Joe Molotov

...a good idea, I think, to make our own list and then compare the results to GameFAQs Top 100. Our list will be more refined and intelligently crafted of course, but that's just to be expected.

Since we're comparing it to GameFAQs list, we'll do ours the same way they did there. Everyone chooses their Top 10 games, and then when it looks like everyone who wants to particpate has done so, I'll tabulate the results in the standard way. Your #1 choice gets 10 Points; you #10 choice gets 1 Point. You get the idea.

Feel free to post explanations for your selections, but just make sure you put your games in numerical order or your vote won't be counted. None of this pansy cop-out stuff like "Well, I just can't choose" or "I like this games the same". That's not going to cut it.

So anyone, while I think about my own Top 10, you guys go ahead and start thinking abour yours. I'll have mine up later this evening.

JimmySRU

1. Madden (anyone one)
2. Socom Navy Seals 1
3. Mike Tyson Punchout
4. Tecmo Superbowl
5. Mario 64
6. Resdient Evil 4
7. NCAA Football (anyone)
8. Doom 3
9. The Sims
10. Tetris (NES)

DGibFen

For the record, mine are based more on replayability and sheer concept rather than any historical context.

1. Deus Ex
2. Super Mario Bros. 3
3. Chrono Trigger
4. Half-Life
5. Super Metroid
6. Pac-Man
7. Grand Theft Auto III
8. Final Fantasy VII (It's the one that started me playing all the FF games)
9. The Legend of Zelda: Octrina of Time
10. Metal Gear Solid (PS1 version)

Decker

Hmmmm...
1: Metal Gear Solid
2: Final Fantasy VII (sorry Pixy!)
3: Half Life
4: Star Craft
5: Super Mario Bros 3
6: Super Mario 64
7: GTA 3
8: Halo
9: Ms. Pac Man
10: Gran Tourismo

and two personal favorites that were in no way revolutionary or important
11: Ratchet & Clank
12: Bust A Groove

Mopower

1. Call Of Duty 2 (PC)
2. God of War (PS2)
3. Super Mario Kart (SNES)
4. Gran Turismo 1 (PS1)
5. Civilization (PC, PS1)
6. Goldeneye (N64)
7. Hot Shots Golf 3 (PS2)
8. Metal Gear Solid (PS1)
9. Call of Duty 1 (PC)
10. GTA 3 (PS2)

Josh H

1. Super Metroid
2. Zelda: A Link to the Past
3. Super Mario World
4. Final Fantasy III (VI)
5. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
6. Super Mario 3
7. Zelda: Ocarina of Time
8. Final Fantasy VII
9. Tetris Attack
10. Super Street Fighter 2

Grimfarrow

These are my subjective list of the best games ever:

1. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (PC)
2. Wizardry: Crusaders of the Dark Savant (PC)
3. Samurai Shodown II (Arcade)
4. Trinity (PC)
5. Street Fighter II (Arcade)
6. Final Fantasy III (VI) (SNES)
7. Silent Hill 2 (PC)
8. Secret of Monkey Island (PC)
9. Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (PC-Engine Super CD-ROM)
10. Konami World (Famicom)

Honorable mentions:

Impossible Mission 2 (C64)
Gold Rush! (PC)
Zork (PC)
Bomberman (PC-Engine)
Final Fantasy X (PS2)
Tetris (Gameboy)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS)
Lords of Thunder (TurboDuo)
Wing Commander II (PC)

DealMan

1. Diablo II (PC)
2. Halo (XBOX)
3. World of Warcraft (PC)
4. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XBOX)
5. Halo 2 (XBOX)
6. Wolfenstein 3-D (PC)
7. Doom II (PC)
8. Tomb Raider (Play, Saturn, PC)
9. Punch Out (NES)
10.Pilotwings 64 (N64)

Joe Molotov

1. Super Smash Bros. Melee (GC, 2001)

Okay, let me just start off by getting this one off of my chest. I've played this game more than I've ever played any game ever, and I continue to play it regularly after 3 1/2 years. This game is my Number 1.

2. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1990)

Childhood is now mostly a blur, but one of the things I still remember is playing Super Mario Bros. 3 for the first time. And now, all these years later, I can stil play it and enjoy. SMB3 is one of the all-time greats.

3. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998)

Super Mario 64 sold me on the N64, but it was Ocarina of Time that really made the investment worthwhile. This game not only marked a smooth transition for Zelda from 2D to 3D, but it also pushed the franchise forward to new heights.

4. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (GEN, 1992)

It was lonely being the only kid on the block with a Genesis, but Sonic made up for it. You really couldn't go wrong with any of the 4 main Sonic games on the Genesis, but Sonic 2 all ways struck me as being the most fun of the series.

5. The Curse of Monkey Island (PC, 1997)

I'm an adventure game fan so I had to throw a few of those in, and this one I feel is the crown jewel of the genre. It's funny, it's clever, and the 2D animation is just flat-out gorgeous. Nothing that came before or after has topped it, IMO, but the one that got closest was...

6. Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned (PC, 1999)

This is kind of the black sheep of the GK series, probably because of it's odd 3D interface, but I felt that the interface was actually quite intuiative once you gave it a chance, and the story and puzzles (except for a few) were top notch. The plot seamlessly blends Christianity, Secret Societies, and Vampires, and all sorts of conspiricy theories, and then gives it all a real historical setting. All though the conclusion to the mystery was a bit of a let-down, it's one heck of a ride on the way there.

7. Half-Life (PC, 1998)

I wasted many hours of highschool plugging away at this game. When I was supposed to be in the library doing research, taking a computerized Biology test, doing a floorplan for my CAD class, or anything else that involved computers, you could bet I was really playing Half-Life.

8. Deus Ex (PC, 2000)

The sequel was a bit of a let-down, but the original was amazing. Kind of a combination of System Shock and Blade Runner that works on every important level.

9. Warcraft II: The Tides of Darkness (PC, 1995)

Zug zug, baby! Although I eventually left WC2 behind for StarCraft, nothing got ever truely replace the joys seeing 15 peons chopping lumber, just before the Griffins got there.

10. Final Fantasy VII (PSX, 1997)

This wasn't my first RPG, but it was the first RPG that really got under my skin and made me want to keep playing it until I'd finished it, and long after that, until I'd uncovered every last secret. I've played alot of RPGs since FF7, but all too often these days RPGs feel kinda "been there, done that" and it's hard to really get into them like I did FF7.

chrisih8u

1. Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. Super Metroid
3. Super Mario Bros 3
4. GTA: Vice City
5. Zelda: Link to the Past
6. Super Mario World
7. Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando
8. Mario Kart 64
9. SSX Tricky
10. Twisted Metal 2

I havent played a lot of games that Im sure would be high on other people's lists. And I dont play PC games.

jdpatri

1. Super Metroid (SNES)
2. Civilization (PC)
3. Metal Gear Solid (PS)
4. Super Mario 3 (NES)
5. Goldeneye (N64)
6. X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter (PC)
7. Street Fighter 2 (Arcade)
8. Baseball Stars (NES)
9. Metroid Prime (GC)
10. Archon (PC)

...and much consideration went to...

Pirates! (PC)
Super Mario Kart (N64)
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (PS2)
Castlevania: SOTN (PS)
NCAA Football (any)
Ms. Pac Man (Arcade)
Venture (ColecoVision)
Animal Crossing (GC)
NHL '94 (Genesis)
The Legend of Zelda (NES)

Johnny Boy

I listed games I thought were groundbreaking and extremely popular and/or influential, and not all of them are games that I neccesarily enjoy playing.

1. Pac Man (Atari 2600)
2. Super Mario Bros. (NES)
3. Street Fighter II (Arcade)
4. The Sims (PC)
5. Half Life (PC)
6. Final Fantasy VII (PS1)
7. Tetris (NES)
8. GTA 3 (PS2)
9. Tomb Raider (PS1)
10. Double Dragon (Arcade)

If I chose my favorites, the NBA Live series would be number one.

[EDIT:]

And now I'm going to do just that. Because it's bothering me. Plus, it seems like everyone in this thread is making their personal favorites.

Anyway, here's my personal top 10 favorites:

1. NBA Live Series (Genesis/PS1/PS2) [NBA Live 2006 being my favorite]
2. Tomb Raider Series (PS1) [TR2 being my favorite]
3. The Sims 2 (PC)
4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2)
5. Final Fantasy VII (PS1)
6. Strider (Arcade)
7. Golden Axe (Arcade)
8. Suikoden (PS1)
9. Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1)
10. Zillion (SMS)

Ralph Wiggum

1. The Legend of Zelda
2. Super Mario 3
3. Super Metroid
4. Street Fighter II
5. Contra
6. Tetris Attack
7. Galaga
8. Metal Gear Solid
9. Mario Kart 64
10. Metal Slug 3

neiname

1. Civilzation
2. X-Com
3. X-Wing/Tie Fighter
4. World of Warcraft
5. Goldeneye
6. Super Mario 64
7. Final Fantasy 7
8. Street Fighter 2
9. 720
10. Master of Orion

asianxcore

1. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (Arcade/DC)
2. Street Fighter Puzzle (Puzzle Fighter) (Arcade/PS1/GBA)
3. Resident Evil 4 (GC)
4. Street Fighter 2 (Arcade/SNES)
5. Beyond Good and Evil (PS2/Gamecube/Xbox/PC)
6. Super Mario World (SNES)
7. Mortal Kombat 2 (Arcade/SNES/Genesis)
8. Super Mario Kart (SNES)
9. ESPN NFL 2K5 (PS2)
10. Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic (Xbox)

lukewarmwater

1. Super Mario Bros 1
2. Super Mario Bros 3
3. TMNT II THE ARCADE GAME
4. Zelda OOT
5. Metal Gear Solid
6. Starcraft
7. Doom
8. Goldeneye
9. Mario Kart
10. Halo

Mano

1. Panzer Dragoon Saga - Sega Saturn

To start, I pick the best game I have ever played (duh). No other game combined such a tight storyline, fantastic visuals (for the time), and ever evolving and involving gameplay. It was an amazing experience and it just kills me that more people will not be able to enjoy it. This was my easiest choice to make.

2. Final Fantasy VII - Sony PlayStation

The game I bought a PS1 for. It was my favorite RPG until my first came along. I know it is both maligned and revered on this board but in my mind it was a revolutionary experience. I can't remember how many hours I put into the game as the game clock maxed out at 199 hours (probably around 250 hours total), but I just had to see everything in it.

3. Castlevania - Symphony of the Night - Sony PlayStation

My favorite 2d game. It was just so incredibly fun and deep that I couldn't stop. Boy, was it surprising when the castle flips and you realize you're only halfway done.

4. Metal Gear Solid - Sony PlayStation

I hadn't played any of the Metal Gear's until this one came out but have since played nearly all of them and this is still my favorite. I feel it has the best story and most memorable characters of them all. I think it introduced the idea that games could rival movies as far as cinematics are concerned (although the subsequent sequels have perhaps gone too far in that respect).

5. Final Fantasy Tactics - Sony PlayStation

A great strategy experience, I spent hours leveling up my characters in battle just to see what kinds of jobs and abilities they could gain. Sure the story made little to no sense but the core gameplay was just so damn fun and engrossing.

6. Gran Turismo 3 A-spec - Sony PlayStation 2

I was going to pick one of the earlier versions but I instead decided to take the superior version over the nostalgia factor (I've yet to play the fourth). The deepest, most realistic racing game you can ever play.

7. WipEout XL - Sony PlayStation

The first WipEout was my second favorite racing game on the Saturn (next to Sega Rally) and when this came out on PS1 I feel in love. It also helped me discover a burgeoning love for techno music that lasts to this day.

8. Saturn Bomberman - Sega Saturn

In my mind this is the ultimate party game. I can remember spending family gatherings battling my cousins and brother for hours.

8. Grand Theft Auto III - Sony PlayStation 2

Sorry, Bomberman but I can't believe I forgot GTA III. My friend bought his PS2 about a year before I got mine and this was the first game he got. Over the course of the next 6 months we must have spent close to 100 hours just doing everything possible, from finding all the big jumps to the vigilante and ambulance missions. Damn, how could I forget?

9. Jet Grind Radio - Sega Dreamcast

Well, I have to admit that I'm a hardcore Sega fanboy and its because of games like JGR that I am. *seeeee-gaaah*

10. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Nintendo 64

I had to borrow my friend's N64 to play this game and I'm glad I did as it is one of my favorites of all time. The dungeons in this were magnificent.

Also Considered (Alphabetical):

Ace Combat 5 (PS2), Alundra (PS1), Colony Wars (PS1), Earthworm Jim (Gen), Grandia (PS1), Halo 2 (XBox), Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PS1), Land of the Rising Sun (TG-16 CD), Military Madness (TG-16), Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (PS1), Panzer Dragoon Orta (XBox), Parappa the Rapper (PS1), Rez (PS2), Sega Rally Championship (SS), Shining Force III (SS), SMS 4: SMB 3 (GBA), Vectorman (Gen), Xenogears (PS1)

Some of you may have noticed the conspicuous absence of NES and SNES games, well thats because I never owned those systems until later in life. I grew up with a Turbo-Grafx 16 which was a great system in its own right but did not have the same kind of AAA titles that the Nintendo systems did. I did manage to play a good number of the titles I missed out on at friend's houses though so its not like I was totally ingnorant of them. Also, growing up, I never really had a powerful enough computer to be able to play the high end PC games so that explains why they are missing too.

Ginwen

My first system I owned was Sega Genesis (when I was in graduate school), so I'm sure that is why this is skewed that way. All old games, too--maybe the nostalgia factor adds to their appeal. These are the games I had the most fun with, and spent the most time playing.

1. Final Fantasy 3 (SNES)
2. Shining Force (Genesis)
3. Landstalker (Genesis)
4. Toejam and Earl (Genesis)
5. Chrono Trigger (SNES)
6. Fallout 2 (PC)
7. Resident Evil (Playstation)
8. Road Rash 2 (Genesis)
9. Earthbound (SNES)
10. Wolfenstein 3D (PC) - The original one, pre-Doom.

If I had a little more room, I'd put on Commander Keen, More Shining Force, Vandal Hearts, Carmageddon, Lufia 2, FF 7, FF Tactics, Pirates! Gold, Suikoden...

JoshUnt

My list... it changes on my mood though.

1. Legend of Zelda (NES)
2. Halo 2 (Xbox)
3. Knight of the Old Republic (Xbox)
4. Super Mario World (SNES)
5. Halo (Xbox)
6. Doom 2 (PC)
7. Grand Theft Auto Vice City (PS2)
8. Dragon Warrior (NES)
9. Everquest (PC)
10. Animal Crossing (GC)

fumanstan

1. Zelda: Link to the Past
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Chrono Trigger
4. Madden Series
5. Quake 2
6. Super Mario Bros. 3
7. The Secret of Monkey Island
8. Day of the Tentacle
9. Tecmo Super Bowl
10. Street Fighter 2

I think i'll end up making a few edits as more people post their lists and more games come to mind.

Stoney

1. The Legend of Zelda
2. Half-Life
3. Super Mario Bros.
4. Doom
5. Quake 2
6. Diablo 2
7. Super Mario Bros. 3
8. GoldenEye
9. Zelda: Ocarina of Time
10. World of Warcraft

Setzer

1. Final Fantasy VI(3 in U.S.)(SNES)
2. Chrono Trigger(SNES)
3. Knights of the Old Republic(XBOX)
4. Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past(SNES)
5. Baldur's Gate II (PC)
6. Heroes of Might & Magic III(PC)
7. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time(N64)
8. Final Fantasy IV(SNES)
9. World of Warcraft(PC)
10. Mario 64(N64)

csim

1. Rollercoaster Tycoon (PC) played the game for months
2. Sim City 2 (PC)
3. Grand Teft Auto 3
4. NBA Jam
5. Mario Brothers/Duck Hunt You can take out Dunk Hunt if it does not count, but it was on the same disk.
6. Tony Hawk 2. If the whole series count then you can go for the series but 2 was the best
7. Tecmo Bowl. I do not know if you are going to combine these but the 1st one was the best.
8. Kingdom Hearts
9. Mario Brothers 3
10. Zoo Tycoon (PC)

Chris_D

Great idea Joe. Also I like that you can come back later and edit it (before the final count) because I bet there will be a game or 2 I forget. Anyway, this is a placeholder for my list which I'm working on right now .

Ok here we go...
1) Baldurs Gate 2 (PC) - still the best rpg going around. Interesting story and great production values. Beautiful 2d graphics and tons to do. After buying it I completed it 3x through, probably 100 hours each game. The different classes, races, and alignments give amazing replay value.

2) Warcraft 2 (PC) - simple to play, yet extremely deep. I spent uncountable hours playing this online via kali, way before battle.net. Only flaws would be the human side rarely got a look in from the best players, and the single player mode wasn't terribly exciting (bad ai). Still, a far better game imo than 3 (apart from the mod aspect).

3) Suikoden 2 (PS1) - amazing 2d graphics, great soundtrack, enthralling but not esoteric story of 2 childhood friends. I never did get into the turnbased / random battles in most console rpgs, but at least in this game they are almost entirely painless.

4) Halo (Xbox) - 2 is probably a better game, but it stands among many other great games around these days. When the first Halo came out, it truely seemed ahead of it's time. One thing that stands out is that Halo got vehicles right first time while in other games they can still seem like an after thought.

5) Silent Hill 2 (PS2) - SH3 is a more finely honed and better looking game, but 2 has an intriguing and original story, genuine atmosphere, and one of the creepiest 'bad' guys ever in a video game.

6) Streets of Rage 2 (Gen) - The best scrolling fighter ever made. I still remember how jealous snes owners were when all they had was a crappy port of final fight that couldn't even handle more than single player. Although frankly, SOR2 (and 3) are far better games than even the arcade version of FF. Very challenging with unlockable mania difficulty and each of the characters was genuinely different (Guy and Cody anyone?).

7) Mario Kart 64 (N64) - So many hours spent playing this in four player mode, along with many more defeating each of the fiendish unlockable ghosts. Most of my friends were pros at this so there was always fierce competition to be had. If not for the ugly slowdown at times it would have been perfect. For some reason, double dash failed to recapture the magic of this great game.

8) Tie Fighter (PC)
Never liked the wing commander series, but the space combat in the xwing/tie fighter games felt just right. The first time you take out a star destroyer with an xwing is just too cool. Tie Fighter made just the right number of improvements to the first game without damaging the core addictive gameplay.

9) Star Control 2 (PC)
I loved the feeling of freedom and that you were exploring a vast universe. Even just mining random planets is fun. It's almost a shame that there is a fixed period to complete the game by. Also of note, the funky mod music, and cool alien designs. Just to top it off, the melee version of the game was endlessly addictive and challenging, even against AI.

10) Ultima 7 - Black Gate (PC)
The best ultima ever, although 4 is a definite contender. Amazing graphics and highly complex interactive interface, along with a vast and varied world to explore. Even the pseudo followup, Serpent Isle, was pretty good. Just a pity these games are nigh on impossible to play these days, due to the way it uses it's own memory manager.

Looking at this list reminds me of how good PC gaming USED to be..


Honourable mentions:
KOTOR (Xbox)
Ultima 4 (SMS)
Final Fantasy 7 (PS1)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Gen)
Starcraft (PC)
Suikoden 3 (PS2)
Dynasty Warriors 3 (Xbox)
Tekken 3 (PS1)
Gauntlet Legends (DC)
Top Spin (Xbox)
F-Zero 64 (N64)
Gain Ground (Gen)
Civilization (PC)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Phantasy Star 4 (Gen)
EA Hockey (Gen)
Syndicate (PC)

CaboWabo

Consoles & Computer:
1) Tecmo Superbowl (SNES)
2) M.U.L.E. (Commodore 64)
3) Super Mario World (SNES)
4) Zelda: A Link To The Past (SNES)
5) Sonic The Hedgehog (Genesis)
6) Adventure (Atari 2600)
7) Command & Conquer Red Alert (PC)
8) Street Fighter II (SNES)
9) Pitfall (Atari 2600)
10) NHL 93 (Genesis)

Arcade:
1) Elevator Action
2) Paperboy
3) Spy Hunter
4) Rolling Thunder
5) Donkey Kong Jr.
6) Tron
7) Galaga
8) Zaxxon
9) Tempest
10) Star Wars

Honorable Mentions:
No One Lives Forever (PC)
Grim Fandango (PC)
Kings Quest series (PC)
Road Rash (3DO)
Tetris (Gameboy)
Dragon's Lair (arcade)
Shenmue (Dreamcast)
Eternal Darkness (Gamecube)
Animal Crossing (Gamecube)
NFL2k, NHL2k, NBA2k (Dreamcast)
Halo (Xbox)
Crimson Skies (Xbox)
Outrun (arcade)
Karate Champ (arcade)
Haunted House (pinball)

ok, I better stop now. I could go on and on for days.