Live ranking

The full ranking.

The best games of all time, ranked by community votes. Filter by genre, decade, platform or period.

28 games Reset

  1. 1 Mega Man 1987 · Platformer 1,680
  2. 2 Contra 1987 · Platformer 1,676
  3. 3 Zelda II: The Adventure of Link 1987 · Metroidvania 1,675
  4. 4 Metroid 1987 · Metroidvania 1,638
  5. 5 Final Fantasy 1987 · JRPG 1,599
  6. 6 Street Fighter 1987 · Fighting 1,576
  7. 7 Phantasy Star 1987 · JRPG 1,566
  8. 8 Double Dragon 1987 · Beat 'em up 1,543
  9. 9 Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! 1987 · Fighting 1,538
  10. 10 Blades of Steel 1987 · Sports 1,526
  11. 11 Metal Gear 1987 · Action-adventure 1,523
  12. 12 Test Drive 1987 · Racing 1,480
  13. 13 Castlevania II: Simon's Quest 1987 · Metroidvania 1,470
  14. 14 Maniac Mansion 1987 · Point-and-click 1,465
  15. 15 Shinobi 1987 · Beat 'em up 1,464
  16. 16 California Games 1987 · Sports 1,463
  17. 17 Operation Wolf 1987 · Arcade 1,457
  18. 18 Sid Meier's Pirates! 1987 · Action RPG 1,456
  19. 19 Top Gun 1987 · Simulation 1,452
  20. 20 1943: The Battle of Midway 1987 · Shoot 'em up 1,451
  21. 21 Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards 1987 · Point-and-click 1,442
  22. 22 R-Type 1987 · Shoot 'em up 1,439
  23. 23 The Great Giana Sisters 1987 · Platformer 1,438
  24. 24 Super Hang-On 1987 · Racing 1,436
  25. 25 International Karate + 1987 · Fighting 1,417

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FAQ

Questions about the ranking

How is this ranking established?

The ranking comes solely from player votes, in duels between two games. Each vote updates an ELO score, the rating system used in chess: every game starts at 1,500 points and its score moves duel after duel.

How often is the ranking updated?

Continuously: every duel voted immediately adjusts the score of the two games involved. The badge on the right shows how each game's rank moved over the past seven days.

How many games take part in the ranking?

5,000 games, selected for their fame, face off in duels. The full GameForever catalogue covers tens of thousands of titles, across every era and platform.

How can I see the best games by genre, decade or platform?

Use the filters at the top of the page: genre (RPG, FPS, platformer, strategy...), decade and platform (PC, PlayStation, Nintendo, Xbox, SEGA). Filters combine, and the selection is numbered from 1, from the highest ranked down; each game's world rank stays shown on its own entry. The period filter instead ranks on the points gained recently, from 7 days to 12 months (all time by default).

Why can an indie game finish ahead of a blockbuster?

The ELO score measures neither sales nor budget, but the preferences expressed in duels. An indie game that regularly wins its match-ups against higher-ranked titles climbs mechanically, owing nothing to its production budget.