kisrael.com | videogames | powerlist

These are the ratings from EMG's 100th issue "Top 100 Games Ever" from 1997, their 2002 list, Game Informer's "Top 100 Games of All Time" (August 2001) then IGN.com's online lists from 2003 and 2005. This page calculates each game's "power ranking" by adding their cumulative "(101 - rank)" for its entry in each of the lists. (This is probably unfair for games that are too recent to make the older lists; thems the breaks.)

This isn't meant to be a "better" list, just an interesting little tool. Each of these lists made much better reading, with a description of why it made the cut, so it's worth looking for the back issues or at least seeing IGN's online charts.

Yes, I know this is tragically geeky of me. I started seeing had the made out in which systems and which years made the biggest impact from the 1997 list. When the 2002 update came out, I then wanted to see how the list changed. Then I added in IGN's info into a big static page. When I threw GI into the mix (an "odd man out" in many rankings...plus they don't include year info) I went a little nuts and put the script itself online, allowing people to only look at certain charts. I had to fudge a few things, ignore a few differences in versions and years and what not. (And a lot of typos) but I think the numbers are pretty good. If EGM makes a new list (in 2007 or so) I might tweak the interface to allow comparing in different orders. (It's not chronological so that the EGMs would be lumped together...what's a year difference among friends.)

Use Charts:
EGM
1997 		EGM
2002 		GI
2001 		IGN
2003 		IGN
2005 		  
  Name Year Pts IGN
2003
1. Super Mario Bros. 1985  100         1       
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 1998  99         2       
3. Super Metroid 1994  98         3       
4. Tetris 1987  97         4       
5. Super Mario 64 1996  96         5       
6. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 1992  95         6       
7. StarCraft 1998  94         7       
8. X-COM: UFO Defense 1994  93         8       
9. Final Fantasy II (IV) 1991  92         9       
10. Street Fighter II 1991  91         10       
11. Star Wars: TIE Fighter 1994  90         11       
12. Chrono Trigger 1995  89         12       
13. Ms. Pac-Man 1981  88         13       
14. Super Mario Kart 1992  87         14       
15. Sid Meier's Civilization II 1996  86         15       
16. NHL '94 1993  85         16       
17. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 1997  84         17       
18. Grand Theft Auto III 2001  83         18       
19. GoldenEye 007 1997  82         19       
20. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 2000  81         20       
21. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec 2001  80         21       
22. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! 1987  79         22       
23. Metroid Prime 2002  78         23       
24. Yoshi's Island: Super Mario World 2 1995  77         24       
25. Prince of Persia 1989  76         25       
26. Tecmo Bowl 1989  75         26       
27. Pirates! 1987  74         27       
28. Super Mario World 1991  73         28       
29. Star Wars 1983  72         29       
30. Metal Gear Solid 1998  71         30       
31. Gauntlet 1985  70         31       
32. Half-Life 1998  69         32       
33. Wave Race 64 1996  68         33       
34. Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty 1992  67         34       
35. Thief II: The Metal Age 2000  66         35       
36. Super Smash Bros. Melee 2001  65         36       
37. Madden '96 1995  64         37       
38. Soul Calibur 1999  63         38       
39. Halo 2001  62         39       
40. Deus Ex 2000  61         40       
41. Battlefield 1942 2002  60         41       
42. NBA Jam 1993  59         42       
43. Final Fantasy III (VI) 1994  58         43       
44. DOOM 1993  57         44       
45. Alone in the Dark 1992  56         45       
46. Conker's Bad Fur Day 2001  55         46       
47. SimCity 2000 1993  54         47       
48. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 1996  53         48       
49. Track & Field 1984  52         49       
50. Archon 1983  51         50       
51. Contra 1988  50         51       
52. Ultima VII: The Black Gate 1992  49         52       
53. Star Control II 1992  48         53       
54. Gunstar Heroes 1993  47         54       
55. Bionic Commando 1988  46         55       
56. Return Fire 1995  45         56       
57. Star Fox 1993  44         57       
58. Resident Evil 2 1998  43         58       
59. Advance Wars 2001  42         59       
60. MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat 1995  41         60       
61. Tobal 2 1997  40         61       
62. Herzog Zwei 1989  39         62       
63. Baldur's Gate 1998  38         63       
64. Shining Force II 1994  37         64       
65. Crimson Skies 2000  36         65       
66. Master of Magic 1995  35         66       
67. Sam & Max Hit the Road 1993  34         67       
68. Virtua Fighter 2 1994  33         68       
69. Ghosts 'n Goblins 1985  32         69       
70. System Shock 2 1999  31         70       
71. NCAA Football 2003 2002  30         71       
72. Pokemon Red/Blue 1998  29         72       
73. Galaga 1981  28         73       
74. Pilotwings 1991  27         74       
75. Saturn Bomberman 1996  26         75       
76. Rayman 2: The Great Escape 2000  25         76       
77. Baseball Stars 1989  24         77       
78. Secret of Mana 1993  23         78       
79. Homeworld 1999  22         79       
80. Excitebike 1984  21         80       
81. Discs of Tron 1983  20         81       
82. Battlezone 1980  19         82       
83. Half-Life: Counter-Strike 1999  18         83       
84. Kid Icarus 1987  17         84       
85. Final Fantasy X 2001  16         85       
86. Tomb Raider 1996  15         86       
87. Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi 1991  14         87       
88. Warcraft II 1996  13         88       
89. Virtua Tennis 2000  12         89       
90. Sonic the Hedgehog 1991  11         90       
91. F-Zero 1991  10         91       
92. Aces of the Pacific 1992  9         92       
93. SimCity 1989  8         93       
94. Wolfenstein 3-D 1992  7         94       
95. Adventure 1978  6         95       
96. Golden Axe 1989  5         96       
97. Phantasy Star II 1989  4         97       
98. Master of Orion 1994  3         98       
99. Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss 1991  2         99       
100. Pitfall! 1982  1         100