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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Game Informer 300: Readers' Poll 300 Games of All Time

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Cerebralbore101 said:
The_Liquid_Laser said:

42 out of the top 50 are from the 21st century. Not a great list when it's called the "games of all time".  :-/

I like our list better.  Sure we may have a bias towards Nintendo games, but at least Nintendo games from every generation are represented.

A lot of stuff from before then didn't age too well. Especially not games from the first 3D consoles. I have all my old games from that era, and once you go back to play them today the rose colored glasses come off. I would recommend 9 NES games, 10 SNES games, 10 Genesis Games, 10 N64 games, and 11 PS1 games to the modern gamer. Lots of other stuff from that era is good, but totally skippable IMO. 

Generation 5 graphics have aged especially poorly, but I was surprised how much I liked Final Fantasy 7 in spite of the terrible graphics.  On the other hand, Generation 4 games have aged especially well.  Most of the best 2D games were made in Generations 3 and 4, and Generation 4 graphics can still look really good.  And of course there is also PC.  There have been a ton of good PC games over the decades which are still fun to play.  

On the other hand modern games, as a whole have serious issues.  The graphics are good, but originality stinks.  In the 20th century original games were the norm.  Now we mostly get original games from indies, and it's a rare treat to get an original high budget game like Dark Souls or something.  There is a lot more going on with those older games once you get past the aged graphics.

Last edited by The_Liquid_Laser - on 09 January 2020

The_Liquid_Laser said:
Cerebralbore101 said:

A lot of stuff from before then didn't age too well. Especially not games from the first 3D consoles. I have all my old games from that era, and once you go back to play them today the rose colored glasses come off. I would recommend 9 NES games, 10 SNES games, 10 Genesis Games, 10 N64 games, and 11 PS1 games to the modern gamer. Lots of other stuff from that era is good, but totally skippable IMO. 

Generation 5 graphics have aged especially poorly, but I was surprised how much I liked Final Fantasy 7 in spite of the terrible graphics.  On the other hand, Generation 4 games have aged especially well.  Most of the best 2D games were made in Generations 3 and 4, and Generation 4 graphics can still look really good.  And of course there is also PC.  There have been a ton of good PC games over the decades which are still fun to play.  

On the other hand modern games, as a whole have serious issues.  The graphics are good, but originality stinks.  In the 20th century original games were the norm.  Now we mostly get original games from indies, and it's a rare treat to get an original high budget game like Dark Souls or something.  There is a lot more going on with those older games once you get past the aged graphics.

I agree completely that gen 4 graphics hold up really well. But at the same time, I have to point out how much certain indie games are surpassing them in the 2D realm. Hell, Indie games are starting to give some of those old SNES and Genesis titles a run for their money, in game design too. Just look at Hollow Knight, a Metroidvania that dwarfs Super Metroid. Or Stardew Valley, and how much it puts the SNES Harvest Moon to shame. The bulk of the SNES/Genesis library are short 2-5 hour platformers, beat 'em ups, shmups, etc. They are good games IMO, but are not games I would recommend to the modern gamer.

I think games like Monkey Island, and Isometric PC games hold up well. I haven't played any of the old strategy or simulation PC games, and to be honest, I'm scared to try. They look old. But maybe I need to just man up and try them out.

Originality does stink in modern games. I think that's mostly a  AAA Western 3rd party, and Xbox thing though. Lots of Japanese games still bring something new and interesting to the table. Neir Automata, God of War (not made in Japan, but Sony owned), BotW, Odyssey, Splatoon, Fire Emblem, Sekiro, Dark Souls, The Last Guardian, Horizon (another Sony owned property), Yakuza, etc. have all done new things over the past few years. The same goes for a lot of Indie games, but you already said that.



It's nice to see how users from another site rank their favorite games. In the end, this list is no more valid or invalid than VGChartz's or any other for that matter but I'm glad to see some of my favorites appear high up.

Shout out to BotW, FFVII, Chrono Trigger, FFVI, LoZ: ALttP and RE4 and Metal Gear Solid which all make my personal Top 20 and who also placed Top 20 on their list.

Now to nitpick and whine: Kingdom Heart is 10 times better the Kingdom Hearts II. KHII should never be ranked high by anyone.



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