Okay, this was a bit tricky, but I have something. In short, I judged games by six main criteria
- Best-Rated Game in Franchise
- Average Reviews of Top 5 Games in Franchise
- Amount of Time said series has been or was relevant
- Sucessful Diversity of entries in the series, be it via genre, tone, mechanics, spinoffs, etc (aka the anit-Madden score)
- The Sales Popularity of a Franchise
- How much the franchise revolutionized gaming as we know it.
By default, all ten franchises have these qualities, so I'm going to be a negative nancy for much of this list, instead focusing on why there is only a single #1.
Without further ado, here are the Top 10 counting down.
10. Grand Theft Auto - GTA receives top marks in game quality, both for its best-rated iteration, 2008's IV, and for the entire console series since it went 3D. This series was the codifier of the 3D sandbox genre, and countless imitators came into being. The reason its only at #10 is a combination of it only becoming relevant in the past dozen or so years and being largely stuck to a single genre, both in terms of gameplay and story.
9. Metroid - Metroid was almost the #10 game, especially since it has ver been a really popular series. However, this series includes some of the best rated games of all time. Unlike GTA, these games are in multiple genres. Plus, other than the N64-era hiatus, Metroid has been relevant for decades, giving it bonus points.
8. Resident Evil - Resident Evil managed to define what it meant to create a horror game in the 90's. Then it did it again a decade later with RE4. Being the medium's face of horror gets Resident Evil a lot of points, as does its many strong iterations in gens 5 and 6. It may be flailing nowadays, but this is an "all time" list.
7. Warcraft - First, you have a trilogy of 90's RTS games that help codify the genre. Then, starting in 2004, you get the most sucessful MMO of all time along quite a few high quality expansions. There's not much more to say, except that this franchise is a huge deal for PC gaming, codifying two of its big genres.
6. Metal Gear - Metal Gear games, mstly the Solid entries in the series, get outrageously high reviews. Besides that, they do well in every other category without being overwhelming. They pushed forward video game narratives, have been relevant for console generations, have tackled a few genres sucessfully, and are fairly popular to boot.
5. Donkey Kong - How many other 2nd generation arcade icons got new iterations with rave reviews this year? Over three decades later, and Donkey Kong is still one of the biggest names in platforming, even if Tropical Freeze could have sold more. Throw in the various spinoffs of the series, and you'll find that Donkey Kong is also one of the more versatile characters out there, starring in platforming, puzzle, music, and racing games over the years.
4. Star Wars - This one is kind of cheating, but consider all the Star Wars games released since the Atari era. We've had some of the best space flight simulators, some great shooters, great RPG's, great action and action-adventure games, sidescrollers, strategy games... and I'm only menitoning the good ones! Other than the fact that few Star Wars games really pushed the industry forward, this is in my mind a fitting #4.
3. Zelda - Having the best-rated game of all time didn't singlehandhedly get Zelda on this list. Having a bunch of them did. When a Zelda game getting a 93 Metascore is considered disappointing, you know how revered this series is. Furthermore, the games in this series are, though often derivative, some of the most inspiring in industry history. The original Zelda helped invent sandbox games, Zelda 2 helped invent the Action RPG, Ocarina of Time changed how players interact with 3D worlds, Phantom Hourglass made touch controls fit for the hardcore audience... even the off game like Majora's Mask was inventive and influential. Ultimately though, Zelda is held back by its mostly sticking to one admittedly diverse genre compared to the Top two.
2. Final Fantasy - Dragon Quest represents the foundations of the JRPG genre. Final Fantasy, at its best represents how it's always willing to evolve. Since the series began, it's been adding new ideas to the JRPG genre, from job systems and Active Time Battles to Emo Teens and hating on organized religion. But that's not why Final Fantasy is so high up. The greater franchise, including spinoffs like Tactics, the MMO's, fighting games, Chocobo racing, Theatrhythm, etc. is full of experiments gone right. Ultimately, the main thing holding Final Fantasy back is that they're not the best rated games of all time. They're very well received, but other JRPG's like Chrono Trigger and Xenoblade beat out their FF counterparts, let alone Western competition.
1. Mario - The criteria for this list involved having highly rated games. The 3D Mario entries do that, especially the Galaxy duo. Duration? This series has been kicking since 1983, or longer if you count Donkey Kong. Diversity? This series is a leader in half a dozen genres! Popularity? Off the charts. Revolutionary factor? Oh so fulfilled. Seriously, I gave Mario top marks in every category. It wasn't even close to Zelda or Final Fantasy.
Honorable Mentions:
- 007 - Goldeneye. Enough said
- Batman - Always a perenial player, but the Arkham games give a bit of extra weight
- Castlevania - Loads of great games in a few genres
- Dragon Quest - Invented the JRPG
- Gran Turismo - Racing Sims defined
- Halo - For years, THE console FPS series
- Kirby - Nintendo's largely overlooked platforming icon that isn't part of the Mario multiverse
- Pokemon - Top RPG series of all time by popularity
- Sonic the Hedgehog - ...I don't like him, but credit where it is due...
- Tom Clancy - Tackles many genres sucessfully
- Wii - Motion Gaming defined
Love and tolerate.
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