Favorite Games Of Each Decade. - Revealing One's Tastes In Gaming, **** Or Not.

[LightDragonman1]

Just something I want to do for fun, and to get to know the others on this site a bit more. What are your favorite video games of each decade? Yeah, it's a bit of an autistic question, but it's something I like to ask others.

I'll just start off by listing 15 of my favorites from the 90s, 2000s, and 2010s, (I didn't grow up with games from the 80s).

90s:

1. The Legend Of Zelda Ocarina of Time
2. Metal Gear Solid 1
3. Final Fantasy VII
4. Doom
5. Super Mario 64
6. Super Metroid
7. System Shock 2
8. Quake
9. Half-Life 1
10. Star Fox 64
11. Pokemon Red And Blue
12. Thief The Dark Project
13. Mega Man X
14. Goldeneye 007
15. Duke Nukem 3D

2000s:

1. The Legend Of Zelda Twilight Princess
2. Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons Of Liberty
3. Shadow Of The Colossus
4. Devil May Cry 3
5. Super Mario Galaxy
6. Resident Evil 4
7. Deus Ex
8. Metroid Prime
9. F.E.A.R.
10. Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
11. Silent Hill 2
12. Half-Life 2
13. Portal
14. F-Zero GX
15. Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door

2010s:

1. The Legend Of Zelda Breath Of The Wild
2. Nier Automata
3. Red Dead Redemption 2
4. Doom 2016
5. Devil May Cry 5
6. Portal 2
7. Super Mario Odyssey
8. Bloodborne
9. Fire Emblem Awakening
10. Wolfenstein The New Order
11. Kid Icarus Uprising
12. Shovel Knight
13. Super Smash Bros Ultimate
14. Resident Evil 7 Biohazard
15. Xenoblade Chronicles

Keep in mind that I may end up going back and changing my lists. And yes, this is indeed me sperging (Me having a Zelda title at the top of each says it all), but hey, it's something I like to share.

What about you guys? Name your favorites from each decade.

 

[Bitcoin Henchman]

I'll just do a short list for now, I didn't grow up in the 80's but I did have games from then as a kid so

80's:
Legend of Zelda
Final Fantasy
Super Mario Bros 3

90s:
Ocarina Of Time
Tiny Tank
Bomberman Hero

2000s:
Morrowind
Halo 3
GTA San Andreas

2010s:
Hollow Knight
Dead Cells
Terraria

 

[Overcast]

90's:
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
Spyro the Dragon
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile
Fallout 1
Planescape Torment
Banjo-Kazooie and Tooie

2000s:
Shadow of the Colossus
ICO
Final Fantasy IX
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Left 4 Dead 1 and 2
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl
Valkyria Chronicles
Team Fortress 2
Portal
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
Hitman: Blood Money
Silent Hill 2
Haunting Ground
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite

2010s:
Fallout: New Vegas
The Last Guardian
Shovel Knight
Black Mesa
Katawa Shoujo
Portal 2
Monster Hunter 4: Ultimate

 

[ToroidalBoat]

Seems that with each passing decade, the less games I've played on those lists.

 

[LightDragonman1]

I have noticed that for me as well.

My peak gaming years were the late 90s, whole of the 2000s, and most of the 2010s. It's a shame I find myself gaming less, going weeks at time without playing even. Need to work up the motivation to head back in.

Honestly, I can't really think of many from the 80s that I actually like or have played aside from Super Mario Bros, Zelda 1, Castlevania 1, and Donkey Kong. I hope this doesn't show that I lack taste.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

I hope this doesn't show that I lack taste.

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I think "classic 8-bit games" could be overrated.

Graphics could suck too much, music and sound could be "too unnatural", and gameplay could be ridiculously hard.

I think the "16-bit era" around 1990 is when games really got good.

 

[Pickle Inspector]

I'll try and give 10 for each decade:

80s:
Tetris (Gameboy)
Super Mario Bros
Super Mario Bros 3
The NewZealand Story
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Arcade Game
River City Ransom
Chaos: Battle of the Wizards
Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap
Ducktales

90s:
Super Mario World
Final Fantasy 7
Garou Mark of the Wolves
Master of Orion 2
Starcraft + Brood Wars
Mario Kart
Sonic and Knuckles + 3
Unreal Tournament
Pokemon Blue/Red
Chrono Trigger

2000s:
Deus Ex
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Team Fortress 2
Diablo 2 + Lord of Destruction
Touhou: Perfect Cherry Blossom
Megaman Battle Network (Not sure which one)
Advance Wars
Rollercoaster Tycoon 2
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
World of Warcraft (During the inital hype)

2010s:
Shogun Total War 2
Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs
Total War Warhammer 2
Skyrim - Elder Scrolls
Slay the Spire
Dead by Daylight
X-Com 2
Ace Combat 7
Mass Effect 2
Persona 4 Golden

Also 5 for 2020's even though it's a bit early for that:
Hitman 3
Deltarune
Hades
Monster Train
Persona 5 Royal

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

*: Nostalgia pick (a.k.a trash now)

70's:
Oregon Trail*

Uhhhhhhhhhh... That's probably it.

80's:
Duck Hunt*
Super Mario Bros 1*
Super Mario Bros 2
Super Mario Bros 3
Super Mario Land
Dig Dug*
Donkey Kong*
Donkey Kong Jr.*
Bubble Bobble*
TMNT*
Burger Time*
Mega Man*
KABOOM!*
Galaga*
Golden Axe*

90's:
Chrono Trigger
Super Mario RPG
Earthbound
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy 4
Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 8
Pokemon Yellow
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2
Parasite Eve
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Resident Evil 3
Metal Gear Solid
Conker's Bad Fur Day

00's:
Final Fantasy 9
Final Fantasy 10
Final Fantasy 10-2
Metal Gear Solid 2
Zelda: Wind Waker
Super Mario Sunshine
Star Fox Adventures
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Metroid Prime
Mario Kart: Double Dash
Mega Man Battle Network
Mario & Luigi: Super Star Saga
Devil May Cry
Hotel Dusk: Room 215

10's:
Last Window: The Secret of Cape West
Gravity Rush
Mega Man 10
Persona 4 Golden
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
Sonic Colors (DS)
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2
999
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
Killzone: Mercenary
Danganronpa
Tearaway
Telltale's The Walking Dead
Resident Evil Revelations
Sonic Racing Transformed


90's was the toughest, but even 10's were surprisingly stacked.

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I think "classic 8-bit games" could be overrated.

Graphics could suck too much, music and sound could be "too unnatural", and gameplay could be ridiculously hard.

I think the "16-bit era" around 1990 is when games really got good.

Aside from a couple good games, 80's shit doesn't hold up well. It's mostly just important because that's where lots of good franchises began, and were good for their time. Game Boy has good stuff though despite being 8-bit, mostly because it lingered long past the 80's.

 

[the fall of man]

If I make a list, I'll probably end up retreading a lot of common ground. But starting with Jay Fenlason's Hack (1982), which I bought out of a mid 90s computer gaming store that only had shareware on 3 1/4" floppy disks, I got seriously into roguelikes for the next two decades. When I got a girlfriend with internet, the first thing I did was obtain NetHack, then Slash'Em.

Then I branched out into Angband, Zangband. ADOM, Dungeon Crawl, and ToME v3 (the one that was still Tales of Middle Earth). I only stopped playing them so I could be productive for a while, and I really need to learn to play Cataclysm: DDA.

 

[ShitlordroltihS]

80's
Zelda 1
Immortal
Punch-Out

90's:
Daggerfall
Fallout 2
Roller Coaster Tycoon
Doom II

2000's
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Knights of the Old Republic 1+2
Morrowind
Oblivion
Force Unleashed
Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Halo 2
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Lego Star Wars TCS
Lego Lord of the Rings
Wii Sports
Clubhouse Games (DS)
Transformers (DS)
Fable 1-3
Lego Star Wars 3
Battlefront 2

2010's
Skyrim
Wind Waker HD
Fallout: New Vegas
Skate 3
Blade and Sorcery
Mortal Kombat X
Breath of the Wild

2020's
Skyrim

 

[LightDragonman1]

Aside from a couple good games, 80's shit doesn't hold up well. It's mostly just important because that's where lots of good franchises began, and were good for their time. Game Boy has good stuff though despite being 8-bit, mostly because it lingered long past the 80's.

Honestly, I have to agree with you on that. Despite a lot of great stuff that still holds up when it comes to that decade, I don't think the video games are a part of that, at the risk of angering all those internet reviewers who grew up in that decade. For me at least, the Golden Age Of Video Games didn't really start until the 90s, when technology had advanced just far enough to allow for the deeper and more engaging experiences that the medium excels at.

Also, I have a few more favorites from those three decades.

90s:
Blood
Donkey Kong Country
Turok 2 Seeds Of Evil
Spyro 2 Ripto's Rampage
Wave Race 64

2000s:
Viewtiful Joe
Super Smash Bros Melee
Thief 2 The Metal Age
Bioshock
Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2 Rogue Leader
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
Ninja Gaiden Black
The Chronicles Of Riddick Escape From Butcher Bay
Perfect Dark
Mega Man Zero 3
Pokemon Emerald
Dead Space
Sonic Adventure 2
Pikmin 2
Return To Castle Wolfenstein

2010s:
Bayonetta 2
Metal Gear Rising Revengeance
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Titanfall 2
Journey
Mark Of The Ninja
Gravity Rush 2
Vanquish
Dead Space 2
Alan Wake

Does me not having many lesser known or indie titles as favorites prove I have **** taste?

Anyways, I'll stop being I get too deep into my list. XD

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

Honestly, I have to agree with you on that. Despite a lot of great stuff that still holds up when it comes to that decade, I don't think the video games are a part of that, at the risk of angering all those internet reviewers who grew up in that decade. For me at least, the Golden Age Of Video Games didn't really start until the 90s, when technology had advanced just far enough to allow for the deeper and more engaging experiences that the medium excels at.

Also, I have a few more favorites from those three decades.

90s:
Blood
Donkey Kong Country
Turok 2 Seeds Of Evil
Spyro 2 Ripto's Rampage
Wave Race 64

2000s:
Viewtiful Joe
Super Smash Bros Melee
Thief 2 The Metal Age
Bioshock
Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2 Rogue Leader
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
Ninja Gaiden Black
The Chronicles Of Riddick Escape From Butcher Bay
Perfect Dark
Mega Man Zero 3
Pokemon Emerald
Dead Space
Sonic Adventure 2
Pikmin 2
Return To Castle Wolfenstein

2010s:
Bayonetta 2
Metal Gear Rising Revengeance
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Titanfall 2
Journey
Mark Of The Ninja
Gravity Rush 2
Vanquish
Dead Space 2
Alan Wake

Does me not having many lesser known or indie titles as favorites prove I have **** taste?

Anyways, I'll stop being I get too deep into my list. XD

Technology definitely needed to advance for gaming to get good. Film was the same way. People can pretend to like silent black & white films, but they're nothing more than a curiosity and we all know it.

I think indie games are cool, but even the best ones usually don't come to mind when making a top games list like this. I think your list is fairly good, even just putting one indie in your top 25 is amazing lol. I liked Journey a lot, but I'd probably need to make a top 100 to mention it, or at least be restricted to PS3.

 

[Jason Wynn]

I’ll just do a top 5 otherwise I’ll have a novel written out

80s:
Contra
Punch Out
The Legend of Zelda
Mega Man 2
Castlevania

90s:
Planescape Torment
Thief: the Dark Project
Earthbound
The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
Final Fantasy Tactics

2000s:
Final Fantasy X
Silent Hill 2
Diablo 2/Lord of Destruction
Morrowind
VtM Bloodlines

2010s:
Disco Elysium
Borderlands 2
Resident Evil 7
Dragon Quest 11
Dungeons of Dredmor

 

[Calandrino]

1960s:
Minesweeper
Spacewar!

1970s:
Asteroids
Space Invaders
Space Invaders Part II
Lunar Rescue
Lunar Lander
Zork
Galaxian
Super Breakout
Heiankyo Alien

1980-1984:
Tempest
Robotron 2084
Joust
Ms. Pac-Man
Q*bert
Centipede
Marble Madness
Moon Patrol
Crazy Climber
Moria
Punch-Out!!
Dragon's Lair
Major Havoc

1985-1989:
Space Harrier
Splatterhouse
Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti
X-Multiply
Revenge of Shinobi
Phantasy Star
Ghouls 'n' Ghosts
Maniac Mansion
Sweet Home
Shadowgate
Wizards & Warriors
Nethack
Final Fight
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
OutRun
Castlevania
Alien Syndrome
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 3

1990-1994:
Angband
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Rock 'n' Roll Racing
Thunder Force IV
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
Akumajō Densetsu
Earthworm Jim
Captain Commando
Super C
Darius Gaiden
Sunset Riders
The Immortal
SimCity 2000
Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts
Battletoads
Street Fighter 2

1995-1999:
Fallout
Magic Tower / Tower of the Sorcerer
Typing of the Dead
Harvester
Bad Mojo
Battle Circuit
Doom 64
ChuChu Rocket!
Wave Race 64
Metal Slug X
Clock Tower (SNES)
King of Dragon Pass
Blast Corps

2000-2022:
Mr. Driller Drill Land
Ninja Five-O
Nex Machina
Brogue
Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors
Silent Hill 2
Scribblenauts

 

[The Ugly One]

got dayum your lists are long. I'm choosing one from each decade.

1970s: Asteroids
1980s: Legend of Zelda
1990s: Doom
2000s: Metroid Prime
2010s: Call of Duty: Black Ops II
2020s: Deep Rock Galactic

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

Lazy, so I'm doing one per decade.

70's: Galaxian
80's: Tie between Phantasy Star and Dragon Quest
90's: Thief Dark Project
2000's: Morrowind
10's: Tie between Dragon's Dogma and Rimworld

 

[Porker LeVance]

80's:
Super Mario Bros.
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
Donkey Kong

90's:
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario World
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Super Mario RPG
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Mario 64
Mario Kart 64
Banjo Kazooie
Super Smash Bros.
WCW/nWo Revenge

00's:
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Wario Land 4
Metroid: Zero Mission
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
Metroid Prime
Resident Evil 4
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Super Mario Galaxy
Mario Kart Wii
Beautiful Katamari
Bioshock
Mass Effect

10's:
Bioshock 2 and Infinite
Mass Effect 2 and 3
Mario Kart 7
Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Skyrim
Fallout 4
Fallout 76
Dead by Daylight

 

[EnemyStand]

Just going to list my number ones.

80s: Super Msrio Bros. 3

90s: Earthbound (got grounded from it for a literal year and it drove me up a wall)

00s: Bioshock

10s: Bloodborne

20s: Elden Ring (fuck you, it'll be great when it comes out)

 

[Neo-Holstien]

80s: Zelda II, I like it, i felt like i was growing

90s: Ocarina of Time, I loved this game for many a years

00s: Morrowind, favorite game ever made, I could spend hours flying around making my slaves follow me.

10s: Dark souls, its what the cool kids where playing

 

[WULULULULU]

None. Every game has a flaw that renders it "perfect" or a favorite.