You can only select 1 game per console generation to play. What do you choose?

[Beamerball]

Not including handheld or PC. Just console. Also, you can only select one game per generation! Think of the (only) one game that you'd get to play per generation. Edit: feel free to share why, also!

pre-NES - Zaxxon for the ColecoVision
NES - Super Mario Bros 3
Genesis/SNES- Super Mario World
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Hot Shots Golf 2 for the PS1. IMO, most fun I'd ever had with a golf game. Simple controls yet challenging. Super quirky. Loved it.
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Winning Eleven 7 International (aka PES 3). I spent hours with this game. After years of fifa not clicking with me we finally got PES released in the US. Probably the best playing soccer game of all time. And I could leave the highlight reel music on repeat.
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Wii Sports Resort. Greatest sports game of all time. Incredible party game that I still play with my kids to this day.
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U- Super Smash Bros for the Wii U
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Zelda: Breath of the Wild

what about you?

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Cue debate over which generation Switch belongs to...

 

[JumbiePrime]

pre-NES - ET..just bring da pain bby!!!
NES - Legend of Zelda
Genesis/SNES- Chrono Trigger
PS1/Saturn/N64 - King of Fighters 96 JPN Saturn
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Eternal Darkness
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Skyrim
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U- Bloodborne
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - So far?? Probably Demon's Souls Remake?

 

[Prometheus Zero]

NES - Mega Man 3
Genesis/SNES- Chrono Trigger
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Castlevania SOTN
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Metroid Prime
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Dark Souls
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U- Bloodborne
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Zelda: Breath of the Wild

 

[CannonFodder52]

NES - Tetris
Genesis/SNES - Snatcher
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Silent Hill
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Killer7
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Deadly Premonition
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U - Death Stranding
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Kentucky Route Zero

I chose games that had some of the biggest impact on me and that I hold in high regard, as opposed to ones that would be infinitely replayable.

 

[SasaBassa]

Game Boy - Links Awakening
NES - Tetris
Genesis/SNES- Super Mario All Stars
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Mario Tennis
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Smash Bros Melee
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U- Apex Legends
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Zelda: Breath of the Wild

 

[Beamerball]

Cue debate over which generation Switch belongs to...

Click to shrink...

Lol I know the waters I just waded into are dangerous

 

[Elfgore]

I'm too young to have played anything pre-PS2 era. So, I'm gonna skip those.

PS2 - Persona 3 FES
PS3 - Fallout: New Vegas
PS4 - Persona 5 Royal
Switch - Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

When the average time to finish a single one of these games is like 80 hours, plenty of stuff to keep me occupied. Plus all of them are just pretty cool games.

 

[kubev]

I'm building my list now, but I might recommend asking WHY people are including these games so this doesn't turn into a strictly list topic.

Anyway, I'll use the same template as the OP...

Pre-NES - Yars' Revenge for Atari 2600. I still play this on occasion, and I love how foreboding the audio is.
NES - Kirby's Adventure for NES, I suppose. I don't have a lot of love for the NES, but I do love Kirby.
Genesis/SNES - Super Mario World for SNES. I still replay this and get all 96 stage exits at least once every year or two. I just love how much flexibility you have in terms of how you can complete levels.
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for Sega Saturn. I prefer this version because Alucard can run faster, equip items to a "third hand" and extend his bat form's Wing Smash without additional inputs.
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Amplitude for PlayStation 2. It's pretty much the only game for PlayStation 2 I even really like, and it obviously had enough of an impact on me that I'd choose it over anything else on any of these systems.
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Deadly Premonition for Xbox 360. I prefer this version to the subsequent versions, as the Director's Cut messed with the narrative style too much. The ending is probably one of my favorites in video game history.
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U - Sunset Overdrive for Xbox One. It took some getting used to, and it made me nauseous the first couple times I played it, but the traversal in this game is second to none.
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Forza Horizon 5 for Xbox Series X. Yeah, I'm that optimistic about how amazing it's gonna be, even if it's not out yet. These games just get better with each release for the most part.

 

[Wrexis]

NES - Super Mario Bros
Genesis/SNES - FF6
PS1/Saturn/N64 - FF7
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Metal Gear Solid 3
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Mass Effect
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U - FF7R
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Xenoblade 2

Categorization for this is weird btw. Why is Switch with the PS5 given it came out 4 years ago? Same for Wii U.

 

[Beamerball]

I'm building my list now, but I might recommend asking WHY people are including these games so this doesn't turn into a strictly list topic.

Click to shrink...

Good idea

 

[Jaded Alyx]

I'm building my list now, but I might recommend asking WHY people are including these games so this doesn't turn into a strictly list topic.

Click to shrink...

Indeed, which would result in the thread getting closed.

 

[xir]

did shiren come out in the states? any 16 bit roguelikes?

 

[Teejay]

NES - Tetris
Genesis/SNES - Chrono Trigger
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Suikoden II
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Mario Kart: Double Dash
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Grand Theft Auto V
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U - Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Animal Crossing: New Horizons

You usually pick games with high replay-ability: such as open world games like GTA V and BoTW (Wii U), building sim like AC: NH, puzzle games (Tetris). racing games, and add a couple RPG (Chrono Trigger and Suikoden II). Although, CT can be replaced by SMB World just to add a platformer.

 

[bionic77]

If I could only pick one game it would probably be a multiplayer game for every generation.

There is no single player game ever made that I could be happy playing for 5-10 years.

NES: Blades of Steel
Genesis/SNES: Street Fighter 2
PS1/N64: Puzzle Fighter
Gamecube/PS2/Xbox: Wining Eleven
Xbox 360/etc: Call of Duty (not sure about this gen)
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U: Rocket League
Current Gen: Splatoon 2

 

[kubev]

Good idea

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the change. It's always frustrating making a list and having it not post because the thread was already closed. Haha.

I've added my list to my original post.

 

[Plinko]

pre-NES - Pitfall for Atari 2600
NES - Little Nemo the Dream Master
Genesis/SNES- NBA JAM T.E.
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Chrono Cross or WWF No Mercy
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Star Wars Rogue Leader
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Super Mario Galaxy
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U- Xenoblade Chronicles X
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Animal Crossing New Horizons

 

[Devilgunman]

NES: Kunio dodgeball
Incredible replay value. Great for multi-player.

Neo Geo: Wind Jammer
Same as above but even greater mp. One of the best game on NG library.

PS1: SRW F Final
My first crush on mech strategy game.

PS2: Taito Legend 2
Collection of great arcade games. Incredible value.

Wii: Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn
Got to have FE game somewhere.

PS4: SD Gundam G Generation Genesis
Best GGEN game so far. Great encyclopedia for UC Gundam nerds

PS5: FFXIV
If I can only have one game to play the rest of my life, FFXIV is it. Endless stuffs to do in the game.

 

[N.47H.4N]

SNES - Super Mario World
PSOne - Resident Evil 2
PS2 - Resident Evil 4
PS3 - The Last of Us
PS4 - God of War

 

[CONCHOBAR]

This seems like a fun format!

NES - Super Mario Bros. 3
SNES/Genesis - Gradius III (very close runner-up: Turtles in Time)
N64/PSX - Donkey Kong 64
Gamecube/PS2/Xbox - Wind Waker
Wii/PS3/Xbox 360 - Skyrim
Wii U/PS4/Xbox One - Devil May Cry V
Switch/PS5/Xbox Series - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

I understand I'm not winning any awards for originality, but these are all games that I come back to over and over and over again. Not only are these some of my favorite games, but they all have so much replayability.

Edit: Bonus rounds:

Game Boy - Pokemon Red
GBA - Minish Cap
DS/PSP - Animal Crossing: Wild World
3DS/Vita - Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

 

[dipship31]

NES - Super Mario 3
Genesis / SNES - Final Fantasy VI
PSX / N64 - Super Smash Bros.
XBox / PS2 / GC - Halo 2
XBox 360 / PS3 / Wii - Modern Warfare 2
XBONE / PS4 / WiiU - Rocket League
Switch / Series / PS5 - Hades

 

[Crayolan]

If we're talking you can never play another game from that gen again except the one you choose, I'd have to go with games which I'd get a lot of mileage out of, not necessarily my #1 favorites.

NES - The Legend of Zelda
Genesis/SNES- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (if this counts as 1 game, otherwise Super Metroid)
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Any Mario Party game
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Melee
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Pokemon BW2 (If PC was allowed, Team Fortress 2)
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U- Splatoon
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5-Fire Emblem: 3 Houses

Basically multiplayer games and games I can and have replayed over and over and still enjoy.

 

[Salty_Piers]

NES - Dr. Mario
Genesis/SNES- Chrono Trigger
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Final Fantasy IX
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Monster Hunter Rise

 

[Beamerball]

If we're talking you can never play another game from that gen again except the one you choose, I'd have to go with games which I'd get a lot of mileage out of, not necessarily my #1 favorites.
Basically multiplayer games and games I can and have replayed over and over and still enjoy.

Click to shrink...

Yep that's what makes the choice so difficult but interesting. You only get one option per generation

 

[Necromorph]

NES: Super Mario Bros. 3
SNES/Genesis: Mario World
PSX: Resident Evil 2
PS2/Xbox/Gamecube: Resident Evil 4
PS3/Xbox 360: Skyrim
PS4/Xbox One: Dark Souls III
PS5/Xbox Series/Switch: Returnal

 

[Ryunosuke Naruhodo]

NES - Super Mario Bros 3
Genesis/SNES - Yoshi's Island
PS1/Saturn/N64 - X-Men vs Street Fighter
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Street Fighter Alpha Antology
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Mortal Kombat 9
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U - Halo 5
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Ace Attorney Trilogy

 

[Moose]

Master Chief Collection. Muwahahahaa

 

[casnix]

2600 - Megamania
NES - Super Mario Bros 3
SNES - Super Mario World
N64 - Super Mario 64
PS2 - God of War 2
PS3 - Last of Us
PS4 - Bloodborne
PS5 - Demon's Souls

 

[DeadDuck144]

Assuming that I can still play any games that released on the PC:

Gen 1: Pong
Gen 2: Space Invaders
Gen 3: Super Mario Bros. 3
Gen 4: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Gen 5: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Thank you, Super Mario 64 PC Port!)
Gen 6: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Gen 7: Metroid Prime Trilogy
Gen 8: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Gen 9: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

If PC gaming isn't an option and these are the only games I get to play for the rest of my life, then the list gets a lot trickier.

 

[GlitchyDegree]

NES - Super Mario Bros 3
Genesis - Sonic 3 & Knuckles
PSX - Bushido Blade 2
Xbox - Tony Hawk's Underground
Xbox 360 - Saints Row 2
Xbox One - Rock Band 4
Nintendo Switch - Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild

 

[Madao]

is it cheating if you mention a Wii U game for Switch and also a Wii U game for the Wii U gen? half of the big profile Switch games are Wii U games.

anyway, here's my list:

NES: idk. i don't like games from this era. maybe a Mario game...
SNES/Genesis: Yoshi's Island
PS1/N64: F-Zero X
PS2/Xbox/Gamecube: F-Zero GX
PS3/Xbox 360/Wii: Metroid Prime Trilogy
PS4/Xbox One/Wii U: Xenoblade X
PS5/Xbox Series/Switch: Mario Kart 8

 

[mrmickfran]

Gen 4: Yoshi's Island
Gen 5: Final Fantasy IX
Gen 6: God Hand
Gen 7: Bayonetta
Gen 8: Persona 5

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

NES - Tetris
SNES - Chrono Trigger
PS1 - Metal Gear Solid
PS2 - Metal Gear Solid 3
PS3 - The Last of Us
PS4 - The Last of Us Part II
PS5 - Don't know as I have yet to play a real next gen game on consoles. I've had a PS5 since week 1/2, but I haven't played any exclusives.

 

[ninnanuam]

Pre 8 bit - Pacman
8 bit - Wonder Boy in Monster World
16 bit - SSF2T
PS1 - SotN
PS2 - Morrowind
PS3 - Rock Band 3
PS4 - Titanfall 2
PS5 - I don't have any idea yet. But it's probably Yakuza 7 right now but will likely change to GTA V/online when that releases. As it's my most played game from last gen by a lot.

 

[nihilence]

Master Chief Collection. Muwahahahaa

Click to shrink...

That was my first thought. It's like cheating. Unless you now only get that game for 4 generation.

 

[purseowner]

NES - Balloon Fight
Genesis/SNES - Earthbound
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Banjo-Kazooie
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Pikmin 2
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Bioshock Infinite
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U - Yakuza 0
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Super Mario Odyssey

 

[Beth Cyra]

NES: Mega Man 2, easily my favorite music and overall game on the platform.

SNES: Mega Man X, one of the best games ever made and the best sequel series ever produced.

N64: Mario Kart 64, not even best kart racer, but the one I enjoy the most.

PS1: Lunar the Silver Star Story Complete, one of the best RPGs of all time and I never tire of the cast.

PS2: Metal Gear Solid 2, absolutely not what I wanted out of a sequel but it was so good it was perfect anyway.

Cube: ReMake the single best remake of all time.

Xbox: Halo Combat Evolved.

360: Burnout Revenge, easily my favorite racer of all time.

Wii: Silent Hill Shattered Memories: my favorite game of the whole gen and the single best horror game ever made.

PS3: Final Fantasy XIII : I adore the Optima Shift and Fang is just my girl.

PS4: Dark Souls 3 : Single most fun game I played all gen aside from VIIR.

PS5: FFVIIR Intergrade, it's FFVIIR but more and better.

 

[Melchiah]

PS1 - Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
PS2 - Silent Hill 2
PS3 - The Last of Us
PS4 - Bloodborne
PS5 - Demon's Souls (so far)

 

[RecLib]

So I guess the caveat here is that I have played nothing pre-nes, and my experience from the NES-PS2 era of gaming is almost entirely based on what was available in the online stores of later console generations, or later generation handhelds.
I have not played any ps5 or Xbox Series X games yet.

NES - The Legend of Zelda
Genesis/SNES- Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.
PS1/Saturn/N64 - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Chulip!
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Demon's Souls
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U- The Last of Us 2
Switch - Splatoon 2

 

[oofouchugh]

These aren't necessarily my favorite games of each generation but the ones I feel like I'd enjoy the most replaying in this hell continuity where I only get one game. Excluding game collections like Mass Effect collection but cool with remakes.

pre-NES: Pac-Man Intellivision
NES: Mario 3
Genesis/SNES: Mario RPG
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Final Fantasy IX
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Morrowind
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - New Vegas
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U- Dark Souls 3 PS4
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Demon Souls

 

[FarSight XR-20]

Genesis/SNES - Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (don't played many games from that era)
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Perfect Dark (just because the Multiplayer never gets old)
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Eternal Darkness
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Fallout: New Vegas
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U - Fallout 76 (just for the open-world alone)
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - too early but I would say Fallout 5 or Perfect Dark

 

[HiLife]

N64 - TLOZ OoT
Xbox - Halo 2
Xbox 360 - MW2
X1X - Overwatch
Series X - Halo Infinite 🤷🏾‍♂️

 

[cardboardboxer]

pre-NES - arcade Ms PAC-Man
NES - Super Mario Bros 3
Genesis/SNES- Link to the Past
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Dragon Force
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Wind Waker
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Guitar Hero: Metallica
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U- Splatoon 2
PC/Xbox Series/PS5 - Half Life Alyx

 

[hydruxo]

NES - Kirby's Adventure
Genesis/SNES - Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Banjo-Kazooie
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Mass Effect 2
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U - Witcher 3
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Not sure yet, but for now maybe Returnal

 

[GavinGT]

I choose to stop playing games. Even with all the choices in the world, I have trouble enough finding a game I want to play.

 

[LiquidSolid]

MD/SNES: Phantasy Star IV
PS1/N64/Saturn: Suikoden II
PS2/GC/DC/Xbox: Shadow of the Colossus
PS3/360/Wii: The Last of Us
PS4/XB1/WiiU/NS: Bloodborne
PS5/XBS: Demon's Souls 2020

And handhelds:
GB: Pokemon Red/Blue
GBA: Pokemon Emerald
PSP/DS: Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver
PSV/3DS: Persona 4 Golden

 

[Patrese86]

Genesis/SNES- Super Mario Kart, could play this all day when I was younger.
PS1/Saturn/N64 - F1 97. Used to play full quali and race length (still do) and it would never get old.
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - PES2. This was a great game to play on your own or co-op. Great master league also.
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - COD4. Great SP..Best MP ever made for me. Played with alot of nice people also online (S&D on this game was unreal)
Xbox One/PS4/Wii - MW2019
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Spiderman Miles Morales

None of those are probably my favourite games with the exception of Miles Morales and it's still early days for this generation but they are the ones I'd probably be able to revisit the most.

 

[Grunty]

Only listing consoles I own or owned….

-NES: Super Mario Bros. 3
-SNES: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
-Nintendo 64: Goldeneye 007
-GameCube/Xbox: The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition
-Wii/Xbox 360: Metroid Prime Trilogy
-Wii U/Xbox One/PS4: Rare Replay
-Switch/PS5/Series X: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

 

[Deleted member 36708]

Not including handheld or PC. Just console. Also, you can only select one game per generation! Think of the (only) one game that you'd get to play per generation. Edit: feel free to share why, also!

pre-NES - Zaxxon for the ColecoVision
NES - Super Mario Bros 3
Genesis/SNES- Super Mario World
PS1/Saturn/N64 - Hot Shots Golf 2 for the PS1. IMO, most fun I'd ever had with a golf game. Simple controls yet challenging. Super quirky. Loved it.
Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 - Winning Eleven 7 International (aka PES 3). I spent hours with this game. After years of fifa not clicking with me we finally got PES released in the US. Probably the best playing soccer game of all time. And I could leave the highlight reel music on repeat.
Xbox 360/PS3/Wii - Wii Sports Resort. Greatest sports game of all time. Incredible party game that I still play with my kids to this day.
Xbox One/PS4/Wii U- Super Smash Bros for the Wii U
Switch/Xbox Series/PS5 - Zelda: Breath of the Wild

what about you?

Click to shrink...

Agree with your last two.

 

[Zaied]

Atari 2600 - Berzerk: The 2600 is the farthest I've ever gone back to play a game. My go-to is usually Berzerk, but Combat or Pitfall would work, too.

NES - Action 52: 52 games on one cartridge, including The Cheetahmen? You really can't beat that.

Sega CD - Snatcher: The sole English version was released exclusively for Sega CD. Still one of my favorite Kojima storylines, and an insanely immersive adventure for its time.

PS1 - Front Mission 3: I own a copy, but haven't played much of it. I don't play many tactical RPGs in general, but Front Mission 3 is considered one of the best games to release in the PS1's later years, and it's a genre I've wanted to play more of it, anyway.

PS2/Xbox/GameCube - SSX 3: Had a chance to play this on Xbox One when it became backwards compatible. Can't go wrong with a fun sports game with a straightforward progression system, customization, and unlockables.

PS3/360 - Fallout: New Vegas: Skyrim would also be a fine choice for me, but the DLC for New Vegas is enough to give it the nod.

PS4/XB1- Mass Effect Legendary Edition: Might be cheating a little, but I spent a good portion of the previous generation replaying the Mass Effect trilogy, anyway. Taking advantage of a remastered collection that has extras and all DLC included is a no-brainer.

PS5/Series X - Returnal: Almost by default since I only own a handful of games for my PS5 at the moment. Might end up being Lost Judgment in a few months, or Death Stranding: Director's Cut, or Halo Infinite. And that's before considering games even farther out that could really blow me away like Starfield, Avowed, Dragon's Dogma 2, Kojima's Xbox game, EA Sports College Football, etc.