Top 100 Video Games of All Time
Updated Quarterly

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Position #100 (9,184)
Final Fight	SNES, September, 1991
	Sidescrolling brawlers at its absolute best. Most everyone who remembers when this arcade classic reached the SNES would agree that it was more than just the usual release. Sure, the story line was poor and the game premiered some of the most unrealistic action known to the video game industry, but the shirtless-suspendered-giant, Haggar (who was also mayor of Metro city) could throw down some mean fists, and it made that unrealistic action some of the most enjoyable button-mashing a gaming fan could possibly experience. Definitely the peak of the brawlers.

Position #99 (9,229)
Gumshoe	NES, June, 1986
	This was truly an original title. Original and obscure can often be interchangeable however, and this was one of those cases. It was a side-scrolling game, not really a platform layout so much, but more of like a combination of Duckhunt and Kid Icarus. It's the single most unique game that uses the Zapper gun, and your character, R.L. Stevenson, will continually run to the right, off of any cliff or right into any dangerous situation that may be up ahead in his path to rescuing his daughter from the evil King Dom. Stevenson is a somewhat ordinary looking detective character, with the extrordinary trait of human flight as a response to being shot. So all you have to do is continually shoot him with the Zapper gun to keep afloat. Obstacles and enemies come and go as the screen rolls on by, forcing you to not only carefully shoot yourself for strategic maneuvers, but also shoot other little enemies and items in the vicinity as well. There’s tough bosses and challenging, yet always fascinating levels. Never before had a game quite like this been created, and still to date it stands alone with nothing even remotely similar. Definitely one of the most original designs ever to grace any gaming system.

Position #98 (9,459)
Super Starwars	SNES, June 1, 1992
	Since the first Star Wars game, the graphics have been marveled over, and unmatched by nearly any other game of their time. Besides the ongoing Star Wars fans, which are numerous, these graphics did create a standard for others to live up to, or at least to judge those other games by, as virtually no other game could match it. This game in particular was the first to really exceed in those respects far beyond every other game of its time.

Position #97 (10,080)
Diddy Kong Racing	N64, November 24, 1997
	This title made the Guinness Book of World Records when over 800,000 copies were purchased during a 2 week phase in the holiday season of its release. A complete imitation of Super Mario Kart? Sure, but this game offered much more than just the racing. It was fundamentally a combination of Super Mario Kart and Pilotwings, as the racing qualities through land and air were accompanied by the excitement of exploration through beautifully rendered landscapes. Although the majority of innovation was already existent in previous titles, it introduced a crossover racing/adventure style of game that was done extremely well. With the eventual challenge of defeating Wizpig, Diddy Kong Racing reaches a new height in both the racing and adventure catalogues.

Position #96 (10,601)
Metroid Prime	Gamecube, November 15, 2002
	This Gamecube action title follows some of the most popular titles in gaming history. The Metroid series is known by virtually every gamer, and the popularity has only grown since it's birth in August of '86. The timeline of this game falls in between titles 1 and 2 for the original NES, and in case you're a younger gamer who wasn't around for those, the original is playable on this title. Graphical textures and detail in the environment are easily some of the best of today, yet the most remarkable factor of the game is how close the game parallels the original, as to not take the Metroid fans far from feel of it all. This title does however mark the jump into the first 3D environment for the feared bounty hunter, Samus, as she explores the planet Tallon IV to halt the Space Pirates' malevolent plans.

Position #95 (10,638)
Banjo-Kazooie	N64, June 30, 1998
	Banjo-Kazooie introduced an original concept in play control, as it combined two characters allowing for simultaneous activity for more advanced movement patterns. You controlled a bear named Banjo, wearing a backpack containing a bird named Kazooie, who, when accessed, could help Banjo to fly, run up steep inclines, or maneuver other ways to grasp an item, explore an island, or just get from one place to the next. Your goal in the game was simply to rescue your sister from an evil witch before she steals her youth and good looks. But along the way the game opens up worlds of entertainment through beautifully rendered magical lands, creative enemies, challenging puzzles, and the ability to change into various other creatures. Not only was the game clever and comical, but the graphics were a true marvel, utilizing the console for the highest of its capabilities, and the controlling and game play matched. Overall, Banjo-Kazooie represented a combination of every trait attributed to any great game. And this all payed off when the title brought home two video game awards in 1999 and upon the close of the N64 system, remained one of the most popular titles.

Position #94 (10,769)
Little Nemo the Dream Master	NES, 1990
	Originally, Little Nemo was a character developed in the daily comics. Hardly remembered today as that roll, he was brought back in this classic game that had outstanding game play and control. This alone did not make the game what it was though. Rather, it was the highly rich and varied graphical layout, the originality and depth of the character development, and the ability for this little dreamer to experience just about anything in his microcosm called slumberland without ever seeming out of place. It was one of the only games where anything could happen and would seem absolutely appropriate, and furthermore, genius. From Sunday's paper, to a full length animated motion picture, to a well designed, in-depth and detailed environment that any gaming fan could appreciate, it was all a smooth and worthwhile transition for Little Nemo.

Position #93 (11,252)
Super Pitfall	NES, 1987
	This side-scrolling adventure is a very old one with both prequels and sequels. The original title appeared on the Atari, as a little thing hopping over blue rectangles, sometimes with green pixels inside. This was the representation of a little jungle-guy jumping over pits of water, often containing viscous alligators and crocodiles. This was the most classic of the pitfall games, but fell short by the simplicity, making for very limited game play. This next version, appearing on the NES not much later, featured an updated jungle-guy with a touch of Indiana Jones in him, in a much more in-depth adventure, with varied scenery and obscure items. Your character spent the majority of the game in a sort of castle-like cave filled with odd enemies, and very mysterious hidden areas containing mystical statues, and unknown items, often guarded by equally mysterious means, such as a great stone face sliding along the stone floor, only able to get past by quickly ducking in a small hole in the floor while it slides on by. All these mysterious features made this particular game, the best of any carrying the classic Pitfall title.

Position #92 (11,259)
Baseball	NES, October, 1985
	Here we have another very simple title, that managed to have a very competitive edge, and because of that, be a very enjoyable game. But you may still be wondering why this simple '85 sports game made it this high in the rankings while hundreds of better titles never saw the list. The reason comes down to influence. All of those other baseball titles that have since been released fundamentally based their design on this game. It was a huge landmark in the development of sports games. Sure, when you hit a homerun, the audience engaged in an odd polychromatic color scheme, but the camera angles, control configurations, fundamental game play, stadium set-up, and even the audience (minus the color changing) is the same group of paraplegics, just a bunch of upper bodies behind a thick bunch of blue. The fundamental design hasn't changed since the creation of this game. All they've done is added flashy graphics and options. Oh, and if you unplug your controller half way, you throw the ball less than 1mph and the curve you can get is amazing. Untouchable strikes every pitch. A flaw? Perhaps, but it's another little quirk that makes this game one the more original designs of any sports title to date.

Position #91 (11,422)
Lemmings	SNES, 1991
	The Lemmings craze took flight in 1994 with the release of the Windows based version for PC, but the SNES and Game Boy versions were released back in 1991 featuring 120 varied environments that these cute little mindless beings walked strait through. Although there were versions created for both the NES and Game Boy as well, the SNES version just boasted better graphics, capable by the SNES hardware that the other two could not.

Position #90 (11,486)
Super Ghouls n' Ghosts	SNES, October, 1991
	You're thrown into a classic side scrolling adventure in a dark ages setting, where you control a spear-hurling knight who can lose his armor in the blink of an eye- and you're diminished to a skinny guy named Arthur, running scared in his underwear. The graphics were impressive, and the environment seemed to be pseudo-Halloween, running past bear wiry trees and tomb stones, avoiding strategically placed ghouls as you try to collect money bags and treasure chests, and hopefully get that armor back. It was one of the earliest games on the SNES, and even after all the games had been released, it still had competitive game play and replay value, though usually ideal around late-October.

Position #89 (11,503)
Ogre Battle	SNES, 1994
	In making this rare SNES title, creator Yasumi Matsuno was inspired by the rock band Queen. This influence can be seen in both the music and location names within the game. Beyond the creative insight, Ogre Battle became a desirable blend of all the value in role playing games coupled with all the benefits of a strategy game. It was a fairly original concept for a game design, and the end result proved to be very successful. Of course, this original game design created mass popularity instantly, and the shelves in the stores designated "Ogre Battle" rarely held the game for longer than a matter of minutes. Combine that with limited numbers in production and you get an extremely rare title. Playstation has since released versions, as well as N64, satisfying the need for many gamers, but true fans require this original release, as it reigns king.

Position #88 (12,311)
Dr. Mario	NES, October 1990
	What makes this game so significant, is that not only did it contain Mario, which alone would make any game worthwhile, but this one took the unbeatable design of Tetris, and added competition. It was the first competitive puzzle game, and it was done very well. The head-to-head fast paced direct competition allowed people to play a puzzle game simultaneously and never experience boredom. It added such a great new element that it re-popularized the simple puzzles, and likewise, excellent game design in a time when graphics were becoming overvalued.

Position #87 (12,470)
Gradius	NES, June 13, 1986
	Gradius represented the epitome of an arcade classic, playable on a home-console. It was first released on arcade in 1985, and was a huge success. The following year, Konami released it for the NES and it was taken equally well. It was the side-scrolling lateral flight emulator that set the standards. You fly your ship through space and fire out infinite ammo from your finite little ship as you're bombarded with other space ships, stationary weapons, and enemies. Not to mention the bosses, who were of respectable caliber and difficulty, and often took up a good portion of the screen. Gradius not only represented the positive effect of marketing arcade hits on home-console systems, but it had both great play-control and an innovative design, helped define a new style of game that actually required the player to develop excessive hand-eye coordination to successfully maneuver the ship.

Position #86 (12,670)
Megaman X	SNES, December 29, 1993
	It's not certain what initially made this little blue guy such a massive star, but he definitely earned his stardom by the time this game came out. Within the first month of 1994, Megaman had landed his first title on the SNES, in his seventh overall lead roll, popularity now higher than ever. Keeping all other things equal, the graphics were outstanding. They always were, but the SNES offered greater potential and Capcom took full advantage of that. Otherwise, the game was fundamentally the same. There's never been any reason to change a perfect recipe.

Position #85 (12,801)
Paper Mario 2: The Thousand Year Door	GCN, October 2004
	Paper Mario 2: The Thousand Year Door began tallying up votes almost a year prior to its release in October of 2004. Since November of 2004, it has landed on the hot list every single month, breaking more than 300 primary votes alone on several occasions. When you add in the secondary votes, this title is on an amazing pace. After spending a record setting 23 consecutive months atop the hot list, it's no wonder this young title has found its way this far into the rankings. Although this says very little about the design and game play of the title, realize that these votes have not gone undeserved in that respect. It is without a doubt worthy of the pace of its ascent.

Position #84 (12,801)
Zelda: Majora's Mask	N64, October 24, 2000
	Zelda has created a following like no other game series has. Riding on high in both cult and public popularity, Zelda became a favorite of all groups of gamers, and the votes generally reflect that. This game in particular was never really taken with quite as much awe as that which preceded it. In actuality, the game was very remarkable. But we all know Ocarina of Time set some pretty hefty standards, and this game did a pretty good job of following.

Position #83 (12,807)
Dragon Quest VI	Super Famcom, December 9, 1995
	Known as Dragon Warrior in the states, this is the sixth installment of the series, and the third and final installment of the Heaven series. As it's release never found the United States, it's obviously ran into some difficulties obtaining votes. But enough votes outside of U.S. residents, and those who have played a translated emulator (which even that remains excessively rare) know of the caliber of this game. The evil monster Modu, perhaps you recall if you've played Dragon Warrior Monsters, is taking over the world, and you are obviously trying to stop him. One of the aspects that make this game unique to any other RPG is the addition of a hazy reality. Between the real world and the phantom world, it becomes a challenge to decipher what is real, and what is not. This game also featured amazing character depth as it was the original creator of numerous areas of innovative character design and control. First off, your characters acquire distinct personalities, which alter the flow of the game. It also featured the addition of a working classification, as you work different jobs, and obtain different job levels and abilities separate from experience points. You could learn abilities from various monsters, and the monsters themselves can acquire spells and abilities as many are available for you to control. This was also the first Dragon Quest title to offer monster animation scenes in battle, as well as contain a bonus character, a bonus dungeon, and a bonus boss. A truly advanced RPG that was years ahead of it's time, yet never found a home in the U.S. Even so, Dragon Quest VI has been able to consistently fetch a solid number of votes.

Position #82 (12,812)
Ghosts n' Goblins	NES, September, 1985
	Known as Demon World Village in Japan, Ghosts n' Goblins was a side scrolling adventure featuring a little knight in level after level of difficult odds. Generally a pretty similar game to its sequel Super Ghouls and Ghosts, which also made the list, it differed mainly in the originality of being an early title with little else like it at the time of its release. As such, it maintained some influence over future titles, if not completely dictating the following of countless similar designs, environments, and formulas. Ghosts and Goblins was definitely one of the more classic side scrolling adventures to grace a home-console, but like many of the others that followed it, always seemed to boast better replay value in the end of October.

Position #81 (13,006)
Paperboy	NES, 1988
	Undoubtedly an original title. Obscure, but original. You play the role of a fast-paced bicycling paperboy who delivers the papers by side-arming them from the street at an alarming rate. You're doing this through an overhead view with the screen diagonally scrolling at a set pace, no stops, and no slowing down. The obstacle course and fans at the end of each block was a little odd, but even more so was the tornadoes tearing through the village, dogs attacking you, children terrorizing you with remote control cars, real cars and motorcycles attempting to kill you, the knife-bearing psycho, and the occasional grim reaper with the intent to claim the life of this poor, tormented paperboy with his intense route. All of this was aimed at the younger gamers who had, until this point, been anticipating the time when they could start their own paper route. Nonetheless, an incredibly classic game from the lost era of originality.

Position #80 (13,438)
Super Smash Brothers	N64, April 27, 1999
	With all the thrill of the later style advanced tactical fight games, it's hard to select one particular title that is any better than another. Most contain the same types of moves, characters styles, button configurations, environments, camera angles, and game design, just with a different name. Then along came Super Smash Brothers. The playful, yet tactical fighter in a psuedo-3d environment that included all the most classic characters a gaming fan could ever ask for, including Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, and many more. This game offered more depth and value than any other fighter, as the variety of classic characters all gave it their own twist of style, allowing the sum of the parts to exceed any limits previously associated with platform fighters. That and it was unbelievably fun.

Position #79 (13,722)
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island	SNES, August 4, 1995
	This Super Mario World sequel was such a clever and original title that no gamer should go without playing it. It takes place very early on in the Mario legacy, such that Mario and Luigi are only infants, and Yoshi picks up his stardom, carying baby Mario from level to level, all with unmatched creativity, in search for his stolen twin, Luigi. Just as Mario and Luigi are infants, such is Bowser, and by the help of the evil wizard, Kamek, he and all other enemies take on massive proportions that can create quite a challenge for the determined Yoshis'. The variation among levels remains distinguished through the course of the game and the broad range of movements Yoshi is capable of, like jumping, hovering, eating, stomping, shooting, spitting, creating eggs, etc, give the game complicated, yet outstanding play control, further increasing the already outstanding replay value. The game is divided up into 6 worlds, each with 8 stages plus bonus levels and countless hidden secrets throughout. In addition to that, the mini games hidden inside and concluding each level offer even more variety to a game that needs no more. It produced some of the best graphics of its time, everything hand drawn, with incredible detail and often clever animations. The soundtrack suits every moment and aside from baby Mario's piercing crying noise, it remains one of the greatest adventure platformers yet created. And though it has yet to have a follow-up title to push it further up the chart, (excluding Yoshi's Story), the formal sequel is currently underway.

Position #78 (13,865)
Duck Tales	NES, 1990
	It's not that the game deserves endless credit for shear genius in design and originality, but the cartoon does, and the game reflected that. The graphics were certainly a spectacle of their era and the game play, design, music, and fundamentally everything else easily held up to the standards of one of greatest cartoons ever televised. Backed by Disney, this classic adventure featured the Scottish money-hungry Scrooge McDuck, and his countless relatives, though none part of a nuclear family. Combining past and future in a perfect blend of action and adventure, Duck Tales was not only done right, it was further deepened and enhanced by the quality and popularity of the irreplaceable cartoon. Long live Duckburg.

Position #77 (14,228)
T & C Surf	NES, February, 1988
	This legend will never die out. It was an extremely basic game, with two well-designed variations of play. Surf, or skate, both of which were condensed little courses that somehow, in one way or another, offered countless hours of fun. T & C Surf was such a popular title at its release, that between its name, its design, and ever increasing popularity on an already too-popular title, it soon became an absolute classic- and everyone either owned one, or had played it enough to rival the score of those owners.

Position #76 (14,723)
Dragon Quest Monsters	Gameboy, September 25, 1998
	Known as Dragon Warrior Monsters in the U.S., this game utilized most of what the Pokemon craze popularized. It should be known however that the Dragon Quest series invented every feature that the Pokemon series popularized. Nearly a decade before the release of Pokemon, the monster taming, control, and training was an invention to the RPG world by Dragon Quest V. The reason Pokemon took all the glory in the states, is because these games never made it through the translation stage, and so we never saw our early-SNES copies here in the U.S. Thus, Dragon Quest (Warrior) Monsters was the first time the series released a title with these characteristics in the U.S. The player was able to train various monsters of the original classic NES Dragon Quest games, and fight with them in their party, as they travel through the worlds in the game, or to link up Gameboys and play head-to-head against friends. The innovative aspect of this particular game, however, that no other game had ever done, was the ability for the player to take his monsters and breed them together to individualize and completely customize his own super-monsters. It was a careful and time consuming process, getting the right male monsters and the right female monsters, in the right variations, to create totally unique monsters, otherwise unattainable, and extremely powerful. You could then take that massive hulking creature, train it since the day of its birth, and breed it with another super-monster of your own individual creation for an even greater terror. Then take that one a few more steps further, and so on. It took thousands of hours to complete possibly the most tedious processes in video game history, but it was one of the most thrilling and innovative additions to the world of RPGs in years, and rightfully so, by the same series that created the first ever RPG.

Position #75 (16,096)
1942	NES, April 4, 1985
	1942 featured advanced graphics, perfect handling and play control, and a classic arcade overview design. This one set the standard for the overhead scrolling flight games in basically every quality. It wasn't necessarily fair teams, as it was you against 700,000 other planes, but that is exactly what made it the one game to which others were judged by- because this one in particular was possible with the development of extreme hand-eye coordination, and always enjoyable along the way. 1942 made this genre of gaming what it is, and called for a equally successful sequel, appropriately named 1943, and just always a couple votes shy of the list- not for reasons of game play or graphics, or anything else, but simply because 1942 came first.

Position #74 (16,099)
RC Pro-Am	NES, 1987
	RC Pro-Am was simply done so well that it could not be passed up. You zoom around in a remote control car in a highly competitive race against other racers. Possibly the most notable feature of this game is the perfect play control and perfect viewing perspective. It didn't leave the camera angle a hundred feet above the track so you could watch your dot racing other dots and some particular point on the screen, and it didn't sit right over top, forcing you to remember every track perfectly as you can never see anything coming. Rather, the camera sat at the perfect elevation in an overhead perspective, giving you just enough time to perfectly react, while staying close to the action. This was aided by the control the player has over the car, as it cornered and handled perfectly, as you slid through the corners, hugging the edges, then took off again on the strait away, trying to grab another letter or two on your way to spelling Nintendo, which would give you the next model up of RCs. The game was just done so well, that every new racer of that style coming out would either have to copy it, or make a worse game.

Position #73 (16,101)
Secret of Mana	SNES, October, 1993
	Each quarter, Secret of Mana and Breath of Fire move up relatively equally in votes, and are overall generally only a few apart, often switching back and forth as to which one ranks above the other. Both hailing from the golden age of RPGs, Secret of Mana in particular is often valued more for its adventure style game play with real time fighting and puzzles. Besides that, it came first, and that right there deserves all the credit for originality.

Position #72 (16,105)
Super Mario Land	Gameboy, 1989
	This was the original Mario title to appear on the handheld Gameboy. Although taking Mario with you to school may not have been the most practical of choices in one's educational development, it was an absolutely fantastic solution to social studies. For the first in the series, this game was surprisingly large and, although monochromatic, featured new environments. This game kicked off the release of the Gameboy and proved to be a technological marvel, despite it's status today as little more than a piece of gaming history. It can be noted that Mario's creator, Miyamoto, didn't make this game. Rather Gunpei Yokoi handled this title, which made it somewhat different relative to the others.

Position #71 (16,701)
Metal Gear	NES, June, 1988
	It really wasn't designed very well with phrases like "The truck have started to move" and very awkward control and movement patterns. But it was just such a cool game. It was the foundation for a covert operations simulation in an adventure style game. Varied weapons, necessary items, and tactical, almost puzzling aspects make this game fairly complex and in depth compared to what had been previously created, and it showed real innovation in the creation of that genre of gaming. That and, this game would be the first in the series that would eventually release the worldly popular Metal Gear Solid titles.

Position #70 (16,763)
Breath of Fire	SNES, August, 1994
	This is currently the farthest gap Breath of Fire has held above Secret of Mana. In the past it has occasionally fallen behind, but usually sat one seat ahead. This is currently the largest margin of separation the two have had since the earliest days of the poll. The advantage of Breath of Fire is the following of sequels, which bring a larger fan base. This adds value to the original through a deeper storyline, and makes the out of print title even more rare with the faster growing popularity. The harder it is to come by, the more it is then seemed to be desired. Other than that, it's truly a well designed RPG, and the ability for your main character to morph into different forms of massive dragons certainly doesn't hurt the game play or replay value.

Position #69 (16,902)
Super Off Road	NES, 1991
	Super Off Road was one of the most thrilling arcade classics to land a release date on the NES, and amazingly, the home-console replicated all the thrill of the arcade. With an easily viewable overhead perspective, you can race against any combination of three friends and computer opponents through various dirt tracks. As you progress through the game, the difficulty continues to jump and new difficulties arise, such as water pits, through more complicated courses. As you're concentrating on holding through the tight corners, money bags randomly appear on the course and give the races something else to focus on. Collecting them gives you money to buy new equipment for your car between races, and if you can't keep up with the improvements, it's not going to be too long before your opponents become far too fast for you to keep up with. When Super Off Road was released, it represented the true thrash-around, overly competitive, do-whatever-it-takes-to-win racer that rarely involved a dull moment, and through the years, it's held on to all of its replay value simply by design.

Position #68 (16,906)
Battletoads	NES, June, 1991
	When it came out, people regarded it as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles knock-off. But when they played it, they experienced one of the craziest, wildest action games ever invented. The Dark Queen and her renegade space troops retreated after their defeat by the Galactic Corporation. Meanwhile, on board the spaceship Vulture, Professor T. Bird and the Battletoads - Rash, Zitz and Pimple - are escorting the Princess Angelica back to her home planet, where her father, the Terran Emperor, is waiting for her safe return. Pimple, the biggest of the toads decides to take Angelica out for a cruise in the Toadster to a nearby Leisure Station. The Dark Queen ambushes them and carries them away to Ragnarok's World. Professor Bird can get you as far as Ragnarok's World, but fighting your way through level after level of massive battle scenes is up to you, hoping to eventually arrive at the Tower of Shadows, where the Dark Queen awaits. Each level along the way is always more fascinating than the previous, and the first level kicks it off with some great action, introducing the giant fist and feet attacks, the headbutt, and the all-powerful stick. As you go through the game, new and interesting ideas were attributed to levels, ranging from innovative perspectives to extremely fast paced vehicles. The game definitely shattered any previous TMNT knock-off misconceptions, and gave this Rare / Tradewest game a good deal of votes.

Position #67 (16,909)
Adventure Island	NES, September, 1988
	Princess Leilani was kidnapped from Master Higgins by the Evil Witch Doctor and taken to Adventure Island in the South Pacific. Your adventure begins at her rescue through the island full of forests, mountains, caves, and endless traps and enemies. This linear platform adventure takes you through level after level of near-impossible difficulty, each one concluding with a boss of epic caliber, though none of whom are overly complicated, as they can only walk back and forth in a strait line at a set pace. In each of these levels, you're given a skateboard, an axe, a life bar that's constantly depleting, replenishable only by randomly generating fruit, and if you touch a snail, you die. But the game is full of various tricks that give it somewhat of a magical quality. For instance, to preview the next level's boss, simply pause the game after defeating the one you're on. Or get a 1000 point bonus for collecting the NES controller after shooting a coyote twice behind the red flower in level 1-4. Or better yet, the bonus level. In the middle of the first level, a fire will appear between wooden voodoo objects. At this time, shoot about ten times, and it's easy to figure out from there. Then of course the mandatory tricks, the continue code, making the game actually completable. To do this, find the hidden egg at the end of the first level, smash it and get the Hudson bee logo, and when your game's over, hold up, a, select, and press start to continue. Or there's a code to just skip anywhere, but that just ruins the fun. Either way, few would argue that Adventure Island was one of the greatest adventure titles from the grand era of imaginative platformers.

Position #66 (16,911)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	NES, 1989
	I'm certain that you're all familiar with the cartoon. This game had nothing to do with it, with the sole exception that the characters were named the same in the game. You used the four turtles, and then Splinter, April, Shredder, a weird easy Beebop, and some Mousers existed. Other than that, it was just totally unrelated in any fashion to the show. Did that make it a bad game? No. On the contrary, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would become one of the most widely owned and loved titles on the NES, making its own feature in The Wizard, as it was played by both Christian Slater and the character who played his father, who "got the scroll weapon." What is the scroll? I don't know. It was a white thing that was never in the cartoon, much like the majority of the game. It did, however, feature many similarities to the cartoon series in terms of character involvement, vehicles, pizza, and some sewers. But the game play was something of a new breed. If anything, however, this highly unique and original design only made the game more intriguing, as it managed to be a personal favorite to millions of fans, and continues to tally up votes as fast as the new releases.

Position #65 (17,001)
Rad Racer	NES, October 1, 1987
	Rad Racer diligently replicated the arcade style racing experience on a home-console system. Select your Ferrari, and enter into an extremely fast paced highway race, apparently just outside of a particular city. The camera sits a short distance behind your car, and just above, to give you the right perspective to combine response distance at blazing speed. This game design is what arcades thrived on, and it would set the path for future releases like Cruisin' USA, drawing from car styles and city selections, though never really changing the view. There's generally two reasons that keep Rad Racer drawing in the votes so many years later. Number one, 3D mode. It was kind of a pain if you accidentally hit select in the middle of a race and couldn't tell what was going on, but putting on those 3D glasses and switching into 3D mode offered something no other game had ever thought of back in the 80s, and although it wasn't necessarily perfect looking, it was an extremely impressive concept and it sold and popularized the game. The second reason that Rad Racer has remained a fan favorite, The Wizard. This now-old blockbuster was fundamentally a tribute to Super Mario Bros. 3, yet had a nice and lengthy plot-changing scene centered around this game. For those of you who recall, Lucas Barton pulls out his power-glove and flies through the first level in his 328 Ferrari. Beyond that however, it's a well respected game that deserves all of it. Some of the success of this game is often credited to the programming, designing, supervising, and music staff who all later ended up on the Final Fantasy crew.

Position #64 (17,002)
Arch Rivals	NES, 1990
	Basketball at its comical "basket-brawling" best. This game laid the foundation for the success of future titles like NBA Jam and others that were more interested in the options and action than the sport itself. Arch Rivals added a twist to the common sports games by throwing in 2 on 2 cartoon-ish gameplay, and no fouls. It was an odd combination that had penalties for goal tending, but punching or pantsing a rival to steal the ball was completely legal. This was generally followed by dunking from around the vicinity of the 3-point line, occasionally breaking the backboard, or perhaps never getting that far because you slipped on some garbage that a paraplegic fan tossed onto the court for you. The game was filled far more with thrills and turnarounds than it was with basketball, and this created a new market appeal that, before Arch Rivals, hadn't existed. In addition to all of that, the character selection, each with their own special ability, from excellent 3-pointers, to faster speed down the court, or jumping, or the tough guy, the all-around, or the all-American, you would find a character you liked best, each with their own quirky name to match the quirky play. Definitely a landmark in pseudo-sports games that mixed the genres of action and sports.

Position #63 (17,195)
Double Dragon II	NES, 1988
	Released back in the days when sequels were still epic, Double Dragon II was the successful follow-up to the now legendary Double Dragon. The first game set high standards, making it the classic it is today, and this one became its worthy successor, and quite a classic as well. It game took the same basic idea that made the original so successful, and filled it with better graphical environments and animation, greater enemies, improved play control and sound, and gave it a cooler design without changing the direction on Billy and Jimmy Lee. I won't spoil the end, but once you're at the mirror and the black screen, you're looking at a couple of the coolest and most intense fights in gaming history.

Position #62 (17,231)
Bases Loaded II Second Season	NES, 1989
	Despite the comical player naming, such as D.C.'s players being named after famous politicians while L.A.'s are named after Hollywood celebrities, this old baseball game has managed to achieve possibly the highest degree of realism in a sports title to date. With this, it allowed true baseball fans to replicate the game on such an accurate scale, yet still be in control of it all. It involved the innovative pitching perspective, unique to all Bases Loaded titles, and maintained a fast and easy transition into the fielding view. As you played through the seasons, you would pick your team, do your lineup, and hope your players would hit that hot streak. Your player's previous statistics gave you an idea of what to expect in the current season, but every player would go through hot and cold streaks that could last any number of games. Following each game you could watch a pseudo-news broadcast that lets you know how hot or cold they are. Sometimes your best hitter goes 1 for 14 through an easy home series, and once in a while your number 8 guy could put 6 over on a short road trip. Your best hitters were the most likely candidates for those hot streaks, but when any player gets on, you'll know it before you see the post game charts, and you'll just hope it lasts at least a few more games, because that might be the only runs you're getting in. Of course many players didn't approve of the slower, more realistic game play, but obviously this title struck a chord in sports fans to such an extent that it's found it's way almost half way up the charts and earned itself a lofty position as one of the top sports games of all time.

Position #61 (17,239)
Ikari Warriors	NES, 1986
	Inspired by Rambo and literally meaning "anger warriors," this was likely the single most staggeringly unrealistic game ever to grace any gaming system since the invention of electricity. Ikari Warriors is a vertical scrolling arcade-style action game with no story whatsoever. Rather, it was two males (apparently brothers) flocking through a non-specific location with unlimited ammo, some grenades, rocket launchers, an occasional conveniently vacant and occupy-able tank, and hundreds of thousands of weak enemies who briefly dance toward you when shot. Upon beginning your adventure, you're immediately (with no warning or explanation) running through a jungle being attacked by an uncountable number of these people who are evidently villains. One hit and you die. Difficult? Yes. Impossible? Yes also. Luckily there was a continue-cheat which remains the only chance of surviving the game without Galloob's Game Genie. Additionally, death had it's own unique advantage in that upon reappearing, you flash for a period of seconds, which signifies your invincibility. During this period of time, you're safe. And then as soon as it's over, you die. If you use the continue code, this goes on for an hour and a half until you finally finish the game. If not, it goes on for about 15 seconds before your game is over. But somewhere between the comic relief of the difficulty, the struggle to not die, and the enjoyment of an absurd battle against a ridiculous amount of slow-bulleted enemies, every moment of the game as you progress through various terrain, it somehow wound up being fun (despite the counterintuitive odds). This enjoyment instilled some replay value oddly enough, and put developer SNK on the map.

Position #60 (17,286)
Actraiser	SNES, 1991
	In 1991, Actraiser took nearly every Nintendo Power award, including game of the year. It was a very original concept in gaming, combining the economic qualities of Sim City, with a well designed action-adventure game. It was a blend that almost creates two distinct games in one, but it held together perfectly with flawless transitions. The graphics were impressive, the controlling was good, the replay value was outstanding, and the design was incredible. But for a true gamer, it was short enough to beat within the day it was purchased, and this left the player, never disappointed, but just completely eager for more. The game was truly that thrilling, simply by design. Interestingly, and often overlooked, the game carried on a Judeo-Christian plotline where, in the simulation component, you play the role of God, traveling in a cloud from where you create life and make miricles. Then the side-scrolling platform scenes involves an angel slaying demons and false gods. In the end of the game, you, being God, depart this world and return to Heaven.

Position #59 (17,307)
Adventures of Lolo	NES, January 6, 1990
	Probably the single most classic character-based puzzle game ever created, which isn't saying much considering the limited numbers of character-based puzzle games existing. So the game obviously deserves more credit than that simple title. These fluffy little creatures had to make it past level after level of moving blocks in strategic ways, preplanning everything in order to avoid blocking off your only way out. To do this, you had to think about eight moves ahead of where you were at, while successfully dodging enemies. As the levels went up, so did the difficulty, until eventually you'd have to be a descendent of Einstein to figure it out. The success in the American market allowed for a couple of sequels, for the most part, just extensions of the first title. Although number two may have been a better design, the original still hails as the best designed character-based puzzle game to date.

Position #58 (17,312)
Starfox	SNES, March 1, 1993
	Starfox was the first of the character based 3D flight games of its particular style and the first title to house the Super FX chip, making those graphics possible. Designed by game-legend Miyamoto, who has also created all the Zelda, Mario, and Donkey Kong games, it was destined for the charts. He has yet to design an unoriginal game, and when combined with everything else that makes up a successful title, the game not only sells itself, but creates an immediate following. This game proved to be no different than the rest, as swarms of Starfox imitations flooded the market following its release, as well as two sequels to this original. None of the sequels managed to include When the Saints Go Marching In as background music however, and though that certainly doesn't merit Starfox its position on the charts, it certainly doesn't hinder its uniqueness as a distinguished title on the list.

Position #57 (17,902)
Pilotwings	SNES, 1991
	There still isn't anything out there quite like Pilotwings. Sure Microsoft makes an amazing flight simulator, but that's not what Pilotwings was. This was much broader than a flight simulator and contained various forms of flight, including hang gliding, rocket packs, light planes, parachuting, bonus levels of extreme sky diving, and trampolines, and in the final level, a helicopter. In each form of flight, you had to meet certain objectives and would receive a grade on how well you performed. As you go through the game, you obtain new licenses and enter into new, more difficult, yet more fascinating objectives and environments. The point of the game is to become so skilled at all the events that you qualify for a war mission, infiltrating a base with your helicopter and firearms. But the true fan's main objective was exploration in the jetpack and buzzing through the city in the light plane a matter of feet above the ground, or even some of the more obscene, possibly morbid ones like skydiving without a parachute and seeing just how fast you can dive headfirst into the ocean or, better yet, a field. The game featured breathtaking environments, outstanding graphics and smooth movement patterns through it all. It was definitely an innovative game which no other company has released anything like, simply because it would be difficult to design anything better than the original. It did prompt a sequel though, Pilotwings 64, which as you'll notice, did receive quite a handful of votes as well. Part of the success of Pilotwings might be credited to an interesting musical score performed by a team effort of Soyo Oka (Super Mario Kart) and Koji Kondo (Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros.).

Position #56 (18,203)
Excitebike	NES, October, 1985
	The game itself was simple. But it featured one option that hadn't yet appeared in the gaming industry. Customization and player design. Excitebike gave the player the option to design his own course out of a full alphabet of jumps and obstacles, each letter representing something totally different. You could design an extremely intense track where all you want to do is not crash, or there's one particular design you can create where, without using the game genie, you can make your bike go so fast that the volume turns off entirely and if you hit a jump you fly up out of the screen, come up through the bottom, and as you're coming up through the bottom of the screen, you land back on the track, and keep going. That's speed. The trick was never published in anywhere- so I'll let you figure it out for yourself. But this simple option of full customization and head to head competitive racing has tallied up thousands of votes for this title as one of the best racers of all time.

Position #55 (18,261)
NBA Jam	SNES, 1993
	Almost like a sequel to Arch Rivals, NBA Jam would be the new action game of sports titles. It featured a license to use the real NBA players on the real teams, which would be a thrill to the basketball fan, and highly entertaining action and game play, which would be a thrill to anyone, sports fan or not. Different variations of this game came out, Tournament Editions, etc, all with different options, even-bigger-head codes to top the comic relief of the original, different scoring options, and different "he's on fire!" sequences. But the original NBA Jam has logged more play time and personal records into a player's free time than any other basketball game to date, and reigns on high as the number one basketball title in video gaming history.

Position #54 (18,980)
Rampage	NES, December, 1988
	If you’ve never before played Rampage, you’re either very young or hugely deprived, and either way, you're missing out. This classic game had virtually no point aside from the goal of destroying every city in the western world, eating various humans along the way, and possibly punching out your partner / competitor, whatever they happened to be at the moment. Though the NES version did not contain the werewolf, popular in the arcades, there were still two available characters to choose from, George, a giant ape, meant to resemble King Kong, and Lizzy, a giant lizard, much like Godzilla. These two partners would travel from city to city, only moving on when every last building had been aimlessly destroyed. A little pointless, sure, but the hours of mindless fun that could be derived from this title were nearly unbeatable, and it remains a staple of all video game designs.

Position #53 (19,060)
Zelda: Windwaker	Gamecube, March 24, 2003
	Everything extraordinary finds its roots in something controversial. Zelda Windwaker is no different. Unaccepted even by many long-time fans, this title brought a new style of game play to the screen which, to various gamers, may add or take away value to the story. The cartoonish cell-shaded graphical design of this title represents a deviation from the typical popular style of modern games, but returns to the design of the original Zelda sketches from its early creation, which, at that time, were unachievable on the screen. Miyamoto has seemingly always strayed from the common, often redundant mass-popularity, and instead, forced mainstream to follow him. Although many fans are unsure whether to love or reject the new graphical style, one thing it does do is never allow a moment in the game to seem unfit. As Miyamoto explains, the closer to photographic realism games progress, the more unrealistic movement patterns become. We have the technology to design nearly flawless realism in three dimensional layouts, but as soon as anything happens, like the character is hurt, or runs into a wall, or enters into a conversation, it all looks completely unrealistic and instantly removes the player from that reality and the entire flow of the game. What Windwaker has found the ability to do, is never distance the player from that flow and excitement. The graphics allow every piece of the action to blend perfectly with every aspect of the environment, and through that, never separate the player from what's happening on the screen. Not only that, but Windwaker has found the ability to put emotion into countless facial expressions, from fear, pain, and embarrassment, to surprise, joy, or excitement. This is unachievable through imitating photographic realism, and it evokes feelings in the player that add worlds of depth and value to the game without changing the game play. The graphics may turn off many mainstream gamers, but it represents the return to creating the foundation of a game on depth, value, originality, and true artistic design. Though Windwaker remains a controversial title, the innovation comes without question.

Position #52 (19,214)
Donkey Kong Country	SNES, November 1, 1994
	This game represented the pinnacle of what the Super Nintendo could achieve. Graphically, it was absolutely amazing. If anyone remembers when this game was coming out, it was simply unbelievable that a 16-bit system could harness that capability, but it apparently could, and through this game. But it didn’t rely only on the graphics to sell it. The game play and design managed to exceed the reputation upheld by the graphical layout. So after the screenshots sold the title, the player was rewarded with an absolute gem of a game that could hold up against nearly any on a 32-bit system. The success of Donkey Kong Country called for two sequels, both using the same game engine, and both heavily successful as well. But this game in particular marked the change into a new graphical standard, unmatched by any game previous, and reigned as king for quite some time after its release.

Position #51 (19,388)
Super Mario Sunshine	Gamecube, August 25, 2002
	This technically flawless Mario title is no longer the newest in the series and though its innovation has been outshined by Super Mario Galaxy, this title still offered never before seen features at its release. Super Mario Sunshine blends action and adventure, with numerous puzzles, tricks, and secrets for Mario to discover that are always known to make appearances in his titles. Many gamers were skeptical about "Flood", Mario's new waterpump, but the increased range of movement capabilities it allows in combination with various jumps and other movement patterns offers a much higher degree of depth and game play than the game would have otherwise. In parts of the game, Flood gets stolen, and you then realize that, although it is not overly necessary, you rely heavily on it for many aspects of the game. Outside of the game play, the music, environments, and overall design of the game are all remarkable, and hardly even challenged by other modern games. The votes for Mario Sunshine have already proven a worthy position for it on the charts, and although they seem to have tapered off, it still continues to slowly climb up the ranks.