Best Games for each system?(Old and New)

[Mahaloth]

All right, choose ONE game for each system you are familiar. No wishy washy choices, just choose one or none if you don't know.

Atari 2600: Adventure

NES: Final Fantasy III(J)

[B]SNES: Final Fantasy VI(III in the USA)

N64: Ocarina of Time

PSOne: Chrono Cross

Gamecube: Tales of Symphonia

PS2: Okami


By all means, include systems I've not experienced enough of.

[Jihi]

Atari 2600: Before my time. :D

NES: Super Mario Bros. 3

SNES: Final Fantasy 3 (US version. Chrono Trigger is a very close second.)

Genesis: Phantasy Star 4

PS1: Metal Gear Solid (Valkyrie Profile in another close second)

Dreamcast: Skies of Arcadia

PS2: God of War 2 (This is a tough one. The PS2's library is exceptionally large, with a lot standout titles. MGS3, FF12, Persona 3 and GTA: SA could all just as easily go in this space. I haven't played Persona 4 yet or it might belong here to. I basically just flipped a coin.)

Gamecube: Tales of Symphonia

XBOX: Shenmue 2 (This was another tough one but for completely different reasons. I didn't care for Halo or Ninja Gaiden and I never owned that many games for this system. I do love the Shenmue games though.)

XBOX 360: Fallout 3 (Mass Effect deserves an honorable mention here.)

PS3: Valkyria Chronicles. (I know this game was just released but I just purchased it last week and I'm having a blast with it. It deserves more attention than it's getting and it's everything I wished Operation Darkness had been last year for the 360. As a Metal Gear fan I wanted to say MGS 4 here but I'm honestly having more fun with VC.)

This was more difficult that I had anticipated when I started this message. Most of the high profile systems have a lot of excellent games and I enjoyed different ones for different reasons.I know this is heavily weighted toward RPG's but I do honestly play other genres and enjoy them a great deal. Maybe it's just because I spend so much more time on RPG's than other games they weigh more heavily in my recollections.

If I had to choose a best PC game of all time I'd say Planescape: Torment. That game was phenomenal.

Also, the 360 and PS3 are both the "best titles" so far. I reserve the right to change my mind in the future on both of them. :p

[brickbacon]

NES: Super Tecmo Bowl
SNES: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
N64: Goldeneye 007

[Just Some Guy]

All right, choose ONE game for each system you are familiar. No wishy washy choices, just choose one or none if you don't know.

Atari 2600: Adventure

I respect Adventure for bringing some concepts to console land that are now fundamental parts of the medium (check out my SDMB profile if you don't believe me) but I can't call it the greatest. I have to go with Yar's Revenge since it did the best job of bringing a new arcade style game of exceptional quality to the 2600.

For the Intelivision there's no option other than Utopia. Not the AD&D games, not the voice games, not even Kool-Aid Man.

The Colecovision was kind of game poor but they did have the best port of Donkey Kong.

On the Atari 5200 I think they had an excellent port of Star Wars: The Arcade Game.

(I honestly don't remember enough about my Odyssey games to point one one as best; the only one I can remember clearly is that Pac-Man clone with the bugs and that wasn't even for the first system. Same goes for Vectrix and I'm skipping over all the computers since the PC with it's continuous upgrade cycle since 1981 makes it really confusing.)

On the NES I have to go with Super Mario Brothers 2; the US one. I thought it was a much tighter game than Mario 3 and you have to have a platformer for the console that defined platformers.

On the Sega Master System/Game Gear I have to go with their port of Sonic the Hedgehog. The US market for that platform got taken down hard by Nintendo but I've got to respect this fine adaptation of the game.

On the original Gameboy I have to select Tetris; there were better versions of Tetris out there but the Gameboy one was special and brought the game to its biggest audience. (I can't say Pokemon since I've never managed to complete one of the games. I just get bored with them and eventually walk away.)

On the Lynx there's only one game anyone remembers: Slime World.

With the PC Engine/TG-16 I have a fondness for Bomberman '93 and all of those people who will throw out arguments for Dracula X can bite me (not literally vampire fans).

For the Genesis I'll pick Gunstar Heroes mainly because it's like Contra on acid and I feel bad for not really having a place to slip contra in elsewhere in the list.

Super NES has many options to choose from but I have to go with the unsurpassed Zelda: A Link to the Past. The 3D versions never played half as well.

I think everyone's favorite Jaguar game is Trevor McFur. Just kidding there, obviously Alien Vs. Predator; the game so nice they redid it right.

On the Saturn I have to go with Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel not because it's a good game but it just kind of represents why I have a Saturn; it was easy to plug in a cartridge so it could use Japanese games and I got a bunch of not very good but memorable to me anime tie-ins. If you want a real one I'll go with Puzzle Fighter because that's the game I had the most fun with my Saturn playing.

It's another narrow field with the N64 so I'll take the easy route and say Mario 64.

For the PSX it's the opposite problem; it's a huge library... of stuff that was done better elsewhere several years before. If I had to select a console for the "vast wasteland" award this would be it. Still to pick one of the gems out of the muck I'll go with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and hit the mute button every time a character talks.

On that theme with the Gameboy Advance I happen to like Metroid Fusion but maybe if I ever get around to Mother 3 it'll take the top spot.

For the Dreamcast I have to select MARVEL! VERSUS! CAPCOM! TWO! They might not put that punctuation on the box but it's definitely there when people say it. The Dreamcast was exceptional for fighting games and this is easily the best of them.

On the PS2 I have to choose that model of zen in a shiny disk Katamari Damacy. There's a game that never fails to make me smile.

And spinning once more to the flipside on the Gamecube I have a lot of respect for Eternal Darkness since I had previously claimed that there was no way a Call of Cthulhu video game could ever be effective. It's a shame that none of the official Cthulhu games are this good (yes, I'm including Shadow of the Comet).

Looking over the Xbox library I'll go with X-Men Legends as a good way to bring superheroes, action, and some RPG elements together in a way that is a lot of fun with four players. Yeah it was on every platform but as a rule I found that for multiplatform games the XBox versions were usually the best.

With the Nintendo DS I'll pick the second Phoenix Wright game (the subtitles get jumbled up on me for those, sorry) mainly because a series of interactive mysteries is what got me to buy one. They're not without their flaws but they are well designed enough and priced right at the sweet spot that I get my value for them.

On the Wii there are a lot of interesting choices in the upper tier but I'll single out Resident Evil 4 for being the first playable console FPS (or close enough to first person given then viewpoint). Yes, I'm including the Halo series and Goldeneye in that. For once the controls didn't feel like playing underwater.

Finally on the XBox 360 (I don't own one but I've played quite a few games on them) I'll select Left 4 Dead mainly because we had a good time playing the co-op mode. Too bad it's so short.

(All that and I'm sure I'm missing a few...)

[Munch]

NES: Super Mario Bros.
N64: 007 Goldeneye
PS1: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
XBox: Knights of the Old Republic
X360: Bioshock
PS3: LittleBIGPlanet
Gamecube: Metroid Prime
Wii: Mario Galaxy

[Justin Credible]

These are just my personal favorites:

Atari 2600: Dig Dug

NES: Final Fantasy

SNES: Final Fantasy 2 (with Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past a close 2nd)

Genesis: X-Men

PS1: Final Fantasy 7 (my all-time favorite game)

PS2: Dark Cloud

PC: Baldur's Gate

[Pithy Moniker]

Atari 2600: Megamania

NES: Super Mario 2 (Hard pick)

SNES: Final Fantasy 3 (Extremely hard pick. Too many top contenders.)
Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sega CD Lunar

N64: Harvest Moon 64 (The best version of one of my favorite series.)
Saturn: Virtua Fighter Remix
PS1: Gran Turismo

Gamecube: Animal Crossing
Xbox: Knights of the Old Republic
Dreamcast: Tony Hawk 2
PS2: GTA: San Andreas (Like the SNES, it's nearly impossible to pick just one.)

Xbox 360: Rock Band 2 (Very tough choice.)
Wii: Twilight Princess

[lemac]

Sega Master System: Ys: The Vanished Omens
Sega Mega Drive: Sonic 3
Sega 32X: Doom 32X
Sega Saturn: Daytona USA
Xbox 360: Lost Odyssey

[Really Not All That Bright]

BBC Micro/Acorn/Amstrad: Elite
Amiga: Shadow of the Beast
DOS: Lemmings 2: The Tribes

NES: Snake, Rattle & Roll
Gameboy: Motocross Maniacs
Game Gear: Game Gear Shinobi

Mega Drive/Genesis: Cannon Fodder
SNES: Syndicate

PlayStation: Gran Turismo
Nintendo 64: 007: Goldeneye

PS2: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
GameCube: Metroid: Prime

Windows 95+: Half Life 2

Jesus Christ. I've spent a lot of my life playing videogames!

This is a mix of what I really think was best and what my personal favorites were. For my money, the original F-Zero would have been the best game ever if it had a 2-player mode. GTA 3 was a much bigger deal than San Andreas, but the latter was more fun to play. Civilization 2 would be my personal favorite in PC gaming. I've had it since 1995-ish and I still dig it out to play now.

[Cisco]

Atari 2600: River Raid
NES: Super Mario Brothers
SNES: Super Mario World
N64: Mario Kart 64
Xbox: Knights of the Old Republic / Psychonauts (tie)
Wii: Mario Galaxy

I never owned any Sega system, a Gamecube, or any Sony system.

[Stealth Potato]

Atari 2600: Solaris
Though I think my credibility in making recommendations for the Atari 2600 is somewhat tainted by the fact that I played and enjoyed E.T: The Extraterrestrial as a child. Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking.

NES: Mother
A quirky role-playing game about a boy in rural America who becomes caught up in the legacy of his great-grandfather's paranormal research and sets out on a quest with some young friends to save the Earth from an alien invader with some strange connection to his family. Strange, funny, and not "officially" available outside of Japan -- it was translated by Nintendo, but never released. You have to find a ROM dump of the unreleased prototype to play it in English.

SNES: Secret of Evermore
There are a lot of contenders on the Super Nintendo, and a lot of the games others have already mentioned in this category are favorites of mine as well. I picked Secret of Evermore because it really is a lovely little game (with a beautiful soundtrack by Jeremy Soule) that IMHO doesn't get nearly enough recognition.

N64: Ocarina of Time

Gamecube: Super Smash Bros.: Melee
Lovable Nintendo mascots beating the everloving crap out of each other. What's not to love? :D

Wii: Twilight Princess

PlayStation: Final Fantasy Tactics
Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy IX being close runners-up.

Gameboy Advance: Mother 3
Mother 3 is also probably my choice for "best video game ever, period." Third installment of the Mother series, sequel to the SNES classic EarthBound, Mother 3 was sadly never released outside of Japan -- fortunately, there's an excellent fan translation available if you want to play it in English. Words really can't do this game justice; it has a story that's heartwarming and heartrending at the same time, and it is one of the very few games that has ever made me cry. I can't recommend it enough.

[Pushkin]

Dragon 32; The King. Bascially a rip off of Donkey Kong, a pretty blatant one too.
Spectrum 48k+; Tank Simulator 3D. Another rip off, whatever you call that old game with wireframe graphics and tank's doing battle.
NES; Super Mario Bros. 3. A nice little platformer, enough special stuff to make it more enjoyable than the first. The 2nd in the series was just a little too offbeat for my liking.
Gameboy; Tetris. Nothing else is so damned playable. Again and again and again...
PC; Civilisation. In any guise really, we've all wanted to rule and conquer like this, now we can do so, from the comfort of our own bedroom!
SNES; Super Mario World. Just so perfectly paced and designed for anyone to play. (Close second Zelda: A Link to the Past)
N64; Goldeneye; Without the multiplayer, it would still be a blast, but slaying your friends just makes it no. 1.
Gamecube; Zelda Windwaker; Beats the multiplayer aspect of Mario Kart, a really beautiful game to look at and play.

[Really Not All That Bright]

Spectrum 48k+; Tank Simulator 3D. Another rip off, whatever you call that old game with wireframe graphics and tank's doing battle.
Originally, Battletank, and later Battlezone. What's a Dragon 32?

[Pushkin]

What's a Dragon 32?

A computer from Wales of all places (Wiki article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_32)). We got it from my Mum's brother but a short while later picked up our Spectrum 48k+, so we didn't really use it for too long. It seemed a lot easier to use than the Speccie, the keyboard didn't have the plethora of symbols and multifunctions on each key for a start.

[Really Not All That Bright]

A computer from Wales of all places (Wiki article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_32)). We got it from my Mum's brother but a short while later picked up our Spectrum 48k+, so we didn't really use it for too long. It seemed a lot easier to use than the Speccie, the keyboard didn't have the plethora of symbols and multifunctions on each key for a start.
Huh... neat. We had a BBC Micro 32, which used the same processor that now runs your mobile phone, weirdly enough.

[CutterJohn]

Atari 2600 - Combat! or Demon Attack. Combat is just pure Multiplayer awesome, and who can ever forget the damned little demons kamikaze attack?

NES - SM3, Contra

SNES - Super Mario World. No contest. One of the best platformers ever... I still pick this game up occasionally and play it, which is very rare. Add the absolutely superb art design which makes it still a great looking game by todays standards.. The sinble biggest issue I can think of is the flying mode of the cape made a lot of levels very trivial. More powerup storage woulda been nice too, so you didn't have to go back to the donut secret all the time.

PS1 - Wipeout XL, or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The Wipeout series had awesome tracks(racing and musical), and I have never yet seen such a difficult, unforgiving racing game. Castlevania, proving that the 2d platformer is far from dead even in an age of 3d.

PS2 - Shadow of the Colossus. Ok, not the best gameplay ever, but it is certainly one of the most unique games I have ever played, and is absolutely gorgeous.

Xbox - Halo. With a qualifier.. Granted that it uses a lot of elements from other games and stories, it still puts it all together nearly flawlessly(except the Library) and has outstanding direction and acting. By itself its only above average though.. Played Co-op.. easily one of the best times I've ever had playing a game.

[Cisco]

SNES - Super Mario World. No contest. One of the best platformers ever... I go a step further and say it's the best video game of all time. Maybe I was just the perfect age when it came out, but that was the pinnacle for me. I don't know if it can ever be topped.
Xbox - Halo. With a qualifier.. Granted that it uses a lot of elements from other games and stories, it still puts it all together nearly flawlessly(except the Library) and has outstanding direction and acting. By itself its only above average though.. Played Co-op.. easily one of the best times I've ever had playing a game.
I agree (even about the library-- that level sucked), and I would add that it has bar none the best music in a video game ever.

[dada391]

nes . mike tyson's punch-out!

atari lynx . todd's adventures in slime world

sega genesis . sonic the hedgehog 2
snes . final fantasy II

sega cd . sonic cd

n64 . zelda: ocarina of time
playstation . final fantasy VII

xbox . halo

360 . rock band 2
wii . zelda: twilight princess

i think zelda: ocarina of time is the best videogame ever.
i think sonic cd is easily the best sonic videogame.

[Really Not All That Bright]

I agree (even about the library-- that level sucked), and I would add that it has bar none the best music in a video game ever.
No way... that would have to be Killer Instinct. Or Streets of Rage, if we're correcting for system capabilities.

Check out how popular it is on OCRemix.org if you don't believe me.

[Mahaloth]

Gameboy Advance: Mother 3
Mother 3 is also probably my choice for "best video game ever, period." Third installment of the Mother series, sequel to the SNES classic EarthBound, Mother 3 was sadly never released outside of Japan -- fortunately, there's an excellent fan translation available if you want to play it in English. Words really can't do this game justice; it has a story that's heartwarming and heartrending at the same time, and it is one of the very few games that has ever made me cry. I can't recommend it enough.

How do you get the fan translation? You can PM me if you want. I'm very curious about this.

[Quasimodem]

....... for misunderstanding yesterday's events.

Man! I am such an idiot these days and don't deserve to have friends as sweet as you who would take the trouble to spend an hour with me to help me level up.

I do apologize sincerely and am very grateful to you for your time and help.

Y'all, Wonderlust and I have been talking in PM's and she doesn't know that this apology is coming, but since all of you have "put up" with me and this friggin dementia, I feel it is only right that this be a public apology.

Do I blame this on the dementia?

Boy, wouldn't that be convenient? But no, I can't do that. I was just being stupid and made an ass out of myself again, thinking something I wrote was being taken seriously when it really wasn't,and vice versa.:smack:

Again, I do sincerely apologize, and I think the best thing for me to do is take a break from the Dope for a while - while I get my act together.

I thank everyone in the Game Room for helping me out in WoW and for caring about me in general.

As I said, I don't deserve people as nice as Wonderlust and everyone here to be my friends.

I am on indefinite suspension as of now.

Thank you very much!

Bill

[Really Not All That Bright]

Quasi, please come back long enough to tell us where the above post was meant to go?

[Mahaloth]

Quasi, please come back long enough to tell us where the above post was meant to go?

Yes, and....huh?

[fusoya]

NES: it's a very tough tie between Mega Man 2 and Castlevania 3

SNES: Final Fantasy 2 (4)

N64: Mario Kart 64

Gamecube: Super Smash Bros Melee

Wii: Wii Sports Bowling

Gameboy: Final Fantasy Legend 2

Gameboy Advance: Aria of Sorrow

DS: Dawn of Sorrow (yeah, I'm boring, but they're SO good)

PSX: Castlevania Symphony of the Night (did I mention how GOOD some of the CV games are?)

PS2: Katamari Damacy

Sega Genesis: Shining Force 2

Game Gear: Sonic the not so fast Hedgehog

Sega Saturn: Nights into Dreams

TG16: Wanderers From Ys 3

Xbox: Ninja Gaiden Black

X360: Fallout 3

PC: Heroes of Might & Magic 3

[Apocalypso]

Atarti 5200: Montezuma's Revenge. I still think this is one of the better platformers I've played. After you got to the end of the pyramid, you started over, only the level was completely reconfigured so all the monsters, doors, etc, were different. I remember going through about 6-7 completely different configurations. Still not sure how many there were.

Commodore 64: Lemmings. Need I say more? One of the all time greats. Of course there were a lot of great C-64 games, but this is the first great one off the top of my head.

Commodore Amiga: Shadow of the Beast. Ok, it was as hard as hell, but the graphics were fantastic, and the music was just plain awesome. They released a Sega Genesis version, but the music was horrible and the graphics not quite as sharp.

Sega Genesis: Hmmm, a toss up between Gods and Soldiers of Fortune. Both Bitmap brothers games with tons of secrets. You could play either game dozens of times and still find new secrets every time. Flashback is right up there too. Ok, a three way tie! Actually, Desert Strike and Jungle Strike should be up there too...

Playstation 1: Single Player: Oddworld: Abe's Exodus. An awesome platform game, great graphics, great humor, and just flat out fun. Also: the Deception games were great. Actually, given some time to really think about it, I could probably add a half dozen games to the list. This is one of my favorite systems, and had many, many awesome, ground-breaking games. Multi player: Quake II. The game supported 4 player split screen with a multi-tap, and the pure awesomeness of it was only surpassed by Halo.

X-Box: Halo. The single player was ok, but with 4 people it rocked. We loved that you could customize your games. The favorite at my house was "Dad Rock", a variation of oddball (grab the skull and hold it for a total of 2 minutes). The player with the ball was invisible and had super speed and all that stuff. Everyone else had a rocket launcher. "I got it!" <Boom!> "I got it!" <Boom!> "I got it!" <Boom!>

Early PC: X-Com. Nothing else comes close for me. The ultimate strategy game.

Playstation 2: I'm going to go with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The game it's not possible to be bored with (IMO). One of the few games where you can have as much fun making up your own missions/goals.

90's PC: Baldur's Gate II & Fallout I and II. Two of the best RPG's of all time.

Modern PC: Hmm, there's some decent games out there, but nothing that's grabbed me like the others I've listed. Fallout 3 probably comes closest, but what brings it down for me is the bleak, barren, samey-looking landscape. And I still haven't gotten to Morrowind, much less Oblivion.

[Cisco]

Wii: Wii Sports Bowling

Huh? I need an explanation for this one, especially since you seem to be a prolific gamer. What is it about Wii Sports bowling that is entertaining in the least? See, I'm not a very good bowler at all - my lifetime high score is about 180-something, and my average is probably 110 - but I've never not bowled a strike on Wii Sports bowling. It's a simple, repetitive game that offers no challenge whatsoever that I can find. The only reason I bother to ask is because a lot of people cite it as one of their favorite games, and I feel like I'm missing something. What is it?

[magnusblitz]

Atari 2600: Warlords

NES: Mega Man 2

Playstation: Final Fantasy VII

N64; Goldeneye 007

Playstation 2: While I own one and I've played several games on it, I can't think of any I would call the best ever. I had fun with 'em, but they're all flawed or lack mass appeal.

Gamecube: Super Smash Bros Melee

Xbox: Knights of the Old Republic

Wii: Wii Sports

[Really Not All That Bright]

Commodore Amiga: Shadow of the Beast. Ok, it was as hard as hell, but the graphics were fantastic, and the music was just plain awesome. They released a Sega Genesis version, but the music was horrible and the graphics not quite as sharp.
It was also available on the SNES as Super Shadow of the Beast.... same music issues as on the Genesis but the graphics were the same as the Amiga version.

ETA: To be perfectly honest, I didn't think the gameplay was that good. It was more the graphics and sound that really did it for me; watching the opening cinematic (on the Amiga) was my first truly "holy shit!" moment with game graphics.

[fusoya]

Huh? I need an explanation for this one, especially since you seem to be a prolific gamer. What is it about Wii Sports bowling that is entertaining in the least? See, I'm not a very good bowler at all - my lifetime high score is about 180-something, and my average is probably 110 - but I've never not bowled a strike on Wii Sports bowling. It's a simple, repetitive game that offers no challenge whatsoever that I can find. The only reason I bother to ask is because a lot of people cite it as one of their favorite games, and I feel like I'm missing something. What is it?

This shouldn't really need an explanation to those who have actually had 4 player bowling tournaments. It's such a simple game, but it's provided me and my friends hours of fun. Also, I really haven't had that much experience with the Wii. Twilight Princess had its moments, but I HATED the wolf missions, and that fire dungeon was simply TOO long to be enjoyable. Mario Kart is great too (my alias is Boo on a Bike), but the N64 version is vastly superior. I still haven't gotten to play the Wii Smash Bros or any of the Mario games.

[Munch]

but I've never not bowled a strike on Wii Sports bowling.

Then you are an exceptional Wii Bowler. Everyone I play it with finds it challenging.

[Cisco]

Then you are an exceptional Wii Bowler. Everyone I play it with finds it challenging.:dubious: I can't imagine I am. It's just that . . . the lane and the pins never change, and it's not as sensitive as real bowling. You point the line at the right spot, which I figured out on the first try, and throw the ball. Strike. Strike. Strike. Strike. Strike. Strike. Strike. Ad infinitum.

[wonderlust]

I do apologize sincerely and am very grateful to you for your time and help.This belongs in the WOW Questions thread....I'll try to make things better...:(

[ReuvenB]

:dubious: I can't imagine I am. It's just that . . . the lane and the pins never change, and it's not as sensitive as real bowling. You point the line at the right spot, which I figured out on the first try, and throw the ball. Strike. Strike. Strike. Strike. Strike. Strike. Strike. Ad infinitum.

You could play it drunk for more of a challenge.

[Cisco]

If it's anything like real bowling, I'll just get better.

[Apocalypso]

It was also available on the SNES as Super Shadow of the Beast.... same music issues as on the Genesis but the graphics were the same as the Amiga version.

ETA: To be perfectly honest, I didn't think the gameplay was that good. It was more the graphics and sound that really did it for me; watching the opening cinematic (on the Amiga) was my first truly "holy shit!" moment with game graphics.

Yeah, I voted for it more for the graphics and music than the gameplay. Far, far beyond what anyone else was doing at the time. Just for kicks, I found a cheat code for infinite health on the Genesis version, and popped it in. Holy jumping catfish Batman! How is it possible for anyone to make it through this game? The last area of the game is filled with tons of unavoidable one hit KO's. Not that it's possible to even get that far. I firmly believe that Psygnosis loved to torture gamers, all their Amiga games I've played were insanely difficult.

[Really Not All That Bright]

Not that it's possible to even get that far. I firmly believe that Psygnosis loved to torture gamers, all their Amiga games I've played were insanely difficult.
Yeah, but games today would suck without their influence. Plus, they had an awesome name.

My brother beat SOTB in one sitting, without cheating. It was a godlike performance.

[fluiddruid]

Atari 2600: Pitfall II
NES: Dragon Warrior IV (sorry, but it was miles and away better than Final Fantasy)
N64: Goldeneye
PS1: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
PS2: King's Field: The Ancient City
Gameboy: Final Fantasy Legend III
PSP: Puzzle Quest

[Zeriel]

Atari 2600: Pitfall
NES: Super Mario 2
SNES: Final Fantasy III US (Honorable mention: Chrono Trigger)
N64: Castlevania 64 (dear god did I play the heck out of this game) (Honorable Mention: StarFox 64 multiplayer)
GameCube: Super Smash Brothers Melee
Wii: Metroid Prime III

Genesis: Phantasy Star (any, really)
Dreamcast: Ikaruga

Playstation: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Playstation 2: Shadow of the Colossus

XBox 360: Rock Band

PC: X-COM UFO Defense

[Kinthalis]

Atari 2006: Adventure
NES: The Legend of Zelda
SNES: Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
N64: Legend OF Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
:)

PC 80's: All of the goldbox games, but picking one I'd go with Pool Of Radiance.

PC early 90's: Wing commander series - Wing Commander III - Heart Of The Tiger

PC late 90's: Baldur's Gate Series - Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn.

PC Early 200's: Neverwinter nights

PC Modern: Damn, this is hard, a lot of great PC games lately. I'll go ahead and settle With Oblivion.

[Sitnam]

Without looking at any others:

Atari: Space Invaders
Nintendo: The Legend of Zelda
PS1: Twisted Metal 2
PS2: Grand Theft Auto

[straggler]

PC: Civilization
Atari 2600: River Raid
Sega Master System: Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Super Nintendo: Street Fighter II Turbo
PS: The Tony Hawk series
Nintendo 64: Goldeneye

I used to love playing video games, but ever since the Nintendo 64 set the trend of shifting focus away from gameplay and on to graphics, games just haven't been the same.

[Really Not All That Bright]

You think the Nintendo 64 did that?

Weird.

[Cisco]

Ay, dios mio, you can be a snob sometimes, RNATB. N64 gave a lot of people their first taste of 3D platformers and adventure games in Mario64 and Ocarina of Time. Just because that's not when you felt the focus shift from gameplay to graphics (assuming you ever did) doesn't mean someone else's experience wasn't different. I happen to agree with straggler. I think going 3D slowed games down and put the focus on environments more, whereas in older 2D games the environment/graphics were just window dressing for the gameplay.

[Really Not All That Bright]

Ay, dios mio, you can be a snob sometimes, RNATB. N64 gave a lot of people their first taste of 3D platformers and adventure games in Mario64 and Ocarina of Time. Just because that's not when you felt the focus shift from gameplay to graphics (assuming you ever did) doesn't mean someone else's experience wasn't different. I happen to agree with straggler. I think going 3D slowed games down and put the focus on environments more, whereas in older 2D games the environment/graphics were just window dressing for the gameplay.
I agree on the timeframe, but not on the specific. I think it started with the Sega 32X, but really took off with the Saturn and Playstation. That was the first time I stopped hearing people say, "are the games any good?" and started hearing them say, "it can handle 425,079 polygons at once! Can your system do that?" or whatever.

And yes, I'm a snob. :D

[Cisco]

Compare:

200,000 Sega 32x's sold (I knew 1 guy who had one, and he only had 1 game, and he never played it)
33,000,000 Nintendo 64s sold (everyone I knew had one, or played frequently with friends)

Which system do you think people are going to remember when they think about early 3D, graphics-focused console gaming?

[Really Not All That Bright]

PlayStation?

[Cisco]

I really don't know much about the Playstation. This is an interesting point about the perspective from which we view things, actually. I looked it up and was pretty surprised - borderline shocked - to see that it came out in 1995. I don't think I ever heard of or saw a Playstation until about 1998, and didn't really feel like it had much saturation/popular support until rumors of the PS2 started heating up. I never owned one (or a PS2, or a PS3.) N64, *for me*, was absolutely the first 3D console gaming experience, and when I felt like the focus shifted from gameplay to graphics.

[mazinger_z]

Atari 2600: Adventure (honorable mention to Asteroids)
NES: lots to choose from, I'll say Metroid
SNES: Zelda, a Link to the past (honorable mention to Mario Kart)
Sega: I forgot the name of this game, but it's soccer, football and rugby all rolled into one played by robots. It was incredibly balanced and very intuitive with a small learning curve.
N64: Goldeneye (better multiplayer than Mario 64)
Playstation: too many, possiblly Metal Gear
PS2: I didn't own one, but we did play Street Figher II Turbo a lot, possibly the best incarnation on the home port.
Xbox: Star Wars, KOTR
Wii: Twilight Princess
360: I don't own one (yet), but I have to say Gears of War 2. Is there no love for this game? "Horde" option is definitely the best on-line FPS advancement out there. I think Left 4 Dead might have something similar, but since I haven't played it I won't comment.
DS: hands down, the best use of the DS functionality is Zelda, Phantom Hour Glass.

[MeDrewNotYou]

NES- Dragon Warrior IV
The epitome of the old time RPGs on the system. It took all the fun gameplay elements, added a good story, then divided things in to chapters in the most wonderful way possible. (A very close 2nd is SMB3, but I didn't play sick to stay at home and play it.)

Gameboy- Pokemon Red/Blue
A really fun RPG. Collecting teammates makes for a surprisingly good system.

SNES- Chrono Trigger
Perhaps the best designed game ever. Amazing story, intriguing characters, and so much fun stuff to do. Time travel kicks ass. (Earthbound is my personal favorite, but its just not as perfect. FFVI and Super Mario World are also close contenders.)

N64- Super Mario 64
It set the standard for 3d platforming. I mean, come on! (Goldeneye, Mario Kart, and Harvest Moon 64 are good, but just not the gaming milestone that SM64 was.)

PSX- Final Fantasy Tactics
A very addictive job/skill system and a deep plot that feels real put this ahead of the rest. (Honorable mentions include Metal Gear Solid, FFVII, and Suikoden 2. Outstanding games, but I calls 'em like I sees 'em.)

GBA- Fire Emblem
A good game, but nothing to write home about. The GBA as a whole is kinda like that. (I've played Mother 3 and, while its good, just doesn't stand up to the second game.)

GameCube- Super Smash Brothers Melee
It improves on the original in every way and was the first game that I had to take breaks from to keep my hands from falling off.

PS2- Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
A ton of great games, especially RPGs, but this one takes the cake. One of the hardest games around, but expertly designed. It has Pokemon's "Gotta' catch 'em all!" aspect with a mature, post-apocalyptic setting. You'll fall in love within 15 minutes. (Romance of the Three Kingdoms X deserves mention as perhaps the best strategy game around. Metal Gear Solid 3 also amazes, and of course the Katamari games deserve mention as well. Persona 3 gets some kudos too, but it can't quite equal its MegaTen cousin.)

DS- Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
The best treatment to date, it refines the small mistakes of the past and introduces Nintendo WiFi, which makes trading and collecting a breeze. (I'd like to mention Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja as well. Really fun dungeon crawler that you should pick up if you like the genre.)

Wii- Super Mario Galaxy
Platformer in the spirit of Mario 64, but the Wiimote and spherical worlds make it unique.

PS3- Metal Gear Solid 4
Not as good as MGS3, but still the best game on the system. I will admit, though, that I haven't played many of the games, so grain of salt.

PC- Civilization
Any of the series, but I prefer Civ4. But as anyone who has played can attest, these games are more addictive than crack soaked in heroin-flavored nicotine.

[Jihi]

I really don't know much about the Playstation. This is an interesting point about the perspective from which we view things, actually. I looked it up and was pretty surprised - borderline shocked - to see that it came out in 1995. I don't think I ever heard of or saw a Playstation until about 1998, and didn't really feel like it had much saturation/popular support until rumors of the PS2 started heating up. I never owned one (or a PS2, or a PS3.) N64, *for me*, was absolutely the first 3D console gaming experience, and when I felt like the focus shifted from gameplay to graphics.

According to Wiki the original Playstation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playstation) moved just over 100 million units as of 2008, and it's one of the systems with the greatest market penetration as far as I'm aware. (Only the PS2 beats it.) It's strange because I would have expected the Atari 2600 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_2600) (30 million) or the original NES (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_2600) (61 million) to rank higher but apparently not.

Christmas of 1995 was the first year it was available, but that first year of the PS's life was pretty dreadful, at least I thought it was (I bought one early in 96). I think Tekken launched with the system, but other than that the best games were ports of 2d Capcom fighting games. (Street Fighter Alpha and Darkstalkers mostly...) Developers didn't really start to get a handle on it till later on, I'd say circa early '97. The release of FF7 in January of that year was a watershed moment and I'm sure moved a ton of consoles on it's own. A lot of titles that people still associate with it, (Castlevania: SOTN, Final Fantasy: Tactics and FF9, Valkyrie Profile, Chrono Cross, MGS, Gran Turismo...) all came late in the system's life cycle. '97/98 is actually about the point it reached mass appeal.

[Infovore]

Atari 2600: Freeway (I didn't have too many 2600 games... :P)
NES: The Legend of Zelda
SNES: Zelda 2: A Link to the Past
Genesis: Phantasy Star
Sega CD: Lunar: The Silver Star
XBox 360: Dead Rising (tough call against Rock Band 2)
Modern-day PC: World of Warcraft
Nintendo DS: Phoenix Wright
Nintendo GameCube: Animal Crossing
Playstation: Chrono Cross

[Hoopy Frood]

'97/98 is actually about the point it reached mass appeal.

Probably, but it had wide appeal among the collegiate set from the start.

The guys across the hall from me my sophomore year got one in 1995 and had a few games, including MK3, which was probably the top selling title at the time. Over the next 3 years more and more people had them.

[Mr Shine]

I haven't looked at anybody else's choice yet:

Commodore 16: Mr Puniverse
ZX Spectrum: Spellbound Dizzy
Sega Master System: Phantasy Star
SNES: Super Mario World
Xbox: Halo
Playstation: Grand Theft Auto Vice City
Xbox 360: Mass Effect
PC: Fallout 2 (Grim Fandango juuuust missing out)

[Really Not All That Bright]

Sega: I forgot the name of this game, but it's soccer, football and rugby all rolled into one played by robots. It was incredibly balanced and very intuitive with a small learning curve.
Speedball. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speedball_(game)) One of the great Bitmap Brothers games.

[Mahaloth]

I haven't looked at anybody else's choice yet:

Commodore 16: Mr Puniverse
ZX Spectrum: Spellbound Dizzy
Sega Master System: Phantasy Star
SNES: Super Mario World
Xbox: Halo
Playstation: Grand Theft Auto Vice City
Xbox 360: Mass Effect
PC: Fallout 2 (Grim Fandango juuuust missing out)

What about the PSOne?

[mazinger_z]

Speedball. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speedball_(game)) One of the great Bitmap Brothers games.
OMG! That's it. That is a great game. I had no idea there was a 2. I'm going to have to go hunt it down. The only reason I knew it existed is because my local video store carried it for rental. I never saw it in the stores.

[Really Not All That Bright]

OMG! That's it. That is a great game. I had no idea there was a 2. I'm going to have to go hunt it down. The only reason I knew it existed is because my local video store carried it for rental. I never saw it in the stores.
IIRC, they didn't sell many games in the US; most of their games were originally written for the Amiga, which wasn't nearly as popular here as in Britain, and then ported to the various other systems, or not.

[Mr Shine]

What about the PSOne?

Vice City was the PSOne. I have never owned a PS2.

[Just Some Guy]

IIRC, they didn't sell many games in the US; most of their games were originally written for the Amiga, which wasn't nearly as popular here as in Britain, and then ported to the various other systems, or not.

IIRC the Genesis version in the US was called Cyberball. And yes, it is one of the few really great fantasy sports games.

[Jihi]

Vice City was the PSOne. I have never owned a PS2.

Actually, Vice City (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTA:_Vice_City) was the sequel to GTA 3 and was originally on the PS2, and was later ported to the Xbox and PC. It was never on the PSOne.

[Really Not All That Bright]

Vice City was the PSOne. I have never owned a PS2.
You must be thinking of GTA II. GTA: Vice City was only on the PS2 (and later, PC).

[Mahaloth]

You must be thinking of GTA II. GTA: Vice City was only on the PS2 (and later, PC).

Or GTA 1, which was PC game originally I think. However, as cool as those games were, I never considered GTA 1 or 2 to be the best of any system(PSOne included).

Is the game you are thinking of from the top-down perspective, or 3rd person and three dimensional?

GTA III was the first 3d GTA game and it was one of the big early PS2 games.

[Really Not All That Bright]

Or GTA 1, which was PC game originally I think.
I & II were both PC games originally.