Canon of Video Games

[backguard]

EDIT:

The main goal of this list to encompass the games that a developer or critic should play to have a really solid understanding of video gaming and its history.

I need help compiling a list of the "canon" of video games - something akin to the canon of western literature. If one wants to be well versed in literature, of course one needs to read things like Shakespeare, Joyce, Dickens etc. But what games should one have played to be well versed in video games? Please suggest additions/subtractions to the list below!

Asteroids (ARC)
Bioshock (360)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Contra (NES)
Defender (ARC)
Diablo II (PC)
Doom (PC)
Dragon Warrior (NES)
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GOTY (XBOX)
Everquest (PC)
Final Fantasy (NES)
Final Fantasy IV (SNES)
Final Fantasy VI (PSX)
Final Fantasy VII (PSX)
Galaga (ARC)
Gears of War (360)
God of War (PS2)
Golden Axe (ARC)
Goldeneye (N64)
Gradius (NES)
Grand Theft Auto III: San Andreas (XBOX/PS2)
Halo (XBOX)
ICO (PS2)
Jet Set Radio (DC)
Legend of Zelda (NES)
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
Mega Man 2 (NES)
Metal Gear Solid (PSX)
Metroid (NES)
Metroid Prime (GCN)
Nights into Dreams (SAT)
Ninja Gaiden Black (XBOX)
Pac-Man (ARC)
Panzer Dragoon Orta (XBOX)
Phantasy Star IV (GEN)
Pitfall (2600)
Pong (ARC)
Resident Evil 2 (PSX)
Resident Evil 4 (GCN)
Sonic the Hedgehog (GEN)
Soul Calibur (DC)
Space Harrier (ARC)
Space Invaders (ARC)
StarCraft (PC)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XBOX)
Street Fighter II (ARC)
Streets of Rage 3 (GEN)
Super Mario 64 (N64)
Super Mario Bros. (NES)
Super Mario World (SNES)
Tetris (NES)
Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (PC)
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (360)
World of Warcraft (PC)
Zork (PC)

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Fallout 3, while a recent game, should really be added to the list.

Also a few more off the top of my head:

Donkey Kong
Ms. Pacman (some like it more than the original)
Half Life 2 (or the Orange Box)
Berzerk

[The Old School Gamer]

Pong
Frogger
Astroids
Centipede
Pittfall
Missile Command


Don't forget these classics!

[portnoyd]

NITPICKER ALERT: Uncharted is for the PS3.

I'd add at least one graphic adventure to the list. Maniac Mansion, King's Quest V or Monkey Island 1 are probably the best choices as they got a console port.

[FlufflePuff]

I would argue that nothing current gen should be added to a canon of video games. Certainly some of your current gen picks (MGS4, Uncharted, and Gears of War) aren't worthy of inclusion on any top list. Let the dust settle on them and see how everyone feels in a decade. However, if you were to add a current generation game to the list I would include Bioshock.

Games I Would Include:

Castlevania: SotN
Tetris
Mortal Kombat 2

[Cobra Commander]

However, if you were to add a current generation game to the list I would include Bioshock.

Beat meto it. That game was the first thing to pop in my head.
I'd also like to add Braid to that list.

Woohoo! 900 posts!

[hellfire]

Your list is missing fear 2, infamous, and de blob!!!!

[Ro-J]

Not to be a complete asshole or anything, but do video games really need a "cannon". I just can't shake the image of a group of college intelligentsia debating in a coffee shop about the impact Miyamoto had on the later works of Kojima......

Aww screw it, you need Q*Bert.

[Icarus Moonsight]

First flying sharks, then ninja bears and now video game cannons!? O_O

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4MUf6T4VzPw/SZ2dNXzDCWI/AAAAAAAAGXo/v7bIkRRb1bw/s320/super-mario-cannon-papercraft.jpg

See the punctuation on the side? Even the cannon is confused.

[Kiddo]

Video games grew too much too quickly for there to be a concrete "canon" of quality, combined with the fact that the good works there are considerably more debatable than what most people consider "good literature".

And then there's the fact that some people may insist a "Bad" game be added, and the reasoning could actually be GOOD (for example, bad games which paved the way for gameplay ideas being implemented more properly, or bad games that had a significantly impact on the history of gaming a la E.T.)

A Canon set of Game CONSOLES might need to be done first, considering people are debating the merits of adding current-gen, and stuff like "import only" and "too obscure" are surely down the line.

[Ed Oscuro]

'Popular' games get enough attention that I don't see the need to enshrine them yet again with another meaningless accolade. Zap all the Marios and Zeldas from that list except for the first ones. Anybody can see that popular games were influential, but what about the ones that have fallen into obscurity yet were highly influential on another series? Wasteland comes strongly to mind.

Also, no Zork in the list - it's a video game (it's a game and it uses video, what more do you need) and has been highly influential. I'd probably put Castlevania on that list somewhere (I suppose Ghosts 'n' Goblins or Dragon Buster could go on there but eh). No DOOM? ...et cetera.

[Jehusephat]

I think it's difficult to make a list like this comparable to a list containing works of great literature because most great books, in some way, paint a picture of the human condition that is meaningful to anyone willing to read the book. All books are full of ideas, even if they're horrible ones--the entire book takes place in your own head. Video games, however, only need to waste your time in a satisfactory manner to be successful. Ideas and imagination are a requirement for books, but usually just an afterthought for games. I can imagine that Mario is saving the princess for some heroic reason, but that story is one that I create for myself in my head to enhance my enjoyment of the game. Most of the video games I've played which were meaningful in a similar way were the ones which were closest to books in terms of presentation, like RPGs and text adventures, so I could see creating a list of story-driven games which had a desire to convey more than just entertainment to the people who played them. I just don't see a game like the first Zelda as anything more than some guy wandering around looking for some lady--the game itself, without the instruction manual, never seemed to elaborate on that. "Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president?" That's all you need as a premise for a game about punching a lot of random people. Try summarizing any great work of literature in one sentence and you'll lose most of what made it so great. Sure, there was a lot of effort put into making a lot of the games I loved growing up, but most of that effort was put into coding, artistic development, the creation of game mechanics, and music composition. Unless you're making an RPG or an adventure game, story is generally something you add just to give your game character and help the art directors create something visually interesting. This is especially true for most of the classics. I'm playing Dragon Warrior right now, and the story so far consists of me wandering around killing things. I love it, but it isn't high art--it's just fun.

[tom]

Man your list is 70% Japanese rubbish.
Too many Zelda's and Mario's for starters. One Zelda by all means but 4? (or 5 Mario?) Who are you kidding? Posting 3 PC titles just to make it look good won't cut it you know.
FF VII and Goldeneye, not really that great either.
Less Japanese (not much canon there, as they are a nation of copiers), more USA stuff ( I suggest you take a look at SSI, Activision, Sierra, Lucasfilm, Microprose, Sirius, Infocom, Omnitrend, Mindscape, Epyx, Broderbund, early EA, ATARI coin-up).
Ever heard of Star Raiders? M.U.L.E.? PCS? Archon? Boulderdash? FS? Necromancer? Astro Chase? Spy vs Spy? Doom? Should be more Activision VCS titles, those were canon titles and those people broke new ground you know.

Also Miner 2049er, even features a cannon :-)


(Always fishy when someone posts 4 Zelda and 5 Mario as 'best', even 'canon', why not mention 5 Sonic titles? Or just list the Pac-Man family of games and be done with it (Actually, that would have been more appropriate than Mario)).

[HurricaneAndrew]

Yes, yes. Tom is right. Why are there no pre-NES games on this list?

[Pezcore343]

I don't know if I'm missing something, but unless you're living in Japan then Chrono Trigger wasn't on the PlayStation, it was on the Super Nintendo. Kinda hard to miss considering it's first on the list. Also, I've never heard of Grand Theft Auto III: San Andreas, so I'm not sure which of these games you mean. And Metal Gear Solid 4 is on the PS3 not the PlayStation...ok ok enough nitpicking, sorry. Got a bit carried away there.

As for the list, I'd trim a lot of the fat off of it. As was mentioned already, why 4 Zeldas and 5 Marios? Drop Link to the Past and Majora's Mask, Ocarina of Time is iffy. Definitely drop all of the Mario games except the first one and maybe 64, since it was an early innovator in 3D platforming.

Also, 4 Final Fantasy games, 3 Metroid games? Isn't that a bit redundant? I think there are a few too many RPGs, a few need to be lost to keep the balance. And I think one Metroid game is enough to get the idea.

If I were to compile this list I would imagine I was trying to teach someone about the evolution and history of video games as if they had never heard of the medium. Like perhaps my future son or daughter (hehe, I can't wait for that). Balance it out by genre, era, and platform. Too much Nintendo up there, not enough Sega. Actually there's probably just enough Sega, but not enough other console companies. A list like this should be free of fanboyism. I know people love Nintendo but they aren't the only company out there. Give some love to Atari, NEC, SNK Playmore, Commodore, Magnavox (after all, it did all start with the Odyssey). Try to be more objective about it. Don't worry about what your favorite games are, worry about which ones really made a difference, for better or worse.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Also, I've never heard of Grand Theft Auto III: San Andreas, so I'm not sure which of these games you mean.

I usually keep my sarcasm detector well-lubed and in good working order, but I think you may be serious. Really?

[Cobra Commander]

I don't know if I'm missing something, but unless you're living in Japan then Chrono Trigger wasn't on the PlayStation, it was on the Super Nintendo. Kinda hard to miss considering it's first on the list.
Really?
http://www.squaresound.com/images/game_covers/ffc.jpg
Huh. I wonder what this thing is then?

[sisko]

Really?
http://www.squaresound.com/images/game_covers/ffc.jpg
Huh. I wonder what this thing is then?

It was. It was on Final Fantasy Chronicles which included both FFIV and Chrono Trigger.

[Pezcore343]

I usually keep my sarcasm detector well-lubed and in good working order, but I think you may be serious. Really?

...Yes? Really. Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas are 2 separate games...What doesn't make sense?

Also...teehee, you said lube. Yay for immaturity!

[TheDomesticInstitution]

...Yes? Really. Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas are 2 separate games...What doesn't make sense?

Also...teehee, you said lube. Yay for immaturity!

Oh so you were being a douche. Cool.

While technically it's not titled Grand Theft Auto III: San Andreas, I would argue it's still a continuation of the Grand Theft Auto III series- which is why the current generation incarnation is called GTA: IV and not GTA: VI.

But hey, you were wrong about Chrono Trigger, so you win some, you lose some. Right?

[Jorpho]

I need help compiling a list of the "canon" of video gamesWhy, exactly?

If one wants to be well versed in literature, of course one needs to read things like Shakespeare, Joyce, Dickens etc.Of course? No. And how many people have actually tried to read Joyce? That's like saying that to be well-versed in video games, you have to finish [insert name of utterly horrible console or arcade game here] without dying, or something.

[Trebuken]

I would argue that nothing current gen should be added to a canon of video games. Certainly some of your current gen picks (MGS4, Uncharted, and Gears of War) aren't worthy of inclusion on any top list. Let the dust settle on them and see how everyone feels in a decade. However, if you were to add a current generation game to the list I would include Bioshock.

All three of those games are worthy of consideration...there's nothing to sit on. OK Bioshock is a must, but why not sit on that too?

Anyways, since everyone will have an opinion you should simply compile existing lists and 'metacritic' them and see which games appear most.

There are more games than are easily manageable for a list such as this.

FInally, Elder Scrolls III, I'd go for the PC version over the Xbox; or list both formats. Why not Oblivion? Some think it's better some worse.

-Starcraft
-Heroes of Might and Magic
-Frogger
-Ms PacMan
-Robotron
...many more...

Honestly there are so many...

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Why, exactly?
Of course? No. And how many people have actually tried to read Joyce? That's like saying that to be well-versed in video games, you have to finish [insert name of utterly horrible console or arcade game here] without dying, or something.

I only made it about 2/3's the way through The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, before dying myself. I kept waiting for it to get good or have a point, but all that must have happened in the last third. Although I'm sure many would disagree with me. Has another man ever wielded the power of an adjective laden sentence so appropriately? I think not!

[Pezcore343]

Oh so you were being a douche. Cool.

Yeah, pretty much. Not trying to be mean, like I said I got carried with my nitpicking =)


While technically it's not titled Grand Theft Auto III: San Andreas, I would argue it's still a continuation of the Grand Theft Auto III series- which is why the current generation incarnation is called GTA: IV and not GTA: VI.

Eh, this is tomato/tomato...guess that saying doesn't work well in text. Anyway, my opinion is that they're all separate games, and to say that any of the GTA's are "connected" is kind of a stretch. I know they have recurring locations and some minor characters or themes, but mostly I see them the same way I see the Zelda games, as individual experiences. Which is largely why I disagree with the stupid concept of the 1, 2, 3, subtitle, subtitle, 4 style of sequels. Again, I was just ballbusting as a lead in to my thoughts on the topic.


But hey, you were wrong about Chrono Trigger, so you win some, you lose some. Right?

Eh, again here I think is a matter of opinion. In my eyes, if you were to talk about Chrono Trigger, you would say it is a SNES game, not a PlayStation game, and I think that would be the first thought in anyone's head. Being on PlayStation as part of a compilation doesn't really count to me, mostly because it just gets too out of hand. Would we than have to list the system for Sonic the Hedgehog as Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, GBA, PSP, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and iPhone? Maybe for some people, but for me it's a Genesis game that's been ported a bunch of times. If you're adding it to a list, I don't know why you wouldn't use the original, and much more commonly referenced game. See what I'm saying?

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Eh, again here I think is a matter of opinion. In my eyes, if you were to talk about Chrono Trigger, you would say it is a SNES game, not a PlayStation game, and I think that would be the first thought in anyone's head. Being on PlayStation as part of a compilation doesn't really count to me, mostly because it just gets too out of hand.


What I'm pointing out wasn't a matter of opinion. You were correcting someone by saying that the game wasn't released outside of Japan on the Playstation. Part of a compilation or not doesn't matter. I do understand it's a SNES game and not a Playstation game first and foremost- but that wasn't what I was talking about.

And no I wasn't implying that you should name every system a game was released on. In fact I didn't say anything of the like. I agree that the 1st system a game was released for, should be the one listed next to the title.

[Kroogah]

I think it's difficult to make a list like this comparable to a list containing works of great literature because most great books, in some way, paint a picture of the human condition that is meaningful to anyone willing to read the book. All books are full of ideas, even if they're horrible ones--the entire book takes place in your own head. Video games, however, only need to waste your time in a satisfactory manner to be successful. Ideas and imagination are a requirement for books, but usually just an afterthought for games. I can imagine that Mario is saving the princess for some heroic reason, but that story is one that I create for myself in my head to enhance my enjoyment of the game. Most of the video games I've played which were meaningful in a similar way were the ones which were closest to books in terms of presentation, like RPGs and text adventures, so I could see creating a list of story-driven games which had a desire to convey more than just entertainment to the people who played them. I just don't see a game like the first Zelda as anything more than some guy wandering around looking for some lady--the game itself, without the instruction manual, never seemed to elaborate on that. "Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president?" That's all you need as a premise for a game about punching a lot of random people. Try summarizing any great work of literature in one sentence and you'll lose most of what made it so great. Sure, there was a lot of effort put into making a lot of the games I loved growing up, but most of that effort was put into coding, artistic development, the creation of game mechanics, and music composition. Unless you're making an RPG or an adventure game, story is generally something you add just to give your game character and help the art directors create something visually interesting. This is especially true for most of the classics. I'm playing Dragon Warrior right now, and the story so far consists of me wandering around killing things. I love it, but it isn't high art--it's just fun.

Whut he sayed. Video games are more of a "Top 100" medium than a "Canon" medium.

[Ed Oscuro]

Why, exactly?
Of course? No. And how many people have actually tried to read Joyce? That's like saying that to be well-versed in video games, you have to finish [insert name of utterly horrible console or arcade game here] without dying, or something.
You just made me think of an interesting point, "canon" is very genre-specific.

I could talk about the canon of sci-fi, or (whittling it down) the canon of space opera, which is a subgenre within various genres (epics and science fiction come to mind). We could go from Doc E.E. Smith to...well, whatever the newer stuff is. There's a pretty clear lineage from one point to the next, and you can cover alternate or parallel paths without too much fuss.

Something like a "canon of all video games" is going to be no less contentious than doing the same for literature, because, as you note, some people think Joyce is wonderful, while other people think the story about some guy wandering around Dublin is meaningless and undeserving of a place alongside other greats (and that's just a novel he wrote which is readable!). While it obviously has had great influence, so have many other works, and so it becomes a tricky issue determining who belongs where on the canon.

Personally I think it makes the most sense just to go with a narrow focus, which works well for games because many elements are readily traced back to a specific starting point, as game innovations seem (though it may be a false belief) much more identifiable than attempting to sort out what may or may not have been floating through any given author's mind when they wrote something, and whether it's really fair to claim a work that everybody has heard of but nobody has read is deserving of a popular legacy - literature suffers more from spoilers than game criticism has, at least so far.

[Jehusephat]

I only made it about 2/3's the way through The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, before dying myself. I kept waiting for it to get good or have a point, but all that must have happened in the last third. Although I'm sure many would disagree with me. Has another man ever wielded the power of an adjective laden sentence so appropriately? I think not!

I absolutely HATED that book. I had really high hopes for it, too, after having heard so much about it. When I told other people I knew that I didn't like it, they just said I wasn't grasping the concept behind it. I understand it was a stream-of-consciousness thing, but when I think, I certainly don't think like that. My internal monologue uses punctuation.

[backguard]

My idea is to put together a list of games that everyone should play if they want to be able to sit down and really look critically at a new game, or to really understand the history of video gaming, or that a game developer should play before creating a game.

I really didn't like Bioshock but I agree that it should be on there. :) I will add it.

Made some other changes too - removed from Zeldas/Marios; added some older stuff as suggested (Pong, Asteroids Etc.); added Doom, Zork, Starcraft, Bioshock and some other suggestions.

[murdoc rose]

this list would have to be huge and cross to many lines to tell

however if we want to try first work on cutting out the doubles no need to list ff1 and dragon warrior there the same game, street fighter covers all the 2d fighters youll need. gta 1 and 3 should be listed but there the only 2 that are needed.

well some things I feel should be added are
alot more pre nes games the 2600 is a fine place to start then work you way to pc games of the era.
Remember there is sometimes a huge difference between the arcade and home
Id like to see uninvited listed
runescape (pc)
Morrowind (pc) is alot more inovative than the xbox version
half life was mentioned and does deserve to be on the list for all the games it has spawned though mods
the sims (pc) is a must
rouge gave the name to an entire gen of crap
idk were forgetting so much

[tom]

My idea is to put together a list of games that everyone should play if they want to be able to sit down and really look critically at a new game, or to really understand the history of video gaming, or that a game developer should play before creating a game.


It's nearly impossible, you gotta play/examine 100000s of game titles, you'd have to own every console, computer, arcade machine (or access to) on the planet, you need a worldwide team to do this. Then you get different opinions, so it's useless for starters. I'd say two canon on VCS are Amidar and Super Cobra, alone for the different programming techniques used, would you agree?

[Jisho23]

I do like this concept... but its vague. If it were genre specific, that would be possible. If you were trying to pick "influential" games, that would be even better. Are we allowing only one entry per series (which is a bad idea)?

The problem with making a canon is that it can sometimes take 50+ YEARS for something be solidified in its medium as a classic. There are some games that are no brainers, but even for stuff from the last generation of consoles+PC needs more time to settle.

I say we splinter this off into genre and era, then maybe we can accomplish something.

[Jorpho]

My idea is to put together a list of games that everyone should play if they want to be able to sit down and really look critically at a new game, or to really understand the history of video gaming, or that a game developer should play before creating a game.Why not, you know, just play the games that you actually enjoy playing? If you really want to understand the history of music, should you force yourself to listen to hours of music that you don't particularly like?

And the best thing a game developer can do before creating a game is to learn how to freakin' program.

[Jisho23]

Why not, you know, just play the games that you actually enjoy playing? If you really want to understand the history of music, should you force yourself to listen to hours of music that you don't particularly like?

And the best thing a game developer can do before creating a game is to learn how to freakin' program.

Actually... if you want to understand the history of music you do have to force yourself to listen to music you don't like. And you don't have to like the music after listening to it but you do have to understand why it is important.

[Ed Oscuro]

Or you could do what I suggested, which is just stick to a genre - makes the whole tracing of roots thing much simpler. As far as stuff one doesn't like...well, I think with the wide availability of older games, everybody is bound to rub up against games they don't particularly like from time to time, and get a basic understanding without needing to actually play them in depth.