Ahhh, yeah, that game kicked ass

August 4, 2007 11:57 PM

Help me build a list of must have games for old and new consoles.

So we are talking console games for systems from the old to the new. What are your all-time favorite games? Do you still remember the cheat codes? What is your all-time favorite console?

Ultimately, I will be using this list to create a big folder of kick-ass roms and emulators. Hopefully others will find this useful as well. As a bonus, I am sure a lot of great memories will come back when this thread gets going.

I can see how this thread could turn into chatfilter if we are not careful, so please make sure that we contribute good information in each post.

posted by B(oYo)BIES to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (28 answers total)

I think the SNES is the best console ever. Best games: Zelda, a Link to the Past, Super Metroid, and Mario World.
posted by sindark at 12:05 AM on August 5, 2007

Earthbound for SNES.
See also:
Chrono Trigger
Secret of Evermore
Super Mario RPG
Super Mario Kart

Harvest Moon (all platforms)
posted by disillusioned at 12:10 AM on August 5, 2007

Another vote for the SNES as the greatest console of all time. Then again, I've barely played video games since its heyday, so I may very well be the worst person on the planet to ask, except maybe an Amish guy with no eyes, ears, or fingers.

Super Mario World
Yoshi's Island
Super Mario Kart
Street Fighter II
Pocky & Rocky
Parodius

And for Sega Genesis:

Sonic The Hedgehog 1-3
posted by Sticherbeast at 12:25 AM on August 5, 2007

Triple Action, Biplane game only though, Intellivision
best 8k of code ever
posted by bottlebrushtree at 12:39 AM on August 5, 2007

I'll just cover classic, easily emulated consoles rather than nearly-modern platforms. In my opinion there are really only a few standout console games from the 8 bit and 16 bit eras; better gaming is to be had by setting up arcade, Apple II, C64, and Amiga emulators and fattening your game collections for them. But you want consoles, so here goes:

NES --
Metroid
Super Mario Brothers
Rygar
Zelda 1
Duck Hunt
RC Pro/Am

SNES --
Donkey Kong Country 1
Donkey Kong Country 2
Donkey Kong Country 3

Genny --
Sonic 1
Sonic 2
Clay Fighter
Ecco the Dolphin 1
Mortal Kombat

2600 --
Pitfall
Pitfall 2
River Raid
Combat
Riddle of the Sphynx
Yar's Revenge

NeoGeo --
Street Fighter II Turbo
Metal Slug
Samurai Shodown
Samurai Shodown 2
posted by majick at 12:47 AM on August 5, 2007

Response by poster: I have no problem going into arcade. Lets just say, if there is an emulator and rom out there for it, I want to hear about it. Trying not to limit the answers and I am open to all emulated games.
posted by B(oYo)BIES at 12:52 AM on August 5, 2007

I would add the highly underrated StarTropics to the list. Fantastic platformer, unique puzzles, fun game.
posted by barnacles at 1:55 AM on August 5, 2007

SNES: Link to the Past
Super Metroid
F-Zero
Mario Kart
Yoshi's Island
Chrono Trigger
Donkey Kong Country
Secret of Mana
Mega Man X
Super Empire Strikes Back
Star Fox
Contra III
posted by ludwig_van at 2:04 AM on August 5, 2007

Wow, seconding bottlebrushtree. Biplane on intellivision was one of the greatest games ever. I can't quite explain how the balance between climbing and stalling really made this game feel organic. I haven't played it for probably 25 years, though. Didn't know anyone else thought about that game.
posted by ill3 at 3:36 AM on August 5, 2007

Previously [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, ].
posted by sophist at 4:25 AM on August 5, 2007 [3 favorites]

To add to the lists above -

2600: Combat (utterly essential) and Frogger are the only two games I never tired of.

MegaDrive: Streets of Rage.

Previous posters are spot on with the superlative status of the SNES, though.
posted by thoughtless at 4:59 AM on August 5, 2007

Banjo Kazooie
Super Mario RPG
Donkey Kong Country
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Battletoads

Have fun!
posted by thelongcon at 5:13 AM on August 5, 2007

Arcade: Galaga (didn't feel right NOT mentioning this, even though no console version is as good as the original)
2600: Stampede, Yar's Revenge
Intellivision: Carnival, Astro Smash, Mouse Trap
Atari 800/XE: Star Raiders II, Necromancer
NES: The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros. 3, Tetris, Metroid, Mega Man, Mega Man 2, Double Dragon, Contra
Genesis: Columns, Earthworm Jim
N64: Goldeneye
posted by namewithoutwords at 6:08 AM on August 5, 2007

Good suggestiions above. You can emulate an N64 pretty well nowadays if you have a decent computer, so I'll add Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye, and Ocarina of Time.
posted by danb at 6:14 AM on August 5, 2007

Castlevania: Symphony of the night. Errrr, for that matter, all Castlevania (except 2) from the NES days through PSX with some forays into next gen systems.

Nes- Chrystalis

some PC- Might and Magic, Heroes of Might and Magic.
posted by Jacen at 7:21 AM on August 5, 2007

Metal Slug Series (Neo Geo)
Windjammers (Neo Geo)
Golden Axe (arcade, genesis)
Dungeons and Dragons (Capcom arcade game)
Super Street Fighter 2 Tubro
Super Puzzle Fighter
Toejam and Earl (Genesis, ONLY NUMBER 1)
X-Men (the 6 player Arcade cabinet game)

I recently played the TMNT arcade game (it comes with one of the new xbox games). Man, I didn't realize how big of a scam that game was, it was made to eat wide eyed children's quarters. Still damn fun though
posted by Large Marge at 8:21 AM on August 5, 2007

adventure (atari 2600)
super buster bros.
tetris
joust
tron (coin-operated version)
super mario cart
tecmo bowl football (nintendo)
posted by Flood at 8:27 AM on August 5, 2007

Rather than toss out a bunch of games, I'd like to point out that you can sort Metacritic's reviews by highest rated. Simply click on the name of the console on the left, and then "score order" at the top of the list.
posted by CrunchyFrog at 8:33 AM on August 5, 2007

Aside from the previous incarnations of this question, it's completely possible to get every ROM available for every emulator.
posted by rhizome at 8:59 AM on August 5, 2007

Ditto on pretty much everything suggested so far with one to add:

N64: Perfect Dark
posted by C17H19NO3 at 9:08 AM on August 5, 2007

NES:
River City Ransom *****the best side-scrolling beat-em-up to ever leave Japan******

Arcade:
As your attorney, I strongly advise you to invest in the complete MAME romset (bittorrent or purchase online, <$20). It may seem like overkill (6k+ games), but it's not.
posted by kickback at 9:09 AM on August 5, 2007

Great games listed so far, but here are some more classics for the Super NES:

Aero the Acro-bat and its sequel
Plok
Kirby's Dream Course
The Adventures of Batman and Robin (based on the 1990s Batman animated series)
Super Castlevania IV
Kirby Super Star

(disclaimer: illegal emulation is bad, purchase games legally, support the industry, yadda-yadda-yadda)
posted by Servo5678 at 10:20 AM on August 5, 2007

Don't forget the original Gameboy. Here's a list of games worth playing; Link's Awakening is especially good, and often overlooked.
posted by aparrish at 10:53 AM on August 5, 2007

a good place to check is gamefaqs top ten faq/message board lists for older consoles.

nes - contra, smb1, 2, 3, zelda 1, 2, ice hockey, megaman 1, 2, 3+, final fantasy, bionic commando, wizards & warriors, gradius, life force...

snes - mario world, pilotwings, f-zero, street fighter 2, zelda 3, final fantasy 2, 3, super metroid, secret of mana, chrono trigger, earthworm jim, shadowrun...

genesis - sonic 1, 2, 3, streets of rage...

n64 - f-zero, mario, goldeneye, mario kart
posted by knowles at 11:28 AM on August 5, 2007

Here's my all-time favorites:

NES - Super Dodgeball (can't believe no one mentioned this yet!)
Arcade - Galaga, Golden Axe, Cyberball
2600 - Yar's Revenge, Pitfall 2
posted by Sasquatch at 6:50 AM on August 6, 2007

Project Justice for Dreamcast! (I think there may have been other versions of this on older consoles, maybe one called Rival Schools, but the Dreamcast one is the only one I can speak for.)
posted by clavicle at 7:18 AM on August 6, 2007

Contra for 8-bit NES is my favorite game of all time.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 12:49 PM on August 6, 2007

No one's mentioned Guardian Angel and Jackal on the NES or the MegaMan X (not 10) series on the Game Boy Advanced. The only cheat code I remember is "idkfa."
posted by TheSlate at 2:19 PM on August 6, 2007