Top 10 most important Console Games!

The trusty games console has been around since the birth of home video gaming so how about peoples views on the top 10 most important games - any console from the VCS 2600 etc upwards! Looking at games (or games series) which are generally known for their console version first (rather than their PC or Arcade versions). These are in no specific order (hand helds not included just TV consoles)

1) Gran Turismo (PSX, PS2)
2) Pro Evolution Soccer/ ISS series (SNES, N64,GC, PSX, PS2)
3) Mario (NES, SNES, N64, GC)
4) Sonic the Hedgehog (SEGA -MD, MS & DC, GC)
5) Zelda (NES, SNES, N64, GC)
6) Resident Evil (PSX, PS2, SATURN, GC)
7) Mario Kart (SNES, N64, GC)
9) Halo (X-Box, PC)
10) Final Fantasy (PSX, PS2)

It's quite difficult when you think of games that were developed for consoles initially as it rules out the likes of SFII, Virtua Fighter, Pacman, Asteroids, Space invaders, etc etc.

 

Tomb Raider
Fifa

 

Wipeout series on PS1&2. Wipeout 2097 still remains the best in my opinion.

 

Zelda 1st, Sonic 2nd and Mario 3rd.

 

1. Pong (does this count, it was arcade first I think?) - Classic first mainstream console game.
2. Combat (Atari) - loadsa games on one cart
3. Mario - First international console superstar and the benchmark for platforming.
4. Tomb Raider - First 3rd person game and female heroine
5. F-Zero - Game that sold the SNES
6. Zelda/Final Fantasy - 2 RPGs that take a different slant but define the genre
8. Herzog Zwei - Why this hasn't been developed more I don't know.
9. Pikmin - Sheer genious.
10. Mystical Ninja - The pinnacle of games with games.

 

Gta (i think)

 

1. Combat (Atari VCS)
2. River Raid (Atari VCS)
3. Commodore Soccer (C64 cartridge)
4. Yars Revenge (Atari VCS)
5. Popeye (Philips thingymajig)
6. Tetris (Gameboy)
7. Wipeout (PS1)
8. Moto GP (XBox)
9. Eyetoy Play (PS2)
10. Super Mario Kart (SNes)

 

1) mario
2) tetris
3) gta (not that i like it )
4) wipeout
5) mariokart
6) zelda
7) pokemon
8) final fantasy
9) tombraider
10) goldeneye

Important, but not the best !

 

For me it'd have to be

1) Pong, the original home video game!
2) Space Invaders, for similar reasons.
3)Shenmue, sets a new precident for RPG games
4)Project Gotham Racing 2, again sets precidents for online gaming
5)ISS (the original on ps1)
6)Donkeykong (the 80's original)
7)Outrun (original)
8)Mario sets the platform game precident
9)Double Dragon (again the original)
10)Street Fighter 2.

I tried to include the original games from a few genres as they are incrediably inspiring games.

 

Yeah some very good suggestions there...

Tomb Raider, Wipeout, Pokemon, Herzog Zwei I feel are all up there. I guess Tomb Raider (1st decent 3d adventure)and Wipeout (1st decent futuristic racer) along with Ridge Racer and Tekken (perhaps 2 another contenders- although obviously arcade games 1st) are what originally sold the PSX. Pokemon is obviously very important and created a new genre. Herzog Zwei was actually the 1st RTS game on any platform and was superb, I too can not believe this did not go on to be developed.

Although not on a console but on the Speccy was an old game called "The Fury"...essentially a sideways futuristic racer/shoot em up where you developed your car and got money to finance your racing/car development from winning races. It was an OK game but a superb concept and I guess games like Wipeout have used a similar concept but focused more on the racing and less on the financing/car development.

 

I must be getting old. Most of the games listed above are quite recent.

Combat (2600)
Pitfall (2600) First proper platformer
Adventure (2600)
Pokemon (Gameboy)
Eye Toy (PS2) Stills seems gimmicky but has a lot to offer.
Herzog Zwei (MD) First RTS
Rez (DC/PS2) I know it's basically a shooter but it's an artistic milestone.
Tomb Raider (SS/PS) Prince of Persia in 3d.
Tetris (GB) Not the first format to host Tetris but it arguably brought gaming on the go to the masses.

Damn, that's a really hard list to make up. Most console games fall into clear cut genres or have been ported from arcade games.
A lot of genres first emerged on home computers or in arcades and it's amazing that people seem to associate RPG's with Japan as the Yanks got there first and introduced the concept to the East.
Very interesting topic all the same.

 

Streetfighter 2, Outrun, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and Double Dragon are 5 very important arcarde games, however the only one of those that was really important as a console release was SFII on the SNES as that shifted stacks of those consoles.

I agree with Pong as that not only spawned a million copies but it was the first TV game to have a real impact on the paying public and become a mass seller.

I know you love PGR2 and that it's a good, fun, online game but I don't feel it's one of the most Important console games ever. Whilst good it's not a groundbreaking game as you can't say the 1st online game of each genre on a console is similarly important. Besides, while not the same quality of game there's Midtown Madness 3 which offered online gaming. You could also say that SOCOM on the PS2 set precidents for online console gaming with superb online team based combat and voice chat via usb headsets.

 

I'm quite an "old" gamer myself at 30 and have been playing video games since the start og the Golden age back in the late 70's early 80's. Although I owned several game and watch's and those tomytronic 3D things the first actual computer/console I owned was the Dragon 32 (if anyone remembers that! lol).

I mut say though that computers such as the Spectrum, C64 then the Atari ST and Amiga really ruled gaming until the Megadrive and SNES really brought console gaming back to popularity. So I guess a lot of the important console games started to appear then in the early 90's. If we look at computers I guess there were several other important games that appeared between say 1982 - 1995 such as Kick Off, Knightlore, manic miner, Driller, Stunt car racer, Geoff Crammonds F1 GP, Sensi Soccer, Laser Squad etc.

So, he says trying to get back on topic...I guess the real point is that there was a window with the release of PONG, the Atari VCS system and perhaps other systems of the time such as the Colecovision in the late 70 and into the early 80's. Up to the late 80's I guess there was the NES and Master System with the NES being the most inovative of the 2 with Zelda, Mario, Megaman etc. Then after that I guess consoles really took off with the 16 bit era eventually seeing off the era of the multi platform computers (Amiga, ST). The impact that the PSX had on mass gaming though in the mid 90's was down to some amazingly influential "original" games, such as Tomb Raider, Wipeout, Resident Evil/Silent Hill, ISS pro evo 1&2 and the Final Fantasy series.

Unfortunately as well, with Mass gaming and the fact that games have become expensive things to make, we also now see less innovation and more churning out of money making sequels. It's now mainly about big business, but I guess it was always going to be that way with many of the more "important" games coming in the early days of consoles and the Video game media as a whole.

 

the game taht really got me into gaming

 

You're entitled to your opinion of course, but with pgr2, I feel it's the content of the online play, and the presentation and implementation of the online play that makes it groundbreaking.

For instance on the single player mode you do challenges like have to manouver around cones and earn style points for doing 360s etc, and you can download other peoples ghosts from the internet and either watch how they do it or race against them, so you can earn more points and move up the leader board.

I believe the PGR series has added a new element with the 'Kudos' scoring system, and the realistic interpritation of almost entire citys, accurate down to the placement of lampposts on the pavements that really sways it for me. You really feel like you are racing through Edinborough or Washington D.C etc etc.

I just feel it is by far the most involving and important arcade racer ever. Different from Gran Turismo yes, so I feel it is a little unfair to directly compare them.

 

PGR2 is the third game in a series so how can it be groundbreaking? It's still just a refined version of MSR.

 

I'm talking about the online content, dufus!

 

Uve just reminded me of a classic (in my eyes) console game wich i think was on the ps1. Fade to Black! I use to love this game and if im correct was the follow up to Pitfall?

 

It's definatelly a different sort of game to Gran Turismo and I do think that PGR2 is a great game. My point is that the game is not groundbreaking as such and the things you mention have all been done elsewhere as stated below:-

Firstly you could download online content such as ghost cars and leaderboards in F355 on the Dreamcast which is now over 3 years old.

MSR on the Dreamcast (also around 3 years old)was also the first game to correctly map city centres in the style that PGR2 employs now and it was also the 1st game to employ the Kudos system. So the praise for these achievements must go to MSR as PGR & PGR2 have only developed these features.

I would say that MSR would have a shout at being one of the most important console games ever as it took racing games in a different direction from the format of simply racing through checkpoints or round tracks as fast as possible. The Kudos system meant that for once you actually had to drive well too. PGR2 has obviously taken the idea further on a more powerful console and produced an even better game but without MSR there would have been no PGR or PGR2.

So as the online content has been done before (admitidly not as well as in PGR2) and the game is based on ideas pioneered in previous games PGR2 can hardly be classed as one of the most important console games ever.

 

It was actually the sequel to a fantastic game on the Amiga (also ported to other formats such as the Megadrive & SNES) called FLASHBACK. Brilliant game!

 

Hi all, As far as I am concerned there's only one great game, and I'm surprised that no one's mentioned it yet but it's got to be DUKE NUKEM.

 

Yes Duke Nukem was a great game, however....

a) it wasn't as important as say Castle Wolfenstein which really created the FPS genre or even Doom which brought it really to the masses and ...

b) it was a PC game initially and is remembered for that, although subsequent versions have appeared on consoles.

 

Mine would probably be (in no particular order):-

Tomb Raider
Mario Kart
Pong
Wolfenstein
Mario
Pokemon
Elite
Zelda
Herzog Zwei
Tetris

Regards,
Iain

 

1) Mario
2) GTA
3) Driver
4) Sonic The Hedgehog
5) Resident Evil
6) Tomb Raider
7) Gran Tourismo
8) Metal Gear Solid
9) Resident Evil 3 - Nemesis
10) Tetris

 

Wow, forgot about Tetris.....

 

But again Tetris was a computer game not a console game, it was done on some Russian super computer and then he ported it to an IBM compatible PC, oh, and didn't bother with getting a copyright or patent on it

 

aye there's actually a program on about Tetris on BBC4 on Monday 9pm I think. Great game! I guess whilst it was originally a computer game it was really the Gameboy version that everyone played and remembered.

 

Pokemon games are defientley important! Been playing since Red and Blue came out. Can't wait till Fire Red/Water Blue and Colosseum on the Cube! Fire Red/ Water Blue (may change, it's not been confirmed but Japan have Leaf Green and we never got the 1st green) are remakes of the 1st ones for the GBA. Very decent re-makes too! Played Fire Red!

 

Yep Pokemon has to be recognised for sure... Not my cup of tea but then I guess it's aimed at the younger gamer.

 

Castle Wolfenstein popularised the FPS genre, but didn't create it.

The trusty old C64 had games which could have been classed as 3D FPS's :

- Scarabaus (spelling?)
- Mercenary

Of course there were other 3d games, but they involved vehicles - Ballblazer, The Eidolon, Koronis Rift, etc.

And something in the back of my mind is trying to tell me that 3D Monster Maze was on the ZX81.