Japanese Gamers Vote For Their Top 100 Games Ever

TV Asahi, a Japanese television network, aired a TV special listing the top 100 games of all time, as voted for by 50,000 Japanese gamers. The list generated some unexpected surprises. Check out the complete list below.

100. Persona 3
99. Pokemon Platinum Version
98. Persona 4
97. Super Mario World
96. Romance of the Three Kingdoms
95. MOTHER
94. Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
93. Persona 5 Royal
92. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
91. Street Fighter II
90. Final Fantasy VIII
89. Super Mario Galaxy 2
88. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
87. Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
86. Monster Hunter
85. Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation
84. Final Fantasy XI
83. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past
82. Legend of Mana
81. Dragon Quest Builders 2
80. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
79. Metal Gear Solid
78. Nobunaga’s Ambition: Zenkokuban
77. Mario Kart Wii
76. Kirby Air Ride
75. Animal Crossing: Wild World
74. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
73. Gran Turismo 4
72. Kirby Super Star
71. Dr. Mario
70. Monster Hunter: World
69. Super Mario RPG
68. Pokemon X / Y
67. Bloodborne
66. Ghost of Tsushima
65. Suikoden
64. Pokemon Heart Gold / Soul Silver
63. Final Fantasy III
62. Xevious
61. Super Smash Bros.
60. Pokemon Black 2 / White 2
59. Dead by Daylight
58. Animal Crossing
57. Super Donkey Kong
56. Super Mario Galaxy
55. Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits / Fleshy Souls / Psychic Specters
54. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
53. Tales of the Abyss
52. The Legend of Zelda
51. Final Fantasy IV
50. Pokemon Ruby / Sapphire
49. Kingdom Hearts
48. NieR: Automata
47. Final Fantasy XIV
46. Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line
45. Kirby’s Return to Dream Land
44. Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Online
43. Xenoblade
42. Persona 5
41. Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa Heisei Reiwa mo Teiban!
40. Xenogears
39. Dark Souls III
38. Puyo Puyo
37. Final Fantasy IX
36. Pokemon Gold / Silver
35. Xenoblade 2
34. Final Fantasy V
33. Final Fantasy VI
32. Biohazard
31. Tactics Ogre
30. Apex Legends
29. Okami
28. MOTHER 2
27. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
26. Pokemon Black / White
25. Tetris
24. Pokemon Red / Green / Blue
23. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
22. Animal Crossing: New Leaf
21. Splatoon
20. Minecraft
19. Suikoden II
18. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
17. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
16. Kingdom Hearts II
15. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
14. Pokemon Sword / Shield
13. UNDERTALE
12. Super Mario Kart
11. Pokemon Diamond / Pearl
10. Super Mario Bros. 3
9. Final Fantasy X
8. Chrono Trigger
7. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
6. Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation
5. Splatoon 2
4. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
3. Final Fantasy VII
2. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Obviously, there are staples such as Final Fantasy VII in the top 10 but Breath of the Wild being ranked number one shows the massive influence that game has had since it launched with the Nintendo Switch. Interestingly, Monster Hunter which has dominated sales in Japan for over a decade, tops out at 70th on the list. What’s even more interesting is that Monster Hunter: World is the game that Japanese gamers ranked highest. Monster Hunter: World was a departure for the series as it was changed to cater to a western audience. Something that many fans of the core franchise did not like. However, it looks like the changes have been embraced by Japanese gamers as it ranks 16 places above the next highest game in the franchise.

The rest of the list is naturally dominated by JRPGs which shows the massive popularity and staying power of that genre in Japan.

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