It’s something of a rare occurrence for journalists in Japan to produce a list of the best games of all time. Typically, this process is turned over to the public, with the results hinging on huge write-in campaigns from passionate fans across the country. Such was the case earlier this week, when TV Asahi aired “50,000 People Vote! The Video Game General Election” just after Christmas.
As you might have guessed from the name of the special, TV Asahi polled more than 50,000 viewers to create their list. You’ll probably also be unsurprised to find out that games from Japanese developers dominated the Top 100. Nintendo-published titles accounted for nearly half the list (42 in all) and Square Enix (with 25 entries) wasn’t too far behind.
Stepping beyond those two powerhouses, you’ll find a smattering of games from Atlus (including Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal), as well as a handful from Capcom (most notably, a quartet of games from the Monster Hunter series). In the end, just six titles from the list were developed outside of Japan (Respawn’s Apex Legends, Behavior’s Dead By Daylight, Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima, Mojang’s Minecraft, Alexey Pajitnov’s Tetris, and Toby Fox’s Undertale).
The full list was helpfully transcribed by Famitsu, and you can find it below (North American translations are used when available).
TV Asahi
50,000 People Vote! The Video Game General Election
- 1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- 2. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
- 3. Final Fantasy VII
- 4. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- 5. Splatoon 2
- 6. Dragon Warrior III
- 7. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- 8. Chrono Trigger
- 9. Final Fantasy X
- 10. Super Mario Bros. 3
- 11. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
- 12. Super Mario Kart
- 13. Undertale
- 14. Pokemon Sword/Shield
- 15. Dragon Warrior IV
- 16. Kingdom Hearts II
- 17. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- 18. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
- 19. Suikoden II
- 20. Minecraft
- 21. Splatoon
- 22. Animal Crossing: New Leaf
- 23. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- 24. Pokemon Red/Green
- 25. Tetris
- 26. Pokemon Black/White
- 27. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
- 28. EarthBound (AKA Mother 2)
- 29. Okami
- 30. Apex Legends
- 31. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
- 32. Resident Evil (1996)
- 33. Final Fantasy VI (AKA Final Fantasy III [US])
- 34. Final Fantasy V
- 35. Xenoblade Chronicles 2
- 36. Pokemon Gold/Silver
- 37. Final Fantasy IX
- 38. Puyo Puyo (AKA Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine AKA Kirby Avalanche)
- 39. Dark Souls III
- 40. Xenogears
- 41. Momotaro Electric Railway: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa Mo Teiban!
- 42. Persona 5
- 43. Xenoblade Chronicles
- 44. Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Online
- 45. Kirby’s Return to Dream Land
- 46. Dragon Warrior II
- 47. Final Fantasy XIV
- 48. Nier: Automata
- 49. Kingdom Hearts
- 50. Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire
- 51. Final Fantasy IV (AKA Final Fantasy II [US])
- 52. The Legend of Zelda
- 53. Tales of the Abyss
- 54. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
- 55. Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits/Fleshy Souls/Psychic Specters
- 56. Super Mario Galaxy
- 57. Donkey Kong Country
- 58. Animal Crossing (GameCube)
- 59. Dead By Daylight
- 60. Pokemon Black 2/White 2
- 61. Super Smash Bros.
- 62. Xevious
- 63. Final Fantasy III
- 64. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver
- 65. Suikoden
- 66. Ghost of Tsushima
- 67. Bloodborne
- 68. Pokemon X/Y
- 69. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
- 70. Monster Hunter: World
- 71. Dr. Mario
- 72. Kirby Super Star
- 73. Gran Turismo 4
- 74. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- 75. Animal Crossing (Nintendo 64)
- 76. Kirby Air Ride
- 77. Mario Kart Wii
- 78. Nobunaga’s Ambition
- 79. Metal Gear Solid
- 80. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
- 81. Dragon Quest Builders 2
- 82. Legend of Mana
- 83. Dragon Warrior VII
- 84. Final Fantasy XI
- 85. Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation
- 86. Monster Hunter
- 87. Monster Hunter Generations
- 88. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
- 89. Super Mario Galaxy 2
- 90. Final Fantasy VIII
- 91. Street Fighter II
- 92. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
- 93. Persona 5 Royal
- 94. Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
- 95. EarthBound Beginnings (AKA Mother)
- 96. Romance of the Three Kingdoms
- 97. Super Mario World
- 98. Persona 4
- 99. Pokemon Platinum
- 100. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3