Mine are:
1. Sonic the Hedgehog. (It' s a fast platformer with good scenery and music)
2. Super Mario Brothers. (It' s a carefully designed platformer with good scenery and OK music and is more my style than Sonic but does spin-offs to often)
3. Ecco the Dolphin. (Underwater strategy game with realism and depth)
4. Sim City. (Video game AND " Art Tool" at the same time since you can create from your computer without needing to be good at drawing)
5. Star Wars. (Used to be in third but the newer Star Wars games were sometimes too disappointing and other times too hard but still is in top five because of classics like X-Wing (PC), Super Star Wars (SNES), and Jedi Power Battles. (GBA)

In no specific order though, I also like Star Fox, Commander Keen, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, and Grand Theft Auto.

1. Gradius series. (Fun, challenging twitch gaming goodness with great music UNTIL Gradius V :()

2. Salamander. AKA Life Force. (There has only been a part 2 release but with that I still consider it a series ;). Salamander 2 was one of my favorite shooters ever! Salamander contains everything I love about the Gradius series and even MORE!

3. Virtua Fighter series. (My favorite 3D fighting series. I love them in this order: Part 3, Part 1, Part 2, and then Part 4. The reason I don' t consider part 4 to be better than its predecessors is because Sega removed the dodge button. After loving part 3 so much partly because of the dodge button I don' t wanna go backwards.. The only reason I have part 2 ahead is because of the under water battle against Dural, that just TOTALLY friggin OWNED!!! I could play an entire fighting game set underwater like that

4. Outrun. Nuff said!

5. Shinobi. Sega has done wonders with this series. Even though the Saturn Shinobi was just OK and the PS2 version was in 3D (Eww), still there have been way more hits with the series than misses.


I' ll more than likely revise the primary list at some point but those were the game series that initially popped into my head.

Runners Up: Dynamite Deka series, Daytona USA, Double Dragon

Also, you can' t jump in VF4... or at least it is extremely hard to do so.

Has Gradius V' s poor music been confirmed? I think Adam Doree should talk with Konami and/or Treasure about that!

Mine are
The Shenmue series. To me it had a great story line, it is one of my favourite RPG' s i' ve played. One of the reasons I bought an X-box was for Shenmue 2.

Sonic the Hedgehog. I loved it in it' s early years and I still love it now. The gameplay is fast and there are a good variety of characters to choose from in the newer games.

I can' t think of anymore right now...

Gran Turismo: It' s the only series that does racing simulation to near perfection (whether it' s in the graphics, gameplay or anything). It' s realistic and fun, not one or the other.

SSX: These games are just so much damn fun, more so than any other game I' ve played... ever. They' ve all got great game-play, awsome music, cool graphics, and best of all, anyone can pick it up and play it whether you' re into snowboarding or not.

Mario: No explaination needed I' d say.

Mortal Kombat: Yes, I said MK. They' ve always been a blast to play and you don' t have to been into fighting games to like them. The blood and gore is always nice too.

Need For Speed: The NFS games have never been the absolute best but they' re all pretty damn good (for the most part). These things are still coming out every year and people are still buying them.

metroid- wonderful exploration and moody atmosphere mixed with outstanding gameplay.

metal gear solid- revolutionary stealth gameplay, good characters( most of the time), and an excellent story.

zelda-classic adventure series that revolutionized 3d action games and spawned a flood of clones.

and...

Has Gradius V' s poor music been confirmed? I think Adam Doree should talk with Konami and/or Treasure about that!

The music was ' OK' sounding but not the melodically charged music that filled previous Gradius games. From playing the demo and checking out the 2 uploaded music files at Konami' s Gradius page (link posted below) the music of Gradius V sounds more Techno-ish and ambient this time around.

It' s rumored that Hitoshi Sakimoto, the composer of Radiant Silvergun and Final Fantasy Tactics, composed the music of Gradius V and I PRAY that is NOT true!! I want Konami' s sound team to handle that aspect of the game dammit!!! Argh!!
I' ve always considered Music to be one of Treasure' s weak points.

I think if anything, Adam should head over to Konami of Japan and slap the $hitte out of its president for turning over what appears to be all aspects of Gradius V' s development to Treasure. Not just a regular slap, this one calls for a nice backhand!

http://www.konamityo.com/gra5/

I believe there should be a separate thread/news article/website/civilian uprising concerning Gradius V' s music. But in short I' ll say radiant had fitting music, but Gradius needs strong melodies.

Back to the topic at hand,
Some of my favorite game series:

Phantasy Star
Great role playing games, especially the first one! Phantasy Star Online does not count as part of the series. It doesn' t count... at all!

Castlevania
Castlevania is great. Super Castlevania IV (which is WAAAY better than the non-super version, which was called " Run-of-the-Mill Castlevania IV" ), Dracula X (PC Engine) and Nocturne in the Moonlight (PS, Saturn) are my favorite of the series. I did not care for the wimpy Lament game on the PS2. That was just retarded. Maybe Konami has brain cancer?

Super Mario
I enjoyed Super Mario Bros 2, Super Mario World, and Super Mario 64 the best, in that reverse order. Mario World 2 " Yoshi' s Island" was bad simply because of the annoying baby cry and no other reason. That was a deal-breaker for me. Mario Sunshine made me ill. So did Mario 3, 1, 2 (Japan), Dr. Mario, Gambling Mario, Strip Poker Mario, etc etc etc. Mario Kart 64 was good. The original Mario Kart was OK but you were forced to play in split screen mode even in single player mode since Nintendo was undergoing a lobotomy that day (they had any semblence of intelligence removed temporarilly), and then Mario Kart Double Dash was just annoying, and it even had cartridge music! WTF?

F-Zero
Phenomenal SNES version! Kinda crappy GBA version (hopefuly the next one is good). Decent, if bland, N64 version (N64 was very weak graphically and aurally, so I guess not much could be expected). Awesome Gamecube version by Sega. Does anyone know if the elusive " F-Zero 2" was actually done by Nintendo themselves, or is it just a ROM hack?

Thunder Force
despite never having an original Thunder Force game (they seemed to start with " 2" ), this has always been a great shooter series. ' Nuff said.

Mine would be:
Resident evil - this series is going from strength to strength
Mario Bros. - classics
Delta force - these games are excellent and compelling offline, and a hoot online.
Unreal - I think one of the best online frag fests to be had...
Doom - just because doom 3 looks like gaming gold...

Any1 played joint operations?

Oh, so now they have to be a SERIES?

Okay, umm...

1. Final Fantasy

In terms of sheer quality over an extended period of time, as well as both revolutionary and evolutionary aspects throughout that time, the Final Fantasy series has yet to let me down.

2. Mario

Same here, basically. There have been some average Mario games, but most of them are superb. The first three ever made are still the best, IMO, and luckily, I have them all in Super Mario All-Stars for the SNES.

3. Gran Turismo

The best racing simulators, period. Nothing even comes close to the realism displayed here, and the level of depth is also unmatched. GT 4 will continue the franchise reign, guaranteed.

4. Suikoden

Three installments, and all three are some of the best games I' ve ever played. They also sport the best-written stories of all time as well (the first two more than the third, though), and every last one of them has kept me playing through to the very end. 108 Stars of Destiny...I always want ' em all.

5. Metroid/Resident Evil (tie)

Between Metroid II: Return of Samus and Super Metroid, not to mention Metroid Prime, that franchise has been freakin' fantastic since its inception. It really doesn' t get much better in terms of action/adventure.

RE is just classic by now, and although they' re all a bit too similar, RE 4 will once again revolutionize the genre. It ain' t just a graphics upgrade, that' s for DARN sure. My favorites are RE 2 and RE: CV X, but they' re all great.

Also, just for the record, now that Splinter Cell is a franchise, I' d like to say that with a great third title, it will easily make my top 5. Grand Theft Auto will also easily make the list with GTA: SA; the first two atrocious installments are keeping it off for the time being.

Runners-Up:

Need for Speed
Sonic the Hedgehog
The Legend of Zelda
Castlevania (it has the very best side-scrolling 2D game in history, as well as several other awesome titles, but some earlier installments weren' t all that great)

shenmue-best rpg ever
sonic- good old classic fun
mario-obviously
suikoden-only played the 3, but still really good
zelda-nuff said


runner up-castlevania

1.Zelda - doesnt need explanation.
2.Mario - doesnt need explanation.
3.Shenmue - The 1st RPG that i liked and is still my best RPG.
4.PGR/MSR - The most fun racing series,this is racing at its best with realistic physics and graphics.
5.Command And Conquer - Best real time strategy game.

Final Fantasy

mario

resident evil

elder scrolls

zelda

Hmmm...tough one...

Virtua Fighter series: It' s had it' s highs and lows, but as of right now it' s a damn good fighter.

Madden: It' s like the vampire of football games...every year it gets a little wiser and stronger...

Frequency series: This includes Amptitude of course...there' s just something great about simple button presses to music.

Mario: Itsa me, Mario...' nuff said...

Resident Evil: Once again I think a quote from the series will suffice, " DON' T....OPEN...THAT...DOOR!"

What about runners up?