We collected input from hundreds of visitors to the site to compile the list of the 100 Greatest Video Games of All Time. You can see the beginning of the project here, where you’ll also find an index of all the results to date.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Release Date: November 21, 1998
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Original Platform: Nintendo 64
Genre: Action-adventure
After counting down through 99 games, we finally have reached the game that our readers selected as the single greatest video game of all time. By a landslide, the top vote getter is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Link’s instantly classic adventure on the Nintendo 64. Ocarina of Time did not create or define a genre, did not revolutionize video game storytelling, and did not initiate a franchise. Rather, it took all the elements that make a great game and that make Zelda work, refined them for a new gaming generation, and combined them masterfully with gorgeous art to create a time-twisting game that would itself stand the test of time.
“While certainly not the first game in the Legend of Zelda canon, The Ocarina of Time is considered by many to be the best. Starring the series’s staple hero in green, OoT future-proofed itself for generations thanks in part to ingenious mechanics. Clever puzzles, level design, and control scheme allowed for an easily-accessible though still mature title, and one that players of all ages and skill levels could enjoy. A massive and epic adventure of unmatched potential, Nintendo’s timeless classic not only reinvented the already popular franchise — it revolutionized the medium, and earns its spot as perhaps the greatest video game of all time.” – Ryan Whiting
“Another great game for the N64 console, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was my first foray into the world of RPGs. Although sometimes frustrating for me as a new gamer, Zelda proved to be an intoxicating game that I couldn’t put down. Just the right combination of challenging and user-friendly, Zelda’s graphics were ground-breaking at the time of the game’s release and the story spawned a cult following that spread to fanfic and fan forums, as well as a number of sequels.” – Paige MacGregor
Take a look at the previous game: #2
i can’t argue with this except that the number one fact is that Super Mario Bros. is number one in reality.
Alan Wake on this list, let alone above all of those games? Who made this list?!
& Super Mario 64 was released 1 year later after Jumping Flash!
SUPER MARIO 64+METROID PRIME=JUMPING FLASH!
Top 5 imo:
5.Super smash bros melee
4.Banjo Tooie
3.Majora’s Mask
2.WoW
1.Ocarina of Time
What a disappointing “Top 100” list.
Maybe I missed them, but I don’t think Baldur’s Gate 2, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines and Planescape: Torment were on the list, which is just sad, especially considering that lesser CRPGs like Fable and Dragon Age are on.
Don’t think either System Shock was on either.
No Thief as well, but that’s expected. Too cult.
Oh well, at least Gothic and the Monkey Island games were recognized. As much as I’m not a huge fan of Japanese games, at list the list wasn’t full of generic X-Box “realistic” FPSs
Obviously, this list is made by people that haven´t played very much, boring and kind of pathetic list with only a few top games. Not one single shooter exept galaga, not a single plattformer exept all mario games… seriously.
This list does give a fairly good overview of what games are most popular for visitors of this site and thus for those who read through the list. Although there are of course picks I disagree with and games I would have liked to see, a list such as this is inherently subjective. (No System Shock, no Rome, no X-COM, no Planescape… *sniff*)
However, an unfortunately inevitable result of making this selection based on votes, is that old games are underrepresented, particularly in the PC gaming-scene, which was much smaller during its conception than it is today.
In particular, some classics that would probably have made this list if it was constructed by people with more background in video games might have included:
– Tetris
– Pirates!
– Street Fighter II
– Rogue (or Nethack)
– Any first-gen RTS (Herzog zwei, Dune 2, Warcraft, Warcraft II, Command & Conquer)
– Star Wars: TIE Fighter
– Adventure (or a pick from the early Zork trilogy)
To name a few. As I said though, that wouldn’t make a better list, simply a different type of list (although perhaps one closer to what the title of the article suggests).
@Frostlion: Anyone who thinks Tetris and other games like it should be put on the same list as games such as Oblivion, OOT, Super Smash bros, etc. is a fucking moron.
Mine go like this.
5.Super Mario World
4.Halo: Combat Evolved
3.Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
2.The Legend of Zelda
1.DOOM
RESIDENT EVIL 4 IS ABOVE RESIDENT EVIL AND RESIDENT EVIL:CV RESIDENT EVIL 4 SUCKED!
This isn’t an RPG and it’s hardly “the best game ever”. This always happen with videogame lists everyone has their nostalgia googles on and always put games like this number one. Not to say this is bad game, it’s awesome. But this type of lists are just based on “I REMEMBER IT WAS SO COOL BACK IN THE DAY.
This list sucks, just like the book list. Who votes on these? High school history teachers???
This is reality
1. Tetris
2. Pac Man
3. World of Warcraft
4. Call of Duty 4
5. Starcraft
6. Diablo 2
I am not a Blizzard fanboy, i dont like them at all really, However, Starcraft, WoW AND Diablo 2 were all amazing games in their own right, all 3 are still played by thousands, if not MILLIONS of people, and all 3 drastically changed their genres.
Tetris is the game that has made the most $$$ of ANY video game ever. That alone puts it on top IMO
Wheres Pac-Man from atari.
WHAT????
WHY IS THERE NO SIMS 2 AND 3??????