The Best Game Franchises of All-Time

[BurningDoom]

Alright gamers. What are the best franchises of all-time in gaming? This is my list of the top 10 gaming franchises of all-time, IMO:

-The Legend of Zelda - Whenever a new Zelda game comes out for a Nintendo gaming console it's action-RPG at it's finest. From the days of NES and original Gameboy to the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS Zelda has always stood for a quality gaming experience.

-Mario - Mario, what other character better represents gaming? I can think of none. Since his first appearances on the Atari 2600 with Donkey Kong & Mario Bros. to the current masterpiece on Wii New Super Mario Bros., most Mario games have set the benchmark in their generation for platforming excellence. Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World are considered two of the greatest games ever created by many gamers for a reason.

-Resident Evil - The first time you saw a Licker or the Cerebus Dog came crashing through the window, it made you jump out of your skin. Resident Evil left a mark on gaming that was innovative, entertaining, and creepy all at the same time and I for one couldn't be happier with this series, thank you Capcom for popularizing the survival-horror genre.

-Metroid - While the NES game may have it's flaws, it's still not a bad game. But the series really took off with the SNES entry: Super Metroid. That game was an example of 2D gaming perfection. And all the follow-ups: Metroid Fusion, Metroid Zero Mission, Metroid Prime 1-3, are all masterpieces in their own rights.

-Forgotten Realms - I love me a good hack-and-slash RPG. Since I first played Diablo in the mid-90s I was hooked. And the Forgotten Realms series perfected the formula with fantasy masterpieces like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 1-2, Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes, and their crown jewels: Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2. Dungeon crawling was never so fun.

-King's Field - IMO one of the most underrated game series of all-time. ASCII & From Software created these unique action-RPGs for the PS1 & PS2. Many gamers immeadiatly get frustrated with the slow frame-rate of the first two games and never give the game a chance, which is a shame. It's a first-person view, action-RPG with an open-ended world. Tons of enemies, weapons, armor, spells and locations in these games.

-Sonic the Hedgehog - While the later generation 3D Sonic games weren't masterpieces, they're still enjoyable games. But the 2D era of the Sega Genesis and Sega CD is when the Sonic the Hedgehog series was in it's prime and firing on all cylinders. During the 16-Bit wars Sega made far more quality Sonic games than Nintendo did quality Mario games (granted Super Mario World was superior to any of the Sonic games, though). Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, 3, Sonic CD, and Sonic & Knuckles were 2D platforming masterpieces with an emphasis on speed and flashy graphics. And Sonic Adventure for the Sega Dreamcast was a feast for the eyes during the time it came out. And despite most fans' opinions, I didn't think Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis & Saturn) was a bad game.

-Halo - Halo sure as heck didn't invent first-person shooters, but for me, Halo perfected first-person shooters. A very impressive game graphically, awesome soundtrack, and epic sci-fi story provide the perfect back-drop to a game with smooth gameplay, well thought out level design, and up-to-that-point impressive enemy AI.

-Spider-Man - Since the days of the NES, most Spider-Man games have rocked. Maybe it's just the comic geek in me that loves them so much. But I loved the beat-em games of the Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six, Spider-Man/Venom: Maximum Carnage, and Spider-Man/Venom: Seperation Anxiety. Then Activision released the Spider-Man game for PS1 and it was amazing! Web-swinging and wall-crawling was so much fun. And Activision packed in the easter eggs for comic fans. Then Activision made the series even better with the movie series by adding better graphics and much bigger games!

-Guitar Hero - I'm a metal-head and Guitar Hero is a game about playing guitar to some of the best rock and metal songs out there with an actual guitar peripheral. What's not to love? Right now I'm play through Guitar Hero: Metallica on my PS2 and I'm having a blast, still after all these entries in the series.

Honorable Mentions: WWF/WWE: Smackdown/Smackdown vs. Raw, God of War, Doom, Mega Man, Street Fighter/Capcom vs., Elder Scrolls.

-Nate-

[Dagger]

Final Fantasy
Mario
Zelda
Spiderman

I don't play much else

[A Common Enemy]

I agree with all....except Halo....halo is defiantly a "average" shooter. The story is far from epic and very chliche. If I were gonna put a FPS shooter on that list it would defiantly be DooM. In my mind, the greatest FPS horror franchise. Ever. Not only were gamers playing it but regualr people who worked at offices would too. Also I'd say its one of the most controversial franchise ever.


EDIT: I'd also add Silent HIll to the mix, that franchise has had me sh!t my pants on more than few occasions....

[Lord_Khan]

Legend of Zelda
Metal Gear
Final Fantasy
Grand Theft Auto
Resident Evil
Mario

[CplHicks]

Mario
Zelda
Castlevaina
Contra
Kirby
Star fox (N64 for the win!)
Street fighter
Bonk
Doom...Who ever said this I 100% agree it was "the" fps in the early nineties. The remakes were also good. I like it much better than Halo (who I also agree is a good game but not the best)

[DTM]

Mortal Kombat
Mario
Sonic
Street Fighter
Soul Caliber
Metal Gear
Halo
Dead or Alive
Star Fox
Pokemon
can't think of anymore off the top of my head...

[BurningDoom]

I agree with all....except Halo....halo is defiantly a "average" shooter. The story is far from epic and very chliche. If I were gonna put a FPS shooter on that list it would defiantly be DooM. In my mind, the greatest FPS horror franchise. Ever. Not only were gamers playing it but regualr people who worked at offices would too. Also I'd say its one of the most controversial franchise ever.


EDIT: I'd also add Silent HIll to the mix, that franchise has had me sh!t my pants on more than few occasions....

Far from epic? Come on man. The story is set in the futue. You are Master Chief, the biggest bad-arse cyborg marine in the galaxy. The backdrop to the story, BACKDROP, is a war between Earth and and alien race called The Covenant. That same Covenant is on a holy crusade which it's results may wipe out the entire galaxy. So you are in a race to reach this holy mecca of The Covenant's before The Covenant releases hell on the Galaxy, and every step of the way you are fighting and running and gunning through hordes of Covenant infantry due to the war. Then you meet Guilty Spark and learn about an ancient race of powerful aliens known as the Forerunners who built these Halo complexes (the holy mecca the Covenant are after) all over the galaxy and were a very advanced race that mysteriously disappeared. Then the Flood appear and you immeadiatly know what happened to The Forerunner. You fight off a living organic disease that is reminsiscent of a zombie plague on steroids as you battle your way to the self-destruct sequence and blow The Flood away before they can be released onto an unsuspecting galaxy.

Then in the second game all that is still going on, but they added on layers to the story. The Covenant is now invading Earth itself. There is a civil war within The Covenant causing a change in power and leadership. You can now play as "The Arbiter" who is the Covenant's champion (their Master Chief). AS the Arbitur you learn of the folly of The Covenant's beliefs and you realize that the holy crusade will not lead your people to salvation, but instead to their own deaths and the death of the rest of the galaxy. You become a heretic and enemy of your own people as you try and fight to save the galaxy. You also play Master Chief who is fighting for the same thing, and for the freedom of Earth from Covenant control. The Flood rears it's ugly head again, and yet again you fight intensely for your life. The cliffhanger at the end of this game hooks you so bad, too, and you just can't wait to get your hands on the third game to see what happens.

Pfft. Far from epic story my butt. That is some good sci-fi.

-Nate-

[A Common Enemy]

I agree with all....except Halo....halo is defiantly a "average" shooter. The story is far from epic and very chliche. If I were gonna put a FPS shooter on that list it would defiantly be DooM. In my mind, the greatest FPS horror franchise. Ever. Not only were gamers playing it but regualr people who worked at offices would too. Also I'd say its one of the most controversial franchise ever.


EDIT: I'd also add Silent HIll to the mix, that franchise has had me sh!t my pants on more than few occasions....

Far from epic? Come on man. The story is set in the futue. You are Master Chief, the biggest bad-arse cyborg marine in the galaxy. The backdrop to the story, BACKDROP, is a war between Earth and and alien race called The Covenant. That same Covenant is on a holy crusade which it's results may wipe out the entire galaxy. So you are in a race to reach this holy mecca of The Covenant's before The Covenant releases hell on the Galaxy, and every step of the way you are fighting and running and gunning through hordes of Covenant infantry due to the war. Then you meet Guilty Spark and learn about an ancient race of powerful aliens known as the Forerunners who built these Halo complexes (the holy mecca the Covenant are after) all over the galaxy and were a very advanced race that mysteriously disappeared. Then the Flood appear and you immeadiatly know what happened to The Forerunner. You fight off a living organic disease that is reminsiscent of a zombie plague on steroids as you battle your way to the self-destruct sequence and blow The Flood away before they can be released onto an unsuspecting galaxy.

Then in the second game all that is still going on, but they added on layers to the story. The Covenant is now invading Earth itself. There is a civil war within The Covenant causing a change in power and leadership. You can now play as "The Arbiter" who is the Covenant's champion (their Master Chief). AS the Arbitur you learn of the folly of The Covenant's beliefs and you realize that the holy crusade will not lead your people to salvation, but instead to their own deaths and the death of the rest of the galaxy. You become a heretic and enemy of your own people as you try and fight to save the galaxy. You also play Master Chief who is fighting for the same thing, and for the freedom of Earth from Covenant control. The Flood rears it's ugly head again, and yet again you fight intensely for your life. The cliffhanger at the end of this game hooks you so bad, too, and you just can't wait to get your hands on the third game to see what happens.

Pfft. Far from epic story my butt. That is some good sci-fi.

-Nate-

To make it shorter......

Halo 1: You're Master Chief, a corny mechanical iron man rip-off, and you have to save the humans from the bad guys who have their big weapon of mass destruction. You find a new enemy but you destroy your old enemy's WOMD.

Halo 2: You're still MAster Chief, that corny mechanical iron man rip-off, and you're still fighting your old enemy who has a new WOMD. You fight your new enemy. You meet a robot ball. Old badguys become your allie.

Halo 3: You're new friends help you defeat the leaders of your old badguys. You beat them. Then fight new enemy. You kill new enemy and save the day only to be thought "dead".


Very cliche. Infact Halo 2 reminds me alot pf Army of Darkness- Blues hate red, savour (Ash) brings them together in the end.

[BurningDoom]

I agree with all....except Halo....halo is defiantly a "average" shooter. The story is far from epic and very chliche. If I were gonna put a FPS shooter on that list it would defiantly be DooM. In my mind, the greatest FPS horror franchise. Ever. Not only were gamers playing it but regualr people who worked at offices would too. Also I'd say its one of the most controversial franchise ever.


EDIT: I'd also add Silent HIll to the mix, that franchise has had me sh!t my pants on more than few occasions....

Far from epic? Come on man. The story is set in the futue. You are Master Chief, the biggest bad-arse cyborg marine in the galaxy. The backdrop to the story, BACKDROP, is a war between Earth and and alien race called The Covenant. That same Covenant is on a holy crusade which it's results may wipe out the entire galaxy. So you are in a race to reach this holy mecca of The Covenant's before The Covenant releases hell on the Galaxy, and every step of the way you are fighting and running and gunning through hordes of Covenant infantry due to the war. Then you meet Guilty Spark and learn about an ancient race of powerful aliens known as the Forerunners who built these Halo complexes (the holy mecca the Covenant are after) all over the galaxy and were a very advanced race that mysteriously disappeared. Then the Flood appear and you immeadiatly know what happened to The Forerunner. You fight off a living organic disease that is reminsiscent of a zombie plague on steroids as you battle your way to the self-destruct sequence and blow The Flood away before they can be released onto an unsuspecting galaxy.

Then in the second game all that is still going on, but they added on layers to the story. The Covenant is now invading Earth itself. There is a civil war within The Covenant causing a change in power and leadership. You can now play as "The Arbiter" who is the Covenant's champion (their Master Chief). AS the Arbitur you learn of the folly of The Covenant's beliefs and you realize that the holy crusade will not lead your people to salvation, but instead to their own deaths and the death of the rest of the galaxy. You become a heretic and enemy of your own people as you try and fight to save the galaxy. You also play Master Chief who is fighting for the same thing, and for the freedom of Earth from Covenant control. The Flood rears it's ugly head again, and yet again you fight intensely for your life. The cliffhanger at the end of this game hooks you so bad, too, and you just can't wait to get your hands on the third game to see what happens.

Pfft. Far from epic story my butt. That is some good sci-fi.

-Nate-

To make it shorter......

Halo 1: You're Master Chief, a corny mechanical iron man rip-off, and you have to save the humans from the bad guys who have their big weapon of mass destruction. You find a new enemy but you destroy your old enemy's WOMD.

Halo 2: You're still MAster Chief, that corny mechanical iron man rip-off, and you're still fighting your old enemy who has a new WOMD. You fight your new enemy. You meet a robot ball. Old badguys become your allie.

Halo 3: You're new friends help you defeat the leaders of your old badguys. You beat them. Then fight new enemy. You kill new enemy and save the day only to be thought "dead".


Very cliche. Infact Halo 2 reminds me alot pf Army of Darkness- Blues hate red, savour (Ash) brings them together in the end.

You could simplify anything that easily. For example:

Lord of the Rings: Evil bad want to take over the world, but needs to find a ring to do it. A small hobbit takes that ring and walks across the country to throw the said ring in a boiling pit of lava ending the bad guy's threat.

Star Wars: A princess is in trouble. She calls out for help. A brave young Jedi (or knight) goes to rescue the princess, gaining allies, enemies, and grows up along the way. Princess is saved, bad guy beaten, the end.

Transformers: A civil war erupts between two factions fighting over a religious artifact. Their war spreads to faraway lands. The end.

So you can't use that kind of simplifying logic to say it's a bad game. It's a good game. Reviewer's and fan numbers on game sites say it's good. And sales numbers definetly say it's good. You also can't truthfully say it has bad graphics, bad controls, bad sound, or a bad engine, can you? You just must not be either A. A first-person shooter fan. B. XBox or Home Console fan, or C. Not a sci-fi fan.

-Nate-

[A Common Enemy]

I'm a first person shooter fan. I do not care for Halo because it is overrated. Im a console fan, what does that have anything to do with Halo? Halo has been on only 2 consoles (excluding the PC), there are tons of other consoles I love, PS3 (doesnt have Halo), N64 (doesnt have Halo), NES (doesnt have Halo,) I could go on. I love sci-fi. I just dont love Halo why? To me Halo is just a bunch of ideas from previous stories thrown together to make a sloppy version of a futuristic LOTR. Also, Gears of War came out a year before Halo 3, Gears of War's graphics were (and still are) amzing They blow Halo's out of the water.

Im not sure what you're going at there but this is my opinion.

[DTM]

Isn't you avatar from Halo...

[A Common Enemy]

Isn't you avatar from Halo...

Multiplayer, I was referring to the campaign, and Im too lazy to change it


found a picture I actually like (and that fits)

[DTM]

There we go, lol

[DTM]

Double post...

Looking at my games, I'd like to add more:
Madden NFL
Guilty Gear
Virtua Fighter
Raw vs Smackdown
F.E.A.R.
Guitar Hero

[A Common Enemy]

F.E.A.R.

I love F.E.A.R.! Oh my god that girl!!