Best First Game in a Series - Round 2

[This Old Neon]

Round Two of the “Best First Game in a Series” side-event includes 4 polls of 8-9 games each.

• You can vote for up to FOUR (4) games in each poll, or skip a poll entirely.
• The top 4 games from each poll will move on to Round Three.
• You can’t change your votes once they’ve been submitted, so click carefully. Voting closes on Saturday at 11:59 P.M. ADT.

VOTE HERE

Poll 1 of 4

BioShock (2007, Multiplatform)
Bubble Bobble (1986, Multiplatform)
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003, GBA)
Metal Gear Solid (1998, PS1)
Metroid Prime (2002, GCN)
Phantasy Star (1987, SMS)
Pokémon [Blue/Red] Version (1996, GB)
SimCity (1989, PC)

Poll 2 of 4

Dark Souls (2011, Multiplatform)
Dead Space (2008, Multiplatform)
Doom (1993, PC)
Mass Effect (2007, X360)
Mega Man X (1993, SNES)
Sid Meier's Civilization (1991, PC)
Star Wars: X-Wing (1993, PC)
Suikoden (1995, PS1)

Poll 3 of 4

Banjo-Kazooie (1998, N64)
Half-Life (1998, PC)
Pikmin (2001, GCN)
Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention (1992, Genesis)
Super Mario 64 (1996, N64)
Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES)
Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii)
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995, SNES)
The Legend of Zelda (1986, NES)

Poll 4 of 4

Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009, Multiplatform)
Castlevania (1986, NES)
Gradius (1985, Arcade)
Guacamelee! (2013, Multiplatform)
Professor Layton and the Curious Village (2007, DS)
Sonic the Hedgehog (1991, Genesis)
Super Mario Kart (1992, SNES)
Tetris (1989, GB)
The Secret of Monkey Island (1990, PC)

[SkyPikachu]

Poll 1 of 4

BioShock (2007, Multiplatform)
Bubble Bobble (1986, Multiplatform)
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003, GBA)
Metal Gear Solid (1998, PS1)
Metroid Prime (2002, GCN)
Phantasy Star (1987, SMS)
Pokémon [Blue/Red] Version (1996, GB)
SimCity (1989, PC)

M+L:SS Is a fantastic game and Pokemon Blue/Red was insane for 1995.

Poll 2 of 4

Dark Souls (2011, Multiplatform)
Dead Space (2008, Multiplatform)
Doom (1993, PC)
Mass Effect (2007, X360)
Mega Man X (1993, SNES)
Sid Meier's Civilization (1991, PC)
Star Wars: X-Wing (1993, PC)
Suikoden (1995, PS1)

Mega Man X is my favorite "main line" mega man game. Everything else doesn't really compete with it here.

Poll 3 of 4

Banjo-Kazooie (1998, N64)
Half-Life (1998, PC)
Pikmin (2001, GCN)
Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention (1992, Genesis)
Super Mario 64 (1996, N64)
Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES)
Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii)
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995, SNES)
The Legend of Zelda (1986, NES)

Tough but Banjo Kazooie is one of my favorite games ever and Super Mario Galaxy redefined the 3d mario series amazingly.

Poll 4 of 4

Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009, Multiplatform)
Castlevania (1986, NES)
Gradius (1985, Arcade)
Guacamelee! (2013, Multiplatform)
Professor Layton and the Curious Village (2007, DS)
Sonic the Hedgehog (1991, Genesis)
Super Mario Kart (1992, SNES)
Tetris (1989, GB)
The Secret of Monkey Island (1990, PC)

Kind just a throw away vote for Guacamelee! since I'm not a huge fan of a lot of these games (or haven't played others). Tetris is outstanding though.

[Claytone]

Boy, I'm not sure I consider Metal Gear Solid or some of these other options "firsts" in the sense of the word as I define it. But that's largely arbitrary. I guess voting based on whether or not you think a game fits the category at all is a valid voting criterion.

Anyway, plenty of good ones in here. I think I'm pulling for Castlevania to win it all. Or maybe Half-Life. Both are great!

[Kong Wen]

Poll 1 of 4
BioShock (2007, Multiplatform)
Bubble Bobble (1986, Multiplatform)
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003, GBA)
Metal Gear Solid (1998, PS1)
Metroid Prime (2002, GCN)
Phantasy Star (1987, SMS)
Pokémon [Blue/Red] Version (1996, GB)
SimCity (1989, PC)

Phantasy Star and SimCity are my picks here.

Poll 2 of 4
Dark Souls (2011, Multiplatform)
Dead Space (2008, Multiplatform)
Doom (1993, PC)
Mass Effect (2007, X360)
Mega Man X (1993, SNES)
Sid Meier's Civilization (1991, PC)
Star Wars: X-Wing (1993, PC)
Suikoden (1995, PS1)

What a killer bracket. Dark Souls, Civilization, and X-Wing are locked in votes, which only leaves me with one more. Dead Space is certainly worthy, but it was too scary for me. Doom is almost perfect. Mass Effect is another strong original entry. I love Mega Man X and Suikoden but they each have their weaknesses. Ugh. I might have to make it Doom.

Poll 3 of 4
Banjo-Kazooie (1998, N64)
Half-Life (1998, PC)
Pikmin (2001, GCN)
Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention (1992, Genesis)
Super Mario 64 (1996, N64)
Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES)
Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii)
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995, SNES)
The Legend of Zelda (1986, NES)

Shining Force is a pure elemental example of everything that series should be. The original Legend of Zelda is still a strong contender for best in the series, so it's no surprise that it's one of the strongest first games ever.

Poll 4 of 4
Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009, Multiplatform)
Castlevania (1986, NES)
Gradius (1985, Arcade)
Guacamelee! (2013, Multiplatform)
Professor Layton and the Curious Village (2007, DS)
Sonic the Hedgehog (1991, Genesis)
Super Mario Kart (1992, SNES)
Tetris (1989, GB)
The Secret of Monkey Island (1990, PC)

Another strong bracket. Arkham Asylum is another game that could have stood alone without needing a series to flesh it out (milk it). Castlevania is one of the closest platformers to "perfect" as I've ever played, so it's hard to top that. Same with Gradius on the shooter front, even though that's not a genre at which I'm particularly good. For my final vote, I can't decide between Guacamelee! or Monkey Island, which are both deserving entries here.

[MerlinDrazziw]

Poll 1 of 4: Bioshock and Metroid Prime
Poll 2 of 4: Doom
Poll 3 of 4: Half-Life
Poll 4 of 4: Professor Layton and the Curious Village and Tetris

Used the same criteria of previous round.

[This Old Neon]

Poll 1 of 4
Metal Gear Solid (1998, PS1)
Pokémon [Blue/Red] Version (1996, GB)
SimCity (1989, PC)

BioShock (2007, Multiplatform)
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003, GBA)
Metroid Prime (2002, GCN)

Poll 2 of 4
Dark Souls (2011, Multiplatform)
Doom (1993, PC)
Mega Man X (1993, SNES)
Sid Meier's Civilization (1991, PC)

Poll 3 of 4
Half-Life (1998, PC)
Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention (1992, Genesis)
Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES)
The Legend of Zelda (1986, NES)

Poll 4 of 4
Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009, Multiplatform)
Castlevania (1986, NES)
Sonic the Hedgehog (1991, Genesis)
Tetris (1989, GB)

Winners (and tiers). Stay tuned.