Gaming is a constantly growing medium, seeing as technology has advanced at such an accelerated pace that developers have been able to break new records in every console generation. While it’s always fascinating to theorize which new releases will achieve the next big gaming milestone, there are also some very notorious exceptions.
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There are a lot of video games out there that have excelled in one specific aspect (revenue, influence, size, etc.), and it’s highly unlikely that another title will be able to match them anytime soon. Whether they are well-known gaming icons or obscure cult classics, the following games sit at the top of their respective areas, and they will definitely never be surpassed.
Super Mario Bros.
The Most Influential Video Game
Super Mario Bros.
- Released
- November 17, 1985
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E For Everyone
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
Everybody knows that Mario is the biggest and most iconic video game character, and that no other mascot is ever going to take away that title from him. But it’s important to take a look back at his franchise’s history to find out how and why he became so iconic, and the answer is quite simple: the original Super Mario Bros. Is the single most influential video game ever made.
The infamous Video Game Crash of 1983 almost destroyed the North American gaming market, but Nintendo was able to save most of it when it released Super Mario Bros. In 1985. This platformer proved that video games could be much more than avenues for getting high scores, and that they could actually be real adventures with a clear beginning and end. Without Super Mario Bros., console gaming wouldn’t even exist today, and it’s literally impossible for any future title to achieve the same level of cultural impact.
Minecraft
The Best-Selling Video Game
Minecraft
- Released
- November 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
With over 350 million copies sold, Minecraft holds the distinction of being the best-selling video game of all time. Not only has this iconic sandbox game allowed gamers of all ages to use their imagination to build whatever they want, but its gameplay is so versatile that it can be adapted into various other subgenres, like Battle Royale, Survival, etc.
At the end of the day, however, the secret to Minecraft’s success is the fact that Mojang never released any sequels, which allowed the company to maximize profits with just one piece of software. Of course, there have been many console ports and free updates, but anybody who wants to play Minecraft today just needs to purchase a game that was released back in 2011.
Pokemon
The Highest-Grossing Media Franchise
- Created by
- Satoshi Tajiri
Pokemon is the quintessential monster-catching video game franchise and, despite many solid attempts at surpassing it, it still hasn’t been topped by any other IP. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, because Pokemon is not only the biggest monster-catching series and the biggest RPG series, but it’s also the highest-grossing media franchise in the entire world.
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In the past twenty-nine years, Pokemon has earned over 113.7 billion dollars in total revenue, which can be explained by the brilliant brand synergy it built between the mainline video games, the spin-offs, the animated series, and the trading card game. At this rate, it’s highly unlikely that any other multimedia franchise that began its life as a series of video games is ever going to surpass it.
No Man's Sky
The Biggest Open-World Map
No Man's Sky
- Released
- August 9, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
Nowadays, open-world video games are valued by the size of their map. Needless to say, iconic titles like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Red Dead Redemption 2, or Grand Theft Auto 5 have graced gamers with massive maps jam-packed with things to do, but No Man's Sky is notorious for being the biggest and most ambitious open-world video game on the market.
Thanks to procedural generation, No Man's Sky boasts a vast universe that’s made up of over 18 quintillion planets that players can travel to and explore. Despite its admittedly disappointing initial launch, developer Hello Games was able to redeem itself by releasing constant free updates that have made the game much more engaging and palatable. It’s going to be extremely hard for anybody to surpass No Man's Sky's scope, since this is a special project with a unique development history. For example, Starfield, a similar space-centric game that came out seven years after it and was made by a bigger studio, only boasts a thousand procedurally-generated planets.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
The Biggest Video Game Crossover
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Released
- December 7, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E for Everyone: Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief, Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
The Super Smash Bros. Series as a whole is a lovely celebration of Nintendo’s history, but the most recent entry, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, is notorious for adding many iconic third-party characters as playable fighters, like Simon Belmont from Castlevania, Steve from Minecraft, Kazuya Mishima from Tekken, Sephiroth from Final Fantasy, and Sora from Kingdom Hearts.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate feels like the ultimate video game crossover because its huge roster contains characters from over 40 different gaming IPs; 90 if all the IPs that were represented via spirits, music, stages, and Mii Fighter costumes are also counted. Something like Fortnite may feel like the bigger crossover, but that game just has costumes that are based on other video games, whereas Super Smash Bros. Ultimate actually features the real versions of all these iconic characters. While there are obviously going to be more Super Smash Bros. Games in the near future, it’s very unlikely that Nintendo will try to make something as big and ambitious as Ultimate again.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots
The Longest Video Game Cutscene
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
- Released
- June 12, 2008
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Crude Humor, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Stealth
Hideo Kojima is a renowned video game auteur who’s both famous and infamous for creating cinematic stories with long, movie-quality cutscenes. The entire Metal Gear series is filled to the brim with extensive animated sequences in which the player doesn’t need to touch the controller at all, with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots being the most egregious example of this practice.
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This game’s epilogue is over 71 minutes long, and it has actually earned it a Guinness World Record for the longest video game cutscene ever made, which hasn’t been broken since its initial release back in 2008. This makes a lot of sense, however, because Metal Gear Solid 4 is the last game in the series' timeline, so its final cinematic had to close off multiple plot threads and give satisfying conclusions to many different characters. Since Kojima is currently working on multiple other IPs at the same time (like Death Stranding, OD, and Physint), it is highly improbable that he’ll ever need to make a cutscene as long as this one anytime soon.
Fire Pro Wrestling Returns
The Biggest Fighting Game Roster
Fire Pro Wrestling Returns
- Released
- November 13, 2007
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Wrestling
Most people would naturally expect the record of the biggest fighting game roster to be held by either an iconic and influential series (like Street Fighter or Tekken) or by an adaptation of a beloved anime/manga series with a large cast of characters (like Dragon Ball: Budokai Tenkaichi or Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm). Curiously enough, however, the largest roster in a fighting game can be found in an obscure PS2 exclusive from 2005 titled Fire Pro Wrestling Returns.
This game has 327 playable characters, all of which are based on real-life wrestlers that originate from a variety of wrestling companies. On top of that, Fire Pro Wrestling Returns also has a custom character feature that allows players to create their own unique fighters. Of course, the combat of this game is relatively simple and most of these characters play quite similarly to each other, but the sheer size of its roster is still very impressive and hasn’t been matched by any other fighting game released ever since.
Clockwork Aquario
The Longest Development Period For A Video Game
Clockwork Aquario
- Released
- December 14, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- Platformer, Action
Video games can take a very long time to make, and there are several prominent AAA examples of this unfortunate reality, like Duke Nukem Forever, Metroid Dread, and even the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6. However, an obscure game called Clockwork Aquario holds the record for the longest period of time between the start and the end of its development process.
This colorful and charming 2D platformer took 28 years and 81 days to come out, as it entered production back in 1992, but it was made available to the public in 2021. Sega canceled Clockwork Aquario’s development in the early 90s, due to the rise in popularity of 3D games and fighting, but Strictly Limited Games acquired the rights in 2017 and eventually released it on modern platforms four years later. It goes without saying that the story of Clockwork Aquario' s tumultuous development cycle is unique, and it will most likely never be repeated.
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