Next Generation (1996)

Top 100 Games of All Time
Publication Region: North America
Published: September 1996 (Issue #21)
Cut-Off: September 30, 1996

  • 1. Super Mario 64
  • 2. Tetris
  • 3. Super Bomberman 2
  • 4. Civilization (Series)
    Ranked As: Civilization and Civilization II
  • 5. Mario (Series)
    Ranked As: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World
  • 6. Virtua Fighter 2
  • 7. Street Fighter II
  • 8. Lemmings
  • 9. Quake
  • 10. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
  • 11. Virtua Racing
  • 12. Ms. Pac-Man
  • 13. Defender
  • 14. Elite
  • 15. Marble Madness
  • 16. Populous (Series)
    Ranked As: Populous and Populous II
  • 17. Final Fantasy (Series)
    Ranked As: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy IV (AKA Final Fantasy II [US]), and Final Fantasy VI (AKA Final Fantasy III [US])
  • 18. Micro Machines
  • 19. Doom (Series)
    Ranked As: Doom (1993) and Doom II
  • 20. Sonic (Series)
    Ranked As: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic and Knuckles, and Sonic CD
  • 21. Daytona USA
  • 22. Tekken 2
  • 23. Star Wars: X-Wing / Star Wars: TIE Fighter
  • 24. The Lurking Horror
  • 25. Nights Into Dreams
  • 26. X-COM: UFO Defense (AKA UFO: Enemy Unknown)
  • 27. Sam & Max Hit the Road
  • 28. NFL GameDay
    Ranked As: NFL GameDay (Series)

  • 29. Syndicate
  • 30. Madden Football (Series)
    Ranked As: Madden NFL Football (Series)
  • 31. Herzog Zwei
  • 32. Wipeout XL (AKA Wipeout 2097)
  • 33. SimCity 2000
  • 34. Nobunaga’s Ambition (Series)
    Ranked As: Nobunaga’s Ambition, Nobunaga’s Ambition II, and Nobunaga’s Ambition: Lord of Darkness
  • 35. Duke Nukem 3D
  • 36. Rescue Raiders
  • 37. Super Mario Kart
  • 38. Zork
  • 39. Asteroids
  • 40. NHL Powerplay ’96
    Ranked As: NHL Powerplay (Series)
  • 41. Snake
  • 42. EF 2000
  • 43. Rolling Thunder
  • 44. Spectre VR
  • 45. OutRun
  • 46. Grand Prix 2
  • 47. Sega Worldwide Soccer 97
  • 48. World Series Baseball
  • 49. Command & Conquer
  • 50. Donkey Kong
  • 51. Panzer General
  • 52. Spaceward Ho!
  • 53. The Sentinel
  • 54. MechWarrior 2
  • 55. Ultima (Series)
    Ranked As: Ultima, Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress, Ultima III: Exodus, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar, Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny, Ultima VI: The False Prophet, Ultima VII: The Black Gate, Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle, Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, and Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds
  • 56. Dragon Warrior (Series)
    Ranked As: Dragon Warrior, Dragon Warrior II, Dragon Warrior III, and Dragon Warrior IV
  • 57. Sega Rally Championship
  • 58. Star Wars: The Arcade Game
  • 59. Super Sprint
  • 60. Wizardry (Series)
    Ranked As: Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, Wizardry II: The Knight of Diamonds, Wizardry III: Legacy of Llylgamyn, Wizardry IV: The Return of Werdna, Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom, Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge, and Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant
  • 61. Ikari Warriors
  • 62. Bard’s Tale (Series)
    Ranked As: The Bard’s Tale, The Bard’s Tale II: The Destiny Knight, and The Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate
  • 63. Robotron 2084
  • 64. Zelda (Series)
    Ranked As: The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
  • 65. Bump N Jump
  • 66. A Mind Forever Voyaging
  • 67. F/A-18 Hornet 2.0
  • 68. Pong
  • 69. Links
    Ranked As: Links (Series)
  • 70. Metroid (Series)
    Ranked As: Metroid and Super Metroid
  • 71. FIFA Soccer
    Ranked As: FIFA Soccer (Series)
  • 72. Phantasy Star (Series)
    Ranked As: Phantasy Star, Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom, and Phantasy Star IV
  • 73. Jane’s AH-64D Longbow
  • 74. Tempest
  • 75. Balance of Power
  • 76. NBA Live 96
  • 77. Shining Force (Series)
    Ranked As: Shining Force and Shining Force II
  • 78. Track & Field (Series)
    Ranked As: Track & Field (Series)
  • 79. King’s Quest (Series)
    Ranked As: King’s Quest, King’s Quest II: Romancing the Throne, King’s Quest III: To Heir Is Human, King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella, King’s Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!, King’s Quest VI: Heir Today Gone Tomorrow, and King’s Quest VII: The Princeless Bride
  • 80. Falcon 3.0 (AKA Falcon Gold)
  • 81. River Raid
  • 82. Virtua Cop (Series)
    Ranked As: Virtua Cop and Virtua Cop 2
  • 83. Joust
  • 84. Centipede
  • 85. Leisure Suit Larry (Series)
    Ranked As: Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places), Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals, Leisure Suit Larry 5: Passionate Patti Does a Little Undercover Work, and Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out!
  • 86. Jumping Flash!
  • 87. Discs of Tron
  • 88. Knight Lore
  • 89. Summer Games / Winter Games / California Games
  • 90. Xevious
  • 91. Resident Evil (1996)
    Ranked As: Resident Evil (1996) / Resident Evil (2002)
  • 92. Hard Hat Mack
  • 93. Burning Force
  • 94. Rave Racer
  • 95. Strike (Series)
    Ranked As: Desert Strike, Jungle Strike, Soviet Strike, and Urban Strike
  • 96. Galaga
  • 97. Space Invaders
  • 98. R-Type
  • 99. NBA Jam (Series)
    Ranked As: NBA Jam (Series)
  • 100. Trinity