I am going to list the first 20 and we can discuss the merits of their place on the list. If you want to know where a particular game is, just ask. If I get some time, I may list all 200

 

1. Super Mario Bros. (NES 1985)

2. Pac Man (Arcade 1980)

3. Street Fighter II (Arcade 1991)

4. Tetris (Multiplatform 1988)

5. Legend of Zelda (NES 1987)

6. Super Mario 64 (N64 1996)

7. Space Invaders (Arcade 1978)

8. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64 1998)

9. Grand Theft Auto III (PS2 2001)

10. Pong (Arcade 1972)

11. Metroid (NES 1987)

12. Metal Gear Solid (Playstation 1988)

13. Adventure (Atari 2600, 1978)

14. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES 1990)

15. Donkey Kong (Arcade 1981)

16. Goldeneye 007 (N64 1997)

17. Halo: Combat Evolved (XBox 2001)

18. Pitfall (Atari 2600, 1982)

19. Super Mario Kart (SNES 1992)

20. Virtua Fighter (Arcade 1993)

EGM has always had a hard on for the Street Fighter series, but where's Mortal Kombat?

70. Mortal Kombat 2 (Arcade 1993)

 

 

I didn't see the 1st one on there.

Well there goes any credibility that list had. The original Mortal Kombat not only changed fighting games and kicked off one of the most financially successful series ever, it even got Congress pissed off.

You know, just because a genre may have been successful for a long period of time, doesn't mean the predecessor to the genre should be credited with its success. What did Street Fighter II do to deserve this recognition? What a joke.

 

If any fighting game revolutionized the genre, it would be Mortal Kombat. Its franchise is the king of arcade and home consoles. If Street Fighter II had anything to do with the birth of the genre, it would be still be overshadowed by MK I & II.

Street Fighter II deserves to be there, as it was one of the biggest series in history, but having it there without Mortal Kombat is like making a list of basketball players and listing Larry Bird and not Magic Johnson.

I was leaning toward Mortal Kombat taking the place of Street Fighter II in the list, with SFII taking a place somewhere between VF3 and MKII.

MK and SF II are both top ten games, where in the top ten is a matter of debate.

EGM's list is a sham.

 

SF2 in Top 3? Please. No fighting game has made enough of an impact, done enough for the gaming industry and its genre, or been good enough to hang with the greatest playing games to land that high. That's a hard-on if I ever saw one.

 

However, if you were to put a fighting game in the listing, MK would be definitely be better suited for what it did for the genre. Probably a placing between 6-10 would be appropriate for it and even then, that's iffy.

I am just stunned that anyone would actually try to make a case for Mortal Kombat being more important to the fighting game genre than Street Fighter II and I am a huge fan of MK. Mortal Kombat would not even exist if it wasn't for Street Fighter II. Ed Boon himself will be the first to tell you right up front that Mortal Kombat was Midway's answer to Street Fighter II and was heavily inspired by that game. The gameplay mechanics and even the idea for Fatalities were based on ideas Ed Boon liked in SF II.

 

Compare earlier fighting games like Karate Champ, Yie Ar Kung Fu and the original Street Fighter to SF II. SF II is light years ahead of that crap and was the first to show how good the genre could be. Basically every fighting game released since 1992 has taken things from SF II. It is the foundation of the genre! There are so many things that have become a staple of the genre that were popularized in it I don't even know where to start. QCF motions, charge motions, the 6 button layout, the 8 way joystick, dizzies, selecting from multiple characters, ending stories, fireballs, command throws, two in ones, crossups, buffering, chains.....you could go on and on. I can't even think of a fighting game series that doesn't take from SF II. Even games from other genres use some of these.

 

 

Mortal Kombat is not the king of arcades and consoles. It did very well in arcades in America from 1992 to 1995. Games from Sega, Namco, Sammy, Capcom and SNK continue to do well worldwide. Super Street Fighter II Turbo is still played in Japanese arcades. Games like Guilty Gear XX Reload that are not big in the US are huge in other countries. The main games in the series have done well on console but franchises like Tekken and Soulcalibur do as well and in some cases better. MK is one of the most successful series of fighting games but by no means is so dominating that it should be high on the list just for that.

 

MK should be there for the impact it had on the violence in gaming controversy. I do think MK1 is often downplayed by the gaming press because they simply don't like the game. That game, Night Trap and Doom should all get credit for starting what is still an important issue today. I think it should be in the top 10 if you are listing the most important or influencial game of all time. The thing is most of MK's importance is from other people's reaction to it not it's actual gameplay. EGM may have chosen not to give MK the nod because the game itself was not top material even back then.

 

No fighting game has done enough for the gaming industry? Ask any arcade operator who was around in the 90's what they think. The fighting genre boom(started by MK and SF II....) kept that entire industry alive an extra decade and it's one of the few things keeping it on life support now.

Tetris is #4 so I'm happy. As for fighting games that were influential what about Killer Instint was'nt it the first game to use long combo strings.

I am just stunned that anyone would actually try to make a case for Mortal Kombat being more important to the fighting game genre than Street Fighter II and I am a huge fan of MK.

Ditto. It's kinda crazy. I remember going to the arcades when SF2 came out. People would gather around just because of that game. That game is responsible for people going out of their way to go to arcades instead of parents just dropping them off there in the mall while they shopped.

 

If it weren't for SF2 the fighting genre and arcade gaming as a whole would've never taken off and opened the door for games like MK2.

 

Besides, the SF series has always been "better" than the MK series in terms of playability. There were, for the most part, more balanced. The only MK game that is playable is 2.

I won't argue with SF 2 being in the top 10 because it set off the largest arcade craze in the US since the Video Game Crash circa 1984. One of the few reasons arcades are still around is due to SF 2 derivitive fighters.

 

 

 

Super Mario 64, though, just shows the kind of Mario hard-on possessed by the EGM staff.

 

Every other Mario game on that list has a specific reason for being there.

 

Donkey Kong was one of the biggest arcade hits before the Video Game Crash of the early 1980s. It was revolutionary in that there were not a lot of platformer games at that time, although that changed shortly thereafter when it hit big.

 

This title put Nintendo on the map and set the stage for the NES.

 

Super Mario 1 was one of the biggest hits in the arcade post-Crash and making it a pack-in with the NES helped put that system on the map.

 

Super Mario 3 was probably the pinnacle of NES gaming.

 

Super Mario Kart was one of the most important games to the SNES and helped spawn an entire new genre of Mario games.

 

 

 

Super Mario 64, while highly praised and one of the sole reasons for many people to buy the N64, was counter-productive for the system.

 

Nintendo kept dicking around with the standards for the N64 before the launch in an effort to make Mario 64 the centerpiece of the system, which was to the detriment of other games at the launch.

 

Because of the continually changing standards, it meant that fewer games were completed for the system and that they tended to be of lesser quality than the launch titles for the competing Playstation system.

 

 

 

Goldeneye was a more important game for the life of the N64 because it took advantage of the system's four joystick ports to do the first substantial first-person shooter multiplayer for a home videogame system.

 

 

 

As for Adventure at #13, it's highly overrated at that position and this is coming from a big fan of the game.

 

Adventure was a hit for the 2600 but not to the extent that other games such as Space Invaders were.

 

The only reason EGM can probably dig up for this ranking is that it contains the first known "Easter Egg" in the history of gaming, which was a secret room in which the game's programmer had written his credit for the game.

 

 

Virtua Fighter's ranking at #20 seems highly overrated, as the game was mainly a novelty at the time, as it was the beginning of the changeover from sprites to polygons in gaming.

 

Frankly, it looked like shit and didn't play much better. More proof that something "revolutionary" isn't necessarily "good" or "enjoyable".

 

 

 

The rest of the rankings seem justifiable.

Killer Instinct was just Nintendo trying to cash in on the Mortal Kombat craze.

 

As far as SF vs MK goes, yeah I'm biased but around here SF was never as popular. I guess techinically it's a superior game but the graphics were just so cartoony and it made the games feel perpetually stuck in the mid 80s.

 

Besides, MK was (and judging from this thread still) the target of gaming snobs. "Real" gamers didn't play MK, but despite that there was always an opening on the SF II machines in my arcade and there was always a mob like 5 deep at the latest MK machine.

 

The first MK was groundbreaking shit.. digitized graphics, blood, fatalities, people forget how big a deal that was in 1992. You look at it now and you think "what was all the fuss about" but at the time no one had really seen anything like it.

 

Again, I said before that both SF II and MK deserve to be in the top ten, and it's up to the individual to decide where on that list they go, but to have one on the list and the other not on it at all is straight up ridiculous.

Besides, MK was (and judging from this thread still) the target of gaming snobs. "Real" gamers didn't play MK.

Who said anything like that here?

 

 

Yeah MK was groundbreaking but outside the violence it doesn't come close to having the impact SF II did. When was the last time you played a fighting game with digitized graphics? MK is a relic, no one is still following it's lead. SF II remains a template for the genre.

 

Killer Instinct owes more to SF II than MK. What does it have in common with MK? Blood? The game uses the exact same control scheme as SF II, the same style of motions for moves and the entire basis for the key gameplay element(the big chain combos) is something that was started in SF II.

To be honest, it was mostly over at DVDVR where the announcement of the new MK game was met with "OMG LEWZERS PLAY MK!"

 

However comments like " The only MK game that is playable is 2" piss me off cause it comes off like the person making the claim is the only one who can decide what's playable.

 

I first played MK at the local pool hall, they had a SF II machine as well. The SF II machine didn't appeal to me, but the MK one did. In some people's eyes that makes me a subpar fighting game fan because I didn't bow to the greatness that is SF II.

 

 

SF II remains a template for the genre.

 

 

It would seem Tekken is more of a template these days than SF II, but I'm sure I'll get proven wrong.

 

 

 

Killer Instinct owes more to SF II than MK. What does it have in common with MK? Blood? The game uses the exact same control scheme as SF II, the same style of motions for moves and the entire basis for the key gameplay element(the big chain combos) is something that was started in SF II.

 

 

The six button layout is about all it has in common with SF II. The characters, moves, fatalities (I forget what KI called them now) the storyline was all more reminiscent of MK than SF II to me.

21. Phantasy Star Online (Dreamcast 2001)

22. Soul Calibur (Dreamcast 1999)

23. Super Metroid (SNES 1994)

24. Tetris Attack (SNES 1996)

25. Gran Turismo (Playstation 1998)

26. Phantasy Star (Sega Master System 1988)

27. Final Fantasy VII (Playstation 1997)

28. Galaga (Arcade 1981)

29. Final Fantasy II (SNES 1991)

30. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Playstation 1997)

31. Star Wars (Arcade 1983)

32. Robotron:2084 (Arcade 1982)

33. Tecmo Bowl (NES 1989)

34. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (Playstation 1999)

35. Tomb Raider (Multiplatform 1996)

36. Final Fantasy III (SNES 1994)

37. Virtua Fighter 2 (Arcade 1995)

38. Asteroids (Arcade 1979)

39. Combat (Atari 2600; 1977)

40. Zelda II: The Adventures of Link (NES 1988)

21. Phantasy Star Online (Dreamcast 2001)

37. Virtua Fighter 2 (Arcade 1995)

40. Zelda II: The Adventures of Link (NES 1988)

Phantasy Star Online- A game that like 15 people ever played

 

 

Virtua Fighter 2- Does this REALLY need to be on here? What big contribution did THIS make that can't be said for VF 1 as well?

 

 

Zelda: Adventures Of Link- Sweet Enola Gay, do they just completely fellatate Nintendo or what? That game SUCKED and certainly didn't live up to the expectations of a Zelda game. If "Link To The Past" was listed instead, I could live with it but this game was just rancid.

Look at KI's moves. They're mostly rolling and charge motions. SF II style. The game only has a couple of tap moves like MK. What was the most important aspect of KI's gameplay? The combo system. Chaining or canceling one move to another is from SF II. KI took that and expanded on it. MK didn't have kind of ground combos until MK3. If anything it's MK that took from KI since MK3's dial a combos were in response to KI.

 

The story? I guess KI's darker story and atmosphere may have been influenced by MK but the whole concept of character stories and endings was from SF II.

 

It's easy to take for granted the impact SF II had because many of it's contributions are such an ingrained part of the genre it feels like it's always been that way. SF II introduced multiple playable characters with their own completely different set of moves. Think of what a huge addition to the genre is. Can you imagine a fighting game that didn't have that? How about combos? Imagine a fighting game with no combos. What about the motions for moves? How do you know Sub-Zero's freeze? It's the fireball motion!

 

 

I agree that multiple VF games being there is silly. The thing is the list isn't supposed to be entirely about what game was most important. The list is supposed to represent games that had an impact and were great for their time. I suppose the argument is that VF2 expanded on VF1, setting the stage for modern 3D fighting and more importantly was a great game at it's time. I think a VF game should be there but one is enough. I'd pick VF2. The first is important for being the first 3D fighter but the game itself wasn't all that great, even in it's time. VF2 was the first great game in the series and really helped get the 3D genre started.

Having read this mag for years, it is clear they have a bit of a bias towards Street Fighter, so that's probably why it is so high. I would have tied SF and MK, since they did revitalize the arcade and had an impact on their time in their own unique way (though honestly, Doom seems to be the game most referenced when talking about game violence, even today). They probably put SF higher because it came out first and without it, we might never have had the MK series as well.

 

I have the issue as well and this thread could have some fine discussion, so I'll continue where Will left off:

 

41. Double Dragon (Arcade - 1987)

42. R-Type (Arcade - 1987)

43. Tron (Arcade - 1982)

44. Mike Tyson's Punch Out (NES - 1987)

45. John Madden Football (Genesis - 1990)

46. Resident Evil 4 (GameCube - 2005)

47. Joust (Arcade - 1982)

48. Warlords (Arcade - 1980)

49. NHLPA Hockey '93 (Genesis - 1992)

50. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Super NES - 1992)

51. Castlevania (NES - 1987)

52. Metroid Prime (GameCube - 2002)

53. Mega Man II (NES - 1989)

54. Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis - 1991)

55. Defender (Arcade - 1980)

56. NBA Jam (Arcade - 1993)

57. Virtua Racing (Arcade - 1992)

58. Baseball Stars (NES - 1989)

59. Super Bomberman (Super NES - 1993)

60. Final Fantasy Tactics (PlayStation - 1998)

 

Couple notes:

 

- Virtua Fighter and StarFox did a lot more to show off the first uses of polygons in games than Virtua Racer did. Fighter is #20, Star Fox is #115.

 

- Madden should be top 20 for sure.

 

- This is how they state their criteria:

 

What's the difference?? Simple.? We're ranking these games based on how much they consumed our lives--and, to a lesser extent, rattled the videogame biz--when they first hit arcades or consoles.? That's why something as primitive as Pac-Man ranks higher than the more-fun-to-play-today Halo 2.

- This is how they state their criteria:

 

What's the difference?? Simple.? We're ranking these games based on how much they consumed our lives--and, to a lesser extent, rattled the videogame biz--when they first hit arcades or consoles.? That's why something as primitive as Pac-Man ranks higher than the more-fun-to-play-today Halo 2.

This is like creating a list of the hottest women of all time and making the criteria so that Mary Jane Rottencrotch from next door can get on the list because you used to whack it to her throughout your teen years...

We're ranking these games based on how much they consumed our lives

If that is the criteria than why isn't Everquest or SIMS in the top 10? Where art thou PC games?

45. John Madden Football (Genesis - 1990)

49. NHLPA Hockey '93 (Genesis - 1992)

57. Virtua Racing (Arcade - 1992)

 

Madden- Why Madden 1990 and not one of the Next Gen Madden games from the late 90s? Why not go back to the original Madden from 1985?

 

 

Hockey- Why NHLPA Hockey 93 and not any other Hockey game from Blades Of Steel to NHL 97?

 

 

 

I don't include Baseball Stars in these comments because it had good mechanics as well as the player system that was revolutionary at the time, in which you could "buy" stats for your players or pay big money to a free agent to fill a hole on your roster.

 

 

 

Virtua Racing- Why? Why not the original Monaco GP from the 80s, Turbo, or Outrun instead? Because it's done in polygons? Bullshit.

We're ranking these games based on how much they consumed our lives

If that is the criteria than why isn't Everquest or SIMS in the top 10? Where art thou PC games?

I think that EGM is intentionally taking an "arcade and consoles only" approach, since they didn't really expand to handling computer stuff until the console market was near death in the mid-90s.

 

 

 

If this included PC games, we'd have seen M.U.L.E., Star Control 2, or X-COM: UFO Defense by now.

 

Even though all three received console translations (NES, Phillips CD-I(?), and PS1, respectively), they're far better known and respected by computer gamers such as PC Gamer magazine and traditionally make the top 20 in any list they release.

I think I dated one of the Rottencrotch sisters once.

 

61. Pokemon Red/Blue (Game Boy - 1998)

62. Frogger (Arcade - 1981)

63. Breakout (Arcade - 1976)

64. Excitebike (NES - 1985)

65. Resident Evil (PS - 1996)

66. R.C. Pro-Am (NES - 1987)

67. Resident Evil 2 (PS - 1998)

68. NFL Football (Intellivision - 1980)

69. F-Zero (SNES - 1991)

70. Mortal Kombat II (Arcade - 1993)*

71. Tempest (Arcade - 1980)

72. Spy Hunter (Arcade - 1983)

73. Gauntlet (Arcade - 1985)

74. Chrono Trigger (SNES - 1995)

75. SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs (PS2 - 2001)

76. Halo 2 (X-Box - 2004)

77. Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow (XBox - 2004)

78. Daytona USA (Arcade - 1994)

79. Contra (Arcade - 1987)

80. Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn - 1998)

 

* - This is what the Editor in Chief wrote in the entry for MK II. Make of it what you will.

 

"Ok, MK2 may stink now--it doesn't stand the test of time like SFII does--but when it first came out, we were waiting in line at the arcades (and fighting for the SNES controllers) to play it.

- Daytona USA? Buh?