IGN's top 100 games of all time

[Julius Seeker]

As voted on by readers, some notables:

The most surprising one I think is Resident Evil 4 at #1, Ocarina of Time usually gets #1 in these big votes, but is ranked #2.

Going up the list, some notables:

99) Oracle of Seasons (and in the bottom 10 it is ranked aside games like Soul Calibur 2, Metroid Fusion, and Ace Combat 5.

90) Shadow Hearts Covenant (AWESOME game), which is in the region of Skies of Arcadia, Final Fantasy 10, Tales of Symphonia and other top RPG's from this generation.

74) Is Starcraft, in the region of the original Legend of Zelda and Castlevania Aria of Sorrow

61) Majora's Mask, in the region of Splinter Cell, Advance Wars, Shenmue, and MGS2

51) Fire Emblem Advanced, in the region of Shenmue, GTA3, Links Awakening

46) Earthbound! One of my favourite games of all time, the fansite www.starmen.net is still up and updated multiple times daily, the single most dedicated fansite to a single game I have ever seen.

40) Xenogears

37) Conkers Bad Fur Day

35) Wind Waker

34) Vice City

24) Perfect Dark, didn't really like this one, but it's beating out FF7 and Metroid Prime even.

23) Metroid Prime 2

21) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

20) Final Fantasy III

17) Panzer Dragoon Saga

13) Goldeneye 007

Soul Calibur

4) Chrono Trigger

3) Splinter Cell Chaos Theory

2) Ocarina of Time

1) Resident Evil 4

I am not actually sure why Resident Evil 4 is ahead, not sure how they scored it, but Ocarina of Time has a higher average reader score, a higher press score, and a higher IGN score. I suppose Soul Calibur, Ocarina of Time, and Goldeneye probably didn't need mentioning since they always score near the top. Chrono Trigger though, now THAT is something, very impressive, and I agree fully. Of course, this list is completely different from what I would put in there. Some of the games like GE007, Ocarina of Time, Soul Calibur, Chrono Trigger, and Final Fantasy III would be ranked as highly as they were, but there were tons of games missing from the list (mainly NES ones) that I would rank on that list.

And for those who are going to bother me about posting a chart, I love charts, you already know this about me =P

[Julius Seeker]

Anyways, as for my top 5 favourite games of all time for each era:

1980's

1) Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse (KONAMI)
2) Super Mario Brothers (NINTENDO)
3) CaptaiN Skyhawk (RARE)
4) Faxandu (no f***n' clue)
5) Castlevania (KONAMI)


early 90's

1) Final Fantasy Legend 2 (SQUARESOFT)
2) Final Fantasy Adventure (SQUARESOFT)
3) Dragon Warrior IV (ENIX)
4) Phantasy Star II (SEGA)
5) Sid Meier's Civilization (MICROPROSE)

Early to mid 1990's

1) Illusion of Gaia (ENIX)
2) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (SEGA)
3) Lunar: The Silver Star (SEGA)
4) Phantasy Star 4 (SEGA)
5) Sim Tower (MAXIS)

Earlier Mid 1990's

1) Final Fantasy III (SQUARESOFT)
2) Super Mario Kart (NINTENDO)
3) Sim Ant (MAXIS)
4) Donkey Kong Country (RARE)
5) Sim City 2000 (MAXIS)

Later Mid 1990's

1) Sid Meier's Civilization II (MAXIS)
2) Chrono Trigger (SQUARESOFT)
3) Mario RPG (NINTENDO)
4) Kirby Superstar (NINTENDO)
5) Donkey Kong Country 3 (RARE)


That's all for now, I'll have to look at my game collection to remember what I liked later. I have also noticed that I missed out several which should be ranked, like NHL 94 which I actually think would be #3 for mid 1990's, and also Super Mario 3. So this post is SUBJECT TO CHANGE A LOT.

[Tortolia]

Word has it that they simply sorted titles by the reader review scores.

It's a lazy approach to content, and would certainly explain the massive, massive skew towards more recent releases - people are much more inclined to review something they're playing currently/just played than take a chronological leap backwards to review in retrospect.

It's IGN anyway, not like they're worth a damn outside news links.

[Don]

The Top XXX of all time is pretty meaningless anyway. It's just a way to write something without actually having to think about it.

But why shouldn't games be biased toward the present? Aren't games supposed to be getting better which is why we're still paying for them? Or have we already reached gaming nirvana where no possible improvement is possible? Although today's market is looking increasingly toward the latter, I still believe the former is possible.

[Eric]

RE4 was good, but of all time? I dunno about that one. >_>

[Julius Seeker]

Well, I think that it all depends on the gamer. For example.When I play Castlevania Symphony of the Night, Harmony of Dissonance, or Aria of Sorrow, I kind of feel underwhelmed, like I know these games are technically better than the old ones, but they really lack something special that the old ones seem to have. I still play the old ones from time to time. Anyways, Circle of the Moon is the one I like best out of the newer ones, mainly because it is the only one that still offers insane challenge. As far as 2D platformers go, I do believe the best ones were made on NES, though I still have fun with some of the later SNES ones. Thankfully 2D platformers are starting to see some life again, thanks to Konami, Capcom, Sega, and Nintendo; I really do hope that more companies will jump back into this incredible genre that used to rule the videogame world with an iron fist.

[SineSwiper]

Insane is right. I stopped playing CotM because of the arena.

[Julius Seeker]

Don't even try the battle arena unless you are an expert. It is one of those extra features. Lets just say the Devil at the end of it is about twice as hard to defeat as Hugh Baldwin. Dracula is the most difficult boss, but at least he is also very easy to get to, whereas the Devil at the end of Arena requires you fight through the most difficult gauntlet of enemies in the game. For an example of the Devil, go up to the room under Hugh Baldwin's throne room and there is one there. You'll notice that even with the availability of magic, you will still have A LOT of trouble taking this guy down, he is probably about as difficult Hugh, but without magic; I have never been able to defeat him. I have finished the game, but never the battle arena.

[Zeus]

Link?

[Julius Seeker]

Link to what? If you mean the IGN toplists, www.ign.com and just click on the appropriate section.

[Kupek]

But why shouldn't games be biased toward the present? Aren't games supposed to be getting better which is why we're still paying for them? Or have we already reached gaming nirvana where no possible improvement is possible? Although today's market is looking increasingly toward the latter, I still believe the former is possible.

I think part of the appeal of videogames is the novelty of it. In order for games to remain novel, there have to be continual "improvements." Mostly this manifests itself as improved graphics or sound, and only rarely in new gameplay.

[Julius Seeker]

http://microsites.ign.com/kfc/top99games/10.html

[kent]

But why shouldn't games be biased toward the present? Aren't games supposed to be getting better which is why we're still paying for them? Or have we already reached gaming nirvana where no possible improvement is possible? Although today's market is looking increasingly toward the latter, I still believe the former is possible.

fail to take into consideration that some games have gotten easier on purpose.

for the people who need the games to be easier, games are better because they can actually play them now.

for the people who didn't need games to be easier, some games are worse because they no longer provide enough challenge.

you can't say universally games are getting better or worse.

[Julius Seeker]

I prefer challenging games, I get bored quickly of the majority of games that are too easy if they don't add anything else, and I usually put them down and never end up finishing them. Most RPG's nowadays I have not finished because there's no draw to them; I find difficulty to be a draw which is why I love the old Castlevania games so much.

[Zeus]

http://microsites.ign.com/kfc/top99games/10.html

That list is garbage. Most were released in the last two years....

[Julius Seeker]

Well, I do think that Ocarina of Time, Chrono Trigger, and Soul Calibur belong on the list, but not Resident Evil 4, Half Life, or Metal Gear Solid 3. Seriously though, Chaos Theory is an amazing game, it makes MGS3 look primitive.

[SineSwiper]

http://microsites.ign.com/kfc/top99games/10.html

KFC Snacker presents the Top Paid-Off Web Sites of All Time.

[Eric]

It makes more sense when it says Reader Review's top 100.

[Nev]

The Top XXX of all time is pretty meaningless anyway. It's just a way to write something without actually having to think about it.

But why shouldn't games be biased toward the present? Aren't games supposed to be getting better which is why we're still paying for them? Or have we already reached gaming nirvana where no possible improvement is possible? Although today's market is looking increasingly toward the latter, I still believe the former is possible.

...says the man who recently started the "Rank the Final Fantasies" thread...

But seriously, there will never, ever, come a time when no improvement to games is possible. The field is moving so fast that working in it, I feel like if I'm not running as fast as I can towards technological progress and innovation, I have no chance at all of making my mark.

If you want to look at an industry where technological progress really is occurring slowly, I might suggest the paper cup industry, or the garbage bin liner industry, or something else to that effect. Games are progressing at an AMAZING rate. There are discussions to be had about types of innovation and why some of them are less present than others right now, and we can have those if you want.

[Don]

Today's RPGs are not fundamentally different from what they are 10 years ago.

[Julius Seeker]

Well, RPGs have changed, just not the Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy II had that action bar thing put in, totally worthless gimmick that slowed down the games pacing, it was a negative point on all Final Fantasy games up until they finally scrapped it in 10.

[Don]

So what is fundamentally different about today's RPG compare to the old ones? They don't even try to come up with a dumb gimmicky system these days.

[Kupek]

If you want to look at an industry where technological progress really is occurring slowly, I might suggest the paper cup industry, or the garbage bin liner industry, or something else to that effect. Games are progressing at an AMAZING rate. There are discussions to be had about types of innovation and why some of them are less present than others right now, and we can have those if you want.

The technologies behind games progress, but that is generally in the area of graphics and sound, not actual gameplay. Only when graphics and sound make an order of magnitude improvement do new gameplay possibilities open up. The jump from Atari era games to NES/Master System opened up more gameplay possibilities, but not the jump to SNES/Genesis. All of the gameplay accomplished on the SNES could have been done on the NES, it just would haven't looked as good. The jump to the PS/N64 generation was an order of magnitude increase and it allowed new gameplay possibilities; games could now be fully 3D. But as far as gameplay is concerned, everything accomplished on the PS2/GC/XBox was possible on the previous generation. The current generation of games just look prettier and sound better. I certainly appreciate having games that look as good as RE4 or Windwaker, but the gameplay was possible five years ago.

[Julius Seeker]

So what is fundamentally different about today's RPG compare to the old ones? They don't even try to come up with a dumb gimmicky system these days.

That depends on the RPG really. The way Knights of the Old Republic plays, for example, is certainly different from anything seen 10 years ago. Shadow Hearts series is also quite differemt, as is Baten Kaitos, as is Dragon Quarter.

[SineSwiper]

The way Knights of the Old Republic plays, for example, is certainly different from anything seen 10 years ago.

What? Not like Baldur's Gate, or anything else BioWare has made? (I swear, they make the same fucking game with a new face each time.) Or Betrayal at Krondor? Or Fallout? Or Septerra Core? Or Neverwinter Nights? Or just about any computer RPG in existance?

[Julius Seeker]

Well, I've only played Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, and I do not see how it is ANYTHING like Knights of the Old Republic. First and foremost, the game absolutely blows.

[Garford]

At this point in time, how can anything be original. Even MMORPG, a relatively new genre of gaming is oversaturated with similar ideas. Electronic gaming has been around for so long, everything is just ripping of another's sytem/controls whatever.

Take for example Street Fighter, and Tekken 5, both are still about 2 guys, hitting each other till one side drop to 0 hp and die.

Games for the last couple of years has pretty much just been graphical/story updates IMO.

[Zeus]

At this point in time, how can anything be original. Even MMORPG, a relatively new genre of gaming is oversaturated with similar ideas. Electronic gaming has been around for so long, everything is just ripping of another's sytem/controls whatever.

Take for example Street Fighter, and Tekken 5, both are still about 2 guys, hitting each other till one side drop to 0 hp and die.

Games for the last couple of years has pretty much just been graphical/story updates IMO.

It's more about making slight changes to new genres to make them more interesting now. Hopefully the focus on aesthetics will soon die and we can get back to real games

[Tortolia]

What? Not like Baldur's Gate, or anything else BioWare has made? (I swear, they make the same fucking game with a new face each time.)

Because Bioware games, despite their similarities (which are largely attributed to the fact that most of their RPGs for a while were all 2nd edition AD&D games - you can only do so much while remaining faithful to the ruleset), are generally awesome.

Sure, they used the Infinity Engine a lot, and IE games played similarly, but the engine was great for it. Sure didn't stop BG2 or Planescape: Torment from being amongst the all time PC greats.

Well, I've only played Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, and I do not see how it is ANYTHING like Knights of the Old Republic. First and foremost, the game absolutely blows.

Dark Alliance is an action RPG. The other Baldur's Gate games were not. Simply trying to use brand name recognition (Final Fantasy Tactics, anyone?).