LogFAQs > #941652317

I wanted to see what a Game of the 80's bracket would look like, mostly because I was curious how deep it would be, so I threw one together of the 128 most notable games that I could think of with a quick sweep of Wikipedia and Google to help me out.

I tried to seed this half by notability and half by raw strength, so seedings do not necessarily precisely reflect game strength - some stuff getting overseeded and underseeded is typical anyway, I just tried to get in the ballpark and put stuff where I think it looked good aesthetically. Obviously, due to the nature of this site and the nature of gaming as a whole in the 80's, this bracket is very NES-dominated, but has a lot of arcade games as well (even though they're mostly fodder), and I did my best to represent various computer systems, the Sega Master System, and even the Genesis and Game Boy (which both came out in 1989 in NA believe it or not!)

As per GameFAQs's usual standards, I went by North American release date, so if you notice a snub here, check to make sure it wasn't released in 1990 in North America, because a LOT of good games were released that year that were released in the 80's in Japan. Since I decided to include games that did not make it overseas by Japanese release date, that means Final Fantasy II somehow became eligible for this bracket, but Final Fantasy did not. It's awkward, but deal with it - I was pretty strapped to come up with games so FF2 made it in. I probably missed some other snubs, but feel free to suggest stuff if I missed something really embarrassing. I tried to be thorough though.

Goomba Division

1) Super Mario Bros.
16) E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial

8) Donkey Kong 3
9) Adventure

5) Phantasy Star
12) BurgerTime

4) Ghosts n' Goblins
13) Altered Beast

6) Balloon Fight
11) Mach Rider

3) Bubble Bobble
14) Sinistar

7) SimCity
10) Shadowgate

2) Ninja Gaiden
15) Ikari Warriors

Barrel Division

1) Donkey Kong
16) Elevator Action

8) Missile Command
9) Defender

5) Bomberman
12) Arkanoid

4) Final Fantasy II
13) Alex Kidd in Miracle World

6) Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
11) Adventure Island

3) Prince of Persia
14) Space Harrier

7) The Guardian Legend
10) Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

2) Duck Hunt
15) Hydlide

Shy Guy Division

1) Super Mario Bros. 2
16) Fantasy Zone

8) Double Dragon
9) Maniac Mansion

5) Marble Madness
12) Lode Runner

4) Kid Icarus
13) Paperboy

6) Centipede
11) King's Quest

3) Galaga
14) Solomon's Key

7) Final Fight
10) Castlevania: The Adventure

2) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
15) Yars' Revenge

Met Division

1) Mega Man 2
16) Jackal

8) Golden Axe
9) Rygar

5) Gradius
12) Populous

4) Frogger
13) Microsoft Flight Simulator

6) Excitebike
11) Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter

3) Punch-Out!!
14) Double Dribble

7) Tempest
10) Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord

2) Castlevania
15) Rogue

Octorok Division

1) The Legend of Zelda
16) The Bard's Tale

8) R-Type
9) Street Fighter

5) Pitfall
12) Splatterhouse

4) Super Mario Land
13) Blades of Steel

6) Double Dragon II: The Revenge
11) Mother

3) Ms. Pac-Man
14) NetHack

7) Bionic Commando
10) Wrecking Crew

2) Dragon Quest
15) Battle Chess

Zoomer Division

1) Metroid
16) Space Ace

8) Zork
9) Tecmo Bowl

5) Rampage
12) Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards

4) The Oregon Trail
13) Out Run

6) Blaster Master
11) Wonder Boy in Monster Land

3) Contra
14) R.B.I. Baseball

7) Gauntlet
10) Strider

2) Metal Gear
15) Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum

Blinky Division

1) Pac-Man
16) Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei

8) Super C
9) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game

5) Q*Bert
12) Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness

4) Donkey Kong Jr.
13) Elite

6) Dragon's Lair
11) Tapper

3) Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
14) Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap

7) Ghouls n' Ghosts
10) Minesweeper

2) Mario Bros.
15) Star Wars (1983)

Z-Block Division

1) Tetris
16) M.U.L.E.

8) Sid Meier's Pirates!
9) Joust

5) Ice Climber
12) Spy Hunter

4) DuckTales
13) Ys: The Vanished Omens

6) Dig Dug
11) 1942

3) Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels
14) Jetpac

7) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
10) Pole Position

2) Mega Man
15) Hang-On