The Essential 100
Publication Region: North America
Published: 2012
Cut-Off: December 31, 2011
See Also: 1UP (2004) | 1UP (2012)
- 1. Super Mario Bros.
- 2. Dungeons & Dragons (Tabletop)
- 3. Street Fighter II
- 4. Tetris
- 5. Super Mario 64
- 6. Grand Theft Auto III
- 7. Halo: Combat Evolved
- 8. Final Fantasy VII
- 9. Doom (1993)
- 10. Wii Sports
- 11. Pong
- 12. Dragon Warrior
- 13. Pac-Man
- 14. The Legend of Zelda
- 15. World of Warcraft
- 16. Metal Gear Solid
- 17. Pokemon Blue/Red/Yellow
Ranked As: Pokemon Blue/Red/Yellow (1998) / Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen (2004) - 18. Space Invaders
- 19. Half-Life
- 20. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- 21. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- 22. Mortal Kombat (1992)
- 23. Wolfenstein 3D
- 24. Quake
- 25. GoldenEye 007
- 26. Diablo
- 27. Super Metroid
- 28. Resident Evil (1996)
Ranked As: Resident Evil (1996) / Resident Evil (2002) - 29. Final Fantasy IV (AKA Final Fantasy II [US])
- 30. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- 31. Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
- 32. StarCraft
- 33. The Sims
- 34. Baldur’s Gate
- 35. Sonic the Hedgehog
- 36. Donkey Kong
- 37. John Madden Football
Ranked As: Madden NFL Football (Series) - 38. Resident Evil 4
- 39. Rogue
- 40. Angry Birds
- 41. Wizardry
- 42. Gran Turismo
- 43. Ultima Online
- 44. SimCity
- 45. Zork
- 46. Spacewar!
- 47. Guitar Hero
Ranked As: Guitar Hero (Series) - 48. Colossal Cave Adventure
- 49. Super Mario Kart
- 50. Civilization
- 51. Devil May Cry
- 52. Final Fantasy
- 53. Chrono Trigger
- 54. Metroid
- 55. Shenmue
- 56. Gears of War
- 57. EverQuest
- 58. FarmVille
- 59. Warcraft: Orcs & Humans
- 60. Bejeweled
- 61. System Shock
- 62. The Secret of Monkey Island
- 63. Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty
- 64. Resident Evil 2 (1998)
Ranked As: Resident Evil 2 (1998) / Resident Evil 2 (2019) - 65. Mass Effect
- 66. Command & Conquer: Red Alert
- 67. Ms. Pac-Man
- 68. PaRappa the Rapper
- 69. Virtua Fighter
- 70. Deus Ex
- 71. Silent Hill 2
- 72. Mega Man 2
- 73. BioShock
- 74. King’s Quest
- 75. EarthBound
- 76. Portal
- 77. Tecmo Bowl
Ranked As: Tecmo Bowl (Series) - 78. Mystery House
- 79. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial
- 80. Double Dragon
- 81. Maniac Mansion
- 82. Fallout
- 83. Contra (AKA Probotector)
- 84. Monster Hunter
- 85. Minecraft
- 86. Dance Dance Revolution
Ranked As: Dance Dance Revolution (Series) - 87. Shining Force
- 88. Tomb Raider (1996)
- 89. Myst
- 90. X-COM: UFO Defense (AKA UFO: Enemy Unknown)
- 91. Counter-Strike
- 92. Secret of Mana
- 93. Cave Story
- 94. Rez
Ranked As: Rez (2002) / Rez Infinite (2016) - 95. Jet Grind Radio (AKA Jet Set Radio)
- 96. Asteroids
- 97. Pitfall!
- 98. Phantasy Star Online
- 99. Out of This World (AKA Another World)
- 100. MULE