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.
