Benny

7. Super Mario 64

Original format: N64. Released: 1996

(2015 Rllmuk top 100 position: 3, number of votes: 30. Voted best game of all time by: Charles, Broken Thumbs)

A fall from grace? Or an acknowledgement that it may finally have competition? Either way, Super Mario 64 is still one of the most joyful things ever created, and its influence reverberates down more than two decades, with still more cleverness and genius packed into one tiny cartridge than most huge modern games can dream of having. A lesson in how to do everything right. Note my last line in 2015...

“Back when the Nintendo 64 launched, it was already more expensive than the Playstation, which had been out for a little while and had some great games. To really push the system, Nintendo needed something revolutionary, something so completely mind bogglingly brilliant that it made everything else that came before it seem clunky and hard to control.

Enter Mario 64.

Introducing so many industry firsts it’s exhausting: full 3D platforming with working camera controls being the icing on the cake.

The full freedom of movement afforded by the analog controls made games like Tomb Raider seem old fashioned and limited - this was how 3D games were meant to play. Picking it up now, it is still a lesson in how to get so many things right first time, and while 3D cameras in games have actually come on in leaps and bounds since then, the fact that it took every other developer perhaps almost a decade to eventually catch up speaks volumes.

That’s all very well from a historical perspective, but does it still really hold up today? The answer is yes, oh absolutely yes.

Playing the game today is still as much of a joy as it ever was when jumping and skipping through those first delirious moments outside Peach Castle - a subtle training ground to let the player get used to the controls in their own time and with gay abandon, whether scaling the trees dotted around or going for a relaxing swim in the moat.

Every level is infused with the sheer genius Miyamoto was already famous for for the previous Mario games, and the fact that it made the transition to 3D with all the charm intact is staggering.

The wild flights of fancy seen in the Galaxy titles may not exist here, but there is a consistency of quality throughout the entire game that just keeps expanding as you uncover more secrets, levels and beautiful moments of wonder.

It has not aged, and has arguably only become more impressive over time for how few games have matched it.

Perhaps the greatest 3D platformer ever made. (I’m still thinking Galaxy but you all have spoken!)”

And Danster sums it up nicely:

“An absolute classic. So much has been said in the past that I really don't need to dwell on it, but my girls and I still play it on the Wii-U 20 years on.”

TIME FOR MY FAVOURITE GAME EVER

8. Dark Souls

Original format: PS3/X360. Released: 2011

(2015 Rllmuk top 100 position: 9, number of votes: 23. Voted best game of all time by: Benny, Oz, Mr. Gerbik, El Spatular, flight, PyramidFace, Ravern, Rsdio)

As it gains a place, I will note now that only one other game on this list had more 1st place votes. That shows just how much Dark Souls fans love Dark Souls. It is perhaps for this reason it places so highly, despite dividing opinion, as those that have played it either love it more than any other game ever made, or they bounce off it, hard. And of course, many people are yet to give it a try… But if they haven’t, they really should, as Dark Souls is perhaps one of the most important games of the generation, and at the very least that is something worth discovering. Try it, and let it seep into every pore of your gaming being like it did with me:

“A new entry into the list, deservedly shooting right into the top 10, Dark Souls is a creation of absolute, staggering genius.

Taking the core gameplay mechanics from Demon’s Souls, with some subtle changes, Dark Souls expands upon that game with a world of startling interconnected beauty - areas are no longer separated into self contained levels, but weaved into each other in often surprising and fiendish ways.

The entire landscape of Lordran gets into your psyche and in some ways feels almost as real as actual real world landscapes and castles, as they have a background history that is woven into the very fabric of the game, from the creature design, items, descriptions, and vague hints from the many characters that you meet in your travels.

The combat mechanics are a thing of tactile brilliance, as every parry, every blow, and every blocked attack has a real sensation of weight and presence. Your decisions made in developing your character from their clothes to their strengths in every aspect feel like more than simple statistics - every number and every item used to wear accounts for significant changes in how your character feels to play, and how your behaviour changes as you interact with the world. It goes beyond what is found in most RPGs and actually gives an unprecedented sense of being at one with your avatar.

The game’s difficulty can be punishing but only bolsters the sense of involvement, as each death hardens your resolve as it feels like the cruel tricks played on you are there to only increase your curiosity and determination to unravel every secret and hidden revelation.

Dark Souls is now already part of the collective gaming unconscious, and is informing the design of games developed ever since and, like so many on this list, will now be remembered for hopefully decades to come.

The greatest RPG ever made.“

Sun Tze:

“What can you say that hasn't been said already? This improved upon Demons Souls in almost every way. You made so many new friends every week just by playing this (online). The only thing you had in common with these people is that you were lost.... where to go, what to do, which weapon to upgrade, who are those invisible guys that keep backstabbing me in that forest place, why is this so much harder then Demons Souls?  In it's first year and a half this was the best game of all time. Pre patch 1.05 pvp in Anor Londo/Forest might have been a bit broken but it was utterly amazing :wub:”

Jamie John:

“This is an older game that I have played in the last twelve months, and although I think DSIII and Bloodborne improve on a lot of the mechanics, the effortlessly brilliant level/world design and lore set it above the more recent games for me.”

And Mr. Gerbik:

“After a few failed attempts with Demon's, this was the first Souls game that clicked with me. And once it did, it clicked hard. None of the sequels or the spin-off have quite managed to capture the same magical combination of Dark Souls. The interconnected world is a big part of it, but even without that it still has the most interesting areas, lore, and aura of mystery and misery. I keep coming back to this game and it amazes me every single time.”

9. Mario Kart 8 (Deluxe)

Original format: Wii U. Released: 2014

(2015 Rllmuk top 100 position: 48, number of votes: 32. Voted best game of all time by: grindmouse)

Here we have perhaps the single biggest leap up the list of any other game since 2015. Getting to 9th is no small feat, let alone from 48th place, but perhaps it helps that more people are getting to discover its brilliance on the Switch with the Deluxe version. It seemed Super Mario Kart would never be dethroned, despite the excellent 3DS Mario Kart being a strong contender for the best in the series. But now Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has finally toppled it’s great, great, grandparent, and what a game it is. I said this of the Wii U version:

“Absolutely utterly astonishing. That's what Mario Kart 8 is.

People criticise Nintendo all the time for supposedly resting on their laurels, or not bringing out games very often, or just churning out sequels to their franchises But absolutely none of that matters: Mario Kart 8 is Nintendo at the absolute top of their game, and shows the company understands how to make some of the most exhilarating racing ever with tracks of such utter genius and brilliance that youll catch yourself gaping in awe as you tear around them.

It is also an incredible technical feat - people talking about frame rates can bore one to tears, but the fact is that by carefully considering how to make the most playable experience, Nintendo have worked some utter magic with the Wii U hardware to make a game world that would not look out of place in a Pixar movie, is rock solid, and can hurtle along at an incredible pace. So much so that they felt confident to put F-Zero inspired tracks in the game, which takes massive balls.

It's hard to decide really when picking the best Mario Kart in the series, as so many of them are wonderful but, for me, this one may well take the cake, eat it, bake another, and run off with the chef.”

Doctor Shark said of the Deluxe version:

“A better version of an already brilliant game, this is the first game my four year old son has shown interest in, and in the space of 24 hours went from coming last every race, to coming 2nd-5th. That level of improvement in such a short space of time, and seeing how unashamedly proud he was of that, at just four years old, and how proud it made me feel as his gaming mad dad, is why this needs a place in my top games of all time.”

Danster:

“Take the best ever Mario Kart and make it better? Not possible.... This lush, fun and enigmatic version of the all time classic is brilliant and the Switch is the perfect console for it.”

And, of course, Jolly:

“"Mario Kart Eiiiiiiiiight!!!" cheerfully booms the title screen as you strap yourself in and prepare to swear constantly at a bunch of bastard cartoon characters. But despite being a series that always had the ability to turn the air bluer than it's skies, Mario Kart has simply never been more thrilling, competitive and outrageously fun as it is here. Each race takes place on a knife edge; where mistakes are forgiven as quickly as they are punished, ensuring that you always feel like you have a chance whilst also allowing the cream to rise to the top. My absolute favourite game to play online, get yourself in a decent lobby full of cheerful chappies and the hours just fly by in a swirl of victory, defeat and disbelief at other players preference to race on Rainbow Road over Melody Motorway. Ah yes, the tracks, MY GOD THE TRACKS. Stunningly beautiful, fantastically designed and utterly devious. I could power-slide-into-leap over that baggage carousel in Sunshine Airport all day. How fucking cool does it feel to pick up the Master Sword in Hyrule Castle? I actually want sell the house and move to Toad Harbour. And the music is so completely fantastic I'm thinking of hiring a swing band to play the theme from Royal Raceway so that I can hear that triumphant trumpet live. That cry on the title screen doesn't just tell you what the game is, it tells you how the game feels. And it feels Mario Kart greaaaaaaaaaat!”

10. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Original format: SNES. Released: 1991

(2015 Rllmuk top 100 position: 10, number of votes: 24. Voted best game of all time by: nightwaxon)

Standing strong in 10th place, The Zelda game that many here started the series with has stood the test of time apparently better than the trusty Ocarina. You could argue it’s worth owning a SNES Mini just to play this game alone.

“Link's Awakening may have its fans (now myself included), but A Link to the Past remains the daddy of all top-down Zelda titles.

Improving on the original Legend of Zelda in almost every way, and introducing gameplay elements so good that when the series transitioned to 3D Nintendo pretty much copied them or tried to adapt them wholly for 3D environments. The light and dark world mechanic has been copied in so many games since and probably still remains the best implemented example of this idea in any game.

Puzzles are much more difficult than in recent Zelda games, but never feel unfair, and the graphical style has still not aged in decades. The world map taken as a whole in particular is a thing of pixel art beauty, and shows an absolute mastery of level design that Nintendo have struggled to match in the series ever since, with a few notable exceptions.

The best action-adventure (or Zelda) game ever made? Almost.”

Jolly did another excellent writeup for this one too (this isn’t favouritsm, he took some serious time on these):

“Back in the days before the internet, it was actually possible to consume a piece of media without having absolutely every single detail about it revealed to you beforehand. I had no idea about the Dark World until I got there and it was at that point I discovered that this deep, detailed, beautifully designed world was actually twice as deep, detailed and beautifully designed as I thought it was. Link to the Past's brilliantly interlaced worlds have simply never been bettered (not least of all by Nintendo themselves) and it's in this marvelous interlocking contraption that you find them at the absolute top of their game. Ingenious dungeons, tantalising secrets, moments of drama and comedy constantly jostling for attention. That bit when you first arrive in the Dark World and Link turns into a pink rabbit? I can still feel that incredible level of WTF in my stomach (well, maybe not WTF, I was about 12 at the time and hadn't yet fully developed my potty mouth). Link to the Past is the perfect name for it because every time I play it I'm right back there. But it's not nostalgia; it's the unparalleled knack of capturing that excitement, that uncertainty, that everything-is-turned-up-to-11 feeling of being a kid again. The manual had a sealed section with some secrets in the back and I remember nerve-wrackingly pulling it apart to peak inside; treating the instructions like they were the Dead Sea Scrolls. It felt so fucking dramatic! And to look at the game now, it's *still* completely gorgeous. How is that even remotely possible? Zelda games are always an event but Link to the Past is the motherfucking big bang. It's the point for me when games went from being somewhat I just did to something I loved. It's incredibly, impossibly special.”

Mr. Gerbik:

“I find OoT hard to go back to even though it was mind-blowing back then. ALttP doesn't have this problem, both its visuals and ingenious design are timeless. Exploring the world and unraveling its secrets remains pure joy.”