• Top 10 Video Games of All Time

  

  Written by Zeromage 54 Comments
  Last Updated:: March 1, 2008

  The Old-Wizard staff spends much of their time contemplating what the greatest games of all time are from every system in all ages. Whether it’s a drunken night, a sober night, a math night, or even a romantic night with our girlfriends, we at Old-Wizard can’t keep our minds off what the greatest games of all time are much to the dismay of our significant others. After long hard work narrowing down our top 100 favorite games, we finally became settled with what our top 10 video games of all time were. These were not chosen lightly as there were obvious omissions that made us question even defining what a top ten list of video games would look like. Would half of the list consist of Legend of Zelda games? In order to make sure that didn’t happen, we decided to include only one game from any franchise. We weren’t dismayed by this problem though, and put down what we thought were the ten best games ever. We think our descriptions of our favorite games of all time will speak for themselves in defense against other suitable choices. We know there will be games on this list that readers will agree with. We also know that that there will be games on this list that will make readers want to send viruses over to our server in hopes of never having to read these choices again. Regardless, we feel these next ten games will be remembered for years to come.

  10. Contra (NES)

  Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start. This is the most recognized code in all gaming history. Much of the time people get it wrong when trying to restate it to others, but for the most part they have the pattern down. Without this code, it was basically impossible to get anywhere in Contra. While extremely difficult with only three lives, you give yourself 30 per level with this code and were in for an amazing Rambo style gaming experience. This is one of the games you think of when you think of Nintendo; a consummate side-scroller with enough extra detail to never make it boring. The weapons are awesome, the bosses are menacing, and the two player mode is exactly how a two player mode should be. Having your partner take the lower route while you take the higher one in the first level breeds a kind of comradeship not experienced since Wedge and Skywalker. Fighting the boss in the 3rd stage with his (or her?) 2 massive tentacles proves to be no match for 2 skilled players. The whole game is not just side-scrolling. The 3rd water level is more like mountain/jump climbing. The 2nd level is more 3D with your player moving up the screen rather than left to right. While the ending is generic, it may prove to be rewarding enough for players who like to imagine riding away on helicopters with islands blowing up. Great, timeless game…Case Closed…

  9. Pac-Man (Arcade)

  A simple labyrinth type setup, this game will increase your heart rate faster than finding out the brakes on your car just failed. Found in pizza parlours across the nation, this game has no point, other than getting the highest score possible. Starting off easy, you move your bodiless figure through a maze eating little digital pellets. We don’t know if these pellets are food, or fuel, or if they even taste good, but for some unknown reason, every single one must be devoured. If you get tired of eating pellets, you can always go after the exotic fruits that randomly appear near the center of the maze.

  Once you eat all the pellets in a maze you move onto the next level, and the fast-paced furious munching continues. Despite the pointlessness of the game, it is highly addictive. There is a certain thrill in evading ghosts and a merciless retribution found when it comes to eating them. Hours can be spent challenging yourself to attain high scores and greater level achievements. Can you pass though the ghosts around this corner? Can you evade the Blinky and Pinky trap?

  While there is no background story or disernable plot, woven into the game is a complicated philosophy. The four villanious cast members: Inky, Pinky, Blinky and Clyde share a commonality: They are united kinsmen who have placed a jihad on Pac-man. Aside from the ghost’s differences in naming, they maintain a unified front once they emerge from their crypt to chase Pac-man. Together they stand. Clyde, with his uncharacteristic name is held in the same esteem by the other ghosts. Pinky, questionably a female, is given the same voting rights as the rest. Together they stand, divided they fall. The lesson learned is that you should be accepting of differences when you are united with a common goal, even if you’re named Clyde, who made me wet the bed at night as a child. Pac-man: The most basic arcade game out there, revered by the adults that suckled on its tender joystick in their youth, yet all the while teaching us a lesson that can change the world, if we all just learned to accept Clyde.

  8. Mega Man 2 (NES)

  With the conspicuously poor game cover of Mega Man 1, no one expected the blue bomber to last past a single game, until those who were able to get past the cover actually played Mega Man 1 and were surprised at the playability of the game. Even with this in mind, no one could portend what was in store with Mega Man 2; additional bosses, more techniques to master, an always evolving, intricate story line. You were transferred into a different world with Mega Man 2. How surprised everyone was when they came across the dragon boss in the first level of Wily’s hideout; they asked “Can graphics be this good?”, or when they encountered the monster cat in Woodman stage, they stated “Graphics will never get beyond this”. Of course, all great games have great music. Is it possible that there is any other video game more covered by video game bands than Mega Man 2? The Motown shuffle of Flash man stage, the hook at the last sequence of the Woodman stage loop. This isn’t just good video game music. This is great music for anyone who listens to music in general. One could go on and on about this game, but the fact is, one won’t understand until they experience it for themselves.

  7. Secret of Mana (SNES)

  Secret of Mana is without a doubt one of the top 5 RPG’s ever created and easily in the top 10 games ever created. It was a Squaresoft RPG for SNES, meaning it was going to be one of the greatest games ever created with the kind of thought put into it that a great philosopher would put into his magnum opus. Great RPG’s have the character of reading fiction, but having absolute real-time interaction with the book your reading. Playing this game is on par with reading “the lion the witch and the wardrobe” for the first time. Right away, from the cover of the game, you could tell that this game was going to be incandescent and massive in breadth. Three heroes overlooking a massive tree in the middle of a massive forest served as the game cover. The largeness of the theme would be equaled by the actual game itself that was huge, but never ever boring. The big advantage that Secret of Mana has over other RPG’s is the multi-player action that was never found in RPG’s afterwards. You could play this game with two other people and take it on habitually with them, after school, and even on Friday nights when everyone else was gearing up for banal pseudo social hour time. It’s unbelievable to think that no other RPG afterwards utilized this power, and understood that there are groups of people who want to go on massive RPG adventures together. For some reason, the RPG theme is understood as primarily single-player. This is a mistake by the creators of these games that “Mana” cashed in on. Every single tune in this game is memorable, which makes you wonder why every single tune in new games are never memorable. Every single land in this game is filled with beautiful, distinctive themes, which makes you wonder why RPG’s on new systems, with all the new technology involved, pale in comparison to the impact of this 16 bit installment. There’s a little saying that goes “It’s not the Arrow, it’s the Indian”. This may be the best example of that maxim in gaming history. One could write about this game forever, but it’s not to be understood by what others write about it…

  6. Final Fantasy 3 (USA) (SNES)

  What else can really be said about this game, other than it’s possibly one of the best games ever made? FF3 was the flagship of the Squaresoft RPG games. Squaresoft could make games that were so good that it was painful to judge one over another. The pain that is conspicuous on a gamers face when asked the question, “What’s better, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, or Final Fantasy 3?” happens without any reservation. Final Fantasy 3 is best recognized as the primere classic RPG with a turn-based fighting system and a length that almost seemed never ending. Just when you thought you were 90% done with the game, the whole world basically gets blown up to pieces, where you travel with your friends to the surviving colonies looking for answers on your quest to restore the balance of the world…quite a task for 4 kids, much more interesting than a day job though. There is not enough space in this review to be able to go into the sheer massiveness of the story line. There is a lot to follow. Along the way, you meet many more characters; up to 14 playable characters you would use and gain experience on. All the characters were loaded with attitude and identity that would continually develop throughout the game, giving this game a replay value beyond belief. All the lands and towns were striking making you want to go back to them just to hang around them, especially if you liked the music in those areas. The soundtrack to FF3 is one of the most popular soundtracks in gaming history. It’s difficult to review this game because it’s so big and detailed. All that needs to be known though was that it was made in the 90’s by Squaresoft, which means it needs to be played in its entire length to be understood. For those wanting to dive into a virtual fantasy world away from the real world, there is no more perfect game to take up your time.

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54 Comments

1. #1 Joe says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 12:23 am

   It’s a good list, although there are a few I would change, Goldeneye for one should be there without a doubt, everything about that game was just fantastic, from the superb multiplayer to the hilarious shot-in-the-groin animation of the guards
2. #2 shane says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 1:13 am

   pro evoluyion 4 is, for me, the greatest game i have played, followed by sims ( on pc ) and half life also on pc.
3. #3 lars says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 8:57 am

   if you think gears of war should even be on the top 1000 list you are a burden society… as for the list good job well done. honestly though top 10,100.. is just opinion of the gamer and for everyone *itching i don’t understand why you take it so *ucking personal when your favorite game is not on there get over it move on. lapiz you’re a ***t hair for saying anyting bad about nintendo learn some respect for one of if not the greatest gaming companies of all time oh and i would love to hear your top 10