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[Terbinator]

Who said they're supposed to be a snapshot?

No one, but that's my interpretation of it - "here's GAFs list about the best game from last gen and the best game for each platform". Call it an overview if you want, works the same either way for me.

Who cares if games are from the same franchise? They're great games, and indeed are arguably the best games on the platform.

I'm not necessarily saying I disagree with the full selection, but them being form the same franchise just comes back to my original point about lack of variety in the list - more so when compared with the other three consoles.

 

[To Far Away Times]

That's about as good a list as you'll ever see.

 

[Axass]

In bold what I played:

1. Resident Evil 4
2. Metroid Prime
3. Metal Gear Solid 3
4. Shadow of the Colossus
5. Super Smash Bros. Melee
6. Half-Life 2
7. Metal Gear Solid 2
8. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
9. Halo: Combat Evolved
10. Final Fantasy X
11. Silent Hill 2
12. Persona 4
13. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
14. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
15. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
16. World of Warcraft
17. Deus Ex
18. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
19. F-Zero GX
20. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
21. Ninja Gaiden
22. Devil May Cry 3
23. Diablo II
24. Halo 2
25. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

I completed all of the bolded, except Deus Ex. Played all of the top ten, 19/25. I'd say it's a good record. Out of the 6 remaining SH2, P4 and FZGX are in my to-play list, as for NG, WoW and San Andreas I doubt I'll ever play them, especially WoW.

 

[Farks!]

Wut I played in bold:

1. Resident Evil 4
2. Metroid Prime
3. Metal Gear Solid 3
4. Shadow of the Colossus
5. Super Smash Bros. Melee
6. Half-Life 2
7. Metal Gear Solid 2
8. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
9. Halo: Combat Evolved
10. Final Fantasy X
11. Silent Hill 2
12. Persona 4
13. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
14. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
15. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
16. World of Warcraft
17. Deus Ex
18. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
19. F-Zero GX
20. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
21. Ninja Gaiden
22. Devil May Cry 3
23. Diablo II
24. Halo 2
25. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

 

[Anth0ny]

I'm curious how many of the RE4 votes were from people who played the game on GC vs.

Spoiler

the shitty version on

PS2.

I've always considered RE4 a Gamecube game, even though it came to PS2 later. Same with MGS2 and PS2.

 

[Ralemont]

KOTOR over KOTOR II is nuts. Did you guys not play the second one, or were you that enthralled by the super obvious twist?

Note that considering the console bias on GAF a significant amount of people played KOTOR II on Xbox without the benefit of the Restoration Mod or user patches. And while KOTOR II has very good writing overall, Kreia is really the only standout character, with the other notables all being KOTOR I callbacks.

Edit: Also the quote for BGII is messed up.

 

[Melchiah]

What I played from the list.

1. Resident Evil 4
6. Half-Life 2 (on PS3)
9. Halo: Combat Evolved (on PC)
10. Final Fantasy X
11. Silent Hill 2

Not much, and only SH2 and FFX were on my top 10. Seems like my tastes differ from the common consensus, as usual.

 

[Timeaisis]

Awesome list. Top 3 are phenomenal. Good work, GAF.

Also, I've played every game in the top 10.

 

[Dion Blaster]

I'm curious how many of the RE4 votes were from people who played the game on GC vs.

Spoiler

the shitty version on

PS2.

I've always considered RE4 a Gamecube game, even though it came to PS2 later. Same with MGS2 and PS2.

Is the Wii version basically the Gamecube version? I'm trying to finish it soon, think I'm about halfway through.
And would you recommend the wimote or the gamecube controller? (wii version allows for both)

 

[Nocturnowl]

Is the Wii version basically the Gamecube version? I'm trying to finish it soon, think I'm about halfway through.
And would you recommend the wimote or the gamecube controller?

I think it's like a hybrid of the GC and PS2 versions, you get the extra content of PS2 with GC's stronger visuals and I think you can still opt to use the GC controller on top of that.

While I understand the argument against the Wii remote control as making things too easy compared to the deliberate rigid aiming you get with the standard controls I just can't go back now, popping heads off with the remote is just too much fun.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

I'm curious how many of the RE4 votes were from people who played the game on GC vs.

Spoiler

the shitty version on

PS2.

I've always considered RE4 a Gamecube game, even though it came to PS2 later. Same with MGS2 and PS2.

Vote here from someone who played "the shitty version" on PS2. But whatever technical shortcomings the PS2 may have had compared to the GCN version, I'm glad I played it on PS2 with the [IMO] the much-superior DualShock 2 controller.

If you look at my post history, I'm not a friend of the GameCube controller. It's towards the very bottom of my all time controller preferences. If I played RE4 originally on the GameCube, any technical advantages might have been hampered by a bad controller experience.

Fortunately, I don't think of RE4 as a game belonging to X console or Y console. Its brilliant game design transcends all that.

 

[MAX PAYMENT]

When was this voted on?

 

[SeventhSon]

I ended up not voting because I decided I hadn't played enough games from that generation to have an informed opinion.

 

[sn00zer]

Painfully? I suppose there's a few too many power cells collected through precursor orb acquisition which is a bit filler like but otherwise I don't find much there that sticks out as majorly unfinished unlike Super Mario Sunshine which radiates signs of a rushed release.
.

Lots of unfinished areas, the winter level in particular. Lots of removed cinematics, makes the story confusing as characters sort of drop in and out, and you are literally introduced to 4 new characters right before the end that get maybe one line of dialogue each. Not to mention all of the NPCs get only a few lines of dialogue and have zero impact on the story.

Then lots of confusing geometry hitboxes. Tons of areas that you can accidentally fall off of. And control is pretty wonky especially compared to later games in the series, although ill give them some leeway on that.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Lots of unfinished areas, the winter level in particular. Lots of removed cinematics, makes the story confusing as characters sort of drop in and out, and you are literally introduced to 4 new characters right before the end that get maybe one line of dialogue each. Not to mention all of the NPCs get only a few lines of dialogue and have zero impact on the story.

Then lots of confusing geometry hitboxes. Tons of areas that you can accidentally fall off of. And control is pretty wonky especially compared to later games in the series, although ill give them some leeway on that.

Fair enough, I'm not that much in the know about the development details of this one.
Yeah those other sages (?) did feel like they should've been more prominent in the actual plot, dropped cinematics goes a way towards explaining that one.

 

[MiamiWesker]

In bold what I played:

1. Resident Evil 4
2. Metroid Prime
3. Metal Gear Solid 3
4. Shadow of the Colossus
5. Super Smash Bros. Melee
6. Half-Life 2
7. Metal Gear Solid 2
8. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
9. Halo: Combat Evolved
10. Final Fantasy X
11. Silent Hill 2
12. Persona 4
13. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
14. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
15. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
16. World of Warcraft
17. Deus Ex
18. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
19. F-Zero GX
20. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
21. Ninja Gaiden
22. Devil May Cry 3
23. Diablo II
24. Halo 2
25. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Played all but 5 of those games. Pretty good.

 

[ec0ec0]

I completed all of the bolded, except Deus Ex. Played all of the top ten, 19/25. I'd say it's a good record. Out of the 6 remaining SH2, P4 and FZGX are in my to-play list.

I have already mentioned this before on this thread but... don't ever, ever try F-Zero GX without asking us (GAF ) for advice first. It's something that worries me. Thinking about the people that may want to play this game because of all the praise it gets, and that might find a frustating experience...

 

[AniHawk]

When was this voted on?

over the course of the last month

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=980264

 

[Mutagenic]

Geez, I own every one of the top 25.

 

[sn00zer]

Fair enough, I'm not that much in the know about the development details of this one.
Yeah those other sages (?) did feel like they should've been more prominent in the actual plot, dropped cinematics goes a way towards explaining that one.

The main villains also have very little screen time.

 

[Violet_0]

I ended up not voting because I decided I hadn't played enough games from that generation to have an informed opinion.

that has certainly never stopped all the rest of us from voting, evidently

 

[Axass]

I have already mentioned this before on this thread but... don't ever, ever try F-Zero GX without asking us (GAF ) for advice first. It's something that worries me. Thinking about the people that may want to play this game because of all the praise it gets, and that might find a frustating experience...

Thank you, I will when I get around to it (most likely later this year). However I seldom put down a game due to frustration, I like games that are challenging but fair.

 

[7DollarHagane]

Only thing that is weird to me is that counter strike is so low in the list. But I guess that was closer to half life1 so its kind of stuck between generations.

 

[jett]

I'm curious how many of the RE4 votes were from people who played the game on GC vs.

Spoiler

the shitty version on

PS2.

I've always considered RE4 a Gamecube game, even though it came to PS2 later. Same with MGS2 and PS2.

PS2 version is perfectly fine. Doesn't look as good but it runs at a steady 30fps just like the Gamecube game. It's what I played and I had it in my top 10.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

Games I played in bold plus the rank I gave them if they made my top 10:

1. Resident Evil 4 - 7
2. Metroid Prime - 6
3. Metal Gear Solid 3 - 4
4. Shadow of the Colossus
5. Super Smash Bros. Melee
6. Half-Life 2
7. Metal Gear Solid 2
8. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - 8
9. Halo: Combat Evolved
10. Final Fantasy X
11. Silent Hill 2
12. Persona 4 - 2
13. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
14. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
15. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
16. World of Warcraft
17. Deus Ex - 1
18. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
19. F-Zero GX
20. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - 9
21. Ninja Gaiden
22. Devil May Cry 3
23. Diablo II
24. Halo 2
25. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

 

[GamerJM]

1. Resident Evil 4 - 3.5/5
2. Metroid Prime - 1/5
3. Metal Gear Solid 3
4. Shadow of the Colossus
5. Super Smash Bros. Melee - 5/5
6. Half-Life 2 - 2/5
7. Metal Gear Solid 2
8. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - 3.5/5
9. Halo: Combat Evolved - 2.5/5
10. Final Fantasy X - 4/5
11. Silent Hill 2
12. Persona 4 - 4/5
13. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
14. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
15. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
16. World of Warcraft
17. Deus Ex
18. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
19. F-Zero GX - 3/5
20. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - 4/5
21. Ninja Gaiden
22. Devil May Cry 3
23. Diablo II
24. Halo 2 - 3/5
25. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - 5/5

Games I've played bolded. I guess I should really get to SotC and SH2, and to a lesser extent the character action games and WRPGs here. MGS and GTA don't really appeal to me at all and I'd be very surprised if I enjoyed any game in either of those series.

I'm using a rating system where only 1s are games I dislike. 2s are mediocre, 3s are good, 4s are great, 5s are masterpieces.

 

[Dion Blaster]

You guys really should try Shadow of the Colossus. It deserves its spot there in the top 4.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

You guys really should try Shadow of the Colossus. It deserves its spot there in the top 4.

yeah was thinking I might get the remaster

 

[MrSaturn99]

Resident Evil 4 is top? Bah. I don't hate it or anything but it's just one of those games I'll never get into.

Melee's placement is well-deserved but every time I hear someone call it an "unintentional masterpiece" or something along those lines I die a little inside.

 

[timetokill]

Melee's placement is well-deserved but every time I hear someone call it an "unintentional masterpiece" or something along those lines I die a little inside.

It's funny how much people want to take credit away from Sakurai for how good the game is.

 

[nib95]

Very solid lists.

 

[Terareflection]

Top 25 needs some kind of traditional fighter (yes, I know Smash is up there). Soul Calibur? Tekken? VIRTUA FIGHTER?

 

[AniHawk]

trying to get stuff ready for parser, but it may take a few days.

 

[random25]

Games I played in bold:

1. Resident Evil 4
2. Metroid Prime
3. Metal Gear Solid 3
4. Shadow of the Colossus
5. Super Smash Bros. Melee
6. Half-Life 2
7. Metal Gear Solid 2
8. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
9. Halo: Combat Evolved
10. Final Fantasy X
11. Silent Hill 2
12. Persona 4
13. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
14. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
15. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
16. World of Warcraft
17. Deus Ex
18. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
19. F-Zero GX
20. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
21. Ninja Gaiden
22. Devil May Cry 3
23. Diablo II
24. Halo 2
25. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Just realized that I'm not much of a GTA fan.

 

[newjeruse]

Platform Awards

PlayStation 2
1. Metal Gear Solid 3
2. Shadow of the Colossus
3. Final Fantasy X
4. Persona 4
5. Devil May Cry 3
6. Ico
7. Final Fantasy XII
8. God of War 2
9. Devil May Cry
10. Persona 3

I said cot damn.

 

[Timedog]

lol at Half-Life 2 over Halo: CE

lol at Super Smash as best fighting game

lol at me for not finishing Metroid Prime, which was a fucking awesome game

Top 25 needs some kind of traditional fighter (yes, I know Smash is up there). Soul Calibur? Tekken? VIRTUA FIGHTER?

People didn't like fighting games during the dark ages. That's why smash somehow won over virtua fighter 4. Because people didn't like fighting game.

 

[Timedog]

whoops, dp

 

[Sotha_Sil]

Ballots Counted: 479
17. Deus Ex - 113, 13 Honorable Mentions
18. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn - 113, 3 Honorable Mentions
32. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - 75, 14 Honorable Mentions
50. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - 40, 13 Honorable Mentions
57. Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines - 34, 6 Honorable Mentions
81. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords - 23, 2 Honorable Mentions
84. FEAR - 21, 11 Honorable Mentions
87. Thief II: The Metal Age - 21, 1 Honorable Mention
207. No One Lives Forever 2 - 5, 1 Honorable Mention
226. Age of Empires II: The Conquerors - 4, 1 Honorable Mention

I'm crying on the inside right now. At least some of my votes for Top 10 made it in the Top 25..... (note: this isn't my list, just games I thought were absurdly snubbed).

 

[TheRedSnifit]

Whew. For a while there I was afraid GAF was going to fuck up and not put RE4 at the top spot.

I'm also apparently one of the only people who put Fatal Frame II in their top ten.

 

[dr.rocktopus]

Amazing work AniHawk!

I agree with most of this list. Surprised in the order of somethings (TP and WW like everyone else pointed out) but if you wanted a collection of what you have to play in this generation, this is pretty much it.

No Soul Calibur is a travesty. SC and SC2 were so hype back in the day. I still contend that SC on Dreamcast was the perfect way to start the generation - a feast for the eyes that set the expectations for the generation.

 

[Wensih]

Continuing with the trend. I played the ones in bold:

1. Resident Evil 4
2. Metroid Prime
3. Metal Gear Solid 3
4. Shadow of the Colossus
5. Super Smash Bros. Melee
6. Half-Life 2
7. Metal Gear Solid 2
8. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
9. Halo: Combat Evolved
10. Final Fantasy X
11. Silent Hill 2
12. Persona 4
13. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
14. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
15. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
16. World of Warcraft
17. Deus Ex
18. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
19. F-Zero GX
20. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
21. Ninja Gaiden
22. Devil May Cry 3
23. Diablo II
24. Halo 2
25. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Really awesome list. I didn't end up voting because I couldn't decide how I wanted to order my list; however, I'm definitely going to go back and check out winners that I never got around to playing.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Ninja Gaiden was such a sublime action game experience. Looked amazing for it's time and played so well.

Surprised that Morrowind didn't hit top 10. That game was like nothing I had played before. Awesome lists though. Very fun to read through.

 

[Wreck-It Ralph]

What I've played:

1. Resident Evil 4 --- Great game, deserves its spot.
2. Metroid Prime --- My personal #1, but #2 is good too.
4. Shadow of the Colossus --- Didn't care for it. Never beat it. Framerate gave me a headache.
5. Super Smash Bros. Melee --- Great game, but its fans have ruined it for me in recent years.
6. Half-Life 2 --- Great game.
8. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker --- Eh. One of the weakest Zelda games in my opinion. Boring dungeons, boring overworld, boring sidequests. Just... boring. Looks and sounds nice, though.
9. Halo: Combat Evolved --- Great game.
13. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic --- I played like an hour and decided it wasn't for me.
17. Deus Ex --- Again, played like an hour and decided it wasn't for me.
19. F-Zero GX --- Best racing game ever.
20. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door --- Good game. One of the few RPGs I've enjoyed.
21. Ninja Gaiden --- Got to the second level, got destroyed by some guy on a horse while the camera was being as unhelpful as possible, and ragequit.
22. Devil May Cry 3 --- Played for like 10 minutes and ragequit.
24. Halo 2 --- Great game, liked it more than the first.
25. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess --- Great game, my personal favorite Zelda game.

 

[Morfeo]

Wind Waker's high spot just reinforces my view that GAF is very, very, (very) presentation-focused. In terms of game mechanics, dungeons, bosses, variety... hell, just about everything related to playing the game, Twilight Princess has it beat.

But Wind Waker looks so unique and charming that it doesn't matter how it plays, or that it has obviously missing dungeons, or that the dungeons and bosses that are there are generally worse than any 3D Zelda game you can think of. It has a good story and a beautiful aesthetic and that's enough for a lot of people.

I don't know if the HD version is putting a new look on the original game, but as "empty" as you want to claim Twilight Princess' overworld is, at least you could traverse it quickly, go where you wanted quickly, and even just change directions by rotating the stick. The sailing in Wind Waker was an absolute chore. And if you wanted to change directions, you had to stop gameplay, pull out the baton, do the directions IN TIME (as opposed to as fast as you can press the buttons, like Ocarina), and then continue on. Oh, did you sail a little too far to pick up that triforce piece at the bottom of the ocean? Better pull out the baton, change the direction, sail back, put away the sail, try and get close, watch the animation of the crane, then the treasure chest, then read the text about the triforce piece, etc. etc. Then do that over and over and over again. And that's not even including the monotony of getting Tingle to translate maps for you.

For all the complaints about Twilight Princess' pacing, at least it's all at the beginning, and once you leave home it races along at a good clip. And it's never as bad as what the fetch quest does to the pacing.

Great post, I very much agree with all your points on both these two Zeldas in particular, and presentation-heavy game in general.

What I have played in bold:

1. Resident Evil 4
2. Metroid Prime
3. Metal Gear Solid 3
4. Shadow of the Colossus
5. Super Smash Bros. Melee
6. Half-Life 2
7. Metal Gear Solid 2
8. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
9. Halo: Combat Evolved
10. Final Fantasy X
11. Silent Hill 2
12. Persona 4
13. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
14. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
15. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
16. World of Warcraft
17. Deus Ex
18. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
19. F-Zero GX
20. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
21. Ninja Gaiden
22. Devil May Cry 3
23. Diablo II
24. Halo 2
25. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

 

[Wiktor]

lol at Half-Life 2 over Halo: CE

.

Not surprising. Rushed SP with terrible level design, no real online MP and probably the most damaging game in history to quality of FPS-es. The minute to minute gameplay was great, but it's not easy to overcome all the downsides. Plus I suspect a lot of people considered the mods as part of experience for HL2 and there was a lot less negativity towards HL2 than Halo, especially since it was true multiplat. So it's not surprising HL2 won and it was pretty close anyway.

 

[Dion Blaster]

I cannot wrap my mind around this. TP is a better game than WW in nearly every aspect that matters. Only thing WW has over it is visuals.

I would argue that it has better visuals, music, character design, story, exploration, and pacing (both games have some issues in this category). I don't think one is head and shoulders above the other though. I think that WW is looked back on more fondly because it seems more light-hearted and original, and the beginning of TP is the worst part of the game.

 

[NEO0MJ]

yeah was thinking I might get the remaster

The remaster suffers from a big problem. They upped the framerate from 30Fps to 60Fps and while that might sound good at first the game was coded for 30Fps, which led to issues, mainly when scaling the colossus. Unfortunately Sony never bothered fixing it.
I finished the game despite the issue but it hurt my experience.

 

[Dion Blaster]

The remaster suffers from a big problem. They upped the framerate from 30Fps to 60Fps and while that might sound good at first the game was coded for 30Fps, which led to issues, mainly when scaling the colossus. Unfortunately Sony never bothered fixing it.
I finished the game despite the issue but it hurt my experience.

While this is true I would argue that it's still worth getting if someone is playing it for the first time. It's mainly noticeable on time trails where it gets very annoying. PS2 is better in this regard but the framerate is pretty rough in that one. I'm pretty sure SotC HD is 30 fps, and was upgraded from like 20fps.

 

[Wazzy]

Might as well join in listing what I've played from the top 25.

1. Resident Evil 4
2. Metroid Prime (haven't beat it)
3. Metal Gear Solid 3
4. Shadow of the Colossus
5. Super Smash Bros. Melee
6. Half-Life 2
7. Metal Gear Solid 2
8. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
9. Halo: Combat Evolved
10. Final Fantasy X
11. Silent Hill 2
12. Persona 4
13. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
14. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
15. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
16. World of Warcraft
17. Deus Ex
18. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
19. F-Zero GX
20. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
21. Ninja Gaiden
22. Devil May Cry 3
23. Diablo II
24. Halo 2
25. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

 

[Game4life]

Is it me, or was the last generation not as interesting as the PS2 generation? Maybe it was the last generation where japanese developers still made masterpieces month after month. Not saying that the PS3 generation was mediocre, it was still good, but it doesnt feel as exciting as the PS2 generation.

No generation will feel like the PS2 generation. That was a freak of a console. The greatest home console of all time. Luckily this gen might turn out better than the last with lots of indies and japanese dev's potentially getting their shit together with bloodborne, MGS5 and FF15 all looking brilliant from what has been shown so far.