The Greatest Games Ever Made

[Tank McCannon]

Before you go on to post about how there's no such thing as the greatest game ever made, hear me out.

I've been looking at top ten and top hundred lists of the greatest games ever made, and it really made me think of what makes a game "great".

Before you go on to post the name of your favorite game, remember that this is the "greatest", not your favorite. ICO is by far my favorite game I've ever played but I know that it's not the greatest game ever made. I think it's a very important game, especially in the "Are Video Games Art?" debate, but it's not the greatest game ever made and I know that.

So then, how do we judge a game to see how "great" it is and not just how "good" it is? Well, the one top hundred list that I respect is The AFI's Top 100 Greatest American Films List because of the way that it is judged. If you don't know how they go about it, here's how...

"The American Film Institute in Los Angeles, California, in mid-June 1998 commemorated the extraordinary first 100 years of American movies by making a "definitive selection of the 100 greatest American movies of all time, as determined by more than 1,500 leaders from the American film community." The 400 Nominated Films were feature-length fictional movies produced between 1912 and 1996 "with the goal of amassing a capsule of the first 100 years of American cinema, across decades and across genres."

And as for the Judging Criteria...

"Judging criteria for the selection process of the Top 100 films included:

* Feature-Length Fiction Film - narrative format typically over 60 minutes in length

American Film - English language film with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States

Critical Recognition - formal commendation in print

Popularity Over Time - including figures for box office adjusted for inflation, television broadcasts and syndication, and home video sales and rentals

Historical Significance - a film's mark on the history of the moving image through technical innovation, visionary narrative devices or other groundbreaking achievements

Cultural Impact - a film's mark on American society in matters of style and substance

* Major Award Winner - recognition from competitive events including awards from organizations in the film community and major film festivals"

Now, what I want to do is take this criteria and convert it to judge video games, so let's see what we can do...

Game Length - There is no maximum or minimum requirement. Seeing as some games don't really have lengths in the first place, it wouldn't be fair to have a requirement. Replay value can be used in your judging, but try not to hold the standard of high replay value to every game. Yes, it's good for some games (mainly multiplayer) to have high replay value, but other, shorter games games are more about just the experience itself. Shadow of the Colossus and Portal are examples of this.

Region - Like the DS, this judging is region free! Games from anywhere and everywhere are welcome.

Critical Recognition - Just like movies, formal commendation in print. Gamerankings.com is an excellent source for this.

Popularity Over Time - Is the game still played and discussed a lot today? Think Starcraft and Diablo II.

Historical Significance - Think of games that set standards for the rest of the industry to follow. Super Mario Bros. and Space Invaders are good examples of this.

Cultural Impact - Games that broke into society to let their presence be known by all. Positive or negative impact counts. Some violent games are good examples, such as Mortal Kombat and GTA.

Major Award Winner - I'm not sure of any sources, but I know several magazines and and even television events give out awards to games near the end of every gaming year. Look into all categories, not just "Game of the Year".

So please, again, before you finish typing "omg Kingdom Heats II", stop and think. What games are great? I doubt we'll ever have a "Greatest Game Ever", but I'd like to see what you all think are some titles that may be worthy of being known as one of the greatest games ever made.

Discuss.

 

[adaptor17]

im gonna have 2 say that brawl is the best game of all time.even though its not even close 2 coming out yet,haha.

 

[ALB247]

I may as well throw the biggest title out first, so here we go.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Game Length: Right around perfect. The game was long enough to be worthy of buying, but not long enough to outstay its welcome, if it was ever possible. At this point in the series, Legend of Zelda games were venturing on the boarder of cliche storylines. I could say they've crossed that boarder today with Phantom Hourglass and Twilight Princess, but back then I could still accept it. As with any Zelda game, there is much to do besides the main quest. Everyone knows that usually the first thing you need to accomplish after finishing the game is finding all the extra heart pieces. Once that's completed, you move on to any other side-missions: bug/poe collecting, horse racing, fishing, archery. The list goes on.

Region: Debuted just about everywhere where Nintendo reigns. It was well-received all-around and criticisms only started to regularly appear when Master Quest was released.

Critical Recognition: I don't think any other game has received such high acclaim. I'll simply bring out a section from Wiki to cover this one.

"The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time met with both commercial and critical success. Reviewers praised the graphics, soundtrack, gameplay and story. When the game was reviewed by the UK's N64 Magazine, they delayed the full review by one month in order to fully appreciate the game and its nuances. After an exhaustive review covering every reviewer in the magazine's favorite moments and some coverage of The Best Game Ever, the game was awarded 98% by the N64 staff. As a result of these and other high scores, Ocarina of Time is placed first on Metacritic and second on Game Rankings sites which rank games by averaging review scores from many sources. In addition, Ocarina of Time was one of the first games to be inducted into GameSpot's "Greatest Games of All Time" list. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the first video game ever to receive a perfect score from Famitsu and The Legend of Zelda is the only video game franchise to have more than one installment with a perfect score awarded by Famitsu. Despite being available for only the last 39 days of the year, it was the best-selling game of 1998, with 2.5 million units sold. It went on to sell a total of 7.6 million copies worldwide. Ocarina of Time was ranked first on the 2006 edition of IGN's 100 greatest video games of all time, and also on the reader's choice list. Nintendo Power called Ocarina of Time the greatest game to ever appear on a Nintendo console. GameFAQs users chose Ocarina of Time as the second best game of all-time in 2005 (behind Final Fantasy VII). In GameTrailers' "Top Ten Best and Worst Videogames," it was rated #1 Best." (www.wikipedia.org)

Popularity Over Time: This seems to be both a good and bad section for this game. As Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess came out, obviously people's attention turned to each of those titles. I can assure, however, that any Zelda fan has gone back and played this masterpiece, if not on the N64, then on the Cube with Master Quest. Replay value is medium to high for any Zelda fan looking to revisit the gem of the series.

Historical Significance: This game set the standards for what all adventure games seek to achieve. Any decent game that was released was never as good as Ocarina of Time, and it seems that Nintendo set a standard that was just too high. In my opinion, no one has come close to achieving an adventure game on par with The Legend of Zelda series, or even Ocarina of Time for that matter.

Cultural Impact: This game broke into the industry on an iron-clad warhorse while shooting nuclear warheads at every other developer in the world. No one was prepared for this bombshell, and, as stated before, it set the standards for what every game should try to achieve. This is as close to perfection as it gets, and everyone knew it.

Major Award Winner:
Famitsu - 40 out of 40 - First perfect score ever awarded by the publication
IGN - 10 out of 10 - Editor's Choice. First perfect score awarded
Gamespot - 10 out of 10 - Editor's Choice, first perfect score awarded, awarded "Greatest Game of All Time"
Electronic Gaming Monthly - 10 out of 10 - Platinum award
Edge - 10 out of 10
Nintendo Power - 10 of 10 - Game of the Year (1998), best game of all time on a Nintendo console (2005)
Game Rankings - 98 of 100 (based on 31 reviews)
Metacritic - 99 of 100 (based on 22 reviews)
2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards - Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Design, Outstanding Achievement in Software Engineering, Console Game of the Year, Console Adventure Game of the Year, Console RPG of the Year

To wrap things up, Ocarina of Time is as close to video game perfection as I've seen so far. Other titles come close, but none can take the cake as OoT can. The Legend of Zelda series has come a long way, but this will always be the shining highlight of the series that will always deserve a replay no matter how far the series develops. This is what I believe to be the Greatest Game of All Time.

 

[El HP]

Ocarina of Time=overrated, how can people say the story is great? when there's no voice acting, the story is the same link saves zelda from ganondorf and the world at the same time, in fact the story is almost identical to link to the past, the sidequests don't give you a real reward like a real ending or something so what's the point? and the enemies are a joke if you die in this game is because you are a pretty bad player.

The music great? it sounds like crap is MIDI after all, sorry folks but zelda is a stale series to the point it has become predictable I used to like it but now I don't even bother BTW Okami>>any zelda a fresh and unique game with great soundtrack and art style.

Another thing that people say "oh look the highest rated game on gamerankings" OoT only has 30 reviews while most games have around 80 or more reviews.

 

[Mr.GAW]

http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=121079

But this topic is much more in depth, so whatever the mods decide.

 

[crismas]

Ocarina of Time=overrated, how can people say the story is great? when there's no voice acting, the story is the same link saves zelda from ganondorf and the world at the same time, in fact the story is almost identical to link to the past, the sidequests don't give you a real reward like a real ending or something so what's the point? and the enemies are a joke if you die in this game is because you are a pretty bad player.

The music great? it sounds like crap is MIDI after all, sorry folks but zelda is a stale series to the point it has become predictable I used to like it but now I don't even bother BTW Okami>>any zelda a fresh and unique game with great soundtrack and art style.

Another thing that people say "oh look the highest rated game on gamerankings" OoT only has 30 reviews while most games have around 80 or more reviews.

While I agree that OoT isnt my fav Zelda, nor do I agree that it's the greatest game of all time. How can you say that the story is not great because it has no voice acting, so you're saying that all games can't have good stories because they have no VAing? Right. I personally think that WW has the best story as far as Zelda's go it was very beautiful. Your opinions seem very shallow, so what if it has MIDI format, the music itself is what matters and for that time the game was a well made game. If you just appreciated it for what it was instead of what it's being called "greatest game ever made" there was no Okami back then and to be honest games like Okami (and in my opinion ICO and Shadow of the Colossus) got it's inspiration from games like Zelda. If there was no OoT or Zelda for that matter, then the game you're claiming to be fresh and new prlly wouldn't have existed.

History is always of great importance when it comes to newer games.

 

[Creo]

Ocarina of Time=overrated, how can people say the story is great? when there's no voice acting, the story is the same link saves zelda from ganondorf and the world at the same time, in fact the story is almost identical to link to the past, the sidequests don't give you a real reward like a real ending or something so what's the point? and the enemies are a joke if you die in this game is because you are a pretty bad player.

The music great? it sounds like crap is MIDI after all, sorry folks but zelda is a stale series to the point it has become predictable I used to like it but now I don't even bother BTW Okami>>any zelda a fresh and unique game with great soundtrack and art style.

Another thing that people say "oh look the highest rated game on gamerankings" OoT only has 30 reviews while most games have around 80 or more reviews.

How can't people say the story is great? It was marvelous. Voice acting doesn't make a game great, and comparing the stories of A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time is just stupid. The sidequests give you other things to due (they are called SIDEQUESTS) and you didn't get a different ending because there was really no need to..the ending was great.
You say the enemies are a joke in this game but then you go and say Okami > Ocarina of Time..Okami was great, but it was MUCH easier.
The music was and still is great...you must really be picky if you think the music is bad because it wasn't.
How do you figure all the Zelda games become predictable..Majora's Mask was not predictable the least bit. Oracle of Ages/Seasons, Wind Waker(possibly), Phantom Hourglass, etc.. Oh and all Zelda games have great Soundtracks and the graphics, though not revolutionary, they are very pleasing.

Okay, does the amount of reviews matter? This game is praised by almost all Game Consumers. It also seems that you are comparing Ocarina of Time to newer games such as Okami that has more technology then Ocarina of Time did in that era..speaking of era's, only Mario 64 and possibly Final Fantasy 7 had the formula to become a great game of Ocarina of Time's kind.

Really, why don't you give us your opinion on the Greatest game of all time. Oh and don't try to through the "your biased to Zelda" thing at me..what I speak is true for the most part.

And with that, I go with Ocarina of Time for my Greatest game of all time.

 

[Eight Sage]

Agree with crismas.

I'd also say that Tetris is the best game out there. Practically every on of us (and non gamers) played it. I'd do the analysis you request Tank McCannon, but I think it's very well known.

Edit: Agree with Creo too

 

[Life Ruiner]

Anything that gets a 37+ in famitsu is pretty much guaranteed to be one of the greatest game ever made. (BTW they rate out of 40)

 

[Gamingboy]

By those criteria, I'd like to nominate Pong. Yes folks, the original is still the best.

Game Length - As long as you want to play it. And it is still way too addicting for it's own **** good.

Region - Has been everywhere


Critical Recognition - It was best game when it came out and held that title for awhile. It is still today very fun if you get past the graphics.

Popularity Over Time - The fact that it is featured as a minigame so often, and the fact that it is still available in hundreds of iterations online is proof of it's long standing popularity.

Historical Significance - It was the first video game to turn a profit, it was one of the very first video games period.

Cultural Impact - It is still today sometimes seen as the quintessential video game by the general public, and is seen in commercials, TV, movies, comics... even other video games!

Major Award Winner - It came before awards began... so...

 

[SirroMinus1]

Halo 3 was going to be said sooner or later. so why not be the first to say it

 

[Cashed]

http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=121079

But this topic is much more in depth, so whatever the mods decide.

Yeah, that topic is terrible. This one can stay, as it isn't a list topic and is pretty indepth.

 

[Marthmaster92]

Ocarina of Time=overrated, how can people say the story is great? when there's no voice acting,

alright, you're just being a pansy. no voice acting? PLEASE. you don't need that for a great game. look at final fantasy 1. no voice acting and people still play it today. look at the first pokemon. no voice acting and people still play it. and there's the already mentioned Tetris. need i go on?

 

[Tank McCannon]

Yeah, that topic is terrible. This one can stay, as it isn't a list topic and is pretty indepth.

You can close the topic if you like, but I just wanted to point out the difference between the two.

This topic is to really think hard and come up with titles that are worthy of being known as one greatest games ever made.

The other topic is for everyone to share personal favorites as well as other video game top 10s for the fun of it.

Like, if we were doing movies, we'd say one of the greatest is Citizen Kane, but one of my favorites is The Big Lebowski.

But yeah, if you must, close away, just wanted to make sure that you caught the difference first.

 

[limitbreak]

The problem with calling a game the greatest of all time is well ... it's impossible. Many people have different opinions and tastes. Some people dont care about amazing graphics. IMO, to be the best, it has to execute the best. It has to be fun (DUH) and it has to keep you drawn in. I can play games like FF7 and OoT forever. Its all about replay value and fun factor.

Edit: Voice Acting?? Are you kidding?! Go beat off to your halo 3 and when you grow up then come talk.

 

[TMS]

I'm gonna go ahead and write one up for my favorite game ever...

Game Length: I don't know about you, maybe you like an 80-100 hour game, but personally I think around 25-30 hours is perfect. It gives you just an incredible sense of accomplishment, and no areas are just rehashes of other ones. There's also a lot of sidequests that can add even more length to the game, if you're into that sort of thing.

Region: Available everywhere.

Critical recognition: According to GameRankings, it's the 3rd most critically acclaimed game of all time. To me, it definitely deserves it's spot.

Popularity: Not as popular as something like Super Mario, but that's because the Metroid series isn't known to the public as much. Though, it was a very good selling game.

Historical Significance: It's a real shame that we don't see more games like Metroid Prime, as in First Person Adventures, than we should. In my mind, it blows the water out of every first person shooter out there, because there's more to do that well, shooting. It really hasn't set the standard for anything, but it definitely should have.

Cultural Impact: It really hasn't made itself known much other than to gamers, and like I said before, it really should have. I blame Nintendo's lame advertising methods.

Award Winner: Won almost all big 2002 Game of the Year awards, and received very high scores from big reviewers. It also won many Editor's Choice Awards.

Metroid Prime is by far(Well, since Galaxy came out, maybe not by far) the greatest game I have ever played. I just kept looking for something bad in it, yet I just couldn't. I'd consider this the most perfect game to date, and I recommend everyone to buy a Gamecube along with this game. You won't regret it.

 

[ALB247]

Ocarina of Time=overrated, how can people say the story is great? when there's no voice acting, the story is the same link saves zelda from ganondorf and the world at the same time, in fact the story is almost identical to link to the past, the sidequests don't give you a real reward like a real ending or something so what's the point? and the enemies are a joke if you die in this game is because you are a pretty bad player.

The music great? it sounds like crap is MIDI after all, sorry folks but zelda is a stale series to the point it has become predictable I used to like it but now I don't even bother BTW Okami>>any zelda a fresh and unique game with great soundtrack and art style.

Another thing that people say "oh look the highest rated game on gamerankings" OoT only has 30 reviews while most games have around 80 or more reviews.

Where to start...

The story is great because it is. I'm gonna have to say 8 million people disagreed with you back then and even more do today. Your statement there is like "The 2007 F150 is crap because it's just like the 2006 F150."

The music is great, again, because it is. Take some time to actually realize the hardware that was available back then and the hardware they were able to put it on. Sorry that they couldn't bring in the 80 piece orchestra for you...

If you feel Okami is the greatest game of all time, how about you actually intellectually post about it instead of flaming someone elses choice.

And if you don't like the fact that it's the highest rated game on Gamerankings.com, then pick any one of the other game sites where it's currently received PERFECT ratings. Please, think your rebuttals out. This topic is meant for intellectual posts only. Trolls and n00bs need not reply.

Halo 3 was going to be said sooner or later. so why not be the first to say it

This isn't directedjust to just you, but if everyone could please actually provide reasons WHY these games should be considered the Greatest of All Time?

 

[El HP]

While I agree that OoT isnt my fav Zelda, nor do I agree that it's the greatest game of all time. How can you say that the story is not great because it has no voice acting, so you're saying that all games can't have good stories because they have no VAing? Right. I personally think that WW has the best story as far as Zelda's go it was very beautiful. Your opinions seem very shallow, so what if it has MIDI format, the music itself is what matters and for that time the game was a well made game. If you just appreciated it for what it was instead of what it's being called "greatest game ever made" there was no Okami back then and to be honest games like Okami (and in my opinion ICO and Shadow of the Colossus) got it's inspiration from games like Zelda. If there was no OoT or Zelda for that matter, then the game you're claiming to be fresh and new prlly wouldn't have existed.

History is always of great importance when it comes to newer games.

We are talking about a game that was released in 1998 technology advances and games along with it so not having VA and use of MIDI music is a negative point and the story is the same save zelda from ganon like most zelda games, want a great story? play Killer7 or Deus Ex.

BTW Zelda didn't invented the action/genre so Okami isn't Zelda clone and one more thing Okami beat TP as game of the year on IGN.

How can't people say the story is great? It was marvelous. Voice acting doesn't make a game great, and comparing the stories of A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time is just stupid. The sidequests give you other things to due (they are called SIDEQUESTS) and you didn't get a different ending because there was really no need to..the ending was great.
You say the enemies are a joke in this game but then you go and say Okami > Ocarina of Time..Okami was great, but it was MUCH easier.
The music was and still is great...you must really be picky if you think the music is bad because it wasn't.
How do you figure all the Zelda games become predictable..Majora's Mask was not predictable the least bit. Oracle of Ages/Seasons, Wind Waker(possibly), Phantom Hourglass, etc.. Oh and all Zelda games have great Soundtracks and the graphics, though not revolutionary, they are very pleasing.

In the Metroid Prime games you get the complete ending and extra content from the galleries which makes worth the effort to collect all the items what do you get in zelda?

Yes they are predictable for example you will always use the item you found on the dungeon to fight its boss.

Zelda great graphics? LOL Metroid Prime, RE4, Rogue Squadron, Star Fox Adventure and many more>>>>TP graphics and that's only on GC.

Okay, does the amount of reviews matter?

Of course they do the more reviews added the harder to get a higher score.

This game is praised by almost all Game Consumers. It also seems that you are comparing Ocarina of Time to newer games such as Okami that has more technology then Ocarina of Time did in that era..speaking of era's, only Mario 64 and possibly Final Fantasy 7 had the formula to become a great game of Ocarina of Time's kind.

LOL none of those games will ever do what Super Mario Bros. did for the videogame industry the most influencial game of all time.

alright, you're just being a pansy. no voice acting? PLEASE. you don't need that for a great game. look at final fantasy 1. no voice acting and people still play it today. look at the first pokemon. no voice acting and people still play it. and there's the already mentioned Tetris. need i go on?

1998 VA was a standard in videogames you say that because you are a fanboy who thinks OoT is a perfect game what a foolish thinking no game will ever be perfect.

The problem with calling a game the greatest of all time is well ... it's impossible. Many people have different opinions and tastes. Some people dont care about amazing graphics. IMO, to be the best, it has to execute the best. It has to be fun (DUH) and it has to keep you drawn in. I can play games like FF7 and OoT forever. Its all about replay value and fun factor.

Edit: Voice Acting?? Are you kidding?! Go beat off to your halo 3 and when you grow up then come talk.

Sorry kid I have been playing videogames since the NES era long before you were even born.

Metroid Prime

Game Length: about 20-25 hours.

Region: All regions.

Critical recognition: Highest rated game of the last generation with an impressive 96.3% based on 92 reviews, 35 of them are 100% rating.

Popularity: This game only appeals to the core gamer so it's very obscure compared to other series made by nintendo.

Historical Significance: It revived a once believed to be dead series after 8 years since the excellent Super Metroid, brought the series into the nextgen with astounding graphics, a wonderful art direction, revitalized gameplay and a hard to match atmosphere creating a new standard of quality followed by a sequel on GC and just recently on Wii creating one of the highest acclaimed trilogies ever.

Cultural Impact: Metroid has never been mainstream and will probably never be.

Award Winner: 2002 game of the year by the IGDA and most websites and publications all of this by quality alone and not marketing or fanboys shows the great effort the developers put to create such a masterpiece, there are some minor flaws in the game but overall a fantastic experience.

 

[Foxman15]

I second, oh wait, I 6 millionth that OoT is the greatest game ever made.

 

[SirroMinus1]

Where to start...

The story is great because it is. I'm gonna have to say 8 million people disagreed with you back then and even more do today. Your statement there is like "The 2007 F150 is crap because it's just like the 2006 F150."

The music is great, again, because it is. Take some time to actually realize the hardware that was available back then and the hardware they were able to put it on. Sorry that they couldn't bring in the 80 piece orchestra for you...

If you feel Okami is the greatest game of all time, how about you actually intellectually post about it instead of flaming someone elses choice.

And if you don't like the fact that it's the highest rated game on Gamerankings.com, then pick any one of the other game sites where it's currently received PERFECT ratings. Please, think your rebuttals out. This topic is meant for intellectual posts only. Trolls and n00bs need not reply.



This isn't directedjust to just you, but if everyone could please actually provide reasons WHY these games should be considered the Greatest of All Time?

you honestly think a crazy halo fan wont come in this topic giving 100 plus reasons why halo rox i would do it but i have not opend my xbox360 and played halo 3.

 

[adaptor17]

I guess to me,now that i really think about it,its impossible and just plain preposterous to even attempt to try to determine the best video game of all time.jus look @ all of the categories there are.i mean cmon guys,really think about this.theres fighting,racing,sports,adventure,action,shooter,rpg,etc.and you cant compare games that are different kinds of games.i mean could u really compare super smash bros. brawl to halo 3,no you couldnt,u jus cant because theyre different gaming genres.end of story.

 

[ALB247]

you honestly think a crazy halo fan wont come in this topic giving 100 plus reasons why halo rox i would do it but i have not opend my xbox360 and played halo 3. Btw who do you think you are talking to me like that.

I simply asked you to state some reasons why you think this is the greatest game ever instead of just running into a decent topic and ranting that "Halo 3 is teh l337!" And if you have not played Halo 3, how can you even begin to make that assumption?

 

[SirroMinus1]

I simply asked you to state some reasons why you think this is the greatest game ever instead of just running into a decent topic and ranting that "Halo 3 is teh l337!" And if you have not played Halo 3, how can you even begin to make that assumption?

Because of the crazy fans and the hype ill probably state reasons tomorrow when i have access to a laptop. sorry for talking to you the way i did that was uncalled for.

 

[UberBob]

I'd say Pacman is one of the most influential games of all time. It got many people into arcade games, but I don't have the patience to write a full review for it. I also think Super Mario Bros. was an amazing game that started the home console era.

 

[crismas]

We are talking about a game that was released in 1998 technology advances and games along with it so not having VA and use of MIDI music is a negative point and the story is the same save zelda from ganon like most zelda games, want a great story? play Killer7 or Deus Ex.

BTW Zelda didn't invented the action/genre so Okami isn't Zelda clone and one more thing Okami beat TP as game of the year on IGN.
.

Sadly none of those games were revolutionary. When we talk about greatest games, we're talking about games that set a standard. Zelda did invent the TYPE of action, the way it plays. All games similiar (I didn't say same, nor did I say clone) are inspired by Zelda because there's always a game in history that every game turns to.

As far as the music goes, instead of griping about it being midi and actually listen to how it was composed, the format really doesn't matter. Some of the most beautiful music IMO is the older stuff, FF6 comes to mind. Then again I'm not the griping type honestly, and I don't think 7.6 million people cared.

Also we're talking about OoT not TP...two different games, two different time periods. You're very hung up on Okami, I personally think Shadow of the Colossus kicks the crap out of all that stuff so it's preference not fact.

The fact though is, what makes OoT a great story is it's reinvention of the series in a 3d way. I always saw OoT as the defining moment where everything first took place. Do I think it's the greatest Zelda ever, no. Do I think it's the greatest game, nope. But I think it's a wonderful game and I realize that it did revolutionize the way the Zelda series and the way gaming was meant to be. If you respect it enough for that then you don't have to argue about it being overrated and just accept it as it.

Though by reading all your arguements all I see is a bias hatred toward the series so it's expected. *shrug*

 

[voittaa711]

I want to say it again. OoT DESERVES ITS PLACE.

Some say it is overrated and isn't good, but every freaking review for it has been perfect. that has to be saying something. Get over it. This game rocks.

 

[ALB247]

As much as I want this topic to succeed, I'd rather see it closed then any more useless bickering going on...it's turning into a "My game is better than yours"

Please remember this isn't "I think this game is crap." or "This game's so much better!". This is meant to be an intelligent, please let me say it again, intelligent discussion of the greatest video games in the industry. Quite frankly, we don't care what your favorite game is or if another one is better in your opinion. Yes, we are most likely going to get submissions of games that are usually submitted to Greatest Games of All Time lists, but there's obviously a reason why they are in so many lists. If you think something is a diamond in the rough, tell us why! (and read the part about posting intellectually before you do.) Hopefully if we can evolve to that point, it'd be nice to get a SWF's Top 10 Greatest Games of All Time out of this. To me, that seems unlikely at this point, but it'd be pretty impressive.

If you'd like to submit something, please just do it the way Metroid Prime and Ocarina of Time have been submitted...for all our sakes.

 

[Tank McCannon]

Remember, read the topic, this is plural. You have more than one game!

 

[Psychoace]

Ocarina of Time=overrated, how can people say the story is great? when there's no voice acting, the story is the same link saves zelda from ganondorf and the world at the same time, in fact the story is almost identical to link to the past, the sidequests don't give you a real reward like a real ending or something so what's the point? and the enemies are a joke if you die in this game is because you are a pretty bad player.

The music great? it sounds like crap is MIDI after all, sorry folks but zelda is a stale series to the point it has become predictable I used to like it but now I don't even bother BTW Okami>>any zelda a fresh and unique game with great soundtrack and art style.

Another thing that people say "oh look the highest rated game on gamerankings" OoT only has 30 reviews while most games have around 80 or more reviews.

Koji Kondo designed the music for like every game on Nintendo consoles so that alone is blasphemy, He created how many songs for a 4 note ocarina? Uh yeah and one of those reviews happens to be on the most respected gaming magazine in the world, Famitsu. Most 8 bit music today still holds up to awesome standards so why wouldn't OoT?

If you read between the lines Zelda has a more in depth story than you could ever imagine they are all "linked" in some way. The most prevalant comparison would probably be Wind waker and Phantom hourglass. Now if were going to get into games that repeat themselves then we'll have to point out all the "greats" now won't we? Mario, Megaman, Sonic, Resident Evil(essentially kill zombies), Final Fantasy, F-zero, all racing games just about...

Zelda isn't really suppose to have voice overs, the last thing we need is link talking to ruin the game for everyone. As for difficulty....Master Quest.

You have a right to your opinion, but with that being said it's wrong.

I'll go with Smash here, it's all I ever play. When I get a new game I beat it and then the next week or so later I'm back to smash.

 

[Fullmetalwwant]

I have to go with both Super Mario 64 and the Legend of Zelda: OoT. Both are really great games that changed gaming.

 

[Tank McCannon]

I'll list a few games that I think are worthy of being called some of the greatest games ever made. I may go more in depth with each game later.

Super Mario Bros. (NES)

Tetris (GB)

Goldeneye 007 (N64)

Chrono Trigger (SNES)

Halo (XBox)

Grand Theft Auto 3 (PS2)

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)

Half-Life (PC)

Super Mario 64 (N64)

Starcraft (PC)

Street Fighter II (ARC)

ICO (PS2)

Pokemon Red and Blue (GB)

Here's the few that I can think of at the moment. I'm sure I'll think of more later, as well as add some info to these games.

 

[Creo]

In the Metroid Prime games you get the complete ending and extra content from the galleries which makes worth the effort to collect all the items what do you get in zelda?

Okay, that still doesn't prove anything at all. The thing is, Zelda, for the most part, is not a trilogy continuing story...therefore another ending is not needed. And if a seperate ending really bothers you, then that is sad..it doesn't make too much of a difference.

Yes they are predictable for example you will always use the item you found on the dungeon to fight its boss.

Explanitory there..same thing for Okami and many other games basically. Though, I don't see that flawing a game in any way considering that it should be natural to use your new items to progress once you get them.

Zelda great graphics? LOL Metroid Prime, RE4, Rogue Squadron, Star Fox Adventure and many more>>>>TP graphics and that's only on GC.

Yes, good graphics. You point out games that can easily be debatable on except for RE4. Star Fox Adventure is NOT better graphics then Twilight Princess. Oh and by the way, we are TALKING ABOUT OCARINA OF TIME so stop going off topic. You have your opinions on graphics but your being sort of biased.

Of course they do the more reviews added the harder to get a higher score.

Okay, I see where your going but it really doesn't matter. Less reviews can give the same thing but vice versa due to it is less reviews. Oh and the fact that it was rated perfect from almost everyone really just cuts this out.

LOL none of those games will ever do what Super Mario Bros. did for the videogame industry the most influencial game of all time.

No, none of those will do what the original Mario Bros. did but it is your opinion on most influential game ever..sure, A TON of people say it but that is debatable.

 

[El HP]

Sadly none of those games were revolutionary. When we talk about greatest games, we're talking about games that set a standard. Zelda did invent the TYPE of action, the way it plays. All games similiar (I didn't say same, nor did I say clone) are inspired by Zelda because there's always a game in history that every game turns to.

Deus Ex wasn't revolutionary? it created a new standard in storyline, a magistral soundtrack and a very original First person RPG and Killer7 is a way more original game than zelda will ever be.

Also we're talking about OoT not TP...two different games, two different time periods. You're very hung up on Okami, I personally think Shadow of the Colossus kicks the crap out of all that stuff so it's preference not fact.

Same series and the gameplay is basically the same..

The fact though is, what makes OoT a great story is it's reinvention of the series in a 3d way. I always saw OoT as the defining moment where everything first took place. Do I think it's the greatest Zelda ever, no. Do I think it's the greatest game, nope. But I think it's a wonderful game and I realize that it did revolutionize the way the Zelda series and the way gaming was meant to be. If you respect it enough for that then you don't have to argue about it being overrated and just accept it as it.

Though by reading all your arguements all I see is a bias hatred toward the series so it's expected. *shrug*

We are talking about story not gameplay and reinvention you say? more like adaption because the gameplay is the same.

Okay, that still doesn't prove anything at all. The thing is, Zelda, for the most part, is not a trilogy continuing story...therefore another ending is not needed. And if a seperate ending really bothers you, then that is sad..it doesn't make too much of a difference.

I was giving an example of some rewards when collecting 100% of the items i'm not saying zelda should give an alternate ending.

Explanitory there..same thing for Okami and many other games basically. Though, I don't see that flawing a game in any way considering that it should be natural to use your new items to progress once you get them.

I was talking about the bosses in zelda where you will always use the item you adquired in the dungeon to beat its boss and that's not the case in many games.

Yes, good graphics. You point out games that can easily be debatable on except for RE4. Star Fox Adventure is NOT better graphics then Twilight Princess. Oh and by the way, we are TALKING ABOUT OCARINA OF TIME so stop going off topic. You have your opinions on graphics but your being sort of biased.

SF looks way better than zelda just compare the detail of fox and link in TP the characters are low polygon and I made the comparison because another user said that the series has always had great graphics.

Okay, I see where your going but it really doesn't matter. Less reviews can give the same thing but vice versa due to it is less reviews. Oh and the fact that it was rated perfect from almost everyone really just cuts this out.

Want a recent example? Mario galaxy was on top of OoT with 30 reviews as more reviews were added its percentage is lower and that's the tendency with any game so why it would be any different with zelda?

No, none of those will do what the original Mario Bros. did but it is your opinion on most influential game ever..sure, A TON of people say it but that is debatable.

That's not my opinion is a fact.

 

[Tank McCannon]

LOL none of those games will ever do what Super Mario Bros. did for the videogame industry the most influencial game of all time.

While saving the industry does help to make Super Mario Bros. a great game, it's a pretty unfair standard to hold for every other game after Super Mario Bros. seeing as the video game industry hasn't needed saving since.

Also, El HP, please stop trying to put down The Legend of Zelda: OoT. Everyone knows it's widely regarded as one of the greatest games ever. If you don't like it, that's fine, but keep the dislike to yourself as this thread is for suggesting games that could be considered the greatest, not discussing games that you think don't deserve the hype. By all means, go ahead and make an "Overrated Games" thread, but keep the negative discussion out of here.

 

[voittaa711]

My friend was arguing with me that assassin's creed deserves the best game of all time spot compared mario galaxy.

What do you guys think?

EDIT

Sorry I worded my post wrong, I'll change it.

 

[Tank McCannon]

My friend was arguing with me that assassin's creed is a way better game than mario galaxy.

What do you guys think?

It's really just a matter of opinion to say which is better, they're both completely different games. Also, it's pretty early on for both games to call either of them one of the greatest games ever made. Please read the first post and try to stick to the main topic.

 

[CodeBlack]

Well, since Starcraft was mentioned in the first post, I won't state the obvious and mention it again.

Instead, I shall give due to:

Civilization 2:

In terms of playability and length, the game is endless, and, unless you are extremely punctual, no two games are ever the same. The game won several awards and is critically acclaimed, also adding to the creator's (Sid Meier) reputation as one of the greatest game designers of all time. The game is still played to day, and had an immense impact upon the gaming design market, inspiring many to great more unique and games (including Will Wright, though Wright was already making games when Civ and Civ 2 came out), and defining and enhancing a genre of gaming that continues to be added to.

 

[ALB247]

Good lord, El Hp, please do us a favor and look at the title of this topic. I seem to remember that it's not entitled "Bash Zelda and list your favorite games." If you could stay on topic for one post, maybe we'd actually take your entries seriously.

 

[SirroMinus1]

Jak and daxter the precursor legacy.

Yea it seemed like a kiddie game to some people but it had alot of detail. the story was ok but that was hands down the best game in the series.

the gameplay was pretty solid. never had trouble with the camera. ect

 

[ALB247]

The Jak and Daxter series did alot for adventuring platformers. To me it seemed like it opened the doors for games like Ratchet and Clank, Vexx, and Sly Cooper.