Greatest Video Games of All TIme (Revision Version)

[ManPerson]

Criteria: This list of Greatest Video Games of All Time is based on popularity, acclaim, and influence in the video game industry.

Edited By: ManPerson, Tim, Dubrow555, landocommando
Last Updated: 2024-03-30

Link: https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best ... atest.html



1. Super Mario Bros. (1985)
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
3. Tetris (1985)
4. Super Mario 64 (1996)
5. Final Fantasy VII (1997)
6. Minecraft (2011)
7. Pac-Man (1980)
8. Doom (1993)
9. Street Fighter II (1991)
10. Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)
11. Space Invaders (1978)
12. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991)
13. Grand Theft Auto III (2001)
14. Metal Gear Solid (1998)
15. Pong (1972)
16. Pokémon Red and Blue (1996)
17. The Sims (2000)
18. World of Warcraft (2004)
19. Grand Theft Auto V (2013)
20. Half-Life 2 (2004)
21. GoldenEye 007 (1997)
22. Super Mario World (1990)
23. Resident Evil 4 (2005)
24. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)
25. Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
26. Half-Life (1998)
27. StarCraft (1998)
28. The Legend of Zelda (1986)
29. Final Fantasy VI (1994)
30. Super Metroid (1994)
31. Elite (1984)
32. Chrono Trigger (1995)
33. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
34. Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
35. Donkey Kong (1981)
36. Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)
37. The Last of Us (2013)
38. Sid Meier's Civilization (1991)
39. Dark Souls (2011)
40. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)
41. Metroid (1986)
42. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)
43. Quake (1996)
44. Soulcalibur (1998)
45. Ms. Pac-Man (1982)
46. Asteroids (1979)
47. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)
48. Deus Ex (2000)
49. Portal 2 (2011)
50. Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
51. Mega Man 2 (1988)
52. Sid Meier's Civilization II (1996)
53. Shadow of the Colossus (2005)
54. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
55. Elden Ring (2022)
56. Resident Evil (1996)
57. Tomb Raider (1996)
58. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)
59. SimCity (1989)
60. Mortal Kombat (1992)
61. Undertale (2015)
62. Super Mario Kart (1992)
63. Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
64. Counter-Strike (2000)
65. Super Mario Odyssey (2017)
66. Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
67. Bioshock (2007)
68. Earthbound (1994)
69. Metroid Prime (2002)
70. The Oregon Trail (1971)
71. Red Dead Redemption (2010)
72. Wii Sports (2006)
73. Mass Effect 2 (2010)
74. Portal (2007)
75. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)
76. Myst (1993)
77. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)
78. Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! (1987)
79. Gran Turismo (1997)
80. Colossal Cave Adventure (1976)
81. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)
82. Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)
83. Silent Hill 2 (2001)
84. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010)
85. Donkey Kong Country (1994)
86. Spacewar! (1962)
87. Fallout 3 (2008)
88. Duck Hunt (1984)
89. Baldur's Gate 3 (2023)
90. Batman: Arkham City (2011)
91. The Secret of Monkey Island (1990)
92. God of War (2018)
93. System Shock 2 (1999)
94. Halo 2 (2004)
95. Bloodborne (2015)
96. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)
97. Resident Evil 2 (1998)
98. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)
99. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (2000)
100. Contra (1987)
101. Castlevania (1986)
102. Persona 5 (2016)
103. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
104. Galaga (1981)
105. Silent Hill (1999)
106. Bioshock Infinite (2013)
107. Pitfall! (1982)
108. Mario Kart 8 (2014)
109. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)
110. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000)
111. Doom ll: Hell on Earth (1994)
112. X-COM: UFO Defense (1994)
113. Dota 2 (2013)
114. Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)
115. Fallout (1997)
116. God of War (2005)
117. Diablo (1997)
118. Prince of Persia (1989)
119. Halo 3 (2007)
120. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)
121. Crash Bandicoot (1996)
122. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Ann (2000)
123. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002)
124. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995)
125. The Walking Dead (2012)
126. Terraria (2011)
127. Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003)
128. Call of Duty (2003)
129. Mortal Kombat II (1993)
130. Journey (2012)
131. Missile Command (1980)
132. Final Fantasy IV (1991)
133. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
134. Assassin's Creed ll (2009)
135. Wing Commander (1990)
136. Mass Effect (2007)
137. Adventure (1980)
138. Mario Kart 64 (1996)
139. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)
140. Minesweeper (1989)
141. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2016)
142. Galaxian (1979)
143. Gears of War (2006)
144. League of Legends (2009)
145. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006)
146. Frogger (1981)
147. Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
148. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006)
149. Guitar Hero (2005)
150. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995)
151. Double Dragon (1987)
152. The Last of Us Part ll (2020)
153. Dishonored (2012)
154. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (1991)
155. Metal Gear (1987)
156. Final Fantasy IX (2000)
157. Diablo II (2000)
158. Kingdom Hearts (2002)
159. Rock Band (2007)
160. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993)
161. Maniac Mansion II: Day of the Tentacle (1993)
162. Ghosts 'n Goblins (1985)
163. Mega Man X (1993)
164. Ninja Gaiden (1988)
165. Burnout 3: Takedown (2004)
166. Resident Evil (2002)
167. Streets of Rage 2 (1992)
168. Tecmo Super Bowl (1991)
169. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002)
170. Unreal Tournament (1999)
171. DuckTales (1989)
172. Resident Evil 2 (2019)
173. God of War: Ragnarök (2022)
174. Ghost of Tsushima (2020)
175. LittleBigPlanet (2008)
176. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989)
177. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (1992)
178. Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (1992)
179. Dark Souls III (2016)
180. Breakout (1976)
181. Fallout 2 (1998)
182. Pokémon Gold and Silver (1999)
183. Planescape Torment (1999)
184. Zork (1977)
185. Chrono Cross (1999)
186. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)
187. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)
188. Centipede (1981)
189. Hades (2020)
190. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008)
191. Mario Kart Wii (2008)
192. Final Fantasy X (2001)
193. Doom Eternal (2020)
194. Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988)
195. Horizon: Zero Dawn (2017)
196. Super Smash Bros. (1999)
197. Double Dragon II: The Revenge (1988)
198. Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
199. Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (1999)
200. OutRun (1986)
201. Super Mario Sunshine (2002)
202. Ico (2001)
203. R-Type (1987)
204. Final Fantasy (1987)
205. The Curse of Monkey Island (1997)
206. Duke Nukem 3D (1996)
207. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005)
208. Okami (2006)
209. Sid Meier's Pirates! (1987)
210. Overwatch (2016)
211. Bejeweled (2001)
212. Sonic 3 & Knuckles (1994)
213. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (2003)
214. Star Wars (1983)
215. Mega Man 3 (1990)
216. Nier: Automata (2017)
217. Psychonauts (2005)
218. F-Zero (1990)
219. Kingdom Hearts II (2005)
220. Superman (1979)
221. Grim Fandango (1998)
222. Banjo-Kazooie (1998)
223. Star Raiders (1979)
224. Doom (2016)
225. Mario Kart DS (2005)
226. God of War ll (2007)
227. Team Fortress 2 (2007)
228. Star Fox 64 (1997)
229. Lode Runner (1983)
230. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening (2005)
231. Left 4 Dead 2 (2009)
232. King's Quest (1984)
233. Persona 4 (2008)
234. Braid (2008)
235. Cuphead (2017)
236. Dragon's Lair (1983)
237. Rogue (1980)
238. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (2001)
239. Animal Crossing (2001)
240. Fortnite (2017)
241. Pokémon Go (2016)
242. Splinter Cell (2002)
243. Warcraft ll: Tides of Darkness (1995)
244. Command & Conquer (1995)
245. Thief: The Dark Project (1998)
246. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014)
247. Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014)
248. Warcraft lll: Reign of Chaos (2002)
249. Max Payne (2001)
250. Sam & Max Hit the Road (1993)

[DmitryXenon]

Maybe expand the list to the top 300?

[ManPerson]

I'm thinking we should move Minecraft up to 5.

It's sold over 20x as many copies as Final Fantasy VII, or, to put it another way, it's sold over 300 million more copies than FF. While FF takes acclaim, it's win is way closer than Minecraft's win in popularity. I also think it would be hard to argue FF has a significant win in influence considering Minecraft is among the most culturally impactful games of all time.

Basically,
Popularity: Minecraft by a landslide
Acclaim: Final Fantasy
Influence: Close

[Dubrow555]

The full FMV cutscenes from FF7 are pretty significantly influential/impactful in my opinion.

[ManPerson]

Sure, but so is Minecraft.

[Tim]

Iirc I had Minecraft over FFVll as well so I am good.

[Tim]

RDR2 might be too low by now. Still not particularly influential but it kills in the other two criteria. I'd say it wins popularity by more than Breath of the Wild wins acclaim and I don't see much daylight in influence.

[ManPerson]

I'd be good with that.

[Dubrow555]

Yes - Minecraft is culturally popular right now and has influenced a handful of games - but FF7 implemented a concept that the vast majority of Video Games (especially RPG's, action, adventure, etc) use to this very day and have been used since it debuted.

[ManPerson]

Yes - Minecraft is culturally popular right now

It's been culturally popular for a decade and a half at this point.

[Dubrow555]

And that's fine - I just believe concepts that are legitimately influential/innovative in the video game industry (popularizing RPG's in the west, pre-rendered backgrounds, full FMV cutscenes, cinematic storytelling, etc.) should be given more credit over things such as inspiriting a blockbuster film and kids dressing as Steve for Halloween, etc.

[Tim]

I guess I have to side with Dubrow here, with FFVll's influence being more fundamental than Minecraft's.

[ManPerson]

It also popularized early access releases for indie games and the fostered the growth of gaming/let's play content on YouTube (for whatever that's worth).

Ok, I'll give it to you that FFVII is more influential, but I still don't think it's enough to overcome Minecraft's massive lead in popularity.

[Dubrow555]

I guess I have to side with Dubrow here, with FFVll's influence being more fundamental than Minecraft's.

Minecraft being ahead of 3 of the most influential games of all time has never sat right with me (Pacman alone has gotta have much more cultural impact, right?)

[Dubrow555]

It also popularized early access releases for indie games and the fostered the growth of gaming/let's play content on YouTube (for whatever that's worth).

Ok, I'll give it to you that FFVII is more influential, but I still don't think it's enough to overcome Minecraft's massive lead in popularity.

The concept of pre-rendered backgrounds + Full FMV cutscenes (which have been used in hundreds if not thousands of games) is infinitely more significant than any influence Minecraft has or ever will have.

[Tim]

So now we want to move Minecraft down?