The gaming industry is now one of the most profitable industries around, with hundreds of billions of dollars being generated year after year. Despite the wide variety of games that are on offer these days though, much of this success can be attributed to only a handful of franchises, which, between them, have now sold well over two billion units during their lifetimes.
Over the past two or three decades, these genre-defining franchises have paved the way for smaller games and series, while also becoming incredibly popular in the process. With each now made up of multiple installments, however, deciding which of a franchise's games is the best is far from easy and has sparked many fierce debates among their respective fandoms.
Pokemon Gold & Silver are the Best Pokemon Games
- Honorable Mentions: Pokemon Red & Blue, Pokemon X & Y & Pokemon Diamond & Pearl
Following the runaway success of Pokemon Red, Green & Blue, the team over at Game Freak was faced with the unenviable task of developing a sequel. At the time, nobody really knew what a new Pokemon game was going to look like, nor was there any real certainty that the second generation games could come close to matching the success of their predecessors. Ultimately, Pokemon Gold & Silver didn't sell quite as many copies as Red, Green & Blue, but they did offer improvements in just about every possible area.
The games featured a brand new region and 100 additional Pokemon, which would go on to become the standard for all subsequent sequels. They also allowed players to return to the Kanto region after completing the main story, where they could then challenge the original gym leaders and Elite Four as well as the main protagonist from the first games. In addition to this, Gold & Silver players could obtain 82% of the series' available Pokemon without the need for trading, a percentage which remains higher than in any subsequent generation to this day.
Sonic Mania is the Best Sonic Game
- Honorable Mentions: Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Adventure 2 & Sonic Generations
No long-running video game franchise struggled with the leap to 3D quite as much as Sonic the Hedgehog. Granted, the Sonic Adventure games were both pretty good, but much of what's followed over the coming decades has failed to impress series fans. Sonic Generations is arguably the best 3D Sonic game, which is somewhat ironic given that it incorporates a mixture of both 2D and 3D stages. If nothing else, the success of Generations highlighted the demand for a new 2D Sonic game, which is ultimately what led to Sonic Mania.
Unlike other modern Sonic games, Sonic Mania was not developed by Sonic Team, with a group of talented fans and ROM hackers instead taking up the mantle. The resulting game ended up being the highest-rated Sonic game in more than a decade, not to mention one of the most enjoyable. The sprite work is impeccable throughout and the stage design and music are top notch too. Perhaps the most noticeable thing about Sonic Mania, however, is that it's a lot of fun to play, which hasn't always been the case with other modern Sonic games.
Breath of the Wild is the Best Legend of Zelda Game
- Honorable Mentions: Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past & The Wind Waker
In many ways, trying to decide which is the best Zelda game is the equivalent of a parent being asked to choose which of their children they love the most. This is because like no other series out there, The Legend of Zelda is constantly reinventing itself with each new entry, ensuring that each of its many installments is special and lovable in its own unique ways. However, it's impossible to ignore the masterful composition of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, nor can the sheer scale of the adventure that's on offer be overlooked.
Weapon durability aside, Breath of the Wild is more or less the perfect game. It's got a great story, excellent puzzles, and, perhaps most impressively, is visually stunning despite the graphical limitations of the Wii U and Switch. This all combines to create a world in which it is all too easy to lose oneself in the very best possible way. There are secrets scattered right throughout Hyrule, encouraging and rewarding exploration rather than the open world just being big for the sake of being big.
Modern Warfare 2 is the Best Call of Duty Game
- Honorable Mentions: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Black Ops & Call of Duty
The original Modern Warfare was fantastic in its own right, but its 2009 sequel just about edges it out thanks to its fantastic single-player campaign. It came at a time when the developers of FPS games were beginning to shift their focus toward online multiplayer, which has led to a gradual yet constant decline in the quality of single-player FPS experiences in the years since. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has no such issue, however, boasting what is arguably the very best Call of Duty campaign of all time.
Such was the popularity of Modern Warfare 2's campaign that a remastered version was released in 2020. Sadly, this version didn't include the original game's multiplayer mode, which was also incredibly enjoyable. Black Ops arguably has it beat when it comes to gameplay and memorable maps, but being able to return to locations from the single-player campaign was a real treat nonetheless, especially the Terminal map from the iconic and controversial "No Russian" mission.
Super Mario 64 is the Best Mario Game
- Honorable Mentions: Super Mario World, Super Mario Odyssey & Super Mario Bros.
There's a reason why Mario is one of the most recognizable video game characters of all time, and, spoiler alert, it has nothing to do with his glorious mustache. The Italian plumber's debut title helped to reinvigorate the home console market following the 1983 video game crash. So much so, in fact, that many parents began referring to video games simply as "Nintendo" for much of the early nineties. Subsequent Super Mario games would perfect the platforming formula, but the most technically impressive of the bunch is arguably Super Mario 64.
One of only three launch titles for the N64 in Japan, Super Mario 64 was the first proper 3D Mario game and the first platformer that really managed to nail 3D movement. The game's camera controls may not have aged too well, but Mario remains as responsive as ever and the game is still a blast to play as a result. Mario 64 also helped to pave the way for other great 3D platformers like Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64, as well as all future Mario games.
Metal Gear Solid 2 is the Best Metal Gear Game
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- Honorable Mentions: Metal Gear Solid 3, Metal Gear Solid & Metal Gear Solid 4
As much as people love to laud the first Metal Gear game these days, Hideo Kojima's ground-breaking series didn't really start to find its feet until Metal Gear Solid was released in 1998. From there, the franchise quickly blossomed into one of the most influential IPs in gaming, with immersive storytelling, advanced enemy AI, and stealth-based gameplay just a few of the things that the games helped to pioneer. There's a strong argument to be made for each of the first four Metal Gear Solid games being the best that the series has to offer, but most consider Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty to be at the top of the pile.
The leap from PS1 to PS2 allowed Kojima and his team to make some pretty big improvements, not just to the game's visuals, but also to the way that enemies behaved. The decision to switch Snake out for Raiden during the early stages of the game was a masterful one too, though it did prove to be somewhat controversial with both fans and critics around the time of the game's release. In terms of the story, the themes and ideas explored are a lot more mature this time around, encouraging players to think about a variety of poignant issues as they make their way through the game.
Super Metroid is the Best Metroid Game
- Honorable Mentions: Metroid Prime, Metal Dread & Metroid Fusion
When it comes to consistency, few video game franchises can measure up to Metroid. Spin-offs aside, it's difficult to think of a bad Metroid game, which is an impressive feat indeed for a series that has now been around for more than three-and-a-half decades. Whether 2D or 3D Metroid, each game perfectly captures the feelings of dread and isolation for which the franchise is best known. Well. That and nonlinear gameplay, which typically weaves together both exploration and platforming in a seamless and masterful manner.
Of the 13 mainline Metroid games released over the years, a few stand out more than most. 2021's Metroid Dread and the series' first 3D installment are two such games, but neither is quite able to match the brilliance of Super Metroid for the Super Nintendo. This beautifully presented 2D platformer has it all and helped to cement the series' place as one of gaming's biggest franchises. Together with Capcom's Castlevania series, its nonlinear level design went on to inspire an entire genre of video games and is also a big part of what makes the game so popular with speedrunners.
Final Fantasy 10 is the Best Final Fantasy Game
- Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 6 & Final Fantasy 9
Although Final Fantasy remains one of gaming's biggest franchises, it would perhaps be fair to say that the series has lost its way a little in recent years. Over the past two decades, fans have only received three new mainline Final Fantasy games, none of which has really come close to matching the quality of its predecessors. This is made all the more frustrating by the fact that the seven years between 1994 and 2001 saw five fantastic Final Fantasy games released, the last, and arguably best of which was Final Fantasy 10.
Some will no doubt point to the incredible story of Final Fantasy 6 or the memorable characters from Final Fantasy 7 when faced with this opinion, and these are certainly elements that are worthy of great praise. However, as a complete package, Final Fantasy 10 really does have it all, from its wonderful cast of characters to its intricate yet deliberate storytelling techniques. This is all held together by one of the most beautiful video game soundtracks of all time, with series composer Nobuo Uematsu's score perfectly reflecting the themes and emotions found throughout the game's narrative.
Street Fighter 2 Turbo is the Best Street Fighter Game
- Honorable Mentions: Ultra Street Fighter 4, Street Fighter Alpha 3 & Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition
Other than perhaps Yu Suzuki's Virtua Fighter series, it's difficult to think of a fighting game franchise that's had quite as big an impact on the genre as Street Fighter. That's because there probably isn't one, with Capcom's ever-present franchise having constantly redefined both itself and its genre over the past three-and-a-half decades. It was Street Fighter 2 that made the biggest impression, however, helping not only to secure the franchise's position as king of all early nineties arcades but also to bring the fighting game genre to home consoles.
Multiple versions of the game were released throughout the nineties, but most consider Street Fighter 2 Turbo to be the most well-balanced. In addition to four new playable characters for a grand total of twelve, the game also introduced a faster playing speed as well as new special moves for all but a handful of characters. Many of the improvements from the Champion Edition of the game were also included, as too were new default palettes for 11 of the 12 playable fighters (M. Bison being the exception). When it comes to 2D fighting games, they really don't come much better than this.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is the Best Grand Theft Auto Game
- Honorable Mentions: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto 4 & Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
There have been some great Grand Theft Auto games over the years, including the original 3D trilogy which helped to shape and define the open world genre. However, when it comes to sticking power, none can compete with the juggernaut that is Grand Theft Auto 5. The game has now been released across three different console generations and has sold more than 165 million units worldwide, making it the second-best selling video game of all time behind only Minecraft. For those wondering, that's almost more than every other GTA game combined.
The fact that people are still playing Grand Theft Auto 5 almost a full decade on from its original release is a testament to just how good the game and its online components really are. To put that into perspective, the first eight GTA games were released over the course of 11 years, while the past 11 have seen only one. Sure, some of this is down to video games taking longer to develop these days, but a big part can be attributed to the continued success of Grand Theft Auto 5 and Grand Theft Auto Online​​​​​​.