The official Piss All Over Everyone's Top 20 Thread

[Daeven]

Right on! I need to find this kind of thing for Wizard's Crown and Darklands too. I seem to remember a WC site, but I never got the emulator running correctly.

Sup.  I just wanted to say that I have Darklands on CDROM.  I think I have lost the box but I still have the manual, which is pretty damn important if you ask me.  Runs well in DOSBox.

Did it ever get patched into complete playability? I remember some showstoppers back in the day, but goddamn that game was fun.

version 1.7 I think...

[schild]

Super Mario Bros. - Nintendo Co., Ltd. - NES - 1985
Solomon's Key - Tecmo, Ltd. - NES - 1987
Metroid - Nintendo of America Inc. - NES - 1986
Mighty Bomb Jack - Tecmo, Ltd. - NES - 1987
The Legend of Zelda - Nintendo Co., Ltd. - NES - 1986
Maniac Mansion - Lucasfilm Games - NES - 1987
Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse - Konami Industry Co. Ltd. - NES - 1989
Nobunaga's Ambition - KOEI Co., Ltd. - NES - 1989
Strider - Capcom Co., Ltd. - NES - 1989
Ghosts 'N Goblins - Capcom Co., Ltd. - NES - 1986
Marble Madness - Atari Games Corporation - NES - 1989
Mega Man 2 - Capcom Co., Ltd. - NES - 1989
Super Mario Bros. 3 - Nintendo R&D2 - NES - 1990
The Magic of Scheherazade - Culture Brain Inc. - NES - 1989

Actraiser - Quintet Co., Ltd. - SNES - 1991
Demon's Crest - Capcom Co., Ltd. - 1994
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja - Konami Industry Co. Ltd. - SNES - 1991
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - Square Co., Ltd. - SNES - 1996
Super Mario World - Nintendo Co., Ltd. - SNES - 1991
Super R-Type - Irem Software Engineering, Inc. - SNES - 1991
Zombies Ate my Neighbors - LucasArts - SNES - 1993
Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Furai no Shiren - Chunsoft - SNES - 1995
Final Fantasy IV - Square Co., Ltd. - SNES - 1991
Final Fantasy VI - Square Co., Ltd. - SNES - 1994
Pilotwings - Nintendo Co., Ltd. - SNES - 1991
Super Metroid - Nintendo of Europe GmbH - SNES - 1994
Dr. Mario - Nintendo Co., Ltd. - SNES - 1990

Chakan - SEGA Corporation - GEN - 1992
Toejam & Earl - Johnson-Voorsanger Productions - GEN - 1991
Disney's Aladdin - Disney Interactive, Inc., Virgin Games, Inc. - GEN - 1993

Flashback: The Quest for Identity - Delphine Software International - JAG - 1995
Alien Vs Predator - Rebellion - JAG - 1994
Cannon Fodder - Sensible Software - JAG - 1995

Clockwork Knight - SEGA Enterprises Ltd. - SAT - 1995
Darius Gaiden - Taito Corporation - SAT - 1996
Daytona USA - SEGA-AM2 Co., LTD. - SAT - 1995
NBA Jam Tournament Edition - Iguana Entertainment, Inc. - SAT - 1995
Panzer Dragoon Saga - Team Andromeda  - SAT - 1998
Snatcher - Konami Co., Ltd. - SAT - 1996
Panzer Dragoon - Team Andromeda - SAT - 1995

Bushido Blade - LightWeight Co., Ltd. - PSX - 1997
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night -
Final Fantasy Tactics - Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, Inc. - PSX - 1997
Parasite Eve - Square Co., Ltd. - PSX - 1998
Brave Fencer Musashi - Square Co., Ltd. - PSX - 1998
Chocobo's Dungeon 2 - Square Co., Ltd. - PSX - 2000
Valkyrie Profile - tri-Ace Inc. - PSX - 2000
Tactics Ogre - Quest - PSX - 1998
Torneko: The Last Hope - Chunsoft - PSX - 2000
XenoGears - Square Co., Ltd. - PSX - 1998
Vagrant Story  - Square Co., Ltd. - PSX - 2000
Super Puzzle Fighter II - Capcom Co., Ltd. - PSX - 1996

Ikaruga - Treasure Co., Ltd. - DC - 2002
Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes - Capcom Co., Ltd. - DC - 2000
Mr. Driller - Namco Limited - DC - 2000
Power Stone 2 - Capcom Co., Ltd. - DC - 2000
Project Justice - Capcom Co., Ltd. - DC - 2001
Quake 3: Arena - id Software, Inc. - DC - 2000
Rez - United Game Artists - DC - 2001
Shenmue - SEGA-AM2 Co., LTD. - DC - 2000
Skies of Arcadia - Overworks - DC - 2000
The Typing of the Dead - Smilebit - DC - 2001

Ico - Team Ico - PS2 - 2001
Rez - UGA (United Game Artists) - PS2 - 2002
Shadow Hearts - Sacnoth - PS2 - 2001
Disaster Report - IREM - PS2 - 2003
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness - Nippon Ichi - PS2 - 2003
Blood Will Tell: Tezuka Osamu's Dororo - PS2 - Sega - 2004
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga - PS2 - Atlus - 2005
Ghosthunter - SCE Cambridge - PS2 - 2004
La Pucelle Tactics - Nippon Ichi - PS2 - 2004
Fahrenheit - Quantic Dream - PS2 - 2005
Godhand - Clover Studio - PS2 - 2006
Shadow of Rome - Capcom - PS2 - 2005
Katamari Damacy - Namco Limited - PS2 - 2004
Shadow of the Colossus - Team Ico - PS2 - 2005
Disgaea 2 - Nippon Ichi - PS2 - 2006
Persona 3 - Atlus - PS2 - 2007
Steambot Chronicles - Irem - PS2 - 2006
Yakuza - Sega - PS2 - 2006
Rogue Galaxy - Level 5 - PS2 - 2007
Guitar Hero 1 - Harmonix - PS2 - 2005
Guitar Hero 2 - Harmonix - PS2 - 2006

Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors - FromSoftware, Inc. - XBX - 2004

Etrian Odyssey - Atlus - DS - 2007

Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground - Global A Entertainment - DS - 2007

Metroid Fusion - R&D 1 - GBA - 2002

Uncharted - Naughty Dog - PS3 - 2007

Dead Rising - Capcom - X360 - 2006

Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings - Ensemble - WIN - 1999
Diablo 2 - Blizzard North - WIN - 2000
Deus Ex - Ion Storm - WIN - 2000
Fallout - Interplay - WIN - 1997
Fallout 2 - Black Isle - WIN - 1998
Oregon Trail - MECC - II - 1985
Planescape: Torment - Black Isle - WIN - 1999
Sim City 2000 - Maxis - WIN - 1996
System Shock 2 - Irrational - WIN - 1999
Thief: The Dark Project - Looking Glass - WIN - 1998
The Typing of the Dead - Smilebit - WIN - 2000
Unreal Tournament - Epic - WIN - 1999

My top 20 will be weened from this list.

Best of luck for those who want to play guessing games.

[Sauced]

The Magic of Scheherazade - Culture Brain Inc. - NES - 1989

Man, I loved that game.  Maybe one of my first encounters with an attempt at narrative.

[schild]

Good guess. That's on the list.

Btw, I already have the list. Just didn't want to post it. Yet.

[schild]

Oh and I purposefully ignored Arcade Games.

Not because I couldn't find one or two that deserved to be on the list, but because I just didn't feel like it fit for me.

Had I included it, the games would have been SFII: CE, Turtles in Time, AvP, Pac-Man, Soul Caliber, UMK3, and Killer Instinct.

[Hoax]

AvP arcade with 5 controls was so crazy awesome it hurt, if I had never played it outside of Pier39 I might have included it but the arcades I spent good chunks of time in never had it.

[rattran]

Xenophobe and the Attack from Mars pinball game both almost made it on my list.

"You must build an atomic cannon!"

[schild]

My top 20, with notes:

Super Mario Bros. - Nintendo Co., Ltd. - NES - 1985 - Still play this. Still a masterpiece.
Solomon's Key - Tecmo, Ltd. - NES - 1987 - Still play this. Still a masterpiece.
Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse - Konami Industry Co. Ltd. - NES - 1989 - Don't play this any longer, but the love lives on.
Mighty Bomb Jack - Tecmo, Ltd. - NES - 1987 - Possibly one of my favorite arcade games of all time, and easily one of my favorite Nintendo games.
The Magic of Scheherazade - Culture Brain Inc. - NES - 1989 - Nothing but love.
Super Metroid - Nintendo of Europe GmbH - SNES - 1994 - The SNES pad made this one edge out the original Metroid.
Final Fantasy VI - Square Co., Ltd. - SNES - 1994 - Needs absolutely no discussion.
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga - PS2 - Atlus - 2005 - I am alone in the universe on this one.
Chakan - SEGA Corporation - GEN - 1992 - Seriously. Fucking love. Don't know why. CHAKKKKKAN THE FOREVER MAN.

Cannon Fodder - Sensible Software - JAG - 1995 - What? It was awesome. May get replaced in the next day with Flashback though.
Torneko: The Last Hope - Chunsoft - PSX - 2000 - If this list were done next winter, would probably be replaced with Fushigi no Dungeon DS.
Parasite Eve - Square Co., Ltd. - PSX - 1998 - Love love love.
Rogue Galaxy - Level 5 - PS2 - 2007 - Edged out Skies of Arcadia when I made my original list. Still on the fence about replacing it with Link to the Past though.
Guitar Hero 2 - Harmonix - PS2 - 2006 - This would be Guitar Hero 3 is I could use my original SG with the PS3.
Planescape: Torment - Black Isle - WIN - 1999 - Duh.
The Typing of the Dead - Smilebit - WIN - 2000 - Double Duh.
Unreal Tournament - Epic - WIN - 1999 - Triple Duh.
Deus Ex - Ion Storm - WIN - 2000 - Quadruple Duh.
Shadow of the Colossus - Team Ico - PS2 - 2005 - Best platforming in the history of gaming. Short of Mario 1. ^_^
Fahrenheit - Quantic Dream - PS2 - 2005 - A LIST WITH A TWIST. Ending of this list is better than the ending of Fahrenheit though.

[HAMMER FRENZY]

Chakan...Random...

[bhodi]

How the fuck can rogue galaxy be in your top 20. Seriously. That game sucked. The combat was terrible (obliterate your enemies or they wtfpwn you, no in between), the magic was worthless except for hit-all magics, the item upgrade stuff was confusing at best, the story was boring and shallow, and the characters uninteresting.

Mostly it was the combat everyone said was awesome. You die in 3 hits and the npcs were pretty crappy, so you really do either get owned (by something that requires the jump hit for instance) or you obliterate them with the hit-all magic or just by full offense.

Also, I bought it because people here said it was good. I'm on the whole collect the pieces of whatever the fuck it was, some starmap or something. I never finished it. I feel a little bitter and betrayed.

[schild]

I really loved it. But as I said, may get bumped. Might not even be by LttP.

[Rasix]

Yah, I thought Rogue Galaxy was average at best.  Your quoted finishing times for this were very low.  Maybe you played a different game than the rest of us.

You left off Bloodlines, and I'm amazed you didn't put down Uncharted given your love for it.

Seems like a lot of nostalgia picks.. 5 games from the 80s from someone born in the decade. 

[schild]

I played Mario 1 no less than a month ago.

Rogue Galaxy was thrashed. I skipped some of the tedious bullshit (bug fighting, factory, etc). So it may have been a different game .

Bloodlines still runs like poop. These days if I want to play that, I'll just boot up Planescape.

I need a year to decide whether Uncharted comes up on the list. need to see how it fares. For THIS YEAR only though, yea, it would be in my top 5 if not #1.

Solomon's Key? Solomon's Key. Still so awesome.
Mighty Bomb Jack? Nostalgia. No way, nothing has matched that gameplay. I'm still hunting down an arcade kit for it.
Scheherazade? Ok, yes, nostalgia. But also a watershed moment in gaming for me. RPGs, I hath cometh.
Castlevania 3: I doubt you're referring to this as nostalgia.

[stray]

Rogue Galaxy WAS awesome (not top 20 personally, but good nonetheless). Fuck Bloodlines. RG is infinitely better simply because it works.

[HAMMER FRENZY]

Schild: Thank God...Some one else thinks that Ghost Hunter was awesome.. I get shit for that game all the time. That game was goddamn great. I like tat game mucho.

[Phildo]

I can't explain why, but I loved Rogue Galaxy too despite the mind-numbing tedium of so many of the side-quests and the ridiculous difficulty curve of the combat.  The character design was pretty awesome.  Also, no love for Okami Schild-o?

I was working on my own list, but I don't think I can do it.  There were a few games that Schild mentioned that I had totally forgotten about, and my list was already reaching about 30.  Dammit.

[schild]

Okami is no LttP or Rogue Galaxy.

[Rasix]

Also, no love for Okami Schild-o?

Too fucking long.  Jesus H Christ.  That game could have ended at the 20 hour point, and I would have sung its praises to the moon.  Still better than every 3D Zelda I've played.  Gorgeous too.

[stray]

Yeah, I still haven't finished it!

[Phildo]

I marathoned the hell out of it.  I thought it was paced really well for such a long game, kept giving you cool new things.  Also, best voice acting in a game ever.

[Zetleft]

Wow Chakan the forever man.   That takes me way back.  Think I bought that game for the box art alone.

Sure as hell can't remember the gameplay on it though  :p

[Hoax]

I would love to see a playthrough video of this Chakan game myself, esp w/ Schild voiceover...

[schild]

It was difficult. Very difficult.

I don't have the voice of an angel, but that might be worthwhile.

[Velorath]

The Magic of Scheherazade - Culture Brain Inc. - NES - 1989 - Nothing but love.

I think Scheherazade and Crystalis did more to get me into console RPGs than FF1 and DQ1 did.

[schild]

Along with the games aboce - Startropics was more important to me than say, Secret of Mana.

[Velorath]

Along with the games aboce - Startropics was more important to me than say, Secret of Mana.

Startropics was good.  I rented it first though which kinda sucked, since it didn't come with the instruction booklet, which you need to get past one part of the game.

[Rendakor]

Yea Startropics was great. Also, good to see someone else has love for Crystalis.

[Phildo]

I missed Startropics and Crysalis for some reason, but I enjoyed reading about them in Nintendo Power.

[Samwise]

NOT PORTAL

schild... consider yourself On Notice. 

(edit) On two counts:

Here's to you, Valve. And while you may not win every GOTY from every website, magazine, and bullshit TV show about games – you most certainly deserve it. And don't worry, all of those folks who pick anything else are officially On Notice.

Rogue Galaxy - Level 5 - PS2 - 2007 - Edged out Skies of Arcadia when I made my original list. Still on the fence about replacing it with Link to the Past though.

Guys

i think portal just replaced Deus Ex on my top 3 games kicking it to number 4

Deus Ex - Ion Storm - WIN - 2000 - Quadruple Duh.

[schild]

Nah, I'm not. I tried to ignore 2007 when I made the list because all of the stuff there are games that I spent time with and held up to the test of replay.

Portal has, but only in short term. Basically, if we do this again next year to see what's changed, Portal might replace something then. But as it stands, I tried to ignore the rest of the year.

Rogue Galaxy was an anomaly. A total anomaly. I had Skies of Arcadia down and then said to myself "Fuck that, Rogue Galaxy is that and better."

Sorry to break your heart. But you're adopted, so that's funny too.

[Samwise]

Rogue Galaxy was an anomaly.

Know what would have been a better anomaly?  Portal.

[Phildo]

Rogue Galaxy was an anomaly.

Know what would have been a better anomaly?  Portal.

Or Super Dodgeball.

[schild]

Super Dodgeball was in the running. My friends didn't play it much with me when I was little - or enough for it to make the list.

[lamaros]

Thought I'd discuss my list here (all the cool schilds are doing it) and remove comments from the list thread:

OM means I'm the only one to list it so far.

Any game that requires you to think, and rewards you for doing so, is my kind of game. These games nearly always do this.

Dune 2
Nostalgia. I remember playing this with my brother (one playing, one watching) all day long. We played so much we got banned from the PC by our parents and to get around it we'd play it as much as we could but then turn the screen off and run outside and play cricket whenever they got near. It was awesome fun. The first RTS game I played and better than War2 or C&C if you ask me. I loved it. Never finished it on Ordos.
Thief: The Dark Project
Possibly the best game ever. Thief 2 was probably better in many ways, but TDP was the first. I can still remember that first level. Trying to perfect reverse dropping blackjack hits on guards, trying to get the timing and execution just right to complete every level on the hardest settings. Some shittty levels in this one where you couldn't aviod combat, but still just amazing. (Would still play it today if I found the CDs. Might DL it.)
Chaos Overlords - OM
A turn based board game. With fun art, dystopia themed gang warfare, lots of game modes and multiplayer. I still play it.
Starcraft
Best multiplayer RTS ever. (War3 in early Beta was nearly as awesome). Polished, balanced, and fun.
Medievia - OM
This is a MUD. You can check their website at http://www.medievia.com However I am including it here for the years of 1996-1999. The game and players have changed a lot since then and I don't feel the games that remains today is as good as the one from the past, nor is the gaming climate in such a state to fully enjoy it. However I loved this at the time and it remains the most played game of my life to date. Best online world I've played. Some of the zones in this game are/were amazing. I spent nights reading the zone descriptions and slowing working out all the tricks for myself. Excellent PvP, both in the Arena (Herobattles!) and in guild v guild (CPK) with fun meaningful economics.
Betrayal At Krondor
The first 5 chapters are the best RPG ever made.
Alpha Centauri
Better than Civ2. Still play it.
Duke Nukem 3D
For the multiplayer and the level design kit.
Championship Manager 2
The more recent stuff is better (same guys, diff name), but this was the first one I played. Sets the ber for sports managment games.
Counter Strike
Around beta 6 was the peak. Back when people still played oilrig.
One Must Fall 2097 - OM
Syndicate Wars
Transport Tycoon Deluxe - OM
Still play.
Pizza Tycoon - OM
Still play. If you've never played this game, do. You buy/rent, equip and run (hire staff, buy ingredientes, buy warehouses, make pizzas for the menu, set prices, everything!) pizza shops! Do jobs for the mafia. Take out enemy competitors. Enter pizza competitions. Complex, sprawling silly and awesomely fun.
Nethack
Original and the best roguelike. I might change this.
Descent
Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?
Two other people have mention this too! Awesome!
X-Com: UFO Defense
Ground Control
Best single player RTS.
Homeworld
No wait, this is the best single player RTS.

[Samwise]

Damned if I'm going to be the only one not posting a giant wall of text about my list that nobody else wants to read.

Millipede
Best shoot-em-up ever.  Awesome giant trackball that is simultaneously fast and precise.  Pseudo-deformable landscape.  DDT bombs.  Shooting faster when you're hitting and slower when you're missing.  Bonus waves.   

SunDog: Frozen Legacy
Economics, exploration, and making frantic ship repairs in the middle of shooting it out with space pirates.  Also, twitch combat.

Rampage
Destructible buildings.  Eating people.  Co-op.  Funny.  I don't think I need to say more.

Super Mario Bros. 3
The game that all other Mario games are compared to.  And found wanting.  Controls, level design, art direction, difficulty curve, everything.  All perfect.  I still have my old NES plugged in so I can play this game every once in a while.

Street Fighter 2
The first game that ever gave me blisters on my thumb.  Tends to be what I compare every other fighting game to.  Modern games are prettier, but they frequently don't play as well IMO.

Streets of Rage 2
In here because it's my favorite side-scrolling beat 'em up ever.  Mostly for the visual style.

Wolfenstein 3D
Doom 2
Quake 1
Each of these was a complete revelation for me when I played it, and each got a lot of hours out of me, so I couldn't leave any of them out.  Wolfenstein wasn't strictly speaking the first FPS I'd ever played, but it blew everything else out of the water, both in terms of gameplay and graphics (heh).  Doom 2 was the first game ever to genuinely creep me out (lighting and ambient noise ftw), and it was also the first game I played where there was a rich body of community-created content.  Oh, and it was the first networked deathmatch game I ever played.  Quake 1... nuff said.  Led the 3D revolution and begat the modern mod scene.

Caesar II
I never played Sim City, so this wins my prize for favorite city-building game.  I also learned a lot of stuff about Roman history that came in handy in Latin class.

Starcraft
Know why Warcraft isn't anywhere on this list?  Because Starcraft curbstomped it in every way imaginable.

Counter-Strike
I credit the original mod team for this one instead of the current Valve team, because really, the modern version is mostly just a spit-polish.  Still some of the best multiplayer FPS out there.

DDR 3rd Mix
I don't think I want to know how many quarters I fed this thing during college.  This particular version has the best song selection of any version I've played, including the entire song list from DDR 2nd Mix available as an easter egg (fuck you, overpriced Guitar Hero DLC).  Oh, and an extra hardcore difficulty level as another easter egg.  Which I got pretty good at.  Like I said, lots of quarters.

Max Payne 1
Bullet time.  Comic book narrative.  Voiceovers.  Story.  Fights you could replay ten times and find something new in each time.  I played through the full game something like five times.  Too bad the sequel was such a disappointment.

Natural Selection
No game before or since has provided the thrill that skulking on the ceiling and dropping on a passing marine's head did in this game.  AvP tried to, but it failed where NS succeeded.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
This was a tough pick because GTA3 and GTA:SA were also excellent games.  In the end, Vice City won out for having the better soundtrack and for having a game world that was big, but not so big that large parts of it felt like filler.  Also, no tacked-on RPG elements.  Also, Fernando.

Vampire: the Masquerade: Bloodlines
I played through this one SEVEN times.  Even with the bugs it's that awesome.  The art style, the story, the characters, the voice acting... I just kept wanting to go back to that world and stay a little longer.

Half-Life 2: Episode 1
All of the Half-Life games are basically the same gameplay-wise, so I had to pick the one with the smoothest narrative experience, and Ep 1 clinched it because it had the fewest "man, I hope I'm done with this part soon" parts.

Portal
Nothing needs to be said here.

Team Fortress 2
I wavered briefly on this one, wondering if I should put one of the earlier TF iterations down.  But you know what?  Not having grenade spam from every class is fucking awesome.  So TF2 wins.  Also, art direction and stuff.