(Totally random stock image of top games that has nothing to do with my list. But it looks cool.)
Welcome to my much more than top 100 games of all time list. Why is it not 100 because I found a way for my list to not be all Zelda, MGS or Mario games. I also hate the idea of only putting one or two per franchise, this is about individual games and some franchises are so good all their games are in the top. But that makes for a boring list so I wanted more games in.
The compromise I came up with is to bunch similar quality games together as one entry (example Galaxy 1 and 2). There could be two, three, maybe six games in one number. The idea being they are very close in quality so no reason to break them into separate ranks. I will order them from least favorite to favorite within that rank.
This is also a favorites list meaning if one game is ahead of another it does not necessarily mean I think its a better game, I just might have a deeper history with that game. Now toward the top of the list my favorites and what I believe to be the best games ever made are one and the same. It was not easy to pick the games I did, I constantly removed some games, put others in, rearranged the ranks many times. Ive always known my top 25 or so but the rest has been fun to explore and figure out which games have been my favorites over all these years.
Its actually kind of late so I will start officially tomorrow. But before I go I'll leave you with a few games that just missed the list.
So funky and fresh but didn't make it.
The splatoon games, one of the best online competitive "shooters" I've played. Slightly out of the splat zone.
FTL, such an addicting simple yet extremely deep game. A classic but just missses the mark.
The Longest Journey, Incredible story and the best traditional point and click adventure game I have ever played. Excellent game but lets be real, adventure games aren't my thing.
MASTER LIST
- 100. Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil Outbreak
- 99. Rogue Squadron 2
- 98. Nights
- 97. Destiny
- 96. Astro Bot
- 95. Pixeljunk Eden
- 94. Tomb Raider 2
- 93. Sim CIty 2000
- 92. Splinter Cell Blacklist
- 91. Panzer Dragoon 2 and Panzer Dragoon Saga
- 90. Shenmue 1 and 2
- 89. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 and 3
- 88. Nioh
- 87. Tetris
- 86. Darksiders
- 85. Assassin's Creed 2
- 84. Portal 1 and 2
- 83. Dragon Quest 8
- 82. BloodBorne
- 81. Ecco the Dolphin 1 and 2
- 80. Dead Space 1 and 2
- 79. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
- 78. Kingdom Hearts 2
- 77. Mortal Kombat 1, 2 and 9
- 76. Uncharted 3, 4 and Lost Legacy
- 75. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
- 74. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- 73. Rayman Origins and Legends
- 72. Castlevania Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow
- 71. Crash Bandicoot 2
- 70. Silent Hill
- 69. Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite
- 68. Bayonetta 1 and 2
- 67. Donkey Kong Country Returns
- 66. AM2R, Metroid Prime 2 and Metroid Zero Mission
- 65. Final Fantasy 6 and 12
- 64. The World Ends With You
- 63. Hollow Knight
- 62. Chrono Trigger
- 61. Metal Gear Solid Ghost Babel
- 60. Dragon Age: Origins
- 59. Sonic Adventure 1, Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colors and Sonic Adventure 2
- 58. Mega Man 2
- 57. Halo 1 and 2
- 56. Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga and Paper Mario 2
- 55. Devil May Cry 1 and 4
- 54. Horizon Zero Dawn
- 53. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
- 52. Tie Fighter and X-Wing Alliance
- 51. Gran Turismo 1 and 3
- 50. Tekken 3
- 49. Legend of Zelda A Link Between Worlds and Oracle of Ages/Seasons
- 48. Sonic 1, 3 and Knuckles
- 47. God of War 3
- 46. Super Smash Bros. Melee, Brawl, Wii U and Ultimate
- 45. Metroid Prime 3
- 44. Ratchet and Clank Going Commando and A Crack in Time
- 43. GTA 3, 4, 5 and Red Dead Redemption
- 42. Mass Effect 3
- 41. Super Mario Bros, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 3D World
- 40. NFL2k1 and ESPN NFL 2K5
- 39. Ninja Gaiden
- 38. Deus Ex
- 37. Shadow of the Colossus
- 36. The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion and TES5 Skyrim
- 35. Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution and Virtua Fighter 5
- 34. Okami
- 33. The Last of Us
- 32. X-Com UFO Defense
- 31. Fallout 3 and New Vegas
- 30. Resident Evil, Resident Evil Remake and Resident Evil 5
- 29. God of War 2 and God of War 4
- 28. Red Dead Redemption 2
- 27. Metal Gear Solid 2
- 26. Devil May Cry 3
- 25. Batman Arkham Asylum, City and Knight
- 24. Legend of Zelda Wind Waker and Skyward Sword
- 23. Final Fantasy 7 and 8
- 22. The Witness
- 21. Phantasy Star Online
- 20. Half-Life 2
- 19. LittleBigPlanet 1 and 2
- 18. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- 17. Doom
- 16. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- 15. Super Metroid
- 14. Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3
- 13. Uncharted 2
- 12. Castlevania SOTN
- 11. Resident Evil 2, Code Veronica and Remake 2
- 10. Metal Gear Solid V
- 9. GTA Vice City and San Andreas
- 8. Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World
- 7. The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening
- 6. Mass Effect 2
- 5. Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2
- 4. Metroid Prime
Boy, I loved that train sequence. Just simply amazing.
The train sequence was awful. Super contrived, and really awkward to boot. The rest of the game was decent, though.
You are opposite man.
I prefer the term "bizarro".
Just play 2. 1 has its charms, but the mechanics are more janky than 2 and the pacing and story (the only reasons to play Uncharted) aren't anything special. 3 is a barely functional mess, and 4 isn't much better.
12. Castlevania Symphony of the Night
Castlevania, what a cool series. So I started with the first game, a game where you fight all the famous movie monsters as a whip whelding dude that can't jump for shit. The music always stood out and so did the diffculty. That first game was impossible. Then came Castlevania 2 which I had a fascination with because I loved that kind of explore a world kind of game. Zelda 2 was the same kind of game and I wanted more of it, sadly CV2 is mostly terrible so I never got far. But it was worth it to hear Bloody Tears play over and over. I never played the third game on the NES and I did not have a SNES so I didnt play 4 but I did rent Bloodlines and had some fun, even though by then the action sidescroller was a dime a dozen.
Now its the PS1 era, 3D gaming is all the rage, new kinds of games are popping up everywhere. In the middle of this 3D revolution is a 2D side scrolling action game from a series that had long past its prime. I first learned of SOTN from Gamefan magazine, the art style stood out, it looked gorgeous. I read more on it and it sounded very different, this game would take a metroid approach and be a huge 15 hours semi RPG adventure, wow. It came out to rave reviews so I decided to rent it. For the next few days what I experienced was nothing short of mindblowing. I played this game before I played Super Metroid, this was my first foray into the whole metroid kind of game, I was hooked. The action is so fast and fluid, the game world begs to be explored, every single inch. Hidden areas al over, so much gear to collect, a massive enemy list. tons of weapons, crazy hidden spells, this was the dream kind of 2D game I was looking for back when I played CV2.
SOTN spanwed a super genre, its mix of RPG elements with the metroid style of level design and progression created the metroidvania which is more popular today than it has ever been. I cannot praise this game enough, its paced incredibly well with new areas every hour or so. A non stop barrage of crazy beautifully desgned boss battles. Music to die for and voice acting so cheesy it was good. Outside the perfect fast paced combat there are all these elements that hold secrets. Alucard can transform into multiple forms, this serves as the metroid style power ups that allow you to progress and of course backtrack to areas previously unaccessable. Its the kind of game that rewards exploration and experimentation with items, mysterious rooms like the clock tower just begging the player to find the castles secrets. Its exactly the kind of secrets I love in my games, a game that lets you figure out things on your own, its why Dark souls is so great. All of this leads to one legendary moment that takes this game from excllent to all time classic.
So you think you beat the game right, maybe you got a bad ending but clearly something is not right. Then you fullfill the requirements and get the true path to the next HALF OF THE GAME. The inverted castle is one of the best surprises in gaming history. All new bosses, harder enemies, new ways to get around. It's a genius move, I love games that play with your perception of when it should end only to reward you with more and more content. By true ending it feels like you have gone through the most epic of adventures, one that hasnt really been topped. There have been a million metroidvanias, many of them great Castlevania sequels that tried to build on SOTN but never did any of them reach that perfect blend of all the elements and the sense of discovery that SOTN has.
Normally when I beat a game that I rented I make a point to never buy it, I finished it already why should I. With SOTN I made an exception, it was so damn good I had to own it. Right in the middle of the 3D revolution was this genre defining masterpiece that still holds up today.
I still haven't played that game.
Symphony of the Night is such a fantastic game and the soundtrack is amazing. Played through it numerous times.