Top 25 Favorite Games

So the editors over at IGN are writing up their personal lists for their top 25 favorite games which sparked me to make my own. It's not as easy as it looks, especially the ranking part, and I tried to keep just 1 game to each series.

Here's my personal list, feel free to comment on mine or post your own but remember this is a list of games that I personally enjoyed it isn't a list of the top 25 best games ever.

1 World of Warcraft
2 Telltale's The Walking Dead
3 Mass Effect 2
4 Dragon Age: Origins
5 Last of Us
6 Uncharted 2
7 Pokemon Red/Blue
8 Super Smash Brothers
9 Halo 2
10 Final Fantasy X
11 Kingdom Hearts
12 Final Fantasy IV
13 Tales of Vesperia
14 Skies of Arcadia
15 Batman: Arkham Asylum
16 Infamous 2
17 Portal 2
18 Half Life 2
19 Sonic Adventure 2
20 Tony Hawk Underground
21 Rock Band
22 Peggle
23 Diablo 3
24 Wolf Among Us
25 Hearthstone

Super Metroid isn't on there, so I declare it invalid!

I'm kidding, but you should absolutely play Super Metroid.

Apart from placing Super Metroid at the very top of the pile, I couldn't begin to list my favorite games with anything other than bullet points, and even that might be difficult.

• Chrono Trigger
• Metroid Prime
• Jak 3
• Mega Man X
• Donkey Kong Country 2
• Ratchet and Clank Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal
• Halo 1
• Half-Life 1
• Crash Bandicoot Warped
• Doom 1

All of those are games that stand out to me when thinking about games that have been pretty significant to me in some way. There are several others that I want to mention right now, but I don't quite feel comfortable saying that they will always be relevant to me yet. Persona 3 and 4, SMT Nocturne, Mass Effect 2, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim are all games I feel great about right now, but how will I feel about them five years from now? Will I remember them, will I want to replay them from time to time, will I know them backwards and forwards?

I'm probably gonna have a weird list, but here goes nothing...

• 1. Portal
• 2. Shadow of the Colossus(Depending on the day I might switch around the first 3)
• 3. Okami
• 4. Total War: Shogun(1)
• 5. Portal 2
• 6. Metal Gear Solid 3
• 7. Homeworld 2
• 8. FTL
• 9. World of Warcraft
• 10. Super Metroid
• 11. Bayonetta
• 12. Kerbal Space Program
• 13. Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
• 14. Eve Online
• 15. Pokemon Emerald
• 16. Bastion
• 17. Half-life 2
• 18. Team Fortress 2
• 19. Mount and Blade: Warband
• 20. Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
• 21. God Hand
• 22. Ico
• 23. Total War: Shogun 2
• 24. Battlestations: Pacific
• 25. Jamestown

Don't take the order too literally, I just kinda threw 'em up there in the order they popped in my head and then switched it around a bit.

FYI

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. Mass Effect 2
3. Sonic 3 and Knuckles
4. Super Mario 64
5. Chrono Trigger
6. The Last of Us
7. Half Life 2
8. Pokemon Blue
9. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
10. Halo 2
11. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
12. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
13. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
14. Sonic The Hedgehog 2
15. Persona 3
16. Super Mario Galaxy 2
17. Halo 3
18. Super Smash Bros. Melee
19. Star Fox 64
20. Fallout 3
21. The Walking Dead
22. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
23. Mass Effect
24. Eternal Darkness
25. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

It's subject to change, on a daily basis, but this is mine as of now.

1. Vagrant Story

2. Valkyrie Profile 2

3. Super Metroid

4. Resident Evil 4

5. Starcraft: Brood War

6. Super Mario World

7. A Link to the Past

8. Metroid Prime

9. The Last of Us

10. Metal Gear Solid 3

11. Front Mission 3

12. Romance of the Three Kingdoms IX

13. Mario 64

14. Heroes of Might and Magic V

15. Doom 2

16. Final Fantasy IV

17. Xenosaga

18. Kessen 3

19. Suikoden V

20. Dark Souls

21. Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance

22. The Witcher 2

23. Uncharted 2

24. Arkham City

25. Europa Universalis 4

Tried to be less objective. ROTK IX is basically a Paradox Game with better combat and an attachment to the characters you're controlling. I haven't played MGS3 in a while (despite having the HD edition, woo Peacewalker), suppose that could be in the top 5. The Last of Us is the only last generation title that holds up compared to the titans, but here's to hoping Dark Souls 2 doesn't make any major mistakes (kind of doubt it, that seems to be part of their intended design though it is still improving over time).

Listing 25 games to random people on the internet, who don't really care, seems kind of pointless (to me, personally)

Instead I'll list 10 games that have had a huge impact on me. Games that I'll remember (hopefully) for the rest of my life

• Bioshock
• The Last of Us
• Grand Theft Auto IV (you read that right. Leave your opinion at the door)
• The Orange Box (Yes, this is taking up one spot, even though its 3 games and 2 expansions)
• Metal Gear Solid 2 and 4 (Im one of THOSE guys)
• Uncharted 2
• Mass Effect 2
• Rock Band 2
• 2: The game (Bad Joke)
• Fez
• Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal or Devil May Cry 3 or Resident Evil 4 or Shadow of the Colossus. Cant choose

So yeah, this list is dumb and doesn't conform to any reasonable listing rules. Sorry about that!

Okay, first, nobody cares about just the lists of random dudes you know nothing about online. You have to explain your choices, explain why you think Ocarina of Time is better than Mass Effect 2, or whatever, for us to give a shit.

Next, you have to ask yourself when making these lists: how are you supposed to compare the enjoyment you got out of a game from one genre to a game from another? How are you supposed to rank a multiple character tactics game against a abstract rhythm game against a immersive action FPS? Take ll_Exile_ll's list: doesn't it seem ridiculous to say Super Mario Galaxy is a better game than Mass Effect, but a worse game than Mass Effect 2?

I think a more interesting question to answer, if I can find the words to ask it, is which "style" of game, or which sub-sub-sub genre of game, is your favourite/the best (however you want to put it: it means the same thing to you). In this case, you would group most games in the same series together, and even very similar games outside of that series (clones, for example). This makes more sense if you think of a game in the traditional sense: not as the product but as the core/defining set of rules and conventions ("the game of poker", regardless of which variation you play, or what set of cards you use). You would have to think about what style is superior to what other style, and if you were smart enough I think this line of thinking would lead to some super interesting arguments.

@believer258:

And here I thought that everyone else forgot the Jak and Daxter series. It's the only series I know that successfully pulled off the gritty sequel. Most underrated series of the PS2 era.

@adequatelyprepared: Jak and Daxter is far from underrated. The main games in the series all received rave reviews and sold millions of copies.

Because I'm bored I threw together a list of 25 games that I think are awesome, and I ordered them. This took ten minutes, so I'm probably forgetting some good stuff. There's a big whole in my gaming experience called the SNES. My family had an NES but we never got a SNES, so I missed a lot of really good games, something I'll rectify when the damn RetroN 5 finally comes out.

1. Spelunky
2. Super Mario Bros 3
3. Dark Souls
4. The Witcher 2
5. Final Fantasy IX
6. Dragon Age Origins
7. Resident Evil 4
8. Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
9. The Last of Us
10. Journey
11. Gladius
12. Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance
13. Metal Gear Solid 4
14. The Binding of Isaac
15. Max Payne
16. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
17. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
18. Shadow of the Colossus
19. God of War III
20. Crusader Kings 2
21. Dragon Quest VIII
22. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
23. Trackmania 2: Stadium
24. Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
25. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 2

@naru-joe93: I can't speak for anyone else but I don't mind reading other peoples lists. I'm always interested to see what games people enjoy.

Anyway, my list changes everyday but I'll try and come up with 25. Okay here we go. None of these are in order.

1. Gothic 1(This game introduced me into the world of PC RPGs and has remained an all time favourite ever since)
2. Gothic 2 (This one has the same gameplay but refines it and makes the world bigger and better)
3. Dark Souls
4. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
5. Final Fantasy 9
6. Final Fantasy 10
7. .Hack//G.U (I'm cheating kind of but all 3 games are literally identical in everything except story)
8. Dragon Age: Origins
9. Risen 1
10. Red Dead Redemption
11. Metroid Prime
12. Super Metroid
13. The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
14. Fallout: New Vegas
15. Fallout 2
16. Xenoblade Chronicles
17. The Last of Us
18. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
19. Lost Odyssey (One of the few games I'm going to miss playing because I sold my 360, at least until I buy another one someday)
20. Sonic Adventure 2
21. Fable: The Lost Chapters
22. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2
23. Mario Kart 64 (This is a special case because I do love this game but I put it on the list mostly because of all the good times I had playing it with friends)
24. Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral Town
25. Tales of Vesperia (Could be replaced with Symphonia on Feb 25 when chronicles is released)

I tried to avoid repeating series but I couldn't help it in some cases. A lot of my favourite games come from the same series.

@adequatelyprepared said:

I don't have time to parse out a top 25 right now but I'm lovin' both of you so much right now :)

Naughty Dog's best games, franchise of it's generation and Playstation's all time greatest franchise in my opinion.

...though I lean towards Jak 2 personally.

• Majora's Mask
• Ocarina of Time
• Super Meat Boy
• Dark Souls
• Demon's Souls
• Metal Gear Solid 2
• Metal Gear Solid 3
• Half-Life 2
• The Witcher 2
• Left 4 Dead
• Super Mario Bros. 3
• Super Mario Bros./The Lost Levels
• Donkey Kong Country
• Donkey Kong Country 2
• Shadow of the Colossus
• The Walking Dead
• Cave Story
• Resident Evil 4
• M.U.S.H.A./Jamestown
• To the Moon
• Banjo Kazooie
• Devil May Cry 3
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Sonic 3 & Knuckles

I cheated, and I'm still not totally sure.

Really? I've always felt like the Jak and Daxter series had a huge presence on the PS2. It kind of faded away because its competitor, the Ratchet and Clank games, are still being made, but back in the day those games were pretty big.

Also, the most underrated series would be the Shin Megami Tensei games, though Persona 3 and 4 have done quite a bit to raise awareness of that franchise. Nocturne is especially brilliant.

I do have to wonder, why Jak 2? Naughty Dog did successfully make a darkier and edgier Jak game, but it's not without its rough edges. Jak 3 ironed a lot of those out.

Somehow I forgot about Street Fighter 2; that's a pretty good game. Also KoF XIII and XI and 98 and CVS2 and stuffs.

@believer258: Jak 3 was certainly the more polished game but I think it was the shock and surprise of what Jak 2 was - and the fact that they managed to pull it off so well.

If you don't want to participate, don't, but there's no need act superior towards those who were able to take 2 minutes out of their day and write down 25 games for the hell of it. I don't know why you felt the need to call me out on my list, but saying these lists are meaningless without context and explanation and then calling mine "ridiculous" with no context or explanation is more than a little hypocritical.

First of all, nowhere did I say anything about any of the games I listed being "better", it's a list of games I like put in an order which is highly dependent on my mood at the time of writing. I've made lists of my favorite games many times, and every time the games move around. Nothing about any of these lists is meant to be taken as any sort of objective evaluation. These lists aren't meant to be in depth rankings of the nuts and bolts of game design and mechanics, they're just lists of games people like ordered by their fondness towards each game. So with that, who cares if I like Mario Galaxy 2 better than one Mass Effect game but no the other. Just because they are in the same series doesn't they are identical. I don't even know what point you're trying to make.

1. Pong
2. Pac-Man
3. Missile Command
4. Space Invaders
5. Centipede
6. Pitfall
7. Q*Bert
8. Joust
9. Raiders of the Lost Ark
10. Asteroids
11. Mrs. Pac-Man
12. Frogger
13. Pole Position
14. Dig Dug
15. Combat
16. Adventure
17. Super Breakout
18. Defenders II
19. River Raid
20. Demon Attack
21. Jungle Hunt
22. Spy Hunter
23. Gauntlet
24. Donkey Kong
25. Berzerk

I find it difficult to give rankings, so I'll just list mine in no particular order. Also, I've limited my list to just one entry per franchise...

• Streets of Rage 2
• Secret of Mana
• Final Fantasy VII
• Metal Gear Solid 2
• Resident Evil 4
• Super Mario World
• Dragon Quest V
• Ninja Gaiden
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
• Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
• Chrono Cross
• Alundra
• Xenogears
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• Grandia II
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
• Shadow of Memories
• SSX Tricky
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
• Clannad
• Street Fighter Alpha Anthology
• Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
• Steins Gate
• Vanquish

Luckily, I keep a list handy. Seems like I have to add 5 if that's the standard.

20. Contra: Hard Corps

19. Tony Hawk 3

18. Super Smash Bros. 64

17. Tomb Raider II

16. Perfect Dark (XBLA)

15. Chrono Cross

14. Twisted Metal: Black

13. Crash Bandicoot 2

12. Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner

11. Streets of Rage 2

10. Sonic 3 & Knuckles

9. Devil May Cry 3

8. Mass Effect 3

7. Metal Gear Solid

6. Vagrant Story

5. Halo: Combat Evolved

4. Starcraft: Brood War

3. Doom

2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

1. Super Mario World

Those top 3 shift around every time I open that file.

@ll_exile_ll:

Wow, where to start. First, you say I didn't explain why your list was ridiculous. I did. Read closer. It's about comparing genres.

Second, you say my not explaining myself is hypocritical because I accuse other of not explaining themselves, but the other people no explaining themselves IS part of the explanation for my argument! How can you not see that sentence contradicts itself, by accusing me of not explaining myself WHILST PARAPHRASING PART OF THE EXPLANATION I GAVE!

Third, stop getting defensive because I used you as an example to demonstrate a point. I'm not attacking you personally, or even your list specifically — almost everybody's list looks ridiculous as yours.

Forth, if you think anyone offering a suggestion for improvement is "acting superior" and should be dismissed, you've got the wrong attitude, chap. If I'm talking down to you, I can't apologise. It's so easy to accidently do when you're right and the other person is wrong. Get used to it, and you might learn something instead of writing petty defensive posts.

Fifth "best" and "favourite" mean the same thing in the context of an individual, so, yeah, when you put Mario 64 at no.4 and Mario Galaxy 2 at no.16, you are quite explicitly saying Mario 64 is better than Mario Galaxy 2. To you (which is all I mean).

Sixth, perhaps it would help if I gave some exaggerated examples to demonstrate how I see these lists as ridiculous. What if someone said "I like Civilization better than Half Life 2: Episode 1, but worse than Half Life 2: Episode 2", or "I like Dance Dance Revolution better than Advance Wars, but worse than Advance Wars: Days of Ruin". How can you even compare Civ to Half-Life, let alone be comparing multiple games in the series against each other. If you get it now, that's how I feel when I see these lists.

@samsonbarabbas: Dude. Chill out. It's just the internet.

Whoo, boy, alright...let me think about this.

I can honestly say, I don't think I can put these in numerical order...rather just 25 that are my favorite that popped into my head in random order.

1. NHL 95
2. NBA Jam
3. Resident Evil: Director's Cut
4. Resident Evil 2
5. Syphon Filter
6. Metal Gear Solid
7. Metal Gear Solid 3
8. Final Fantasy VII
9. Socom
10. Socom 2
11. Jet Moto
12. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (PS1)
13. Tony La Russa Baseball '95
14. Twisted Metal 2
15. Crash Bandicoot
16. Doom
17. Doom 2
18. Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness
19. Dark Forces
20. Colony Wars
21. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist
22. Maniac Mansion
23. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
24. Rock Band 3
25. RollerCoaster Tycoon