[ALL] Leftwich's Top 100 Games of All Time

[G-men]

Super Mario 64 is a top 5 game of all time for me. It was one of the first games I ever sat down and played through in its entirety.

 

[Goober]

Bioshock is the greatest game I have ever played.

Bioshock 2 is abysmal.

 

[Leftwich]

35

NBA Jam

Consoles: Many

This is probably the only iteration of a pro basketball game that I really enjoyed. A sim game this is not. It’s 2 on 2 style of gameplay, the over the top dunks, dishes and steals and commentary that is off the wall make this one of the most easily memorable games of the 90’s and a true testament to how fun a sports based arcade game can really be.

NBA Jam originally came out in the Arcades back in 1993 and for the home consoles in 1994. First off, two of the biggest names in basketball at the time were missing, Shaq and Michael Jordan. Not a gamebreaker by any means because their respective teams had great players on them such as Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant on the Bulls and Nick Anderson and Scott Skiles on the Magic. Although if you played the Arcade version Shaq was on the Magic, you just get screwed if you have NBA Jam on a console. Anyhow I’m not going to sit here and talk about the rosters even though anybody who was anybody in the NBA was one of two on their team, we’re here reading this to talk about the game itself. NBA Jam was a two on two game that although only 4 men were on the court, it felt like a way bigger game. Correct me if I’m wrong but I do believe this is the first NBA game to feature real stars. Other than Bird vs Magic and some others to feature stars, this is the first game to feature a lot of different teams and their real life players. The big seller of NBA Jam was the over the top, exaggerated style. It was basically a no holds barred type game. No fouls, no free throws or reach ins. If you held the ball longer than the shotclock the other team got the ball back and you couldn’t goal tend either but those are really just there to ensure the correct flow of the game. The whole goaltending goes out the window when you make three shots in a row and the announcers says “HE’S ON FIRE!!!” Even without hearing him say it you can tell by the ball being on fire, the unlimited turbo and the just overall speed and pace your player receives a boost in. I always remember playing as the Utah Jazz in this game, the combination of John Stockton and Karl Malone was just pure cheese. I did meet my match many times by the same team, The Pacers. Whoever was playing as them just spammed the shit out of Reggie Miller and it drove me crazy. I don’t think there was a solid “Rating” system in this game but I swear Reggie Miller was a 100 ovr and Scottie Pippen was a 99 ovr. But I really don’t remember there being a rating system. Graphically the game was comical. You could tell you were playing as a certain team by the colors but the game didn’t feature logos on the jerseys. Also you can tell who your player is by a disgustingly funny grin on their face. I think all the arena’s were recycled as well, the only difference being the logos and colors on the court. Not such a bad thing for an early 90’s game. One of my favorite things about the graphics in this game was when you went on fire it looked freaking awesome. The ball being ablaze and burning through the net was a nice touch as well. Sound was probably the best aspect of the game. Whoever the commentator was, was funny as shit. Hearing him say, “He’s heating up!” or “He’s on Fire!” or the best, “BOOMSHAKALAKA!”. I still say that shit to this day when I’m playing NBA 2k.

NBA Jam was any basketball fan’s holy grail of video gaming. There have been many ports and sequels but nothing can hold a candle to the original. Tournament Editions came out a year later as an update so the two are perfectly interchangeable but it you’ve never played this game before, slap yourself in the dick and watch this video.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4AIpQlSyK8"]Midway - NBA Jam - YouTube[/ame]
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[theMINI]

Hey I clicked "The Sims" on the first post and it brings me to "Fable". Great list btw.

 

[theMINI]

Actually... pretty much everything brings me to Fable lol

 

[Bomberooski]

Oh man. #35 makes me miss Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton so much.

(Kendall Gil was the hidden player you'd unlock and was so cool)

 

[IamMedellin]

Kemp Payton was the GOAT duo in NBA jam

 

[Bomberooski]

Kemp Payton was the GOAT duo in NBA jam

I hated bringing in Detlef but I just felt too bad leaving him out of every game...

 

[Leftwich]

Kemp Payton was the GOAT duo in NBA jam

Stockton and Malone was my shit every game. I think most of the games I played Malone scored all my points.

 

[IamMedellin]

I hated bringing in Detlef but I just felt too bad leaving him out of every game...

Detlef was an UGLY mutherfuker....and I did leave him out

But to be fair, when it came to NBA Live 95-2000 Detlef was the deadliest #3option in the League, at least on My Sonic teams...

and there's always this lil Detlef cameo


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE8_yIA84Dc"]Clone High - GESH - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Maynard]

i continue to be sadden by the fact that i missed out on over half of these games. fucking sports games....i spent all my time with those year after year that i never played anything else. now, i play only the show and ncaa

 

[SethMode]

Maynard, you need to at least hit up all of the more modern Bioware games (I can't recommend Baldur's Gate and Planescape Torment more, but their dated graphics sometimes deter people), but if you haven't you should definitely play KoTOR 1 and 2, and Jade Empire.

Also with the right patches, the Troika games (particularly Arcanum and Vampire: Masquerade Bloodlines) are also great. Also play the original Bioshock, also known as System Shock 2. Sorry to go off topic.

 

[FirstTimer]

Super Mario 64 is a top 5 game of all time for me. It was one of the first games I ever sat down and played through in its entirety.

Thanks to this list I bought Super Mario 64 off of Ebay the other day. Can't wait to play it.

I hated Super Mario 64.

Played it for like 15 minutes and was bored to tears.

 

[SethMode]

I hated Super Mario 64.

Played it for like 15 minutes and was bored to tears.

I hated it back in the day mostly because I did not care for the 64 controller. I started it up again in the last 5 years or so and liked it a lot more, although the Mario system itself is a little tired to me (Stars! Lives! Both are completely arbitrary!)

 

[KNUBB]

Mario 64 is a great game, but I do think it is one of the more overrated games of all time.

Super Mario World >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

[Leftwich]

34

Mortal Kombat 2

Consoles: Numerous

The absolute best Mortal Kombat game to ever touch my hands. Sure people enjoyed the first for it’s nostalgic feel or the third for its numerous characters but there is no Mortal Kombat that will touch the perfection that is the second one. So brace yourselves for why Mortal Kombat 2 is one of the finest fighting games to ever touch a console or arcade machine.

We will start with the story first and foremost. During the first game Liu Kang is able to defeat Shang Tsung. So Shang Tsung begs Shao Khan not to kill him as punishment. Shao Khan is the ruler of the netherworld and is told that if he invites everyone from the Earthrealm to fight they can’t back down.Shao Khan says cool and sends out the invites. As favor to Shang Tsung, Shao Khan makes Shang Tsung’s old ass young again. Everyone shows up to the netherworld and the fighting beings. Now I can’t tell you how the story goes but you can figure it out. New and old fighters alike join in. Some of the fighters coming back are Sub Zero, Scorpion, Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Raiden, Shang Tsung and Reptile (who was previously unplayable in Mortal Kombat 1). New fighters include Baraka, Jax, Kitana, Kung Lao and Mileena. None of the new characters were as good as the original in my opinion but I did find myself playing as Baraka from time to time due to his blades. All of the characters play differently due to their different projectile attacks and special abilities unfortunately just like in the first game, everyone has the same speed power and range. Not like it really mattered because it made the game feel very balanced unless you were that asshole who used the body missle move with Raiden. Pure cheese… anyway there were some hidden characters as well such as Jade, Smoke and fan favorite Noob Saibot.

The key additions to the gameplay in Mortal Kombat 2 were minimal but changed gameplay strategies immensely. The ability to have a crouching punch brought in a new strategy, either you block the chance of getting uppercutted and get hit in the stomach or block the stomach and get sent flying with an uppercut. Might seem minute but made me play totally differently. There were also more special moves added to give your move list a little more variety. The ultimate addition though was new finishing moves. Every character was given more gruesome fatalities as well as bablities and friendships. But the best part of all was the stage fatalities. Back in Mortal Kombat 1 they did have the one stage fatality that was just an uppercut into spikes but in MK2 they added a different combination to either send them into acid, an endless abyss or spikes stuck to the ceiling. Very cool addition indeed. As for the stages themselves they weren’t double layered, they were just simple screen and a quarter lengths to fight. As far as graphics go, it was a very big step up from Mortal Kombat. The colors were darker in some aspects while more vibrant in others. Mortal Kombat 2 found a perfect balance graphically that no gamer at the time expected. The sound on the other hand is basically the same as Mortal Kombat. The only really new thing about it was the guy who poked his head out and said “TOASTY”.

Well that’s it for Mortal Kombat 2 guys. One of my absolute favorite games in the fighting genre and really takes me back to my days as a kid. Watch the video below for more.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQIheE8p-7g"]Mortal Kombat II - All Fatalities, Babalities and Stage Fatalities - YouTube[/ame]
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[IamMedellin]

MORTAAAAAL KOMBAAAAATTTT!!!!!!!!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBhm8kMVMVc"]Mortal Kombat II - Commercial (Extended) - YouTube[/ame]

local Pizzeria, after a hot slice I'd drop a small fortune in quarters playing this game and taking on local challengers from school...

1st time I did a Fatality :fap:

 

[Leftwich]

33

Street Fighter 2

Platforms: Too Many

This is in my opinion the pinnacle of fighting games. Sure it doesn’t have the gruesome violence of Mortal Kombat and the juggling of other fighting games but what sets this game apart is the history and fighting mechanics that are simply perfect.

Street Fighter 2 is the sequel to Street Fighter, obviously. What really separates Street Fighter 2 from the first is the amount of different characters the user can play as. In the first you could only play as Ryu but in a two player mode you could play as Ryu or Ken. In Street Fighter 2 you could choose from Ryu, Ken, Dhalsim, E. Honda, Blanka, Guile, Chun Li or Zangief. Other than Ryu and Ken, each fighter was controlled differently. Some of the moves Ryu and Ken had were the same while Chun Li and E. Honda had moves that relied on button tapping. Zangief was a wrestler so most of his moves were non projectile and wrestling based that required somewhat complex button combonations. The game was based on fighting in three round matches. If you won the first two you didn’t have to play the third and if there was a split you would face off in the third match to finally settle the score. If time ran out in any match whoever had the most health won. Pretty basic round scoring systems that are still used in fighting games to this day. A nice touch you don’t see as much now a day is after every third match you went into a bonus stage where you had to either destroying a car or destroying barrels as they came down a conveyor belt. Mortal Kombat used something similar to this in the Test Your Might mini game. Anyway, the controls were tight and very well mapped out. Differing power of kicks and punches as well as the ability to block and move away from attacks. There is no projectile or hit that can not be blocked which was great for balancing out a fight and giving you a layer of strategy to your gameplan. As I alluded to earlier you could use special attacks by using button combinations and moves like the shoryuken are still remembered by myself and gamers alike to this day. There is one thing all fighting games have to give credit to Street Fighter 2 as well, combos were not in fighting games before this one believe it or not. Street Fighter 2 was the first to use it and damn has it expanded not only in the Street Fighter universe but in any fighting game you have ever played. Ultimately as you progress through opponents you will face bosses such as Vega, Balrog, Sagat and the Final Boss M. Bison. I could always make it easily through the first 3 but M. Bison summed up the difficulty of the game. He was damn hard and relentless in attacking you as well as blocking most everything you threw at him. After/if you beat him, it felt like a real accomplishment.

As for the graphics, they were what you would expect for an early 90’s game. Everything moved smoothly and looked good. Unlike Mortal Kombat every competitor looked different and the stages were lively. Sound wise it wasn’t much to speak of. Grunts and yells of the players were decent but I never really played the game for the sound.

Street Fighter 2 was the ultimate fighting game for the arcade and home consoles at the time. If you’ve never played this game but have played other fighting games, you should do yourself a service and play the fighting game that started it all or at the very least watch the video below.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePJsX2YdqAs"]Street Fighter 2 (Arcade) - Full Perfect (Ken) (01/02) - YouTube[/ame]
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[StealthShot]

I sucked at all these fighting games, but it's fun to watch people play them who are really good.

 

[Len B]

I'm two pages late, Lefty, but YES for River City Ransom.

I wish you got to experience multi player, if you did I think it'd be even higher on your list. Playing with a friend was the best part of the game, because you could use each other to kill enemies (jump stack on your friend he launches you into a group as you kick people), or you could flat out kill each other Battletoads style.

My brother and I played it so much we got to the point where we'd play baseball. He'd pick up a pipe, I'd pick up a rock, and I'd toss the rock at him and he'd hit it. If he missed it'd hit him in the face. We were bored :shifty: