by Thunderhulk, Shadowchair, and Darthaggro
Welcome to the first installment of what will be our main event on Fridays: our Top 10 List. We’ll switch the topics up every week, but while we’re just starting out, we’re gonna introduce you to the games we feel are (as the title says) the greatest of ALL TIME. We went into this list with only one rule: one game per series (otherwise it’d get boring listing off every Zelda title). We took into account how fun the game was and what it meant to gaming around it, be it the genre, system, or industry as a whole. Without further ado, here are the greatest games ever:
1) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Tough to pick just one game out of the Zelda series, which really has everything you want as a gamer: enough plot to make sense without needing a textbook to keep up, challenging and innovative gameplay mechanics, puzzles and combat in equal measure, and deadly chickens. Ocarina of Time gets the nod here for having all of the above in spades, and pushing its console (the Nintendo 64) about as far as anyone thought it could go. Bringing what was already a classic game series into the 3D era without missing a beat was a huge feat on Nintendo’s part.
2) Super Mario 64
Like Ocarina of Time, Mario 64 brought a beloved game series into a brave new world, and exceeded expectations on all counts. The sheer depth of the game (120 stars? That took FOREVER), combined with a great mix of familiar elements and new mechanics, made for what could be considered one of the greatest launch titles for any console. Certainly there was no shortage of great options in terms of “true” Mario games, but we felt Mario 64 stood out among the crowd.
3) World of Warcraft
Ah, WoW. We love you, we hate you, and that’s the whole point. A game that redefined its entire genre, taking MMOs from time-consuming grindfests to the modern age of accessible, bite-sized content. While each of us started this game at different points in its development, there were shared features of WoW that made it great (and still do). While much of the game is available to solo players (previously unheard of in MMORPGs), WoW continues to provide interesting and nuanced group content since its release in 2004. Be it raiding, PvP, questing, or even pet battling, there’s something for everyone, and it’s great.
4) Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (Generation I)
Probably the biggest argument we had was which generation of Pokemon to include in the list. Nostalgia won out, with the original 151 Pokemon leaving such a mark on us as young gamers that the leaps and bounds of later games still can’t equate to that first feeling of “Gotta Catch ’em All!” Pokemon created a new subgenre of RPGs when it came out, and turned into such a media colossus with trading card games, TV shows, movies, toys, and so much more, that its impact on the industry continues to this day. Another series that continues to go strong to this day, with the recent release of Pokemon X and Y (which are excellent).
5) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Yeah, we said one game per series, but if you can find another Mario game like this one, we’ll quit this blogging business and play it RIGHT NOW. A collaboration between two of the titans of 16-bit gaming (Nintendo & Squaresoft), Mario RPG brought together familiar Mario-game mechanics like jumping, mushrooms, and more mushrooms with traditional RPG combat, experience, and items. While simple on its surface (Five playable characters with a 3-man party, low stat limits, etc.), the game was enjoyable enough that it never felt like someone forced Mario into a Final Fantasy game. An RPG for people who didn’t like RPGs, and a Mario game for people who loved RPGs.
6) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
One of the few games that we here at Super GG Bros happen to enjoy as much as the “mainstream,” Skyrim has something for everyone. Want to be a sneaky thief? Do it. Want to be an armored swordsman? Do it. As long as it doesn’t involve killing children, you can do it in this game. While the Radiant questing system turned out to be a bit less exotic than we all hoped (it ended up as glorified fetch quests over and over again, but still better than anything else we had before), there was so much to do in Skyrim that most people never even figured that out. The variety of playstyles, missions, and even the excellent use of DLC make this the best offering in the Elder Scrolls series yet, and a great game in its own right.
7) Donkey Kong Country
Kids, let me tell you a story. Back in el day, there was a company that primarily worked for Nintendo named Rare. These guys were brilliant, pumping out great content for the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64; the first major game they brought out was Donkey Kong Country. With a graphical style unmatched by anything on the SNES at the time, and a well-designed single player mode, Donkey Kong Country set the stage for what platformers evolved into: not mindless jumping simulators, but exercises in exploration, ingenuity, and skill. Later editions of Donkey Kong Country built on this foundation, but the original had the most impact in the genre.
8) Chrono Trigger
The pinnacle of the golden age of console RPGs. Similar to Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger avoided heavily complicated numbers and scale in favor of a simple, yet refined gaming experience with the smoothest implementation of time travel this side of Doctor Who. 6 playable characters (plus a hidden badass) with their own unique abilities, except that they could combine those abilities for more powerful abilities, or new ones altogether! The greatest part of Chrono Trigger though, was that you never had to stop playing, thanks to the brand-new (at the time) New Game + feature – play the game from the beginning, but with your characters already leveled and geared up! This game introduced replay value to a genre that didn’t even know it needed it, and was a great game to boot.
9) Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime was the first game that we geared up to hate before it was even released. Nintendo was going to take a series known for being great 2D platformers and make it into a 3D first-person-shooter? BLASPHEMY! Then we played it, and…it was amazing. Retro Studios managed to flawlessly bring over every aspect of the Metroid games we knew and loved, even the Grapple Beam and Space Jump. The Metroid Prime series (1, 2 and 3) were phenomenal games, more first-person adventure than shooter games. As with many other games on this, Nintendo managed to bring their old games into the future while bringing the future to us.
10) Banjo-Kazooie
A spiritual successor to Donkey Kong Country, this was another classic Rare game for the N64. Somehow, they managed to make playing as a bear with a bird in your backpack one of the best 3D platformers ever made. As with DKC, the ability to explore, looking for puzzle pieces and honeycombs while enjoying the open concept of it all made this game a fantastic play. The abilities in the game were wide-ranging, which was a new concept at the time; you could run, jump, swim, fly, climb, and roll, making you feel like you were actually adventuring in the open world.
There you have it, our top 10 video games of all time. We’ll be back next Friday with another top list, so be sure to check back!
GG!