With March Madness comes a sort of bracket lust only be satisfied with tournaments that have nothing to do with college basketball. So, we are asking you: what is the best sports video game of all time?
To organize this field of 64 in a way that makes some sense, we’ve narrowed them down to different categories — the left side of the bracket will be the 32 games from the major American professional sports, the right side is everything else.
On Wednesday, we released the 32 ‘major sports’ video games half of the bracket. Today, we’re unleashing the other half of the field — the 32 ‘non-traditional’ video games (sorry, fans of these sports; this label is for organizational reasons only).
Next week, we will cut the field in half based on the result and move onto round 2.
Non-Big Four Sports Bracket
The Soccer/Racing/Whatnot Region
No. 1 Pro Evolution Soccer 6
The FIFA series may have been dominating stateside, but European and Japanese gamers flocked to Pro Evolution Soccer 6 with its deep gameplay that allowed players to do just about anything they could think of with the ball.
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No. 16 Pigskin Footbrawl
It’s a Viking rugby game in which you can straight up murder your opponents. It only made brief appearances in the arcade and on Genesis in the early ’90s, so it’s stealing a Blood Bowl spot because those who played it, loved it.
No. 8 Wii Sports
Even if you skipped the boxing minigame completely, Home Run Derby, Bowling, and Tennis could entertain a household for years. Say what you will about the Wii, Nintendo caught lightning in a bottle with Wii Sports. The fun was probably enhanced if you were living with a bunch of roommates at the time.
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No. 9 Super Dodge Ball
Dodgeball was probably the best game kids played in gym class, so it’s anyone’s guess why it wasn’t turned into an Olympic sport. At least children of the ’80s were given Super Dodge Ball, an addictive representation of the sport featuring impressive ball “physics” and a questionable subtext about the Cold War. This game needs to be remade.
No. 4 Mario Kart 64
It’s like Mario Superstar Baseball or Mario Strikers, but with cars. Have you heard of it?
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No. 13 Off-Road
I still have no idea who Ivan “Ironman” Stewart is, but I do remember Off-Road fondly. The isometric view was novel at a time when the camera would typically follow the player’s car, but this 4-wheeled arcade unit was about making the best multiplayer experience. Elbows to the ribs and all.
No. 5 Rocket League
One of the best hybrid sports games to come out in the last few years, the nearly-perfect Rocket League is still inducing fist pumps and kicks to the air even after your 1000th game.
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No. 12 Virtua Tennis 2
The Dreamcast had a library full of gems, but Virtua Tennis 2 was its final exclusive. Like so many “Virtua” games, the high polygon count and unparalleled animations set VT2 apart.
No. 2 Excitebike
The track editor is arguably one of the most “ahead of its time” features in all of gaming. In 1984 we were barely seeing coherent representations of sports games, then Excitebike comes out and dominates the field.
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No. 15 Track & Field
Mashing your thumbs into oblivion never felt so important. You would even develop new ways to mash buttons quicker, like: The Rub (rubbing your fingers across the controller), The Pointer Press (using your pointer fingers as the control laid on the ground in front of you) or, The Kneeling Typist (kneeling down as if bowing to the controller then tapping the buttons non-stop without looking at the screen with a thumb and pointer finger connected in an “OK” sign).
No. 7 FIFA 16
At this point, FIFA has outclassed Pro Evolution/Winning Eleven in nearly every way, and the last few years of FIFA have come as close to perfection as an ever-evolving simulation can. FIFA 16 is just as deep and smooth as they come. You can get lost in the features.
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No. 10 Tennis (NES)
Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto in 1984, Tennis was the favorite in many households thanks to the co-op or vs. gameplay. Few games of that time had co-op PVE in sports. Thanks, creator of Mario.
No. 3 Super Mario Strikers (GC)
Like Mario Superstar Baseball, Strikers is easy to pick up and play, but deep enough to entice hardcore sports gamers. The games were usually high scoring, but every score felt SO good…
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No. 14 Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball
Move past the skimpy outfits and… physics… and you have one of the best (only) volleyball games in existence. The sand kicking around your feet and breathtaking stages helped keep you around until you fully understood the challenging gameplay.
No. 6 Mario Power Tennis
Not sure if you’ve been following along with the Mario-themed entries, but Mario Power Tennis is basically like Mario Superstar Baseball meets Mario Super Strikers meets Mario Kart… On Tennis. The volleys in this game are incredibly fun.
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No. 11 Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec
One of the first games go to another level of jaw-dropping visuals, Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec was everything a car junkie wanted. Its graphics were so good and its controls so difficult, A-Spec made a sizable amount of people be content in just watching someone else play.
It still looks good considering it came out in 2001.
The Extreme Sports/Fighting/Golf Region
No. 1 Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2
Improving on the first THPS in every way, THPS2 was more of everything — more control (manuals) more hidden secrets, a bigger and better soundtrack, and one of the most addictive combo-chaining mechanics in gaming. The game would refine itself and add much-needed features in later years, but THPS2 will always be loved forever. The level design is perfection.
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No. 16 WWE 2K15
Subtle improvements over the years led us to pick the best WWE 2K game out of a hat since the differences between them are so minor. Still, as a whole, they are the best (only) games to scratch the wrestling itch out there. Blood should be allowed online, and Hell in a Cell is always fun.
No. 8 Fight Night Round 4
The Fight Night games almost always delivered on a high-quality boxing experience, but Fight Night Round 4 went above and beyond. The graphics were jaw-dropping, and the matchups (Rocky vs. Ali) were unforgettable and the Raging Bull slobber knocker replays were always a hit.
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No. 9 Fire Pro Wrestling Returns
Want to force Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage to sign on the dotted line for an exploding barbed wire kickboxing match? You can do that inFire Pro Wrestling Returns because you can do anything in Fire Pro Wrestling Returns.
No. 4 Skate 2
Turning a cold shoulder to Tony Hawk’s arcade gameplay, Skate 2 made a “simple” clean kick flip into a nose grind a thing of beauty. Clearing gaps and finding spots to create your own unique trick line was unlike any other sports game, and the Hall of Meat mode was great for parties.
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13. WWE Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain
Fighting all over the arena and creating your own storylines paved the way for future WWE games. This was what PS2 users needed after Nintendo 64 dominated the wrestling landscape — pure freedom.
No. 5 WWE No Mercy
The gold standard of the THQ/Asmik Ace Entertainment/AKI Corporation run, No Mercy brought the create-a-wrestler to another level while delivering deep gameplay that built upon Wrestlemania 2000 and WCW vs. NWO. This was a 4-player staple.
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No. 12 EA UFC 2
Building on EA MMA and EA UFC 2, the Fight Night team has come close to reaching the levels reverence UFC Undisputed 3 and Fight Night enjoy. The ground game still needs tweaking, but the stand up is best in genre, and the online community is still going strong.
No. 2 Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!!
While far from a sports simulation, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!! was the only decent choice boxing enthusiasts had for many years. The arcade gameplay holds up today, and you probably know someone who can recall the Mike Tyson password from memory (007 373 5963).
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No. 15 Links 386 Pro
Watching the courses load was half the fun, but for many, the stunning graphics and nuanced gameplay couldn’t be touched for a decade. There were so many options. You had such control. The golfer looks so real!
No. 7 Mario Golf
It’s like Mario Strikers met Mario Kart and made a Mario Baseball baby who then fell in love with Mario Tennis and had a kid of their own that really liked golf.
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No. 10 Hot Shots 3
The PS2’s early years were relatively barren, so Hot Shots Golf 3 became a dark horse favorite on the system. It also filled an arcad-y Mario-esque niche that Sony couldn’t provide. It didn’t hurt that the graphics (especially the water effects), were top notch.
No. 3 Tiger Woods 2005
With one of the best create-a-player suites in gaming, Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’05 was a favorite in competitive households. Tiger straddled the line between arcade and simulation gameplay, which allowed for close games between newbies and vets alike.
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No. 14 NES Golf
It was the first golf title a generation of gamers got their hands on, and so it is beloved by many. Mechanically, it’s still playable today.
No. 6 1080 Snowboarding
It was hard as hell, but once you understood how to land, you were soaring through the air unlike ever before. The weight and feel of your snowboarder gliding up a halfpipe changed everything.
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No. 11 UFC Undisputed 3
Arguably the best MMA game ever made (with EA UFC 2 close), UFC 3 had a career mode so deep it hasn’t been attempted again before or since. Create-a-fighter had countless moves to choose from, and the gameplay was finally working for ground maneuvers. It was a pinnacle of digital combat. It was a love letter to the sport.
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