To celebrate our 10 year anniversary I think it's only fair that we do the exact same thing every video game magazine did whenever they reached a milestone... create a top 100 list. So that's what I'm going to do. I've spent the last couple weeks thinking this over and I have a list in front of me that I'm pretty happy with. No one else on earth will be happy with it, but as I always say, "fuck off it's my list and I don't give two shits what you think you little pissant." At least I think I say that.
Also, if you recall I did do a top 28 list a while back. However, that was 5 years ago and many great games have come out since, so even that top 28 has some changes in it. There's a few new games, a few games my opinions have changed on, and there was one really great one that I completely overlooked somehow when I made the list the first time. So rest assured there will be some very noticeable changes.
And it's going to go by fast. Since I've got that new job starting in just over a week, my free time may be reduced, so I'm going to try to get all 100 games posted within the next two weeks. I need to sharpen up my writing since this is a PR job so it's good practice. Writing about insurance benefits and filing medical claims is just like video games right?
100Sonic Adventure
99Kaboom
98Conquests of the Longbow
97Streets of Rage 2
96Lollipop Chainsaw
95Bloodborne
94 Crazy Taxi
93Bit.Trip.Beat
92Wii Ski & Snowboard
91RiverCity Ransom
90Dragon Quest Monsters
89Jones in the Fastlane
88Dark Cloud 2
87Professor Layton and the Curious Village
86MadWorld
85Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
84Torneko the Last Hope
83Crystal Castles
82Space Harrier
81Retro Game Challenge
80Final Fantasy VII
79Bulletstorm
78Rayman Legends
77Super Dodge Ball
76World of Goo
75The Magic of Scherazade
74Minecraft
73Fantasy Zone 2
72Golden Axe: Revege of Death Adder
71Final Fantasy Legend II
70Hotel Dusk
69Splatoon
68Pitfall
67Dragon Quest V
66SteamWorld Dig
65Street Fighter 3: Third Strike
64Order Up
63Hearthstone
62Monkey Island II: LeChuck's Revenge
61Bayonetta
60Galaga
59 Earthbound
58Super Mario Bros.
57Wii Sports Resort
56Pac-Man CE: DX
55Trauma Team
Pitfall was great. I remember even forcing myself to like the Playstation Pitfall game with Bruce Campbell.
The DQ mobile ports are all pretty good with the exception of DQ8. They were mostly taken from the DS ports if I'm not mistaken, and if you use a controller it's just as good I think. They go on sale pretty often, and you should be able to get a copy for around 10 bucks if you just keep an eye out.
You're a better man than me. I think I played that game for 5 minutes before I quit.
#66. SteamWorld Dig
I like big games that offer up multiple types of gameplay, giant worlds, and epic stories. But there is something to be said for smaller games that only focus on handful of ideas, and pull off exactly what they wanted perfectly. SteamWorld Dig is the later. The basic idea is simple. Dig in a mine, collect precious stones, sell them to upgrade your abilities so you can dig deeper than you did the last time, and repeat. Woven alongside this are a couple colorful supporting characters, a story about trying to find out what happened to the main character's uncle, and just a little backstory about what happened to the humans. No real twists and turns to any of this. Just good straightforward story-telling and very polished gameplay. The result is maybe a perfect 6 hour gaming experience. Since it's release almost 5 years ago, I have played this game at least once each year. It's a great way to kill an afternoon or a long flight.
#65. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike... only the hardcore fighters need apply. Seriously, this is not user friendly Street Fighter. The entire Street Fighter III franchise was quite a bit tougher than it's Alpha/Zero predecessor or even the original SFII games, and was a more direct appeal to the hardcore audience. It was also pretty much an epic debacle as a result of dying arcades, mismanaged characters, franchise and fighting game fatigue, and home ports that for many years were only available on the Dreamcast. By the time 3rd Strike came out though, Capcom had finally filled the roster with some interesting characters and ironed out the controls to a near flawless level which ultimately earned it a following, though not a very big one and the franchise went into hybernation for a generation.
As for me, 3rd Strike has always been a game I've aspired to be good at, but never really was. Lord knows I've tried for many years and I've ever gotten close with a couple fighters. Still, once the ranks gets higher, I start having my ass handed to me, but at the end of the day that's okay because there's a lot to enjoy in this game. I love this roster of genuine freaks. Q, Necro, Oro, Hugo, and the naked guys who fight in diapers. They're a great compliment to the regular guys like Ken and Ryu, as well as Dudley the most gentlemanly fighter in the history of fighting games. The music is top-notch, the stage design is excellent and there's a bunch of great little moments scattered throughout the game like Alex and Hugo's face off that was meant to replicate Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant's Wrestlemania III match. Excellent fighting and tons of personality. It's what ever fighting game should aspire to... but maybe not be quite this fucking tough.
Steamworld Heist was pretty solid, too.
I definitely need to try Pitfall sometime. The cover may make a top 10 of all time list.
Art in general was better back then. Look at the badass artwork on albums at the time.
#64. Order Up
Poor poor...Order Up. This absolutely excellent game had the misfortune to come out at the height of Wii Shovelware, and if you didn't know better you'd think that's all this was. Tough to blame anyone who thought that too. It had kind of a goofy looking aesthetic and looked to be a cooking game that featured the Wii's motion controls. Honestly, I don't even remember why I looked past that. I can only assume I found a favorable review for it somewhere by a brave reviewer who took the time to play it instead of immediately dismissing it. Yes, the gameplay focused on using the motion controls to cook food, but there was a lot going on here including restaurant management and some damn good mini-games (including one where you knock a paperboy off his bike). Plus the developers had a wicked sense of humor. They spoof everything from Star Wars to Iron Chef to Clint Eastwood in this game. That was to be expected though. These guys actually included a paper hat from the fast food place you work at during the game's training level.
The game went on to be ported to the PS3, 3DS, and mobile and for the most part they were fine, but the motion controls were for the most part implemented very well and it's tough to switch back to a traditional method. It's almost like playing Wii Sports with a traditional controller. If you can find the original grab it, but if not you wouldn't be going wrong checking it out on other platforms. At any rate, Order Up was great. I've actually bought the game for two different systems, and if it ever comes out for one of the current gen systems, I might very well grab it again.
LOve the art world of SF3, never played it.