In a few weeks, it will be the end of the first decade of the 21st century. To celebrate this milestone, we here at Destructoid picked the best fifty games of the last ten years (the best of the ’00s!). The only rule of this week-long series — other than making sure each game was released between 2000 and today — is that only one game from each series could make the final cut.
We are heading into the final stretch of theTop 50 Videogames of the Decade. theme music toJurassic Parkplaying in the background Welcome … toPart Four (#20-11). (You can check out the previous three partshere,here, andhere.)
Think about how much stuff has changed in your life in the last ten years. Think about the places you have lived in, the different jobs you have had. Think about the amount of people you have met. Now think about all of these life events in relation to the videogames you have played. If you are like me, a lot of major moments in your life bring back memories of the videogame you were playing at the time.
I will never forget the videogames I was playing when I first moved to Los Angeles. I will always remember the game that was in my PlayStation 2 when my mother called me to tell me my wonderful grandmother died (I love you, grandma!). Videogames, and the emotions they bring with them, can be directly tied to fond (and sometimes not-so-fond) recollections of major life events.
This epic list is much more than just a countdown of the best fifty games of the decade. You can also look at it as a time capsule of all the stuff that has happened in your life in the last ten years! Ten years! That’s a really long time! As you read through the rest of our countdown, think back and remember what your life was like when each game came out. Where were you? What stuff was happening in your life? A tree trunk has its rings; gamers have used videogame boxes gathering dust on a shelf.
Or … maybe I am just being super overdramatic. Maybe thisisjust a simple, debate-starting list of the best games of the ’00s. Whatever works for you. Just ignore me and hit the jump forPart Four (#20-11)of theTop 50 Videogames of the Decade.
Each newFinal Fantasygame brings with it an inordinate amount of hype. And rightfully so, since Square has both the money and the time to create role-playing games of such high quality that it is only natural to expect each new installment in the long-runningFinal Fantasyseries to be more fantastic than the last.
Of all theFinal Fantasygames released in the last ten years, we here at Destructoid loveFinal Fantasy IXthe most. We also adoreFinal Fantasy X— it was a close race! — but feel thatIXencompasses everything that originally made theFinal Fantasygames so great: a fantasy world full of fantastical creatures, powerful crystals, and soaring airships. Most importantly, though,Final Fantasy IXmarked the end of a role-playing era — the last “classic” game in a series that changed the videogame industry forever.
Oh, it also stars Vivi. Seriously, no one can deny the power of Vivi.
If this were a list of the mostsignificantvideogames of the last decade,World of Warcraftwould have little competition for the #1 spot. Can you think of any other game in the last ten years that has inspired such a following and single-handedly changed the way we all play videogames? It’s hard to deny how muchWorld of Warcrafthas affected the videogame industry.
But this is not a list of the most “significant” games of the decade (although that is an important factor) — it’s a list of the “best.” Even with that being said,World of Warcraftstill easily places in the Top 20. Thinking about the game’s overall quality is more difficult now, five years after the game’s release, since, well, the PC juggernaut is starting to lose a little of its initial appeal. But if you are one of the millions of fans out there, think aboutWorld of Warcraftin its heyday. There was nothing else like it. Fighting in a PvP or banding together with a clan to take on a powerful beast,World of Warcraftoffers one of the most incredibly social, entertaining gaming experiencesever, let alone of the last ten years.
Thank heavensPersona 4was not based onmyreal-life high school experience. If that were the case, clever weapons and items would be replaced with Trapper Keepers, the slick costumes in the game would be nothing but cuffed jeans and Ocean Pacific t-shirts, and everyone’s controversial Personas would be the uncanny, but ultimately useless, power to decorate your entire car with Disney movie decals.
But enough about me!Persona 4, with its surprisingly seamless combination of dungeon-crawling RPG and social-based simulator, is one of the most intriguing and absolutely amazingly well-crafted role-playing games of the last generation. Who knew dating and social interaction could actually be fun?!Persona 4fixes what little was wrong withPersona 3and, by including a strong story and memorable characters, manages to surpass its beloved predecessor in almost every way.
Talk about an amazing sequel! The originalPikmin— the adorable result of what happens when genius Shigeru Miyamoto makes a videogame based on his time working in his garden — is a clever, innovative, wonderfully addictive little gem that was released early in the GameCube’s life cycle. While loved by almost everyone, there were little things in the game that people felt could have been fixed. Lucky for everyone,Pikmin 2fixed every issue — no matter how small — and turned the final, improved product into a near-perfect game. Actually, no, make that aperfectgame, dammit!
The originality on display alone inPikmin 2is enough to secure its place on this list. Controlling Olimar, players are tasked with finding hidden treasures around an alien planet (that looks very much like Earth) by leading an army of little flowery creatures called Pikmin. The game is a little bit real-time strategy and a little bit third-person action/adventure, but allamazing.
Get back in the garden and grow us somePikmin 3soon, Miyamoto! Do I have to beg?
I would bet most of you reading this list right now are not instantly familiar withDeus Ex— the cyberpunk role-playing PC game was kind of a revolution when it was released nine years ago. You may haveheardof it, but chances are you may have notplayedit. To be honest, that naïve assumption is based on a completely unscientific study I did by asking a few gamers if they had played it over lunch, butstill… the game has tragically fallen off people’s radars over the years. That much is definitely true.
If you have not played it, now is the perfect time to go out and find it!Deus Extells an incredible narrative through a first-person interface years before that started becoming cool. It features a variety of different mechanics that make the game refreshingly unique — from amazing weapon selection to frustrating, but clever, lock picking. The game may not have aged that wellgraphically, but at the time it contained some of the most impressive storytelling techniques ever seen in a videogame. It’s an awesome game that really deserves a return to the spotlight.
When asked what their favorite survival horror videogame of all time is, many gamers quickly answerSilent Hill 2for the PlayStation 2. And, really, it’s hard to disagree with that choice. Aside from being a marked improvement on the original foggy scare-fest,Silent Hill 2contains one of the most disturbing, chill-inducing stories ever featured in a videogame.
Taking place in the titular town of Silent Hill, the moody sequel follows around main character Jack as he searches for answers on his wife’s death. What starts as a normal third-person journey through a twisted videogame world turns into a thing of nightmares. The detailed game mechanics are as creepy as they are brilliant, butSilent Hill 2is most memorable for its introduction of iconic videogame character Pyramid Head. Just attempt to go to a videogame cosplay event and not see at least one person dressed up as the instantly recognizable monstrosity.
Most survival horror games throw numerous parlor tricks at you toappearscary (and usually fail miserably).Silent Hill 2is the real, traumatizing deal.
Finding inspiration from an older videogame’s key mechanics can result in a positive reaction from the public or a decidedly negative one. On the one hand, you already have a well-established formula, guaranteeing the gameplay will, at the very least, be familiar to gamers. But on the other hand, you risk people criticizing the game for lacking any originality.
For Clover Studios, this risk carried with it some enormous stakes. WithOkami— their jaw-droppingly gorgeous Japanese folklore action/adventure game — the developer decided to pull inspiration from one of the most critically-acclaimed, universally adored videogame series of all time:The Legend of Zelda. How could a game molded in the gameplay style ofZeldabe evenhalfas exceptional?
Maybe it was Clover’s stellar track record. Maybe it wasOkami’s undeniably beautiful look or unique painting mechanic that let players actually “draw” main character Amaterasu’s powers on the screen. Whatever the reason,Okamiturned out to not only be an absolute masterpiece that imbues enough originality to only feel like aZelda-clone in basic presentation alone, it even manages totopthe series that it so lovingly drew inspiration from in the first place — a mystical feat only a Japanese wolf goddess could accomplish.
Super Metroidfor the Super Nintendo is arguably the greatest 2D videogame ever created. Because of its perfection, many people — including most of us here at Destructoid — felt theMetroidseries would only work well as just that,a 2D game. Years ago, when word broke that a newMetroidgame was going to come out on the GameCube (the first newMetroidgame on a Nintendo home console since the SNES!), people got excited! When these same people found out the classic formula would be shifted to the first-person perspective, they freaked out (and that’s putting it mildly)!
Retro Studios managed to accomplish the impossible.Metroid Prime, in every way, shape, and form, feels like aMetroidgame, but one brilliantly presented through the helmet of classic heroine Samus Aran. For all the naysayers out there, try imagining whatSuper Metroidwould look like if you could see the entire game through Samus’ eyes. Think of every enemy, every design choice. Think of every power-up item, every section of the environment. Think of the feeling of isolation. A first-personSuper MetroidisMetroid Prime.
That’s what makes the game so impressive. Can you imagine any other 2D game (from any other development studio) that could make such an extreme shift to first-person and feel just as effortless?Metroid Primeis an ingeniously designed, timeless classic that will be remembered and replayed for years to come.
It was almost impossible for us to choose betweenMetal Gear Solid 3andMetal Gear Solid 4as to which is the better game.Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriotshas its fair share of incredible moments and one of the most satisfying conclusions to any videogame. So doesMetal Gear Solid 3. Both are, without question, masterpieces. To be honest,Guns of Patriotsmight have taken the cake had it not been forMetal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence.
WhenMetal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eaterwas originally released in 2004, it was an incredible addition to the stellar, if somewhat convolutedMetal Gear Solidseries, but was plagued by an old-school overhead camera that made navigating the game’s lush jungle environments almost unplayable at times. In a brilliant, unheard-of move, Konami re-released the game in 2006 with the new subtitle “Subsistence” and a completely revamped camera that moved to a behind-the-back, more traditional 3D action/adventure perspective. The adjustmentvastlyimproved the quality of the already awesome game.
Aside from the normal stealth gameplay that theMetal Gear Solidseries perfected,Subsistenceoffers some of the most memorable videogame moments of all time and some highly detailed flourishes that only a genius like Kojima could design. Just try not to be endlessly impressed by the classic sniper face-off with The End … or the epic confrontation with The Shagohod … or The Sorrow’s walk of death … or the tragically beautiful final meeting with The Boss.
The list of jaw-dropping moments goes on and on …
Choosing betweenMetal Gear Solid 3and4may have been tough, but the internal debate between which is better,The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s MaskorThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, proved just as difficult. To be fair, there were manyZeldagames that came out this last decade that are fantastic (Four Swords,Minish Cap, andPhantom Hourglasscome to mind), but as for the two best,Majora’s MaskandWind Wakertopped our list of personal favorites.
So, why did we chooseThe Wind Wakerto represent theZeldaseries on this list? Well, while graphics are usually not nearly as important as original gameplay, in this rare case,Wind Wakeris so beautiful, so absolutely stunning to look at, that it stands out as arguably the most visually striking game to come out in a very long time. Sailing the open seas in Link’s ship is a treat for the eyes and one of the most breathtakingly soothing (if there is such a thing) time-eaters in videogame history. Of course, none of these visuals would matter if the game still didn’t play just as perfectly as pastZeldagames (to make it official: it does!).
If the game had a few more dungeons — a favorite of mostZeldafans —Wind Wakerwould have easily made it into the Top 10. As it stands, the game is still one of the best the last ten years had to offer. It is a triumph in visual artistry.
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What do you think? Have some ofyourfavorite games of the last decade made the list? Let us know how you feel in the comments! With only ten more games left, do you have any guesses as to what modern day classics will show up on tomorrow’sfinallist (THE TOP 10!)?
Don’t forget to check back tomorrow forPart Five (#10-1)of our countdown of theTop 50 Videogames of the Decade!
Part One – #50-4150.Metal Slug 349.Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic48.Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney47.Vagrant Story46.Super Smash Bros. Melee45.Team Fortress 244.WarioWare: Twisted!43.Banjo-Tooie42.Psychonauts41.Braid
Part Two – #40-3140.Kingdom Hearts39.Rock Band 238.Marvel vs. Capcom 237.Lost Odyssey36.Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time35.Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 334.Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare33.BioShock32.Katamari Damacy31.Civilization III
Part Three – #30-2130.Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas29.Shenmue II28.Left 4 Dead27.Skies of Arcadia26.Paper Mario25.Uncharted 2: Among Thieves24.Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King23.Cave Story22.Ico21.Ikaruga
Part Four – #20-1120.Final Fantasy IX19.World of Warcraft18.Persona 417.Pikmin 216.Deus Ex15.Silent Hill 214.Okami13.Metroid Prime12.Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence11.The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
