Top 5 Gaming series

[Cayal]

ahh Commandos. What a fun game.

[MontyCircus]

1.) Mario <-- If that's not on your list then you're a fake videogamer. One, two and 3 are all incredible, and changed videogames (okay well 2 wasn't really a Mario game, but it's still a lot of fun). Super Mario World was a lot of fun. Mario 64 I didn't care for, but was maybe the first true 3D game. I hear Galaxy is good too.
2.) Zelda <-- 2nd one isn't quite as fun as the rest. But the original, Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time are all insanely, amazingly good (all three are recurring favourites in the "best game of all-time" lists). Haven't played Twilight Princess. Majora's Mask seemed like Ocarina over again...kind of a rip-off.

That was the easy part...hmm...

3.) Mega Man <-- Currently replaying the first one online. The 2nd and 3rd are absolutely perfect. Probably played 4, 5, and X but I can't recall at the moment.
4.) Final Fantasy <-- Haven't played anything after the Super Nintendo, but when I think RPG I think of Final Fantasy (and the first Phantasy Star for the Sega Master System...remember that one?).
5.) Madden <-- Don't forget sports games! Thought of adding those great Genesis NHL games...but I think they were only good back in '93 and '94 or so. I also enjoy FIFA soccer, even though I keep reading about how superior Winning 11 is. Any Madden game is fun.

Standard old school Nintendo fare.

I flirted with the idea of putting Pac-Man on the list. But in my mind, Ms. Pac-Man basically is the franchise. Castlevania would make my list except I haven't played much of the series apart from the first few NES ones, and I recently saw Castlevania II on a list of "bad games you remember enjoying", which gives me pause. Metroid only has those first two games before the 3-D FPS I haven't played...so not really a franchise to me.

Only newer series I'd consider is Grand Theft Auto. I've only played Vice City but it was great. I'm sure I'd love the rest.

Some others I read others put, King's Quest and Civilization were both really great PC series that ate up a lot of my time. I played...I think the original Monkey Island a few years ago. It was pretty funny but I didn't get too far.

[bluerayarchangel]

Well lets see hummmmm ok .......

1) Zelda, espcially Zelda-Ocarina of Time-Master Quest
2) Final Fantasy I know you said not to enclude then, but what can I do when they are my favourite all time top 5
3)Mario - but not Super Mario Sunshine, that drove me insane Paper mario is good but not as good as the classical mario.
4)Fire Emblem - still playing it
5)Devil May Cry- dont own this though wish I did.

[Connavar]

Originally Posted by MontyCircus

1.) Mario <-- If that's not on your list then you're a fake videogamer. One, two and 3 are all incredible, and changed videogames (okay well 2 wasn't really a Mario game, but it's still a lot of fun). Super Mario World was a lot of fun. Mario 64 I didn't care for, but was maybe the first true 3D game. I hear Galaxy is good too.
2.) Zelda <-- 2nd one isn't quite as fun as the rest. But the original, Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time are all insanely, amazingly good (all three are recurring favourites in the "best game of all-time" lists). Haven't played Twilight Princess. Majora's Mask seemed like Ocarina over again...kind of a rip-off.

That was the easy part...hmm...

3.) Mega Man <-- Currently replaying the first one online. The 2nd and 3rd are absolutely perfect. Probably played 4, 5, and X but I can't recall at the moment.
4.) Final Fantasy <-- Haven't played anything after the Super Nintendo, but when I think RPG I think of Final Fantasy (and the first Phantasy Star for the Sega Master System...remember that one?).
5.) Madden <-- Don't forget sports games! Thought of adding those great Genesis NHL games...but I think they were only good back in '93 and '94 or so. I also enjoy FIFA soccer, even though I keep reading about how superior Winning 11 is. Any Madden game is fun.

Standard old school Nintendo fare.

I flirted with the idea of putting Pac-Man on the list. But in my mind, Ms. Pac-Man basically is the franchise. Castlevania would make my list except I haven't played much of the series apart from the first few NES ones, and I recently saw Castlevania II on a list of "bad games you remember enjoying", which gives me pause. Metroid only has those first two games before the 3-D FPS I haven't played...so not really a franchise to me.

Only newer series I'd consider is Grand Theft Auto. I've only played Vice City but it was great. I'm sure I'd love the rest.

Some others I read others put, King's Quest and Civilization were both really great PC series that ate up a lot of my time. I played...I think the original Monkey Island a few years ago. It was pretty funny but I didn't get too far.

Not everyone is a Mario fan if they were then Sony would have left the market alone for Nintendo many years ago

Mario kart is the only great Mario game imo. Me and my friends play Mario Kart 64 every weekend for many years.

Try Winning Eleven/Pro Evolution Soccer. There is a reason why they have surpassed Fifa. Its real simulation for Soccer just like Madden or any other great sport game.

[Keldaris]

1. zelda(ocarina of time, links awakening, and a link to the past are imo some of the best games in existence, screw hi def graphics!)
2.burnout(best racing games ever!!!)
3.soulcaliber(I remember playing soul edge in the arcade )
4. diablo(wasted MANY MANY years of my life to DII:LOD)
5.elder scrolls(arena daggerfall and morrowind....wasn't a big fan of oblivion, and I've never played redgaurd or battlespire)

others worthy of mention:
metroid
ninja turtles(the first two and turtles in time)
mario(one of the most well known games in existance)
Final fantasy(you want recurring characters and themes?!?!?!? CID!!! CHOCOBOS!!!MOOGLES!!!)
tekken
DOA
Street fighter
sonic
tales(symphonia/vesperia/destiny)
starwars(KOTOR1/2, battlefront, rogue sqaudron, jedi outcast 2)
doom
unreal(tournament/championship)
time splitters
castlevania
max payne
halo
need for speed
GTA
ogre battle
mechwarrior
battletech
heroes of might and magic
age of wonders(all time favorite strategy rpg(after FF tactics of course )
guitar hero(rock band can suck my ****)

[Cayal]

Chocobos are not reoccuring characters since they are not characters.

Moogles maybe, though different names.

Cids are completely different people just with the same name. It's like Biggs and Wedge.

[Rodders]

1. Half Life. Such an amazing experience. Superb story.
2. Dark Forces / Jedi Knight. As a big fan, it was so cool to be immersed in the Star Wars Universe. I Really felt that i was there.
3. KOTOR (Haven't actually played this, but i have it at home and will once i get enough time.)
4. Bioshock (There's a follow up coming out soon. Does that qualify it as a series?)
5. C&C. (Classic RTS)

As you can see, i'm a first person shooter kind of guy.

[Armadillo-002]

In no order:

Castlevania
Phantasy Star Series
Sonic
Mario
Shinning Force series (shame they don't continue it)

[Sephiroth]

Gran Turismo (no other driving sim/racing game even comes close...)
Elite (good call, Urlik! I spent hundreds of hours playing those games!)
Doom (genre-defining, yada yada...)
Championship/Football Manager (thousands of hours, srsly...)
Sonic (representing my youth... ;p)

Obviously if I had been allowed to say Final Fantasy, it would have topped everything. Others, such as GTA, Guitar Hero, Civ, Age of Empires, SimCity, etc, deserve a mention.

Others still, like MGS, I have only played one of, and so can't really comment. If I had played the (proper) sequel to Strider I might have mentioned it, since I loved that game.

[ManTimeForgot]

I have problems with many of the games that make people's lists. Many of them have only one or two games that mean a darn or are just one or two games period.

I think if I had to name a series that has never let me down (as in 3 or more games) it would be really difficult.


Zelda and Mario don't make the cut for me because too many of them have been disappointing. Yes many of them have been great games, but then 50% of them have been flops for me. Same goes with Resident Evil: 4 and 5 rock houses; the rest can stay home and cry to momma.

Heroes of Might and Magic (played all them in order from the second on; went back and played the first for kicks) would make that list. Hot-seat HM&M is responsible for major time gaps in my and my friends middle and high school years.

Age of Empires (as long as you include Age of Mythology) ranks highly for me.

Mechwarrior and Jedi Knight simply had too much let down in some of their sequels (Jedi Knight only really counts if you include Dark Forces).

Fallout. That should be all that needs to be said. If you included Wasteland, then its the single most important "series" to me that exists.


Final Fantasy would count if any of the games after 7 were that good. 12 is alright, but my tastes have become refined over the years, and 39 hours of walking and random battles for every 1 hour of plot (even if it is excellent plot) doesn't do it for me anymore. Final Fantasy 6 rocks houses (to this day) and if Chrono Trigger and FF6 were some how part of one "series" then they would be the "console" winner of most important series (I think I racked up like 5,000 hours of play between the two of those growing up).


Burnout has been a consistently excellent quality racing series. So I agree it is a top notch gaming series. I personally enjoyed Extreme G for N64 and Rock n Roll Racing for SNES more than any individual Burnout, but none of the Burnouts disappointed so it still counts.


Unreal Tournament doesn't make the cut because of crappy in between sequels. But Doom on the other hand has not been disappointing; Doom's I & II were excellent and III was above average, so I'd say it makes the cut.


That is 5 qualifiers for me so far (and I would say those that made the cut are my favorites). Other notable mentions: ninja turtles, smash bros, mario party (it sickens me a little to admit this because mario party isn't really a series at all since it is just the same game repackaged like 9 million different times, but it does... technically qualify), and Breath of Fire (unlike FF none of the Breath of Fire games have disappointed me *cough* final fantasy mystic quest *cough*).

MTF

[Gandalf]

1. Neverwinter Nights
2. Baldur's Gate
3. Battlefield
4. Monkey Island
5. Broken Sword

[Quokka]

Wipeout
Resident Evil
Baldur's Gate
Quake
Shining Force