200th Post! “200 Video Games you should play before you die”
4 min read
“Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.”
-Billy Shakespeare
Ladies and gentlemen, here she is! The Well-Red Mage is proud to present the following list of 200 Video Games you should play before you die!
These titles were chosen by several readers and followers, and a few I snuck in myself. They represent games which have had great influence upon the industry, having shaped its direction and pioneered its innovation. Others of them represent some of the best examples of video games as entertainment and art. If you don’t see your favorite game here, sorry so sorry but we could only fit in 200. Maybe try again when we reach 1000 posts and make a list of 1000 games to play before the end. Write me a nasty email. I dare you.
What’s surprising here is how quickly a list of 200 games filled up. Clearly there may be better games out there that should have made this list (in your opinion), but according to this blog these are the ones you should experience as definitive examples of video games.
A monolithic thank you to everyone who participated in our community project. Thank you for responding to so many of our articles and leaving your comments and likes. Thank you to our own magely staff of co-authors. These are the beautiful folks who contributed to this list:
Mr. Panda, The Shameful Narcissist, alexsigsworth, pokeninja90, hungrygoriya, The Timely Mage, SpeedySailor, Matt, steviegill, moresleepneeded, Toby Saunders, dreager1, lightningnightnova, retr0pia75, evilwizardesq, Mei-Mei.
One final thing to say: the list is NOT in any particularly order. Except for the first and two-hundredth titles. Those were deliberate.
-The Well-Red Mage
- Chrono Trigger (1995)
- Super Mario Bros. (1985)
- The Legend of Zelda (1987)
- Metroid (1986)
- Duck Hunt (1984)
- Pong (1972)
- Donkey Kong Country (1994)
- Super Mario 64 (1996)
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
- Pokémon Red/Blue (1996)
- Pokémon GO (2016)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (2007)
- Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest (1995)
- Missile Command (1980)
- Final Fantasy VII (1997)
- Final Fantasy IX (2000)
- Final Fantasy VI (1994)
- Final Fantasy IV (1991)
- Final Fantasy X (2001)
- Shadow of the Colossus (2005)
- Ico (2001)
- Dear Esther (2012)
- Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)
- Batman: Arkham Knight (2015)
- World of Warcraft (2004)
- Minecraft (2011)
- Gran Turismo 5 (2010)
- The Sims (2000)
- Driver (1999)
- Mega Man II (1988)
- Crazy Taxi (1999)
- Guardian Heroes (1996)
- Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal (1999)
- Final Fantasy Tactics (1997)
- Hyper Light Drifter (2016)
- Mega Man X (1993)
- Mega Man Legends (1997)
- Faxanadu (1987)
- Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988)
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991)
- Snatcher (1988)
- Seaman (1999)
- E.V.O. Search for Eden (1992)
- The Curse of Monkey Island (1997)
- King’s Quest (1983)
- Tamagotchi (1996)
- Super Metroid (1994)
- Metroid Prime (2002)
- Maniac Mansion (1987)
- Metal Gear Solid (1998)
- Chrono Cross (1999)
- Super Mario Kart (1992)
- Galaga (1981)
- Earthworm Jim (1994)
- Contra (1987)
- F-Zero (1990)
- Star Fox (1993)
- Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000)
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (2000)
- Pac-Man (1980)
- GoldenEye 007 (1997)
- Super Smash Bros. (1999)
- Fatal Fury: King of Fighters (1991)
- Street Fighter II (1991)
- Mortal Kombat (1992)
- Alien: Isolation (2014)
- Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (2007)
- Heavy Rain (2010)
- Flower (2009)
- The Last of Us (2013)
- Thomas Was Alone (2013)
- Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (1995)
- Sins of a Solar Empire (2008)
- Suikoden (1995)
- Vagrant Story (2000)
- Breath of Fire III (1997)
- DuckTales: Remastered (2013)
- StarCraft (1998)
- Frogger (1981)
- Dr. Mario (1990)
- Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
- Bubble Bobble (1986)
- River City Ransom (1989)
- Another World (1991)
- Zombies Ate My Neighbors (1993)
- Katamari Damacy (2004)
- Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (2011)
- Bound (2016)
- Okami HD (2012)
- Journey (2012)
- Gauntlet (1985)
- Dragon Warrior (1986)
- Call of Duty (2003)
- Shadow of Mordor (2014)
- Mirror’s Edge (2016)
- Elder Scrolls V Skyrim (2011)
- Tomb Raider (1996)
- Borderlands 2 (2012)
- Soulcaliber II (2002)
- Space Invaders (1978)
- Guitar Hero (2005)
- The Wolf Among Us (2013)
- Plants vs. Zombies (2009)
- Donkey Kong (1981)
- Doom (1993)
- Chessmaster (1986)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (1991)
- Assassin’s Creed (2007)
- BioShock Infinite (2013)
- Dance Dance Revolution (1998)
- Gears of War (2006)
- Sim City 2000 (1993)
- Angry Birds (2009)
- Banjo-Kazooie (1998)
- EarthBound (1994)
- Frontier: Elite 2 (1993)
- Syndicate (1993)
- LittleBigPlanet (2008)
- Half-Life (1998)
- Portal (2007)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
- Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (1987)
- Diablo II (2000)
- Luigi’s Mansion (2001)
- Mass Effect (2007)
- Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 (2002)
- Dragon Quest III: the Seeds of Salvation (1988)
- Dig Dug (1982)
- Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
- Kirby’s Adventure (1993)
- Streets of Rage (1991)
- Metal Slug (1996)
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 (2002)
- Rocket League (2015)
- Lemmings (1991)
- Secret of Mana (1993)
- Shining Force (1992)
- Resident Evil (1996)
- Golden Sun (2001)
- Wii Sports (2006)
- Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town (2003)
- Advance Wars (2001)
- Pitfall! (1982)
- Myst (1993)
- Prince of Persia (1989)
- League of Legends (2009)
- EverQuest (1999)
- Game & Watch (1980)
- Oregon Trail (1971)
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)
- Mario Party (1998)
- Crash Bandicoot (1996)
- Grand Theft Auto III (2001)
- God of War (2005)
- Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996)
- Double Dragon (1987)
- Quake (1996)
- Five Nights At Freddy’s (2014)
- Crystalis (1990)
- Super Mario World (1990)
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (1995)
- Zone of the Enders (2001)
- White Knight Chronicles (2008)
- Time Crisis (1995)
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (1993)
- Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (2001)
- Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (2009)
- Tales of Destiny (1997)
- Animal Crossing (2001)
- Kingdom Hearts (2002)
- Worms 2 (1997)
- Puzzle Bobble (1994)
- Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)
- Candy Crush Saga (2012)
- Q*Bert (1982)
- Dune II (1992)
- Blockade (1976)
- Dark Souls (2011)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)
- Centipede (1980)
- Rogue (1980)
- Sonic Adventure (1998)
- Civilization (1991)
- Fallout (1997)
- Ultima III: Exodus (1983)
- Raiden (1990)
- Adventure (1979)
- Mario Kart 64 (1996)
- Superfrog (1993)
- Tetris (1984)
- Day of the Tentacle (1993)
- Killer Instinct (1994)
- Klax (1989)
- Oni (2001)
- Castlevania (1986)
- Kid Icarus (1986)
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002)
- Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (1994)
- Silent Hill 2 (2001)
- Final Fantasy (1987)
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Hooray!!!!! Quality list, my only disapproval is the additions of cod *BooHiss* & candy crush saga *More Boos, Much Hissing, but less than cod got*
Other n that I’ve played, watched, currently own (GoldenEye, FF’s, Tactics Ogre, Etc!) Or love most of these titles, Hooray again!
Yaaay Gaming!!!!!!
It’s a shame. I’ve played so little games on that list.
Time to die! 😉
Bahahaa so I misread that as “I’ve played so MANY games on that list.” Now my original comment makes no sense and it’s just awkward.
Saw your comment on The Story Reading Ape’s blog – great avatar you have! I recognize the mage from the original, NES-based Final Fantasy…so naturally, I had to read this post first, LOL
I see that StarCraft, Age of Wonders, Command & Conquer, and Total Annihilation didn’t make the list…but I see many titles that I’ve enjoyed over the years. Great list!
😎
Hi there! Glad to meet you and welcome! I’m glad this avatar caught your eye with your clearly great taste in games. Thanks for checking out our list. You had me panicked for a second. Thought I’d left out StarCraft! It’s no.78. Included as the rep for RTS’s. Whew! *wipes cold sweat from brow*
LOL – sometimes I miss names…I think I was happy to see that Skyrim and Ultima III were there, along with Doom (of course), so completely overlooked StarCraft! No need to sweat…that’s an awesome, very inclusive list of games!
😎
Good to hear you enjoyed our choices! Thanks for reading! This list filled up so surprisingly fast, we may have to try it again at 500 someday.
That’s an excellent idea!
😎
Nice list. Well done for the milestone, keep it up matey.
Reuben
Thank you sir and much gratitude for your many contributions!
Reblogged this on Alex Sigsworth.
Thank you! That is much appreciated. And I also appreciate your participation.
Congratulations of 200 posts!
I really wish I would have known about this endeavor, as I would have loved to have join in. An interesting list, though I can’t say I agree with all of the placements (seeing five Final Fantasy games in the top 20 while Mario World is way up at 160 greatly saddens me).
I’ve played more of those than I would’ve expected! lol
Awesome! It’s a good thing. Means you could very well die in peace. 😉
The list turned out great! My husband says he’s played about half of them lol. Congrats on 200 posts and here’s to many more.
Thanks very much!
Congrats on the 200 posts, and that was an excellent list! You guys and your readers have excellent taste!
Well our readers certainly do. *wink* Hahaha thanks so much!
Congrats on 200 posts! I’ve beaten several of these amazing games, but sadly, a lot of them need to be added to my crushing backlog…
Haha yes… this is literally the ultimate backlog! Thanks very much!
Thank you for the shout out! I’m happy to see so many great games on this list. I will have a few games to add to my collecting list that I hadn’t thought about in a long time here. Also, congratulations for getting to your 200th post!
Wish I could offer you guys a little more than just a shout out. Thanks for contributing! This was a nostalgia trip for me too!
Congratulations on 200 posts! I hope to see much more in the future, and I was happy to contribute to this.
Thank you, retr0pia75! I thought of you particularly for every “retro” title on this list. Well, almost every title. 😀
Great list you got here, must have taken you ages to try and think of all of these games and get them in an order! Congrats on reaching 200 posts !
Surprisingly, it was a breeze! That’s all thanks to everyone who pitched in and shared some titles. I couldn’t even fit all of them on the list! It was pie just to organize them in bullet points. Hehe thanks a lot for checking it out!
Congratulations on the BIg 200! What an epic post! I love it! Happy to have been a part of it!
Thanks very much, Mistah P!
Thanks for the shout out and happy to contribute! I was happy to see Faxanadu and SMB2. Such good games. Faxanadu is the game that got me into watching Let’s Plays. I played it loooong time ago and wanted to see it again. Such a great list ❤️
Oh and congrats on 200 posts!!
Thanks for contributing to this list! I had my own trip down memory lane with some of these contributions. Faxanadu takes me way back…
This is such an awesome list! And congratulations once again on reaching 200 posts! Here’s to 200 more!!
Thanks for contributing! Now my task ahead of me is to play through and review all of the games on this list I haven’t yet. :0
It was my pleasure and thank you for the shout out! It’s funny, but I was thinking the same thing! There are so many great games on this list, my palms are itching to play through them all!
Yeah and it might just take me the rest of my life to finish them all, so the title of the list is appropriate!