The most essential games of all time.
< Started by Edwin >
The purpose of this book page is for the goodjer community to at will discuss and list for all man kind, until the end of time or another hurricane wipes out the host, a compilation of games found to be some of the best. This is mostly for those who need something new to try or for those who have never played any game ever. The thought for this all started when Fletcher wrote a article in the Escapist. This then spawned a thread by one of our own CEO's admitting that he, along with myself, never played Fallout 1/2/tactics. To start things off I shall list the games that have been mentioned so far as deemed necessary by the goodjer community to be a gamer.
Discuss!
How to Contribute
Simply click the "edit" tab at the top of the post and add your contribution. Then click "Preview" to look things over or "Submit" to add your changes to the main post. Anybody can edit!
I recommend that we allow any game on the list that someone wants to put there, as long as it isn't overwhelmingly voted off. Furthermore, I recommend putting the supra-essential games in bold so that we can please the elitists. The rule for bold games is that anyone can veto that game's right to be bold. If one person doesn't agree, it doesn't get to be bold.
Sample format:
Insert system name here
- Game name 1
- Game name 2
- Super Game 3
Arcade
- Asteroids
- BattleZone
- Berzerk
- Dance Dance Revolution
- Defender
- Discs of Tron
- Donkey Kong
- Double Dragon
- Dragon's Lair
- Galaga
- Gauntlet
- Joust
- Jungle Hunt/Jungle King
- Mortal Kombat II
- Ms Pac-Man
- Pac-Man
- Pong
- Spy Hunter
- Street Fighter II
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Time Pilot
- Tournament Cyberball 2072
- Track and Field
- Tron
- Victory Road
- Star Rider
- Space Invaders
Arcade / Pinball
- Addams Family Pinball
- Attack from Mars
- Black Knight 2000
- Bride of Pin*Bot
- Elvira and the Part Monsters / Scared Stiff
Commodore 64
- Airborne Ranger
- Bard's Tale
- Elite
- Gunship
- Karateka
- Impossible Mission
- Lode Runner
- M.U.L.E.
- Ultima IV
- Temple of Asphai
- Raid Over Moscow
- Beach Head
- Raid On Bungling Bay
- Wasteland
- Epyx Summer Games (1&2)
- Epyx Winter Games
- Ultimate Wizard
Mainframe
- Adventure (XYZZY)
Multiple Platforms
- A Mind Forever Voyaging
- Alternate Reality: The Dungeon (Atari 8-bit, Commodore, Apple)
- Baseball Stars (NES, Neo Geo, Arcade)
- Beyond Good and Evil (PS2, GameCube, Xbox, PC)
- Burnout 2
- Deus Ex (PC, PS2)
- Dungeon Master (Atari ST, Amiga, Apple II, PC)
- Escape from Monkey Island (PS2, PC)
- Freedom Fighters
- Giants: Citizen Kabuto (PS2, PC)
- Grant Theft Auto 3 (PS2, PC) More for setting the bar. Try Saints Row for a more next gen version.
- Halo (Xbox, PC)
- Hitman 1/2/Contracts (PS2, GameCube, Xbox, PC)
- Ikaruga (Dreamcast, Gamecube)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox, PC)
- Mercenaries
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PS2, GameCube, Xbox, PC)
- Psychonauts (PS2, Xbox, PC)
- Resident Evil 4 (PS2, GameCube)
- Sid Meier's Pirates!(Original)
- Splinter Cell (Pandora Tomorrow/Chaos Theory for the Multiplayer.) (Xbox, PC)
- Star Wars: Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast
- Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (In particular, SF3:Third Strike) (PS2, XBox)
- The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (PC, Xbox)
- World Soccer Winning Eleven (The Euro PC version stands out as the best.)
- Zork
Nintendo DS
- Big Brain Academy
- Brain Age
- Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
- Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
- Kirby Canvas Curse
- Mario Kart DS
- Meteos
- New Super Mario Bros. (If you want the newest Mario experience)
- Nintendogs
- Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan / Elite Beat Agents
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
- Trauma Center
Nintendo Game Boy (and Game Boy Color)
- Dragon Warrior I & II
- Dragon Warrior III
- Final Fantasy Adventure (Seiken Densetsu)
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
- Shantae
Nintendo Game Boy Advance
- Advance Wars
- Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hands
- Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
- Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
- Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
- Final Fantasy IV Advance
- Final Fantasy V Advance
- Final Fantasy VI Advance
- Golden Sun
- Metroid Fusion
- Metroid: Zero Mission
- The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Nintendo Gamecube
- Animal Crossing
- Eternal Darkness
- Lost Kingdoms 2
- Metroid Prime
- Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
- Pikmin 1, 2
- Resident Evil (remake)
- Resident Evil 4
- Super Smash Bros. Melee
NES
- Castlevania
- Contra
- Double Dragon
- Excitebike
- Faxanadu
- Mike Tyson's Punch Out
- Ninja Gaiden
- Super Mario Bros.
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
N64
- Conker's Bad Fur Day (Xbox version for a updated port)
- F-Zero X
- Goldeneye
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- Paper Mario
- Perfect Dark
- Super Mario 64 (See Super Mario Sunshine for a updated version)
- Super Smash Bros. (See Super Smash Brothers Melee for a updated version)
PC
- Abe's Oddysee
- Alpha Centauri
- Anachronox
- Baldur's Gate 1/2
- Bard's Tale 1,2&3
- Battlefield 1942 (For making the whole genre fun)
- Battlezone (Activision)
- Beavis & Butthead in Virtual Stupidity
- Call of Duty 1
- Civilization (I, II or IV)
- Command and Conquer
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert
- Counterstrike
- Crusader: No Remorse
- Crusader: No Regret
- Day of the Tentacle
- Diablo
- Diablo 2
- Doom
- Duke Nuke'em 3d
- Dune 2
- Dungeon Keeper (1 & 2)
- Elite
- Everquest
- F-15 Strike Eagle
- Falcon 3.0
- Fallout 1/2
- Freedom Force
- Freespace 2
- Front Page Sports Football Pro
- Full Throttle
- Grand Prix II
- Grand Prix Legends
- Grim Fandango
- Gunship 2000
- Half Life
- Half Life 2
- Heroes of Might and Magic 2
- Homeworld
- Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising
- Interstate '76
- Jagged Alliance 2
- Jane's F-15
- King's Quest
- Master of Magic
- Masters of Orion 2
- Max Payne
- Mechwarrior 2
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
- Monkey Island II
- Myst
- Myth 2: Soulblighter
- No one lives forever 1/2
- Oregon Trail
- Outcast
- Planescape: Torment
- Prince of Persia
- Quake
- Quest for Glory I: So You Want to Be A Hero
- Railroad Tycoon
- Realms of the Haunting
- Rise of Nations
- Silent Storm
- SimCity
- Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter
- Space Quest 3: The Pirates of Pestulon
- Starcon 2
- Starcraft
- Starflight
- Starflight 2: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula
- Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
- Star Trek: Judgement Rites
- Star Wars: Dark Forces
- Star Wars: Jedi Knight
- Sword of Aragon
- Syndicate
- System Shock
- System Shock 2
- The Longest Journey
- The Sims
- Thief 1 & 2
- TIE Fighter
- Tomb Raider
- Total Annhilation
- Tribes
- Ultima IV/VI/VII
- Undying, Clive Barker's
- Unreal Tournament
- USAF
- US Navy Fighters
- Warcraft (series)
- Wing Commander 1/2/Privateer
- Wizardry: Crusader of the Dark Savant
- World of Warcraft
- X-Com
- X-Wing
- Zork
Playstation
- Breath of Fire III
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
- Chrono Cross
- Final Fantasy VII
- Final Fantasy Tactics
- G-Police
- Gran Turismo 2
- Jet Moto (series)
- Lunar SSS and EB
- Metal Gear Solid
- Parappa the Rapper
- Resident Evil (Better remakes available on GameCube)
- Silent Hill
- Star Ocean: The Second Story
- Suikoden I and II
- Twisted Metal 2
- Vagrant Story
- WipeOut XL
- Xenogears
Playstation 2
- Ace Combat 3/4 with Joystick Peripheral
- Amplitude
- Beatmania IIDX (Import)
- Contra: Shattered Soldiers
- Devil May Cry 1, 3:SE
- Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
- Downhill Domination
- Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
- Final Fantasy X
- Front Mission 4
- God of War
- Guitar Hero
- Gradius 3/4/5
- ICO
- Jak and Daxter
- Katamari Damacy
- Kingdom Hearts
- Klonoa 2
- Mark of Kri
- Maximo (series)
- Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
- Okami
- Pop'n Music (Import)
- Ratchet and Clank series
- Rez (Limited Edition w/ Trance Vibrator)
- R-Type Final
- Rygar: The Legendary Adventure
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Sly Cooper series
- SOCOM II
- War of the Monsters
- Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (Don't bother with part 1)
PSP
- Lumines
Sega Dreamcast
- Powerstone 2
- Jet Set Radio
- Grandia II
- Rez
- Samba de Amigo
- Skies of Arcadia
- Shenmue
- Soul Calibur
Sega Genesis
- Castlevania: Bloodlines
- Contra Hard Corps
- World Series Baseball
- Shadowrun
- General Chaos
- Phantasy Star II
- Sonic 1,2,3
- Sonic and Knuckles
- Mutant League Football
- Shadow Squadron 32X
- Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Sega Saturn
- NiGHTS
- Christmas NiGHTS
- Burning Rangers
Super Nintendo
- Actraiser
- Chrono Trigger
- Castlevania IV
- Contra III
- Donkey Kong Country 1,2,3
- Dracula X
- Driver
- Earthbound
- Final Fantasy II (IV in Japan)
- Final Fantasy III (VI in Japan)
- F-Zero
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- Mega Man X
- Secret of Mana
- Super Metroid
- Super Mario RPG
- Super Mario Kart
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
- Super Punch Out
- Star Fox
Xbox
- Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
- Halo 2
- Steel Battalion
- Phantom Dust
- Ninja Gaiden: Black
Xbox 360
- Dead Rising
- Gears of War
- Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
N64 - Perfect Dark
Rhymes with 'yidcaff'. I don't use smilies. Imagine a wink and a wry grin at the end of most of my sentences. I don't like using exclamation marks either. I'm more friendly than you imagine.
Great idea, Edwin!
I just added some more PC and PS2 titles... 
I also added the credit in the first line, because this site seems to change the author's name whenever someone edits the shared page. Weird...
Added a How to contribute that Pyro wrote for the recipe page since 1Dgaf needed a little help.
XBox Live|Tshirts|My Music|GameFly|xfire
Just added a few!
24.24.1.342 dhaelis [Executed]
Tacked on a few PC Strategy games. I'm trying not to date myself too much by tacking on some of my fav's like Master of Orion.
Steam Community ID
Mythos Player ID: cejansen
Yay, I got the honor of adding Planescape: Torment AND some Dreamcast games
Roo: "Just to cheer you up if any of the above made you sad: Boobies."
Koning_Floris, on my online 'skills': "Stinking is a skill too!"
*chuckle* Sega Genesis baby! Added a few must haves. Damn I miss that thing.
Steam Community ID
Mythos Player ID: cejansen
Added some SMB3 and Zelda: how could those NOT be on the list
24.24.1.342 dhaelis [Executed]
Added Ultima IV, probably should have added Ultima VII as well.
Edit: Which Thirteenth promptly removed.
Edit edit: Nevermind, I see it was just a matter of simultaneous updates combined with the diff links not doing as I expected.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
Added a couple for the NES - Contra & Castlevania. These were staples when I was a kid. I still play Contra to this day and contend it is the greatest game ever made.
Worst signature ever.
Gamertag: Tex Red
www.mumfordland.com
Hmm, quick questions, if I played Chrono trigger on my PC could I list that in the PC section? Or do we have to stick to the original platform?
Who Am I?
I just added a crap load of games, and also started a few systems (Gamecube, SNES, Xbox, and Multiple Platforms).
Oogaba.
My guess would be whichever platform it was best on, but that could ignite countless other threads
Roo: "Just to cheer you up if any of the above made you sad: Boobies."
Koning_Floris, on my online 'skills': "Stinking is a skill too!"
I'm stuck on the letter D.
Doom, because it was FPS prime.
Deus Ex because at the time, it seemed like the perfect game.
We all know that there is no quicker way to empty a joke of its peculiar magic than to try to explain it -- to point out, for example, that Lou Costello is mistaking the proper name "Who" for the interrogative pronoun "who," etc. - D.F.Wallace
Who added Donkey Kong 64 and Mischief Makers? C'mon, fess up, and I'll let it slide this time.
Xbox Live: StaatsM
Should we start alphabetizing?
Fedaykin98 wrote:
Wolfenstien 3D was one of the first. Doom followed.
Who ever added KotOR II, did you actually play that game? You'll get the nod from me on 1 but not 2.
Edwin, if you add Evil Genius, shouldn't you include Dungeon Keeper?
Should Baldur's Gate make the list? After all, without Baldurs, there would be no Planescape: Torment.
Steam Community ID
Mythos Player ID: cejansen
Added:
- Yoshi's Island for the SNES - best platformer EVER.
- All the Lucasarts adventure games. I mean, -really-.
- Thief 1 & 2 for the PC, for REALLY starting the Sneak genre
- Mechwarrior 2. Do we forget how awesome this was?
- X-Wing and TIE Fighter.
Also, should Command and Conquer go up?
Mystic Violet wrote:
*raises his hand*
I know that Donkey Kong 64 received mixed feelings from gamers but the people that played Mischief Makers absolutely loved it. You should really give it a try sometime and try to look past the initial "Ok, this is really stupid" feeling it gives you.
Oogaba.
Adding Mike Tyson's Punch Out for the NES and Super Punch Out for the SNES. For shame that they were not there already!
XBL/PSN: zeroKFE | BHA: zeroKFE | Halo Stats
Yes.
XboxLive: Fly GWJ | PSN: The _Fly | AoC: Wiccana/Invicta/Dark Templar
I played through both of 'em. Mischief is alright, I guess... it's not a genre I'm that familiar with, though, so I suppose I'm not qualified to judge it.
3D platformers are a favorite of mine (you earned a bunch of respect points for being a 3D platforming fan, placing you in Kat's company), and I'd say DK64 is a solid - though hardly "essential" - example. Mario 64 was fantastic, Banjo Kazooie was a refinement, and DK64 was a cash-in.
Of course, I would never argue that point, because that would geek me out to a level I'm not comfortable with.
Xbox Live: StaatsM
Whichever one of you added Jade Empire to the Xbox "list" needs a lynching.
XBLive: Thin J
PSN: Thin_J
I don't imagine master craftsmen leaping away from completed projects and shouting "Done, motherf*ckers! - 1Dgaf
I didn't add Evil Genius. I only added Guitar Hero, Mario 64, Downhill Domination, System Shock 2, Fallout 1/2. I left the rest up to everyone else.
edit: Added Freedom Fighters, and Burnout 2.
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Sorry for overwriting your change there, Edwin. On the bright side, the PC section is a little more orderly now. I'd also vote we kick Evil Genius out.
And if I haven't seen further, it's because those bloody giants blocked my sight.
I'll vote to not kick Evil Genius out but whatever the majority decides.
edit: Sorting the lists now.
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Added Eternal Darkness, Myth 2, Burnout 3, Grim Fandango, The Longest Journey, Jedi Outcast, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, Sacrifice, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, the Monkey Island games, and Escape from Butcher Bay.
Removed the 'all Lucasarts Adventure Games' entry. Moved Deus Ex to the multiplatform section. Alphabetized the multiplatform section.
"PEACE ON EARTH. GOOD WILL TO MEN. PUBLIC SHELTER. ADMISSION 50¢"
I just got evil genius, seems really fun, so I am not sure if it should be kicked. Though I have to say that Dungeon Keeper (1 and 2) are much better.
how about adding a column for each game that shows the runner up? I mention this because a lot of those goodies are very hard to find right now, so if someone should want to try the game out but couldn't find it could look at the runner up column.
Or instead of runner up column, add a column for "More recent game that is similar"
Or maybe list similar games in order of best->not as good? (I thought the older Lucasarts Adventure games are much better then the more recent ones, and XCOM Apoc ranks higher in the series of Xcom games)
Who Am I?
I might get some flak for this, but I added Zork (under multiplatform, since it can be played on so many computers and PDAs nowadays).
Evil Genius is fun, though with some serious flaws in its implementation. Not sure I'd agree with it being "essential".
Agreed.
Update: Also let me cast my own personal vote against PS: Chrono Cross. Bleaaarrrchghrxx.
Fedaykin98 wrote: