GameFaqs Game of the Decade is...

The Gamefaqs users have been voting for the past weeks to decide which game deserves the title of Game of the Decade. View the full bracket after the jump...

[Dark_Charizard]

Which one is it? Brawl or Majora's Mask?

[Rage_S90]

majoras mask

[Dark_Charizard]

Good choice then! Half-Life 2, Modern Warfare or Super Mario Galaxy would have been good choices too.

[harv052]

Majora's Mask is no doubt a great game. But to beat the likes of Uncharted, Morrowind or Oblivion, Half-life, God of War, Fallout, Halo or Metal Gear? I don't know....

[Washington-Capitals]

Gamefaqs is full of pro xbox and wii users. If you have ever seen their daily polls. Stuff like "What console do you play the most" PS3 out of 5 options is behind 360 and wii.

[Megaton]

@Washington

Mostly Nintendo fanboys at GameFAQs.

[Eamon]

Majora's Mask was on N64. A lot of PS3/360/Wii owners could have played it on N64.

Before you were born that is.

[neo881]

Seriously ?? zelda was good game of the decade? meh

My top games this decade in no particular order

Mass Effect 1/2
Metal Gear 2 or 4.
Portal.
God of War 2

[Cheeseknight28]

@most above

Majora's Mask is quite possibly my favorite or one of my favorite games of all time, but I don't think it's a good representation of the decade as a whole. It's a fan-service sequel that came out in 2000, that shouldn't be the one game that defines that year AND the next 9.

I believe 2000-2009 was the decade of "story-driven experiences" where games tried to become art. As such, the award should have gone to Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid 3, or Half-Life 2. Possibly Resident Evil 4.

[Theonik]

Excellent choice. I'd have picked it personally.

[antz1104]

So Snake Eater beat Shadow of the Colossus and Metroid Prime beat Half-Life 2?

There's something rotten in the state of Denmark.

[Kee]

No disrespect, but I've never heard of majora's mask.
I think I would tend towards GTA: San Andreas, even though it had its flaws, It is the game I've enjoyed the most in the last decade.
Oblivion would be a close second because it was just HUGE.
And an honourable mention would go to Demon's Souls because that game was just so different and interesting.

[wiis]

@neo
Seriously?
Ocarina of Time and Majora's mask are amazing, and its no surprise that Majora's mask won game of the decade, you obviously must not have played Majora's mask, i mean the games you listed are definitly candidates, but in my opinion Majora's mask is the clear winner

[Dac2u]

Majora's Mask shouldn't even be on the list. If they're saying game of the last decade, that would mean a 10 year period of time. Since, we're in 2010 going into 2011, that would mean their decade should start in 2001, not 2000. Unless, this list is a year old or a year late. I call shenanigans!

[HolyOrangeCows]

Picking a best game out of an ENTIRE DECADE is pretty silly if you ask me. You got a wide range of great games of different genres and directions.

I don't think it would really make sense to pick just one.

[TheLastGuardian]

Didn't the decade end when 2010 began? I say GTA: San Andreas is Game of the decade.

[sobekflakmonkey]

i dont think majoras mask should have won that..majora's mask was more or less a let down in comparison to ocarina of time.

[JohnnyBadfinger]

I agree, Ocarina of Time blows Majoras Mask outta the water.

Over the last ten years i think its near impossible to pick a winner... and he(this author) has only given HIS opinion of which is the best game of the last decade.

Mine is completely different.

Conkers Bad Fur Day
Halo Combat Evolved
Half Life 2
Mass Effect 1&2
Gran Turismo 4

And i honestly CANT pick 1 of those as #1...
But i think if 1 games sums up this last decade in a nutshell its Crysis... the game is the pinacle in pushing graphics to their limit... and ever since people have been attempting to achieve its glory.

[NoBias]

I agree as well. I thought Ocarina of Time was muuuuch more amazing than Majora's Mask.

And wtf... Melee was SO much better than Brawl. I don't agree with this list what so ever.

[Vaud-Villian]

Given to an unworthy follow up to a far superior game? Don't think so.

For me it's Knights of the Old Republic.

[Theonik]

I don't get you people Majora's mask was much better than OoT imo, it brought a lot more innovation to the table for one. OoT was just your average Zelda at heart Majora's Mask took what they did right with OoT and improved on it to make something new and its atmosphere has yet to be outdone on any other Zelda game. And yeah i have no idea why this list is 1 year late. It is vote based though so you can't just call BS on them.
*Not saying OoT was bad just think MM is better.
(but the gamefaqs community is sh*t so i guess you can)

[fossilfern]

ahh majoras mask, loved that game and many memories with it also. hmm might start playing it again cuz it has been about 10 years since i touched it :D

[Ratchet510]

i rather have brawl, but i prefer MGS3 because how much they put into the game.

[Imalwaysright]

I dont even have to think twice to know that MGS3 is my favorite game of the decade because to me is the best game ever made.

[AntoineDcoolette]

Hell yeah, MGS3 is one of the few games that has genuine soul.

[princejb134]

how the hell did brawl beat melee
theres no way
in my opinion brawl failed compared to melee gameplay wise

[rezzah]

not every game actually got compared to each other, some went up w.e game won the previous round. It was like that tree set up meaning the games didnt go up against every other game.

[ReservoirDog316]

Game of the decade for me: MGS3. Followed closely by HL2. Easily.

Though to be fair, Majora's Mask is one of those games you play and look back on it and realize just how unbelievably* good it was.

[NeutralGamer]

50 % of the quarter final could be played on a Wii
37,5 % was Wii exclusive

37,5 % could be played on a PS2

25 % was PS2 exclusive...

Only 1 game was a current game multiplat...

There was 8 games...

Now what does that say about PS2 and Wii??

Consoles of the decade...

[sobekflakmonkey]

agreed, i say it was nintendo's and sony's decade, the ps2 and gamecube.

[Mahr]

The correct answer is obviously Metal Slug 3, but Majora's Mask really is sublime. Easily the best game they had in the running.

Good for Gamefaqs for actually getting the choice right.

[FinalSpartan]

looool at people saying like they played Zelda MM and how modern games best it and dumb stuff like Seriously?

^^

fail for all of use dont no jack about gaming , people were playing this game before you lot were born.

to this day games haven't even matched its quality.

Majoras Mask is legendary go play it before you talk crap.

[Smacktard]

I personally think Metroid Prime should've won. Judging by the picture used for the article, I thought that TP won, and I was gonna go off about how unenjoyable that game was. Thank god it was Majora's. Still don't even think THAT should've won, though.

[Omega Archetype]

I agree. Metroid Prime is definitely my favorite game of the decade.

It's hard though cause there's tons of games that are almost right there with Metroid Prime, such as Metal Gear Solid 3 and 4, Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner, Final Fantasy X and XII, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Guild Wars (plus all add-ons,) Fallout 3, Demon's Souls, Dead Space, Gears of War, Resident Evil 4, Grand Theft Auto (Vice City, San Andreas and IV) and many more.

All I know is that this has been an amazing decade for gaming! Hope the next is just as good!

[GodofSackboy]

Nintendo is so ridiculously overrated it's unbeleivable. It's like the reviewers are adding 50% just because it's Zelda or Mario. I mean I had the Wii launch Zelda game and couldn't be bothered to finish it.

[KillingAllFanboys]

Only a Sony fanboy would say Nintendo is overrated. They work hard on their games and deserve all the good reviews they get. Expect few Nintendo games like Wii Sports, Wii Fit, and everything with Wii in front of it. Other than those game, most Nintendo games are amazing. Watch all the Sony fanboys disagree on this!!

[tommyth3cat]

Is it called irony when a person named KillingAllFanboys disregards someone else's opinion and calls them a fanboy? When in fact he makes a fanboy remark as though Nintendo shits gold every time they release the same 2 games for over 20 years.

[gunnerforlife]

do u know why i disagreed with you?
well because your chatting rubish! i might love Sony but ive always had respect for Nintendo
i grew up playing pokemon and super mario 64
but most of the Nintendo games that are being created now do not even hold my attention the way those games used to!

[IKONACLYSM]

Dude Sony fanboys are retarded,immature,annoying,par asites there the cancer of the gaming community disagree all you want it doesn't make it less true

[Ratchet510]

it really is overrated because i dont see anything new that nintendo is doing. zelda is the same like always and is really overrated, mario is mario thats why people overrate his games. i grew up with sega genisis because their games were more challenging, the only hard game on NES and SNES is megaman series. But if i rather choose a nintendo system or xbox i rather get the nintendo because they have some fun games like sonic,DK and no more heros 1&2. super mario galaxy was the most overraten nintendo game ever, i know because i played the game and i beat it and it was too easy and i saw nothing new. LBP, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Dexter, Sonic and explodemon are the best and only good platformers. Whoever disagree with me are stupid playstation fans and nintendo fanboys and xbox fanboys. Im a hardcore playstation gamer.

[Baka-akaB]

yeah that's right they never do anything new i guess .

But but... wait a second , why are every important features of any 3rd person action games and platform games always coming from nintendo titles then (especially metroid and zelda ) ?

What was the last feature from those that wasnt from a nintendo game again ? Oh yeah that's right , the most useless one of all , sometimes even ruining hack and slash games when abused : QTE .

And at most another one , the cover system from Killswitch later on upgraded .

Actually whoever agreeing with you and not disagreeing is literally going at odds with the likes of Insomniac , naughty dogs , santa monica , and even spitting on them , as they abundantly stated where they took their inspirations , and how much they respect nintendo's staff (along with a few others) and their games .

No nintendo , none of those games exists with the improvements we've grown to love ... not bad for a company that doesnt do "anything new" ?

[tommyth3cat]

@Baka
Good name for you. Another shining example of "you don't agree with me therefore you are wrong"

Innovating and improving a system is one thing. Uncharted proves it doesn't need to be a new idea to work, but sadly when you've played Mario since you were 6 years old it's premise gets a little thin. Zelda even more so. Sunshine was the last good Mario IMO.

[Eamon]

I can understand Mario but how can you say Zelda isn't "anything new."

Every new iteration of the series is extremely polished and innovating immersion and puzzle gameplay while also bring new creative ideas.

Like Baka said, almost all the current developers' inspirations come from old Nintendo classics. Nintendo is currently the oldest and still-successful company making consoles up till date.

People like Miyamoto is considered the Godfather of game development.

[tommyth3cat]

I didn't say anything about Zelda "doing nothing new" I said the premise and gameplay does not interest me anymore.

[Baka-akaB]

@tommyth3cat
And how was that relevant to my post and warranting your attack ?

He was mentioning a lack of innovations while praising game that as a matter of fact got plenty of there ideas there .

It's straight from those devs' mouth , it hardly can get clearer .

FYI i havent been interested in a regular game since super mario world ( hell i nly care about smash brawl and mario kart from the franchise) , same goes with zelda for maybe the same reasons than you.. but i wont foolishly claim that they dont add anything new or interesting anymore like he did .

That's all

[Etseix]

game developers these days always say they took inspiration from old nintendo classics, OLD nintendo classics, wich i also love, but IMO, -my opinion- nintendo is not doing that great anymore, ratchet was right on some part, - just because its mario, people like it, no one judge at it anymore, but its the same mario we have seen for years!) same candy another cover, i have a Wii but just because the new Metroid, and for me Kojima is more talented than Miyamoto -present time-

[ChickeyCantor]

- zelda is the same like always and is really overrated-

Yeah love the argument right there...

Let me remind some ignorant gamers that MM is using a TIME EVENT BASED system.
If thats not new then you're full of horse sh/t.

[mamotte]

well, tell me if FPS has done anything new since goldeneye. Or if GOW has done anything new since TMNT IV: Turtles in Time. Or GT5 since Top Gear. There are really many few companies that has done anything new (I`m thinking on Journey right now), but's not about doing new things. It's about doing things right, and Nintendo knows how to do it.

Sorry'bout Zelda not being a bloodbath, though. U can blame Nintendo for that, but, who cares?

[kramun]

If you want to hate on a company that has made such an impact on gaming from the beginning of the nes age until now then that's up to you. They've made tons of great games in a period spanning over nearly 3 decades.

I don't think they are overrated at all, you may not like their games but to claim they are overrated is just ignorance.

[acky1]

I disagree. They did play a big part in making gaming popular with the NES and the wii but they really offer nothing new that satisfies the true gamer. That's where sony stepped in and made gaming what it is today.
_____________
Sony 'til I die

[kramun]

The true gamer? I play games on the pc,wii and ps3 and the wii has plenty of games that I love, does that mean I'm not a true gamer?

[nnotdead]

i wouldn't say its ignorant to claim Nintendo is being overrated. really its just an opinion.

i think the great divide between Nintendo lovers and haters comes from Nintendos goals in making a game. Nintendo just tries to make the game mechanics as perfect as possible. so much so, Nintendo tends to pay a lot less attention to story telling, character development, genera pushing, etc.

this is also why their games tend to score so high, and why there is divide even among the places that do the reviews. the mechanics are so well done that it wouldn't be fair to grade the games down, but at the same time they don't try to do as much as other games in this bracket.

i too believe Nintendo is overrated(at least Nintendo in this decade), but i tend to look for more, or just other things when it comes to the video games i want to play. while looking through the whole bracket i see a lot of winners i think are crazy for people to vote over the loser, but obviously the people voting for the winners would think im just as crazy. like me not liking Majora's Mask, and i would have it losing all the way back in RD 2 against Chrono Cross. crazy i know.

[oricon]

Are you an Idiot have you even played Super Mario Galaxy, Mario innovates platform games again, it did it first with the first Mario bros game and everyone copied that framework even little big planet is basically copying mario just added with a level creator. Zelda games have innovated graphically and game play wise.

[Big_Dom]

Fucking slap yourself across the head hard...with a hammer for that statement. Without Nintendo, there'd be NO Playstation and NO Xbox. Without Nintendo, the game industry would most certainly be dead a long time ago. That is not hyperbole. That is a fact.

[tommyth3cat]

At first I thought that picture was a joke, then I realized it was the actual finalists. After that I stopped laughing and started to sigh instead.

[Black-Helghast]

Conker's Bad Fur Day is the best of the decade for Me...Think about it, that game made you laugh, cry, angry etc. It was my first game and i'll never forget Conker's bad fur day...

[Relientk77]

Wheres Ocarina of Time?

I'm confused

[silkrevolver]

Not in the decade. (but it’s pretty close)

[gunnerforlife]

that was the last decade, not the one that just passed i think

[Relientk77]

Yea I just wikied it

just kidding

[harv052]

Released in 1998....

[silkrevolver]

...2nd best game of the decade? no.

[Relientk77]

Yea It does not deserve 2nd place thats for sure

[PlayerX]

It deserved first. PS Gamefaqs community>N4G community by leaps and bounds.

[silkrevolver]

...best game of the DECADE? I don’t think it even won any game of the year awards... how does it almost win game of the decade?

[Eamon]

I'd say it deserves a place in the top 10.
That game was incredibly fun.

[silkrevolver]

I could go for that. It’s definitely my favorite fighter, but pretty much all of the other finalists should have won over it (in my very unprofessional opinion.)

[NovusTerminus]

Gamefaqs polls are random in how they turn out.

The L block from Tetris won a character battle.

[Eamon]

lol yeh I remember that. Pretty hilarious.

[Capt-FuzzyPants]

Oh c'mon Majoras Mask over FF10. Both pretty good but I think FF 10 was better. There were some pretty unfair matchups. Some of those matchups put two unbelieveable games against eachother.

[STONEY4]

How Fallout 3 got over Deus Ex is beyond me. Or Metroid Prime over Half-life 2.

[Silver_Faux]

Yeah fallout 3 over Deux Ex baffled me. Deux Ex for its time was fucking amazing! im not sure whether system shock 2 was this decade but if it was it shoulda got some recognition. also total war games are nowhere to be seen? wtf?

[progaor06]

wtf ocarina of time came out before majoras mask people oot should of won not mask i hated mask i hated it to hard of game annoying concept this ans winwaker sucked big time adult link is far better new zelda will suk also to iddish looking with adult link in it

[Silver_Faux]

Ocarina came out in 1998, last decade...not unless you count the master quest on gamecube

[jrbeerman11]

Funny i think Majora's mask is the worst of all zeldas.

[jrbeerman11]

no experts picked this it was vote so we cant complain, more people on gamefaqs like majoras mask no dispute

[ScubaSteve1]

how can santa clause be loosing to link, i guess who ever voted for link will get lumps of coal for xmas

[ZeroWil]

Should've been Halo: Combat Evolved in my opinion. Majora's Mask is without a doubt an incredible game, but Halo changed the gaming industry forever when it was released.. That game set the standards for modern FPS and help give rise to Machinima, online play (for PC at least), was the king of LAN parties, and more. Oh well...

[PSjesus]

Good choice that's why i like Gamefaqs it's from gamers to gamers.

[mobijoker]

KOTOR lost to FF9.Surprise.
But majorka is not a bad choice either.But in truth,it got easier rounds in start.Look at HL2.It eliminated all the mammoth contenders.

[Nugundam0079]

Im glad Majora's mask made it in-The past few years have been dominated by shooters and its good to see that enough people are old enough to remember a time before games became grey/brown and super serious long before it became about ripping off heads of gods and thinking that was the end all be all(looking at you God of War) of course on the flip side we've seen soo many games that took their respective genres to a new level, Games like Uncharted,Alan Wake,Heavy Rain,Mario Galaxy.

I guess the point of my post is this
I'M GLAD A SHOOTER DID NOT WIN
lol no point in altruistic if thats whats really on my mind right?

[MWH]

guys, for God's sake, Majora's Mask was not that great at all, every other Zelda i played and i played many is better than MM, if MM has to be described with one word, it's Disappointing. that's my personal opinion anyway.

[Nugundam0079]

Yea Im a Wind Waker fan and absolutely hated MM (till I got older, now I only dislike it)
like I said its not a shooter so Im happy

[Too_many_games]

its actually quite eazy, Majoras Mask came out before the "Retards" started playing video games and made it "mainstream" with all their little First Person Shooters. we have have a few gems since though, Heavy Rain, Mass Effect (>1<) Resident Evil 4, Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. Oblivion...etc... but compared to the trash of the late 2000's....Video games are doomed until someone forces a mandatory I.Q. Test to be able to purchase a condole ;)

[NoBias]

That argument doesn't hold up though because GoldenEye Came out before Majora's Mask.... And EVERYONE was playin that (just as everyone who's played thinks they were the best back in the day haha)

That game was gold.

But seriously, I would've destroyed you guys... 8)

[Spitonyourgrave]

It was between Brawl and Majora's mask? I weep for humanity

[Nugundam0079]

Sorry-Final Fantasy couldnt make it through ;D

[General Shrooms]

how the hell did fallout 3 get so far?

And how is melee is way better than brawl

[Deathstroke]

GameFAQS is full of Nintendo fanboys. A nintendo related game or character always wins at the end no matter what it is (usually Mario or Link). Even today's poll has Link vs Santa and Link is winning. Santa would totally pwn that n00b.

[Two-Face]

Full of kids I see. Gamefaqs, more like gamefags.

Deus Ex beaten by Fallout 3? Hah, you wish.
Baldur's Gate II beaten by Skies of Arcadia? Omg...
Demon's SOuls beaten by Megaman 9?? LOOOOOOL??

Those who voted are assholes.

[lizard81288]

i thought brawl had longer legs, being multiplayer, but zelda still one. i'm surprised MM won, since its an oddball zelda game. although, i still like MM, its my 2nd fav zelda game, next to OoT.

although some games i voted for, because i didn't know them, for example, DS vs MM9, i haven't played DS but i have MM9, so MM9 got my vote.

[Burning_Finger]

Gamefaqs = Nintendo Fanboys

Kotaku = Microsoft Fanboys

N4G = Sony Fanboys

[rezzah]

Never thought of it like that.

Bub+

[Skullomania]

Thanks for the info. +Bub :)

[RockmanII7]

I call BS for the sole reason that Super Smash Brothers Brawl beat Super Smash Brothers Melee. WTF

[PSjesus]

Link Vs Santa.....Hmmmmmm

Link everyone's favorite elf.
Santa is a creepy old man who likes kids and give them free
presents when they're sleeping!!!!!.

[CamelCarcass]

WHERE THE FUCK IS TIMESPLITTERS: FUTURE PERFECT!?!?

[Kisama]

I wonder if Brawl would have won if 4chan didn't have tons of "Vote Majora's Mask" threads up.

[CrzyFooL]

how the hell did Fallout 3 beat Deus Ex?

[BlueEye]

Zelda? Mah boi I never liked those games, then again I have only played like one of them and I haven't played Brawl either (have played Smash once tough).

[Big_Dom]

Fanstastic table of deduction and as good a list as any. As for the final result being Majora's Mask, I seriously can't complain or argue with that. In fact, given ME2 wasn't in that list, it's the perfect deduction IMO. For me, the two best games I've played in the last 10 years are Mass Effect 2 and Majora's Mask. Both absolute masterpieces. If I'd to choose between the two, it would be ME2, but only narrowly. Both games are prime examples of the best of the best when it comes to game design. They have no peer when it comes to that. A lot of people tend to cite OOT as the best Zelda, but when I played MM, I knew it had been surpased.

[A LIVING LEGEND]

Still prefer Ocarina but yea,ok.It's Christmas :)
I find it often difficult to remember a game as compelling and enjoyable as Demon's Souls.Of course older and wiser and somewhat jaded but still right up there with my all-time faves.

[femshep]

FAIL

Persona series beats all sorry zelda as much as i love you

[cheesus]

Brawl was a contender for game of the decade? WTF happened there? Melee was far superior to Brawl & it wasn't Game of the Decade material either. Poor show guys.

[A LIVING LEGEND]

In lieu of FAIL try In my opinion,once upon a time,disagree,no thank you,why?,would personally choose,etc etc.

[SephireX]

The decade ended with 2009. Game of the last decade for me is GTA San Andreas. Just a magnificent achievement, plain and simple.

[Hitman0769]

this contest was absolutely retarded hands down case closed twinkies sealed and wrapped........

[Killustrious]

I don't care that Majora's Mask won because it's an amazing game...but the fact that it was facing SSB Brawl in the finals is pretty funny. That game is definitely not Game of the Decade material.

IMO..

Uncharted 2
Shadow of the Colossus
God of War 2
Metal Gear Solid 3
Resident Evil 4
GTA: San Andreas
Majora's Mask

etc..

(List is not in any particular order)

[Ri0tSquad]

I enjoyed OoT so much better. I always thought Majora's Mask was one of the worst Zelda games in series. I remember buying it when it came out and being somewhat disappointed with it.

[Ronster316]

Just looked at all the games from all the rounds, and it has to be said that this has been Nintendo's decade by a mile (i mean games actually developed by Nintendo themselves)

Seems like a sony consoles top game was actually developed by Konami (Metal Gear Solid 3 if i go based on the comments here)

And looks like Microsoft's best effort was Halo: Combat Evolved (again not an MS game, but a Bungie game)

[AwesomeJizz]

Half-Life 2, Best game I have ever played.

[JohnnyHalo]

Majoras Mask?!??!!!

Come on, have you seen the graphics on that thing compared to Gears 3 or Killzone 3?

[RankFTW]

Get a grip.

[Mr Lahey]

It's old men living in the past making these competitions!

[RankFTW]

I would have chosen MGS3 but not going to deny that Zelda was an awesome game.

[Ascalon94]

my games for the last ten years are BF2, Halo series, GTA series, Guild Wars, CoD4, MGS series, Zelda on the GBA as well as Pokemon, DBZ series on GBA. And a ton more I can't think of. The last 10 years have flew by so quickly.

[Garrison]

LoL World of Warcraft getting beat by paper mario.

This list is about whacky as a midget marathon.

[Kos-Mos]

Haha. Look at all kids whining. They sucked mommy`s teets when I played this game.
Great CHOICE.