RANK 28 (8 votes)

Shaking the firmament of the industry as dramatically as its distant relative Resident Evil did on its debut, Hideki Kamiya and Team Little Devils' masterpiece stole the spotlight the instant it hit the dancefloor, and no one has ever quite been able to take it back.

For decades, success in most games was binary, a matter of finishing a level or getting the highest score, and creative play often went unacknowledged and unreciprocated. Devil May Cry, however, danced an intoxicating tango that challenged players not only to succeed but to do so stylishly; pushing players into the realm of genuine self-expression through play.

Devil May Cry has aged, but it has aged immaculately, in ways that only enhance it. Its combined aesthetic sensibilities and precise rhythms of play have fallen out of the zeitgeist and been rendered laughable to many, but a combo doesn't have to be all things to all people. It doesn't have to deliver the most points or do the most damage, it doesn't have to look cool to everyone. It just has to be yours. And as long as it is, it'll still feel as incredible as it always has.
(Woodaba)

RANK 64 (4 votes)

RANK 47 (5 votes)

The original audiovisual masterpiece. OutRun wastes no bytes attempting to complicate the process of driving, instead treating your Ferrari as what is is: a vehicle towards new horizons. Visionary designer Yu Suzuki combines Sega's frantic arcade sensibilities with still gorgeous scenery and a surprisingly mellow soundtrack to create an almost zen-like feeling that remains unmatched, even by modern standards. The wind through your hair, the "whoosh" of leaving other drivers in the dust, the satisfaction of perfectly turning a corner, the shift in color palette as you cross country lines, and that big, beautiful, open sky. What else do you need?
(chump)

RANK 81 (3 votes)

RANK 64 (4 votes)

RANK 47 (5 votes)

A kaleidoscopic smattering of ideas from all walks of old horror movies, but not necessarily to a goofy degree. While camp is a large amount of horror as an artistic medium, Castlevania focuses on the terror that these icons used to instill in people when these films were fresh. Restricting, compelling and isolating in both its control scheme and level design, it’s the essence of horror. Yet there’s a rhythm to it: a mastery that can only be provided by the medium of video games, one where each successive return to Dracula’s satanic castle brings with it growth. A satisfying and rewarding experience each and every time, one so satisfying and inspired that its echoes are felt throughout action platforming to this day.
(Archagent)

RANK 81 (3 votes)

RANK 81 (3 votes)

RANK 81 (3 votes)

RANK 64 (4 votes)

RANK 39 (6 votes)

Following in the footsteps of Warren Robinett’s Adventure six years before, Shigeru Miyamoto’s 1986 masterpiece streamlined role-playing concepts into a slick action game format, pioneering immersive open world design in the process. Simultaneously offered unparalleled freedom to explore and little to no guidance on how to progress, players were left to truly inhabit the enigmatic and dangerous world of Hyrule.

All too often these days the game is dismissed for being obtuse; and to be sure, it is. By modern standards it can seem irredeemably reliant on guesswork. However, things must be put into context. You were not meant to blast through Zelda in an afternoon or two; you were meant to take your sweet time with it – months even – slowly unfurling its mystique, trading tips with friends and scouring for solutions in newsletters and magazines, treating it almost like a cipher of sorts, a mystery inviting you to solve it. In a sense, the game was played outside the console as much as it was within it.

More than thirty-five years later, the original Legend of Zelda remains eminently influential. Its sense of mystery and engendering of real-world cooperation heavily inspired FromSoftware’s Souls series, and Breath of the Wild, currently the latest mainline Zelda entry, sought to reinvent the series by looking to the past – at the game that, through a staggering number of sequels, had not yet been meaningfully outdone. One could argue that it still hasn’t.
(baldur)

RANK 81 (3 votes)

RANK 47 (5 votes)

It can't be stated enough how much Dragon Quest has done for the role playing genre and gaming space in general. Being able to translate the Dungeons and Dragons experience to the masses is no small feat, and many would say it's Japan's greatest and maybe even proudest contribution to the gaming space. It wasn't the first, but it set the roots that still hold together the Japanese role playing genre today, and honestly it made me appreciate what goes into every game. Every single word written, every non playable character placed in the world, and every interaction you have with the game itself all the way down to the hero defeating the grand evil while saving the world represents a tale almost as old as time itself. It may not mean much and may even sound cliché to a lot of people today, but in 1986, it was all you ever wanted and needed.
(ExAndOh)