What are some of the best regarded video game franchises of all time?Fallout, Final Fantasy,andCall of Dutyall seem like surefire bets rights? Those are all big games, but funnily enough they don’t appear that many times in the top 200 on Metacritic. There are plenty of obvious franchise that do appear though. The following was comprised of one issue of a game only.
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For example, if every version ofGrand Theft Auto Vwere in the top 200, only the top entry was counted. It should also be noted that there were a lot of ties for this list with franchises having three games. To break the ties they were averaged out to see what series qualified the most. The order then is ranked from the least amount of games to the most.
10Madden NFL
Madden NFLappears three times in Metacritic’s top 200 list as of right now.Madden NFL 2003is the best ranked football game in this series with a 95. The other two games are tied with 94s. Those would beMadden NFL 2002andMadden NFL 2004. It seems like this three year span was the best year overall for the franchise and it has seen diminishing returns since.
9Gran Turismo
Gran Turismoappears three times in Metacritic’s top 200 list as of right now.Gran Turismohas always been thought of as a console showpiece for the PlayStation consoles in terms of graphics. This was was true for the first game which got a 96 on PS1.
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The next highest was the third on PS2 followed by the second game on PS1. Are they still as influential for the PlayStation brand? They are, but other racing games have sort of sucked the wind out of their sails thanks to more consistent releases like with Microsoft’sForzaMotorsportfranchise.
8Halo
Haloappears three times in Metacritic’s top 200 list as of right now. Theoriginal release on Xboxis still ranked the best game in the series with a 97. After that is the second game with a 95 followed by the third with a 94. Those first three were influential for shooters to be accepted on consoles. Before that the genre was thought of as impossible to emulate on consoles compared to PCs.
7Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skaterappears three times in Metacritic’s top 200 list as of right now. The PS1 version ofTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2is the second best rated game of all time on Metacritic with a 98. Multiple versions of that game actually hit the top 200 including the Game Boy Advance version. Extra trivia aside,Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3got a 97. The last game then isTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4with a 94.
6God Of War
God of Warappears four times in Metacritic’s top 200 list as of right now. The 2018 reboot ofGod of Waralong with the very first game are tied at a 94. After that is the second game with a 93 followed byGod of War 3with a 92. Given these numbers it would be interesting to see if the nextGod of War, thought to be calledRagnarok,will get tied withGod of War 2at a 93.
5Half-Life
Half-Lifeappears five times in Metacritic’s top 200 list as of right now although that number might be contested. Without a doubt the top two games areHalf-LifeandHalf-Life 2with 96s. Also in the 96 bracket isThe Orange Bracketwhich includes the entirety ofHalf-Life 2and its two episodes along withPortalandTeam Fortress 2. AsPortalis at least connected to the universe,The Orange Boxshould count. That said, so too shouldPortal 2with a 95. The last game then is the latest with the VR exclusive,Half-Life: Alyxwith a 93.
4Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solidappears five times in Metacritic’s top 200 list as of right now.Metal Gear Solid 2is the top rated game in the series with a 96. After that is the latest main entry,Metal Gear Solid Vwith a 95. The other three are all tied with 94s and include the first game, theSubsistenceversion ofMetal Gear Solid 3, andMetal Gear Solid 4. Among those games,Metal Gear Solid 4is the one still stuck on PS3 as the others have been ported more times than one can count and or at least available on multiple consoles in the case of the latest entry.
3Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Autoappears six times in Metacritic’s top 200 list as of right now. The top rated game in the series isGrand Theft Auto IV. The PS3 version of that game is the third best rated game of all time on Metacritic with a 98.
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That was closely followed byGrand Theft Auto VandGrand Theft Auto IIIwhich are tied at 97. After that isSan AndreasandVice Citytied at 95. The last game is the often forgotten portable spinoff,Chinatown Warswhich got a 93.
2The Legend Of Zelda
The Legend Of Zeldaappears seven times in Metacritic’s top 200 list as of right now. Twenty plus years later,Ocarina of Timeis still the top rated game on the website with a 99. After that isBreath of the Wildwith a 97 followed byTwilight PrincessandThe Wind Wakerboth tied at 96. Next the Game Boy Advance port ofA Link to the Pastand thenMajora’s Maskwhich both got a 95. The last game then isSkyward Swordwith a 93.
1Mario
Mario appears eight times in Metacritic’s top 200 list as of right now. The top three games tied at 97 areSuper Mario Galaxy,Super Mario Galaxy 2, andSuper Mario Odyssey. Next, tied at 94, there isSuper Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3which was basically the Game Boy Advance port of the SNES version ofSuper Mario Bros. 3as well asSuper Mario 64. The last three then are tied at 93 and areSuper Mario 3D World,Mario Kart Super Circuit, andPaper Mario.
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