just finding this. Oh boy, what *would* I put on this list? And for reference, I'm going to define "2d" for the mostpart as pre-32-bit. So there are a few choices that you might argue are actually 3d.
* Pong - for being the first noteworthy video game
* Pac-man - for similar reasons to Pong, except that it can be fun for more than 2 minutes at a time if you don't suck at it. (Am I seriously the first person in this thread to mention pac-man?)
* Combat - because there was simply no better game for Atari than MF'ing COMBAT!!
* Other really old games - Space Invaders, Asteroids, Q-Bert, Qix, I could go on. There are lots of old games people could bring up that DON'T belong IMO, like Missile Command, Joust (so overrated), Discs of Tron, and pretty much any derivative of Space Invaders
* Summer Games (C64 represent!)
* Donkey Kong
* SMB1
* SMB3
* Marble Madness - the view might be isometric, with some changes in elevation, but I would not call it 3-d
* Tetris
* 1942 - this is the first true rail-shooter for me. Sorry, R-type.
* Contra (original. The sequels just sucked and related games like Commando and Ikari Warriors just don't hold up.
* TMNT arcade for the definitive arcade beat em up experience
* The Simpsons arcade as a good follow-up
* Rad Racer - not because it was very good, but because it was the one racing game everybody had
* Excitebike - see Rad Racer, but very different style of racer, and was actually fun
* Rygar - first true console adventure I played, Zelda came later for me, and this did a lot of things Zelda did not
* One Must Fall 2097 - to represent all the great PC shareware titles. I feel like I should opt for a Commander Keen or a Duke Nukem (obviously I can't pick Wolf 3-d or d00m,) but this was always a big favorite of mine
* Tyrian - for one other solid shareware pick. This one wins out over Raptor.
* Civilization - this has to be there. This is *the* strategy game series, if ever there was one.
* SimCity - deserves an actual place on the list and not just an honorable mention
* Starcraft - not my favorite as I don't love RTS games, but c'mon. It's freaking *Starcraft*.
* Sonic - my pick for the series is #2, personally. I honestly didn't know anyone who owned 3, nor did I care much for it when I got to try it.
* something from each of DW/DQ, FF, and PS to satisfy generic RPG fans...oh yeah, and Might and Magic as well. The later games were sorta 3-d, so take World of Xeen there. On that note...
* Heroes of Might and Magic
* Minesweeper and Windows Solitaire - lol choices, yes, but for "most essential?" Probably more man-hours have been spent on Freecell than the vast majority of games we tout around here.
* Ogre Battle
* Super Metroid
* Maniac Mansion - or some other SCUMM game. I never played much MM, tbh. Monkey Island? Indy and the Fate of Atlantis?
* DKC
* SF2
* MK2 (or 3 if you prefer)
* SSB
* Pokemon RBY
* SoM
* CT
* The Lost Vikings
And I'm gonna cut myself off there before this post gets too ridiculous. It's a shame there are a lot of old games that I legitimately have to consider 3-d. Any space sim, any "Quest" game...and then there are tons of old classics I just didn't feel needed to be on here, like Paperboy, Bubble Bobble, Deadly Towers...