Desert island, only one game... per console!

[Sarge]

I feel like I can throw in one more. I have a GBA, but have never owned a Game Boy Color. However... since the GBA does GBC, I'm going to toss in Metal Gear Solid. They did a great job of implementing most of what made the PSX game great, and an original story to boot. Great stuff. I could have gone with the Oracle games, but I feel like you really need both of those to make it worthwhile.

[alienjesus]

I own a lot of consoles. This list might not be my favourite for each console - in fact, quite a lot of them aren't - but I've opted for things that assume I might want to replay them a lot. I'm also assuming that I have an internet connection, so correct me if that's against the rules.

I went into this optimising 3 criteria:
- Obviously, I want the game to be really good
- Long games or endless games are better as who knows how long I'll be here for
- Games where you can replay with self-imposed restrictions, new loadouts or where the game has a high skill ceiling allow the game to feel fresh for longer

NES: Super Mario Bros 3. - It's got a lot of levels to explore, easy to apply restrictions via power ups, and a skill ceiling to improve speedrun times or something. NES was a tough one to choose, because none of the games would be ideal
SNES: Donkey Kong Country 3 - I just really like this game, and it has lots of secrets, a lot to do and cheats to make it harder.
Nintendo 64: Paper Mario - I adore this game, and thanks to the badge and levelling system it's easy to add restrictions to the battle. Can I beat the game with no HP boosts? Itemless? Can I use hammers only? Lots of options!
Gamecube: F-Zero GX - This game has tons of content, loads of racers to make it feel different, and some incredibly, incredibly tough to unlock secrets for high level play. It'd take me a really long time before I even unlock everything, and then there's still room to improve. This was a hard choice though, because I was really tempted to choose Animal Crossing instead.
Wii: Monster Hunter Tri - A variety of weapon options gives me lots of ways to replay this differently, plus theres a ton of content here too
Wii U: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U - Smash Bros. never gets old ever. This is the best one (for now)
Switch: Dragon Quest Builders - It's a fun RPG and a lego set rolled into one. Loads of options to be creative even outside of the base game.
Game Boy: Pokémon Gold/Silver - Lots of Pokémon to catch, tons of ways to replay slightly differently, and it's the biggest of the original GB Pokémon games.
Game Boy Colour: Pokémon Pinball - Not only does pinball have a nearly infinite skill ceiling, but there's a load of stuff to do here even just trying to catch all the pokemon.
Game Boy Advance: Advance Wars 2: This was a tough one to decide, but Advance Wars has lots to do, unlock and fun variations you can add to battles via your unit choices and CO abilities that mean it has lots of new ways to enjoy it.
Nintendo DS: 100 Classic Book Collection - Is this cheating? This way I get to enjoy an entirely different pastime on my desert island too, giving me more variety.
Nintendo 3DS: Fire Emblem Fates: Special Edition - Now, you might say that this is a compilation - well sir, I counter that this game is in fact one game with 2 lots of DLC included (you could buy both other campaigns from a baseline Fates Birthright or Fates Conquest copy), and thus I get to include three different 30+ hour strategy games with a whole host of character variations I get to use or easy restrictions I can add to mix things up a bit.
Pokemon Mini: Pokemon Tetris - The pokemon mini doesn't have many games, but this is both an endless puzzle game with lots of score beating potential, and another 'gotta catch em all' challenge that will take ages to complete.
Virtual Boy: Panic Bomber - Yeah....there weren't a lot of options on VB...

Master System: Bubble Bobble - It's 200 levels and has lots of ways to improve
Mega Drive: Toejam and Earl - random factor = replayability
Saturn: Guardian Heroes - Tons of rbanching stories and multiple characters offers a lot of replay value.
Dreamcast: Chu Chu Rocket - So, if I'm on this desert island for a long time, like, a really long time, I can literally create tons of my own levels on Chu Chu Rocket, wait a few years, and then come back to solve them anew! Endless original content Also, that multiplayer is always fun, even with CPU bots.
Game Gear: Columns - I don't have a lot of Game Gear options, and this one is pretty replayable.

Playstation: Metal Gear Solid - I struggled on Playstation between this and a Final Fantasy game, but I opted for this because of the numerous ways I could add challenge for myself
Playstation 2: Tekken Tag Tournament - That's a lot of characters to master
Playstation 3: LittleBigPlanet - Potentially infinite new content hoorah (I haven't played many PS3 games either)
Playstation 4: Overwatch - As long as the servers stay up, I get to play a game that both rarely gets old for me, and also allows me the privilege of human interaction. Even if it is to tell me to get off Symmetra.
Playstation Portable: Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles - Hahaha, I'm cheating the rules once more. This isn't a compilation game, even though it is. I get to play Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood as freebies
Playstation Vita: Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd - I never get tired of this one.

Xbox: Outrun 2 - I don't have a lot of XBox games, and this one's just a lot of fun.
Xbox 360: Akai Katana - I also don't have many 360 titles, but I do have a few bullet hells which I can use the time to get better at. This is my favourite of the ones I have.

PC Engine Duo: Puyo Puyo CD - More high difficulty, replayable puzzle fun.
3DO: Road Rash - 3DO options are limited...
Neo Geo Pocket Colour: Metal Slug 2nd Mission- NGPC is tough to choose again. This game has multiple paths at least though.
Wonderswan Colour: Sennou Millennium - I only own 3 WSC games. 1 is a Japanese RPG I can't understand and 1 is 15 minutes long, so I went with the third option.

[laurenhiya21]

This was pretty tricky to do, mostly because some of my consoles I haven't played too many games that I've enjoyed playing. I should probably try and fix that ha... It probably also doesn't help that I think I've beaten far fewer games than many of you guys here, but I tried my best!

NES: Shadowgate - I haven't played many NES games that I've actually enjoyed playing, so I don't have many options here. The other potential option was Excitebike, but I do enjoy Shadowgate a lot more.

SNES: Cu-On-Pa - One of the few puzzle games that I really like, plus it has a ton of levels to play (also I haven't played many other SNES games that I've liked anyway). I'm sure I could even play the Hard levels if I was on the island for long enough haha.

Gamecube: LoZ Twilight Princess - Maybe not the best option due to how linear it is, but it's one of my favourite Zelda games. It would take me a while to get bored of this one.

Wii: Rune Factory Frontier - One of the better Rune Factory games (if not the best) and it has a ton of things to do.

Switch: LoZ Breath of the Wild - I haven't played too many Switch games yet, but Breath of the Wild is definitely my favourite to far, plus it has a ton of places to explore and shrines to visit. Even though I already have another Zelda game on my list, I think Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild are different enough that it wouldn't be too much of an issue.

DS: Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - I haven't actually played too much of this (really I haven't played too many DS games in general), but I do remember enjoying it growing up. I also know that it has a ton to do, so it would take a while for me to run out of content.

3DS: Fantasy Life - Another more chill game with a lot of content. Maybe this isn't the best choice here, since it's kind of similarish feeling to Rune Factory, but it's the only game I've played that has a lot of content or replay value.

PS1: Suikoden - I also haven't played too many PS1 games, but this is probably the best one that I've played.

PS2: Ar Tonelico II - This was a hard one since most of my favourites aren't really heavily replayable. I ended up picking Ar Tonelico II because it's fairly lengthy, and has several endings to play through.

PS3: Burnout Paradise - Probably one of the better racing games that I have, and it has a lot of different things to find and races to beat.

PS4: Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone DX - For my Hatsune Miku fix!

PSP: Legend of the Heroes: Trails in the Sky - I've actually only played a little bit of this, but it's a long RPG so it might be good for this sort of thing? I didn't really have many other PSP options.

Vita: Dungeon Travellers 2 - Not only is the main game fairly lengthy, but there's a lot of pretty challenging post-game content (at least from what I've heard). It would take me quite a long while to exhaust all the content from this one.

PC: Skyrim - If we could bring a PC I would probably chose Skyrim just because of how much content there is, even with only the base game. If there was access to DLC and mods then it would take forever to run out of content.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Atari 2600 - Adventure
Intellivision - Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
ColecoVision - Venture
MSX - Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness
NES - Super Mario Bros. 3
SG-1000 - Zaxxon
Famicom Disk System - Zelda no Densetsu: The Hyrule Fantasy
Sega Master System - Phantasy Star
Game Boy - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Genesis - Exile
Game Gear - Crystal Warriors
Sega CD - Lunar: Eternal Blue
Neo Geo MVS - Metal Slug
SNES - Final Fantasy VI
TurboGrafx-16 - Cadash
TurboGrafx CD - Ys Book I & II
3DO - Lucienne's Quest
PlayStation - Threads of Fate
Saturn - Magic Knight Rayearth
Nintendo 64 - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber
PC-FX - Blue Breaker
Game Boy Color - Revelations: The Demon Slayer
Dreamcast - Phantasy Star Online
PlayStation 2 - Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Game Boy Advance - Mother 3

I own many consoles beyond these listed, but I wanted to keep this list succinct and retro.

[ESauced]

I like how you said "will serve me well." I picture you packing these up and boarding a plane to a desert island haha.

Haha. I was actually using maruruns wording to respond, but sometimes I do feel like that would be a good idea.

[Sarge]

I ended up tweaking my choices in the original post. I also realize that I did choose one game that I didn't own while I was thinking that was a stipulation. Of course, since it wasn't, Lunar: Eternal Blue stays put.

I decided, however, that instead of going with Twilight Princess on Gamecube, I'd take it on Wii over my original replacement of Super Mario Galaxy, and take Metroid Prime on Gamecube. I still have plenty of Mario, and I feel like a little bit of the best 3D Metroid would give some variety.

[Ack]

Huh, I guess I could give this a go. In some cases, my experience with the console collection may be somewhat limited...in others, I have quite a lot and am picking based on my experience. I'm also interested in longevity and replayability.

NES - G.I. Joe: I get a nice run-and-gun/action platformer with multiple characters to select from, hence adding to replayability. Plus it's in a franchise that I get a kick out of. YO JOE!

SNES - Liberty or Death: This may seem a strange selection, but I wanted to experience some rich turn-based strategy. What better way to do it than with a game considered perhaps the pinnacle of Koei's SNES strategy offerings?

GEN - Streets of Rage 2: This is an excellent beat 'em up, and one of the most fun brawlers I've played in a while. I would have a blast revisiting this with different characters on different difficulties and learning the minutiae of its system.

3DO - Syndicate: I don't own many 3DO games. In fact, I have experience with two. Between them, I find Syndicate to be the more compelling game of interest. I think I'd like to manage a squad of killer cyborgs in a near-future cyberpunk world.

Saturn - Cyberbots: This is an excellent fighting game, and I'd love to spend more time getting into it and understanding its flow.

N64 - Ogre Battle 64: I admit, I haven't spent much time with this one, but after how much I loved the original Ogre Battle, this seems like the logical choice to bring along from my collection. I am a person of lordly caliber on my tiny island, after all.

PS1 - Front Mission 3: While Ogre Battle is also a tactical RPG, it and FM3 have very different styles and settings. I'd bring FM3 along for a different experience in the same genre and because it has a long storyline that splits into two early on, thus offering replayability.

Dreamcast - D2: A combination of horror, RPG, and light gun game? Sign me up!

PS2 - Way of the Samurai 2: There is a lot of content here to check out. WotS2 includes branching storylines, a variety of weapons to find and master, the ability to upgrade said weapons, and the hundred man fight if you truly feel up to the task. It's worth bringing.

PS3 - 3D Dot Game Heroes: Because of course I would bring this.

==================================================

And now moving away from consoles and towards arcade, handheld, and digital distribution services...

Neo Geo MVS - Metal Slug: I love Metal Slug. I'd bring it just to run through it every few days for fun.

GBA - Final Fantasy VI Advance: With a redone translation, new weapons, and bonus dungeons, I'd be more than happy to return to this port of FFVI.

GBC - Daikatana: This is the best version of this game. What?

GOG - Inquisitor: Yes, I will take an RPG that averages 100+ hours along, because I can.

Steam - Earth Defense Force 4.1: This game gives me 4 classes to play on 5 difficulty settings across 89 levels(for the record, that's 1780 levels), in which I shoot giant bugs, dragons, killer robots, and space ships with increasingly more ridiculous weapons. Hell yes, sign me up.

[casterofdreams]

I’ll be the asshole and say: iPhone with all the games!

Now if it was, say one physical cart, then it’ll be a GBA with an Everdrive.

Now a more serious answer is:
GBA with Pokemon Leaf Green
DS with Pokemon Heart Gold
3DS with Pokemon Omega Ruby
PSP with Persona 3
Vita with Persona 4

And that’s all I got at the moment.

[pierrot]

Saturn - Cyberbots: This is an excellent fighting game, and I'd love to spend more time getting into it and understanding its flow.

Aw, yeah! Cyberbots is wicked. I love that game, and it's superb on the Saturn, with the 1Meg expansion ROM. I was also trying to pick games based on longevity, and replayability. So, while I was debating including Cyberbots, I've already opened up all the extra mechs, and played through everyone's story mode a few years ago. I'm not sure how much I would actually go back to it at this point, as a single player experience. Great choice, though.

Groove on Fight is another fighting game I had to consider on the Saturn that I quite enjoyed, but played through all the stories, and unlocked everything in already. So, it was really in the same boat as Cyberbots, but I also had to fight it out between a metric butt-load of games for that console.

Dreamcast - D2: A combination of horror, RPG, and light gun game?

D2 uses the light gun?



So, here's a question: What if I own a bunch of consoles from different regions? Would it be kosher to have one game with each console, if it matched the region?

[shake_zula]

I spent way longer on this than I should've.

Master System:
Castle of Illusion (for the soundtrack)

Mega Drive:
Super Street Fighter II PGA Tour Golf III

SNES:
Super Ghouls n Ghosts

PSX:
Music 2000 (this is just music creation software and I'm very proud of myself for thinking of it)

N64:
Super Mario 64

GameCube:
Super Smash Bros Melee

Dreamcast:
Crazy Taxi

DS:
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow

PS3:
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD (far from my favourite PS3 game but I had to forego THPS2 to fit in Music 2000 on the PSX)

Xbox 360:
Minecraft

Wii:
Mario Kart Wii

3DS:
Ocarina of Time

PS4:
Elite Dangerous

Wii U:
New Super Mario Bros Zen Pinball 2