If you want something different from "my favourite 100" or "popularity contest's most popular 100", you'd probably have to follow these rules:
- Get a team of ~5 persons who are well-versed in games and come from a different background wrt games
- Let each nominate a number of games
- Let them discuss the merits of each games, and if needed demonstrate them to each others
- Let them then consent on a selection of 100 games out of the pool generated
- No numbers, because this will just end aup in a meaningless fight. I mean, of course, Yoshi's Island would be number 1, but how do you decide if MGS is better than Sims?
Of course I'm joking with Yoshi's Island, even though it is my favourite game
, release or alphabetical order instead.
You will still end up having the absolute favourite games of each person involved on the list, but if you chose your participants well, you will end up with a list that many agree upon.
In fact, I would love to try this with a few gaffers of a differnt background from me (We'd certainly need a PC guy, a Sony-oriented guy and someone well-versed with classic Sega / Arcade games, I think I could cover Nintendo / platforming quite well), to build a list of 100 games complete with short write-ups we'd recommend to someone who wants to know what games are all about.
they really just fucked up with the random 90s choices. If they just kept to the list was what it REALLY was(the top 100 games from the last 15 years), random "alternative" choices like Drop7 or fuckin Nidhogg wouldn't look too out of place. Instead, you got these few little exceptions like LttP and SM peaking in, and it calls into question everything. Chrono Trigger? Yoshi's Island? DKC2? Planescape Torment? Monkey Island? ANYTHING from the Sega Genesis? Metal Slug? Mega Man? Doom? Countless titles you can recommend today, canonized classics of the medium, don't deserve a spot over fuckin' Limbo and Titanfall? It makes it look like you have no sense of history, like maybe you started gaming in 2005.
Basically. There's nothing nostalgia oriented about preferring classic S.N.K. fighting games to Trials Fusion. We weren't just pretending that the Famicom rules. There are weirder, better artsy-fartsy games for the Playstation 1 that do far more (far earlier) than Her Story.
(Any of the recent Puyo Puyo games stomp the original, too, on basically every level, so they're ignorant in multiple senses.)
But, hey, kudos for the weird, amazing R-Type Final and purely defensible Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast choices.
They did say 'one choice where the game has straight-up sequels' rather than one entry per franchise though. I assume by that they mean where the games are fairly similar (like many trilogies on the lengthy last generation) so no Uncharted/Gears 1/2/3.
Even then, I'd say having LTTP, Wind Waker and one of MM/OOT is fine, but both MM and OOT doesn't seem to work for their own criteria.
They did say 'one choice where the game has straight-up sequels' rather than one entry per franchise though. I assume by that they mean where the games are fairly similar (like many trilogies on the lengthy last generation) so no Uncharted/Gears 1/2/3.
Even then, I'd say having LTTP, Wind Waker and one of MM/OOT is fine, but both MM and OOT doesn't seem to work for their own criteria.
They obviously preferred Halo 3 and Half-Life 2.
Almost anyone would agree that HL2 stands up better today than HL1.
Doesn't make the originals of those games any less great; the ones that made the cut kind of speak for the whole series.
Personally, I'm chuffed with the list. Edge is one of my most respected gaming publications (both physical and digital), and I'm proud to have worked on several titles that they picked.
Shame to see no Deus Ex and no Lucas Arts Adventures (Grim Fandango will always be in my personal top 10), but hey, nothing to twist one's knickers about.
Still working on a list and the more I look at it the more I realize that we should just be honest with ourselves. These lists aren't about the "Top 100" but about "My Favorite 100."
Even just making it about one game makes no sense. Best game of all time whatever you put down seems silly and like, is that it? Surely there's something clearly better.
I only start to feel its worth making a list when you break them down into categories, genre's and maybe even timeframes like 70s/80s/90s arcade games for example.
Best RPG doesn't really work for me so maybe best jrpg or even split it into two, for example group 80s 90s jrpg as one and have the rest as the last 15 years as the remaining jrpg section. Best jrpg seems okay though..
If someone says to me Street Fighter 2 is the best game of all time, it just doesn't sound right, it's such a specific game type that only a sub section can enjoy. I'd accept it more if its best beat em up or best classic fighter, most important fighter.
This method will probably open up a can of worms of categories but broadly speaking, best fighter, best jrpg I can take on board.
One thing I like about the EDGE criteria is can you go back and play these games. These lists often feature games that are tough to play now while games like Tetris or Street Fighter 2 remain timeless. Was funny listening to Jeff on the bombcast saying how he couldn't go back to Gears of War despite really enjoying it at the time. A great test is can you sit and play through it now. If not then it's just an important game of history, merely influential and probably gimmicky or novel for a brief window.
Yea that's a game that pretty much exemplifies a game that has aged well and continues to be enjoyable. Obviously not everyone enjoys it the same way or at all, but it is still the best MMORPG out there by quite a large margin.
I really think the lack of Dragon Quest is disturbing : a 30 years old series, which basically invented jrpgs and had so many great games...Generally speaking, I am always stunned by the lack of consideration the series got from the western press in general.
A big thumbs up for these two especially, both would make my top 5 games of all time and I've played them through countless of times. Those were some of the games I had in mind when I criticized the list not having a single classic adventure.
I adore Demon's Souls and like Dark Souls, but cannot agree on any game not called "Minecraft" being called significant or best of all time that was released in the past 5 years.
Significance was not part of the criteria for making the list. The list was about which games are the most fun to play, today, not which games have been the most influential.
Edge said:
each game had to stand up today rather than making the cut for reasons of nostalgia or historic significance.
Significance was not part of the criteria for making the list. The list was about which games are the most fun to play, today, not which games have been the most influential.
I don't even think the list succeeds under that criteria. When I think of "fun to play," I think of game design and mechanics. These are not things that degrade over time.
They did say 'one choice where the game has straight-up sequels' rather than one entry per franchise though. I assume by that they mean where the games are fairly similar (like many trilogies on the lengthy last generation) so no Uncharted/Gears 1/2/3.
Even then, I'd say having LTTP, Wind Waker and one of MM/OOT is fine, but both MM and OOT doesn't seem to work for their own criteria.
Well, apparently "straight up sequel" means anything with a number in it, at least according to Edge.
There is only one Final Fantasy game, for example, even though VI and XII are nothing alike and hardly have any connection besides the title of the game.
Well, apparently "straight up sequel" means anything with a number in it, at least according to Edge.
There is only one Final Fantasy game, for example, even though VI and XII are nothing alike and hardly have any connection besides the title of the game.
Well, the big exception to that rule appears to be Mario and Zelda. That almost seems like an unspoken rule of any top games of all time though - you best be giving your proper respects to Mario and Zelda, regardless of your criteria. Ocarina of Time would appear on a list of 100 best Xbox games, just cuz.
But the loose rule of only having one game per series is a good one. The alternative is filling up half the list with games from a small handful of acclaimed series like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Halo, and Gears of War (that's 45 90+ MC games right there).
I think its a good list. Very solid selection overall.
I'm surprised over the surprise of Titanfall being on that list. If there is any multiplayer FPS game that deserves to be on there, its the one that was the best fucking multiplayer FPS released in recent decade. Titanfall was amazing and I am extremely hyped for its sequel.
Well, the big exception to that rule appears to be Mario and Zelda. That almost seems like an unspoken rule of any top games of all time though - you best be giving your proper respects to Mario and Zelda, regardless of your criteria.
But the loose rule of only having one game per series is a good one. The alternative is filling up half the list with games from a small handful of acclaimed series like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Halo, and Gears of War (that's 45 90+ MC games right there).
That's exactly the point I was making. The Zelda and Mario games in that list aren't considered straight up sequels because they don't have a number in them.
I think the rule is fine, but there should be no exceptions. The only thing you could consider with a rule like that is allowing one 2D and one 3D entry per franchise, like GamesRadar's yearly top 100 list.
Edge was the one that had the infamous "If only you could talk to these creatures, then perhaps you could try and make friends with them, form alliances... Now, that would be interesting." 7/10 review.
This list is actually one of the better ones I've seen. It does kind of throw nostalgia to the wind and gives some newer great games their due (props for Transistor, Driveclub, and Bloodborne aw yiss).
That being said - what the literal fuck are games like Titanfall and Far Cry 4 doing on here, and not System Shock 2, Baldur's Gate 2, Deus Ex, etc...????
If you want something different from "my favourite 100" or "popularity contest's most popular 100", you'd probably have to follow these rules:
- Get a team of ~5 persons who are well-versed in games and come from a different background wrt games
- Let each nominate a number of games
- Let them discuss the merits of each games, and if needed demonstrate them to each others
- Let them then consent on a selection of 100 games out of the pool generated
- No numbers, because this will just end aup in a meaningless fight. I mean, of course, Yoshi's Island would be number 1, but how do you decide if MGS is better than Sims?
Of course I'm joking with Yoshi's Island, even though it is my favourite game
, release or alphabetical order instead.
You will still end up having the absolute favourite games of each person involved on the list, but if you chose your participants well, you will end up with a list that many agree upon.
In fact, I would love to try this with a few gaffers of a differnt background from me (We'd certainly need a PC guy, a Sony-oriented guy and someone well-versed with classic Sega / Arcade games, I think I could cover Nintendo / platforming quite well), to build a list of 100 games complete with short write-ups we'd recommend to someone who wants to know what games are all about.
That's a great framework idea actually. I wonder how your ideas compare to how these lists are actually made. I'd especially love someone to do a list like this with release or alphabetical order to just remove that whole arbitrary numbering system.
One thing I like about the EDGE criteria is can you go back and play these games. These lists often feature games that are tough to play now while games like Tetris or Street Fighter 2 remain timeless. Was funny listening to Jeff on the bombcast saying how he couldn't go back to Gears of War despite really enjoying it at the time. A great test is can you sit and play through it now. If not then it's just an important game of history, merely influential and probably gimmicky or novel for a brief window.
I do agree that making a list to tries to account for the playability, especially to those people who didn't play them at the time as much as us (or at all), is a great idea.
NO DOOM? NO SOUL CALIBUR? NO SHENMUE? NO GRAN TURISMO? NO DAYTONA? NO SILENT HILL? NO TEKKEN? NO VIRTUA FIGHTER? NO QUAKE? NO SONIC? NO FF VII or VIII? ....
Bloodborne, GTA V and Dark Souls over Super Mario 64 or Half Life 2?
What kind of fucked up criteria has the person who made that top!!!
Yup. I always loved their top 100 from 2001. Introduced me to a lot of games I didn't know about:
100. Decathlete
99. wipeout XL
98. Quake 3 Arena
97. Mario Golf(GBC)
96. Phantasy Star
95. Zelda 2
94. Baseball Stars
93. Super Smash Bros.
92. Ice Hockey
91. FF7
90. Resident Evil
89. Dragon Warrior 4
88. Virtua Tennis
87. Sega Rally 2
86. Actraiser
85. F-Zero X
84. Samuai Showdown 2
83. Daytona USA(Dreamcast)
82. Kirby Avalanche/Mean Bean Machine (SNES,Genesis)
81. Ape Escape
80. Skies of Arcadia
79. Mario Kart 64
78. Star Fox
77. Metal Gear Solid (GBC)
76. Sonic 2
75. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
74. Shining Force 3
73. The Revenge of Shinobi
72. Advance Wars
71. Phantasy Star 2
70. Ninja Gaiden 2
69. Metroid
68. Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts
67. Street Fighter Alpha 3
66. Donkey Kong
65. Perfect Dark
64. Mega Man 2
63. R-Type (PSX)
62. Resident Evil 2
61. Nights
60. Super Mario RPG
59. Virtua Fighter 2
58. Sonic 1
57. FF9
56. Landstalker
55. Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
54. Devil's Crush
53. Super Punch-Out
52. Herzog Zwei
51. Castlevania 3
50. Guardian Heroes
49. Contra
48. Paper Mario
47. Panzer Dragoon 2
46. Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal
45. Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2
44. Super Mario Kart
43. FF Tactics
42. Contra 3
41. Ms Pac-Man
40.Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
39. Zelda: Oracle of Ages
38. R-Type Delta
37. Resident Evil Code: Veronica X
36. Chrono Cross
35. Castlevania: CotM
34. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out
33.Saturn Bomberman
32. NCAA Football 2002
31. Madden 2002 (PS2)
30.Street Fighter 3: Third Strike
29. Super Mario Bros 2
28. Hot Shot's Golf 2
27. Sonic CD
26. Chrono Trigger
25. Zelda
24. Super Castlevania 4
23. Gunstar Heroes
22. Super Mario Bro's
21.Dragon Force
20. Galaga
19. Panzer Dragoon Saga
18. Pokemon Puzzle League
17. Tony Hawk 2
16. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
15. Gran Turismo 3
14. Metal Gear Solid (PSX)
13. Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Hyper Fighting
12. FF5
11. Super Mario Bros. 3
10. Super Mario World
9. FF3
8. Zelda: OoT
7. Zelda: Majora's Mask
6. Soul Calibur
5. Super Mario 64
4. Castlevania: SotN
3. Zelda: A Link to the past
2. Tetris
1. Super Metroid
As we get older does anyone else think that these lists are a totally pointless exercise? Kind of embarrassed for Edge, they should be above this. Such a list is fundamentally subjective... therefore why should I care?
As we get older does anyone else think that these lists are a totally pointless exercise? Kind of embarrassed for Edge, they should be above this. Such a list is fundamentally subjective... therefore why should I care?
I think they aren't pointless. This specific list, probably yes, but in general, we have more and more people starting to play and more and more people interested in delving deeper into games. A list of 100 games that span a wide variety of genres and styles, each distinctively great in its own way, considered by people long into the medium as the 100 best games of the medium can greatly help people to go beyond playing the recent blockbuster and to appreciate the art form more. This is something being done for books and movies, too.
In retrospect, GamesRadar's top 100 Games Ever lookin' pretty sharp right now, if you ignore the rankings and just look at the games themselves.
1. Dark Souls
2. Wind Waker
3. Resident Evil 4
4. Super Mario Galaxy 2
5. Metal Gear Solid 3
6. Red Dead Redemption
7. Uncharted 2
8. Half-Life 2
9. Grand Theft Auto 5
10. Shadow of the Colossus
11. Metroid Prime
12. Halo CE
13. Skyrim
14. The Last of Us
15. Mass Effect 2
16. Bioshock
17. Super Mario World
18. Mario Kart 7
19. Link to the Past
20. Journey
21. Silent Hill 2
22. Final Fantasy X
23. Tetris
24. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
25. Minecraft
26. Final Fantasy 6
27. Street Fighter 4
28. Super Metroid
29. Deus Ex
30. Bayonetta
31. Portal 2
32. Chrono Trigger
33. Walking Dead
34. Arkham Asylum
35. Pokemon X/Y
36. Fallout 3
37. Okami
38. Animal Crossing: New Leaf
39. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
40. Xenoblade Chronicles
41. Yoshis Island
42. FIFA 15
43. Destiny
44. The Secret of Monkey Island
45. Secret of Mana
46. Fire Emblem: Awakening
47. Symphony of the Night
48. Super Smash Bros 4
49. Ghost Trick
50. World of Warcraft
51. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3
52. Day of the Tentacle
53. Persona 4
54. Braid
55. Ace Attorney
56. Left 4 Dead
57. Guild Wars 2
58. Banjo Kazooie
59. Tekken 3
60. Grim Fandango
61. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
62. Spluenky
63. F-Zero GX
64. Towerfall Ascension
65. SSX 3
66. To the Moon
67. Thief 2
68. Worms Armageddon
69. Assassin Creed 4
70. XCOM: Enemy Within
71. Sonic 2
72. Fable 2
73. Ikaruga
74. Earthbound
75. Civilizaition 5
76. Dead Space
77. Super Monkey Ball
78. Dragon Age Inquisition
79. Tomb Raider (2013)
80. Hearthstone
81. Quake 3 Arena
82. Max Payne 2
83. Outrun 2
84. Hotline Miami
85. Rock Band 3
86. Nidhogg
87. KOTOR
88. Limbo
89. Plants vs Zombies
90. Team Fortress 2
91. Sims 2
92. Unreal Tournament
93. Dragon Quest 9
94. Timesplitters 2
95. Geometry Wars
96. Hitman: Blood Money
97. Battlefield 3
98. Heavy Rain
99. Crazy Taxi
100. Alien Isolation
Lot of similar titles to EDGE, but look there's Yoshi's Island! Monkey Island! Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle, Thief 2, Chrono Trigger, Hitman Blood Money, a Pokemon representation, Portal 2(the superior Portal), Final Fantasy 6 and X, Mass Effect 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Timesplitters 2, Quake 3 and UT99! Tekken 3 and World of Warcraft! The original Deus Ex! Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3! Ace Attorney and Ghost Trick! Sonic 2! Knights of the Old Republic and Team Fortress 2! Secret of Mana! Dragon Quest 9! Silent Hill 2!
Still leans modern, still has Dark Souls as #1, still limits the # of entries per series(one 2D and one 3D), still has all the limitations of a top 100(no Bauder's Gate, Bomberman, Pac-Man, *your favorite PC/Arcade game*)...but doesn't this seem a bit more well-rounded? Doesn't this list feel like it reflects a fuller range of canonized classics and genres from across the history of the medium and devices? Like you may quibble at them picking Fallout 3 instead of FO2/NV to represent the series, or maybe they picked the wrong Sims or Civilization, and there's Ikaruga representing the entire shmup genre again, but it feels a bit better, right? Without recent flash in the pan Far Cry 4 and Titanfall clogging up the list and shit.
I look at this list and see a fuller, deeper breadth of video game excellence from across the last 30 years of their existence, compared to EDGE's narrow and arbitrary cutting off point of 2000.
In retrospect, GamesRadar's top 100 Games Ever lookin' pretty sharp right now, if you ignore the rankings and just look at the games themselves.
1. Dark Souls
2. Wind Waker
3. Resident Evil 4
4. Super Mario Galaxy 2
5. Metal Gear Solid 3
6. Red Dead Redemption
7. Uncharted 2
8. Half-Life 2
9. Grand Theft Auto 5
10. Shadow of the Colossus
