7 Best Games of All Time — By Platform

Note: The game rankings, descriptions, and overall content below were generated by Claude. I'm keeping this post on my site for personal future reference — it's a handy curated list I'd otherwise lose track of.

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Overview

11 platforms · 77 legendary titles · ranked by critic + community consensus

Era covered: 1983 – 2022

This list focuses on the games that defined their platforms, aged the best, and are worth playing today — especially relevant for retro handheld emulation.

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Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) — 1983–1995

1. Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) — Platformer — Nintendo The apex of 8-bit platforming — world map, Tanooki suit, and generational level design.

2. The Legend of Zelda (1986) — Action-Adventure — Nintendo Invented the open-world action-adventure template with battery-backed saves.

3. Super Mario Bros. (1985) — Platformer — Nintendo The pack-in that rescued the post-crash market and codified the side-scroller.

4. Mega Man 2 (1988) — Action-Platformer — Capcom Definitive stage-select / weapon-stealing loop with an iconic boss roster and soundtrack.

5. Metroid (1986) — Action-Adventure — Nintendo Pioneered non-linear upgrade-gated exploration — the birth of Metroidvania.

6. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (1989) — Action-Platformer — Konami Branching paths, multiple companions, arguably the best NES soundtrack.

7. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (1987) — Sports — Nintendo A pattern-recognition masterpiece that holds up better than any NES sports game.

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Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) — 1990–2003

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991) — Action-Adventure — Nintendo IGN's #1 SNES game. Light/Dark world structure defined Zelda for 25 years.

2. Super Mario World (1990) — Platformer — Nintendo The SNES pack-in — introduced Yoshi, the cape, and the most secret-filled overworld.

3. Super Metroid (1994) — Action-Adventure — Nintendo The gold standard for atmospheric exploration — cited by developers worldwide.

4. Chrono Trigger (1995) — JRPG — Square The Dream Team's masterpiece: multiple endings, on-field combat, legendary score.

5. Final Fantasy VI (1994) — JRPG — Square 14-character ensemble, an opera scene, and villain Kefka who actually wins.

6. Super Mario Kart (1992) — Kart Racer — Nintendo Invented the kart-racing genre and the item-based catch-up logic every imitator copied.

7. Donkey Kong Country 2 (1995) — Platformer — Rare Pre-rendered CGI sprites and David Wise's score — the SNES platforming peak.

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Game Boy — 1989–2003

1. Tetris (1989) — Puzzle — Nintendo / BPS The pack-in that sold the Game Boy. 35M+ copies — the pick-up-and-play benchmark.

2. Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993) — Action-Adventure — Nintendo A full-scale Zelda on a handheld, with a dreamlike island and rival dungeon design.

3. Pokémon Red & Blue (1996) — RPG — Game Freak Launched a $100B+ franchise. 31.38M combined units sold worldwide.

4. Super Mario Land 2 (1992) — Platformer — Nintendo Doubled the sprite size of its predecessor and introduced Wario as a villain.

5. Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991) — Action-Adventure — Nintendo Expanded the Metroid template to handheld — the baby Metroid story begins here.

6. Kirby's Dream Land (1992) — Platformer — HAL Laboratory Series debut from Masahiro Sakurai — the foundation of a 30-year franchise.

7. Donkey Kong '94 (1994) — Puzzle-Platformer — Nintendo A 101-stage reinvention of the arcade classic — one of the most ambitious GB titles.

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Nintendo 64 — 1996–2002

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) — Action-Adventure — Nintendo 99 Metacritic. Z-targeting became the 3D combat template for the entire industry.

2. Super Mario 64 (1996) — 3D Platformer — Nintendo The launch title that taught the world how to do 3D platforming with an analog stick.

3. GoldenEye 007 (1997) — FPS — Rare Made split-screen multiplayer a living-room staple and defined objective-based FPS.

4. Super Smash Bros. (1999) — Fighting — HAL Laboratory Started the platform-fighter genre and Nintendo's flagship crossover franchise.

5. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000) — Action-Adventure — Nintendo Darker time-loop follow-up to Ocarina — revered for tonal ambition and sidequest depth.

6. Banjo-Kazooie (1998) — 3D Platformer — Rare Rare's collect-a-thon masterpiece — arguably more polished than Mario 64 in camera.

7. Mario Kart 64 (1996) — Kart Racer — Nintendo Introduced 4-player split-screen, the blue shell, and the most iconic Rainbow Road.

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Game Boy Advance — 2001–2008

1. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (2004) — Action-Adventure — Capcom / Nintendo Shrink mechanic and Picori world make it the most ambitious top-down Zelda of the era.

2. Metroid Fusion (2002) — Action-Adventure — Nintendo R&D1 Atmospheric and narrative-driven — the start of the 2D Metroid revival.

3. Metroid: Zero Mission (2004) — Action-Adventure — Nintendo R&D1 Ground-up remake of the 1986 original — now the definitive way to experience Metroid 1.

4. Mother 3 (2006) — JRPG — HAL / Brownie Brown Shigesato Itoi's emotionally devastating sequel to EarthBound. JP-only but fan-translated.

5. Advance Wars (2001) — Strategy — Intelligent Systems The genre-accessibility benchmark for turn-based strategy; razor-tight balance.

6. Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade (2003) — Tactical RPG — Intelligent Systems Introduced permadeath tactics to millions of Western players.

7. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003) — RPG — AlphaDream Comedic timing-based RPG combat — widely the best entry in the M&L series.

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Nintendo GameCube — 2001–2007

1. Metroid Prime (2002) — First-Person Adventure — Retro Studios 97 Metacritic. First-person scan-and-explore without losing the series' atmosphere.

2. Resident Evil 4 (2005) — Survival Horror — Capcom Reinvented 3rd-person shooting — template for Gears of War, Dead Space, and more.

3. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2003) — Action-Adventure — Nintendo Cel-shaded sea-faring Zelda whose art style has aged better than any 3D Zelda.

4. Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) — Fighting — HAL Laboratory 7.41M sold — best-selling GameCube game ever. Longest-running competitive scene.

5. Super Mario Sunshine (2002) — 3D Platformer — Nintendo FLUDD-based 3D Mario set on Isle Delfino — creative and one of the best-sellers.

6. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004) — First-Person Adventure — Retro Studios Light/dark world mechanics and the first multiplayer mode in the series.

7. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004) — RPG — Intelligent Systems Action-command RPG with theatrical-stage presentation — fans' favourite Paper Mario.

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PlayStation (PS1) — 1994–2006

1. Metal Gear Solid (1998) — Stealth — Konami Hideo Kojima's cinematic benchmark — the moment "games as cinema" became mainstream.

2. Final Fantasy VII (1997) — JRPG — Squaresoft Made JRPGs a Western mainstream genre. Over 15.1M lifetime copies sold.

3. Resident Evil 2 (1998) — Survival Horror — Capcom Two interlocking scenarios — the high-water mark of classic Resident Evil design.

4. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997) — Action-RPG — Konami Co-founded "Metroidvania" with RPG upgrades — gothic beauty in a 2D holdout era.

5. Tekken 3 (1998) — Fighting — Namco Widely regarded as the best 3D fighter of its generation — faster, deeper, richer.

6. Gran Turismo (1997) — Racing Sim — Polyphony Digital Legitimized racing-sim depth on console. 10.85M sold — the #1 PS1 game.

7. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (1998) — 3D Platformer — Naughty Dog The PS1 mascot platformer at its peak — varied stages, tight controls.

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PlayStation 2 — 2000–2013

1. Shadow of the Colossus (2005) — Action-Adventure — Team Ico 16 boss fights and nothing else — the strongest single argument for games-as-art.

2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004) — Stealth — Konami Cold War origin story for Big Boss with camouflage/stamina — the most-acclaimed MGS.

3. GTA: San Andreas (2004) — Open World — Rockstar Games The PS2's defining open-world game — three cities and a 100+ hour campaign.

4. Silent Hill 2 (2001) — Survival Horror — Konami The benchmark for "horror as character study" — remade in 2024 to broad acclaim.

5. God of War (2005) — Action — Santa Monica Studio Kratos' debut — combo-driven combat plus Greek mythology set-pieces.

6. Final Fantasy X (2001) — JRPG — Square First fully voice-acted FF with Sphere Grid progression and an emotional pilgrimage.

7. Okami (2006) — Action-Adventure — Clover Studio Sumi-e ink art, Zelda-like structure, Celestial Brush — one of gaming's most original.

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PlayStation Portable (PSP) — 2005–2014

1. God of War: Ghost of Sparta (2010) — Action — Ready at Dawn Console-grade visuals and combat on a handheld — the PSP's technical showcase.

2. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010) — Stealth-Action — Kojima Productions Co-op missions and Mother Base management — treated as a canonical mainline MGS.

3. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (2007) — Action-RPG — Square Enix The Zack Fair prequel — commercially successful enough to spawn a 2022 remaster.

4. Persona 3 Portable (2009) — JRPG — Atlus Adds female protagonist route and QoL to one of the most influential JRPGs ever made.

5. Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions (2007) — Tactical RPG — Square Enix Retranslated cutscene-expanded version of the FFT classic — the definitive edition.

6. Patapon (2008) — Rhythm / Strategy — Pyramid / SCE Pa-Pa-Pa-Pata-Pon — won 2008 PSP Game of the Year on Metacritic.

7. GTA: Liberty City Stories (2005) — Open World — Rockstar Leeds Full Liberty City prequel on a UMD — over 8 million copies sold.

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Pico-8 — 2015–Present

1. Celeste Classic (2015) — Precision Platformer — Maddy Thorson & Noel Berry All-time #1 on Lexaloffle BBS. Built in 4 days; spawned the 2018 award-winning Celeste.

2. Just One Boss (2018) — Boss-Rush — bridgs / Ayla Wright A single screen, the full 8192-token cart limit, and the most polished Pico-8 bullet-hell.

3. Celeste Classic 2: Lani's Trek (2021) — Precision Platformer — Thorson, Berry & Raine 3rd-anniversary sequel built in 3 days — swaps the dash for a grappling hook.

4. PICOHOT (2020) — FPS — SUPERHOT Team members Official 8-bit Superhot homage — proved time-bending 3D is achievable on Pico-8.

5. POOM (2021) — FPS — freds72 Faithful Doom demake — 10K+ downloads. Its SDK became reference for Pico-8 3D devs.

6. Dank Tomb (2017) — Puzzle-Adventure — Jakub Wasilewski Per-pixel dynamic lighting in a Pico-8 cart — lighting-engine articles still referenced today.

7. Porklike (2022) — Roguelike — Krystman / Lazy Devs Grew from a popular tutorial series; later ported to Game Boy — a testament to its clarity.

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Sega Mega Drive — 1988–1997

1. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) — Platformer — Sega Technical Institute 2nd best-selling Mega Drive game — defined Sega's identity in the 16-bit console war.

2. Streets of Rage 2 (1992) — Beat-'em-up — Sega / Ancient Yuzo Koshiro's score and refined four-character combat — benchmark side-scrolling brawler.

3. Phantasy Star IV (1993) — JRPG — Sega Complex ranked it the #1 Genesis game. A culmination of the entire Phantasy Star saga.

4. Gunstar Heroes (1993) — Run-and-Gun — Treasure Treasure's debut — weapon-fusion and screen-filling bosses pushed the MD to its limit.

5. Sonic 3 & Knuckles (1994) — Platformer — Sega Technical Institute The lock-on combo — the longest, best-designed Sonic of the 16-bit era.

6. Shinobi III (1993) — Action-Platformer — Sega Joe Musashi's tightest controls and biggest move set — the franchise's high point.

7. Castlevania: Bloodlines (1994) — Action-Platformer — Konami The only Castlevania built natively for the MD — two playable characters, gothic stages.

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Rankings based on Metacritic, IGN, GamesRadar & community consensus. Era covered: 1983 – 2022.