About a decade ago… but not quite a decade ago because 2016 was a leap year… I did a quick lookback at The 100 Best Games Of All Time from the 100th issue of esteemed publication Electronic Gaming Monthly. For those who want to read said lookback, click here.
Today, we’re doing something different and we’re going to list how many of these games I’ve actually played. A lot has happened in ten years and I’ve played slightly more games than I did originally, so… yeah, here we go.
#100 – Qix (NES)
Have played Qix, but not on NES. 1-0.
#99 – Samurai Shodown (NEO GEO)
Played via various Samurai Shodown compilations. We’ll count it. 2-0.
#98 – Virtua Cop 2 (Saturn)
Have not played the Saturn version, but I had played the arcade original back when arcades were still a thing. 3-0.
#97 – MLB ’98 (Playstation)
Sports game. Never touched. 3-1.
#96 – WipeOut XL (Playstation)
Played it. Absolutely horrible at it. 4-1.
#95 – DecAthlete (Saturn)
Never touched. 4-2.
#94 – Ice Hockey (NES)
Played this more often than I can count. 5-2.
#93 – Blast Corps (N64)
I had forgotten that I bought a copy of this thing years ago and started giving it a whirl recently. I guess we can count it. 6-2.
#92 – Flashback (Genesis)
Played Flashback in a variety of formats. 7-2.
#91 – Axelay (SNES)
Bought it on Virtual Console. Enjoyed it then. Need to give that another whirl some day. 8-2.
#90 – Panzer Dragoon Zwei (Saturn)
Played it. 9-2.
#89 – Ms. Pac-Man (Genesis/SNES)
Played so many versions of this Missus, it’s unreal… there you go. Ms. Pac-Man on Unreal engine. Get to it… and then never release because nobody wants to pay for the rights. Assholes. 10-2.
#88 – Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword Of Chaos (NES)
Played it. Ass kicker. 11-2.
#87 – Baseball Stars (NES)
Actually played a bit of this as a bit of a gag one time, but that never came to pass. We’ll count it. 12-2.
#86 – Galactic Attack (Saturn)
Never played it. 12-3.
#85 – Bonk’s Adventure (TurboGrafx-16)
Can never get enough Bonk. 13-3
#84 – Puyo Puyo Repackages
How many Puyo Puyos have I played over the decades? Too many. 14-3.
#83 – Revenge Of Shinobi (Genesis)
Oh, stop it. 15-3.
#82 – Jumping Flash 2 (Playstation)
Have it on PS3. Fun game once you get used to the controls and perspective. 16-3.
#81 – Sega Rally Championship (Saturn)
Never played. 16-4.
#80 – Legendary Axe (Turbografx-16)
Played a bit of it once. Never gone back to it. Should probably remedy that. 17-4.
#79 – Virtua Fighter 2 (Saturn)
One of the first Saturn games I was able to nab for a bargain. Wish more people can play this version than the gimped Genesis conversion. 18-4.
#78 – Mega Man X4 (Saturn, Playstation)
Are you fucking kidding me? 19-4.
#77 – Blazing Lazers (TurboGrafx-16)
Played it. Fantastic game. 20-4.
#76 – Life Force (NES)
Played it. Own a copy. Recently bought the Famicom version and its sweet translucent cartridge. A real beaut. 21-4.
#75 – ActRaiser (SNES)
Absolute classic. SNES original is excellent. Modern remake is… eh. 22-4.
#74 – Worldwide Soccer ’97 (Saturn)
Sports game. Not my jam. 22-5.
#73 – Mega Man 2 (NES)
Again, you’re joking, right? 23-5.
#72 – Zelda II: The Adventures Of Link (NES)
You can never forget your first Zelda… which is the one everyone supposedly hated… and yet I prefer this over the original. Imagine that. 24-5.
#71 – Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)
You can never forget your first blue rodent… still a tremendous Sonic game. 25-5.
#70 – NiGHTS Into Dreams (Saturn)
I recall playing this at a demo kiosk back in the day when Toys R Us (RIP) used to have demo stations where you can sample games. They used to sell a version of this on Steam; I wonder if it’s still up. 26-5.
#69 – Snatcher (Sega CD)
Never touched this one and chances are I never will. 26-6.
#68 – WaveRace 64 (Nintendo 64)
Played this via NSO N64 Service. Not for me. 27-6.
#67 – Donkey Kong (Game Boy)
Super Game Boy killer app, right here, kids. 28-6.
#66 – Guardian Heroes (Saturn)
Never touched this one. 28-7.
#65 – Tecmo Super Bowl (NES)
Played both this and the original Tecmo Bowl game on NES… and also the arcade Tecmo Bowl, but nobody cares about that one. 29-7.
#64 – Twisted Metal 2: World Tour (Playstation)
I believe that this was the first PS1 game that I ever played when that system was in its prime. Fun game. 30-7.
#63 – Return Fire (3DO)
I’ve never touched a 3DO in my life. 30-7.
#62 – Phantasy Star (Master System)
I’ve tried it for a little bit. Never really could get into it. Maybe some day… 31-7.
#61 – NHL ’94 (Genesis)
One of my first SNES games. Fun game. Genesis version would come along later. 32-7.
#60 – Shining Force II (Genesis)
I’ve played the first game, but not the second. Maybe it’s on one of the many Sega compilations I’ve picked up over the years. Need to check that out. 32-9.
#59 – Thunder Force III (Genesis)
Played it on the Mini. Tremendous. 33-9.
#58 – Dragon Warrior IV (NES)
The height of Dragon Questing excitement back in the day. 34-9.
#57 – Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (NES)
Please stop. 35-9.
#56 – Super Punch-Out (SNES)
Wasn’t a fan of this one initially, but it eventually grew on me. 36-9.
#55 – Dragon Force (Saturn)
Never actually touched this one. 36-10.
#54 – Tomb Raider (Playstation)
Played it on both PS1 and PC. Need to give Remastered a shot. 37-10.
#53 – Gate Of Thunder (TurboGrafx-CD)
Virtual Console purchase. Hell of a soundtrack. 38-10.
#52 – R.C. Pro-Am (NES)
Fun game. Used to play it countless times as a kid. 39-10.
#51 – Tekken 2 (Playstation)
Played in the arcades, eventually got the PS1 version, fun game. 40-10.
#50 – Devil’s Crush (TurboGrafx-16)
Might have played this one once or twice. 41-10.
#49 – Mario Kart 64 (N64)
Yep. 42-10.
#48 – Military Madness (TurboGrafx-16)
Never touched this one. 42-11.
#47 – Ghouls ‘n Ghosts (Genesis)
Played both Genesis and arcade original. Both hard as balls. 43-11.
#46 – Space MegaForce (Super NES)
Fine game, either in localized Megaforce or original Super Aleste vintages. 44-11.
#45 – Contra (NES)
Contra code, go! 45-11.
#44 – Metroid (NES)
Engage Ridley Mother… you know… 46-11.
#43 – Herzog Zwei (Genesis)
Played a couple rounds of Zwei a long time ago. Recall enjoying it. Need to get back to that one. 47-11.
#42 – Strider (Genesis)
Played. Arcade. Mega Drive. PS1. 48-11.
#41 – Arkanoid (NES)
Played NES, Arcade, and DOS versions. DOS version with mouse control is peak. 49-11.
#40 – Lunar: Eternal Blue (Sega CD)
Never touched a Lunar game in my life. 49-12.
#39 – StarFox 64 (N64)
Do a fucking barrel roll, you stupid son of a bitch. 50-12.
#38 – Ys Books I and II (TurboGrafx-CD)
Virtual Console purchase. Played Book I but not Book II. We’ll count it since it’s the same package. 51-12.
#37 – Super Mario Bros. (All-Stars Edition) (NES)
Picard Facepalm. 52-12.
#36 – Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Saturn)
Too many Alpha 2s on my plate. 53-12.
#35 – Metal Gear (NES)
Played it. Then I played the MSX versions. The extent of my Metal Gear playtime right there. 54-12.
#34 – Kid Icarus (NES)
Engage Medusa Mother… well, you know. 55-12.
#33 – NBA Live ’97 (Playstation)
Sports title. Nil. 55-13.
#32 – Bionic Commando (NES)
Get out of my way, you nerd! 56-13.
#31 – NFL GameDay 98 (Playstation)
Sports game. Grrr…. 56-14.
#30 – Phantasy Star II (Genesis)
Played it for a bit. Again, one of these days… 57-14.
#29 – Chrono Trigger (Super NES)
One of those games that used to be a rental back in the day. All time classic RPG. Must return to this one some day. 58-14.
#28 – The Legend Of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Game Boy)
Game Boy, DX Color, and Switch remake. 59-14.
#27 – Gunstar Heroes (Genesis)
Cart is crazy expensive, but it’s been on compilations and multicarts. 60-14.
#26 – Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars (Super NES)
Another all-time rental. Have not touched the Switch remake. 61-14.
#25 – GoldenEye 007 (N64)
Yes, we’ve played fucking Goldeneye multiplayer. Fun stuff for that alone. 62-14.
#24 – International SuperStar Soccer 64 (Nintendo 64)
Sports game, grr… 62-15.
#23 – R-Type III (SNES)
Played this one. Yep. 63-15.
#22 – Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts (SNES)
Yeah… ditto. Fuckin’ hell. 64-15.
#21 – Final Fantasy VII (Playstation)
Played it a few times. Didn’t care for it. Never looked back 65-15.
#20 – Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
Now I feel insulted. 66-15.
#19 – Madden NFL ’98 (Whatever)
I played one Madden game in my life… on Super Nintendo. I never need to play another one for as long as I live. 66-16.
#18 – F-ZERO (SNES)
Played it. Absolute rubbish at it. 67-16.
#17 – Sonic CD (Sega CD)
The “greatest Sonic game evar” or something… Sonic 2 is better. 68-16.
#16 – Tetris Attack (SNES)
Whether it’s Tetris Attack, Panel De Pon, or Puzzle League… I’ve played them (almost) all. 69-16.
#15 – Super Mario Kart (SNES)
Ditto. 70-16.
#14 – Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES) (All-Stars Edition)
Before anyone asks, yes, they specifically listed the version of the games that appeared on Super Mario All-Stars on SNES rather than the NES originals… which is bullshit, but either way, yes, played. 71-16.
#13 – The Legend Of Zelda (NES)
Do Do Do Doooooo. 72-16.
#12 – Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night (Playstation)
Note to self: find time to start that Saturn version play. 73-16.
#11 – Super Mario World (SNES)
Yosh-eeee. 74-16.
#10 – Saturn Bomberman (Saturn)
I’ve played a bunch of Bomberman… but not on Saturn. 74-17.
Saturn Bomberman is the last game on the list that I haven’t played, which means I’ve played the top 9 games on this list.
#9 – Final Fantasy VI (or III as it was known) (SNES)
#8 – Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES)
#7 – Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (SNES)
#6 – Super Metroid (SNES)
#5 – Street Fighter II Turbo (SNES)
#4 – Super Mario 64 (N64)
#3 – The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past (SNES)
#2 – Super Mario Bros 3. (All-Stars Edition) (NES)
#1 – Tetris
Final Tally
83/100 Games Played
17/100 Games Not Played
Hey, that was a fun experiment. Let’s do this again some time.
dtm666 