The review aggregator Metacritic launched in 2001 and has since become a go-to source of information about video games, films, tv shows, and more. The site’s Metascores, which are aggregated from numerous different review outlets, have become such an integral part of the gaming industry that many publishers base their bonus structure around the Metascore that their games receive. Chris Avellone, the cofounder of Obsidian Entertainment, once revealed that Obsidian received no royalties for Fallout: New Vegas as the game obtained a Metascore of 84, one point below the 85 that was required. Suffice to say, Metascores are far more to some people than just an arbitrary number.
One of the site’s most popular pages is its Best Video Games of All Time section. The page does exactly what it says on the tin, listing the highest-rated games ever aggregated. The issue with the page is, however, that the “all-time” part isn’t too accurate; there are numerous classic games released from and before the 90s that haven’t been given a score, meaning people who scroll down the page to find something new to play are missing many fantastic titles.
10 Street Fighter II
Japanese game developer and publisher Capcom has enjoyed continued success over multiple decades due to their winning formula of releasing new entries to tried and tested IP’s, rather than ditching them in favor of something new. Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, and Monster Hunter are just some of Capcom’s iconic franchises that are still thriving today.
One other classic franchise is Street Fighter, a fighting series that dates all the way back to the arcades. Numerous Street Fighter entries could have made this list, but Street Fighter II takes the cake for still being one of the most enjoyable fighting games to play today, nearly 30 years after its initial release.
9 Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (1991)
The point and click genre was a dominant force of the gaming industry in the 80s and 90s; Sierra and LucasArts released numerous excellent games over the decades that had people all over the world scratching their heads as they tried to solve the often bizarre puzzles.
Of all the memorable graphic adventures that were released at the time, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge and Grim Fandango, which has a Metascore of 94, are often cited as the best. Monkey Island 2 is still worth playing today for its memorable protagonist Guybrush Threepwood, its brilliant story-pacing, and of course, the tough puzzles that are extremely rewarding to solve.
8 Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
The video game industry has seen an incredible range of imaginative and creative bosses over the years, yet former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is the most iconic for many people.
The boxer appeared as the Dream Fight opponent in the western release of the game and remains to be one of the toughest final bosses in gaming history. Punch-Out!! found success with its simple yet addictive gameplay that embodied the phrase “easy to learn, difficult to master”.
7 Contra
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! isn’t the only brutally difficult game appearing on this list, as Contra unsurprisingly doesn’t have a Metascore, given that it was released all the way back in 1987.
The NES release of the game made life easier for players by offering them an additional 30 lives if they used the Konami Code, though even with the boost in lives the game is still one of the toughest ever released. Anyone wanting to play Contra today is in luck, as the game has had numerous re-releases and is available to download on multiple platforms.
6 Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Chrono Trigger being one of the greatest RPGs of all time will come as no surprise to anyone that knows who worked on the game. Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy, and Yuji Horii, who created Dragon Quest, both played significant roles in the game’s development, particularly the design aspect.
Hironobu Sakaguchi and Yuji Horii were clearly at the top of their game with Chrono Trigger as its pacing, creativity, and gameplay are all top-notch. Moreover, the game’s implementation of twelve different endings was an incredible achievement for the time and gave Square’s game an unprecedented amount of replayability.
5 Super Metroid
Super Metroid took the Metroidvania formula that Metroid helped to create, and elevated it to a whole new level. The game’s influence can still be seen today, with the recent resurgence of the Metroidvania genre that includes excellent titles like Hollow Knight and Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
Although the game doesn’t have a Metascore, it did receive an incredible 97% from former review aggregator GameRankings; a 97 mark on Metacritic would be enough to land the game in joint 6th place, along with classic titles like Super Mario Galaxy and Halo: Combat Evolved.
4 DOOM (1993)
The first entry in the DOOM franchise was released in 1993 and is deservedly cited as one of the most influential games of all time. The game revolutionized the first-person shooter genre, and subsequently created an unofficial genre of gaming known as “DOOM clones.”
id Software’s iconic franchise was recently rebooted with the help of Bethesda in 2016, with DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal, which have both been extremely well received, exemplified by their 87 and 88 Xbox One Metascores respectively.
3 Super Mario. Bros 3
With the video game crash of 1983 in mind, it’s not too hyperbolic to suggest that the gaming industry would be nowhere near as big as it is today if it wasn’t for the NES’ Super Mario Bros. trilogy. The games breathed new life into the home console market, and Super Mario Bros. 3 was a fittingly fantastic way to end the original set of games.
Much like the aforementioned Super Metroid, Super Mario Bros. 3 received an aggregated score from GameRankings, who gave the game an eye-watering 98%.
2 The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past (SNES)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past was initially released in 1991, and offered one of the largest adventures ever seen at the time.
As is the case with a handful of games on this list, a re-release of A Link To The Past received a Metascore years after the original hit stores. Re-releases are often given significantly lower scores than the original product, however, due to them being looked at with more modern eyes, and due to some reviewers basing their score on the improvements and new mechanics that have been added. This is why A Link To The Past‘s 2002 DS Metascore of 95 is so impressive, as it proves that the original game could have challenged Ocarina of Time for its chart-topping Metascore of 99.
1 Super Mario World
The fact that A Link To The past may have matched Ocarina of Time‘s 99 Metascore, but still doesn’t stop this list, speaks volumes to the quality of Super Mario World.
The platformer was considered to be near-perfect at the time of its release, with its varied gameplay, meticulously designed levels, and plethora of secrets that added tons of replay value. It’s unlikely that any game will ever reach an elusive 100 Metascore, due to the ever-increasing amount of reviewers that now score games; if Metacritic was around when Super Mario World was released, however, it may just have accomplished it.
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