This is the continuation of my countdown of the top video games of the decade.
#54: The Beginning of the End for Square Soft
Game: Final Fantasy X
System: PS2
Year: 2001
Sales: Almost 8 million
Gamers now may not remember this, but back in the 90s Square Soft ruled the RPG world with an iron fist. Whether it’s Final Fantasy VI, FF VII, FF VIII, Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, or Secret of Mana, Square could not be defeated. Final Fantasy X would be the last decent Final Fantasy game, and would be among the final excellent works in the Square catalogue before merging with Enix and beginning to go downhill. Now, we all ponder why Final Fantasy XIII took so long, we also ponder why Kingdom Hearts 3 is nowhere to be seen, and then ponder why on earth we still not have another Chrono installment. In the meantime, Final Fantasy X remains a delight with a nice story, beautiful graphics, and superb RPG gameplay that stands among the best in the last 10 years. Is it too late for Square to be by itself again?
#53: Blockbuster Hit, Whether It’s Good Or Not
Game: Halo 3
System: Xbox 360
Year: 2007
Sales: Over 10 million
Here is the problem with hype: it can overshadow the final product. Micro$oft has an excellent system out there right now, but unfortunately when they want to cut corners, by golly they most certainly will cut corners. Enter Halo 3; a game that looks like was cheaper than the marketing blitz that followed. Halo 3 is short, not as intense or difficult as the original, and just lacks overall in the single-player. But, it won’t matter, because the multi-player is where it’s at, and also because the marketing does not allow for it to fail. In two months, Halo 3 had sold over 5 million copies worldwide. However, it took them almost two years to be able to reach 10 million. Hmmm. Nonetheless, Halo 3 needs a spot on this list because it is indeed one of the more popular American games of all-time, and is still an online smash hit.
#52: Virtua, You’ve Met Your Match
Game: Mario Tennis
System: Nintendo 64
Year: 2000
Sales: 2.3 million
Super Mario has been on this list plenty of times, quite frankly because everything he touches turns into gold. With Super Mario on the map, the developers know that it does not require epic graphics or a crazy presentation for it to sell, but instead rely on strong gameplay and even stronger word-of-mouth. Mario Tennis accomplishes just this by being one of the few games from the dying N64 days to still rack up some great sales before the Nintendo Gamecube was next to the plate. Tennis is a gaming genre that doesn’t receive much love, so it was easy for this game to collect the sales. The money earned was well-deserved though, because of its surprisingly-strong gameplay mechanics and fun multi-player mode. Too bad the sequel couldn’t deliver as well.
#51: The Sad Fate of Nintendo Sports
Game: Excitebike 64
System: Nintendo 64
Year: 2000
Sales: Barely 1 million
Back in the N64 days, Nintendo tried to enter the rising-in-popularity world of sports video games by creating Nintendo Sports. In this list included Ken Griffey Jr. Slugfest, NBA Courtside with Kobe Bryant, Waverace 64, Wayne Gretzky’s 3-D Hockey, and much more. There was one problem: the N64 failed, and sports games were being bought (and were superior) everywhere else, including the Sega Dreamcast. The final Nintendo Sports effort before the eventual giving up was this masterpiece of an extreme sports game. The physics in this game would remain among the best until the Wii days, the music was slick, the sound work was amazing, the level design was incredible, and the overall lasting appeal of the game is among the best within the past 15 years, offering so much to do. While ExciteTruck would re-invent the franchise, Excitebike 64 stands as the greatest dirt bike game of all-time and easily the most underrated N64 game out there.
#50: The Franchise Came Back
Game: Burnout Paradise
System: Xbox 360/PS3
Year: 2008
Sales: 2.5 million copies
After Burnout 3’s massive success, the franchise actually took a few steps back by creating half-assed sequels and handheld editions. Luckily for all of us, Burnout came back by mixing in a bit of the Midnight Club gameplay and adding a massive, massive overworld to drive around in. The freedom to drive wherever and however was something not felt in the franchise up to that point, and the graphics made the crashes that much better-looking. However, Burnout 3’s crash mode remains the best.
#49: Want a Little Apocalypse With Your Gaming Experience?
Game: Fallout 3
System: PS3/Xbox 360
Year: 2008
Sales: Over 4 million
2008 Game of the Year belongs to a game that has a lovely look into what the Cold War should have been like. The 2008 Game of the Year blends RPG elements with survival horror and with good ol’ FPS gameplay. Topping it all with a blanket of 50s music overlooking the grim experience, the presentation is what makes this game such a unique and satisfying experience. Easily the best of the series, and a nice breath of fresh air for Xbox and PS3 owners sick of the same ol’ shooter.
#48: Epic RPG…for the Game Boy?
Game: Golden Sun
System: Game Boy Advance
Year: 2001
Sales: 1.67 million
The entire world was caught in a surprise when one of the best RPGs seen in a very long time was contained in the handheld Game Boy Advance system. Unleashing graphical and musical qualities never before witnessed in a handheld, Golden Sun is an entire new, entire unique, and entire immersive experience that throws you into a massive world full of whimsical characters, dark surprises, and impressive-looking special attacks. The sequel barely touched the surface in satisfying us, as the original was just such a grand piece, and can definitely be the start of something good. Why the DS and the Wii lacks a Golden Sun installment to this day is quite a baffling mystery, as this is easily the best RPG franchise from Nintendo since the Pokemon series.
#47: Disney Becomes Hip With the Gamers Again
Game: Kingdom Hearts 1-2
System: PS2
Year: 2002/2006
Sales: Over 9 million
Disney in the early 90s made ripples in the gaming industry by releasing a series of hits for the Game Boy, SNES, and Sega Genesis. However, with the PSX/N64 era, they quickly faded into a joke. It took the then-new team of Square Enix to bring Disney to the gaming world and making it successful. By combining the RPG fun that Square is known for, with the mystical world of Walt Disney, it was a bizarre match made in heaven. The storyline runs very deep, and the gameplay is a nice blend of action and RPG. Part of the reason the PS3 is failing is because Square Enix hasn’t been quick with the third installment, something that could have helped Sony while it was struggling to stand out against the Xbox 360.
#46: How to Successfully Re-Create A Masterpiece, Vol. 1
Game: Kirby Super Star Ultra
System: Nintendo DS
Year: 2008
Sales: 2.6 million
Kirby Super Star is the best Kirby game ever, among the most underrated SNES games ever, and easily one of the best gaming experiences of the 90s. It was the best news when Nintendo announced they would re-release the game for the DS, which is something they do not do enough of. But, remakes and re-releases for a while had become inferior to the originals at the time. Fortunately, they didn’t pull any punches and created a nice high-budget re-imagining for the Nintendo DS. All the fun of the SNES installment is there, and there’s much more added. The controls were still slick, the music was enhanced, and there just is very little to complain about in this game.
#45: All Around Me Are Familiar Faces…
Game: Gears of War
System: Xbox 360
Year: 2006
Sales: 6 million
Remember the commercial? This was the beginning of the end of Halo’s epic reign on the FPS homefront. The constant attempts to kill Halo’s overpowering popularity came to a halt when one of Microsoft’s own came in. Gears of War was massive, intense, and everything that made Halo such a success in the first place. What actually inched it closer to the top of the FPS world was the incredible multi-player, which would influence many games following it. Killzone was quickly stomped out when this game hit the shelves.
#44: Good? Evil?
Game: Knights of the Old Republic
System: Xbox
Year: 2003
Sales: 2 million
Star Wars was a blockbuster franchise that took chances in the movies. But in the gaming front, they never drifted far from the typical gameplay that took scenes from the movies. But in 2003, it all changed when we had the option of being good, or being evil. Depending on your actions, reactions, and dialogue quips, determined the physical appearance of your character, and your status. This decade had a lot of magnificent RPG hybrids, and this one stands as one of the better ones I’ve ever played.
#43: A Classic Has Returned. Anyone Paying Attention?
Game: Final Fantasy VI Advance
System: Game Boy Advance
Year: 2006
Sales: Not Much
This game is so high on the list because it is indeed a re-telling of an absolute classic, and also because the impact it made on sales was absolutely minimal. Is the original 6 Final Fantasy games being forgotten, instead the memories beginning with VII? I am sure the old-school fans would not appreciate to hear such blasphemy. But consider this: the PS3’s bad reputation began when they showed Final Fantasy VII gameplay on the PS3 engine, but didn’t promise a remake at all—leading to a backlash. Then here comes VI getting a full-on remake, with new artwork, more detailed graphics, and a more accurate interpretation of the Japanese dialogue. But, nothing, no sales, barely a peep. Yet, only 3 years separate Final Fantasy VI and VII. So, are the old-school Final Fantasy fans being washed out? Or is it bad marketing? Time will tell, but for now, it looks like the current Final Fantasy fanbase began at 7.
#42: The End of the Arcade Era
Game: Crazy Taxi
System: Sega Dramcast (eventually PS2)
Year: 2000
Sales: Over 2 million
Arcade games were dying, and very fast. The days of Pac-Man, TMNT, NBA Jam, and Mortal Kombat were drawing to a close. Anytime there’s a big arcade game, it winds up in a console immediately. The eventual nail on the coffin was the Sega Dreamcast. The Dreamcast started collecting all these wonderful arcade games, and pretty much killed any reason to fork over some quarters when you can purchase the entire experience and call it a month. Crazy Taxi is the last incredibly addicting arcade game to become ported, and ultimately would be the last major racing arcade hit (Until Mario Kart Arcade years upon years later). The game is a frantic blend of great graphics, awesome punk music, and gameplay that is worthy of repeating over and over again. The Dreamcast was utter failure, but did have three things: nice sports games, nice fighting games, and great arcade games.
#41: The Biggest RPG Franchise Nails It Out of the Park AGAIN
Game: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl
System: Nintendo DS
Year: 2007
Sales: A ridiculous 17 million
The Pokemon franchise is undeniably massive, and with the DS, it was only going to get bigger. Not only do you get a brand new quest and now over 400 Pokemon to find, but there’s an online feature, backwards-compatibility, voice chat, and just way too much more for the average gamer to handle. Unlike most games on this list, it can literally take you over 25 hours to beat the entire thing, and this doesn’t’ include the immense amount of side-quests. While the Pokemon brand can extend much further than it has in the last 10 years, this is still a very fun game to play, even if you miss the simpler times of just 150 Pokemon.
#40: The Soul Burns, and so Do Your Fingers
Game: Soul Calibur II
System: GC/XB/PS2
Year: 2003
Sales: Between 3-4 million
Soul Calibur was a massive arcade hit and one of the greatest games in any Sega system. But, with Sega moving on to smaller and weaker things (Third-Party anyone?), Namco decided to branch off the franchise to all the systems, giving them each an exclusive character. Nintendo got Link, and that was the best addition of the three, even if the PS2 button-placement in its controller made it the best version. The gameplay was just as deep as the original, and the game was far prettier as well. The combos were still killer, the music was still a delight, and the experienced gamers can still utterly destroy you without breaking a sweat.
#39: Arcade Racing Hits Home, Devastatingly
Game: Burnout 3: Takedown
System: Xbox/PS2
Year: 2004
Sales: 3+ million
The first two Burnouts were underground hits, but it would be the third one that would launch the franchise into a new realm of popularity. Thanks to the marketing team of EA, Burnout 3 became a massive hit, offline and online. With good reason to, because its easily the best of the franchise, with the sickest crashes, best multi-player, best track design, and the best Crash Mode on the face of the Earth. Add in incredible graphics, good camera work, and some Ramones tunes, and we have ourselves a game with the makings of an arcade masterpiece.
#38: My Name is Falcon. The Game is named Flop
Game: F-Zero GX
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Year: 2003
Sales: Quarter-million. Ugh.
F-Zero GX failed miserably. What was supposed to be a beautiful beginning to a nice friendship between Sega and Nintendo turned into a financial disaster. The game had all the makings of a hit: incredible graphics, dizzying futuristic style, excellent music, incredible challenge, and enough speed for five racing games. This game tested the hardware limitations of the gamecube and what does it get? Medicore sales, mediocre numbers, and not a single chance for a sequel anytime soon. One of the greatest racing games of all-time, F-Zero GX was an absolute blast from start to finish, but nobody played it. Thanks to this, there aren’t as many Nintendo/Sega hybrids waltzing about.
#37: Zelda fans, meet TV-Y7 Link
Game: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Year: 2003
Sales: 4.5 million
Miyamoto was the experimental type back in the Gamecube days. We can start with Star Fox Adventures being approved (flop), Super Mario Sunshine (not as good), and now with Wind Waker. Unlike the other two examples though, the experimental had nothing to do with the gameplay, but instead the visuals. Instead of a realistic-looking Link and Zelda, the entire game turned into a cel-shaded cartoon, and the responses were severely mixed. Despite the graphics though, a beautiful game was tucked inside, with plenty of dungeons to explore, secrets to find, and a nicely woven story to draw you in. The introduction was beautiful, and the sailing aspects made the game feel much, much bigger. Too bad it was the sailing that became tedious. Despite the sailing, Wind Waker was a superb addition to the storied franchise known for absolute greatness.
#36: Is This a Game or a Movie?
Game: Metal Gear Solid 4
System: PS3
Year: 2008
Sales: 4.5 million
The Metal Gear franchise revolutionized gaming by introducing a heavy story mode that was woven directly with the gameplay. However, as time rolled on, the cut scenes started overwhelmingly take over the game. Metal Gear Solid 2 suffered severely from this, and this installment honestly is no different. Metal Gear Solid 4 is a really good game, with solid graphics, a solid production value and a good soundtrack, but honestly why so much Hollywood action to sit through? Can’t we just quickly get to the game already? Some cut scenes lasted over 10 minutes for crying out loud. Despite that little gripe, Metal Gear Solid 4 is a great piece of work, and if more gamers catered to this amount of attention, we would see a better gaming world existing today.
#35: A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Built Far Away
Game: Lego Star Wars: The Complete Trilogy
System: PS36Wii
Year: 2007
Sales: Over 9 million overall
The Lego Star Wars franchise is the beginning of something huge: Lego installments of all things pop culture. Thanks to the surprise-surprise success of this simple yet engaging game, we have Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Rock Band, and soon Lego Harry Potter. While the limits are indeed endless (Lego Transformers, Lego Super Mario, Lego Jurassic Park), we cannot deny the origins—which come here, not too long ago, and not built far away.
#34: The Best Star Wars Nobody Remembers
Game: Star Wars: Rouge Leader: Rogue Squadron II
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Year: 2001
Sales: 1.9 million
Back in 2001, the launch of the Nintendo Gamecube was quite confusing. We didn’t have a Mario game, but got a Luigi game. We didn’t get Smash Brothers right away, but we did get Pikmin. Last but not least, was this below-the-radar game that was an absolute smash with critics and anyone that likes Star Wars, but was quickly forgotten. Hell, the original Rogue Squadron was another surprise success story that was quickly forgotten in the N64 heydays. Rogue Leader was a fantastic flight combat game with the best scenes from the Star Wars movies (up to that point), also adding the difficulty and fun of previous classic aerial Star Wars games (remember the Tie-Fighter version?). The graphics here were among the best in the entire lifespan of the Gamecube, and it would be years before we get any Star Wars game that can even compare to this one.
#33: Super Nintendo In Your Pocket
Game: Super Mario Advance 1-4
System: Game Boy Advance
Year: 2001-2003
Sales: Total of 19 million
Sega could have thrived if they had attempted to create a superior sequel to the Sega Game Gear, which was a colorful disaster. If they had tweaked with the technology, then they may have had a chance yet granted they port the Genesis franchises and classics to said handheld. After all, look at how the GBA did with Super Mario Advance. These four games catapulted the GBA into new financial and sales heights that nobody could have ever imagined. Even a remake of Super Mario Bros. 2 (the forgotten one) sold over 5 million! The formula was simple: don’t tread with the formula, just add more features to it, and you’ll have a hit. Super Mario Advance had a colorful look, part 2 had Luigi’s special abilities, part 3 had 6 extra Yoshi’s Island levels and part 4 was Super Mario Bros. 3 except with updated features and graphics. Together, they helped the Game Boy Advance sell upwards over 82 million copies. If the formula for re-creating classics is so simple, why is Nintendo the only company that manages to succeed in it so well?
#32: Gaming for the Mind
Game: Brain Age/Brain Age 2
System: Nintendo DS
Year: 2006/2007
Sales: 33 million total
Brain Age was not supposed to be a hit, honestly it wasn’t. However, after the success of NintenDogs, Nintendo noticed that the DS was catering to more than just your typical gaming crowd, an entire new breed of gamers were thirsty for different types of gameplay. And now we have a game that’s supposed to improve the mind. Whether it does or doesn’t, a giant heap of brain-twisting puzzles was more than enough for people to shell over good money. Brain Age’s appeal is its variety, as it combines math with science and even a bit of sudoku and stroop tests. The sequel offered more of the same, which was something they promised, and it was something we gamers desired. 33 million copies later, this is a unique success story that has yet to finish.
#31: Nintendo is finally (Successfully) Online
Game: Mario Kart Wii
System: Nintendo Wii
Year: 2008
Sales: Over 20 million copies (and counting)
Amazing how the Mario kart franchise has been around since the early 90s, and NOW its hit its peak in popularity. With Mario Kart DS, the new generation Mario Karts has hit a total of 36 million copies sold around the world. Why such immense success? Is Mario Kart Wii as good as the other installments? Nope, but it’s darn close, and its accessibility to young gamers is what gives it the sales edge. Mario Kart Wii is perfect for anybody; anybody can pick it up, play it, and enjoy it. And even better for Wii owners is that Nintendo finally implemented a successful online mode, years after Xbox Live debuted. Mario Kart Wii is a nice blend of the present and the past; even if the past was better for the hardcore and the veteran crowd (this game is luck-dependable). With this game, Nintendo is most likely going to look online for their other big franchises—can we finally see a massive Pokemon Online game? We can only dream.
#30: The Resurgence of Rock is here
Game: Guitar Hero II
System: PS2/Xbox 360
Year: 2006
Sales: Over 5 million
So most of the songs are covers. So what? This was THE Guitar Hero that put the franchise on the map, and put rock music back into the hearts of millions of people. With hip-hop dominating the airwaves, Guitar Hero II can take responsibility for making rocking out an awesome thing, and for reviving forgotten bands like Pantera, Heart, Black Sabbath, Kansas, and many others. The game was also insanely difficult in the latter stages, which allowed for replayability and challenge not often seen in this decade of simplicity. It would have been an even bigger hit if it had not come out so late in the PS2 lifecycle. Ah well, there’s always the next installment…
Oh boy, this is exciting! We are now cracking into the Top 30!!! Comments? Suggestions? Complaints? Bring it on!!!
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