Let’s throw some love out there. These are my favorite video games of all time. Yes!
As is always the case with a list like this, mileage may vary. Tastes differ, and more importantly, unless you’re a fanatic collector or work in the industry in some fashion, it’s impossible to play everything. To wit, I have a giant honking blind spot in my list for basically anything released over the last 15 years or so. I thought of calling it “favorite retro games” or some such, but let’s just go with this.
But the point is this: it’s my list. These are 60 games I’ve loved experiencing, and I thought in the interest of saving my thoughts for posterity — in case anyone would find them of value — it would be good to have it all written down. Maybe my kids will look at this list someday and want to explore it or my wife will get better insight into my gaming life, or maybe it will drum up nostalgia for you regardless of your connection with me. Cool, mission accomplished!
First, here are some honorable mentions:
Honorable Mention: Burgertime, Frogger, Q Bert, Dark Forces, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Final Fight, TMNT II: The Arcade Game, Super Mario Bros., Super Castlevania IV, Final Fantasy IV, Batman, Bonk 3: Bonk’s Big Adventure, Bonk’s Revenge, Resident Evil 2, Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire, Mario Kart 64, Star Wars Battlefront II, Lego Star Wars, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja.
I’d have loved to include a bunch of these, particularly some of the Star Wars licensed properties — which have provided me hours of wish fulfillment fantasy — and honestly these are all great games. And you know what? There are a ton more I didn’t even list here. Recently, for example, I’ve developed a weird obsession with Dr. Mario. Go really old school and you’ll see stuff like Parsec and Breakout, or go recent again and a ton of smaller apps on the phone will take over. In between, sports games probably got short shrift, though not exclusively of course … where’s R-Type or any other number of games that sucked up hours of my life?
I guess at the end of the day what I wanted here were games I’d recommend regardless of circumstance. These hit the sweet spot as games I’ve devoted a significant chunk of time to but for which I have no regret or hesitation about recommending to others. Only warm fuzzies.
And with that, let’s get to the list. No fancy rules or restrictions: Just 60 games I love. Let’s roll!
60. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
The Super Smash Bros. series is a collection of games from Nintendo that feature an all-star lineup of their characters and mascots (and the characters and mascots of other companies) paired off against one another in a button-mashing fighting game. So like you’ve got Mario literally trying to fight Sonic. A common theme on this list is going to be games that I’ve enjoyed in the company of others, and this game fits that bill in a major way: it’s one of my kids’ favorite games.
59. Pac-Man (Multiple platforms)
There are tons of versions/sequels/ports that one could try to distill down to name one definitive champion of the bunch. I don’t much care, and to me, that’s much of the appeal of the Pac-Man franchise. You can pop in and start playing it easily, regardless of what version you’ve got, and it’s going to be fun. You know what you’re getting, and that’s comforting.
58. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (PC)
Again, I’m not super interested in quibbling over the best version of a particular game — this is the version I played, and that’s what matters on my list. What Command & Conquer is, essentially, is “SimCity” but with armies. So you’re simultaneously trying to build up an army while your opponent is doing the same … making it into a race to see who annihilates who first. I played a ton of this with some buds post-college in my efforts to avoid adulthood, and it was ultra effective in that capacity.
57. Ninja Gaiden (NES)
A brutally difficult side-scrolling action platformer, Ninja Gaiden broke new ground with a killer soundtrack and fabulous story presentation done through the use of animated cut scenes. And let’s be honest about this: it had ninjas in it. It was always going to make my list.
56. NCAA Football 2004 (PS2)
If you measured a game by hours of game play dedicated to it, NCAA Football 2004 would easily make my top five. People can certainly quibble over which game in this long-running EA football series is the best of the bunch, but with the series having been discontinued, we all must lean into older versions of the game if we want to get our fix. I default to this one, partly because this edition of my alma mater (2003 K-State) was a monster.
55. Streets of Rage (Genesis)
These kinds of games are called “brawlers,” and that’s an apt moniker … particularly for the Streets of Rage franchise. It’s basically just you punching and kicking your way through a stream of bad guys. This series was also famous for a killer soundtrack. I played the first game more than I did the sequels, and well, I loved that you could summon a police car to come blow shit up (something missing in the sequels). It appealed to my sense of mayhem (and still does).
54. Mortal Kombat II (Arcade/SNES)
This franchise gained a great deal of notoriety in the 90s for the amount of blood/gore on display, which overshadowed some of the funnier/quirkier aspects of the series. For whatever it’s worth, this one-on-one fighting game represented a massive leap forward from its predecessor thanks to some of those touches, but even more importantly, it played better too. (And in all honesty, it WAS fun to rip another dude’s head off.) For me, Mortal Kombat II is probably the peak of the series.
53. The Legend of Zelda (NES)
I hadn’t jumped into this game — THE fantasy action adventure game — with any notable depth until recently, and candidly I had to lean on guides to help me through, because honestly, who has the time to go around moving boulders and blowing up walls forever? But good gosh, it’s a fun game, an important game, and beyond its initial appeal, it has more recently become one of my favorites.
52. MTV Music Generator (PS1)
Rewind to 1999, and you’d find an early 20s Dave, compulsively putting together techno/trance songs of whimsy and hilarity with the help/input of my group of friends, resulting in what can only be described as the greatest musical achievement of our time (We called it “Episode”). MTV Music Generator had a stupid easy interface, which allowed basically anyone (including me) to mix together dance music. Yes, it was all very silly. But it was absurdly entertaining at the same time. I regret nothing.
51. F-Zero (SNES)
Lust. Imagine seeing this sucker in action at a friend’s house or store kiosk whilst struggling along with slow-ass 8-bit mediocrity. This was most kids’ experiences at the time. The futuristic racer F-Zero announced a new era in gaming with style AND substance. Most amazingly of all, it still holds up.
50. Dance Dance Revolution (Arcade)
This game had this big dance floor looking thing with big flashing arrows on it, which the player would then jump/tap with their feet to mimic the directions they got on the screen and basically simulate dancing in the process, though if we’re being honest, it was less like dancing and more like jumping in rhythm. Either way, “DDR” had the benefit of giving gamers actual exercise (and it predated the Wii in doing this), so it wins points for that from me.
49. SSX Tricky (PS2)
“Extreme sports” hit a crescendo around the turn of the century, particularly when it came to video games based on those properties. The winning formula was proven and repeatable: Develop intuitive play mechanics, meld in a sensation of flying/taking huge leaps, mix in some popular licensed music and some “attitude” and boom, you’ve got a winner. The snowboarding classic SSX Tricky crushed it on all of those things.
48. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
Boasting an incredible score, a giant leap forward in visual technology (for the time), excellent platforming game play and the good sense to resuscitate a somewhat defunct character/mythology, Donkey Kong Country remains an important game in the medium’s history.
47. New Super Mario Bros. (Wii)
Four players playing Super Mario Bros. at the same time. The concept is simple enough, but in execution, it’s a joy to play, resulting in hours of entertainment for me and my army of children. And what’s even better is that it feels like a natural continuation of previous Mario side-scrollers, pulling in themes, characters and designs from all of the previous games in the series.
46. Popeye (Arcade)
I mostly played this on my dad’s Texas Instruments machine as a kid, and it was a bit of an obsession (as most games were back then). To the uninitiated, Popeye was a platformer in the tradition of Donkey Kong wherein our title character would try to collect items Olive Oil dropped for him whilst avoiding enemies like Brutus and the Sea Hag. Pretty straightforward, but pretty dang fun too.
45. Duck Tales (NES)
Pogo jump! The Capcom track record was mostly perfect in the late 80’s/early 90’s, and part of that track record was a fabulous batting average with Disney-licensed games. Duck Tales was a popular cartoon back then (and it is now; if you haven’t seen the re-boot, check it out), and this side-scroller was well designed, pleasing to look at, listen to and (most importantly) play.
44. The Simpsons (Arcade)
Perhaps forgotten some by the younger set since it never received a home port, this was nevertheless the best of The Simpsons games, at least of that era. A straight-forward, 4-person brawler, but featuring the Simpsons family in the role of protagonist(s), it had more humor and personality than most other games of its ilk.
43. Sim City (PC)
There are a lot of different directions a person could go when trying to choose an influential or favorite simulation game, but this old guy scratches both itches for me. The original is still one of my favorites within the genre, making it one I’d recommend to anyone.
42. Super Star Wars (SNES)
There was this dark period after the original trilogy came to home video in which Star Wars fans had virtually nothing to enjoy/look forward to. This (difficult) side-scroller was a rare lagoon in the desert and allowed a whole generation of fans to role play as their favorite characters in their favorite universe. I might have this underrated within that context…
41. Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
Fantastical crossover events back in the day were mostly limited to the pages of comic books (rather than big-budget movies and television), making this marriage of Squaresoft RPG magic with Disney characters a fairly special thing for its time. Flying through Neverland before prepping for a battle with the likes of Maleficent or Oogie Boogie was a joyful experience.
40. Contra (NES)
Blow shit up good. That’s really the whole point here, but it also had the dual hooks of being multiplayer and having a secret code that would give you a gazillion lives and make the difficult quest semi-tolerable. It was really fun to feel like you were an insider who was ahead of the game.
39. Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)
This platformer came along to spark the Nintendo-Sega wars in the early 90’s as an alternative to the comparatively slower paced mascot of Nintendo, Mario. Sonic moved at warp speed, which was a tremendous hook in and of itself. But the level design, graphics, sound and basically the entire package elevated the game from gimmick to true contender.
38. Tetris (PC, Gameboy, etc.)
I’m not going to write anything particularly insightful or interesting here. This puzzle game — where blocks of varying shapes drop from the top of the screen and the player has to arrange them in complete rows — is simple, but addictive. It’s a classic, and you need to play it if you somehow haven’t.
37. Excite Bike (NES)
In my humble opinion, very few racers have managed to surpass this stalwart of the early 80s arcade and NES scene, which when you think about it, is really pretty insane. The unassuming graphics and sound mask a surprising depth and fun factor.
36. Megaman X (SNES)
It upped the “explore for power-ups” quotient from earlier Megaman games, but it did it in a thoughtful way. The whole game was thoughtful, come to think of it, from the way it handled the story to the opening up of robot master designs, to the incorporation of vehicles. It kept Megaman, which was starting to get stale at the time, alive.
35. Battletoads (NES)
Battletoads was a multi-player side-scrolling brawler. Few games had the potential to start actual fistfights between family members like this one. I don’t know how to spin that as a good thing necessarily, but I do know my brother and I had a great deal of fun with this game despite that fact.
34. Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (NES)
Boasting classic movie monster tie-ins in side-scrolling action, the Castlevania series is objectively an important one, and many of the early games are fabulous. This is one of my favorites, thanks to its general polish and its branching paths/characters. I remain frustrated it didn’t make it onto the NES Classic.
33. Donkey Kong (Arcade)
Introducing important Nintendo character staples like Mario and Donkey Kong, this game is undeniably important. But more importantly, it remains fun. My proudest video game moment might well have been my first successful run through the first level of Donkey Kong. It blew my mind that there were OTHER levels to conquer.
32. Grand Theft Auto III (PS2)
This is kind of a tough one, because I’m not a huge fan of the open-world style of game (and lesser versions of it) that has taken over a huge segment of the video game market. As I get older, it’s just too much of a time commitment. But to think back on the innovation of this title as well as just how much fun it was … I remain very fond of it.
31. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (SNES)
A pretty stupidly fun game if you get past your own expectations for it. It’s absolutely gorgeous (even all this time later; this really pushed the limits of the Super NES hardware) and it has a nice soundtrack, fun & unique play mechanics for a platformer, and that great Nintendo polish.
30. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (SNES)
The ninja turtles where a phenomenon that managed to grab hold of me just as I was passing out of childhood, so I will always have a soft spot for them. This was a brawler that I adored when it was released and continue to play with my kids today (who also adore it).
29. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (PS1)
A free demo disc sucked me in, and then the game became a near obsession for months. It really captured the feeling of performing gravity-defying skateboarding jumps, and the trick system felt intuitive … and extremely gratifying. Plus, it helped spawn an entire genre of game.
28. NBA Jam (Arcade/SNES)
He’s on fire! The best sports games strike a careful balance between being true to the spirit of the actual game and creating fun, high-speed action. NBA Jam struck that balance. It was insanely fun to play.
27. Super Mario Kart (SNES)
I’ve played this edition of the Mario Kart series, the first, more than any of the others. I think it’s still worth playing to this day, not only for its general impact (spawning an entire sub-genre of racing game), but because it holds up as an enjoyable experience. And (this is important) it has the best battle mode.
26. Double Dragon (Arcade)
After encountering this game in the arcade, I spent most of the next couple of years trying to replicate the experience at home, to much failure. Such was the impact of this influential brawler, which remains one of the best of its kind (if you can get past some of the sexism and violence).
25. Donkey Kong Country: Diddy’s Kong Quest (SNES)
This is my favorite Donkey Kong game … and it doesn’t even star Donkey Kong. That’s more of an oddity than anything. The depth of this platformer, which involved a ton of side-quests and secrets to uncover, kept me invested for a very long time.
24. Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1)
Is this strategy RPG game a little much? Maybe? It’s got a fabulous story and presentation, but the depth of customization available can take literally hundreds of hours to explore. That gives me slight pause in recommending to others, but I cannot deny that I enjoyed the experience a great deal.
23. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)
Sure, it’s a quarter-sucker. But this game — a definitive side-scrolling brawler — stood towering above most other arcade offerings in terms of its draw on a younger Dave, and so my nostalgia demands that it hold a high spot on this list.
22. Super Mario 64 (N64)
This game came along as a standard-bearer for a new gaming genre — 3D platformer — at an inconvenient time for me. I was a Tomb Raider (and Playstation) apologist for the longest time, thinking the more adult-themed 3D platformer (and system) was the better one. This game is actually much better than I gave it credit for, and it endures as a historically important title as well. I actually kind of love it now.
21. Megaman 3 (NES)
If you’re unfamiliar with the draw of Megaman, it’s a pretty straightforward side-scrolling platformer/run-and-gun game with cutesy graphics … but what makes it super appealing is your ability to pull weapons from bosses you defeat, and the resulting rock, paper, scissors strategy of figuring out which weapon will defeat which boss. Probably the best mix of polish and classic gameplay in the Megaman series, Megaman 3 was one of the first games I ever owned, so I have a great nostalgia for it too.
20. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1)
There’s a fair bit of debate about what the best Castlevania games are. I’m not here to make the case that this is definitively the best of the bunch, but I am here to say this is a super fun game. The weapon upgrades and exploring elements in this game, drawn from Metroid, spawned the term “Metroidvania,” a style of game that endures today. Fun AND historically relevant? Yeah, play this game.
19. Goldeneye (N64)
There’s a long list of first-person shooters that have come along since that are more impressive in a myriad of ways, but Goldeneye gave us multiplayer shooter mayhem in an era where that was still a novelty (at best), and it did it so well, with so much style, that people remain obsessed with this game to this day.
18. Bonk’s Adventure (TG16)
The sequels had their pluses and minuses, but I really endorse the original side-scrolling Bonk game, which introduced our title character, fun cartoon-ish visuals, interesting play mechanics, and a pretty cool theme as well (caveman wrecking dinosaur critters with his head).
17. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
Mario really came into his own in the first side-scrolling Super Mario Bros, and Super Mario 3 was an improvement on that experience in every way. This game was lovingly created. It’s a joyful experience and a must-play, and there’s not a whole lot more I can offer here. Play this game.
16. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
Okay, so the original Zelda is pretty great. What makes this game even better isn’t just the graphical improvements, new play mechanics, deeper story, and less repetitive sound. The biggest improvement here is how less cryptic it is. Finding your path is easier, and that’s a supremely welcome change.
15. Chrono Trigger (SNES)
I tried to go light on the role-playing games on this list because they’re such a time commitment. Chrono Trigger is on the short side within the genre, so that’s a plus. Also, it’s just awesome in general. Many people would tab this the best RPG of all time, and while it’s not No. 1 for me, I am still super fond of it.
14. Tekken 3 (PS1)
Like many other games on my list, you could go with the one I picked or select a different game in that particular series and probably do just as well. Personally, the last game I really enjoyed in the one-on-one fighting Tekken series was Tekken 5, but part of the reason for that is because of how similar it was to Tekken 3, which was itself a huge step forward when it was released. In my opinion, this is the most important game of the bunch. Plus I played it a bunch in college. So, here it sits.
13. Doom/Doom 2 (PC)
Doom, a first-person shooter wherein you run around killing monsters in a barren alien planet environment, was a gigantic hit for a reason. It wasn’t the first game of its kind, but its frenetic energy and style were fabulous. Doom 2 was like an expansion pak for the first game, basically leaving all aspects of the game unchanged, just adding more bonkers levels … so I’m cheating some and including it here too.
12. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
There are a million different opinions on which Zelda game is the best and why. To my way of thinking, platformers like Mario don’t translate into 3D nearly as well as Link does, so this game was more of a natural progression from 16-bit into the N64 era … and it is a better game as a result. It builds on games like Link to the Past in a smart way, and I’m not sure the formula has been improved on significantly since.
11. Super Mario World (SNES)
I like it just a little bit more than Super Mario 3. How do you improve upon raccoon tails and frog suits? A flying cape and dinosaurs to ride! Truthfully, it’s splitting hairs to differentiate between Super Mario 3 and Super Mario World. Here’s a solution: Play them both.
10. Final Fantasy VII (PS1)
When evaluating RPGs, some of it comes down to personal taste. With this particular game, I loved the story, the battle and leveling mechanics, the difficulty curve (a little easier than is normal and low on the “grinding” factor), and even the block-y weird graphics.
9. Super Metroid (SNES)
This is a masterpiece of a game. My only nitpick is that annoying wall jump. But honestly, at this stage of the list, it’s really all about personal preference and/or the impact a game had on me. I played this as an adult, so I don’t have the same affection for it that I do games from my youth … but I do know it’s an A-plus.
8. Final Fantasy VI (SNES)
Kind of the same story here as the previous two games on the list. The game itself appeals to me for a number of reasons (story, game play, difficulty), but I don’t have the attachment to it I do some other games. But it’s a phenomenal game.
7. Street Fighter II: Turbo (SNES)
This is my favorite version of this one-on-one fighting game, though I also need to acknowledge that my addiction to SFII came about thanks to my exposure in the arcades. But the speed of this game was a great gimmick, as was the ability to play as the bosses. What a classic.
6. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)
This game absolutely stuck the landing. The original game was great, but Sonic 2 improved on basically everything (from the graphics and sound, to the bonus stages, the power-ups, the general gameplay, etc. etc.). It has cemented itself as my favorite Genesis game, probably for all time.
5. Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
It’s my favorite Mario game. If you’re somewhat new to the series (somehow?), a good reason to revisit this classic is that it’s the oddball of the series. You’ll see a ton of weird stuff here that either didn’t make it into other games or at least did so in modest measure. But you’ll also see fun platforming, big, bright graphics, and a killer score.
4. Air Zonk (TG16)
Talking about weird, this is one of those games you may not have heard of. It was a spin-off of the Bonk games, though here the setting is the future and the style of game is a “cute-em-up,” a shooter with a cute theme. And yet it really, really works. It’s an absolute joy to play.
3. Megaman 2 (NES)
I’ll take this as the best of the Megaman games, mostly because of my emotional attachment to it. It came along at the right time to make an impact on me. But it’s undeniably good, so I would recommend it to anyone. Some of the gaming moments are pretty darn impressive, to this day.
2. Tecmo Super Bowl (NES)
This is probably the best sports game of all time, and I say this for the following reason: People still play it. With most sports games, the video game companies release an update with new rosters every year, and fans of the series upgrade. This doesn’t happen with Tecmo Super Bowl. People just keep playing this same game. It’s really pretty incredible.
1. Chrono Cross (PS1)
Chrono Cross is my favorite video gaming experience of my life. The somewhat mixed reaction to this game, a sequel to Chrono Trigger, doesn’t bother me. I love everything about it, from the phenomenal soundtrack (probably one of the greatest of all time), to the convoluted storyline, to the vast roster of characters, to the relatively unique battle system, to the artwork, to EVERYTHING. RPGs aren’t for everyone, and I get that (hell, I shy away from them myself because of the time investment), but I really can’t wait to introduce this game to my kids. It’s my favorite.