Even though I’ve always been the type of person to think “it doesn’t matter what the magazines and the websites say if you like the game that’s all that matters!”  I still like to see some of these “best games ever” lists and see where my favorites rank. One of the most recent of these lists is Official Nintendo Magazine’s top 100 Nintendo games list.  I decided I may as well post the list here and give a little commentary on the choices.

100: Star Wars: Rougue Squadron II: Rougue Leader ( Gamecube)  “Cue John Williams!”

99: Luigi’s Mansion (Gamecube) “Luigi’s first and most underrated adventure!”

98: Bomberman Blast (Wiiware) “No more Act Zero please.”

97: Conker’s Bad Fur Day (N64) “fun for the whole family”

96: Kirby Canvas Curse (DS) “Power Paintbrush in the UK.”

95: Killer Instinct (Super NES) “Classic Rare fighter!”

94: Metroid Zero Mission (GBA) “Enhanced remake of the original Metroid.”

93. Jet Force Gemini (N64) “You remember this don’t you?”

92: F-Zero GX (Gamecube) “Incredibly difficult racing at its finest.”

91: Beyond Good & Evil (Gamecube) “They’re making a sequel don’tcha know.”

90: Super Monkey Ball (Gamecube) “Super Duper!”

89:  Donkey Kong (1994 Gameboy version) “Kind of like the original, but on steroids.”

88: Chibi-Robo (Gamecube)    “Okay.”

87: 1080 Snowboarding (N64) “Because you just don’t know how to snowboard in real life.”

86: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Gamecube) “Franchise revival!”

85: Duck Tales (NES) “Woohoo!”

84: Blast Corps (N64) “It’s a blast!”

83:  World of Goo (Wiiware) “Very fun puzzle game with cute little goo guys.”

82:  Secret of Mana (Super NES) “Influential RPG from gaming’s golden age.”

81:  International Superstar Soccer 64 (N64) “Those kicks were fast as lightning!”

80:  Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (Gamecube) “Gamecube remake of a PS1 icon.”

79: Diddy Kong Racing (N64) “I remember the old peromotional Nintendo Power video for this.”

78: WarioWare Inc. (GBA) “Leave it to Wario to star in a game as bizzare and fun as this.”

77: The Legend of Zelda (NES) “The begining of a Legend.”

76:  Super Ghouls & Ghosts (Super NES) “Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize!”

75:  Sonic Advance (GBA) “Nintendo’s old rival’s first original outing for Nintendo.”

74: Punch-Out!! (NES) “Little Mac for the win!”

73: Super Mario Land (Gameboy) “Mario’s first handheld adventure.”

72: Advance Wars (GBA)  “The Gameboy Advance classic.”

71:  Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA) “What is a man?!”

70:  WWF No Mercy (N64) “Who knew Pandas held such a grudge…oh wait.”

69:  Kirby’s Adventure (NES) “The game that made Kirby one of Nintendo’s premiere characters.”

68:  Super Star Wars (Super NES) “Let’s get John Williams back in here.”

67:  Kid Icarus (NES) “Before Pit looked like a generic anime pretty boy.”

66:  F-Zero (SNES) “Falcon Punch!!”

65: Proffessor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) ” Curious indeed.”

64: Sin & Punishment (N64) “An N64 game at number 64…clever.”

63:  Mario Kart: Double Dash (Gamecube) “Tag team Mario Kart funny car madness!”

62:  Metroid Fusion (GBA) “Metroid’s further dominance on the Gameboy Advance.”

61:  Pilotwings (Super NES) “Cause you are the wind beneath my wings!”

60:  Megaman 2 (NES) “Megaman’s most popular game! Why isn’t this higher???”

59:  Super Castlevania IV (Super NES) “Not a miserable little pile of secrets.”

58:  Super Smash Bros. Melee (Gamecube) “Meleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

57:  The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages & Oracle of Seasons (Gameboy Color) “Two great Zelda games that could turn into one big quest.”

56:  Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Gamecube) “That little Yoshi guy was awesome!”

55:  Goldeneye 007 (N64) “Proof that liscensed games can be great. A multi-player revolution.”

54:   Donkey Kong Country (Super NES) “The game that led the SNES to victory over the Genesis.”

53:  Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (Gamecube) “Tiger Woods aint got nothin’ on the plumber.”

52:  Pokemon Red and Blue versions (Gameboy) “The games that started a phenomenon.”

51:  Super Probotector (SNES) “Am I the only one who doesn’t remember this?”

50:  Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (DS) “You’ll be hooked on the brothers!”

49: Wave Race 64 (N64) “Just be sure to not jump the shark.”

48:  Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (Gamecube) “Fun for the kids.”

47:  The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA) “A fun Zelda game with a stronger sense of humor.”

46:  Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube) “Clean is better than dirty, and dirty’s meaner than clean!”

45:  The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (N64) “SOMEBODY STOP ME! Oops wrong mask.”

44:  Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins (Gameboy) “Wario’s debut!”

43:  Resident Evil (Gamecube) “Never you mind that it’s a remake.”

42: Guitar Hero: World Tour (Wii) “Sadly there is no Homestar music this time around.”

41:  Soul Caliber 2 (Gamecube) “Soul Caliber with Link in it!”

40:  Pilotwings 64 (N64) “I wish Mario’s face really was on Mt. Rushmoore.”

39:  F-Zero X (N64) ” F-Zero on the N64! Yeah I got nothin’.”

38:  The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) “Who knew the stylus would work so well with a Zelda game?”

37:  Perfect Dark (N64) “Spiritual successor to Goldeneye. Did you find all the hidden cheese wedges?”

36:  Banjo-Kazooie (N64) “Guh-huh!”

35:  Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii) “Wii controls work quite well in a first-person game. This is proof of that.”

34:  Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES) “Mario + Final Fantasy = gaming perfection. Should be higher!”

33:  Okami (Wii) “Remake of a B-E-A-utiful game originally on PS2. Better Zelda than Twilight Princess!”

32:  Final Fantasy VI (GBA) “So are they talking about the GBA remake of Final Fantasy 6 or 3 or what’s up with that?”

31:  Chrono Trigger (DS) “RPG classic for the ages. I guess they chose the DS remake to boost sales.”

30:  New Super Mario Bros. (DS) “Classic style 2D Mario. Sold a bajillion copies!”

29:  Pikmin 2 (Gamecube) “Did you like the purple or white Pikmin better?”

28:  Starfox (Super NES)  “The game that introduced us to the awesome characters of Star Fox….and Slippy Toad.”

27:   Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)  “Where’s Bowser?!”

26:  Mario Kart DS (DS) “Stop turning off your DS just as I’m about to win the race! And stop snaking!”

25:  The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX (Gameboy Color) “That Windfish thing was pretty darn cool if you ask me.”

24:  Super Metroid (SNES) “Fan favorite Metroid! Often makes it in top ten lists!”

23:  Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS) “This is your life now.”

22:  Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (Super NES) “Pinnacle of platforming perfection. Probably deserves to be higher still.”

21:  Wii Sports (Wii) “Wii boxing is the best!”

20:  Pokemon Diamond and Pearl versions (DS) “Current generation Pokemon titles. Character designs aren’t as good but still really fun!”

19:  Advance Wars: Dark Conflict (DS) “Advance Wars continues to be awesome.”

18:  Metroid Prime (Gamecube) “Metroid’s long awaited jump to 3D. Won many Game of the Year awards for 2002.”

17:  Mario Kart 64 (N64) “How many hours did you spend on it?”

16:  The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) “Even when the Zelda formula is a bit predictable it’s still fun.”

15:  Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) “Despite what fanboys say, Brawl is better than Melee.”

14:  Star Fox 64 (N64) “DO A BARREL ROLL!”

13:  Super Mario Kart (Super NES) “Another multi-player revolution. Bowser was always my favorite to pick.”

12:  The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Gamecube) “One of the best Zeldas ever (better than Twilight Princess). Fantastic artistic visuals!”

11:  Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) “The best selling stand alone game in history and a major fan favorite.”

10:  Super Street Fighter II (Super NES) “Possibly the biggest multi-player revolution of all (Street Fighter) continued with this awesome entry.”

9:   Resident Evil 4:  (Gamecube/Wii) “Often considered the best Resident Evil ever.”

8:  The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Super NES) “Not just A Legend of Zelda. This is THE Legend of Zelda.”

7:  Super Mario World (Super NES) “Another fan favorite that introduced the world to Yoshi. One of the greatest ever.”

6:  Super Mario 64 (N64) “The pioneer for 3D gaming. A revolutionary classic for the ages.”

5:  Tetris (Gameboy) “A cultural phenomenon.”

4:  Mario Kart Wii (Wii) “Yep, it’s number 4.”

3:  Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) “Considered by many to be the best 3D platformer ever. A triumph of imagination!”

2:  The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) “The first 3D Zelda. I prefer A Link to the Past and Wind Waker but still an excellent game!”

1: Super Mario Bros. (NES) “The most iconic video game in history. A beloved and timeless classic.”
There you go, Official Nintendo Magazine’s top 100 Nintendo games. There are obviously some things I would flip around (Mario Kart Wii at number 4 for example.) and a few things I would add (seriously why don’t these people see how awesome Donkey Kong Country 2 is?), but this isn’t my list. I’m not about to bite their heads off for not having identical taste in gaming as I do. But overall, I like this list. I hope to see one a bit more like this from Nintendo Power next time around, because their last one (in 2006) just wasn’t as good as it could have been. Mario for the win!.