC)
15. Odin’s Sphere (PS2)
16. Harvest Moon 64 (N64)
17. Chrono Cross (PSX)
18. Lost in Blue (NDS)
19. Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
20. Final Fantasy VII (PSX)
21. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (GBO)
22. Braid (XBox 360)
23. A Boy and His Blob (Wii)
24. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XBox)
25. The Lion King (Sega Genesis)
(And I had a bunch of “runners up” as well, pretty much all tied for the 25th slot: DDRMAX Dance Dance Revolution (PS2), Creatures (PC), Warcraft II (PC), Myst (PC), The Lost Mind of Dr. Brain (PC), Grim Fandango (PC), Day of the Tentacle (PC).)
I have everybody’s list, but I’ll let them decide if they want to post it or not. I can’t imagine anybody who writes for a videogame blog would be shy about their taste in videogames, but I err on the side of caution.
Anyway, since there’s interest here’s mine:
1. Earthbound (SNES)
2. Team Fortress 2 (X360)
3. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (X360)
4. Castlevania: SOTY (PS1)
5. Portal (X360)
6. Final Fantasy 6 (SNES)
7. Legend of Zelda (NES)
8. Mother 3 (GBA)
9. Ico (PS2)
10. Super Mario World (SNES)
11. Grim Fandango (PC)
12. Final Fantasy 7 (PS1)
13. Mass Effect (X360)
14. Psychonauts (Xbox)
15. Scribblenauts (NDS)
16. Simon the Sorcerer (PC)
17. Maniac Mansion (PC)
18. Out of This World/Another World (SNES)
19. Borderlands (X360)
20. Phantasy Star Online (DC)
21. Soulblazer (SNES)
22. Resident Evil 4 (GCN)
23. Rock Band 2 (X360)
24. Bioshock (X360)
25. You Don’t Know Jack (PC)
Here’s my list of games. They’re listed in the order I thought of them, not the order in which I like them.
1. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
3. Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
4. Banjo-Kazooie
5. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
6. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
7. Putt-Putt Travels Through Time
8. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
9. Oregon Trail
10. Fire Emblem Gaiden
11. Fire Emblem GCN
12. Metroid Fusion
13. Duck Tales 2, NES
14. Super Mario Bros. 2, NES
15. Time Hollow DS
16. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
17. CIMA: The Enemy (GBA)
18. Professor Layton
19. Mega Man NES (I can’t tell the difference between any of them, so just attribute my vote to whichever one is most popular)
20. Phoenix Wright 1
21. Phoenix Wright 2
22. Phoenix Wright 3
23. Samantha Swift and the Hidden Roses of Athena
24. Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships
25. Um…uh…Testgame.exe!
And as a bonus, here’s my list of the games I don’t like, for the “top 50 worst games of all time” list:
1. Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
2. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
3. Santa Claus Saves the Earth (GBA)
4. Super Smash Brothers Brawl
5. Final Fantasy VI
6. Metroid: Zero Mission (DS)
7. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA)
8. Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
9. Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap (GBA)
10. Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (GCN)
11. Tales of Monkey Island, Episode 1
12. Okay, I’ll be honest. Monkey Island 3.
13. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (DS)
14. Harvest Moon DS
15. Pajama Sam: Life is Rough When You Lose Your Stuff!
16. The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes (PC)
17. Wii Sports
18. Goldeneye 007
19. Halo 3…pretty much any first-person shooter, actually.
20. Prince of Persia: Rival Swords (Wii)
21. Star Fox 64
22. Frankenstein (NES)
23. Wario World: Shake It Wii
24. Wario Ware Wii
25. Super Paper Mario
Thanks, defiantly a few games in there I’ll check out! Were I ever to compile a list, Shadow of the Colossus would top it. It’s a beautiful experience playing that game. I love the diffuse melancholy that permeates the world and the battles, it really stays with you.
Here’s mine (though, it’s already a little out of date, since I’ve played Enchanted Arms…):
1. The Curse of Monkey Island (PC)
2. Secret of Mana (SNES)
3. Mario Kart 64 (N64)
4. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS)
5. Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
6. Extreme Warfare Revenge (PC)
7. ToeJam & Earl (SG)
8. NHL ‘94 (SNES)
9. Civilization IV (PC)
10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES)
11. The Secret of Monkey Island (PC)
12. Maniac Mansion II: Day of the Tentacle (PC)
13. WWF No Mercy (N64)
14. Super Mario World (SNES)
15. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
16. Diablo II (PC)
17. PAIN (PS3-PSN)
18. Katamari Damacy (PS2)
19. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
20. Sam & Max Hit the Road (PC)
21. Fallout 3 (X360)
22. WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (GBA)
23. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (MXB)
24. You Don’t Know Jack (PC/Ps1)
25. Theme Park (PC)
Honorable mentions: Jeopardy! (NES), New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Kingdom Hearts, SimCity, Champions of Norrath, 1 vs. 100, Pirates!, Lego Star Wars 2
Um… why isn’t Shadow of the Colossus on this list?
Shadows of the colossus has been on my to-play list for a few years now. Haven’t gotten around to it yet.
The lists are very interesting. I thought most of you guys were going to nominate a bunch of obscure JRPGs, but I’m really surprised at the results. I’ll post my own list if I can find it.
My original list email: ”
TOP 25 BEST (in no particular order:)
————
1. Legend of Zelda, The: Link’s Awakening / DX (GB, GBC)
2. Legend of Zelda, The: Majora’s Mask (N64)
3. Sonic Adventure (DC)
4. Super Mario 64 (N64)
5. Final Fantasy VII (PS1)
6. Metal Gear Solid 3 (PS2)
7. Tetris (GB)
8. Lylat Wars / StarFox 64 (N64)
9. Duke Nukem 3D (PC)
10. Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion (SMS)
11. Silent Hill 2 (PS2)
12. Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal (GBC)
13. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
14. Um Jammer Lammy (PS1)
15. The Legend of the Mystical Ninja: Starring Goemon (N64)
16. Perfect Dark (N64)
17. Rock Band 2 (X360/PS3/Wii)
18. Sonic CD (SCD)
19. Super Mario Land 2 (GB)
20. Megaman 2 (NES)
21. Shatterhand (NES)
22. Cave Story / Doukutsu Monogatari (PC/Wii-WW)
23. Fallout 3 (PC/X360/PS3)
24. Saints Row 2 (X360/PS3/PC)
25. Ninja Gaiden / Ninja Gaiden Sigma (X360/PC)
TOP 25 WORST (in no particular order:)
————
1. Big Rigs: Over The Road Racing (PC)
2. Motorstorm (PS3)
3. Fable II (X360)
4. Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels (SAT)
5. Grand Theft Auto (PS1)
6. GoldenEye 64 (N64)
7. Avatar: The Legend of Aang: The Burning Earth (X360)
8. Iron Man (X360)
9. Croc: Legend of the Gobbos (PC/PS1/SAT)
10. Portal (X360/PS3/PC)
11. Wu Tang: Taste The Pain (PS1)
12. Golvellius (SMS)
13. Hyperballoid HD (PS3-PSN)
14. Action-52 (NES)
15. The Secret of Monkey Island TM (PC)
16. Space Math (X360-XBLI)
17. Grand Theft Auto IV (X360)
18. Pokémon Collosseum (NGC)
19. The Terminator (SMS)
20. Taz-Mania (SMS)
21. Fallout 2 (PC)
22. Days of Thunder (NES)
23. Barnyard Blast (NDS)
24. Top Gun (NES)
25. Akuji: The Heartless (PS1)
Hahaha, Monkey Island…
Ha…”
Here are my top 25 games, top being #1 being the best
Chrono Trigger
Fallout 3
Starcraft
Super Mario Brothers 3
Metal Gear Solid
Grand Theft Auto 4
Goldeneye 007
Super Mario World
The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time
Metal Gear Solid 2
Battlefield : Bad Company 2
Legend of Zelda : A Link to the Past
Super Mario 64
Tecmo Super Bowl
Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas
TMNT : Turtles in Time
Mario Kart 64
Final Fantasy 3/6
Contra
Sim City 2000
Mike Tyson’s Punch Out
Earthbound
Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Nintendo World Cup
Oregon Trail
I’d like to see some reviews of your worst games, Matt, specifically GTA4 and
I never was asked to write a blurb for this article, not did I even make a comment on this. I’m long overdue. So here it is.
Good job, you.
@Jeff You were and you did. Just none of your games happened to be on the top of the list.
You did write ups about Faxanadu and Tetris and such over here on the first two parts:
http://gamecola.net/2010/05/the-gamecola-top-50-videogames-ever-made-in-the-whole-of-human-history-as-far-as-we%E2%80%99re-concerned-part-two/
http://gamecola.net/2010/05/the-gamecola-top-50-videogames-ever-made-in-the-whole-of-human-history-as-far-as-were-concerned/
Dear jolly, I did!
So, what I should’ve said was, “Good job, me.”
GTA IV and.. and…. NO, don’t go silent on me, Mark! NOOOOOOO
On an updated note: Nintendo have revealed the official Legend of Zelda canon. So before any fanboi’z come to correct me, I want to remind them that at the time this article was published there was no established Legend of Zelda timeline.
Also, Kirby appears in the second to last dungeon. I dun goof’d.