Folks online were posting these on my timeline so I figured I'd give it a go.
It took me a few days to figure this out, and even then, I'm not satisfied with it. Nevermind ranking them from 1 to 25 (this list is ordered chronologically from earliest known release date), I debate whether this is the 25 at all.
I guess my issue is that these sort of favorites lists never really do it for me. They represent not just an opinion, but an opinion with elements that could be interpreted as objective statements. It's the rankings that get me. What metric do I use to numerically rank a game as number one? Number two? Number twelve?
I get that it is all in good fun and that the list shouldn't be construed as definitive, and that opinions change overtime as we revisit, recontextualize, and reevaluate these opinions. However, I've always had problems with these sorts of lists because, when I revisit them, the context of why I chose to pick those particular titles and the order in which I do so gets lost if I don't put down a definitive reason at the time. Sometimes there's no clear reason. Other times I have to wonder why I think a platforming game from 1988 would rationally rank higher than a fighting game from 2001 or a puzzle game from 1994.
And I know this may come across as weird to some folks because I obsess over reader rankings and sales charts their related rankings in old Japanese video game magazines, but there's a difference. For those, that's some sort of metric being utilized to at least guess what games may have been popular at the time. And there's a bit of context there in that those are the opinions and sales from that specific point in time. I don't look at a game that's ranked number one on the last Mega Drive chart for Beep! Mega Drive's reader rankings and go "well that must be the best Mega Drive game" because that would be ridiculous. I care more about the average reader reviews and how they fluctuate overtime. I also understand those charts aren't exactly definitive representative of the opinions of Mega Drive games in Japan. However, they are a source to help determine what may have been popular, and can be used alongside any other sources (interviews, oral history in general, sales data, whatever) to help maybe provide additional insight.
This is a lot of words for me to basically say that these lists are fun but I overthink these way more than any person should.
