Streets of Rage 2 Splatoon 2 Sid Meier's Civilization IV Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Team Fortess 2 Valkyria Chronicles Galaga Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Splatoon Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus Spec Ops: The Line The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Jet Set Radio Future Jak 3. Breath of Fire III The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Tomb Raider Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Final Fantasy III Radiata Stories Zork I Diablo III The Bard's Tale Resident Evil GameCube Lego Dimensions Phantasy Star Online Final Fantasy XII Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Planescape: Torment Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Sonic Mania Telltale's Tales from the Borderlands Life is Strange: Before the Storm Bayonetta 2.
Mafia II Donkey Kong 64 Fire Emblem Awakening Gran Turismo Super Smash Bros. Shining Force II Inside Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen BioShock 2 Banjo-Tooie TimeSplitters 2 Prey Panzer Dragoon Saga Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines Rocket League Flower Sonic Adventure 2 League of Legends Mortal Kombat 2 Fable Tecmo Super Bowl Mario Kart DotA 2 Call of Duty: Black Ops Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Mega Man Legends The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Deadly Premonition Spyro The Dragon God of War II Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Sid Meier's Civilization V Mega Man 2 The Pandora Directive Counter-Strike Assassin's Creed Origins Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete Terraria Psychonauts Borderlands Diablo Even in its primitive form, Blizzard had clearly landed on something special — in large part thanks to the immediacy of its grim action.
Turn-based combat be damned; Diablo was about feverishly clicking your mouse to the breaking point. Whether you chose to spend time building relationships or exposing corruption in the metaverse, Persona 5 rewarded your effort with nuanced characters and refined turn-based combat. The journey was even more arresting thanks to the impeccable visual style and standout soundtrack, establishing a slick and consistent atmosphere unlike anything else in the genre.
Though Persona 5 is the most recent game in our top , it has distinguished itself as the best entry in an amazing franchise. Even 20 years after its original release, the cast is still regarded as some of the most memorable characters in gaming. The world was bursting with minigames and hidden secrets, and Square told a mature story that featured a mid-game twist so gut-wrenching fans are still recovering from the shock.
Featuring a persistent world that thousands could interact with and influence, the game became a proving ground for best and worst aspects of a freeform experience like PvP battles, economy rigging, and robbing fellow players. The gorgeous visuals and memorable music supplemented the touching story and fun real-time combat, which let you pause the action with the ring-command system. Journeying across the world to collect monsters and use them in battle is instantly appealing.
Successfully melding together elements of stealth games, first-person shooters, and RPGs, Deus Ex embraced player choice in a way few games had attempted.
The dystopian, near-future setting empowered its players to approach missions in any way they saw fit, spending skill points to unlock new augmentations that complemented their play style. The cyberpunk backdrop proved fertile enough to foster several more Deus Ex games, but none come close to matching the inventiveness of the original.
The amnesiac immortal The Nameless One is still one of the most complex and memorable characters in all of gaming, and even small choices players made rippled through the narrative with unforeseen consequences.
Ditching series conventions like the isometric camera and turn-based battles in favor of a first-person perspective and real-time combat, Fallout 3 brought the post-apocalyptic RPG to mainstream audiences, selling more than 12 million copies and winning several game of the year awards along the way. A trek through a waking nightmare, the player is treated to surreal delights accompanied by a haunting soundtrack and a plethora of wicked weapons. Bloodborne serves an enthralling, challenging experience infused with fear and wonder.
This tactics adventure told the story of a group of highborn cadets thrust into the middle of a war for the throne, which felt more mature and political than previous Final Fantasy games. However, the gameplay is where Tactics really shines. Square evolved its familiar job-class structure into a progression system so deep that you could lose yourself in the thrill of modifying your heroes for hours. Tactics lived up to its name by providing a series of clever encounters that challenged our adept heroes at every turn.
Blizzard clearly has fond memories of the game, too, releasing updates long after its release — and as recently as BioWare delivered memorable characters and pushed the boundary of voice acting in RPGs, creating the blueprint used for many of its later RPGs.
Once catering solely to the longtime participants who would race to conquer dragons and raids before other elite guilds, WoW has continually transformed and evolved over 12 years. It now offers a wealth of activities and challenges for both the causal once-a-week-login and the world-first raid leader. Its superb open world hosted hundreds of quests and meaningful decisions around every bend, always giving you something to do.
Seeing your choices ripple across the vast landscape was a highlight itself, and the masterful writing added unpredictability and shades of gray to every dilemma. Seeing a game with such an ambitious scope deliver so fully in terms of quality is rare, but The Witcher 3 did just that, while also raising expectations for what an open-world RPG should offer in terms of depth, breadth, and polish.
It also introduced The Illusive Man, a humanity-first puppetmaster who serves as one of the most interesting and complicated villains in gaming. The product of a development dream team at Square, it was full of charming characters, colorful visuals, and fantastic music.
The time-bending story had players exploring settings that ranged from prehistoric to post-apocalyptic, all while taking advantage of a clever battle system that encouraged cooperation among characters. From heroes dying to villains joining your cause, the tale was full of twists and turns. From the unsettling opening sequence to the god-killing finale, Final Fantasy VI kept players hooked with innovations around every corner.
The plot juggled perspectives brilliantly, shaping the setting and story through multiple interesting viewpoints — even when the world literally fell apart thanks to the deliciously deranged villain, Kefka. Each of the 14 party members could shine thanks to well-written dialogue and unique combat abilities, and the exceptional graphics and music gave the experience an undeniable magnetism.
That sense persists even today, making Final Fantasy VI a timeless classic. Lode Runner combined twitch Pac-Man skills with the ability to dig into the level, trap enemies, and collect gold, creating an ever-changing puzzle game with seemingly infinite configurations, including levels of your own design. It also required both quick thinking and the strategic foresight to decipher increasingly complex levels, becoming a must-have for the home computer, and setting itself apart in the arcade-dominated market.
Half of these games were on Game Informer 's top games list in Zork 66 and Lode Runner Those same games also made the top list in Lode Runner 52 and Zork 70 — the one time Doug E. Smith's puzzle-platformer outranked Infocom's text adventure. Of those four Apple II games, readers agreed with only one when they compiled their own top games , voting Zork as Granted, two of these four games first appeared on other platforms.
In this persistent online fantasy world, thousands of players must work together to defeat dragons, slay giants, and explore the lands of Norrath. Through expansion packs and patches, new areas are opened, and even various things change over time to keep the game new and fresh to its legions of players.
Along with a tremendous musical score, Capcom ironed out the difficulty, added vehicles, and most importantly, made the boss encounters as exciting and nerve-wracking as they could possibly be. This standard was refined in dozens of sequels and offshoots, but Mega Man 2 still reigns supreme. Although there were plenty of other sim games for PC before its debut, SimCity's micromanagement features offerred something for fans to drool over, and over, and over.
Not only that, but this game served as a template for sims of other topics whether it be building railroads, theme parks, etc. This awkward-looking platformer instantly turned into a beloved staple of the Super Mario franchise. Taking on the persona of your favorite characters from the original Nintendo offering, Mario 2 allowed you to capitalize on their strengths to help you overcome the diverse level types. Toad has never looked better.
To many of the Game Informer staff, Super Metroid and Metroid easily make the top ten, but since we let the readers in on this list, Super Metroid slid down a bit. Best described as an RPG with no talk and all action, Metroid is an adventure like no other. Multiplayer capabilities made for even more replay value. Westwood was able to produce extremely successful sequels to this game, but the original stands as a testament to a tried and true gameplay formula. Nothing more than new rosters? Not quite.
Madden was not only the prerequisite, but the defining game for the PS2. Collecting cards, slick graphics, and fast player movements were enough to excite fans something fierce, even if there were features from previous editions missing.
Real-time, TV-style presentation between plays brought a drama found only on the field itself, and could even make playing the Falcons fun. The first Crash is too hard, the second Crash is too easy, but Crash 3 is just right.
Definitely one any player would want in their library. It isn't pretty, even by Atari standards, but Warlords was the original trash-talking four-player combat game, and it's still the best.
The goal of the game is simple: maneuver your shield so the ball destroys other players' walls while protecting your own. Fast and visceral, Warlords is as addicting now as it was 20 years ago. We don't know how the Sega Genesis would have fared without a mascot. All we do know is that after Sonic The Hedgehog became the pack-in cartridge for Genesis, Sega soon controlled the majority of the early '90s console market.
Sonic perfectly showcased the Genesis' vivid graphics and processing speed. It was also a fun and inventive platformer. Sonic's adventures have since taken him into the 3D realm, but his 2D incarnations are still the most fondly remembered. Bringing the series back to its isometric roots and expanding on the world of Hyrule, the first SNES Zelda is a graphical breakthrough and one of the most clever games to date.
Rather than continuing its experiments, Nintendo stayed true to the original, and formed the gameplay foundation for all forthcoming Zelda titles to follow. One-on-one fighting games didn't hit big-time until this masterpiece showed up in arcades. Capcom's flagship fighter let you pick from a group of World Warriors instead of one default character , each with his or her own special techniques. Turbo upped the speed ante, and the Super Nintendo received near-perfect ports.
It's impossible to measure the massive influence that Street Fighter II had on the fighting game genre as a whole.
Ryu be praised. GT delivered in graphics, gameplay, and depth like none before. The latter aspect was seen in the Reference Manual, which detailed cars' specs and told you how it all works on the track. The game offered more than just real courses and cars. Players were bowled over by the all-encompassing sim experience, from buying Racing Stabilizers to correct entry angles for turns.
Blood flowed red on the ice when you were injured, and that was just one of the perks of playing the first NHL title developed by EA itself. From here on out the publisher would be known for keeping on top of yearly rosters, and it started with NHLPA 93 even if it meant that official team logos had to be axed from the year before. Stats also played a bigger role in 93, with even the tracking of the crowd's decibel level possible. Saveable line changes brought more strategy than before, although NHLPA 93 was still an intense experience out on the ice.
The game's speed flows, and helped mark hockey as one of the best multiplayer sports on consoles for years to come. Namco took one of its good games, Galaxian, and added the strategic option of allowing ships to be captured, then rescued for a double dose of firepower, danger, and fun. Twenty years later, Galaga is still the best there is in the shooter arena. Galaga was also one of the first games to introduce the idea of a safe, yet frustrating, bonus round in the form of the Challenge Stage.
The fear of getting trapped in a corner by shots, the agony of accidentally shooting your own ship and receiving a measly 1, points as compensation, and the thrill of scoring perfectly on a Challenge Stage have not been tempered by time, and the pull of a Galaga upright is still an undeniable force for any quarters in your pocket.
When this game hit the PlayStation in , Konami's Castlevania series was already a well-respected and long-standing franchise. Still, nobody expected the mastery that Symphony of the Night embodied. Expertly sticking to its 2D roots, this game showed unparalleled artistry in both appearance and sound. The gothic mood was shown in every echoing organ note and stained-glass backdrop. Everything about Symphony was massive. Bosses were colossal, the map was huge, and the list of weapons and items was staggering.
The gameplay borrowed a bit from Metroid, with the acquisition of powers to reach new areas. Using PlayStation's technology with old-school gameplay resulted in a masterpiece that may be one of the last two-dimensional gaming icons. Snake's gaming return was one of the most hyped-up events in video game history.
For months, tidbits of info leaked out on this Hideo Kojima opus, and the collective gaming world was foaming at the mouth to play this marvel. When it released in , it didn't disappoint. The immersive storytelling of Kojima unfolded the deep, involved plot of special agent Solid Snake and his quest to destroy the Metal Gear weapon. Beautiful, real-time cutscenes were used to convey the emotion of the mission, and multiple gameplay styles had Snake doing everything from rappelling down a building to leisurely taking photos.
Deviating from your objectives was encouraged, and showed off the game's amazing detail. Just remember kids: tobacco is wacko, if you're a teen. After investing several years into development, Rare worked wonders with this explosive license, pushed the N64 to its limit, and shocked everyone who picked up the controller. With the classic James Bond soundtrack setting the tone, Rare revolutionized this genre with mission-based levels, stealth and sniping, limb-specific hit zones, and a massive multiplayer campaign.
No matter how you approached this game, countless hours of your life were lost. After a hard day of writing, a good portion of our days come to a close with the staff blowing the stuffing out of each other.
If only Nintendo could have held onto the Bond license. If only…. Square is best known for Final Fantasy, and for good reason. After all, four FF titles made this very list. The time traveling enabled lots of room for exploration, and brought forth some truly interesting characters, all created by Dragon Ball's Toriyama.
What other game would have a party consisting of a medieval frog, a futuristic robot, and an Amazon? These partners in quest could team up for dazzling combo attacks. The actions you picked affected the way the story unfolded, leading up to 15 different endings. You could even recruit the main bad guy. Chrono Trigger is the stuff legends are made of. Based on the arcade game, players took the part of the underdog, Little Mac, in his quest to become heavyweight champ. Some matches were total jokes Glass Joe , some required paced pugilism Bald Bull , and others were like deducing a puzzle King Hippo.
The hard road to higher ranking would eventually lead you to a face-off with Mike Tyson that was as impossible as defeating him in real life. The one thing Mike Tyson couldn't defeat, however, was controversy, and charges of violence soon put his career in a downward spiral.
Nintendo removed Tyson's name from Punch Out!! Ever since, boxing hasn't had a champion as well-received as Tyson, and consoles haven't had a boxing game as beloved as Punch Out!!
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start — the classic Konami code that launched a thousand lives and made one of its first appearances with this mainly side-scrolling shoot-fest two levels were in a third-person 3D. Two dudes, temporary power-ups, plenty of weapons, and awesome bosses whipped NES owners into a frenzy and became trademarks of the series.
It's not that any one aspect of Contra was revolutionary, other than that it all added up to unshakable fun, despite being a difficult game to conquer. This success would see the series on to several incarnations, including ones for the PlayStation, but the simple magic of the 8- and bit editions wasn't to be duplicated. As a well-established icon in the two-dimensional world, Mario faced his toughest hurdle — transferring his platforming fundamentals into the unexplored third dimension.
With Shigeru Miyamoto holding his hand the entire way, Mario made the leap — a leap that would go on to alter the face of gaming as we know it. As Miyamoto so boldly embarked into uncharted territory, he remained loyal to the series and implemented as many classic elements as he could. The soundtrack, gameplay direction, and wacky cast of characters delivered the classic sensation gamers so highly demanded.
The transformation to 3D allowed Miyamoto to expand upon his award-winning formula. With the sheer size of the environments came the need to explore and study the surroundings. This was one small step for Mario, yet one giant leap for mankind.
Untouchable was a good way to describe this game when it released. Nothing had been done like it before, and we sat in quiet awe as we traveled the land of Hyrule in ways we never thought possible. The graphics amazed, the controls were gorgeous, and the unveiling of Z-targeting had fans in a lather. Incorporating elements from previous Zelda offerings, Ocarina struck the perfect balance between old-school institutions and radical new ideas.
From minigames to intricate puzzles and enormous environments, Ocarina of Time represents a benchmark in gaming history. Taking the role of Cloud, you joined Avalanche — a group fighting against the evil Shinra Corporation.
Shinra has devised a way to suck life energy out of the planet and use it to control the universe. Summon attacks were unleashed on opponents, which were as beautiful to look at as they were devastating to their targets. Around a year after Pac-Man had taken the world by storm, Namco and Midway released the female counterpart that would eventually outlast and outsell the original.
Pac-Man had it all over her hubby. The game had multiple mazes, food that marched about the screen rather than remaining stationary, and ghosts that couldn't be fooled by any pattern. Pac-Man went on to become the best-selling arcade game of all time, and versions of the game have appeared on virtually every home console since the Atari Due to continuing popularity, Ms.
Pac-Man cabinets can still be found in abundance across the American landscape. If anyone questions this masterful maze chase's place in the top ten of all time, it still costs but 25 cents to find out the truth. In this legendary release, Mr. Miyamoto took the reigns of the Mario series once again and made the world stand up and take notice. Drawing inspiration from Super Mario Bros. With the addition of different power-ups and suits for players to find and use, Mario took on forms never before seen.
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