The VGC Top 100 Best Games of All Time, #20-11
by Dain Melendez, posted on 26 May 2009 / 83,782 Views
Welcome to the penultimate installment of VGChartz Top 100 Games of All Time. Every last one of these games can be somebody’s most beloved title of all time, and collectively represent 10 legendary titles that belong in everyone’s collection.
20. Shadow of the Colossus
Team Ico operates on the ethos that their games are not played but are experienced. Shadow of the Colossus is the product of this ethos. Team Ico’s distinctive art direction, moving soundtrack, and moody atmosphere contribute to the isolated feel of the game. The elements all combine for a truly emotional experience. Also, Team Ico completely shook up the Action Adventure paradigm with this title. There are no towns, other characters to interact with, or even dungeons to explore, just 16 different giant monsters to defeat. The way the colossi are typically defeated is by climbing on them and discoverying a weakness to exploit, which is tons of fun. All of these ideas come together for a unique game.
Platform: PlayStation 2
Yes, there was a time when ‘catching ‘em all’ involved only wrangling 151 different cuddly monsters. Red, Blue, and Yellow are the original games in the Pokemon series, were released in 1998 (in North America), and no doubt were an inspiration to an eight teen year old Michael Vick. Pokemon was revolutionary at its time. Unlike the normal role-playing game, these games did not revolve around a party of core characters; instead, the player assumed the role of a Pokemon trainer and the party was custom created by their choice of 151 different monsters. The game is surprisingly deep as all 151 creatures have different move sets, strengths, weaknesses, and special abilities. Add in a competitive multiplayer mode and an impetus to catch all of the available creatures and you get a game that will keep you busy for months.
Platform: Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Game Boy Advance (as Fire Red and Leaf Green)
Starcraft is the Super Mario Brothers of the Real Time Strategy genre. Starcraft is timeless; it feels just as fresh now as it did when it was first released. It also defined the Real Time Strategy genre just as Super Mario Brothers did for the platforming genre. Starcraft featured three different races to play, all with incredible balance and deep story campaigns. However, the reason this for this game's persistent popularity is the multiplayer. Up to 8 players could duke it out via LAN play and Battle.net. The arena maps can range from small corridors to huge aerial and terrain maps. The included map creator also extended the gameplay and allowed gamers to create their own competitive arenas.
Platform: PC, Mac, Nintendo 64 (not that anyone really wants to admit that)
With this entry all three iterations of Nintendo’s King of the Hill fighter makes the VGChartz Top 100 Games of All Time. It also seems that VGChartz community agrees that with each iteration this series gets better and better. Brawl offers the best of its two precursors and none of the headaches. All the exploits that plagued Melee are gone and the slow tempo of the original has been adjusted. This game also has amazing new stage designs that are more interactive than the previous two. Other improvements include an online mode and stage builder and literally thousands of collectibles. Also much improved is the single player campaign as the story-driven Subspace Emissary was added to this installment. Many fans of the franchise feel that Brawl is the most complete and polished title in the series.
Platform: Wii
16. Metroid Prime
Many were apprehensive about Metriod Prime when it was revealed. Fans of the series questioned whether or not Metroid could successfully make the jump from two dimensions to three. Early drama in development did nothing to quell these fears as the developer, Retro Studios, had massive layoffs and Nintendo mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto had the original 3rd person design scrapped in favor of a 1st person design. But in November of 2002, Retro showed the world that Metroid was a series primed for the 3rd dimension. The world of Tallon IV was brought to life with lush environments that varied from a lava zone to an arctic tundra. The gameplay was both a fresh take on FPS games and reminiscent of classic 2D games like Super Metroid. This game offered avid fans of the long-lasting franchise everything they wanted in a modern sequel.
Platform: Nintendo GameCube, Wii (as New Play Control and as Metriod Trilogy in North America)
You remember this game. Even if you never played GoldenEye 007, you remember it because so many console FPS games take after it. This is the title that showcased what was possible with a console FPS. Split screen multiplayer was the big innovation that set this game apart. Four player deathmatch was some of the most incredible gaming many VGChartz members experienced. GoldenEye may not be the best console shooter, but it’s the first one to do everything right. The arenas were huge with many secrets, tight corridors, and tons of weaponry. The multiplayer had many customization options and loads of secret cheats to augment the experience. In addition to the rocking multiplayer, GoldenEye had a solid single player that followed the movie’s plot.
Platform: Nintendo 64
14. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Majora’s Mask was designed to be a follow-up to the massively successful Ocarina of Time. However, this game turned out to be one of the biggest departures from the Zelda universe to date. The game chronicles Link’s journey to a place called Termina days before it’s destroyed by an apocalyptic event. By time traveling between these three days multiple times, Link is able to affect the future and ultimately stave off the apocalypse. What is really fascinating is the detail of the world and its inhabitants. This game showed unprecedented detail to supporting characters and tracked their scripted lives through all 3 days that could be traversed; it also kept track of changes to the space/time continuum made by Link’s actions. This added a new dimension to the world as completing tasks and quests would have profound effects on how the three days unfold after traveling back to the beginning of Day 1. Majora’s Mask is a great game that feels nothing like its predecessors and doesn’t suffer from being under Ocarina of Time’s shadow.
Platform: Nintendo 64, Virtual Console
This is Hideo Kojima’s masterpiece that took the premise of a childhood game, hide and go seek, and made it awesome. Metal Gear Solid was released at a time when violence and gunplay were considered the only way to have fun. Kojima had a different idea. MGS focuses on stealth and confrontation avoidance, and it does it well. The production values of Metal Gear Solid were also unprecedented; it featured high quality voice acting and narrative. Also, the game has some of the most classic boss battles in the medium, which continue to influence games in the current generation.
Platform: PlayStation, Nintendo Gamecube (as Twin Snakes)
Chrono Trigger is the RPG otaku’s 16-bit paramour. This game has iconic characters designed by legendary artist, Akira Toriyama, who is known for DragonBall and the Dragon Quest games. The game also featured an innovative active-time battle system that kept the action going without ever falling into a turn-based lull. Also, the gripping story line broke the rules of time and space but weaved a brilliant narrative will never be forgotten by gamers. The variety of settings and set-pieces is also outstanding, ranging from a prehistoric tribal town to a post-apocalyptic dystopia.
Platform: Super Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PlayStation (as FF:Chronicles)
This game is memorable because it showed the world the technical leap that the sixth generation made possible. Squaresoft developed a stellar presentation with great voice acting and impressive full motion videos and one of the most emotional stories in gaming. Each character in this game is brought to life in a way that had not happened before in video games. Very few games can raise the bar on so many levels in both gameplay and presentation. Final Fantasy X's mythology was so loved that it was the first to merit a sequel.
Platform: PlayStation 2
Missed one? Check out a previous installment! Numbers 30-21 Numbers 40-31 Numbers 50-41 Numbers 60-51 Numbers 70-61 Numbers 80-71 Numbers 90-81 Numbers 100-91
The VGC Top 100 Best Games of All Time is based entirely on votes by our members. The source for the list can be found here . Only games released before January 1st 2009 are included.
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