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[tiebreaker]

#1 Suikoden 2
My favourite RPG and game of all time. I love everything about this game.
The battle system is nothing to rave about, but it's quick and solid. The unite attack leads me to experiment with different combinations of charaters.
The character levelling system is also pretty great, it should be implemented in more games.

#2 Final Fantasy IX
I love 7 and 8, but the last installment on PS1 takes the cake. It has an enjoyable band of characters, great graphic, and a charming setting. The card game is also very fun, though not better than the previous one.

#3 Pokemon Gold/Silver
A better Pokemon game than Red/Blue

#4 Harvest Moon 64 / Back to Nature
This game was my first experience with social interaction in game. Farming has never been so fun.

#5 Brigandine
Very underrated, I think I've beaten this game with all countries.
It's your conquer the map game with classic SRPG style. It's a cross between Fire Emblem, Pokemon, and Romance of Three Kingdoms.

#6 Dragon Quest VII

#7 Star Ocean 2

#8 Bishi Bashi Special

#9 Chrono Cross

#10 Crash Team Racing

Honorable mentions:
Team Buddies, Megaman Legends, Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Resident Evil 2, Legend of Mana, FF:Tactics, Valkyrie Profile, Dance Dance Revolution, Digimon World

 

[sleepydeer]

So, Counter-Strike is getting quite a few votes but was already voted for in Gen 6 (including by me). It had public betas in 1999 but hit 1.0 and had a first retail release in 2000, and a first console release on Xbox 1 in 2003.
Just seems a shame that an all-time great is having its vote split. Still, generations and PC gaming is a messy concept at the best of times.

 

[Celine]

Ah I forgot about that. But Gen 6 includes both GBA sequels which I think are better (especially 2). Then again checking my list for that topic none of them got in my top 20. Too much competition.

GBA Klonoa games built upon what Klonoa MM did on WS.
Klonoa MM still has a very good sense of progression and the special world kick ass.

Surprised by the lack of love for Ogre Battle 64, to be honest. Always hear how that's the only RPG worth a damn for the N64 aside from Paper Mario. Not played it yet myself, but I thought there would be more votes for that game.

There are still just 10 spots for a generation with amazing games (god damn I had to not consider PC games for the top spots to get my own).
OB64 is a fantastic game but one released for a console not know for RPG and with a limited release in US (around 75K).
The only way I think one could put in in his own top 10 is if he is a RPG nut with a chart compromised of almost exclusively RPGs.

 

[KAKYBAC]

1. Hogs of War // Infogrames Studios Sheffield
// Rik Mayal at his lyrical best providing racial stereotypes to each of the game's countries, Hogs of War was easy to overlook or filter as a casual, three dimensional Worms clone. However, massaging X-Com permanence to each of your upgradeable Hogs provided a single player campaign with surprising depth where each of the missions required chess like calculations and practiced retries in order to surmount. "My sniper needs to attack that pig so my bombardier has enough health to have a second attack on the artillery". A great, hidden gem from a bygone era. They wouldn’t green light this now.

2. Sheep, Dog n' Wolf (known as 'Sheep Raider' in the US) // Infogrames Lyon House
// Games where you heartily play the villain are underutilised in interactive media and a colourful premise where you have to lure sheep away from their flock under the framing device of a TV show is surely the most charming way we can play the antagonist.

Indeed, one of my favourite aspects of this game was the antagonist's endearing silence and its ability to bring genuine visual humour to your deviant antics. Presented as a children’s game, its puzzles nevertheless offered a stern challenge even to adults with such a firm confidence in its mechanics and logic. The whole game was pretty much an entire Zelda Dungeon with zero filler. One of the purest games I have ever played. It is a shame puzzle platforming never made the jump across consecutive generations.

3. Medal Of Honour // DreamWorks Interactive
// The game that introduces you to the First-person perspective always seems to be your favourite. I strongly recall receiving this game for Christmas and thinking I was mature for playing it. Indeed, this game educated me on the basics of WWII, the setting, the belligerents, the weapons, the evil. Games as a tool for education are underrated, especially ones which are predominantly designed for entertainment! Of which this strongly delivered. I was an expert at this. Bring back health points in FPS’s!!

4. Metal Gear Solid // Konami Tokyo
// Interestingly I never actually “played” this game but rather advised and cooperated with my dad as he played it like some sort of meta Roy Campbell! What more can be said. An astonishing game.

5. Grand Theft Auto // DMA Design
// Arguably the defining game of the generation. The sense of freedom this game offered granted so many implicit role-playing opportunities. I remember cruising around the streets, stopping at every traffic light and pretending that I was an undercover police officer. And then I was a gangster, a train driver (PC version played), a cabbie, a car thief, a mass murderer. Taking turns with my friend seeing how long we could last with one life was a definitive moment of my upbringing on digital games.

6. Akuji The Heartless // Crystal Dynamics
// Another game I cooperated in playing with my father. A darker, more violent puzzle platformer which we preferred to the plodding pace of Tomb Raider. The puzzle where you had to guide your mirrored self over an obstacle course sticks in the mind. Excellent atmosphere.

7. Theme Hospital // Bullfrog
// Designing hospitals and making them seem true to life was my deep fascination with this game. Nary did I ever pass the second hospital was my fixation on verisimilitude. I loved it so much I even wrote a design document (in appalling 12 year old handwriting) proffering the idea of a Theme School game. I have a Bullfrog badge and letter from Electronic Arts to this day.

8. ISS PRO '98 // Konami Tokyo
// The ultimate football game with fake names galore but incredible character (the smiling faces!!) and playability. Thousands of games were played and several pre-tea-time tournaments were had. South Africa and Norway my favourite teams!

9. Half-Life // Valve
// Played this in retrospect (otherwise it would undoubtedly be higher on my list). Incredible environment design and storytelling. I will leave it up to someone else on these pages to proffer its quality.

10. Urban Chaos // Mucky Foot Productions
// Marketed as a 3D GTA with Tomb Raider-esque exploration, Urban chaos may not have brought genuine freeform exploration to the third dimension, it did however bring a sincere vertical dimension to the pubescent open-world genre. Almost every building could be ascended meaning you could genuinely approach each mission from various uncelebrated directions. And I think that was key of the fifth generation of games; many innovative features were deeply implicit and highly uncelebrated. Add to that a strong, pre-millennial atmosphere, an okay story involving some well implemented perspective shifts and overall Urban Chaos was a yet another hidden gem of the generation.


Honourable Mentions

x. Athlete Kings
x. Driver
x. Libero Grande

 

[lazyguy]

1.the legend of zelda ocarina of time;
yeah, it's an obvious pick but come on it's amazing
The locations you visited all where so much fun.
For the first time in a Zelda game the entire land truly felt alive instead
of just one village and a guy or two in a cave.

2.resident evil 2;
While I played the first one more I love 2 WAY more.
It does everything it's supposed to do right.
The locations all look different and just about everything in this game is memorable.
The flow of the game is amazing and I enjoyed every second of it.

3.Half-life;
The revolution of the FPS as most called it.
Half-life feels amazing and is the only game I managed to Finnish five times in a row.
The level design is genius and everything truly feels connected.
I just wanted the game to be over not in the sense that I didn't like it but in the sense that I just wanted to get out of this nightmare
and that shows just how real the game felt in a sense.

4.rayman 2 the great escape(pc);
THE ULTIMATE 3D PLATFORMER PERIOD. I just posted in the Rayman 3 LTTP thread what I tough of 2.
It's environments feels dreamlike and every level is amazing. The music, color-scheme and style of the game is something special that I feel no other games have replicated.
Rayman 2 is a grand epic adventure and every level reflects that perfectly.

5.metal gear solid;
What's there to say about Metal Gear Solid that hasn't been said.
It basically invented the Stealth genre and innovated in a lot of areas.
We all know the memory card thing and such and it's things like these that make Metal Gear Solid what it is.
It still plays great BTW.

6.pokemon crystal(you can also count it as Gold or Silver);
Anyone who says blue/red or yellow never played Gold or silver.
And Crystal is the definitive version of the game. On other game after Crystal managed to make the cool sprite animations Crystal had.
The addition of THE ENTIRE KANTO REGION is amazing.
To me this is still the best Pokemon game ever made and the improvements make this game so good along with the some of the best new pokemon designs ever.
Also Tyranitar fuck yeah.

7.system shock 2;
A game that didn't age as gracefully but I still enjoyed the game so much.
It's one of the only games that manages to freak me the fuck out.
The Rickenbacker and Von Braun truly feel like a real living environments and inspired my favorite places like Rapture(same guys I know) and the U.S.G. Ishimura.
SHODAN is truly intimidating and again she feels like an inspiration for such characters like GLADOS and many many more.

8.Dungeon Keeper;
This is also one I recently only played.
I didn't think it would have been as much fun as I ended up having.
You could compare it to a "simplified RTS with some slight City Sim elements" but it's so much fun.
not only do you decide how your dungeon will look like but you also have to make sure your characters needs are met or else they'll just bail out.
The game was most fun when killing knights and villagers. The battles against the other Keepers isn't as fun.
also fuck those last two levels.

9.Darkstalkers 2(or whatever it's called);
I first played this game with the Resurrection collection.
Darkstalkers is one of my favorite fighting games ever(right behind KI 2013 and still farther from Skullgirls).
Not only does the game have some cool stuff on a mechanical standpoint, the animation in this game is nuts.
Every frame looks so smooth that it feels like it's melting off the screen and every character is an homage to classic Universal monster movies.
John Talbain is my favorite fighting game character ever.

10.Marathon;
This is the only game in the list that I've never finished because of dumb reasons.
Bungie's BEST shooter.(come at me halo fans).
While Bungie is known for Halo and I've played Combat Evolved more time than I could count I love Marathon more than halo.
It's the first game that I know of that slowed down the combat and added a narrative in it's campaign.
Durandal is great and even if his lines can get a bit pretensions he's still very interesting.
The guns are fairly cool and the music is for the most part slower and more haunting.
It's an amazing game and it's free so go get it now.
(The reason I didn't take Infinity or Durandal is because I never got around to playing it).

And that's my list. Man gen 5 was amazing.
Sorry for the long post.

 

[sörine]

By Darkstalkers 2 I think you might mean 3.

DarkStalkers 1 = Vampire
DarkStalkers 2 = NightWarriors = Vampire Hunter
DarkStalkers 3 = Vampire Savior

Resurrection contained both 2 and 3.

 

[lazyguy]

By Darkstalkers 2 I think you might mean 3.

DarkStalkers 1 = Vampire
DarkStalkers 2 = NightWarriors = Vampire Hunter
DarkStalkers 3 = Vampire Savior

Resurrection contained both 2 and 3.

didn't get the chance to play 3 yet so it's certainly is 2

 

[Ryng_tolu]

1) Super Mario 64 ( best game ever )
2) The legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time
3) The legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
4) Super Smash Bros
5) Spyro
6) Crash Bandicoot
7) Metal Gear Solid
8) Final Fantasy VII
9) Final Fantasy VIII
10) Kirby 64

 

[AniHawk]

1) Super Mario 64 ( best game ever )
2) The legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time
3) The legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
4) Super Smash Bros
5) Spyro
6) Crash Bandicoot
7) Metal Gear Solid
8) Final Fantasy
9) Final Fantasy VII
10) Kirby 64

did you mean final fantasy i as part of final fantasy origins?

 

[AniHawk]

updated the total game list

only a week to go until voting is done. over 400 games have been voted on so far.

 

[Dad]

updated the total game list

only a week to go until voting is done. over 400 games have been voted on so far.

Wondering what's up with Donkey Kong Country being part of the list. Also, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee is spelled wrong. Don't know if that will affect the voting process or not

 

[AniHawk]

Wondering what's up with Donkey Kong Country being part of the list. Also, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee is spelled wrong. Don't know if that will affect the voting process or not

dkc is the game boy color vesrion. oddyssey being spelled wrong is spell check doing its thing.

 

[dumbyugi]

1. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time ; This was the first game in the Zelda franchise I had ever played. As a kid this was the greatest game I had ever played. It had a huge world to explore, lot's of fun characters, challenging dungeons and great boss fights. It's been done better since and I would always recommend playing the 3D remake instead now but the original still holds a special place in my heart.

2. Paper Mario ; Right near the end of the generation came one of it's best games. In a generation full of fantastic RPGs this one stood out from the crowd with it's unique battle system and wonderfully goofy characters. Much like Ocarina of Time it's been done better since but it's still a fantastic game to this day and I would still recommend that people play it.

3. Castlevania Symphony of the Night
4. Pokemon Crystal
5. The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons
6. Wario Land 2
7. Super Mario 64
8. Mario Party 3
9. Kirbys Dreamland
10. Diddy Kong Racing

 

[Dad]

dkc is the game boy color vesrion. oddyssey being spelled wrong is spell check doing its thing.

Ah, gotcha

 

[Ron K]

1. Valkyrie Profile; Incredible collection of substories with a solid main story. Pretty good voice acting in a time when voice acting was largely nonexistent or outright awful. My favorite combat system in an RPG that is both simplistic and deep, and my favorite heroine (and hero!) of any game (which Valkyrie Profile 2 did improve on).
2. Final Fantasy Tactics; Set the bar for SRPGs. Incredible story featuring probably the most amazing sympathetic rags to riches villain of all time.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time; The trailblazer for the rise of 3d action adventure. Often imitated, never duplicated.

These are solid, I can't rank anything more than this.

 

[Walter Matthau]

1. Final Fantasy Tactics ; I love everything about this game. The story, the music, the gameplay, and everything else is just fantastic. Even the sounds effects are great. This is the only RPG where I never get irritated by random battles.
2. Wave Race 64 ; Bright graphics and fun physics. There is something about this game that just makes me happy.
3. Wipeout 2097 ; Great setting and music with super fast racing.
4. X-men vs Street Fighter ; I had a ton of import Saturn fighters, but this one wins out by a small margin since it was my first one. The idea of a crossover tag team fighting game was mind blowing at the time, but the novelty has worn off since.
5. Super Smash Bros. ; Tends to be overshadowed by Melee, but the simplicity of the original led to some great times with friends.
6. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; Often regarded as the best game of all time and I can see why. This game is extremely high quality in every aspect and should probably rank higher on my list.
7. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped ; I somehow owned the N64 since launch yet somehow never owned Mario 64 until the DS version was released. Instead, I played various PSX platformers. The best of the lot was the CB series with CB3 coming out on top. Really diverse levels, some of the best graphics on PSX, and rumble implementation that can compete with Star Fox 64.
8. Twisted Metal 2 ; I really miss the vehicular combat genre. TM2 was the best of the bunch with a good sense of speed, interesting specials, and nice easter eggs.
9. Fighters Megamix ; It's between this or Tekken 3 as the best 3D fighter of the generation. Even if you ignore the bizarre bonus characters, the core gameplay is superior to both VF2 and FV.
10. Mario Party 2 ; MP2 is not a good game by normal standards, but it was a ton of fun to play with friends. The complete randomness and button mashing led to some of the best times of my younger years.

With the exception of FFT, I could probably swap out this entire list out with another 25 or so games. From obvious classics like SOTN to obscure gems like Tail Concerto to mediocre games that bring up good memories like Cruis'n World. It was a great generation for new ideas without some of the bloat that occurred a bit later.

 

[Ryng_tolu]

did you mean final fantasy i as part of final fantasy origins?

My bad, i forgot "VIII" ^^

 

[AniHawk]

My bad, i forgot "VIII" ^^

noted. thanks!

 

[rex]

1. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time; The unsurpassable Nintendo game, OOT comes as near to perfection as any game the Big N has ever produced. It has excellent game mechanics, superbly crafted dungeons, beautiful graphics and music, charming characters, and an amazing variety of gameplay. From the first wanderings thru the ethereal Kokiri Forest to the final showdown with the King of Evil himself, the game sets and maintains a level of excellence that is almost unfathomable. The pacing is also pitch perfect, with the players being quickly shuffled from a fun collection of tasks in the over world to the next dungeon and repeating this process from the beginning to the end. While some of the early dungeons may fail to impress today, at no point is the thought and care that went into their creation not apparent, and they never feel like a chore to play. Simple things aren’t bad things. And even in the game’s first dungeon the joy of discovery and the thrill of 3D action and boss fights is on full display. Will never be surpassed.


2. Goldeneye 007; If the amazing multiplayer mode had never made it into the cartridge, Bond would still be here solely on the strength of an impeccably brilliant single player campaign. The three difficulty levels across 18 levels (and 2 Bonus stages), target times on each stage for the player to beat to unlock extra weapons and options, and the ability to play stealthily or rambo style packed this game with an endless replayability even if you only had a single controller. The unlockable 007 mode, which allowed the player to adjust enemy characteristics like reaction time, was the icing on the cake, and along with cheat options facilitated a customized game experience that kept the game fresh long after earning the coveted 007 title. Excellent level design, including thoughtful enemy placement, behaviors, and scenarios, a control scheme that built on the peculiarities of the n64 controller to incorporate light cover based mechanics and maneuvering, impressive graphics and sound design, and an all-time great soundtrack complete the package.

3. Super Mario 64; The breathtaking launch title for the N64 combined the freedom of 3d worlds with the solid game design of its 2D predecessors like no game before, and like few have since. The placement of objectives at various points within an open level, the clever placement of game design, enemies, obstacles and pitfalls, between the player and those goals, ensures the player will find something fun and interesting in every corner of the map. In obvious paths found throughout the levels and in the helpful hints from the star select screen, the game offers guidance and a helping hand to those who need it, but otherwise steps back and lets the player decide how they’ll experience these wonderful new 3D worlds. Levels like Wet Dry World and Tick Tock Clock couple classic platforming action with the type of freedom, puzzle solving, and exploration that Mario’s 2D predecessors could only dream of. Nice Graphics, a beautiful (and at times, even touching) soundtrack, the most perfect 3D character control and mechanics in Nintendo’s history, and an endless variety of tasks, from boss fights to slides to classic platforming segments, help make Mario 64 one of the all time greats.

4. Wave Race 64; Despite their rankings, this game, along with Mario 64, may just mark the peak of EAD’s creative prowess, considering they were in the very first wave of Nintendo’s 3D titles. Like Mario 64, Wave Race features utterly sublime controls, and the feeling of crashing thru the waves is perfectly captured via feedback from the screen to the players, thanks to the expertly crafted animation, sound effects and the indispensable N64 analog stick. Three difficulty levels plus a mirror mode see courses drastically change throughout the course of the game, constantly ratcheting up the difficulty level. The course design itself is nothing short of excellent, and the combination of the waves, the buoys, and various obstacles that stand in the player’s way make Wave Race 64 constantly engaging, long after players have left their CPU competition in the proverbial dust. Caution: players may feel an obsessive need to shave tenths of a second off their best times if they play this N64 classic.


5. StarFox 64; Yet another N64 game that has a ton of replay value in the single player mode, where the main challenge is to improve on your high score as you navigate the numerous paths thru the game’s 15 stages. While the game isn’t quite as hectic as its SNES predecessor, this novel scoring system builds on the one from the first game to add an extra tactical layer to the gameplay. Players receive bonuses for locking on to a target and taking out multiple enemies with one well timed shot, and trying to use this technique to improve on your score is a good way to add a quasi-difficulty level to a game without making the stages themselves that formidable. The game also controls like a dream, and features the same intangible sensation of weight that many of EAD’s great games from that era do, as you slide your Arwing across the screen to target enemies and avoid obstacles. StarFox 64 came packaged with the rumble pak and is one of those happy occasions when a peripheral absolutely adds to the experience. The enormous bosses are a sight to behold and a ton of fun to fight, and the cinematic presentation and the endearing voice acting make StarFox 64 an always enjoyable experience.

 

[Version 3.0]

I love these game of the generation threads! I don't know why it's so enjoyable reading people gush about old games, but it is. And there's always the chance to find something I missed.

That said, it's almost painful to narrow down a top 10. I went through my list, telling myself to only flag the best of the best, and I still selected 52 games! I've narrowed it down to perhaps a somewhat predictable set of quite popular games, but these truly are the ones I enjoyed most and remember best.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; What can anyone say about Ocarina of Time that hasn't been said already? Its impact on me was overwhelming. It was my favorite series on the earlier consoles, perfectly realized in stunning 3D. It felt, once again, like exploring a huge fantasy world. Growing up with Zelda felt like growing up with the whole video game industry.

2. Unreal Tournament ; I may have spent more hours in the editor than in the game, but I loved every minute of both. The game on its own, though, was a standout, and made me eat my angry words about a multiplayer-focused game being sold separately. UT was the ultimate LAN party game.

3. Doom ; PC Doom, I see, doesn't make the cut due to its release year. That's okay - the Custom Playstation Edition was where it was at! It was the best of the console ports. I was really tempted to put Doom 64 here, but the inclusion of so much content in the PS1 version, particularly Doom II, gives it the nod. My poor 486 lost its last reason to live when Playstation Doom arrived.

4. Wave Race 64 ; Sadly, there's never been a better water racing game than Wave Race 64. Water physics have improved, of course, but no one's ever made a game where the waves matter like they do in Wave Race. Usually, water racers are just hovercraft racers in disguise. Wave Race has waves that aren't just eye candy. They're the whole point of the game! It was, and somehow still is, magical.

5. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night ; This generation, sadly, never got a Metroid game. But who cares? Instead, we got to see the birth of "Metroidvania", in a game that's arguably never been matched by its successors. It's a true masterpiece, carving out its own place in a generation where 2D was too often regulated to a lower tier of attention.

6. WipEout XL ; Wipeout was the demo that battled for time against full Playstation launch games. I played that single lap countless times. But it was the sequel, XL, that really perfected the game. The ability to scrape walls instead of just collide, the health and weapon management, and vehicle destruction all added to make XL a huge upgrade and one of the best racers ever.

7. Super Mario 64 ; After a year of mostly clunky, experimental 3D worlds on Playstation and Saturn, the launch of Super Mario 64 was a revelation. This is how 3D is meant to work - fast, fluid, intuitive and fun.

8. Metal Gear Solid ; Though it was meant to feel like a blockbuster movie, MGS felt more to me like a comic book come to life (although these days, what's the difference?). And I loved every minute of it! Even its silly gimmicks like reading the memory card, asking me to read the game box, and switching controller input worked at the time. It was challenging and satisfying all the way through.

9. GoldenEye 007 ; Although Turok was the first FPS game I played on the N64, Goldeneye is the one that I kept coming back to. And I don't mean multiplayer. The single player, objective-based missions were so excellently designed that I couldn't resist challenging my own best results. The genre would shortly derail onto linear tracks with Half-Life's influence. In a better world, Goldeneye's design would have been the way forward for this key genre.

10. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening ; This tiny portable game took me by surprise, becoming one of my all-time favorites. Yes, it's Zelda, but I had no faith in a Zelda game on a low-tech detestable portable. If I hadn't tried it on a friend's recommendation, I'd have missed this (and a few other Game Boy gems). It even told a minimalist story that I enjoyed, and I'm perhaps the world's worst cynic when it comes to video game storytelling.

x. Doom 64 ; This stunning N64 graphical upgrade also includes some of the best level designs in Doom - surprisingly not from id, but from Midway.

x. Tempest 2000 ; I've described this game as "the most pure gamer's game ever". I love playing it and, as has happened several times, hearing someone watching me say "I can't even tell what's going on". I suppose I should say "twitch gamer's game", since the same amusing phrase could apply to heavily technical games or sims just as well.

x. Descent ; It pains me to leave Descent out of the top 10, but something had to give. This is another game that's really never been topped, except maybe by its own sequel.

x. Jumping Flash ; I just have to give a mention to this quirky Playstation game. Playing this vertigo-inducing game was a real blast, and a great exception to often bad early 3D.

x. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask ; I only left this off so that Zelda wouldn't take up another spot. The truth is, though it could never match that first-time 3D impression that Ocarina made, Majora's Mask is an exceptional game on its own. And, like Zelda II (get lost, haters), it shows the courage that Nintendo had to make a game so different instead of following up a highly successful game with a "level pack" type of sequel.

 

[rex]

1. Super Mario 64 ; The template for 3D controls. A software breakthrough. Still very much replayable nowadays.
2. Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time ; Same as above. Z-targeting, contextual camera, perfect pacing, clever dungeons design.
3. GoldenEye 007 ; The first clever FPS. Adaptative mission objectives, still unmatched ennemy hit animations, and one of the best levels ever: Facility.
4. Half-Life ; The first cinematic FPS. Amazing level design, smart AI, excellent world building. A classic.
5. Starcraft ; The best RTS ever.
6. Final Fantasy VII ; The one and only JRPG I truly loved. Epic and touching story, unforgettable characters and scenes, amazing world building and one of the best magic system: the materia system.
7. Resident Evil ; The father of survival horror. Sorry Alone In The Dark.
8. Metal Gear Solid ; Cool stealth action, unforgattable scenes and breaking the 4th wall.
9. Banjo-Kazooie ; Classic characters, unforgettable music, british humor and quite a visual treat at the time.
10. Baldur's Gate ; My first PC RPG. D&D in video-game form. Lovable characters and interesting story.

Facility is so good. That perfectly designed single player mission with the game constantly switching between an emphasis on stealth and pure action. Just the right amount of freedom and non linearity. It can be played guns blazing if u want. Its got a ton of enemies and things to just blow up if u want to just goof off. Of course, its also a great multiplayer level and has the crazy cheat run target time. Amazing

 

[Shion]

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: A timeless masterpiece, a revolution and a prime example of the "shoot for the stars" mentality that Nintendo used to have in the Yamauchi era.

2. Super Mario 64: "Mind-blowing" doesn't even begin to describe the feeling of experiencing Super Mario 64 back in 1996. The fluid controls, the cutting-edge visuals, the unprecedented sense of freedom, the awe-inspiring presentation, with the castle and the large paintings on the walls, the grand scale of the 3D world. Everything about this game felt absolutely unreal at the time. The most amazing thing about SM64, though, is how incredibly fluid and precise the controls feel. The fluidity of the controls, combined with Mario's acrobatic moveset, offer an unparalleled sense of freedom to the player (something that no other game has ever managed to replicate for me). Even after all these years, it's still amazing how the game feels in your hands.

3. Final Fantasy VII: Compelling setting, memorable cast of characters, amazing soundtrack, great battle-system and an engrossing atmosphere. FFVII offers a world that provides a grand sense of adventure with many memorable moments during the journey. It's one of the best RPGs ever created and a worthy successor to the masterpiece that FFVI was.

4. Sega Rally: Surfaces with different friction properties, realistic car physics, and car handling that changed dynamically depending on the surface. Sega Rally was a revolution that made other racing games feel primitive in comparison.

5. GoldenEye 007: GoldenEye was a departure from the goofy, arcadey, approach that dominated the genre, towards a more realistic and sophisticated design that was far ahead of anything else available at the time. I still think that its gameplay is deeper and more methodical than the one in Half-Life. A milestone for the genre and an amazing multiplayer experience.

6. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: Majora's Mask took the foundation established by its ground-breaking predecessor and tried to expand upon it. It populates the world with memorable NPCs, it adds interesting side-quests, made up almost entirely of unique scenarios, that tie into a greater parallel narrative and give the overworld an actual purpose. It offers real-time NPC schedules and events that make the world feel more lively and organic. It actually builds the world and the characters around the player and manages to create an even more engaging place to explore and adventure into.

Majora's Mask is less polished than Ocarina but, generally, I feel that, in many ways, this game was the next logical step in the series' evolution. It basically tried to move the series away from taking place in a mere hub, by crafting an engrossing, living breathing world outside the dungeons for the player to explore and interact with (too bad its successors didn't follow in its footsteps). Another great aspect of Majora's Mask was that the narrative felt organic and was seamlessly integrated into the game, something very uncommon for video games of that era.

7. Panzer Dragoon Saga: It's relatively easy and short for an RPG but, other than that, it's packed with just about everything I want from the genre: awesome setting, excellent art-direction, engaging lore, intriguing plot, great soundtrack, strong world-building, absorbing atmosphere, memorable characters and one of the best battle-systems I've ever seen in an RPG. The moody tone and grim atmosphere of the game are simply sublime.

8. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: The pinnacle of the series in game design, atmosphere, aesthetics and music.

9. Banjo-Kazooie: Simply the best collect-a-thon platformer ever created.

10. Wave Race 64: The super-fluid controls, the blue sky aesthetics, the beautiful, melodic, soundtrack, the amazing water physics, with waves that affected the jet-skis realistically. Everything about WR64 was masterfully designed. I'm still amazed by the fact that this game was made in 1996, the physics engine in particular is impressive even by today's standards. Almost 20 years after its release and it's still the best water-based racer.

Honorable Mentions:
x. Final Fantasy Tactics
x. Final Fantasy IX
x. Vagrant Story
x. Suikoden II
x. Grandia
x. Metal Gear Solid
x. Tekken 3
x. Silent Hill
x. Resident Evil
x. Resident Evil 2
x. Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
x. F-Zero X
x. Star Fox 64
x. Perfect Dark
x. Diddy Kong Racing
x. Virtua Fighter 2
x. NiGHTS into Dreams
x. Panzer Dragoon Zwei
x. Shining Force III
x. Half-Life
x. System Shock 2
x. The Longest Journey

 

[AniHawk]

i thought for sure that nights would be the easy winner on the saturn, especially since it has actually survived as a franchise long after the initial release, and awareness has been about as high as any for a saturn game since 1996. i'm surprised that panzer dragoon saga has managed to keep up despite having reached so few people.

 

[Walter Matthau]

StarFox 64; Yet another N64 game that has a ton of replay value in the single player mode, where the main challenge is to improve on your high score as you navigate the numerous paths thru the game’s 15 stages. While the game isn’t quite as hectic as its SNES predecessor, this novel scoring system builds on the one from the first game to add an extra tactical layer to the gameplay. Players receive bonuses for locking on to a target and taking out multiple enemies with one well timed shot, and trying to use this technique to improve on your score is a good way to add a quasi-difficulty level to a game without making the stages themselves that formidable. The game also controls like a dream, and features the same intangible sensation of weight that many of EAD’s great games from that era do, as you slide your Arwing across the screen to target enemies and avoid obstacles. StarFox 64 came packaged with the rumble pak and is one of those happy occasions when a peripheral absolutely adds to the experience. The enormous bosses are a sight to behold and a ton of fun to fight, and the cinematic presentation and the endearing voice acting make StarFox 64 an always enjoyable experience.

The first major console game to feature force feedback and still one of the best examples of its implementation.

 

[BlueBadger]

1) Final Fantasy VIII; I think I loved everything about this game. Maybe I'm crazy, but I found it fantastic. The soundtrack was brilliant. I loved the characters (particularly Selphie, because she's hilarious).. And I loved that they sorta did something different with the battle system. It's also got a lot of early memories for me, because it was the first Final Fantasy game I ever played.

2) Final Fantasy IX; A close second favourite for me. I loved the music in this one as well, and the storyline (particularly Vivi's).

3) Paper Mario 64; This is hands down my favourite Nintendo game of all time. I've beaten it so many times and I still don't get tired of it. My favourite part of the game were the segments between each chapter where you play as Princess Peach.

4) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; A classic. I feel like everyone else in this thread has already made my point for me with this one.

5) Digimon World 1; I'm still wishing this game was on the PSN store. I loved raising my Digimon and following my collector's guide to digivolve it to what I wanted to.

6) Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal; Definitely my favourite generation of Pokemon. The music was amazing. And being able to visit Kanto after finishing Johto was just amazing.

7) Super Mario 64

8) The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

9) Parasite Eve

10) Spyro

 

[Celine]

i thought for sure that nights would be the easy winner on the saturn, especially since it has actually survived as a franchise long after the initial release, and awareness has been about as high as any for a saturn game since 1996. i'm surprised that panzer dragoon saga has managed to keep up despite having reached so few people.

I expect Sega Rally (and to a lesser extent Virtua Fighter 2) to be up there too.

 

[AntiFacebook]

1. star control 2 - One of the greatest games of all times, There is no other game that plays like it. It has witty dialogue, a rich universe to explore and spaceship battle. What wlse can anyone want from a game.
2. Starcraft - the best RTS ever
3. Half life - the best FPS ever
4. Planescape torment - one of the best role playing game ever
5. System shock 2
6. Thief
7. wing commander 4
8. The longest journey
9. Grim fandango
10. Baldur's Gate

Honorable mentions:
x. Mario 64
x. Ocarina of time
x. suikoden 2
x. xenogears

 

[Yoshi]

After having played through Banjo-Kazooie (twice) recently and also playing some of Spyro again, I'm extremely surprised to see so many ballots with Spyro in them but no Banjo. Are there really people out there who prefer Spyro over Banjo or is Banjo just so unknown comparatively? If there are people around here who like collectathons and do not know Banjo, please do yourself a favour and play Banjo-Kazooie. It's available for Nintendo 64, Xbox 360 (download only) and Xbox One (via Rare Replay) and it's one hell of a game. I think it is very difficult to play collectathons that don't use the structuring benefits of collectibles nearly as well as Banjo, though.

 

[Earthpainting]

I love these game of the generation threads! I don't know why it's so enjoyable reading people gush about old games, but it is. And there's always the chance to find something I missed.

I know how you feel. It's a thread where a celebration of games is almost guaranteed. There's nothing wrong with being critical, but it's still nice to see the occasional thread where there's almost nothing but love. I don't doubt there's some tactical voting going on in the shadows, but ultimately I don't really care about the final ranking. Like you say, the real draw comes from the recommendations. I know I've spotted a few titles already that I should give a(nother) shot, and some I've never even heard of.

 

[cireza]

This is going to be a 100% Saturn list (and I did play PS1 and N64 a lot).

1 : Shining Force 3
First scenario of the game. This is my favorite T-RPG. The setting is great, with the political/religious conflict in background. High replayability with all the characters and weapons set-ups.

2 : Story of Thor 2
This is simply the best, most beautiful and captivating adventure game ever for me. Puzzles are smart and there are things hidden everywhere. Yuzo Koshiro's soundtrack is an absolute masterpiece. Some of the best 2D I have seen, very nice art direction.

3 : Panzer Dragoon Zwei
My favorite shump. High replayability (Pandora's box), great graphics and music, very smooth (compared to the first one). And the Panzer Dragoon world is unique and has much depth to it.

4 : Radiant Silvergun
Another amazing shmup, my favorite 2D one. Once again the Saturn impressed me. Graphics are high resolution, game is smooth and pretty long for a shmup. And the situations are varied and fun.

5 : Burning Rangers
Another great game for the Saturn. Full 3D, with many amazing effects. I always have blast going through the levels because they have a big part of randomization, which leads to a great replayabitilty.

6 : Nights
I was totally blown away in 1996 by this game. And it is still one of the best fantasy experience for me. I love the simple gameplay. The levels are varied, the game is fun and the scoring system is good. Great graphics and music too.

7 : Elevator Action Returns
Discovered this gem recently. Amazing 2D pixel-art graphics, precise gameplay, two players co-op. So much fun. Highly recommend it.

8 : Sengoku Blade
Discovered this one recently too. Once again, amazing 2D graphics and incredibly fun gameplay. A lot of characters to choose from.

9 : Hexen
Not the best FPS on Saturn technically speaking, but this is THE game that made me understand that I love this kind of setting : alone in a hostile world, few clues, understand things by yourself, great music and atmosphere. This was my Demon's Souls back then.

10 : X-Men VS Street Fighter
Gonna end this with a Capcom Fighter. The Saturn port is flawless, the roster has many great characters. One of my favorite fighting games.

 

[AniHawk]

This is going to be a 100% Saturn list (and I did play PS1 and N64 a lot).\

am i supposed to read this as 1-10?

 

[Agent Gibbs]

Tough question! ranking the entire generation in order!

The first 5 really are in flux and could switch places quite easily really as they are so close in quality and enjoyment for me

1.Majora's Mask; really i consider Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask to be one game, with the latter being an add on/epilogue (as originally intended for the 64DD) but i have to choose between them, Majora's mask stood out for me over OoT simply for improving on the formula. I love the story of OoT and its jump from the epic 2D a Link to the Past to 3D with a much fleshed out story, but it wasn't without its faults, for me MM just overall had the better package, its story was very different and dark from the onset - the conquering hero was tormented, beaten broken and still had to struggle to regain himself, but help save the world of Termina, the dark tone continued throughout the game, with death and loss being the running themes from the start - it was just so different. Gameplay wise it improved again, introducing new abilities in the way of masks and new thematic systems of undertaking the game, fully utilising the time travel theme in a way that encouraged multiple replays to fully experience the game. Its not without its faults its main dungeons were in short supply and should have had more, but of all the games that generation it defined it for me

2.Perfect Dark,; a Rare master piece unfortunately never repeated, building on the Goldeneye formula with a futuristic cyber punk setting, spiritual sequel to Goldeneye, and even as i'm typing this i'm wondering should it be switched with goldeneye? FAKE EDIT i did

3. Final Fantasy IX; I agonised over this decision, Final Fantasy IX is my favourite Final Fantasy game, and in my eyes this and X form the peak of quality for the series (with X slightly lower in overall quality), but of this generation, Final Fantasy VII really stood out as it was the game that made me buy a playstation, but despite my love for that game, if i have to choose the better game its IX - set in a beautifully constructed world with a cast of endearing unique characters and after VIII an interesting and likable lead character, it holds a special place in my heart (like Majora's Mask) as truly perfecting the balance of the series' themes and gameplay.. As Mama recently showed in an investigatory thread it was ahead of its time in its quality with higher resolution textures hidden away and downgraded for the hardware, its a game that if unlocked to its potential could be rereleased and hold its own even today - it was the playstations Majora's Mask, with an art style and quality that holds well despite its years.

4.Dark Forces Jedi Outcast; The dark forces games are the best if not some of the best star wars games ever made (only beaten by KOTOR), immersive, fleshed out and with great stories, i remember playing this game to death, i was a jedi and i loved it

5.Star Ocean 2; a great jrpg that at a time when i could afford few games, meant length of game and re playability were key, compelling story and cast, great art style, certainly the peak to this series - as a side note it is exceptionally annoying its not available digitally on PSN, that and the SO1 remake.

6.Pokemon Gold/Silver; Whilst not the first in the series, i was so hyped for these games, so hyped they were my first imports! I imported these a couple of month after the US launch, which was a few months before anyone i knew got a hold of an eu copy and i was the envy of all my friends! Red and Blue were great games obviously to spawn the series, but Gold/Silver the colour and improved visual style, night/day cycles they all perfected the Gameboy era formula that just was ever really repeated.

7.The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages/Seasons; I love Links awakening, don't get me wrong, but i loved these games more, biggger, longer and more fun, for me they are almost up there with A Link to the Past, they had the great 2D gameplay, it had but with more story.

8.Metal Gear Solid; the first 3D entry in the Metal Gear series, camp over the top conspiracy story that made the game all the more fun, great replay value almost the best version of the game - Twin snakes IS the definitive version though

9.Command and Conquer: Red Alert - absolutely amazing Westwood Strategy game, cheezy camp but amazing story, great gameplay, endless fun when modded

10.Goldeneye 007; this game sold multiplayer and shooters to me, and let me truely experience something i'd always wanted, to be James Bond! truly genre defining for shooters and still the pinnacle for me of immersion and game play, nothing has truly got the balance of story, level design and game play right since this, except its spiritual sequel Perfect Dark

hon mentions

x Mario 64
x Grandia

 

[Celine]

Elevator Action Returns
Discovered this gem recently. Amazing 2D pixel-art graphics, precise gameplay, two players co-op. So much fun. Highly recommend it.

Hell yeah.
Saturn for me is a Taito machine as much as a Sega machine.
Layer Section, Darius Gaiden, Night Striker, Pulirula, Mizubaku no Daibouken, Puzzle Bubble 2/3, Bubble Symphony are all great.

 

[Fowler]

Yeah, my list is pretty Nintendo-heavy. I had a PlayStation and I loved it! But N64-era Nintendo was on another level for me.

1. GoldenEye 007 ; I have never played a multiplayer game as much or as deeply as I played GoldenEye. Facility is one of my all-time favourite single-player levels in any game.

2. Super Mario 64 ; We all know how revolutionary this game was. But what was more amazing was how effortlessly it seemed to break boundaries and set standards. It feels almost perfectly formed; in an era where everyone was trying to figure out how to make games work in 3D, so many of Mario 64's ideas and concepts just WORKED.

3. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; Went back and forth between this at #3 or #4. In the end, Ocarina won out, because it was the first and innovated with the likes of Z-targeting and auto-jumping. That it was an epic adventure with some brilliant dungeons did help!

4. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask ; Ocarina built the foundation, but Majora took it to the next level. The characters and stories in this game are incredible, and the way the town fits together like a giant puzzle is amazing.

5. Metal Gear Solid ; I'm still a little stunned that this game was possible on PlayStation. Epic story (though it does go a little off-the-rails at the end), inventive gameplay, this is the definitive PlayStation experience for me.

6. Pokémon Gold/Silver ; Really, I should probably have put Red/Blue here. But Gold/Silver refined the original formula, then took you back to Kanto for a whole new quest.

7. Micro Machines V3 (PlayStation) ; Second only to GoldenEye for my Gen 5 party game fun. Pretty sure we wore out at least two PlayStations by running through the tank levels over and over and over and over again.

8. Blast Corps ; What a wonderful concept for a game. Why haven't we seen anything like it since?

9. PaRappa the Rapper ; Catchy music, sweet story, and a whole new genre of games. An unforgettable experience.

10. ISS Pro Evolution ; The definitive football game of Gen 5, and the first that actually felt like football.

 

[Sakujou]

1.oot: not much to say since my friend bought this game on day one. we played this fucker in the christmas holiday and i was hooked. the first zelda game and it was already titles in a lot of mags as the game of the century. i was so hyped for the game, even harder was i shocked how many things were accomplished with this game.

2. ff9: one of the biggest games i have ever played and i still love it. the cast rocked, the world was awesome, the tone of the game. it was my first final fantasy which clicked and which was finished solely by me.

3. mgs: first time seeing a game on a console dubbed in german. i was floored. also seeing cinematics in a console game was quite something back in 99.

4. super mario 64: 3d. jump n run. and it was the first game which did it splendid.

5. mario kart 64: showing how 4player mp can be done good. unfortunately this is a thing of the past. no one plays these days with 4 players in front of the tv but i had tons of fun back then.

6. smash bros.: this game first looked like a fake game. mario and link fighting each other? graphics were super bad. but we had tons of fun. by far the best mp-game ever. i still love the smash series.

7. ridge racer: i played this at my cousins house and was floored to see an arcadegame at home.

8. dkc: seeing a rendered game on a snes was mind blowing. i saw these kind of games on pc, to see this on a console gave me the first time the feeling of having something "mature" and not just a kids toy in my hand.

9. lylat wars: the rumble pak was such a big thing for me back then. seeing and feeling explosions were simply perfect. nintendo bundled the perfect game to show how well it could be implemented. rumble is now essential in games after sony tried to tell us that rumble is last gen

10. age of empires: it was my first game on pc and it was breathtaking. it was simply too much for a 10 years old kid to do. also playing online in '98 was the shit.

notable mentions:

radiant silvergun=i came around this game when ikaruga was released for dc. these two games blew my mind. i was shocked how perfect the gameplay was. i was always interested in buying the original game when the xbox live arcade game was released. loved the game to death. music, graphics and style... wow.

ff7=played this game a couple of times back then when it was released, but i played it the first time after i finished ff9 which was the first final fantasy game that clicked to me.
its not a a good game as everyone tries to tell, but the story, the music and the atmosphere were quite mature for a game from that era. it was badly converted into PAL still i hold this game dear.

 

[Morfeo]

1. Sid Meiers Civilization II ; This game defined that era for me.

2. Super Mario 64 ; I hated this game when it arrived since it was so different, but it growed on me, and eventually I came to love it.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ;

4. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night ;

5. The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask ;

6. Metal Gear Solid ;

7. Starcraft ;

8. Final Fantasy: Tactics ;

9. Grim Fandango ;

10. Imperialism ;

Hon. Mentions:.

x. Klonoa
x. Final Fantasy VIII
x. F-Zero X
x. Paper Mario
x. Silent Hill
x. Age of Empires
x. Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
x. Age of Empires II
x. Mega Man X4
x. Star Fox 64
x. Half-Life
x. Deus Ex
x. Command & Conqueror: Red Alert
x. Wario Land 3
x. Heroes of Might & Magic III
x. Sim City 2000
x. Full Throttle
x. The Longest Journey
x. Curse of Monkey Island
x. The Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

snip

Game Selection
Avoid ambiguous abbreviations if you want your votes to count. We can't read your mind, and the parser certainly can't. Some titles have the same abbreviations, so try and avoid them when you can.

Cool: Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, Planescape: Torment
Not Cool: FF, LoZ, PT

Yo, to let you know, your vote won't count unless you write out the title names.
Also is dkc Donkey Kong Country because if so unless you mean the the Game Boy Color port, that would be gen 4 and not 5.

 

[Heero5]

All votes are US based, that said love this era of games!

1. Castlevania Symphony of the Night; easily the best game I've ever played. The atmosphere, music, and level of progression is unlike anything I've played. Not to mention the arsenal of weapons.

2. Final Fantasy VII; one of my favorite RPG's such a special time in my life when I played it. By far one of the most addicting Magic systems and compelling stories in any game I have played.

3. Radiant Silvergun; I bought a saturn when I was 15 and didn't have any games lol my brother gave me Dodonpachi and a year later Radiant Silvergun. Such a refined game, everything in the game feels well thought out. Forming an intricate line never felt so right. Not to mention the sick weapons and scoring system.

4. Suikoden II; quite possibly the best direct sequel I have ever played. Such a treat for the eyes and ears. With a truly sinister villain. The game is also enhanced 10 fold if you have played the first game yet is wont detract if you haven't played the first. Epic story told on a personal level, with an amazing cast of characters all 100+ of em.

5. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time; very special game to me at a time, nothing was like it, not even its sequels for quite some time. Desert Collossus all the way.

6. Resident Evil; Super late to the party on this one but I must say it's my favorite RE game. The puzzles and mansion layout are sublime and replaying it is a joy.

7. Sin and Punishment; quite possibly the highest achievement in the rail shooter genre...until it's squal lol. The game is fun and challenging while still being hyper stylized and over the top.

8. Final Fantasy Tactics; this game rules, it's like chess if every piece knew how to summon Ifrit. Spent days grinding making my characters into dual-wielding tanks.

Spoiler

also T.G. Cid, Cloud, Flower Girl, Algus, killing waigraf

9. Pokemon Yellow; I missed getting Pokemon Red/Blue but after seeing the anime and having it literally explode around me I had to jump in at Yellow. The game is unreal, with a world like no other and brought more gameboys togeather than anything.

10. Castlevania Chronicles; a recent discovery for me, it the only US release of Castlevania X68000. This game is hard, like really hard in comparison to other vintagevania. That's part of why I love it. It has traps designed for those who know Castlevania 1 like the back of your hand.

X. Super Smash Brothers
X. Final Fantasy VIII
X. Final Fantasy IX
X. Pokemon Gold/Silver
X. Resident Evil 2
X. Strider 2
X. Dodonpachi
X. Tekken 3
X. Burning Rangers
X. Dragon Force
X. Nights Into Dreams
X. Panzer Dragoon Saga
X. Mischief Makers
X. F-Zero X
X. The legend of Zelda Majora's Mask
X. Lunar Silver Star Story Complete
X. Grandia
X. Xenogears
X. Suikoden
X. Vandal Hearts
X. Battle Garegga
X. Silhouette Mirage
X. ZanacXZanac
X. Gradius Gaiden

 

[AniHawk]

not much to say since my friend bought this game on day one. we played this fucker in the christmas holiday and i was hooked. the first zelda game and it was already titles in a lot of mags as the game of the century. i was so hyped for the game, even harder was i shocked how many things were accomplished with this game.

please check out the first post for formatting and qualifying platforms. the donkey kong country that's listed is for game boy color, not super nintendo.

 

[Fantomas]

1. Final Fantasy VII ;
My favorite game of all time and one of the first PlayStation games I ever played. The characters, the story, the music, the gameplay, it was all leagues beyond any other game I had played at that time. The experience of playing it for the first time has still not been topped for me, though my number 2 pick was very close.

2. Metal Gear Solid ;
I got into Metal Gear pretty late. I just played through the entire series for the first time last year. I do love stealth games though, as well as games that are very cinematic, so I figured I'd finally play MGS. Everything about the game was fascinating to me, especially since I hadn't had the

Spoiler

Psycho Mantis

fight spoiled for me yet, which I see spoiled all the time now on the internet. Although I do love all of the other Metal Gear games too, the first one will always remind me of how fascinated I was when I first decided to start playing the series.

3. StarCraft ;
One of the first (possibly the first but I can't remember) online games I ever played. I had a friend in middle school who had it and I remember him showing it to me to convince me to get it too because he said we could play online together. A bunch of us ended up buying it and I remember many long summer nights spent playing StarCraft with my friends til the sun came up. One of the best RTS games of all time for sure.

4. GoldenEye 007 ;
Although I had played Dark Forces at a friends house prior to GoldenEye's release, it was really the first FPS that I got into a lot. I didn't own an N64, but pretty much all of my friends did and they all had GoldenEye. Although multiplayer was obviously the big draw, I still enjoyed watching my friends play the single player mode and giving the missions a go myself sometimes. If for nothing else, it has certainly gone down in history as one of the best licensed

Spoiler

to kill

games of all time.

5. Diablo ;
This is another game that I didn't personally own, but I still played the crap out of it thanks to my friends. Diablo is a game that sets it's mood very well. The music is ominous, the town is full of odd people, the night is dark, and the cathedral is full of demons and hell-beasts. Although I do much prefer the more refined gameplay of Diablo's sequels, they don't quite capture that same spooky mood that the first game did so well.


I think that'll do, I can't really think of any more games that I feel really strongly about from that era. At least, not any that I feel like writing about, there are plenty of other great ones that I played.

As I said earlier, I didn't have an N64 so my exposure to a lot of those games has been quite limited and I haven't really had the chance to go back and play some of the games on that console.

I also didn't play anything on Saturn until much later on in life and I haven't really played the best it has to offer yet either.

It was fun sitting down and thinking for a bit about this one though, I hope I made the reasons for my picks pretty clear.

 

[Megatron]

1) Zelda: OoT ; The best game of all time. This game did so many things that had never been done before. It was a sprawling, grand adventure I couldn't believe was a real video game. A long adventure with clever puzzles and well executed side missions, this felt very much like what Zelda in 3d should feel like.
2) Mario 64 ;While the ps1 went through a very tough, very awkward adjustment phase to 3d, Nintendo never did. They seemingly learned from Sony's mistakes and on their very first try set the standard that would be forever copied. I will never forget my first time playing this game. I remember exactly what game store it was in. I walked in and saw a playable demo and could not stop playing. I went out and bought a n64 on launch day, with absolutely no plans to do so on he strength of Mario 64, which would be my only game for over a month.
3) Final Fantasy 8 ; as a huge Final Fantasy fan, I had trouble getting into ff7. The linearity of the game really turned me off, and it was just so ugly. Final fantasy 8 came out and I loved it immediately. I loved the junction system, a completely fresh, new idea for an RPG. I loved drawing guardians to summon to your aid ( though I will forever be salty about not drawing the siren guardian out of the first boss, a mistake I could never go back and fix. And I liked the story of Squall and Rinoa. My favorite gen 5 RPG.
4) Metal gear solid ; this came out what, 2 weeks before OoT? What an incredible time to be alive. I held off playing OoT for a couple weeks while I finished MGS. Very few games could have kept me from dropping them for OoT, but this game demanded my attention. I was entranced by the opening cinematic (credits rolling at the beginning?!) the brilliant gameplay mechanics (psycho Mantis and the secret radio signal...)
5) Mario Tennis 64 ; this is the game I most closely associate with college. I bought this and immediately my friends were constantly playing 4 player Mario tennis. It was such a great time. Too bad no MT since has been able to top it.
6) Wave Race ; after I bought Mario 64, I was starving for a second n64 game. Pilot wings held no interest to me. The game I really wanted was Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire, but no-one seemed to know when that would release. I went to the store one day, weak, about to give in and buy pilot wings, when I saw a brand new game they had just got in called Wave Race. Despite not being a racing fan at all, I brought this game home and fell in love. I have so many happy memories racing in the peaceful, tranquil waters of Blue Lake and the rest.
7) Banjo Kazooie ; it's not Mario 64, but it's close. The second best platformer of gen 5 and a brilliant game in its own right.
8) Mario Kart 64 ; after Mario Tenns, this is the other game I associate with College. Another Amazing transition into 3d by Nintendo. Battle mode was so much fun with three friends!
9) Dino Crisis 2 ; the first DC was just Resident Evil with Dinosaurs, but the second was a wildly fun and creative action game where style points mattered.
10) intelligent Qube ; my favorite puzzler of gen 5. I can't believe Sony never released a portable version in the states!

Honerable mentions
* spider-man (Activision) just missed the cut, the game still holds up.
* castlevania: SotN. A very good game, but I prefer most of the games that followed it to this one.
* Final fantasy tactics. Normally I don't like strategy games but this one is incredible.
*Crash bandicoot - not in Mario's (or Banjo's) league, but a fun game none the less.
*Zelda: oracle of Seasons - capcom did a great job with these games
*Resident evil 2 - would have made the list, but gameplay just doesn't hold up. Wildly excited for Re2make though.

 

[Stinkles]

I think Ridge Racer was the most fun and impressive launch title since Mario World so I have to give it to that game. Once I unlocked Galaxian 13 I felt complete.

 

[cireza]

am i supposed to read this as 1-10?

Yes, sorry for not putting the numbers.

Celine : indeed, many good conversions on the Saturn. There is also a Chase HQ game I think.

 

[Kontergurke]

1. Super Mario 64 ; I first read about this game in game magazines and I was pretty hyped, but when I first saw the game in motion on an import N64 in a store with SM64 running on it, it literally* blew my mind. I could not believe how great this game looked and this game alone made me preorder an N64. Once I got my hands on it, I played this game for months. It really was the perfect introduction to the 3D plattformer genre and it established many concepts that we still see nowadays. I cannot overstate how much impact this game had on me and the games industry.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; I'm not sure what I could say about this game that hasn't already been said. Great dungeons and puzzles, a big overworld with a certain degree of freedom, fun combat, fantastic atmosphere, a fitting story exploring the backstory that was hinted at in the manual of A Link to the Past. The game is not perfect, it has its flaws that I even noticed back then (some textures are really blurry, camera control is a bit clumsy, framerate is pretty low), but all in all, I was not dissappointed despite waiting years for this game.
3. Metal Gear Solid ; I loved the detailed story with its plot twists and characterisation, awesome soundtrack, realistic graphics, supernatural & sci-fi elements and 4th wall breaks. The gameplay with its emphasis on evading conflict and only fighting/killing when backed into a corner was intriguing, too. In fact, it made me look for the prequels and I even bought the psx-Version of MGS even though I didn't own a PlayStation at the time. (I only borrowed the console or played at a friend's house.)
4. Final Fantasy VII ; I played the PC version back then, and I was totally engrossed in the story and characters. The whole soundtrack is incredible, the battles looked amazing and every summon, limit break animation or rendered cutscene was a treat. Because we didn't get the older FFs in Europe, this was my first real exposure to the series and I think it still holds up extremely well (except for the graphics of course).
4. Tomb Raider ; Prince of Persia in 3D. The first game I almost bought a psx for. Loved the music and atmosphere, but maybe because I played it after SM64, the controls felt a bit too clunky for me. Still, a great game and everyone knows what impact it had on the industry.
5. Mystical Ninja: Starring Goemon ; This game holds a special place in my heart. It made me fall in love with its wacky Japanese style and humor, and the gameplay was very Zelda-reminiscent, which made exploring old Japan and the different dungeons all the more interesting. This game made me a Goemon fan for life!
6. Banjo-Kazooie ; An incredible game, which even topped SM64 in some aspects. Graphics were phenominal and I loved the adaptive soundtrack which was pretty unique, especially for the time. The levels were really diverse and you were always looking forward to unlock new moves and transformations. The humor was great as well, not too over-the-top like some in the later Rare games. One of Rare's masterpieces.
7. Street Fighter Alpha 3 ; We played the psx version a lot. While SFA2 had the better soundtrack, SFA3 was better in almost every way. The biggest character roster with many new fighters and all characters from Super, a great and engaging story mode, and lots of modes and features to play.
8. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night ; Super Metroid mixed with RPG mechanics and an awesome soundtrack, graphic style and atmosphere. While I don't care that much about the multitude of items, many being completely useless, it was a great game and one of my favourite Castlevania games. Thanks to SotN, we got some great sequels for the GBA and DS, so for that alone it deserves a spot on this list.
9. Perfect Dark ; I'm usually not a FPS player, but this game hooked me with its cineatic story, objective-based levels, cool characters and presentation and kept me playing through the countless multiplayer modes and challenges. The one and only flaw I can think of is the framerate, but back then, I gladly overlooked this considering the sheer amount of content and gameplay it delivered.
10. Star Fox 64 ; Released as Lylat Wars over here, this game was the first to introduce me to force feedback. I loved how the rumble pack made you feel more imersed in the experience. The game was great, too. Even though I beat it the day I bought it, I played it for weeks, unlocking the harder routes, the expert mode and all medals. Gameplay holds up better than its predecessor mostly due to a smoother framerate.



X. Xenogears ; You can clearly see that the game must have been inspired by Neon Genesis Evangelion. The game felt like an interactive anime. The battle system was unique and had cool battle animations, although I remember it getting a bit boring after while. But of course, the biggest draw was the story with its awesome characters, mysterious villains and great soundtrack. This is the only game on my list that I haven't replayed since those days, but I have really fond memories of it and I'm sure it would hold up well if you can look past the blurry character sprites and low poly graphics.
X. Fighter's Destiny ; An innovative take on the fighting game genre that I wish would someday be given another shot: Fighters score points by performing different moves and the first fighter to reach seven points wins. You could also earn new moves for your character by playing the master challenge, which was kind of like playing roulette: if you land on a master square, you get a shot at earning a move, but if you land on a joker square, you have to fight the Joker, the hardest character in the game and lose all your hard-earned moves if he beats you.
X. WCW vs NWO World Tour
X. WCW vs NWO Revenge
X. Blast Corps
X. Mario Kart 64
X. Diddy Kong Racing
X. Resident Evil 2 (psx)
X. Conker's Bad Fur Day
X. Wave Race 64 ; I could not believe my eyes when I saw those water effects. I think it looks great even today, and it was a fun racing game, too!


*: figuratively

 

[djtiesto]

Oh man, this is gonna be a tough one. One of my favorite generations in gaming. I like RPGs and this gen had some of the best and most diverse (unless you were one of the poor N64-only suckers):

1. Star Ocean 2 - a ridiculous amount of content, a skill system that has yet to be matched by any RPG - create counterfeit cash, pickpocket from your party members, forge new weapons/items/armor, mix herbs, etc. Tons of inter-party character interaction which effect the mini-ending you get. An addicting, action-based battle system.

2. Valkyrie Profile - unique in terms of story progression, where you 'train' fighters to fight an ongoing great war between the Norse heaven and hell. An interesting, dark and depressing setting. Fun and large dungeons with puzzle-platforming elements. A battle system that relies on combo attacks and timing. There was so much experimenting with the RPG genre in the 5th generation, and this is one of the best examples of that. Shame about the obscure requirements to get the best ending.

3. Sin and Punishment - the best video game to (partly) take place on Long Island. The aircraft level alone pushes the N64 to its limits and then some.

4. Suikoden 2 - Beautiful 2D graphics with expressive sprites, a powerful story about friendship (one of the best in gaming), and that addicting character recruiting/castle building element the series is known for.

5. Xenogears - one of the most epic storylines in all of gaming, taking place over centuries. Cool battle system where button presses/combos substitute for menus, and beautiful music too.

6. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - in an industry dramatically shifting to 3D, it was nice to have a game that took classic 2D gameplay and elevated it. Along with Super Metroid, it inspired so many games, but few of them come close to SOTN (even the other Igavanias!).

7. Final Fantasy 7 - I was considering an N64, with some thought to getting a Saturn due to all those gorgeous 2D RPGs. But then this game gets announced... and quickly became my most wanted game. The cyberpunk-influenced setting of Midgar, the storyline, the characters, the beautiful prerendered backgrounds/CG/jaw-dropping summons, the soundtrack, the sidequests... RPGs were slooowly starting to develop a fanbase in the US thanks to Squaresoft - SOM, CT, FF4, FF6, Mario RPG... but this was the game that blew the roof off the genre. And thanks to that, tons of games that would have never been localized in the past finally got their chance to shine.

8. Panzer Dragoon Saga - World design unlike no other, a unique battle system that's like a positional-based ATB, a unique and unforgettable story. Believe the hype.

9. Radiant Silvergun - STG fans may scoff a bit at it due to its 'leveling' system, but its amazing production values (that sweeping, orchestral Sakimoto soundtrack!) and imaginative boss encounters make me love it.

10. Super Smash Bros - while it's been superseded big time by its sequels, I have to give a shout to this game. It came out right as I was a freshman in college, completely under the radar for me (I didn't own an N64 back then). But when a newly-met college friend invited me to his friend's house for 'game night', I was hooked... and through this game ended up developing friendships that continue to this day, some 16 years later.

Runners up: Arc the Lad 2, Dragon Quest 7, Alundra, Tengai Makyo IV, Breath of Fire 3, Langrisser IV, Shining Force 3, Wip3out, Zelda: Majora's Mask, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, iS: Internal Section, Grandia, Metal Gear Solid, Threads of Fate, Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, Mischief Makers, Tekken 3, Guardian Heroes, NiGHTS, Einhander, Dodonpachi, Street Fighter Alpha 3, SaGa Frontier, Chrono Cross, Front Mission 3, NOTAM of Wind, Tales of Phantasia Remix

 

[Celine]

Panzer Dragoon Saga - World design unlike no other, a unique battle system that's like a positional-based ATB, a unique and unforgettable story. Believe the hype.

I've just started to play the game for the first time and the world building is what struck me immediately.

 

[AniHawk]

Oh man, this is gonna be a tough one. One of my favorite generations in gaming. I like RPGs and this gen had some of the best and most diverse (unless you were one of the poor N64-only suckers)

could you please clarify through numbering if this is 1-10 or 10-1?

 

[AniHawk]

I've just started to play the game for the first time and the world building is what struck me immediately.

i'm in the same boat. i actually quite liked the primitive graphics too up until the first actual village where it stops adding to the atmosphere and becomes distracting.

 

[Sinatar]

The lack of PC representation for what are the golden years of PC gaming is pretty shocking.

Only 15 votes total between Fallout and Fallout 2 for example? 13 for X-COM?

Like GAF? Wut?

 

[archnemesis]

The lack of PC representation for what are the golden years of PC gaming is pretty shocking.

Demographics. Many GAFers grew up with only consoles and most are a decade younger than you.