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1. Super Smash Brothers Meele
I spend so many hours in this game, meele was a game which always makes me look back and reflect all the wonderful moments in life.

2. Zone Of The Enders 2
I love high speed robot fighting and this game literally makes you feel like you are participating in a true fast paced anime. And Zero-Shift was just to damn incredible!

3. Resident Evil 4
That game is simply too damn good. It was the only game where I felt true terror the more and more I played. When I got to the castle area I was literally almost to scared to play on. This is a game I can play over and over again.

3. Viewtiful Joe
This game is such an amazing action game! I mean you literally feel like you have super powers in this game. The game is also incredible tough but fair which makes it awesome! Another game I can play again and again.

4. Megaman Battle Network 6
The battle network series is always something I loved. Ever since picking up battle network 3 I was in love with the series. BN6 had an alright story but by far had the best combat. It was simply magnificent! This is another game I can just play over and over again.

5. Tale Of Symphonia
This was the only RPG I finished multiple times. It also the first RPG I played which had active battles instead of turn based ones and that blew my mind. The story was super cliche but so heartwarming. Tales of Symphonia was a game which I will always love.

6. Metal Gear Solid 2
Just wow, I never played a metal gear game before and when I finished mgs2 my brain was just blown. It was the first game I played where I thought "Fuck me, that story was incredible". It made me believe in story telling in games.

7. Final Fantasy 10
This game was an epic rpg and an epic quest. It took me well over 100 hours to finish but it was just simply enjoyable. I mean the story was amazing and the combat fun. You literally feel like you have embarked on an epic quest after you finish this game.

8. Godhand
Oh boy! This game totally took me by surprise, I got simply due to chance and it was another game that made me feel fear. When I actually finished the game I looked back in awe at the fact that I actually managed to finish this beast. I loved the combat and loved the humor.

9. Kingdom Heart 2
This game was just wonderful. I loved the combat and I loved the story and this was one of the few games which I 100% finished. The combination of worlds was just incredible!

10. Ratchet and Clank 2
Ratchet and Clank 2 was everything good about the first game just made bigger and better! The added RPG elements just made this game so fun to play and grind. I finished this game about 3-4 time. It was a good time to be a gamer.

 

[AniHawk]

so as of right now there are about 1,470 honorable mentions. also, a dreamcast-exclusive is getting dangerously close to entering the top 25. right now the gba and the dc only have one exclusive each in the top 50.

 

[Haxxor]

1. World of Warcraft ; What can I say, my first real mmo, played it way, waaaaay to much – just shows how fun this game really was.. Was hooked right until the release of Wrath of the Litch king expansion. The original game was the best, at least my time with it. The world, the exploration, the wonders of everything. The excitement of first time running into an Alliance character (For the Horde!). Even though the expansions added a lot, it wasn’t the same thing as vanilla WoW. But never has a game been so fun to play with strangers and friends alike. Was just great fun, that sadly took way, way to much time from other games… oh and life…

2. Planescape: Torment ; Absolutely best game-story ever. Just loved the world, the characters, the dialogue, the Nameless one, the sounds, the dialogue, the music, everything is just perfect (well maybe not the combat). Played a lot of the old-school CRPG:s, but none were as good as PT.

3. Ninja Gaiden Black ; The absolute best action game ever made (even though I LOVE Bayonetta, like DMC and GOW), nothing comes close to the NGB. Story was… crap. You are hardly a Ninja (as in sneaky little assassin). Some of the design was, awful, but the controls, the speed, the fighting mechanics – have yet to be toped today.

4. Deus Ex ; Such a good mix of RPG and FPS. Top notch music to boot. Reminded me so much of System Shock 2. And the story was just great, really liked the whole conspiracy thingy.

5. Outcast ; The only thing that boggs this game down and isn’t higher on the list is because of it’s (for the time) bad performance. Really liked the setting, and the gameplay (at the time) was unique, but the thing that got me (besides the music, that is really really good even today – and reminds a whole lot of the old SW tribology music) was the scope. The world felt huge, the viewdistance, the environment.

6. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind ; Time to own up. I never finished Morrowind. But then again I never finished Arena or Daggerfall. But boy did I have a good time with this game (on PC). It was so fun just exploring the world. Running around, looking for treasure, hidden alcoves, distant cities and people, just exploring. Countless hours did I spend running around in this adventurous world that bethesda had made, and not many did I spend on the main quest. The game was just that good.

7. Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne ; The expansion to WC3 just made a great game even better. And it continued the story that got me hooked to the WC lore. And that then led me to play WoW, to see where the story would go next. So you could say that this was my gateway game to WoW.

8. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time ; Few, if any 3d platformers are this good. I wish Asscreed or Uncharted could just steal some of the platforming from this game. The rewind mechanic might be difficult to implement, but boy was it good. I miss games with this good platforming action. Even the story is entertaining, and it is quite fun hearing the prince argue with himself. The only thing I didn’t really like was the combat, even the story was nice. I really do miss these kind of games. The sequels were good with the platforming, but they also refocused on the combat and “attitude” aspect, which didn’t sit as well with me. And then they did the 2008 reboot that just… took away the platforming.

9. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords ; Loved part 1, but The Sith Lords was just better.

10. Psychonauts – Two things must be known. The first stage and the last stage are absolute crap. They really show the worst parts of this otherwise wonderful platformer. But to be completely honest, it’s not the platforming that is the star of this show, it’s the wonderful and quirky world, the crazy characters, how they interact, how the story goes and all the fun places you get to visit. So much love and crazy amount of imagination went into this game.

x. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem ; Survival horror with a gimick – but what a fun gimmick it is.

x. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 ; Had to think really hard, but sadly this was a top 10 list, and not a top 11, or else Soul Reaver 2 would have to be upp there. Maybe it should. Just love the VO work here.

x. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay ; Best melee in an FPS even today? I think so. Great graphic, music, fun gameplay, what’s not to like?!

x. Black ; Loved the “feel” of this console fps. And the graphics! And the destruction!

x. GTA Vice City ; The best GTA!

x. Heroes of Might and Magic III ; Digital crack.

x. RE4 ; I really, REALLY hated the Game Cube controller. But that didn’t stop me from playing and loving RE4.

x. Burnout 3 takedown ; Loved the series since part 2, but I think it was the ability to do takedowns that really opened my eyes for Burnout! The series as a whole = best arcade racer!

x. Forza Motorsports ; Gran Turismo was great, till Forza came along. Finally I could also draw on my monstrosities!

x. Capcom vs. SNK 2 ; I don’t care as much about balanced characters and such. I just want to be able to fight anyone with whoever I want. And CvS2 came along way of making it possible. Now where is Capcom vs SNK vs Netherrealm vs Namco vs Sega vs Marvel vs Disney vs WWF vs UFC vs Bruce Lee?!

x. Crazy Taxi ; Digital crack – in the arcades (well technically on my Dreamcast).

x. System Shock 2 ; Shodan for president! The atmosphere in this game is still thick today.

x. Metropolis Street racer ; The start of a great series (PGR) that sadly is no longer today. But boy was it a great mix of arcade handling with a little more “depth”.

x. Jet Grind Radio ; I can’t say for certain if it was a great game because of the mechanics or the style. The game just overwhelms you with style that it’s kinda hard even pretending to be objective.

x. Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors ; I had and still today have no clue what this game is all about, I just know it was pure fun. The fun wanton destruction was sublime. Oh how I wish they would make games like this today.

x. Soul Calibur ; The game that got me hooked to 3d fighters. Or at least to the Soul Calubur series.

x. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 ; Much fun was had with this game. And many controllers were broken because of it.

 

[PranooY]

1. Grand Theft Auto 3: My first Grand Theft auto game. I spend hours on it and really really loved it. Just thinking about it brings a strong rush of nostalgia.

2. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty: I played this recently on PS3. So dunno if i can add this. Well whatever, i loved it so much.

3. Resident Evil 4: I used to avoid survival horror until i played Resident Evil 4. Loved it immensely and a huge fan of the franchise now.

4. Shadow of the Colossus: Fighting huge colossi and that music. Nuff said.

5. Halo Combat Evolved: Played the campaign abt 5+ times (3 on the original and 2+ on the remaster) and put tons of hours on the multiplayer. Such an amazing game.

6. God of War 2: I love God of War 3 more than GoW 2. But i can agree to the general sentiment that GoW2 was a better game and a masterpiece.

7. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay: I am really surprised that i don't see this in other lists. One of the best first person action/stealth game of the time. Shame that the sequel sucked.

8. Okami: I played this 2 years ago on PS3. Soundtrack and graphics are so gorgeous, that i fell in love with it.

P.S: I want to add Persona 4, but i played P4G. So i guess i cant add it to the list.

 

[GoutPatrol]

Wow, this was pretty hard. Totally left out 20 other games that I think should be on this list. Power Stone 2, Prince of Persia: SoT, SSX 3, Dilabo 2, Rise of Nations, Resident Evil 4, GTA III, Jet Set Radio Future, Unreal Tournament 2004, Project Gotham Racing 2, Burnout 2 (the best racer of the generation) Pokemon Ruby, Onimusha 3, SSB: Melee, Tony Hawk 2&3, Aggressive Inline, Crazy Taxi, Virtua Tennis, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Mario and Luigi, Viewtiful Joe, Twisted Metal Black, Sly Cooper 3, Beyond Good and Evil, Katamari Damacy, damn near all Metal Gear Solids, Tekken Tag Tournament, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Return of Castle Wolfenstein...damn that's alot. Oh well, the list.

1. Super Monkey Ball (GC): Yes, this. The greatest game of this generation. Original Monkey Target forever.
2. Soul Calibur (DC): The real beginning of this generation.
3. Amplitude (PS2): The best music game. Can't wait for the new remake.
4. Wario Ware: Mega Microgame$ (GBA): The greatest handheld game of all time.
5. Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (PS2): The Quest mode in this was the best in the series.
6. Guitar Hero 2 (PS2): Really not the best in the series, but the best in this generation.
7. Advance Wars (GBA): Played this game for hundreds of hours by myself, never bored of it.
8. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2): The best of the GTAs, and best soundtrack.
9. Skies of Arcadia: Legends (GC): Greatest JRPG of the generation.
10. Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox): The he greatest times I ever had was playing this with my friends at 2 AM in the morning.

 

[Melchiah]

1. Silent Hill 2 ; An unparalleled descent into madness. Even after all these years, it's the game I hold most dear. The atmosphere, music & sound, story, and creature design hasn't still been matched by any other game. And no other game has given me the feels like it did.

2. Silent Hill 3 ; A step back from its predecessor, but a fantastic horror game nonetheless.

3. Shadow of Memories ; (AKA Shadow of Destiny) Perhaps one of the most overlooked games in the recent history. The novel concept truly captured my interest, and it proved that games don't necessarily need combat.

4. SSX ; The first and the best of the series with its wonderfully imaginative and varied tracks. At the time of its release it was absolutely jaw-dropping.

5. Unreal Tournament 2003 ; The most fun I've ever had with a shooter.

6. Final Fantasy X ; Only surpassed by VIII in the series.

7. Soul Reaver 2 ; The long-awaited sequel was bit letdown after the expectations were set so high, but it was a worthy continuation to the saga.

8. Fatal Frame ; (AKA Project Zero) One of the most chilling horror games I've ever played.

9. Resident Evil: Code Veronica ; Good old classic survival horror.

10. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos ; The blend of RTS and RPG worked well for me.

Honorable mention:
x. Doom 3 ; Not without faults, and I'm probably in the minority for liking the direction they took with it.


It's interesting to notice, that over half of the games listed above were released in the PS2's infancy. On that basis the system was more of an early bloomer for me, than a late one like the general consensus seems to be.

 

[Dion Blaster]

I really wish I could get into RE4 more. I love the setting and atmosphere, I think I've gotten around halfway through the game twice. One day I'll power through.

 

[BadWolf]

1. Metal Gear Solid 2: An incredible jump in both gameplay and story telling. Don't think I have ever felt a generational leap quite as big as this one again. The story and the way it was told was far ahead of it's time.

2. God Hand: Best action game of all time and a martial arts movie lover's wet dream.

3. Devil May Cry 3: Redefined what stylish is with a mind blowingly deep combat system that even to this day has probably only been bested by its sequel. It may not be the first game in the series but it feels like this is where the series really found it's bearings.

4. Shadow of the Colossus: First game I can remember that truly felt like an 'experience' to me. The scale and animation in this game was just breathtaking, with a minimalist yet very touching story that was told through very few words. One of the best soundtrack's of all time.

5. Final Fantasy X: Easily the best RPG of the generation.

6. Silent Hill 2: The greatest of it's genre to this day.

7. Final Fantasy XII: An rpg that felt like a true grand adventure. The battle system is genius. Enjoyed the game so much that I couldn't bring myself to finish another game in the genre for a long time.

8. Resident Evil 4: A game that redefined the TPS genre, what more is there to say?

9. Zone of the Enders 2: Best mech game ever.

 

[Phant]

1. Metroid Prime ; Not just one of the best games from 2000-2005, but one of the best games ever. It is so polished and they didn't reuse assets a lot, every room is unique and loaded with great atmosphere.
2. The Wind Waker ; I admit, I was skeptical when they first showed this game, but after playing it has turned into one of my favorite Zelda games. Great characters, great dungeons, and fantastic music.
3. Half Life 2 ; I played this game almost non stop from start to finish, really solid atmosphere and great level design all around.
4. Metroid Prime 2; Not as ground breaking as the first game, but still one of my favorite games of all time. I actually enjoyed the environments more in this game than the first. Amazing level design and amazing bosses.
5. Resident Evil 4 ; I played this one only recently, but it still stands out as an amazing game and the presentation and graphics hold up very well. The combat in this game is still one of my favorites. It is one game I will never really get tired of playing.
6. Pikmin ; Such a clever and unique game, Another game with an amazing atmosphere and great characters. One of the freshest experiences of the generation.
7. Super Mario Sunshine; Highly underrated, solid platforming experience all around with some fantastic level design.

 

[timetokill]

looking at my top ten, and for some reason i keep thinking about grandia ii. i only played it once, in 2001, but it left one hell of an impression. there are other more recent rpgs i played, including valkyrie chronicles ii and final fantasy xii that i also enjoyed for similar reasons, but grandia ii stands above those and figuring out why is hard.

Yeah, there's a certain charm to it that really appeals to me even now. It feels almost retro in its simplicity in some things, almost naive in its approach to its story, but something about it just felt really, really right.

Skies of Arcadia would've been on my list, by the way, if it weren't for the infernal encounter rate. I loved everything else so much, but that encounter rate really soured me on it to where I would have a hard time playing it today.


edit: Oh shit, it's PC 2000 and not 1999? I gotta do something about Alpha Centauri, then. Yikes. Plus I'll probably switch out Twilight Princess since it's better on Wii. I'll PM you when I make the changes.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Wow, this was pretty hard. Totally left out 20 other games that I think should be on this list.

You can still put them in as honorable mentions, following the format laid out in the OP.

 

[AniHawk]

Yeah, there's a certain charm to it that really appeals to me even now. It feels almost retro in its simplicity in some things, almost naive in its approach to its story, but something about it just felt really, really right.

Skies of Arcadia would've been on my list, by the way, if it weren't for the infernal encounter rate. I loved everything else so much, but that encounter rate really soured me on it to where I would have a hard time playing it today.

the dreamcast version of skies is there partially because the system was so fucking loud that you actually knew when a battle was about to happen. it was still random, but it gave you time to prepare and heal up if necessary. a completely unintentional part of the game that was really useful. i don't think i could get through the gamecube game to be honest.

 

[AniHawk]

so the highest game on the list without a #1 vote is twilight princess. it still ranks above any dreamcast game though.

 

[timetokill]

the dreamcast version of skies is there partially because the system was so fucking loud that you actually knew when a battle was about to happen. it was still random, but it gave you time to prepare and heal up if necessary. a completely unintentional part of the game that was really useful. i don't think i could get through the gamecube game to be honest.

I remember that sound!

The main thing I remember about Skies is getting to some big ass temple, and looking down a hallway at a treasure chest. I stopped, and thought REAL long and hard about whether going down that hallway was even worth it. "Shit, I'll probably get into like... 4 battles just getting there, and then another 4 on my way back... nah, fuck it."

It's a shame because I loved just about everything in that game.

 

[Celine]

the dreamcast version of skies is there partially because the system was so fucking loud that you actually knew when a battle was about to happen. it was still random, but it gave you time to prepare and heal up if necessary. a completely unintentional part of the game that was really useful. i don't think i could get through the gamecube game to be honest.

Wait, wasn't the encounter rate toned down in the GC game?

 

[Ikon]

This list was just crazy hard to compile. I'm in no way sure that I won't feel like changing it up quite a bit in just a few weeks or months. I do enjoy making these lists and the fact that it was hard made it more enjoyable to make.

1. Half-Life 2 ; Quite possibly the best game of all time. It was breathtaking when it was released with incredibly varied and engaging gameplay and a beautifully crafted world. I feel like enough praise has been given this game that it feels futile to try to add to it.

2. Final Fantasy XII ; There are just so many highlights to this game. Ivalice is easily my favorite world in any video game. You get to visit such varied and fantastical destinations. The music is pretty damn close to the best of the entire series. The combat is a nice change of pace and figuring out the right combination of gambits to use felt really rewarding after a while. The characters are (for the most part) spectacular - I do want to erase Vaan from my memory though.

3. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! ; The most fun I've ever had with a local multiplayer game. I absolutely love the newest iteration but I still hold this in higher regard and wish they'd go back to some of its designs in the future. The two per kart was spectacular in combination with the fact that the characters had individual special items meant you could combine a drivers/kart combo that really fit your style (Diddy/Bowser Jr./Bullet Blaster represent!). Also, Baby Park!

4. Metroid Prime ; Prime is one of the games that has immersed me the most ever. It's just a complete package of great controls, graphics, sound and a completely uninviting but mysterious setting.

5. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance ; This was my first foray into the world of SRPGs and I will forever be thankful I tried it out. It has a wonderful cast of characters and quite a bit of options in who to bring with you into battle. The combat was just the right difficulty as you had to think things through and it was pretty rare to lose a character to RNG crits if you planned correctly. Still my favorite game from the genre in large part because of the cast.

6. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn ; I need to back to replay this soon since I don't remember everything as well as I would like. What I do remember however is an incredible amount of content that all of it was of the highest quality. Such an abundance of well written quests at every turn that beat out the main story line of almost any other game. Also, I have a real soft spot for playing this game in 2 player multiplayer and controlling half of the cast each. Even if you don't care for the different quest lines story wise the combat scenarios are quite challenging and really fun.

7. Super Smash Bros. Melee ; After Double Dash this is the local multiplayer game I've spent the most time with. Quite a few years were spent debating and trying to prove who was better at these games with my friends. Unlike Kart though I'm not sure I'm in the same boat as every one else and think the latest game is usually good enough for my purposes.

8. Super Monkey Ball ; This game has the absoluta best controls of any game ever to me. No buttons, just absolute precision thanks to the Gamecube analogue stick. The difficulty curve is also damn near perfect even though it gets pretty damn tough after a while. I like Aiai and the crew but I think in the end they could have used this gameplay in just about any trappings and it would work.

9. Street Fighter III: Third Strike ; I know I'm being unfair to 3S placing it this low. I think the only thing I can fault it for is not having enough appeal for others resulting in me having very few people to play it against. This is without a doubt in my mind though the best fighting game ever made (I just don't count Smash as one, despite placing it higher on this list). I absolutely love many of the characters in this game too and hope they return in Street Fighter V or other future games: Q, Oro, Alex and Urien to name my favorites.

10. OutRun 2006: Coast to Coast ; That soundtrack! Magical Sound Shower, Passing Breeze and Splash Wave are three of the best video game tracks ever. They perfectly accompany the arcadey gameplay and colorful graphics to create pure gaming joy.

Honorable mentions (and I just can't believe some of these didn't make the cut!):
x. Diablo II
x. Burnout 3
x. Rallisport Challenge 2
x. Halo: Combat Evolved
x. The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
x. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 1/2
x. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
x. Pikmin
x. F-Zero GX
x. Resident Evil
x. Okami
x. Devil May Cry
x. God of War 1/2
x. We Love Katamari
x. Kingdom Hearts
x. Final Fantasy X
x. Shadow of the Colossus
x. Twisted Metal: Black
x. Black


Finally, I just recently got into SMT with 4 but feel like Nocturne among others in the series would have a serious chance of making it on the list.

 

[Ikon]

Wait, wasn't the encounter rate toned down in the GC game?

I hope not. I gave on that game pretty quickly due to what I think was the highest encounter rate I've ever seen.

 

[Lucumo]

1. Super Smash Bros. Melee ; I still play this game and watch tournaments. Over the past years, I've been enjoying it more and more. Add to that, I played so many matches with my friends back in the day. One can appreciate the game in different ways.

2. Shenmue ; A singular game that no other game can compare to, it has the best atmosphere of anything I've ever played.

3. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City ; Best GTA game with the best music and the best protagonist, period.

4. Warcraft 3 ; While I put Starcraft: Broodwar and Age of Empires 2 over this, it's still part of my Holy Trinity of RTS games.

5. Half Life 2 ; One of the milestones of FPS games.

6. Pokémon Gold ; Made free time in school, field trips, train rides etc a lot more fun. I also regard this as the best edition of all the Pokemon games.

7. Mario Kart: Double Dash‼ ; My favorite Mario Kart, played the game endlessly with my friends.

8. Empire Earth ; Excellent RTS that covered a lot of timelines. Played this via LAN a lot.

9. America's Army ; Completely free FPS that I heavily preferred over other more arcade-like multiplayer shooter.

10. Sonic Adventure 2 ; Competing against each other and raising something (fuck Tamagotchi) hadn't been this fun before.


Only 10 entries is like nothing. There are so many FPS and RTS games I still have to mention. Luckily, I didn't play many RPG games during that time frame. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to make a list. I also hope other people give Jedi Knight more love than I did.

/edit: I just realized Battlefield 1942 is 2002. Damn, I thought it was like 3 years older. I guess all those releases in the series made me think that.

 

[Iksenpets]

1. Okami; Fuck the haters, Okami is the best. It's a skillful play on the Zelda formula, and while it never quite hits Zelda's highs in dungeon design, it more than makes up for it in story, art, and music. It is the most lovingly crafted game I have ever played. You can just feel all the love and joy that was poured into making it.
2. Super Smash Bros. Melee; I've never been big into fighting games, and I'm still not really sure if Melee is one, but I put more hours into it than anything else. Its super fast gameplay is always as blast, and seeing so much Nintendo stuff modeled at such high quality for the time was great.
3. Metal Gear Solid 3; I have a blanket policy against prequels, and MGS3 is pretty much the only exception ever. It has all the usual Metal Gear craziness while also be heart felt and incredibly sad at the end.
4. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic; I've been pretty addicted to Bioware's formula of morality decisions and party member story lines ever since I first encountered it in KotOR.
5. Metal Gear Solid 2 ; Pure insanity. I could probably write a few thousand words here about all the different layers of MGS2. It's confusing and kind of pretentious, and I love it for it.
6. Shadow of the Colossus ; Probably the highest "art" games have ever achieved. Especially looking back on it from the current era, when developers try to cram their open worlds with as much crap as possible, the stark beauty of SotC stands out.
7. Persona 4 ; Best JRPG since Chrono Trigger. It's plot and character development aren't quite as strong as its predecessor, but it has much better gameplay and is overloaded with charm.
8. Persona 3 ; Really hard to decide if I would put this above or below 4. It's characters are much more nuanced and realistic than its sequel's and it's dark and foreboding plot and atmosphere are great.
9. Half Life 2; I'm tempted to call it the best shooter ever, but I don't really even think of it as a shooter, really. The first person view and shooting mechanics are just incidental to a game that features some of the most clever action-adventure puzzle solving and storytelling I've ever seen.
10. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker; This game took a while to grow on me. I was young at the time, and in my desire to feel old decided I didn't like the art style. In retrospect, it's the best looking Zelda ever, and the feeling of being on the open sea is unlike anything any other game has ever given me. The sense of discovery when you arrive at a new island is incredible.

x. Super Monkey Ball; Gah, how can I not fit this into my top ten!? The dumbest sounding game ever, but so incredibly fun.
x. God of War; Over time, God of War's over-the-top violence and "edginess" have soured on me, but the spectacle of the whole thing is hard to deny.
x. Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind; My first real open world experience. It was overwhelming in the best way, and the personality of the world is still a high point for the series.
x. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess; Probably the weakest of the 3D Zelda's but that's still a great game. It excels at feeling epic, even if it leans a bit too hard on that aspect, to the detriment of everything else.
x. Halo: Combat Evolved; Such a great feeling shooter, and it pays much more attention to atmosphere than most other shooters, even its own sequels.
x. Metroid Prime; I had never played any Metroidvania games before this, so this was a really enjoyable first experience. Controls are a bit clunky, but still great.
x. Psychonauts; Fun and funny, even if it's probably the least polished game on this list.
x. Ico; Controls are a bit shit, but it's beautiful and touching.
x. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time; Really fun platformer. Kind of sad how little it's brought up today, given how much it influenced the later Assassin's Creed games, and through them, the modern "stick parkour in everything" school of game design.
x. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem; game was clunky and ugly, and has the painful Dyack association, but it did fantastic things with plot and horror.

 

[nacimento]

1. Fire Emblem ; Greatest handheld game of all time; great campaign and characters and infinite replayability.

2. Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos ; One of the best RTS campaigns I've ever played and the inclusion of Heroes was excellent.

3. Rome: Total War ; Best Total War, conquering the known World was never better. Go Seleucids!

4. Age of Mythology ; Typical Ensemble greatness. Great campaign and the best random matches this side of the GOAT Age of Kings.

5. Civilization IV ; Taking a civilization from rags to riches is always great. And one more turn...

6. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance ; Great SRPG with great characters and several really well done new systems.

7. Golden Sun: The Lost Age ; Really fun RPG. I loved combining Djinns to unleash Mayhem. Pity there never again was a Golden Sun to its standard.

8. Half-Life 2 ; My favorite FPS not starting with Bio. Wonderfully bleak surroundings and really clever level design.

9. The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth ; Another RTS with a masterful campaign. Specially the territory approach was great and novel for a RTS. And still the best use of the LOTR license in gaming.

10. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance ; The story was slightly silly but the game was great. I didn't even had a problem with laws.

x. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga ; Funniest game I've played. Only Bowser's Inside Story and Phoenix Wright come close.

x. Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising ; Top-notch TBS action.

x. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past/Four Swords ; Just honorary since it's only a port. ALTTP is amazing, never cared about Four Swords.

 

[spekkeh]

1. Metroid Prime ; Seeing those mysterious Chozo artifacts on rainswept Tallon IV, as your reflection glistens off the inside of your visor, Metroid Prime is the best alien world exploration game, and therefore one of my favorite games ever.

2. Tales of Symphonia ; I'm a stickler for multiplayer Action JRPGs. When they're good, they're perfect. Helped in no small margin by playing this together with the girl of my dreams, who now happens to be my wife. No not Colette, real life wife.

3. Resident Evil 4 ; The opening village, can games do this? If only more Uncharted like games had such a clever illusion of autonomy.

4. Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker ; While the game itself may have its fair share of problems, the music and graphics make this the Zelda game (and really almost any kind of game) you want to hop in and get lost in the most.

5. Grand Theft Auto 3 ; Mindboggling when it was released, driving around in nighttime New York (yeah yeah Liberty City) felt so cinematic and clearly a game too. And running over hookers to get your money back, 18 year old spekkeh thought that was cringeworthingly lulz.

6. Ninja Gaiden ; This game made you feel like a true ninja. Too bad the ninja era had been over for ten years, or it would've been the most amazing experience ever.

7. Soul Calibur 2 ; Probably my most played game of the gen. Easy to learn, hard to master.

8. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ; Almost as good as Metroid Prime, if only I wasn't a bit tired of light/dark worlds.

9. Super Smash Bros Melee ; Bought it because there was almost nothing else for the Gamecube. Kept coming back to it all through the gen.

10. Resident Evil REmake ; The main mansion alone would've been a really well developed game. Then it loops in on itself and there's sharks and things following you and..

...wow I guess I really liked my Gamecube. What a gen really. Shoutouts to Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Twilight Princess, the other GTAs, Baldur's Gate 1+2, SimCity4, Morrowind, Deus Ex, Prince of Persia Sands of Time, Eternal Darkness, Beyond Good and Evil, and probably tons more I'm forgetting.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

The top five seem set in stone. Right now it seems the rankings are...

1. Metal Gear Solid 3
2. Resident Evil 4
3. Metroid Prime
4. Super Smash Bros. Melee
5. Half-Life 2

 

[10k]

1. Metroid Prime; This was my first Metroid game ever. I was stunned by the graphics and smooth framerate abd loved the puzzle solving. It reminded me of a sci-fi zelda and actually got me to enjoy a first person game. It has now become my favourite series and I put it ahead of Zelda. It gets the GOTG vote from me because of the bold risk it took of taking metroid and making it first person, looking gorgeous while still maintaining a 60fps refresh rate, and having a memorable soundtrack.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
4. Halo: Combat Evolved
5. Super Smash Bros. Melee
6. Xenosaga Episode III
7. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
8. Metroid Prime 2
9. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords
10. Warcraft III Reign of Chaos

 

[AniHawk]

edit: nm

 

[Dion Blaster]

The top five seem set in stone. Right now it seems the rankings are...

1. Metal Gear Solid 3
2. Resident Evil 4
3. Metroid Prime
4. Super Smash Bros. Melee
5. Half-Life 2

I think Shadow of the Colossus has the 4 spot. And I think RE4 has the top spot.

 

[AniHawk]

The top five seem set in stone. Right now it seems the rankings are...

1. Metal Gear Solid 3
2. Resident Evil 4
3. Metroid Prime
4. Super Smash Bros. Melee
5. Half-Life 2

really not a bad guess. not a bad guess at all.

 

[AniHawk]

the top ten is almost settled (a couple games within are fairly close to one another), but the #10 spot is still in contention. there's about 6 games within ten points of each other.

 

[AniHawk]

quick look at the top 25: 6 gc exclusives, 6 ps2 exclusives, 3 pc exclusives, and 2 xbox exclusives (also 3 pc/xbox games).

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

I'm surprised more people haven't voted. I thought GOTG would hold more prestige than GOTY among GAF members.

 

[AniHawk]

I'm surprised more people haven't voted. I thought GOTG would hold more prestige than GOTY among GAF members.

i think if it was gotg over the ps3/wii/360 years people would have turned out more. for this one, a lot of users either weren't on neogaf at the time or actually pretty young. there are people in their 20s now that would have been 5-6 when the dreamcast came out.

i get the feeling that a n64/psx/sat one would be half the size of this one, if that.

 

[The Xtortionist]

I'm surprised more people haven't voted. I thought GOTG would hold more prestige than GOTY among GAF members.

It's a hard list to make. Every time I would remember a game, two more I forgot would spring up.

 

[synchronicity]

It's a hard list to make. Every time I would remember a game, two more I forgot would spring up.

That's why you keep an ongoing spreadsheet of all the games you ever play along with your personal ratings/reviews/rankings. When a thread like this pops up, you're all set.


...what? I'm not the only one am I?

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

It's a hard list to make. Every time I would remember a game, two more I forgot would spring up.

It WAS a hard list to make, much harder than it will be for last gen. I had to leave off Resident Evil 4, Metal Gear Solid 3, God of War II, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando. Those aren't just best of the generation contenders for me, they're among my favorites of all time and I had to cut them. That's how incredible Gen 6 was.

i think if it was gotg over the ps3/wii/360 years people would have turned out more. for this one, a lot of users either weren't on neogaf at the time or actually pretty young. there are people in their 20s now that would have been 5-6 when the dreamcast came out.

i get the feeling that a n64/psx/sat one would be half the size of this one, if that.

I suppose that is true. That makes me feel old since I could easily do a list from the NES era, even though I was only a couple months old when it came out in the US. Been gaming since age 3!

That's why you keep an ongoing spreadsheet of all the games you ever play along with your personal ratings/reviews/rankings. When a thread like this pops up, you're all set.


...what? I'm not the only one am I?

I have a list of all the games I've played but I don't make ranking lists because my opinions change from time to time.

 

[Dion Blaster]

The suspense is killing me

 

[synchronicity]

I have a list of all the games I've played but I don't make ranking lists because my opinions change from time to time.

Yes, opinions certainly have a degree of fluidity to them, but then you can just alter your list accordingly. Well, that's what I do, from time to time. Although my opinions on the games I've played very rarely change too radically overall, but sure there is some movement, especially within tight spaces, within my personal rankings.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

so as of right now there are about 1,470 honorable mentions. also, a dreamcast-exclusive is getting dangerously close to entering the top 25. right now the gba and the dc only have one exclusive each in the top 50.

This is sad but doesn't suprise me. The Dreamcast reach was limited and sadly a lot of the great games were ported to other systems. The GBA had a combination of issues from a mass amount of ports, a short life span due to DS overlap, and little exposure to non-Nintendo published titles.

 

[ispendtoomuchmoneyongames]

1. Persona 4; everything about this game is stunning. While I think the Vita port is the way to go, the PS2 version is still near perfect and my personal favorite game of all time.

2. Final Fantasy X; my favorite game in the FF series, I spent so much time as a kid playing this game. The recent PS3/Vita remaster made me go back and play through again and it's just as good to me as it was when I was a kid

3. Kingdom Hearts; same as FFX, played when I was a kid, recently went back and played through and it still floors me.

4. Persona 3; Not quite as good as P4, but still great. The first Persona game I ever played.

5. Legend of Zelda Wind Waker; again, played it when I was a kid, recently went back to it and it still holds up. My favorite Zelda game.

 

[hitmon]

So many gems in this gen, but the 10 below stand out the most.
1. Dragon Quest VIII ; My first Dragon Quest ever and it’s a classic. Wonderful characters, music, and experience. Still visually stunning . This game is perfection.
2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old republic ; Game that put Bioware on the map for me. I'm not a fan of Star Wars, but love this game. Like others, the twist blew my mind. It was one of those OH SHIT! moments.
3. Fire Emblem GBA ; My first Fire Emblem and fell in love with the series ever since. Great set of characters, loved the story and gameplay. My favorite GBA game, no contest. It's a shame the sequel was never translated and released in the US.
4. Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War ; My first and still favorite Ace Combat game. Loved the story and piloting the beauty that is the F-22 Raptor.
5. Diablo 2 ; Besides Counterstrike, this was the other PC game that had me hooked during that time period. I remember playing through the night and then 9/11 happened…Besides that, I'll always remember my search for that Immortal's Kings Set (Soul Cage took forever) and the feeling I got when I finally completed that set (thanks to ability to share items between others).
6. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ; Grand Theft Auto 3 started the revolution, but this was so much better. Drive-by's with your gang and turf wars, customizing your look based how much you eat and exercise were some of the little things that stood out.
7. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ; Starting with the main theme and the ride to the end was a great experience. Best MGS to date. Some interesting boss fights, including the possibility of outwaiting a boss.
8. Persona 4 ; Wonderful cast and enjoyable story, better than Persona 3 which introduced me to the series.
9. Halo ; I didn't like it as much as others, but the Xbox brand would not have survived without this game.
10. NBA 2k1 ; Started the dynasty of the NBA 2k series, overthrowing and essentially killing the reigning champion, NBA Live. There has been no competition since.

Honorable Mentions:
x. God of War
x. Suikoden V ; Best Suikoden since Suikoden II. A return to its roots.
x. World of Warcraft ; I'm not a fan of MMOs, but there is no denying the impact this game has made in the industry.
x. Final Fantasy X
x. Persona 3
x. Shadow Hearts: Covenant
x. Grand Theft Auto 3 ; the one that revolutionized the genre
x. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
x. WWF Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain ; Last wrestling game I enjoyed
x. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance ; Gamecube was worth it for this game, despite its flaws
x. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
x. Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
x. Disgaea
x. X-Men Legends II
x. Marvel Ultimate Alliance

 

[blackMamba1187]

Completely spaced on Riddick. Damn. It deserves better.

 

[Gandalf]

1. Resident Evil 4 ; One of the finest games ever made. The pacing. The gameplay. The story. I could list loads, I'll leave it there. I've quad dipped on this. PS2, Wii, PS3 then the PS2 version again to permanently add it to the collection. The steelbook for the PS2 I also think is the greatest game case ever too (EU). Masterpiece.

2. Silent Hill 2 ; P.T ran it close but I still think this is the scariest game I've ever played, and for me it's the best Silent Hill. Playing through it as a young teenager at 2am is something I'll never, ever forget. Again, the PS2 version sits proudly in my collection

3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ; I loved number 2, but I think this blew it out of the water. So much innovation and genius is spread throughout this game. Kojima is a hero of mine, and this is one of the many reasons why.
The top 3 are very, very close for me. It wasn't an easy decision.

4. Ninja Gaiden: Black ; The whole reason I bought an Xbox pretty much and instantly made the purchase worthwhile. I entered the series here after hearing great things, and I don't think the developers have managed to make a Ninja Gaiden as good as this since.

5. Gran Turismo 4 ; I spent a ridiculous amount of time with this. Finishing every race (including the endurance races!) and getting as many cars as possible in the simulation mode. 5 was great, but I not as good as 4 I think, and couldn't play 6 due to getting a PS4 after selling my PS3. I hope the inevitable Gran Turismo 7 captures me like 4 did.

6. Super Smash Bros. Melee ; One of my favourite fighting games of all time. There have been many occasions where me and some mates had some epic battles on this. Still holds up brilliantly, as I played it not too long ago.

7. Need for Speed: Underground 2 ; The best Need for Speed game in my opinion. The races, the location, the way you could tune your cars, the soundtrack, all brilliant. I hope a true sequel to this is made one day (or a remaster, I'd take that).

8. Pro Evolution Soccer 4 ; I'm sure most would agree that 5 or 6 is maybe where it peaked but this is the one that I had the most fun with and I was actually really good at it. Many tournaments were had with my mates, and I pretty much won all of them. Something clicked with this, and I still own a copy on Xbox.

9. Halo: Combat Evolved ; Fantastic campaign, certainly revolutionised the FPS genre for the better. "The Silent Cartographer" is probably one of my favourite levels in any game, ever. Getting a warthog through as much as the mission as possible is so much fun. The MP was fantastic too. The "Sidewinder" map certainly sticks in the memory.

10. Final Fantasy X ; I was going to put it higher in my list, but overall the end part of the game did disappoint me. However, up to that point it is an amazing experience and I enjoyed it a lot. For the most part I enjoyed the characters and the story. I thought the battle system was fantastic too.

x. GTA: Vice City ; Loved the setting, pretty close to the top 10, but as there were so many great games in this generation, was a very tough decision.

x. Mario Kart: Super Circuit ; The reason I owned a GBA. Great game. Enjoyed trying to beat my times on time trials.

x. LMA Manager 2005 ; A pick I doubt will make it into any other lists. To this day it is my favourite football manager sim. Had to mention it.

x. Burnout 3: Takedown ; The best Burnout game had to get a mention. The amazing Crash Mode was where most of the fun was. I want a sequel to this.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

Okami needs more votes.

 

[Marjar]

1. Half-Life 2 ; Not only is it the best game of the 6th generation, but I’d say it’s even the best game of all time. Near perfect pacing from start to finish, some of the best world building in the history of video games, a world that feels real despite the game’s linearity, storytelling that doesn’t need silly audio logs to connect the dots for you, fantastic gunplay, memorable characters, and a kickass soundtrack that just all blends together to create a masterpiece of game design. There are very few games that I’d consider perfect, and this is one of them.
   
2. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door ; Easily my favorite RPG and my favorite Mario game. I love pretty much everything about this game (yes even the Great Boggly Tree). Excellent visuals, amazing catchy soundtrack, hilarious writing, memorable characters, a fantastic battle system, tons of customization, it really is the pinnacle of Mario RPGs.
3. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker ; The best Zelda game of all time. While it does have some issues such as the Triforce quest and the lack of difficulty, Wind Waker makes up for it in sheer charm and fun factor. The world feels huge and is extremely fun to travel around and discover all the locations. Many seem to think the dungeons aren’t very good, but I thought they were all pretty great myself. I don’t think any games’ visuals will age as well as Wind Waker’s have.
   
4. Diablo II ; The game that introduced me to PC gaming. I spent hours upon hours making new characters in this game and leveling up my characters and getting all the best loot. I don’t even want to know how many times I went on Tristram, Cow Level, and Baal runs. Very few games have as much depth and customizability as this one has, which is partly why Diablo 3 was such a disappointment. Quite possibly the best WRPG I’ve ever played.
   
5. Metroid Prime ; Few games can capture the type of weird, calming yet unsettling atmosphere of Metroid Prime. Few games can also grip you within the first few seconds of loading up thanks to the game’s amazing title screen and soundtrack. Its controls may be a bit weird and archaic, but Metroid Prime is a true adventure game masterpiece.
   
6. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga ; The first and best game in the M&L series. Similarly to TTYD, this game has charm all over the place. It’s not as good as TTYD, but it certainly is a lot wackier, with silly animations and all kinds of goofy lines, and of course the brilliant Fawful.
   
7. Halo 2 ; I wasn’t sure if I should put the first Halo or this one here, but Halo 2 got my vote simply for being one of the greatest multiplayer shooters ever made and the fact that I never really got to play Halo 1’s online. The campaign is certainly rushed and a bit questionable at times, but I still really love the hell out of it, especially its story which is probably the most interesting out of all the Halo games due to seeing the political shenanigans of the prophets and the Covenant.
   
8. Super Smash Bros. Melee ; Still the best Smash Bros. game in terms of being both fun casually and in tournament play. I played hours of this back in the day with friends and by myself, and it has a close place in my heart. It really shows how amazing this game is from the fact that it’s still insanely popular after 14 years.
   
9. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap ; Quite possibly the most overlooked Zelda game. I barely ever see discussion of this game, and yet it’s one of my favorites. Better than Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword even. One of the best GBA games.
   
10. Ico ; A great puzzle adventure game that manages to tell a somber story with barely any dialog at all. It still amazes me how they conveyed so much with mere animations and non-verbal communication.

 

[leroidys]

Alright, finally finished my list. I might even make some fancy banners for it in a bit. Overall, I think it turned out pretty well. There are lots of games that I had initially assumed would be in my top 10 that I ended up cutting, but interestingly enough there's at least one game from every major platform. Gen VI was really something else.

1. Mother 3 ; GBA - I first became aware of this game during what was to be it's first, failed iteration as Earthbound 64. Having just played Earthbound, I was eagerly awaiting the game. Fast forward ~10 years, and the game was re-announced, now as a seemingly completely different game. I couldn't believe it- the dream game that I thought was dead was in fact very much alive, but with beautiful sprite art in place of ugly N64 polygons. Unfortunately, the wait to play this game would be even longer for the west, as NoA decided not to localize the title. I wrote the game off, and it was only after stumbling upon NeoGAF years later that I discovered there was a fan translation in the works. When I finally got my hands on an english-patched version of the game, I was almost over it. I had waited for this long to play the sequel to Earthbound, and the schmalzy, idyllic world of the intro seemed to confirm what I had feared- it wasn't worth the wait afterall. How could it be? But then, after talking to grandpa and wrestling some dinosaurs, shit got real. And then realer. In fact, from that moment on, the game just got better and better without ever letting up. I flew across the Nowhere Islands, chatting with frogs, fighting ghost orchestras, than nasty chimeras, mudpeople, and finally, him. By the time the adventure was over, I sat in awe. Mother 3 exceeded all of my expectations. The art is beautiful, the soundtrack memorable, the characters weird and imaginative, the battle system more fun and engaging, and Itoi's signature off-beatness more on-point than ever. This is one of my favorite games ever, and easily the best game I've played that missed my continent altogether. Hopefully NoA will rectify that sooner rather than later, and give this amazing game the wider audience it deserves.
   
   
2. Super Smash Bros. Melee ; GC – Super Smash Bros. 64 is up there with Diablo II and Age Of Empires II (more on that later) as my most played game of all time. I spent literally thousands of hours playing this game, both with friends and at home. Needless to say, my expectations for Melee were very, very high. Somehow, those impossible expectations were exceeded, as the GC saw one of the best fighting games ever made scant weeks after it launched. I don’t think my playtime ever got as high as it was on Smash 64, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t waste some of my best years of my life sitting in front of a TV with this game.
   
   
3. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker ; GC – Probably the most flawed game in my top 10, but one I love none-the-less. I’d played bits of OoT at friends’ houses, but perhaps because I didn’t own it myself, I was never really drawn in the same way that I was with the previous games, namely Link’s Awakening. Then the fantastic Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons came out, and I wondered if the 3D games just weren’t my thing. With Wind Waker, those misgivings were proven to be unfounded. The wide, mysterious expanse of the ocean, the astonishingly beautiful graphics (even today), the quirky characters, and the whimsical sense of humor overcome the sometimes uneven pacing or too-short dungeons to earn a place in my top 3.
   
   
4. Age of Empires II: The Conquerors ; PC - As alluded to above, I spent an ungodly amount of time playing Age of Empires II, and in particular The Conquerors expansion pack. The expansion brought some desperately needed balance changes (hello Teutonic town centers!) that made it worthwhile playing online again, but it also brought an unheard of 5 new civilizations with drastically different playstyles, and tons of new units and technologies for the existing civilizations to play with.
   
   
5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence ; PS2 – I’ve read through almost every list in this thread so far, and I think that there may be more lists where this game does appear than lists where it doesn’t. MGS3 not only refines the existing stealth gameplay, but it adds several new gameplay systems on top of it. Far from detracting from the experience, they enhance it, and MGS3 stands at the pinnacle of the stealth/action genre to this day.
   
   
6. Ninja Gaiden Black ; XBOX – Never having played the NES originals, I had absolutely no reason to be hyped for this game, but somehow or other I got my hands on a demo disc, and was promptly blown.thefuck.away. I played the demo for hours, and counted down the days until it came out. When I finally got the real game, I tore through it. Initially, I was disappointed that ninjas were rarely enemies after the first level, but that disappointment quickly melted away as I began to master the games systems. The game became an obsession, and I would play through a single area over and over, mastering every weapon against every enemy, learning the perfect timing for ninpo, and beating the shit out of those asshole mounted archers. Not much later, the hurricane packs were released, which included new weapons, new costumes, and an online leaderboard. I didn’t actually end up picking up the ‘Black’ version that everyone references, but I think I had all the equivalent content.
   
   
7. Shadow of the Colossus ; PS2 – Shadow of the Colossus came along at an interesting time for me. I had just graduated high school, and was feeling that it was time for me to move on, and that I had outgrown videogames. I was slowly selling off all my old gaming effects and stopped frequenting the messageboards I used to waste so much time on, when my friend sold me his PS2 for cheap to use as a DVD player in college. The games he gave me with it were Katamari Damacy (which just missed out on my top 10) and Shadow of the Colossus, essentially polar opposites, but both very unique games at a time when the medium was hurtling towards its openworld/dudebro-shooter/racing/sportsgame singularity with terrifying speed. Shadow of the Colossus, in my opinion, is the best attempt yet at making a game that is art, yet one that eschews the false promises of Oscar-worthy scripts and visceral, motion captured cutscenes. As Wander, you experience the terror of the giant Colossi in a way that film doesn’t afford, and you increasingly question your conscience as your own hands vanquish the magnificent beasts. It is a game that has enough trust in the player and confidence in the medium to forge ahead and tell a story its own way, and for me is a shining beacon of hope in the current dystopia of Cage/Druckman ham-fisted over exposition.
   
   
8. Final Fantasy XII ; PS2 By the time I picked up Final Fantasy XII, the PS2 was dead, Star Wars Galaxies was ruined, and I had quit World of Warcraft. The first couple hours of this game weren’t promising. More MMO-like gameplay that I was eager to move past, and the characters Vaan and Penelo were irritating, epitomizing the fall from grace that Japanese games, and JRPGs in particular, were experience in the West. Fortunately, we were in the middle of a rare, Washington heat-wave, and it was just too fucking hot to do anything but sit on my bed and play videogames. A few more hours in, and the game started to open up. Less irritating characters joined my party, the license board hexes one by one were unlocked, and the battle system transformed from being a chore to a unique tactical challenge. The story never really went anywhere, but I had too many hunts to kill and too much loot to find to care. It’s a tragedy that the games before and after (X, XI, XIII) had numerous sequels and expansions, but in the west we never even received the slightly streamlines, cruelly named International version.
   
   
9. Jet Grind Radio ; DC – Growing up in the 90’s in the PNW, I was a diehard grunge/alt kid. Any sort of other musical or aesthetic culture was not something I understood, or wished to experience. Then JGR/JSR came along, and it hit me like a funky atomic bomb. It blew up my preconceptions about underground hip hop, funk, electronic and dance music and culture, even if it was via a really sanitized, cartoony Japanese version. Here’s a concrete case of a videogames actually having a positive impact on my life- making me a better rounded, more open-minded and more expressive and accepting person. I loved everything about this game- the weird gangs, the graffiti art, the music, the mind-blowing-for-the-time visuals… for me, the game was a revelation.
   
   
10. Mega Man Zero 2 ; GBA Before the first Mega Man Zero came out, the Mega Man franchise was already being criticized for stagnating. The latter NES games were seen as filler, the X series had gone to shit, Legends was M.I.A., and the weird-looking EXE RPG series was stuck in Japan. Zero was a major return to form. The main character was a badass, the great sprite art was cool, the game was hard-as-fuck-but-fair, had engaging RPG elements, and even a Pokémon-inspired collection mechanic. Then came Zero 2, which took every single thing that the first got right, and got it right-er. The combat is tighter, the difficulty better balanced, the story engaging, and the challenges fast paced. This sucker didn’t leave my GBA until I had S-Ranked everything.
    
    
    Making a top ten was absurdly hard, and I had to actually try and calculate a personal weighting system to have any chance at making a real top 10. The results surprised even me, but I think it actually worked out pretty nicely. I’ll include the rest, in order, as my honorable mentions, along with my personal weighting (not a score). Even with seventy-odd mentions, I’m sure I’m still forgetting a lot of titles, and there are a lot of games that are in my backlog (SMT3, Valkyrie Profile 2, BoFV, &#8230, and games that I played first on later gen systems (Okami PS3, RE4 Wii, Persona 4 Golden, &#8230 that otherwise would have ranked very highly here.
    
    
    
11. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow GBA 94
12. Metroid: Zero Mission GBA 94
13. Metroid Fusion GBA 93
14. Counter-Strike PC 93
15. Diablo II: Lord of Destruction PC 93
16. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance GC 93
17. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory XBOX/PC/PS2 93
18. Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors XBOX 93
19. Mega Man Zero GBA 92
20. WarioWare Twisted! GBA 92
21. Metal Gear Solid 2 PS2 92
22. Halo: Combat Evolved XBOX/PC 92
23. Ico PS2 92
24. Ikaruga DC/GC 92
25. Boktai 2 GBA 92
26. Shenmue DC 91
27. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 PC 91
28. Otogi: Myth of Demons XBOX 91
29. Advance Wars GBA 90
30. Animal Crossing GC 90
31. Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat GC 90
32. Gradius V PS2 90
33. Katamari Damacy PS2 90
34. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader GC 90
35. Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand GBA 89
36. Metroid Prime GC 89
37. Panzer Dragoon Orta XBOX 89
38. WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! GBA 89
39. Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner PS2 89
40. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga GBA 88
41. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! GC 88
42. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door GC 88
43. Wario Land 4 GBA 88
44. Pikmin GC 88
45. Rhythm Tengoku GBA 87
46. Suikoden III PS2 86
47. Mega Man Battle Network 5 GBA 86
48. Pikmin 2 GC 85
49. Chibi-Robo! GC 85
50. Civilization III PC 85
51. Command & Conquer: Generals PC 85
52. Diablo 2 PC 85
53. F-Zero GX GC 85
54. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance GBA 85
55. Star Wars Galaxies PC 85
56. Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast PC 85
57. Super Mario Sunshine GC 84
58. Jet Set Radio Future XBOX 83
59. Luigi's Mansion GC 82
60. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon GBA 80
61. Fire Emblem GBA 80
62. Gunvalkyrie XBOX 80
63. Power Stone DC 80
64. Power Stone 2 DC 80
65. Rise of Nations PC 80
66. Mega Man Battle Network 3 GBA 80
    

 

[GamerJM]

i think if it was gotg over the ps3/wii/360 years people would have turned out more. for this one, a lot of users either weren't on neogaf at the time or actually pretty young. there are people in their 20s now that would have been 5-6 when the dreamcast came out.

i get the feeling that a n64/psx/sat one would be half the size of this one, if that.

I'm 20 and gen 6 feels like the earliest gen I'm qualified to vote for. I've followed the industry from a young age but I only owned a Gamecube/GBA, though I've since played some of the PS2/Xbox/DreamCast/PC games that I think have the best shot at making my list though not all. Though I plan to dive back into all of the consoles' libraries in more depth at some point.

 

[AniHawk]

I'm 20 and gen 6 feels like the earliest gen I'm qualified to vote for. I've followed the industry from a young age but I only owned a Gamecube/GBA, though I've since played some of the PS2/Xbox/DreamCast/PC games that I think have the best shot at making my list though not all. Though I plan to dive back into all of the consoles' libraries in more depth at some point.

for me it was the n64. though i grew up with an atari, game boy, and nes, the n64 was the first one i had while it was 'alive'. on the other hand, i didn't really get a good look at games from other platforms. i think a top 10 from that era would be pretty much all post-1996 gb/gbc stuff and n64, with nights into dreams thrown in there because it's particularly awesome. and final fantasy ix too.

 

[Grzi]

I'll do a quick list that I might edit later, so here goes:

1. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

I hated it when I first got it, but after a while I realized that while it's completely different from the previous BoF games, it's an amazingly executed game, completely unique and ahead of its time (I would argue it still is). The story, while minimalistic in approach is touching without being sappy, and the gameplay is the best I have ever witnessed in a JRPG. Every fight is like a puzzle that needs to be solved and it never gets boring.

2. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike

Quite possibly the game I spent the most time playing in my life. What can I say, it's a perfect fighter, that requires serious dedication for a player to get good at it. The beautiful spritework is unmatched still, and the changes to the character roster were welcome and prevented the SF series from going stale. The parry system is still amazing and one of my favorite fighting game mechanics.

3. Persona 4

Everyone loves this game so there's no need in describing everything it does so well, but I'll just say that it's a game that helped me get through a rough breakup and I'll always remember it because of that.

4. Final Fantasy X

I'm too emotionally attached to this game to put it any lower on this list. Yes, I'm aware of all the flaws that people keep bringing up, but still, I'll always remember the feeling when I first saw the opening animation, when I pulled off Auron's overdrive for the first time, when I cried after the game was over (yeah, I was a emotional teenager lol).

5. Devil May Cry

While the third game is definitely the best in the series, nothing compares to the shock I felt when I played the first one. It was everything i expected from an action game on the new generation of consoles, especially since it oozed that old-school anime feeling of badassery.

6. Grand Theft Auto III

Again, Vice City is a better game, but I just enjoyed GTAIII more. I played it for countless hours, all of my friends would come over to play it, it showcased what the PS2 really could do and it was just a great fun game filled with just the right amount of content without feeling too bloated.

7. Kingdom Hearts II

I'll always be a fan of this series. Yeah, the combat system in II was overly simplified, and the story was too convoluted, but I still enjoyed it immensely. It's all about the atmosphere, for me, no other game gives me that feeling of being inside a dream the way KH does, and the second part turned that shit up a notch with the crazy dreamlike story. Also, the way the game opens, not giving you the real start until a few hours in, that was great.

8. Jak and Daxter

The perfect platformer. I still play it at least once a year and always have fun with it. That's it.

9. Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core

My second favorite fighting game of all time. While the framecount is lower than 3s, the character sprites look gorgeous and have amazing detail. The gameplay is demanding but so rewarding once you get the hang of it. I played the previous iterations a bit more, but this one is one the list because it has Order Sol in it.

10. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne

An amazing, challenging JRPG oozing with atmosphere. I don't really have an emotional attachment to this game as much as with the others in the top 10, but it's here purely because of how good it is, and that's something.

Honorable Mentions: Valkyrie Profile 2, Wild Arms 5, Tales of Symphonia, Zone of the Enders 2, Okami, Shadow of the Colossus, Front Mission 5, Klonoa 2, Final Fantasy XII, Godhand, Shadow Hearts: Covenant, King of Fighters XI, Capcom vs SNK 2, Skygunner, Blood Will Tell...

 

[Version 3.0]

Man, no wonder there's no new Legacy of Kain game. Seems like Leondexter and I are the only ones who give them a single vote so far. ;_;

I feel the same pain, but for Wave Race. Looks like Nintendo has been justified for going 13+ years without a new title being announced. At least there seems to be a sizable audience for a new F-Zero.

To be fair, Soul Reaver 1 was really a PS1 game, so I wouldn't expect many votes in this contest. And I wouldn't expect many votes for the other games; that one was by far the best. It wasn't a runaway success sales-wise, but it did alright - about twice as well as Legacy of Kain. Soul Reaver 2, Blood Omen 2, and Defiance each sold worse, though, IIRC. I'm not surprised the series was halted after that.

As for Wave Race, Nintendo isn't justified in shelving it. They're rarely justified in anything they do. They do not make decisions based on any rational or logical means. But if I had to guess, I'd say they shelved it because it bombed in Japan. It sold just fine in the US. They have a history of focusing on Japan even though their US home console business has dwarfed it for decades.

 

[AniHawk]

edit: nm

 

[rhandino]

01. Final Fantasy XII: Was one the most big and well realized JRPG, almost everything in this game is so full little details and things that make it seem that this version of Ivalice truly exists.

02. Persona 4: Love how lighthearted the story is, how fast are the battles and how emotional are the stories told in the Social Links.

03. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne: My second MegaTen game after Persona 4, was truly amazing in all aspects. From the characters to the atmosphere and difficulty. It truly was a journey.

04. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow: My favorite game using the Metroidvania formula, loved to death the characters and the concept of using the souls of the monsters to gain their abilites.

05. Kingdom Hearts II: Loved the first but this one was truly amazing, even when they ditched the exploration aspects the combat was better than ever and the story even with the crazy twists was enjoyable.

06. The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap: My favorite portable Zelda, it has all the depth and charm of the console games but even then you can consume it in little chuncks.

07. Silent Hill 2: This game make me think about a lot of things a gave me a kick in the nards.

08. Persona 3: Played after Persona 4 and yet... I still consider this game has the better story and cast of characters. It's truly amazing.

09. Kingdom Hearts I: This game was the unholy union of Disney and Squaresoft, it was EVERYTHING and more to me during that period.

10. Golden Sun 2: The Lost Age: The sequel to de incredible short first game, the sense of adventure and freedom is just amazing and every nook and crany is filled with shit to do. I gets a little boring and confusing sometimes but is truly amazing.

 

[cory64]

1. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty ;

Brilliantly flawed, but still one of the medium's greatest achievements.
​

2. The Sims ;

The best playground anyone ever invented.
​

3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ;

Not as internally compelling as 2 but the execution was perfect from beginning to end.
​

4. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 ;

A smooth cocktail of some of the best ideas Japanese developers have come up with since the dawn of the industry.​

5. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 ;

Closer in spirit to the parent series than 4, but more frustrating around the edges.​

6. Final Fantasy XII ;

The last great Final Fantasy, a game both crushed and lifted by its classically epic nature. The most beautiful world of that generation.​

7. SSX 3 ;

The apex of non-fighting arcade games, it gives you a mountain to master and a million ways to accomplish that.​

8. Shadow of the Colossus ;

Scale and solitude were never so magnetically reproduced.​

9. Burnout 3: Takedown ;

The best 5 minutes of gaming you'll ever experience, every time.
​

10. F-Zero GX ;

So wildly ambitious and unforgiving that it's Nintendo's biggest failure that they've never followed up on it. Perhaps that's for the best.​

A. Psychonauts;
B. Metroid Prime;
C. Half-Life 2;
D. Final Fantasy X;
E. Grand Theft Auto III;
F. Pokémon Emerald Version ;
G. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2;
H. Phantasy Star Online;
I. Rollercoaster Tycoon 2;
J. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse;