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
I'm pretty sure Bayonetta is the game Anita Sarkeesian lubes up the mechanical dildo to.
#59. Earthbound
For those people who do not like Earthbound, I do not blame you. It took me 4 or 5 attempts over the course of 20 years to finally understand why Earthbound was an amazing game, though to be honest I still couldn't entirely tell you why. The game has some rough difficulty spikes, too many enemy encounters, and sometimes just seems weird for no real reason other than to be weird. But if you can just look past some of that stuff, you'll appreciate all the ways it excels; the character and world design, music, and the ideas and themes that it throws out. Even to this day, there is a level of creativity and originality that you rarely see anywhere. If that's not enough to convince you I'd also like to point out that Earthbound has one of the most bizarre and twisted end battles you'll ever come across. Plus it features one of the coolest endings I've ever come across, in that every single NPC in the game has a different message for you if you go back to talk to them. So, there you go. If that's not incentive I don't know what is.
One day I will try again to make it through the nausea this game gives me. It sounds adorable.
All I remember about earthbound are the old magazines ads that had a scratch and sniff that smelled like a fart.
Yep, NoA had no idea how to market that game. None at all. as it is, they never really had any clue, which is partially why the first one never came out. Ironic too, because the series, and especially Mother 3 is considered to be a national treasures in Japan.
I remember going to the store and picking up that nice big Earthbound cardboard box. Man I wish I had kept all my stuff from back in the day.
Yeah I had the giant box with the guide in it too. Nintendo sent me a coupon in the mail for $5 off for Earthbound so I figured why not. Like I said earlier, I just didn't get it, and after 15 hours or so I gave up and sold it back. Major gaming regret right there. Right up there with not buying the copy of Illusion of Gaia that came with a free t-shirt packed in.
#58. Super Mario Bros.
This is THE game that is probably responsible for turning me into a full fledged gamer. The first time I laid eyes on Super Mario Bros, the world pretty much changed. I had spent plenty of time with the Atari 2600, in arcades, and even with the NES, but nothing really prepared me for this. The graphics were big and bright, the music was insanely catchy, and despite being bizarre as hell it all made sense. Yes, I need jump on turtles and kick their shells. I need to pick a flower and throw fireballs at evil mushrooms. And I shall enter castles and attempt to save a princess who never seems to be there. No explaination is needed!!
I professed my love for this game many times, and I always will. I played tournaments with all my neighborhood friends to get win titles such as "Super Mario Champion of the Universe." I played it on the Gameboy Color at my first office job when I was supposed to be out doing sales calls. And I still buy it anytime it shows up on whatever version of the Virtual Console Nintendo throws out there. Games may have gotten better over the year (but not much), but Super Mario Bros is about as meaningful as any game has ever been to me.
Probably the first game on this list we all played.