Ranking by year

The best games of 1998.

78 games compete in this selection. Metal Gear Solid tops it with 1,878 points: the ranking comes from player votes alone, and moves with every duel settled.

  1. 1 Metal Gear Solid 1998 · Action-adventure 1,878
  2. 2 StarCraft 1998 · Strategy 1,857
  3. 3 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 1998 · Action-adventure 1,853
  4. 4 Street Fighter Alpha 3 1998 · Fighting 1,853
  5. 5 Suikoden II 1998 · RPG 1,846
  6. 6 Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition 1998 · JRPG 1,844
  7. 7 Fallout 2 1998 · RPG 1,838
  8. 8 Half-Life 1998 · FPS 1,829
  9. 9 SoulCalibur 1998 · Fighting 1,811
  10. 10 Banjo-Kazooie 1998 · Platformer 1,796
  11. 11 Resident Evil 2 1998 · Horror 1,792
  12. 12 F-Zero X 1998 · Racing 1,785
  13. 13 Thief: The Dark Project 1998 · Action-adventure 1,778
  14. 14 Baldur's Gate 1998 · RPG 1,756
  15. 15 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX 1998 · Action-adventure 1,746
  16. 16 Xenogears 1998 · JRPG 1,701
  17. 17 Grim Fandango 1998 · Point-and-click 1,676
  18. 18 Spyro the Dragon 1998 · Platformer 1,665
  19. 19 Sonic Adventure 1998 · Platformer 1,655
  20. 20 Crash Bandicoot: Warped 1998 · Platformer 1,645
  21. 21 MediEvil 1998 · Action-adventure 1,589
  22. 22 Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines 1998 · Strategy 1,589
  23. 23 Unreal 1998 · FPS 1,586
  24. 24 Pokémon Trading Card Game 1998 · Card & Board 1,573
  25. 25 Heart of Darkness 1998 · Platformer 1,570
  26. 26 Mario Party 1998 · Card & Board 1,569
  27. 27 Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 1998 · TPS 1,553
  28. 28 Guilty Gear 1998 · Fighting 1,550
  29. 29 1080° Snowboarding 1998 · Sports 1,546
  30. 30 Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit 1998 · Racing 1,543
  31. 31 Metal Slug 2 1998 · Platformer 1,521
  32. 32 Anno 1602: Creation of a New World 1998 · Strategy 1,519
  33. 33 Tenchu: Stealth Assassins 1998 · Action-adventure 1,518
  34. 34 Tekken 3 1998 · Fighting 1,507
  35. 35 Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus 1998 · Platformer 1,500
  36. 36 Caesar III 1998 · Strategy 1,499
  37. 37 Parasite Eve 1998 · JRPG 1,495
  38. 38 The King of Fighters '98 1998 · Fighting 1,492
  39. 39 Wario Land II 1998 · Platformer 1,483
  40. 40 Turok 2: Seeds of Evil 1998 · FPS 1,476
  41. 41 Motocross Madness 1998 · Racing 1,475
  42. 42 Mega Man & Bass 1998 · Platformer 1,474
  43. 43 Sanitarium 1998 · Point-and-click 1,470
  44. 44 South Park 1998 · FPS 1,465
  45. 45 Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes 1998 · Fighting 1,464
  46. 46 Populous: The Beginning 1998 · Strategy 1,458
  47. 47 Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom 1998 · Strategy 1,458
  48. 48 Vigilante 8 1998 · Racing 1,455
  49. 49 Dune 2000 1998 · Strategy 1,454
  50. 50 Delta Force 1998 · FPS 1,454
  51. 51 Microsoft Spider Solitaire 1998 · Card & Board 1,453
  52. 52 Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft 1998 · TPS 1,452
  53. 53 Legend of Legaia 1998 · JRPG 1,448
  54. 54 The House of the Dead 2 1998 · FPS 1,443
  55. 55 Jazz Jackrabbit 2 1998 · Platformer 1,439
  56. 56 LSD: Dream Emulator 1998 · Horror 1,438
  57. 57 World Cup 98 1998 · Sports 1,437
  58. 58 Future Cop: LAPD 1998 · Shoot 'em up 1,427
  59. 59 Mission: Impossible 1998 · TPS 1,424
  60. 60 Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Mysteries of the Sith 1998 · FPS 1,420
  61. 61 Blood II: The Chosen 1998 · FPS 1,419
  62. 62 Colin McRae Rally 1998 · Racing 1,410
  63. 63 Glover 1998 · Platformer 1,408
  64. 64 Darkstalkers 3 1998 · Fighting 1,406
  65. 65 Star Ocean: The Second Story 1998 · JRPG 1,405
  66. 66 A Bug's Life 1998 · Platformer 1,404
  67. 67 Gex: Enter the Gecko 1998 · Platformer 1,399
  68. 68 R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 1998 · Racing 1,397
  69. 69 Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now 1998 · Racing 1,394
  70. 70 Twisted Metal III 1998 · Racing 1,377
  71. 71 FIFA 99 1998 · Sports 1,373
  72. 72 The Settlers III 1998 · Strategy 1,372
  73. 73 Snake 1998 · Arcade 1,372
  74. 74 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 1998 · FPS 1,369
  75. 75 Sonic R 1998 · Racing 1,363
  76. 76 SiN 1998 · FPS 1,358
  77. 77 Duke Nukem: Time to Kill 1998 · TPS 1,344
  78. 78 Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven 1998 · Action RPG 1,343

Filter, combine and travel back in time in the full ranking

Other rankings

Best games of 1990 Top games of 1991 Ranking of 1992 games The best games of 1993 Ranking of 1994 games Top games of 1995 Greatest games of 1996 The best games of 1997 The best games of 1999

In detail

The best games of 1998, what this ranking says

Metal Gear Solid leads this selection with 1,878 ELO points, ahead of StarCraft and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The 78 games competing in it have played 15,360 duels.

This selection in figures
Games competing in this selection 78
Duels played by those games 15,360
Game in the lead Metal Gear Solid (1998)
Score of the leading game, in ELO points 1,878
Point gap between 1st and 10th 82
Best represented genre Platformer
Last reading September 18, 2026

The best game of every genre in 1998

A selection is not read in one block: here is what leads each of its brackets.

The best game of every genre in 1998
Genre Games competing In the lead ELO score Duels played
Action-adventure 6 Metal Gear Solid 1,878 853
Strategy 8 StarCraft 1,857 426
Fighting 7 Street Fighter Alpha 3 1,853 83
JRPG 5 Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition 1,844 333
FPS 10 Half-Life 1,829 3,397
Platformer 13 Banjo-Kazooie 1,796 250
Racing 9 F-Zero X 1,785 109

What moved this week

The ranking changes with every duel settled. Over the past seven days, the score of 77 games in this selection moved.

What moved this week
Game Points gained in 7 days ELO score
Darkstalkers 3 +88 1,406
South Park +61 1,465
FIFA 99 +44 1,373

The most contested match-ups

These pairs of games have faced each other more than any others in this selection.

The most contested match-ups
Wins Against Duels played Win rate
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Half-Life 46 61%
Metal Gear Solid Resident Evil 2 5 80%
StarCraft Metal Gear Solid 4 50%
Pokémon Trading Card Game Microsoft Spider Solitaire 4 50%
Metal Gear Solid Fallout 2 3 67%

How this ranking is established

No jury, no press score, no sales figures: two games face off, players vote, and every vote updates an ELO score. This page is a view of the world ranking, never a standing kept apart.

Understand the method in detail →

FAQ

What players ask

What is the best game of 1998?

According to community votes, the best game of 1998 is Metal Gear Solid, with 1,878 ELO points in the world ranking. It stands ahead of StarCraft and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and its place is replayed with every duel.

How many games of 1998 are ranked?

78 games of this selection take part in the duels, and they have played 15,360 of them so far. The full site catalogue is much wider: only games kept for their fame enter the running.

Which game of 1998 is climbing right now?

Darkstalkers 3 is the strongest climb in this selection over the past seven days, with 88 ELO points gained. Over the same period, the score of 77 games in the selection moved.

Vote on a duel