What are some of the most iconic, "Everyone Should Play" games... you've not played?

[RH | 4,934]

After seeing a response by @T-Pac from @wongojack regarding WJ never playing Super Mario World--this led me to ask this question--are there any games for you guys that are often on the "Everyone Should Play These Games" list, but you yourself have never played?

Feel free to interpret that as you will but generally speaking, I'm looking for the titles that you've never so much as put in a console and turned it on to the title screen, or even fired up on an emulator.  It's an interesting question.  We all have games we probably should play just because of their historical importance, or whatever, but we don't.  What games are like that for you?

[Sumez | 2,970]

I'm probably going to need a list of "everyone should play these games" games.

[mbd39 | 2,026]

Most modern games in general.

Call of Duty franchise

GTA franchise

Final Fantasy VII

Resident Evil 4

Any Nintendo games such as Mario or Zelda released for consoles after N64

Diablo franchise

The Sims

Silent Hill

Nights Into Dreams

Any Metal Gear Solid games other than the first one

 

 

Edited April 17 by mbd39

[RH | 4,934]

3 minutes ago, Sumez said:

I'm probably going to need a list of "everyone should play these games" games.

Well, Super Mario Bros 1, 3 and Super Mario World are three good starting points for an idea.  There's also games like Mega Man 2, Legend of Zelda, Pac-Man, Wolfenstein, Doom, Sonic 2... etc.  You know, the iconic stuff everyone's heard of and if you were to say you'd never played that game, not even for 5 minutes, they're likely to pull your gamer card.

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

Same with generally newer games. Never played any of the (new) Dark Soul games, GTA IV/V, Dooms, Red Dead, God of War, Minecraft... I'm sure they're great, I just don't have the desire to dedicate my time to these bigger games anymore.

I think I've played or attempted to play most major, 'gotta-play-them' games before GC/PS2 era.

[Splain | 2,574]

There's a bunch of NES staples that I've just never gotten to, like I feel like I should play Metroid, Punch Out, and any of the Mega Man games. I also missed out on tons of non-Nintendo stuff when I was a kid, so there's a bunch of must-plays on Genesis and Playstation that I feel like I ought to play.

I've never given Doom a proper go in any form.

[RH | 4,934]

5 minutes ago, Splain said:

There's a bunch of NES staples that I've just never gotten to, like I feel like I should play Metroid, Punch Out, and any of the Mega Man games. I also missed out on tons of non-Nintendo stuff when I was a kid, so there's a bunch of must-plays on Genesis and Playstation that I feel like I ought to play.

I've never given Doom a proper go in any form.

This is what I'm talking a bout.  What?!  Especially, Metroid.  I'm not sure if that's one that would hold up well, unless you can put yourself in a 1990-and-early mental-mode.  The complaints are real like "It needs a map", but if you consider the limitations of the time, and understand that all series have to start somewhere, it's not really an issue.

Punch-Out is one of those games I personally can't get into.  That said, I have played.

And in general, I can understand if many of us game one or two games a try in a popular series and never tried subsequent games. I know I've played both Mega Man and Mega Man 2 for a few minutes and they seemed cool enough, but as a middle-aged gamer, they were never cool enough for me to deeply get into, in spite of there being a latent desire to do so.  That said, I've barely touched any of the Mega Man games after those two, even though I own 3, 4 and 6, as well as all of the GB games!

[Gloves | 11,805]

I feel targeted. 

[mbd39 | 2,026]

Oh yeah, add the Souls series to my list. Never played 'em.

[Splain | 2,574]

1 minute ago, RH said:

And in general, I can understand if many of us game one or two games a try in a popular series and never tried subsequent games. I know I've played both Mega Man and Mega Man 2 for a few minutes and they seemed cool enough, but as a middle-aged gamer, they were never cool enough for me to deeply get into, in spite of there being a latent desire to do so.  That said, I've barely touched any of the Mega Man games after those two, even though I own 3, 4 and 6, as well as all of the GB games!

I always knew what Mega Man was, but didn't play it until I brought my SNES to college and my roommate gushed about Mega Man X (and NBA Jam). I went ahead and bought them both on ebay and I played a ton of MMX.  I've since played MMX 2 and 3, and all the GB games, but none of the NES games. I have no doubt that they're great games, but I kinda feel like I shouldn't just play ONE of them, and I hesitate to commit to ALL of them. Next year's backlog perhaps.

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,076]

I have a book called "An Illustrated History of 151 Video Games" by Simon Parkin. It only covers games until 2012, but I think this could be a decent starting point. Maybe we could add and subtract some games? Anyway, here's the list:

1970s: Computer Space, Pong, Laser Clay Shooting System (later re-released as Duck hunt), Gran Trak 10, Sea Wolf, Night Driver, Breakout, Space Invaders, Warrior, Galaxian, Asteroids, Adventure.

1080s: Pac-Man, Missile Command, Defender, Donkey Kong, Robotron 2084, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Dragon's Lair, The Black Onyx, Elite, Marble Madness, The Way of the Exploding Fist, Super Mario Bros., Gauntlet, The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Quest, Metal Gear, R-Type, Street Fighter, Maniac Mansion, Final Fantasy, Ghouls'N Ghosts, Hard Drivin', Tetris, Populous, Sim City.

1990s: John Madden Football, Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryu to Hikari no Tsurugi, The Secret of Monkey Island, Super Mario World, Bomberman, Lemmings, Street Fighter II, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Another World, Wolfenstein 3D, Super Mario Kart, Mortal Kombat, Final Fantasy V, FIFA International Soccer, Gunstar Heroes, Myst, Ridge Racer, Virtua Fighter, Doom, Sensible World Soccer, Super Metroid, Theme Park, Command and Conquer, Wipeout, Sega Rally Championship, Pokémon, Resident Evil, Super Mario RPG, Quake, Super Mario 64, Nights into Dreams, Meridian 59, Tomb Raider, Diablo, Parappa the Rapper, Final Fantasy VII, Bushido Blade, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, International Superstar Soccer Pro, Final Fantasy Tactics, Goldeneye 007, Ultima Online, Fallout, Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, Dance Dance Revolution, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Crazy Taxi, Virtua Tennis, Super Smash Bros., Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Shenmue, The Sims.

2000s: Deus Ex, Counter Strike, Phantasy Star Online, Bejeweled Deluxe, Devil May Cry, Advance Wars, Super Monkey Ball, Ico, Grand Theft Auto III, Halo: Combat Evolved, Rez, Animal Crossing, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy XI, Neverwinter nights, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Warioware, Inc: Mega Microgrames!, Eve Online, Knights of the Old Republic, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Manhunt, Katamari Damacy, Half-Life 2, World of Warcraft, Resident Evil 4, God of War, Lego Star Wars: The Video Game, Nintendogs, Brain Training, Killer7, Civilization IV, Guitar Hero, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, Monster Hunter Freedom, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Gears of War, Wii Sports, Crackdown, Peggle, Desktop Tower Defense, Bioshock, Skate, Portal, Super Mario Galaxy, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Street Fighter IV, Braid, Far Cry 4, Little Big Planet, Demon's Souls, Flower, Minecraft, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Angry Birds, Red Dead Redemption, Dark Souls, Journey, Fez.

[mbd39 | 2,026]

1 minute ago, Gaia Gensouki said:

I have a book called "An Illustrated History of 151 Video Games" by Simon Parkin. It only covers games until 2012, but I think this could be a decent starting point. Maybe we could add and subtract some games? Anyway, here's the list:

1970s: Computer Space, Pong, Laser Clay Shooting System (later re-released as Duck hunt), Gran Trak 10, Sea Wolf, Night Driver, Breakout, Space Invaders, Warrior, Galaxian, Asteroids, Adventure.

1080s: Pac-Man, Missile Command, Defender, Donkey Kong, Robotron 2084, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Dragon's Lair, The Black Onyx, Elite, Marble Madness, The Way of the Exploding Fist, Super Mario Bros., Gauntlet, The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Quest, Metal Gear, R-Type, Street Fighter, Maniac Mansion, Final Fantasy, Ghouls'N Ghosts, Hard Drivin', Tetris, Populous, Sim City.

1990s: John Madden Football, Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryu to Hikari no Tsurugi, The Secret of Monkey Island, Super Mario World, Bomberman, Lemmings, Street Fighter II, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Another World, Wolfenstein 3D, Super Mario Kart, Mortal Kombat, Final Fantasy V, FIFA International Soccer, Gunstar Heroes, Myst, Ridge Racer, Virtua Fighter, Doom, Sensible World Soccer, Super Metroid, Theme Park, Command and Conquer, Wipeout, Sega Rally Championship, Pokémon, Resident Evil, Super Mario RPG, Quake, Super Mario 64, Nights into Dreams, Meridian 59, Tomb Raider, Diablo, Parappa the Rapper, Final Fantasy VII, Bushido Blade, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, International Superstar Soccer Pro, Final Fantasy Tactics, Goldeneye 007, Ultima Online, Fallout, Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, Dance Dance Revolution, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Crazy Taxi, Virtua Tennis, Super Smash Bros., Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Shenmue, The Sims.

2000s: Deus Ex, Counter Strike, Phantasy Star Online, Bejeweled Deluxe, Devil May Cry, Advance Wars, Super Monkey Ball, Ico, Grand Theft Auto III, Halo: Combat Evolved, Rez, Animal Crossing, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy XI, Neverwinter nights, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Warioware, Inc: Mega Microgrames!, Eve Online, Knights of the Old Republic, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Manhunt, Katamari Damacy, Half-Life 2, World of Warcraft, Resident Evil 4, God of War, Lego Star Wars: The Video Game, Nintendogs, Brain Training, Killer7, Civilization IV, Guitar Hero, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, Monster Hunter Freedom, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Gears of War, Wii Sports, Crackdown, Peggle, Desktop Tower Defense, Bioshock, Skate, Portal, Super Mario Galaxy, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Street Fighter IV, Braid, Far Cry 4, Little Big Planet, Demon's Souls, Flower, Minecraft, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Angry Birds, Red Dead Redemption, Dark Souls, Journey, Fez.

At first I thought this was your list of games you haven't played and I couldn't believe it.

[wongojack | 219]

1 hour ago, RH said:

I'm looking for the titles that you've never so much as put in a console and turned it on to the title screen, or even fired up on an emulator.  It's an interesting question.  We all have games we probably should play just because of their historical importance, or whatever, but we don't.  What games are like that for you?

This makes it harder because I try a lot of games.

If I truly limit myself to games I've never even played at all then maybe something like Starfox fits in this thread.  I've only ever started Ultima IV so any of the other Ultima games would count along with the Gold Box D&D games (except for Pool of Radiance which I've played for less than an hour).  For games that I've simply NEVER played, it is hard because I might not even be aware of them.  There are games I've played for a while that I have earmarked to get back to.  MANY games in the 16-bit era fit in this category for me because I don't have much nostalgia for it.  These would be things like

• Super Mario World
• Donkey Kong Country
• Castlevania IV
• Starflight
• Phantasy Star
• Final Fantasy
• Super Star Wars

There's probably a lot of games in the Genesis library that people would consider essential that I've never played, but I easily forget them.

 

Edit - I'm doing pretty great on the list posted by @Gaia Gensouki.  Bomberman is a series that stands out from that list though.  I'd never even heard of it until some of the more modern remakes came out, and I still don't think I've ever played any game in the series.  The Splinter Cell series is a modern example that I've just skipped completely.

Edited April 17 by wongojack

[wongojack | 219]

13 minutes ago, Splain said:

I always knew what Mega Man was, but didn't play it until I brought my SNES to college and my roommate gushed about Mega Man X (and NBA Jam). I went ahead and bought them both on ebay and I played a ton of MMX.  I've since played MMX 2 and 3, and all the GB games, but none of the NES games. I have no doubt that they're great games, but I kinda feel like I shouldn't just play ONE of them, and I hesitate to commit to ALL of them. Next year's backlog perhaps.

Mega Man was a big hole for me for a long time, and I also felt like I needed to make time to play them all, but eventually I was on a trip with an emulation handheld and just decided to play Mega Man 2 to the end.  I may have played the first level of the original, but other than that MM2 is the only Mega Man game I've ever played.

[mbd39 | 2,026]

Oh yeah, never played Minecraft, Bioshock, or any of the popular modern computer RPGs such as Neverwinter Nights, Skyrim and Elden Ring.

[NostalgicMachine | 243]

9 minutes ago, mbd39 said:

Oh yeah, never played Minecraft, Bioshock, or any of the popular modern computer RPGs such as Neverwinter Nights, Skyrim and Elden Ring.

Same.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

Funny timing.  Literally yesterday I took a look at this list and counted how many I've played.

I'm at 158 of the top 200.  Which I feel like is going to be highest number here outside of maybe @Sumez or maybe a couple other people.

I also plan on rolling out a series of blogs later this year for my own personal top 200 games.  But I'll only be happy with such a list if I play as many of history's most notable games as possible.  But this is a neverending battle.

Anyway, as of right now, here are just some of the big ones that I still need to get to.  Some, like LoL and Roblox, I'll probably never play:

1. Final Fantasy
2. The Witcher III
3. Dark Souls III
4. Roblox (any of it)
5. Minecraft (in any serious capacity)
6. Overwatch (in any form)
7. League of Legends
8. Tears of the Kingdom
9. Disco Elysium
10. Final Fantasy VII remakes
11. Divinity Original Sin 2
12. Baldur's Gate 3
13. Cyberpunk 2077
14. The OG Pokemon games
15. Grand Theft Auto V
16. God of War Ragnarok
17. Super Mario Galaxy 2
18. System Shock
19. Some of the early LucasArts stuff like Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, etc.
20. Outer Wilds

 

...and so forth.  It never ends.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

17 minutes ago, mbd39 said:

modern computer RPGs such as Neverwinter Nights

We should restart the debate of what the word "modern" means while we're at it 

[a3quit4s | 4,114]

I can probably name a bunch must plays, that I probably have, and have never played. The one that popped into my mind first was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

edit: also have the black label version of SotN lol

Edited April 17 by a3quit4s

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

I guess I should clarify that I never just try a game out for a few minutes either.  I generally commit at least a couple hours before dropping anything.

If I played a game for 10 minutes I'd probably still consider it unplayed.  Maybe that's just me.

[koifish | 557]

I won't need to be good at games to play turn-based stuff, so I'm saving turn-based games for when I'm too old for dexterity games. That means most every RPG, especially on PC as I have little time put into them. A few notables, like Wiz 1, Fallout 1, but almost nothing else.

PC in general is a blind spot. I have played almost no PC games. A few different FPS and some indie games from the 2000's (cave story, la-mulana) and that's it. Still on my list for eventual play.

Related, have never played an RTS. I don't know what to do with that genre, too many entries and I can't figure where to start.

7 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

We should restart the debate of what the word "modern" means while we're at it 

ha ha, for me the it's 21st century. Exceptions exist, but fair to note; Academics point out how hard it is to put definite caps on the end of an era in music and art history, hardly surprising it is not agreed on in games.

[wongojack | 219]

55 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Funny timing.  Literally yesterday I took a look at this list and counted how many I've played.

I'd give myself 123 out of the top 200 on that list.  Could go up or down if I give myself credit for some low playtime numbers or maybe even forgot if I've played a sequel or 2.  Some of the big ones that I haven't played are below (these are in the order that the site ranked them).  I could probably give myself credit for SimCity 2000 and a couple others, but this was my first pass.

1. Shadow of the Colossus
2. Bloodborne
3. Super Mario World
4. Red Dead Redemption 2
5. Metroid Prime
6. StarCraft
7. Disco Elysium
8. Final Fantasy VI (AKA Final Fantasy III [US])
9. Diablo II
10. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (Series)
11. Pokemon Blue/Red/Yellow (1998) / Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen 
12. Counter-Strike
13. Inside
14. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
15. Super Mario Odyssey
16. EarthBound
17. SimCity 2000
18. Super Smash Bros. Melee
19. System Shock 2
20. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,076]

44 minutes ago, koifish said:

ha ha, for me the it's 21st century. Exceptions exist, but fair to note; Academics point out how hard it is to put definite caps on the end of an era in music and art history, hardly surprising it is not agreed on in games.

For me personally modern gaming starts with the PS3/Xbox 360/Wii/NDS era. That coincides with the rise of HD games, mobile and casual games, indies, wide-spread distribution of online gaming, the dark age of Japanese games etc. I think you can also start to see a shift in game design roughly in the early 2000s or around the time of the PS2/Xbox/GC/GBA era. The games start to feel very different and you have plenty of new IPs. There's also a shift in the genres that are popular, e.g. less arcade-style games, shmups, belt scrollers and 2D games in general. Meanwhile open-world, sandbox, immersive sims, FPS, cinematic action-adventure games and MMOs are getting more and more popular. However, I still like the PS2 era since there a are plenty of fun and interesting JRPGs to play.

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,076]

I've been looking through the Top 1000 list and out of the first 200 games I have not played 120 games. There's way too many modern games for my liking. But this could be an interesting project for a backlog challenge in the upcoming year(s).

Full list of the games I haven't played or only played for a short amount of time, i.e. less than half of the full game:

Spoiler

1.       The Last of Us

2.       Half-Life 2

3.       The Witcher 3

4.       Bioshock

5.       Super Metroid

6.       Shadow oft he Colossus

7.       Red Dead Redemption

8.       Grand Theft Auto V

9.       God of War (2018)

10.   Call of Duty 4: modern Warfare

11.   Skyrim

12.   Bloodborne

13.   Halo: Combat Evolved

14.   Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

15.   Portal

16.   Uncharted 2

17.   Portal 2

18.   Journey

19.   Minecraft

20.   Red Dead Redemption 2

21.   Dark Souls

22.   Deus Ex

23.   Disco Elysium

24.   Rock Band (Series)

25.   Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

26.   Silent Hill 2

27.   Half-Life

28.   Counter-Strike

29.   Inside

30.   Ico

31.   Sonic the Hedgehog

32.   Grand Theft Auto III

33.   Super Mario Odyssey

34.   Undertale

35.   Batman: Arkham City

36.   Earthbound

37.   Celeste

38.   Stardew Valley

39.   Super Mario Galaxy 2

40.   SimCity 2000

41.   System Shock 2

42.   The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

43.   Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

44.   Grim Fandango

45.   Grand Theft Auto IV

46.   Okami

47.   The Walking Dead

48.   Braid

49.   The Sims

50.   The Secret of Monkey Island

51.   Batman: Arkham Asylum

52.   League of Legends

53.   Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time

54.   NBA Jam

55.   Super Mario Galaxy

56.   X-COM: UFO Defense

57.   Civilization IV

58.   Final Fantasy Tactics

59.   Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

60.   Outer Wilds

61.   Assassin’s Creed II

62.   Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

63.   God of War (2005)

64.   Planescape: Torment

65.   Guitar Hero (Series)

66.   Quake

67.   Burnout 3: Takedown

68.   Team Fortress 2

69.   Zork

70.   Civilization

71.   Sonic the Hedgehog 2

72.   Day of the Tentacle

73.   Rocket League

74.   Madden NFL Football (Series)

75.   Gran Turismo

76.   Oblivion

77.   Return of the Obra Dinn

78.   Rez

79.   Civilization II

80.   Baldur’s Gate II

81.   Wii Sports

82.   Wolfenstein 3D

83.   Soul Calibur

84.   Myst

85.   Double Dragon

86.   Limbo

87.   Dishonored

88.   The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

89.   Age of Empires II

90.   Metroid

91.   Fortnite

92.   Hotline Miami

93.   Elite

94.   Shenmue

95.   NHL Hockey (Series)

96.   XCOM: Enemy Unknown

97.   FIFA Soccer (Series)

98.   Into the Breach

99.   Halo 3

100.                      Doom II

101.                      Dota 2

102.                      Thief

103.                      Halo 2

104.                      Ultima Online

105.                      Robotron 2084

106.                      Destiny

107.                      Nier: Automata

108.                      Quake III Arena

109.                      Everquest

110.                      Divinity: Original Sin II

111.                      Gears of War

112.                      Gran Turismo 3

113.                      Dead Space

114.                      Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

115.                      Fez

116.                      Tekken 3

117.                      The Oregon Trail

118.                      Untitled Goos Game

119.                      Papers Please

120.                      Monkey Island 2

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

30 minutes ago, Gaia Gensouki said:

For me personally modern gaming starts with the PS3/Xbox 360/Wii/NDS era. That coincides with the rise of HD games, mobile and casual games, indies, wide-spread distribution of online gaming, the dark age of Japanese games etc. I think you can also start to see a shift in game design roughly in the early 2000s or around the time of the PS2/Xbox/GC/GBA era. The games start to feel very different and you have plenty of new IPs. There's also a shift in the genres that are popular, e.g. less arcade-style games, shmups, belt scrollers and 2D games in general. Meanwhile open-world, sandbox, immersive sims, FPS, cinematic action-adventure games and MMOs are getting more and more popular. However, I still like the PS2 era since there a are plenty of fun and interesting JRPGs to play.

What about the Indie revolution we've seen over the last 10-15 years?

The 4 games in the current game debate poll (Witness, Baba, Obra, Tunic) are 4 of the most celebrated games of the last decade, but don't really fit into that breakdown.  One of the reasons I feel like the 2000s and 2010s are very different eras of gaming.