Your Top 10 Games List (Talking Time 3.0 Edition)

[Becksworth]

The top ten albums thread made me want to go look back at the top ten games thread...

..and I guess that was on the old forum because I can't find it. I guess that makes now a good time to do an updated top ten list thread.

I think I can be a little more decisive with my favorite games:

10 - Rez Infinite
9 - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
8 - Hollow Knight
7 - Katamari Damacy
6 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
5 - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
4 - Shadow of the Colossus
3 - Super Mario Galaxy
2 - Chrono Trigger
1 - Super Metroid

 

[WildcatJF]

This reminds me, I need to reformat my list, lol. But my top 10 would be this I think:

1. Beyond Good and Evil
2. Super Metroid
3. Chrono Trigger
4. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
5. Gris
6. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
7. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
8. Skies of Arcadia Legends
9. XCOM 2: War of the Chosen
10. Elevator Action Returns

 

[Issun]

Hasn't changed in 6 years:

10) Xenogears
9) Dark Souls
8) Portal
7) Mega Man 2
6) Undertale
5) Final Fantasy IV
4) Okami
3) Life is Strange
2) Super Metroid
1) Chrono Trigger

 

[Peklo]

Metroid II: Return of Samus
The Caligula Effect 2
Blue Reflection 2
SaGa: Scarlet Grace
Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City
Flowers -Le volume sur automne-
Xanadu Next
The Dark Spire
Touhou Shinreibyou ~ Ten Desires
King's Field II

No order and subject to change on a whim.

 

[Voncaster]

My list in alphabetical order:

Castlevania Symphony of the Night
Death Stranding
Demon's Souls
Final Fantasy XV
Mega Man X
Monster Hunter World
Persona 5
Resident Evil Remake
Super Mario Bros. 3
XCOM Enemy Unknown

​

It feels odd to have a bunch of single player games as my top games. I think my favorite gaming memories are couch coop or online multiplayer games. However, my gut instinct for favorite games the games above; primarily single player games.

I also chose to limit my Super Mario Bros selection to one game. Truthfully SMB1, SMB3 and SMW could all be on this list.

 

[Behemoth]

My list has changed since the last time we did this, although to be fair I can't quite remember what the bottom half of the list looked like, so it's a blank slate, baby!

1. Chrono Trigger
2. Final Fantasy IV
3. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
4. Super Mario Galaxy
5. Bloodborne
6. Final Fantasy VI
7. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
8. Elden Ring
9. Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
10. Super Mario World

 

[Issun]

Metroid II: Return of Samus

Great choice. Metroid II is an exemplar, along with Mario Land and Link's Awakening, and even Pokemon R/B of how the OG GB was capable of producing a certain sense of atmosphere that nothing else ever has,

 

[Regulus]

Presented in alphabetical order:

Assault Suits Valken
Dark Souls
Dragon's Dogma
Final Fantasy Tactics
FTL: Faster Than Light
Mega Man X2
Shovel Knight
Undertale
Ys: The Oath in Felghana
ZeroRanger

There are a bunch of other games that could be on here. I don't remember what I said last time.

 

[Voncaster]

Great choice. Metroid II is an exemplar, along with Mario Land and Link's Awakening, and even Pokemon R/B of how the OG GB was capable of producing a certain sense of atmosphere that nothing else ever has,

I feel that unique atmosphere in the DOS era Kings Quest 1-3 titles as well. The 16 color (beautiful for the time) world felt very large and really activated my imagination.

If this is list was 20 entries long, I'm pretty sure I would have included KQ2, my personal favorite of the KQ games.

 

[Yimothy]

Kind of arbitrary and off the top of my head:

Wonder Boy in Monster Land (SMS)
La Mulana (original version)
Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Arcade/Saturn)
Soleil (Mega Drive)
Biplanes (Intellivision, part of Triple Action cart, see my avatar)
Defender of the Crown (C64)
Link’s Awakening (GB)
R-Type (SMS)
Pleasure Hearts (MSX2)
Bee (By Emily Short, was in browser I think no longer available)
GG Aleste 3: Last Messiah (GG)

Roughly 50/50 stuff I had as a kid/stuff I played more recently. Probably forgetting a lot of good stuff.

 

[4-So]

No particular order.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Super Castlevania 4
Chrono Trigger
Earthbound
Bioshock
Final Fantasy 4
Mega Man 3
The Legend of Zelda
Super Mario World
Soul Blazer

 

[ASandoval]

Chrono Trigger
Link's Awakening
Metal Gear Solid
Portal
Persona 3/4*
Silent Hill 2
EarthBound
Final Fantasy VI
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile
Half-Life

*No I will not pick just one. You can't make me.

 

[chud_666]

no order
Resident Evil Remake
Super Metroid
Castlevania SOTN
Bloodstained Ritual of The Night
Gears 5
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Fallout 3
Final Fantasy 12
Mass Effect Legendary
Infernax

 

[Sarge]

Wow, this is going to be tough. I remember throwing it together before, and I honestly don't remember what I had. My top two haven't changed, and I think I will add Link's Awakening to the three spot forevermore. Beyond that, there's no end to the games that I could slot in, so this is just a spitball.

1) Chrono Trigger
2) Symphony of the Night
3) Link's Awakening

The rest...

Yoshi's Island
Tecmo Super Bowl
Kirby's Adventure
A Link to the Past
Demon's Crest
Phantasy Star IV
Gunstar Heroes

There are countless games that could slot into the top 10, though. Too many incredible games to have room for them all. I think the latest games that I gave a 10/10 were God of War (2018) and Super Mario Odyssey.

 

[ArugulaZ]

Okay, so this is "of all time," not just 2022. Probably just gonna use the usual suspects:

Galaga
Namco, the top arcade game designer of the early 1980s, in top form, with a shooter that's varied, even elegant thanks to the formations.

Ms. Pac-Man
Orphaned by Namco thanks to copyright issues, but never forgotten, thanks to enhancements to the already winning Pac-Man formula.

Super Mario Bros.
Look, Mommy, video games stretch beyond one screen! The best, most intuitive attempt at a sprawling video game adventure up to that point.

Super Mario World
Good, solid, rugged, durable platforming. The Jeep of its class. Nothing flashy, but damn if it's not addictive and smartly designed.

Streets of Rage 2
Beat some heads in a belt scroller with such drastic improvements to the first that it feels like the jump from a catapult to a nuclear missile.

Gunstar Heroes
A run 'n gun shooter with an emphasis on 16-bit razzle-dazzle, that's mercifully accessible to novices in a way similar games are not.

Suikoden 2
Not a fan of RPGs normally, but this has the maddening compulsion of a puzzle game. 108 stars? Gotta catch 'em all. RIGHT NOW.

NightWarriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge
Insanely beautiful horror-themed fighting game with meaty gameplay to match. "Plays as good as it looks" was a rarity back in those days.

Mass Effect 2
Another RPG? Yes, kind of, but it's so much more immersive than your usual top down fetch quest. Visit new worlds, come to know the residents.

Robotron 2084
Popularized the twin stick shooter genre that has persisted to this day. An amazingly effective one, with every piece fitting neatly together.

 

[Becksworth]

Sorry, updated title to avoid confusion.

 

[balder the brave]

Red Dead Redemption
Final Fantasy IX
Fire Emblem: Awakening
Contra
Persona 4
Overwatch
Mega Man 2
Super Mario Galaxy
Bloodborne
Castlevania III

 

[estragon]

Does anyone know where the previous versions of this are, either here or the old forum? (I'm pretty sure they were top 5s...)

Off the top of my head and in no order:

Top 5
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Pillars of Eternity I+II (you can transfer the save and it's one continuous story, I'm calling it one game)
SaGa: Scarlet Grace
Pyre
Dragon's Dogma

Expanded to Top 10
Romancing Saga 2
Mega Man Zero 2 or 3 (don't remember clearly enough which is which, played them the first time all in a row on the complete series collection for the DS)
Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City
Shadowrun: Dragonfall
Hollow Knight

This is really hard. There are a lot of fun video games of many different types! I'm tempted to add more from other genres for breadth, but I think this version is the most honest with myself...

 

[Yimothy]

There was a thread called “What Are Your Five Favorite Games of All Time?” on the old forum but it’s not in the public archive so I can’t link to it.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Top 10 in no order:
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - There are better Zelda games, but this is my favorite.
Xenogears - Kung fu, robots, smashing ecclesiastical authorities, what's not to love?
Front Mission 3 - The best tactics game of all time also has two different, complete story campaigns? Elite.
Suikoden II - Greatest RPG of all time.
Rust - I barely play this game but watching other people play it is a content gold mine.
DOTA2 - Would also qualify on my bottom 10 games of all time.
Metal Gear Solid III: Snake Eater - Kojima's magnum opus.
The Sims - Love sim games, and this was the peak of the genre.
Team Fortress Classic - There's yet to be an online shooter as fun as this one.
999 - Any game whose final boss is a sudoku puzzle is an automatic game of the decade contender.

Bonus honorable mentions:
Great Ace Attorney Chronicles - Fantastic VN, best in the series.
Final Fantasy VIII - There are better FF games but this is my favorite.
Tetris - Gold standard puzzle game, 35 years later.
Dragon's Dogma - It's like Monster Hunter but fun.
Fallout New Vegas - best RPG made by white people.

 

[Rascally Badger]

10. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze
9. Yakuza 5
8. Ogre Battle 64
7. Mega Man III
6. Final Fantasy VI
5. LoZ Wind Waker (This could be any of a half dozen Zelda games)
4. River City Ransom
3. Suikoden 2
2. Super Mario 3D World
1. Chrono Trigger