Your all time favorites.

[Marc]

OK, I'd like to know what your ten favorite games, of all-time, ever are. I'm talking about the games you'd choose if they were the only ones you could ever play again, no honourable mentions, no extra's and no I'd include but's, your definitive list.

Mine:

DoDonPachi
F-Zero
Out Run
Mr Driller
Puzzle Bobble 2
Railbow Islands
Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting
Super Mario World
Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
Wizball

Yours?

[sven666]

i dont know about ten games.. but a couple that would make the list:

batrider
FF7
castlevania sotn
cybernator
probotector

.. umm and.. yeah.. 5 more games, proboably bakraid, 2 cave shmups, maybe xenogears, and one mystery game proboably a racing one...

[Super Laydock]

Guess I should not think about this too much and just name them as they come up in my head:

Penguin Adventure (MSX)
Bust a Move 4 (DC)
Salamander (MSX)
Do Donpachi DOJ (PS2)
Border Down (DC)
MSR (DC)
Harmful Park (PS1)
Parodius Jikkyo Oshaberi (SNES)
Rainbow Islands (Amiga - or whatever the most faithful conversion is).
Soul Calibur (DC)

[Elixir]

God, hasn't there already been topics like this posted a million times already?

I don't have a top 10 gaming list. Toejam and Earl is still my favorite game, ever.

[Herr Schatten]

Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Wonderboy in Monsterland
Monsterworld IV
Paradroid (C64)
Katakis (C64)
Apidya
R-Type
Bubble Bobble
Puyo Puyo Tsu
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo

[MovingTarget]

I honestly cant say.

[TWITCHDOCTOR]

My Top Ten Games...

Thunder Force III
Panzer Dragoon Zwei
Castlevania IV
Contra 2
DoDonPachi
WarLords (4 player bliss)
Tokyo Extreme Racer
Lords of Thunder
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Giga Wing

This is a hard to make list, as I play lots of modern/mainstream games as well, but these are pretty much "My Classics".

[azmun]

This is a pretty tough list to make so I decided to include my number one all time favorite game for ten different systems.

10)Starcraft: Broodwars (PC)
9)Dracula X (PC Engine)
8)Vs. Excitebike (Famicom)
7)Phantasy Star (Master System)
6)Yu Yu Hakusho (Mega Drive)
5)Super Mario Kart (SNES)
4)Saturn Bomberman (Saturn)
3)Wipeout XL (PlayStation)
2)Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (PlayStation 2)
1)Tennis 2k2 (Dreamcast)

[Andi]

Wizardry 7 (PC)
Fallout 2 (PC)
Final Fantasy 1 (NES)
Shadowrun (Genesis)

Smash TV (Arcade)
Darius Gaiden (Saturn)
Super C (NES)
Robotron 2084 (Arcade)

Master of Orion (PC)
Warlords 3 (PC)

Here's the list, divided up by genre (obviously). Notice that all of them have extremely high replay potential.

[captain ahar]

Grim Fandango
Dodonpachi
MUSHA
Gradius
Gradius II
Battle Garegga
the opening scene from Chrono Cross
Recird of Lodoss War DC
many more shmups...

and honestly, i don't remember many "favorites" before i got into shooters. in part because there was no lasting appeal, after i got into the arcade games, it gave me a lasting interest in games for scoring/fun purposes.

[Diabollokus]

well heres what comes to mind

panzer dragoon saga
shining force 3
radiant silvergun
sonic adventure (its good really)
shinobi 3 megadrive
thunderforce 4
phantasy star online ver 2
Virtua fighter 2/4
shining the holy ark
Warsong
final fantasy 6
Chrono trigger
ps4

thats about it right now.

[PaCrappa]

Mr Driller (all)
Star Trigon
Bonk's Adventure (original and remake)
Super Mario Bros 2
3rd Strike
Last Blade
Ogre Battle 64
Sin and Punishment
Diet! GoGo
Metal Slug X
Kururin games
Guwange
ESPrade
Progear
Do Re Mi Fantasy

There's probably more.

Pa

[Rob]

Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Shenmue I & II
Final Fantasy 7 (just replayed it recently)
Lunar: TSS / SSSC
Castlevania SOTN
Simon's Quest
Tetris (or maybe Puyo Puyo since I'm not good at it)
Gunbird 2
Dragon Blaze (yeah, I need two of basically the same game)
Gradius V

I would also require at least 10 Sega Genesis games. They make up about half of my small collection, but I can never pick one.

[Shatterhand]

I have a list of my 150 favourite games here, I plan to make a site about them someday (Though the list changes from time)

Are you interested in reading the name of 150 games ?

[system11]

An impossible list, so I'll go for 10 games I can think of at the moment, that have chewed lots of my life up, in order.

Midnight Club 2
Midnight Club 3 (soon to overtake the above)
Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow
Final Fantasy X-2
GTA: Vice City (child of the 80s...)
Dynasty Warriors 3
Dynasty Warriors 5 (soon to overtake the above)
Tenchu
Shadow Warriors
Thunderforce III

[Brian]

I have no idea, but I know for sure 2 that would come with me wherever I go.

MicroLeague Baseball (c64)
Space Taxi (c64)

[adam76]

As already stated, its just too hard to condense all your favourite games into 10 positions. Having said that, here are the ones that spring instantly to my mind:

Thunder Force 3(MD)
Rainbow Islands(arcade)
Snow Bros(arcade)
Raiden(arcade)
Zelda: Ocarina of Time(N64)
Street Fighter 3rd Strike
Gunhead(PCE)
Revenge of Shinobi(MD)
Final Fantasy 7(PS)
GigaWing

Geez, how many do you have to leave by the wayside - 'Zelda:LTTP', 'DoDonpachi', 'Auf Wiedersehn Monty' and 'ESP RaDe' to name but four. Special mention too, for Champ' man, which defies mere catagorization as a 'game' and should instead be classed as a way of life.

[judesalmon]

NiGHTS
Radiant Silvergun
Panzer Dragoon Zwei
Grandia
Final Fantasy VII
Super Mario 64
The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
Tomb Raider
Street Fighter III: Third Strike
Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution

[Ex_Mosquito]

Shinboi ( arcade version )
Super sf2 Turbo ( will NEVER get tired of this in 2player versus, always something new to learn )

[PFG 9000]

That's funny, I just ranked my top 10 favorite games last week. Songs, Albums, Game OST's, Game Art, and all that other crap too. I was bored.

1) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PSX)
2) Castlevania (NES)
3) Ninja Gaiden (NES)
4) Lemmings (Lynx)
5) Doom (PC)
6) Gradius Gaiden (PSX)
7) Marathon 2: Durandal (Mac)
Alien Vs. Predator (Jag)
9) Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
10) Silent Hill 2 (PS2)

[BulletMagnet]

My "favorites" vary widely depending on what I'm in the mood to play at a given time, not to mention that I'm aware of so many (supposedly) great games that I haven't played, so there's no way I could ever make anything definitive for this...

[Icarus]

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Battle Garegga
Katamari Damacy
Intelligent Qube Final
SimCity 2000
R-Type
Super Mario World: Yoshi's Island
Theme Park
Raiden DX
Castlevania: Nocturne In The Moonlight

Very difficult to think of all the games I've loved over the years, must be over a hundred that make the grade. The list above represents the ones that I find are timeless, games I could never part with, games that have infinite replayability, ones that just continue to captivate me regardless of their age, and are just immensely fun to play.

[Andi]

1) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PSX)
2) Castlevania (NES)
3) Ninja Gaiden (NES)
4) Lemmings (Lynx)
5) Doom (PC)
6) Gradius Gaiden (PSX)
7) Marathon 2: Durandal (Mac)
Alien Vs. Predator (Jag)
9) Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
10) Silent Hill 2 (PS2)

I like this list a lot. Aliens Vs. Predator and Marathon 2 were good choices - plus the numerous Castlevana games, Ninja Gaiden, and who the hell can forget Doom?

[MadSteelDarkness]

Off the top of the dome, in no particular order:

Galaga
Super Metroid
Gyruss
Vampire Savior
Castlevania
Castlevania: SOTN
Panel de Pon
Donpachi
Soulcalibur
DDP DOJ

and another hundred or so others including Tetris, Batsugun, the original Zelda, Soldier Blade, Blaster Master, Musha Aleste, Smash TV, Silvergun, VF4 Evo, all the Super Marios, all the other 2-D console Castlevanias, Zanac Neo, etc., etc....

[IlMrm]

Zelda - LttP
Sky Shark
Dragon Spirit
Breath of Fire
Secret of Mana
Final Fantasy 7
Mushihimesama
Star Fox
Super C
Gunbird 2

[Bydobasher]

Always fun, this topic. I just scribbled down the ten that were foremost in my mind, but here they are, chronologically, with a comment or two for each:

Castlevania (NES, Konami, 1987)
Easily my favourite videogame series, and the original -- well, I guess the MSX is the original, but anyway... -- still plays great in my opinion. I love the difficulty; it's hard, but I never find it frustrating. Classic music and a great theme too. I never get tired of playing it.

R-Type (PCB, Irem, 1987)
I still feel it's the best shmup ever created. I think the Force Pod is such a brilliant invention. It's also a great challenge to beat, and a greater challenge to beat from any particular checkpoint. I also love the great variety in stage design, and the artwork never ceases to impress,

Shinobi (PCB, Sega, 1987)
A true classic in my book. Another game that is very tough to beat, but it's fair and it's totally engrossing. I love how the gameplay is so precise. There is an exceedingly small margin for error in the later stages. Some very memorable music too.

Megaman 2 (NES, Capcom, 1988)
I'm actually not that much of a Megaman person, but this one is just magic. Unlike the games above, this one isn't very difficult at all, but it's so much fun to play. It features a great cast of enemy robots, highly memorable stage design, and fantastic BGM.

Castlevania 3 (NES, Konami, 1989)
This is my favourite installment in my favourite series. The gameplay is pure Castlevania, but the branching paths and alteregos add so much to an already excellent game. Rounded off by evocative artwork, and typically exceptional Konami music, which is especially striking when playing the Japanese version.

Ninja Gaiden (NES, Tecmo, 1989)
Many prefer the sequel, but I still think this is the better game. The control here is perfect, and it just feels faster and more intense than NG2. It's a total rush to race thru this game on one life in under 20 minutes. Great music here too, although perhaps NG2 has the edge in that department.

Strider (PCB, Capcom, 1989)
A mind-blowing game upon its release, it holds up excellently well audiovisually, even if some of the animation could be smoother. Play-wise though, is where it really shines; it's a very precise game, not unlike Shinobi in some ways, and very rewarding to play well.

Super Metroid (SNES, Nintendo, 1994)
There are some things I like better about the original Metroid, but taken as a whole, I prefer this game, which gets my vote as the best game released for the SNES. Fabulous graphics and sound, and it's so easy to pick up and enjoy. I've always wished it was a bit more difficult, but otherwise there is almost nothing I would change.

Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX, Square, 1997)
It's been several years since I made time to play games like this, but I still think of it with something approaching awe. The sprites are beautifully drawn, the spell effects are mesmerizing, the music by Iwata and Sakimoto is incredible. More than this though, the game mechanics are easily comprehensible, and -- as a result -- totally consuming. I finished it and started over, and started over, and started over....

Tactics Ogre (PSX, Quest, 1997)
I've never put more hours into a game than this one. It's often brutally unforgiving, and the play mechanics are much more involved and difficult to pin down than with Final Fantasy Tactics. In spite of this, I found it every bit as absorbing as the more accessible FFT, and I still think it's the (ever so slightly) better game.

[nZero]

• Raiden DX (Arcade/PSX) - Well-refined pure shooting experience that provides fun on so many levels.
• Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 (DC) - Amazing balance of sim and arcade handling and control. Still needs the Honda del Sol SiR.
• Der Langrisser (Saturn) - When I play this I lose hours of my life, and love every minute of every scenario. Still finding new things.
• Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past (SNES) - An epitome of overhead adventuring level and gameplay design, so very memorable.
• Soldier Blade (TG16) - When I'm feeling down, or can't sleep, or whatever, this is always there for a quick blast-through.
• Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield/Athena Sword (PC) - Something about sneaking around and capping terrorists never gets old.
• X-Wing Collector's CD (PC) - I know the later games added so much, but this is the one I always like to come back to playing.
• Tetris Attack (SNES) - It's just so damn cute, and the puzzle action is so fantastically tight in all of the game modes. Great 2-player.
• Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) - This list wouldn't be complete without an SMB game, and I like this one the best of all. Fear the shoe.
• Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (SNES) - Probably my favorite role-playing game... ever. Great story, and characters that draw you in.

I guess replay value really does count for something. So many games not even acknowledged... Final Fantasy II (SNES/U.S.), Federation vs. Zeon DX (DC), Castlevania: SotN (PSX)... most of my top-25 shooters list

[Dandy J]

Top of my head.

Castlevania: SotN
Virtua Fighter 4: Evo
Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo
Baldur's Gate 2
Deus Ex
Thief 2
Streets of Rage 2
Planescape: Torment
The Lost Vikings
Cave Story

Ketsui might go on this list but I have to actually play it first.

[Elixir]

Toejam and Earl 1 (Megadrive)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Fantastic Dizzy (Megadrive)
Wizz 'n' Lizz (Megadrive)
Disgaea (PS2)
Katamari Damacy (PS2)
Shikigami no Shiro II (GC)
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (PSX)
Yoshi's Island (SNES)
Final Fantasy 7 (PSX)

I really don't need to explain any of these titles.

[Turrican]

OK, I'd like to know what your ten favorite games, of all-time, ever are. I'm talking about the games you'd choose if they were the only ones you could ever play again, no honourable mentions, no extra's and no I'd include but's, your definitive list.

Man, you realize what you asking? There's no such thing as definitive, and everyone of us should HOPE to see in their lists many future entries, otherwise it means the best is already passed.

But, anyway:

TURRICAN II (Amiga)
The Secret of Monkey Island (Amiga, mandatory for music)
Final Fantasy VI/3 US (SNES)
Link's Awakening (GB)
Akumajou Densetsu (Famicom, and yes, jpn rev for the music)

^A top five is as much definitive as I can go. the next five are for the sake of it, and also to make the list less conservative:

Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas (don't stare at me like that)
Metal Gear Solid 2 : Sons of Liberty (PS2)
Vagrant Story
Castlevania SotN (I bet this one will end to be the one more frequent in ALL the posts here!)
Salamander (Arcade)

Oh, fuck... I can't name ten beloved games of the nearly thousand I played. A top 25 would be more like it (and still tight). Besides, I get the feeling that instant classics that you play for score or for the mechanics are always favorite in these kind of lists, ie Tetris or Bubble Bobble end up having more chances than Silent Hill 2 or Another World, if you ask "the only ones you could play for the rest of your life". Not all the game I listed are really suitable to be the only one to play again and again, since for some of them, one time is enough. Still, I listed the most significative experiences.

Edit: it's almost a playlist... Music does influence my gaming passion so much.