The original pair of Pokemon games were ranked 26 on a list of 50 most influential games of all time by Guiness World Records.
While I can totally get behind the games being topped by such industry-changing legends as Final Fantasy VII (20) and Tetris (2), I don’t quite see how Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (21) and Lego Star Wars Complete Saga (23) are as influential games as something like Pokémon that has spawned such a thriving fandom, not to mention its continued influence on pop culture and the media.
I’m not the only one who thinks the list is out of whack; Brian Crecente, managing editor of Kotaku.com, called the list “straight out of crazy town.”
The list was drafted by a “crack” team of industry experts that rated the games based on their importance and fun. You can peruse the full list is below.
1. Super Mario Kart
2. Tetris
3. Grand Theft Auto
4. Super Mario World
5. Zelda Ocarina of Time
6. Halo
7. Resident Evil IV
8. Final Fantasy XII
9. Street Fighter II
10. GoldenEye
11. Super Mario 64
12. Tomb Raider
13. Metal Gear Solid
14. Call of Duty 4
15. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
16. GTA San Andreas
17. Super Mario Bros
18. Zelda: A Link to the Past
19. Gran Turismo
20. Final Fantasy VII
21. Pro Evolution Soccer 4
22. The Orange Box
23. Lego Star Wars Complete Saga
24. Tekken 2
25. Wii Sports
26. Pokemon Red/Blue
27. Guitar Hero
28. Project Gotham Racing 4
29. Super Mario Galaxy
30. Resident Evil
31. Ico
32. Chrono Trigger
33. Gunstar Heroes
34. Soul Calibur
35. Advance Wars
36. Ridge Racer
37. Super Metroid
38. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
39. GTA Vice City
40. BioShock
41. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
42. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
43. God of War
44. Sega Rally Championship
45. Starfox 64
46. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
47. WarioWare Inc
48. Saturn Bomberman
49. Crash Bandicoot
50. Outrun 2
Thanks Kotaku for publishing the full list:
wow… How could they rank some of those things like that… Pokemon is definitely deserving of a better rank!
Look at all the GTA games recognized! Crazy…
at least they have some fun PC games on there
How is Super Mario Kart more influential than Super Mario Bros? There wouldn’t even be a Mario Kart without Mario Bros! D=< This list is totally messed up… And Pokemon should be higher too. The only one I think they got right was Tetris.
Well… to take in consideration, Pokemon is more of a Kid thing, however influential it may be, it will be viewed as a kid game, unlike GTA
what about the other pkmn games! i like to see some rescue team and d/p in there!
Why is Tetris not top? Not only is this game still popular but it’s music has been influential to…uhmm…EVERYONE!
Mario Kart should be third, Zelda (OoT) second, Pokemon fourth, Crash Bandicoot (for me) Fifth.
wow….. i have NEVER even HEARD of:
19, 21, 24, 31, 32, 33, 36, 44, 46, or 50… there is something wrong here!
and WTC! WHERE IS BRAWL?????!!!!
are the games meaning the game series or the game?
Reading this list tells me that the word “crack” has a different meaning than we expect when applied to these people.
Haha, thank you JoeC. I wanted to make that joke in the post, but I decided to maintain a guise of journalistic integrity.
to chickenphil: just the game because they have different games from the same series.
like most lists, there will be something on it that most people disagree with. I myself disagree with things on there, but at least pokemon got on it (considering most would call it a children’s game)
Goes to show that industry “experts” =/= the people who actually PLAY these things. Which would explain why Mario Kart is listed as first while Mario Bros. is listed as 17th… It’s arguable whether Mario Kart is more fun than Super Mario Bros, but Mario Kart would not -exist- if Super Mario Bros hadn’t jump-started Nintendo with amazing success.
umm…dackFTW, how the *sensored* have you never heard of Chrono Trigger!? Possibly the greatest RPG EVER!!!
This list is so off!
^-^ Oh well.
I’d just ignore this list. It’s full of malarky.
*looks again*
MGS! 13?!!?!
THIS IS AN OUTRAGE.
Oh, and Pokemon should be higher too…
dackFTW how have u never played Tekken! It is a classic.
utter crazy ness lego games are ok…
ocarina of time should be #1 ^^
I think this is such a subjective topic, it shouldn’t be a record in Guinness at all.
Pokemon always gets the short end of the stick and always considered a kiddy thing.
Oh cmon…I mean, really? Pokemon has a huge fanbase, especially one during the late 90s. That’s unreal. Oh well, I gotta agree with a lot of the top ones, especially Goldeneye.
What is “The Orange Box”?
>> Haha, thank you JoeC. I wanted to make that joke in the post,
>> but I decided to maintain a guise of journalistic integrity.
I figured as much!
I mean, I never heard of a quarter of these.
ok this is crap
Pokemon is like the absolute best game in the world, just sayin
and super mario kart is #1? wht r these people on?
SERIOUSLY!!!
this is a load of poo. these people should be fired until they make a better list. POKEMON IS #1!!!
So tell me, Alakazam, how many games have you played besides Pokemon?
;P
Tag and Hide and seek…
Brawl? I don’t think that’s all that influential.
Mario Kart is very influential, but methinks Super Mario Bros/Mario Bros/DONKEY KONG should be first-without those, Mario Kart wouldn’t be made.
KoTOR and Oblivion should be higher.
I do not see how it should be ranked around the top 5 at least.
wow. that dosn’t make sense.
I think that this list was more intended for more hardcore players.
I know sheik it should be at least top 15.
what
Wii Sports ahead of GoW?!
That was one of the best games of all time, it became PlayStation’s mascot…