It's probably hard to believe now, but walking around Zoah was very impressive back in the day. I think it was the first time I saw an RPG town that featured fully-3D environments.
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GAF Games o' Gen 5 (PSX/N64/SAT and more) Voting Thread -Read the First Post!-
- Thread starter AniHawk
- Start date
I only used consoles until about 5 years ago. Even then, after building a gaming PC, I found out that I hated using keyboard and mouse as gaming input devices, so that also ruled out a hunger for many older CRPGs. I've played some, of course, but always ended up appreciating the excellence more than actually enjoying myself.
planescape torment has a surprisingly low amount for how lauded it is.
at least half-life is up there. although... if things keep up, i don't think people are going to like the final results.
that's actually what struck me - that the village was not full of pre-rendered backgrounds. there's even some charm out of the weird round look of the human characters. the environment still is hard to comprehend since it seems randomly laid out.
also it's where i stopped. i feel like i've talked to everyone in the town and i don't know where to go.
SOME-MIST
Member
1. Battle Garegga ; arcade release. bar none one of the most well-rounded shoot 'em ups of all time - if not the most well rounded. released in 1996, players are still fighting to reach the world record today. fantastic scoring system which requires the player to medal chain without dropping medals, a weapon option system which is highly utilized for scoring runs and end game survival, one of the best soundtracks in the genre composed by the best in the genre - and an amazing arrange soundtrack for the saturn port too, wide array of different ships to use which revamp the game due to aimed shots, and amazing sprite work. true classic.
2. Team Fortress Classic ; pc release. my personal favorite first person/arena-eqsue shooter, and by far one of the deepest. spent 7 to 8 years of my life playing competitively and mastering the mechanics at high levels of play. bunnyhopping, crouch jumping to remain under the later implemented speed cap, sharking, chop hopping, hand held conc jumping, rampsliding, conc aiming, etc... amazing custom maps such as skill-based conc maps (still an active community today), escape maps like theclimb conloynx and k_thegame, an amazing custom map community whom created some of the premier league play maps (my favorites being ss_nyx_l, mulch_trench, security_r, and oppose2k1), and a really tight knit community. it might be hard to believe, but tf2 was really a disappointing followup for me.
3. Grim Fandango ; pc release. a film noire day of the dead themed point and click adventure by lucasarts, with a fantastic story, somewhat difficult puzzles, some of the most likable characters in gaming, and an amazing environment to explore. this is by far my favorite point and click adventure of all time.
4. Planescape: Torment ; pc release. one of my favorite stories in gaming and a supremely dark premise. I can still remember the first time I played through this title and I've played through it a handful of times. Easily my favorite dialogue in any game along with a great cast of party characters and throwaday dialogue.
5. Armed Police Batrider ; arcade release. created by yagawa of raizing (same as battle garegga), this lighthearted yet difficult shooter is reminiscent of a comic book theme with a crazy amount of secrets. a high level scoring run can push past an hour of gameplay with boss milking, secret unlockable bosses, 7 full stages in advanced course, a medal chaining system, and a huge roster of unique characters to choose from.
6. The Neverhood ; pc release. I have a sweet spot for point and click adventures, and an even bigger sweet spot for claymation. This combination made the bleak looking neverhood world a match made in heaven.
7. Dangun Feveron ; arcade release. what's not to love? one of cave's most unique shoot 'em ups. a disco sci-fi theme, hilarious announcer, blazingly fast speed, and a scoring system based around collecting hundreds upon hundreds of floating disco men each stage.
8. Skullmonkeys ; ps1 release. by the creators of the neverhood and earthworm jim (and the upcoming armikrog) this was my favorite platformer in grade school. claymation based theme with a hilarious cast of characters and environments (the hotdog sewer and joe head joe come to mind), and a surprisingly very difficult game once the game starts to ramp up... this platformer is the one I've sunk the most time into till this day.
9. DoDonpachi ; arcade release. one of the greatest titles to be introduced by cave which spawned the golden renaissance of bullet hell shoot 'em ups. many of the employees fresh off of the toaplan roster and reminiscent of their previous titles, this lone title spawned a large series of games (even though donpachi preceded it) such as dodonpachi daioujou, dodonpachi daifukkatsu, and dodonpachi saidaioujou with all the different versions in between.
10. Tetris: The Grand Master ; arcade release. the start of one the greatest tetris series of all time. later games introduced a smoother/more streamlined gameplay system, but this game started it all.
edit: crap... I need to rewrite my list because I forgot the last express.... but I don't want to bump out tetris: tgm...
edit 2: yea... I can't decide a game to drop... so honorable mentions will be the last express, moon: remix rpg adventure, sin & punishment, wave race 64..
2. Team Fortress Classic ; pc release. my personal favorite first person/arena-eqsue shooter, and by far one of the deepest. spent 7 to 8 years of my life playing competitively and mastering the mechanics at high levels of play. bunnyhopping, crouch jumping to remain under the later implemented speed cap, sharking, chop hopping, hand held conc jumping, rampsliding, conc aiming, etc... amazing custom maps such as skill-based conc maps (still an active community today), escape maps like theclimb conloynx and k_thegame, an amazing custom map community whom created some of the premier league play maps (my favorites being ss_nyx_l, mulch_trench, security_r, and oppose2k1), and a really tight knit community. it might be hard to believe, but tf2 was really a disappointing followup for me.
3. Grim Fandango ; pc release. a film noire day of the dead themed point and click adventure by lucasarts, with a fantastic story, somewhat difficult puzzles, some of the most likable characters in gaming, and an amazing environment to explore. this is by far my favorite point and click adventure of all time.
4. Planescape: Torment ; pc release. one of my favorite stories in gaming and a supremely dark premise. I can still remember the first time I played through this title and I've played through it a handful of times. Easily my favorite dialogue in any game along with a great cast of party characters and throwaday dialogue.
5. Armed Police Batrider ; arcade release. created by yagawa of raizing (same as battle garegga), this lighthearted yet difficult shooter is reminiscent of a comic book theme with a crazy amount of secrets. a high level scoring run can push past an hour of gameplay with boss milking, secret unlockable bosses, 7 full stages in advanced course, a medal chaining system, and a huge roster of unique characters to choose from.
6. The Neverhood ; pc release. I have a sweet spot for point and click adventures, and an even bigger sweet spot for claymation. This combination made the bleak looking neverhood world a match made in heaven.
7. Dangun Feveron ; arcade release. what's not to love? one of cave's most unique shoot 'em ups. a disco sci-fi theme, hilarious announcer, blazingly fast speed, and a scoring system based around collecting hundreds upon hundreds of floating disco men each stage.
8. Skullmonkeys ; ps1 release. by the creators of the neverhood and earthworm jim (and the upcoming armikrog) this was my favorite platformer in grade school. claymation based theme with a hilarious cast of characters and environments (the hotdog sewer and joe head joe come to mind), and a surprisingly very difficult game once the game starts to ramp up... this platformer is the one I've sunk the most time into till this day.
9. DoDonpachi ; arcade release. one of the greatest titles to be introduced by cave which spawned the golden renaissance of bullet hell shoot 'em ups. many of the employees fresh off of the toaplan roster and reminiscent of their previous titles, this lone title spawned a large series of games (even though donpachi preceded it) such as dodonpachi daioujou, dodonpachi daifukkatsu, and dodonpachi saidaioujou with all the different versions in between.
10. Tetris: The Grand Master ; arcade release. the start of one the greatest tetris series of all time. later games introduced a smoother/more streamlined gameplay system, but this game started it all.
edit: crap... I need to rewrite my list because I forgot the last express.... but I don't want to bump out tetris: tgm...
edit 2: yea... I can't decide a game to drop... so honorable mentions will be the last express, moon: remix rpg adventure, sin & punishment, wave race 64..
updated the total games voted in, and there are over 450 now
neat to see saturn and pc stuff getting a strong push towards the end here.
neat to see saturn and pc stuff getting a strong push towards the end here.
Assuming you've already talked to Juba (the bartender who gives you a picture of a tower), then you probably haven't talked to Paet (the engineer who repairs ancient technology).
You should be able to find him during the daytime. He's in a small yard somewhere in the second district (the one you find when you go through the town's tunnel).
Yoshi
Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
You should make clear that Wario Land is actually Virtual Boy Wario Land (the actual name of the game), because Wario Land (Super Mario Land 3) does not qualify.
1. Planescape: Torment ; (PC) It's simply the best RPG ever made. The way it implemented choice and consequence was ground breaking and it would take more than 10 years to see it replicated. It feels like an alive world (ironically) where whatever you do makes a difference and substantially changes the way the game is played. You actually role-play in this game. Add the vast amount of interesting characters and companions, each with a deep personality, personal story and agenda, the godlike script, dialogue and lore and you get one of the best games ever made and, for me, the best RPG ever made. The game blew my 14 yo mind and to this day I still find myself thinking about the dialogues between characters and the psychic drama the main character was subjected to.
2. Outcast ; (PC) aka the best game no one played at the time. You have one objective, how you achieve that objective is entirely up to you. There's no hand holding, no quest markers, no optimal way to do anything. What the game offers you is a complex web of sub-plots and mini-objectives that you can fulfill in whatever order you want but that directly interfere with the others sub-plots and mini-objectives, making them harder or easier to accomplish depending on the results of your previous actions. At the same time you're building the foundation that will make it possible to accomplish your main goals and shifting the overall narrative act according to your actions and what you achieve. It's a masterful world building game that, sadly, was overshadowed by other games as well as some technical issues.
3. Unreal Tournament ; (PC) The gold standard for online multiplayer. It was fun, balanced and had a skill-based gameplay. It was my introduction to modding and to the community-based content concept. It was also a technical achievement in terms of client and network stability.
4. Settlers II ; (PC) I love this game and still play it today. What I love the most about it is that it's an economy-based RTS with a secondary focus on combat. Your main goal is to build a sustainable colony of settlers, create supply chains, expand your territory and eventually overcome the enemy ruler. The art-style is lovely and the excellent random map generator makes it my favorite game to just relax.
5. Tomb Raider ; (PC) The first, and perhaps best, in the series. By today's standards it may seem sluggish and unpolished but it opened a whole new world of possibilities for 3D gaming. It was challenging and made exploring a worthwhile experience and I'll never forget my reaction when I first saw the T-Rex.
6. Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings ; (PC) 5 massive campaigns, tons of units, challenging AI (although it cheated quite a bit) and one of the best LAN games ever made.
7. Half-Life ; (PC) It's unavoidable. It set the bar for what single-player FPS experiences should be. It also proved that you can have a rich story in what is mainly an action game and people will be invested in it.
8. Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now ; (PC) I was torn between this and the original game but ended up choosing this simply because it's the one I have most memories of. Today it would be impossible to make a game like this, it is simply unmarketable, but it represents what games' main goal was at the time, they only strived to being fun, entertaining and memorable experiences. Carma 2 is the perfect symbol of this ideology.
9. Fallout 2 ; (PC) I never liked the original Fallout that much so I wasn't expecting a lot when I got my hands in Fallout 2. It had all the good parts the first game had and corrected and perfected the things I hated in the original. It is a major achievement in world building and mood setting as well as dialogue and story writing.
10. Dungeon Keeper 2 ; (PC) It's good to be bad.
As you can tell by the list I was a PC gamer at the time and still am today. I may have missed out on a lot of great console games but I was lucky enough to live through what might have been the golden age of PC gaming.
2. Outcast ; (PC) aka the best game no one played at the time. You have one objective, how you achieve that objective is entirely up to you. There's no hand holding, no quest markers, no optimal way to do anything. What the game offers you is a complex web of sub-plots and mini-objectives that you can fulfill in whatever order you want but that directly interfere with the others sub-plots and mini-objectives, making them harder or easier to accomplish depending on the results of your previous actions. At the same time you're building the foundation that will make it possible to accomplish your main goals and shifting the overall narrative act according to your actions and what you achieve. It's a masterful world building game that, sadly, was overshadowed by other games as well as some technical issues.
3. Unreal Tournament ; (PC) The gold standard for online multiplayer. It was fun, balanced and had a skill-based gameplay. It was my introduction to modding and to the community-based content concept. It was also a technical achievement in terms of client and network stability.
4. Settlers II ; (PC) I love this game and still play it today. What I love the most about it is that it's an economy-based RTS with a secondary focus on combat. Your main goal is to build a sustainable colony of settlers, create supply chains, expand your territory and eventually overcome the enemy ruler. The art-style is lovely and the excellent random map generator makes it my favorite game to just relax.
5. Tomb Raider ; (PC) The first, and perhaps best, in the series. By today's standards it may seem sluggish and unpolished but it opened a whole new world of possibilities for 3D gaming. It was challenging and made exploring a worthwhile experience and I'll never forget my reaction when I first saw the T-Rex.
6. Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings ; (PC) 5 massive campaigns, tons of units, challenging AI (although it cheated quite a bit) and one of the best LAN games ever made.
7. Half-Life ; (PC) It's unavoidable. It set the bar for what single-player FPS experiences should be. It also proved that you can have a rich story in what is mainly an action game and people will be invested in it.
8. Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now ; (PC) I was torn between this and the original game but ended up choosing this simply because it's the one I have most memories of. Today it would be impossible to make a game like this, it is simply unmarketable, but it represents what games' main goal was at the time, they only strived to being fun, entertaining and memorable experiences. Carma 2 is the perfect symbol of this ideology.
9. Fallout 2 ; (PC) I never liked the original Fallout that much so I wasn't expecting a lot when I got my hands in Fallout 2. It had all the good parts the first game had and corrected and perfected the things I hated in the original. It is a major achievement in world building and mood setting as well as dialogue and story writing.
10. Dungeon Keeper 2 ; (PC) It's good to be bad.
As you can tell by the list I was a PC gamer at the time and still am today. I may have missed out on a lot of great console games but I was lucky enough to live through what might have been the golden age of PC gaming.
So many people are rating Banjo Kazooie - Never played it since I wasn't an N64 owner back in the day and it never looked too compelling... Should I try it even though I hate the N64 aesthetic and don't like collectathon 3D platformers? Will it make me a believer?
entremet
Member
Yes. Don't play the n64 version. The 360 remaster is superior.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; Honestly I had to restrain myself to one game for franchise, else half my list would be Zelda titles. Link's Awakening, Majora's Mask, the Oracle games: they all have a special place in my heart, but Ocarina of Time is probably my favorite game of all time, there was no contest, even if all the other titles are amazing
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Metal Gear Solid
4. Xenogears
5. Suikoden II
6. Resident Evil 2
7. Super Mario 64
8. Silent Hill
9. Pokemon Red/Blue
10. Banjo-Kazooie
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Metal Gear Solid
4. Xenogears
5. Suikoden II
6. Resident Evil 2
7. Super Mario 64
8. Silent Hill
9. Pokemon Red/Blue
10. Banjo-Kazooie
the game, like many platformers from the era, doesn't hold up. i don't recommend it as a fun game to play, but you might be interested in just seeing what people in 1998 thought was neat, as a sort of historical thing.
early 3d was tough. i think rayman 2 and super mario 64 made it out of the era fairly unscathed. other platformers tend to range from boring (spyro) to bad/clunky (crash 1) or unfocused (rare's stuff/crash 3).
thanks. it took me a while to find him actually. made it through uru and finally 'met' azel for reals.
for the 15 years until i started playing the game, i actually thought azel was male.
Spieler Eins
Member
I mean, one of the game's best aspect is its presentation (art direction, music, humour), so if you don't like that, it's already big enough of a hindrance, but there's probably no point at all if you also don't like 3D platformers. It doesn't have excessive collecting and offers actual level design and exploration to support the required-to-continue ,,collectibles'' though, so in that regard it's at least nowhere near as bad as something like Spyro or later Rareware games.
timetokill
Banned
I hold a lot of nostalgia for it because of the humor, music, and characters, but like any game that was popular mostly for presentation, it eventually stops holding up. The gameplay isn't as tight as Mario and in a modern sense it can be incredibly frustrating, especially later levels where you're asked to cross some pretty small platforms with less-than-ideal platforming controls.
It's by no means bad, and I replayed it through a couple years ago and still had fun. It's still better than the majority of platformers from the era.
Incendiary
Banned
Okay I think I'm ready for my list.
1. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Basically, this game is what started the Metroidvania nomenclature. The game was big, but not too big. It's one of the few games I have fun 100%ing again and again. Even if I know the map of the castle like the back of my hand, it's always fun to play and try different tactics with all the different kinds of weapons and abilities. Plus the music is amazing. Nothing really tops this game of this generation for me.
2. Star Fox 64 - There are a lot of on-rail shooters and a lot of space combat/dogfighting games. But there isn't anything that's quite like Star Fox, and SF64 is the best iteration of it. Each planet you visit is distinct, and the fact you can basically choose your own path on how to go through the game - plus, again, great music.
3. Final Fantasy Tactics - Still my favorite SRPG of all time - I recently started playing the PSP remake and it just reminded me how much I love this game. I fell it love with it from the first time I died to the awful archers early in the first battles. I love micromanaging classes, too, what can I say.
4. Conker's Bad Fur Day - The N64's swan song and basically different than anything Nintendo's put on their consoles. Rude, crude, and hilarious. Plus a solid soundtrack by Robin Beanland - probably Rare's last great work (in my opinion).
5. Super Mario 64 - I probably wouldn't have ranked this as high if I didn't watch Siglemic's speed runs when he was fighting Nero for the world record. This game is such a 3D playground full of life, despite the simplistic polygons, and it gives you such freedom that a lot of games don't give you anymore.
6. Metal Gear Solid - While I've cooled on the MGS series in recent times, the first game is still a wonderful experience and a must-play for anyone who is a fan of video games. The story isn't too bloated, the twists are on point, and the gameplay mixes stealth and action just right.
7. Einhander - I'm not a particular fan of this genre, but Einhander is one of those games that's stuck with me forever even though I only played it a few times and would probably pay a shit ton of money to get a copy - please release this on PSN at some point Square, please.
8. Perfect Dark - I don't think I can say anything else about this game that people haven't already: great times with friends in deathmatch, some great music, and a perfection of the Goldeneye formula of shooter.
9. Final Fantasy VII - This probably would have been a lot higher in its heyday, and while still an amazing game and my favorite of the three PSX Final Fantasies, it's cooled a bit. Still think materia is one of the best battle systems next to FFX's.
10. Worms: Armageddon - Another game I loved to play with friends. Hotseat matches were basically how I spent some weekends with friends in college. No Worms has been as great as this one, to me at least.
Honorable Mentions:
x. Final Fantasy IX
x. Goldeneye
x. Vandal Hearts II
x. Mischief Makers
x. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
1. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Basically, this game is what started the Metroidvania nomenclature. The game was big, but not too big. It's one of the few games I have fun 100%ing again and again. Even if I know the map of the castle like the back of my hand, it's always fun to play and try different tactics with all the different kinds of weapons and abilities. Plus the music is amazing. Nothing really tops this game of this generation for me.
2. Star Fox 64 - There are a lot of on-rail shooters and a lot of space combat/dogfighting games. But there isn't anything that's quite like Star Fox, and SF64 is the best iteration of it. Each planet you visit is distinct, and the fact you can basically choose your own path on how to go through the game - plus, again, great music.
3. Final Fantasy Tactics - Still my favorite SRPG of all time - I recently started playing the PSP remake and it just reminded me how much I love this game. I fell it love with it from the first time I died to the awful archers early in the first battles. I love micromanaging classes, too, what can I say.
4. Conker's Bad Fur Day - The N64's swan song and basically different than anything Nintendo's put on their consoles. Rude, crude, and hilarious. Plus a solid soundtrack by Robin Beanland - probably Rare's last great work (in my opinion).
5. Super Mario 64 - I probably wouldn't have ranked this as high if I didn't watch Siglemic's speed runs when he was fighting Nero for the world record. This game is such a 3D playground full of life, despite the simplistic polygons, and it gives you such freedom that a lot of games don't give you anymore.
6. Metal Gear Solid - While I've cooled on the MGS series in recent times, the first game is still a wonderful experience and a must-play for anyone who is a fan of video games. The story isn't too bloated, the twists are on point, and the gameplay mixes stealth and action just right.
7. Einhander - I'm not a particular fan of this genre, but Einhander is one of those games that's stuck with me forever even though I only played it a few times and would probably pay a shit ton of money to get a copy - please release this on PSN at some point Square, please.
8. Perfect Dark - I don't think I can say anything else about this game that people haven't already: great times with friends in deathmatch, some great music, and a perfection of the Goldeneye formula of shooter.
9. Final Fantasy VII - This probably would have been a lot higher in its heyday, and while still an amazing game and my favorite of the three PSX Final Fantasies, it's cooled a bit. Still think materia is one of the best battle systems next to FFX's.
10. Worms: Armageddon - Another game I loved to play with friends. Hotseat matches were basically how I spent some weekends with friends in college. No Worms has been as great as this one, to me at least.
Honorable Mentions:
x. Final Fantasy IX
x. Goldeneye
x. Vandal Hearts II
x. Mischief Makers
x. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
1. Nights into Dreams (Saturn)
-Favourite game ever. Unique gameplay with creative art direction and music makes is so memorable.
2. Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (PlayStation)
-Really unique and creative platforming and I love the stalth elements.
3. Virtua Fighter 2 (Saturn)
-Great fighting game. Makes me feel like I'm in a real life boxing match.
4. X-Men Vs. Street Fighter (Saturn)
-Very over the top fun. Saturn version I picked due to being arcade-perfect.
5. Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (Gameboy)
-Very addicting collecting game. Pretty much what got into handhelds
6. Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal (Gameboy Color)
-Sequel lived up to the hype for sure. Shinies, breeding, etc. all were great
7. Psychic Force (PlayStation)
-Great OST and got me into anime.
8. Worms Armageddon (PlayStation)
-Got me into the Worms series. Really fun strategy game.
9. Daytona USA (Saturn)
-Sega made the best racers. I listen to the OST to this while driving.
10. Goldeneye 007 (Nintendo 64)
-Had a lot of fun playing this with my cousins. First FPS I played.
-Favourite game ever. Unique gameplay with creative art direction and music makes is so memorable.
2. Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (PlayStation)
-Really unique and creative platforming and I love the stalth elements.
3. Virtua Fighter 2 (Saturn)
-Great fighting game. Makes me feel like I'm in a real life boxing match.
4. X-Men Vs. Street Fighter (Saturn)
-Very over the top fun. Saturn version I picked due to being arcade-perfect.
5. Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (Gameboy)
-Very addicting collecting game. Pretty much what got into handhelds
6. Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal (Gameboy Color)
-Sequel lived up to the hype for sure. Shinies, breeding, etc. all were great
7. Psychic Force (PlayStation)
-Great OST and got me into anime.
8. Worms Armageddon (PlayStation)
-Got me into the Worms series. Really fun strategy game.
9. Daytona USA (Saturn)
-Sega made the best racers. I listen to the OST to this while driving.
10. Goldeneye 007 (Nintendo 64)
-Had a lot of fun playing this with my cousins. First FPS I played.
i think this generation is hard because a lot of what we consider to be classics have come from this era. really, a lot of kids came to know video games during this time, at least those in their 20s and early 30s now. or at the very least, formed early hard opinions on certain titles, franchises, and companies. what makes it difficult is that i don't think much has actually aged all that well from the era. so composing a list is really easy to cut out the stuff i liked but didn't hold up, but it also ignores my feelings from back then, or what impact a game might have had on the industry. so my top ten is going to have to be a mix of both - games that i think stand the test of time, and others that had pure nostalgic meaning for me.
1. the legend of zelda: ocarina of time ; i had looked forward to the new zelda game for only about a year. a huge fan of link's awakening but not of zelda as a whole, i didn't even know there was a 'zelda 64' until some point in summer 1997. the wait wasn't agonizing, but the anticipation was unlike any other for a piece of entertainment in my life. in late 1998, my grandfather died, and, having been the first death in the family i could experience, i was subconsciously looking for something good. i think that's what happened with the legend of zelda: ocarina of time. what otherwise could have been a fun, good, and memorable experience turned into anti-trauma.
i can vividly recall being upstairs, working on pre-algebra homework, and the garage door opening. my dad had picked up the game from target near where he worked. he had preordered the gold cart with money i'd given him, and in a kind gesture, also returned the money to me with the game, making it into a gift instead of a purchase. i was a 4.0 gpa student, never had so much as a c in my life, but that night i didn't finish my homework (i got a d on it the next day, but it a calculated move since i got an a in the class anyway). i remember the color of the light from the lamp, how it lit the loft area of our home. i don't remember opening the box, but i do remember putting the cart into the console, and turning on the game. after that is something of a blur. navi flying to find link was breathtaking, opening a treasure chest as link was some kind of revelation (i'd only had game boy and nes until mid-1998 so 3d cutscenes were new to me), and i don't know where i stopped for the night, but i must have played at least two to three hours.
it's probably the gaming memory that has the most impact for me. going back with ocarina of time 3d a few years ago, the game felt so much smaller. it was like going back to your old high school and wondering how that ever felt like your entire world. while the puzzles were simple yet quaint in a how-does-3d-work? sort of way, the pacing stood out. there's always something important for link to do, and the variation is usually welcome and fun instead of being a bore. fetch-quests are usually done in mini-dungeons of sorts, and rely on the time travel mechanic. the 3d zeldas haven't quite gotten that same feeling down since.
for me, the legend of zelda: ocarina of time represents a game that's still solid, though aged, but also one with a lot of personal meaning. not only was it my favorite from this generation for such a long time, i can't think of any other that encapsulates my thoughts on it looking back any better.
2. super mario 64 ; one day in late 1996, while i was still jonesing for a super nintendo or a sega genesis, i saw on the news that the nintendo 64 had been sold out. this was confusing because i didn't think there would ever be any need for another kind of system after those two platforms (i wasn't even aware that the saturn was a thing or that the playstation wasn't some crappy low-rent attempt at a video game console like the jaguar). it was probably a couple weeks later when i was in a best buy and saw 9 crts stacked on top of each other with a giant video of someone's gameplay of super mario 64. this was back when best buy would have a circle of kiosks in the middle of their video game forest, and i was used to seeing donkey kong country. but this was like something out of the wizard.
playing super mario 64 for the first time also cemented a way of holding the n64 controller that i still do to this day: from the outer prongs reaching inward to the z button and analog stick. navigating that bizarre controller (after the elegant progression of the nes -> snes pad and the me-too genesis controller) came second to the joy of performing moves as mario in 3d space. simply performing a butt stomp was like what watching a movie for the first time must have been like. the spectator and the player were both amazed that such a thing could happen and look so real.
super mario 64 was what ultimately led me to purchase a nintendo 64 in mid-1998, while shelves were fighting for space with that crummy playstation thing and the sega system was curiously absent. my memories of it was like i was playing a cartoon. i didn't remember until writing this list what joy it brought when i played it. the music, the different objectives, the movesets and new power ups - it was so full of imagination that it felt like playing video games for the very first time all over again.
3. panzer dragoon saga ; the current love of my life. i did not have a saturn growing up, and i still don't. my experiences with saturn games came after the 90s, and they were mostly at a few minutes at a time. recently, i was able to play this on loan, and it's actually incredible. sega saturn era sega was something i'd completely skipped over, and they're a fairly different animal from dreamcast or genesis era sega. the saturn is also odd in that it doesn't have a great controller for 3d gameplay, but they actually made it work. what i had expected with panzer dragoon saga was a clunky old game that a few collectors had built up as being good. what i found was something with an insane amount of effort put into its production values and the use of 3d space in an rpg format.
so much about this game is unique. the art direction and music create a fantastic atmosphere that even the primitive graphical prowess of the saturn can't let down. for a lot of the game, the focus isn't on a party, but the bond between the main character edge and his dragon. time in battles is not spent going through menus but instead focusing on strategy. leveling is based on what morph you select for your dragon, and what stats you want to emphasis, giving the player with a variety of options so that battles are customized to their liking and play style. and just a year after final fantasy vii, almost all of panzer dragoon saga manages to have voice acting, including non-playable characters. what a shame that it wasn't this game that made rpgs mainstream instead, and what a shame this isn't available in any other way but on its original platform.
4. rayman 2: the great escape ; it's still refreshing that a game from this era bucked the trend of pure collectathon and tried to bring traditional 2d level design and game progression into the 3d space. although i had anticipated donkey kong country 64 above any other game in 1999, i wound up enjoying rayman 2 the most. in fact, it was all i could talk about at school when 'what did you play' came up during break period. like with ocarina of time, my replay of this game did it no favors, but i think it's one of the very few 3d platformers that manages to be worth playing from that era.
5. nights into dreams ; in 2002 i bought a sega saturn for my sister as a gift along with panzer dragoon, panzer dragoon ii zwei, nights, and five other games it came with (like darkstalkers and some sports games we never touched). this was when i played nights for the first time after some fleeting moments in the 90s. i did not enjoy it. it was quickly completed and rather dumb. levels were short and simple. it was confounding that sega would work on this instead of trying to finish a new sonic game in 3d instead.
in 2004, a bored version of me decided to give it another go. it all clicked. this was a score attack kind of arcade action game. i figured out how to correctly play as nights, to pull off the moves, and to score points the best way. it also led me to twin seeds for the first time, as i had not played with enough skill to do it before. walking around as elliot for several confusing moments, i leapt off the edge of the stage in real-life frustration and couldn't believe that sega had done something so dumb as to put a level that was so confusing that an option was to actually try killing the character. and then, with the nights theme kicking in, elliot soars up from the abyss and the final level begins. it was fucking fantastic.
6. the legend of zelda: majora's mask ; there was no magic surrounding the release of majora's mask. i got the copy late. my dad angrily drove me back to the store to get it late a few nights after it had come out (they were going to sell my launch version i had preordered and hadn't called us about it), and at the time, i had a broken arm from a basketball game a month earlier. playing it in 2006 in anticipation for twilight princess, i came to the realization that yes i like it, and the stone tower temple is great, but i might have built it up in my head a little afterwards. the concept of majora's mask is solid though, and i love the way this actually plays with time travel versus ocarina of time's dual world system. the game's best parts are finding out about how the inhabitants of termina deal with their own mortality.
7. pokemon red ; a tips & tricks magazine clued me in to pokemon in 1997. it showcased three pokemon games that were in development and slated for release: pokemon red and blue, hey you pikachu, and pokemon stadium. the small preview about pokemon red and blue had me excited for the possibility of catching and creating my own team of monsters that could evolve the better i 'trained' them. a short few days after the game released, i received pokemon red as a gift for my birthday, thinking it would be some obscure and unknown title. that night on the drive home i had tried playing it by the lights occasionally illuminating parts of the freeway, and it was time to name my charmander. i chose the name 'champ' but in the incredibly poor lighting situation i had hit 'u' instead of 'a' and without knowing how to backtrack, decided to just confirm the name as 'chum.' since then, i have always used a variation of 'chum' for firestarters, who i pick every time. pokemon wound up being my first rpg, something i didn't realize until years later, but more than delving into the genre for the first time, i remember it for the challenge of catching them all (which i eventually did), and good times with friends.
8. final fantasy ix ; it feels a little criminal to put my first playstation title on the list so low, and even behind a couple sega saturn games. nothing ever really grabbed me on the machine though. it wasn't until 2002 that i had a ps2, and a means to play playstation titles. as such, i wasn't experiencing what are considered classics now as they were happening. though i enjoyed the playthrough, i quickly soured on final fantasy vii. final fantasy viii and tactics were more interesting to me, and i actually did enjoy the somewhat messy chrono cross and overly long xenogears. the one that stuck out to me is final fantasy ix. there's just an earnestness about it that i love, in how it tries to recapture the spirit of older games in the series but update it for more modern platforms. and i like that the main characters are just people trying to do their best.
9. Star Fox 64 ; a real surprise. i had seen it advertised, but never cared to research it any. once i figured out there were multiple paths, i played it for several hours on end, and even got to a point where i would try and beat my own high score. the 3ds remake, unlike the others from this list, actually reminded me all of the good about the game, and how well it holds up to this day.
10. super mario bros. dx ; my first video game and in a way i was able to finally beat it. being able to play through both super mario bros. and super mario bros. 2 using a world map and a save feature was a godsend for someone who constantly got stuck on 8-2. there was almost a sense of closure to having finally beaten a game i had been introduced to ten years earlier and had never managed to conquer.
x. wwf wrestlemania 2000 ; back in the 90s i was really into wrestling. while this was later improved on in 2000 with no mercy, i put more time into this game than any other fighting game of the generation. the level of customization was incredible, and it was a main source of multiplayer fun between friends and during family get togethers.
x. perfect dark ; i was a god at this game. pretty much the only first person shooter from this era that i still enjoy on some level
x. pokemon snap ; just a great score attack on-rails thingy. hard to define but a ton of fun to play
1. the legend of zelda: ocarina of time ; i had looked forward to the new zelda game for only about a year. a huge fan of link's awakening but not of zelda as a whole, i didn't even know there was a 'zelda 64' until some point in summer 1997. the wait wasn't agonizing, but the anticipation was unlike any other for a piece of entertainment in my life. in late 1998, my grandfather died, and, having been the first death in the family i could experience, i was subconsciously looking for something good. i think that's what happened with the legend of zelda: ocarina of time. what otherwise could have been a fun, good, and memorable experience turned into anti-trauma.
i can vividly recall being upstairs, working on pre-algebra homework, and the garage door opening. my dad had picked up the game from target near where he worked. he had preordered the gold cart with money i'd given him, and in a kind gesture, also returned the money to me with the game, making it into a gift instead of a purchase. i was a 4.0 gpa student, never had so much as a c in my life, but that night i didn't finish my homework (i got a d on it the next day, but it a calculated move since i got an a in the class anyway). i remember the color of the light from the lamp, how it lit the loft area of our home. i don't remember opening the box, but i do remember putting the cart into the console, and turning on the game. after that is something of a blur. navi flying to find link was breathtaking, opening a treasure chest as link was some kind of revelation (i'd only had game boy and nes until mid-1998 so 3d cutscenes were new to me), and i don't know where i stopped for the night, but i must have played at least two to three hours.
it's probably the gaming memory that has the most impact for me. going back with ocarina of time 3d a few years ago, the game felt so much smaller. it was like going back to your old high school and wondering how that ever felt like your entire world. while the puzzles were simple yet quaint in a how-does-3d-work? sort of way, the pacing stood out. there's always something important for link to do, and the variation is usually welcome and fun instead of being a bore. fetch-quests are usually done in mini-dungeons of sorts, and rely on the time travel mechanic. the 3d zeldas haven't quite gotten that same feeling down since.
for me, the legend of zelda: ocarina of time represents a game that's still solid, though aged, but also one with a lot of personal meaning. not only was it my favorite from this generation for such a long time, i can't think of any other that encapsulates my thoughts on it looking back any better.
2. super mario 64 ; one day in late 1996, while i was still jonesing for a super nintendo or a sega genesis, i saw on the news that the nintendo 64 had been sold out. this was confusing because i didn't think there would ever be any need for another kind of system after those two platforms (i wasn't even aware that the saturn was a thing or that the playstation wasn't some crappy low-rent attempt at a video game console like the jaguar). it was probably a couple weeks later when i was in a best buy and saw 9 crts stacked on top of each other with a giant video of someone's gameplay of super mario 64. this was back when best buy would have a circle of kiosks in the middle of their video game forest, and i was used to seeing donkey kong country. but this was like something out of the wizard.
playing super mario 64 for the first time also cemented a way of holding the n64 controller that i still do to this day: from the outer prongs reaching inward to the z button and analog stick. navigating that bizarre controller (after the elegant progression of the nes -> snes pad and the me-too genesis controller) came second to the joy of performing moves as mario in 3d space. simply performing a butt stomp was like what watching a movie for the first time must have been like. the spectator and the player were both amazed that such a thing could happen and look so real.
super mario 64 was what ultimately led me to purchase a nintendo 64 in mid-1998, while shelves were fighting for space with that crummy playstation thing and the sega system was curiously absent. my memories of it was like i was playing a cartoon. i didn't remember until writing this list what joy it brought when i played it. the music, the different objectives, the movesets and new power ups - it was so full of imagination that it felt like playing video games for the very first time all over again.
3. panzer dragoon saga ; the current love of my life. i did not have a saturn growing up, and i still don't. my experiences with saturn games came after the 90s, and they were mostly at a few minutes at a time. recently, i was able to play this on loan, and it's actually incredible. sega saturn era sega was something i'd completely skipped over, and they're a fairly different animal from dreamcast or genesis era sega. the saturn is also odd in that it doesn't have a great controller for 3d gameplay, but they actually made it work. what i had expected with panzer dragoon saga was a clunky old game that a few collectors had built up as being good. what i found was something with an insane amount of effort put into its production values and the use of 3d space in an rpg format.
so much about this game is unique. the art direction and music create a fantastic atmosphere that even the primitive graphical prowess of the saturn can't let down. for a lot of the game, the focus isn't on a party, but the bond between the main character edge and his dragon. time in battles is not spent going through menus but instead focusing on strategy. leveling is based on what morph you select for your dragon, and what stats you want to emphasis, giving the player with a variety of options so that battles are customized to their liking and play style. and just a year after final fantasy vii, almost all of panzer dragoon saga manages to have voice acting, including non-playable characters. what a shame that it wasn't this game that made rpgs mainstream instead, and what a shame this isn't available in any other way but on its original platform.
4. rayman 2: the great escape ; it's still refreshing that a game from this era bucked the trend of pure collectathon and tried to bring traditional 2d level design and game progression into the 3d space. although i had anticipated donkey kong country 64 above any other game in 1999, i wound up enjoying rayman 2 the most. in fact, it was all i could talk about at school when 'what did you play' came up during break period. like with ocarina of time, my replay of this game did it no favors, but i think it's one of the very few 3d platformers that manages to be worth playing from that era.
5. nights into dreams ; in 2002 i bought a sega saturn for my sister as a gift along with panzer dragoon, panzer dragoon ii zwei, nights, and five other games it came with (like darkstalkers and some sports games we never touched). this was when i played nights for the first time after some fleeting moments in the 90s. i did not enjoy it. it was quickly completed and rather dumb. levels were short and simple. it was confounding that sega would work on this instead of trying to finish a new sonic game in 3d instead.
in 2004, a bored version of me decided to give it another go. it all clicked. this was a score attack kind of arcade action game. i figured out how to correctly play as nights, to pull off the moves, and to score points the best way. it also led me to twin seeds for the first time, as i had not played with enough skill to do it before. walking around as elliot for several confusing moments, i leapt off the edge of the stage in real-life frustration and couldn't believe that sega had done something so dumb as to put a level that was so confusing that an option was to actually try killing the character. and then, with the nights theme kicking in, elliot soars up from the abyss and the final level begins. it was fucking fantastic.
6. the legend of zelda: majora's mask ; there was no magic surrounding the release of majora's mask. i got the copy late. my dad angrily drove me back to the store to get it late a few nights after it had come out (they were going to sell my launch version i had preordered and hadn't called us about it), and at the time, i had a broken arm from a basketball game a month earlier. playing it in 2006 in anticipation for twilight princess, i came to the realization that yes i like it, and the stone tower temple is great, but i might have built it up in my head a little afterwards. the concept of majora's mask is solid though, and i love the way this actually plays with time travel versus ocarina of time's dual world system. the game's best parts are finding out about how the inhabitants of termina deal with their own mortality.
7. pokemon red ; a tips & tricks magazine clued me in to pokemon in 1997. it showcased three pokemon games that were in development and slated for release: pokemon red and blue, hey you pikachu, and pokemon stadium. the small preview about pokemon red and blue had me excited for the possibility of catching and creating my own team of monsters that could evolve the better i 'trained' them. a short few days after the game released, i received pokemon red as a gift for my birthday, thinking it would be some obscure and unknown title. that night on the drive home i had tried playing it by the lights occasionally illuminating parts of the freeway, and it was time to name my charmander. i chose the name 'champ' but in the incredibly poor lighting situation i had hit 'u' instead of 'a' and without knowing how to backtrack, decided to just confirm the name as 'chum.' since then, i have always used a variation of 'chum' for firestarters, who i pick every time. pokemon wound up being my first rpg, something i didn't realize until years later, but more than delving into the genre for the first time, i remember it for the challenge of catching them all (which i eventually did), and good times with friends.
8. final fantasy ix ; it feels a little criminal to put my first playstation title on the list so low, and even behind a couple sega saturn games. nothing ever really grabbed me on the machine though. it wasn't until 2002 that i had a ps2, and a means to play playstation titles. as such, i wasn't experiencing what are considered classics now as they were happening. though i enjoyed the playthrough, i quickly soured on final fantasy vii. final fantasy viii and tactics were more interesting to me, and i actually did enjoy the somewhat messy chrono cross and overly long xenogears. the one that stuck out to me is final fantasy ix. there's just an earnestness about it that i love, in how it tries to recapture the spirit of older games in the series but update it for more modern platforms. and i like that the main characters are just people trying to do their best.
9. Star Fox 64 ; a real surprise. i had seen it advertised, but never cared to research it any. once i figured out there were multiple paths, i played it for several hours on end, and even got to a point where i would try and beat my own high score. the 3ds remake, unlike the others from this list, actually reminded me all of the good about the game, and how well it holds up to this day.
10. super mario bros. dx ; my first video game and in a way i was able to finally beat it. being able to play through both super mario bros. and super mario bros. 2 using a world map and a save feature was a godsend for someone who constantly got stuck on 8-2. there was almost a sense of closure to having finally beaten a game i had been introduced to ten years earlier and had never managed to conquer.
x. wwf wrestlemania 2000 ; back in the 90s i was really into wrestling. while this was later improved on in 2000 with no mercy, i put more time into this game than any other fighting game of the generation. the level of customization was incredible, and it was a main source of multiplayer fun between friends and during family get togethers.
x. perfect dark ; i was a god at this game. pretty much the only first person shooter from this era that i still enjoy on some level
x. pokemon snap ; just a great score attack on-rails thingy. hard to define but a ton of fun to play
timetokill
Banned
AniHawk I think you meant Chrono Cross because Chrono Trigger wasn't messy BROH
oops yeah.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask; This experimental ‘Groundhog Day’ twist on the 90’s Zelda template resulted in an unforgettable masterpiece of a game. Intricate, challenging and disturbing, Nintendo doesn’t know how (or dare) to make them like this anymore. So thank god for From Software.
2. King’s Field (King's Field 2 in Japan); Speaking of which, From’s greatness didn’t begin with Demon’s Souls. It began with this fantastic interconnected world first person ARPG. Atmosphere and exploration are off the charts. Yeah so it’s a little bit clunky and it turns and moves and attacks a little bit slowly big fucking deal, go back to playing COD scrub.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; Zelda perfected, but less breathtakingly genius than MM imo.
4. Soul Reaver; This and the next are part of a rare and extinct breed of huge, complex, and dense on exploration and puzzles 3d action adventures. They did not make it to our golden age of AAA, dumbing down and focus testing. RIP, you ARE missed.
5. Shadowman;
6. Silent Hill; The first one is the best for its more uncompromising adventure qualities and atmosphere. Dat piano puzzle.
7. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night; Herein lies the mythical origins of the term ‘castletroid’.
8. Alundra; Ridiculously good Zelda-like.
9. Planescape: Torment; Best game story ever.
10. X-COM: Enemy Unknown; One of the most addictive games made in the nineties.
X.Unreal Tournament
X.Super Mario 64
X.Banjo Kazooie
X.Banjo Tooie
X.Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within
X.Tombi
X.Dungeon Master 2
X.Exhumed (PSX)
X.Wipeout
X.Herc’s Adventures
X.Abe’s Oddyssee
X.Discworld
X.Anvil of Dawn
X.Toonstruck
X.Ridge Racer Type 4
X.Half Life
X.System Shock
X.Spyro
X.Tomb Raider
X.Diddy Kong Racing
X.The Dig
X.Rayman
X.Story of Thor 2 (The Legend of Oasis)
X.Fallout 2
X.Azrael’s Tear
X.Zork: Grand Inquisitor
X.Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight
2. King’s Field (King's Field 2 in Japan); Speaking of which, From’s greatness didn’t begin with Demon’s Souls. It began with this fantastic interconnected world first person ARPG. Atmosphere and exploration are off the charts. Yeah so it’s a little bit clunky and it turns and moves and attacks a little bit slowly big fucking deal, go back to playing COD scrub.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; Zelda perfected, but less breathtakingly genius than MM imo.
4. Soul Reaver; This and the next are part of a rare and extinct breed of huge, complex, and dense on exploration and puzzles 3d action adventures. They did not make it to our golden age of AAA, dumbing down and focus testing. RIP, you ARE missed.
5. Shadowman;
6. Silent Hill; The first one is the best for its more uncompromising adventure qualities and atmosphere. Dat piano puzzle.
7. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night; Herein lies the mythical origins of the term ‘castletroid’.
8. Alundra; Ridiculously good Zelda-like.
9. Planescape: Torment; Best game story ever.
10. X-COM: Enemy Unknown; One of the most addictive games made in the nineties.
X.Unreal Tournament
X.Super Mario 64
X.Banjo Kazooie
X.Banjo Tooie
X.Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within
X.Tombi
X.Dungeon Master 2
X.Exhumed (PSX)
X.Wipeout
X.Herc’s Adventures
X.Abe’s Oddyssee
X.Discworld
X.Anvil of Dawn
X.Toonstruck
X.Ridge Racer Type 4
X.Half Life
X.System Shock
X.Spyro
X.Tomb Raider
X.Diddy Kong Racing
X.The Dig
X.Rayman
X.Story of Thor 2 (The Legend of Oasis)
X.Fallout 2
X.Azrael’s Tear
X.Zork: Grand Inquisitor
X.Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight
Yoshi
Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
Which Collectathons did you play? I like Banjo-Kazooie so much, that I'd be willing to buy a 500 console that is guaranteed to have no other game than Banjo-Threeie, but has Banjo-Threeie, on the other hand, I keep on trying to play Spyro and just cannot get any enjoyment out of it.
- What does Banjo have in common with other collectathons? To progress in the game you have to collect stuff, both "big stuff", i.e. puzzle pieces in this game (if you know Mario: stars, if you know Spyro: Dragon statues, if you know DK64: golden bananas), and "small stuff", i.e. notes in this game (if you know Mario: coins, if you know Spyro: gems, if you know DK64: coloured bananas). You have free movement in a relatively wide areas and you can almost always tackle several different objectives in the order you prefer
- What does it make different than other collectathons? In comparison to the weaker Banjo-Tooie and the much weaker DK64, the areas are smaller, but offer about the same amount of meaningful content. That means that the worlds are super-densely packed with interesting interaction points, platforming challenges and small puzzles (it's no Zelda game though, so don't expect overly complex puzzles), there is almost no unnecessary "way" in the game, but you always get something meaningful to do, no matter where you turn. Also, the game is subtely structured via the collectibles, using them the best among all collectathons. You do not collect notes just for its own cause, instead you are guided by the notes to the main points of interest. You can see this as a more subtle analogon to today's radars and minimaps. Due to the smaller size of the levels, you get really familiar with the levels fast and should never get lost, at the same time, the levels are open in structure and big enough to invite for fantastic exploration.
The mechanics, I would say, are weaker than in Super Mario 64, but stronger than in all the direct rivals, i.e. DK64, Spyro 1-3 and Vexx. The level design though I would argue is the best of all collectathons and modern open games are - from my perspective - embarassed by the sheer density and quality of the worlds in Banjo-Kazooie. It's the imaginative, varied, but immensely focussed level design that makes Banjo-Kazooie a very special game, one that hasn't been bested in its subgenre for 17 years. It is also, again imo, the only game to ever beat a contemporary Mario in at least some fields, in this case level design, game structure, presentation and humour, not base mechanics though. But I need to stress the fact that the mechanics are still great and the progressive learning of more and more - useful and necessary - moves, as well as the transformations, changing up the mechanics quite a bit every once and a while make the mechanics still stand out in a positive way.
- What if I don't like N64 aesthetics? Well, take a look at the game and decide if you can stand the looks. Banjo is certainly a standout title among the N64 games as it has no fog, a stable framerate, actually nice looking textures, no vaseline effect and animates very well. You can play it on Xbox 360 and Xbox One, receiving a more clean look:
Let me add that B-K also has a fantastic soundtrack and a unique and fun sense if humour.
So all in all I would say, if you hate collectathons for the fact that you have to collect things and you have to traverse semi-open worlds, then Banjo-Kazooie is not for you. If you don't hate Super Mario 64 though and your collectathon experience is dominated by (as I see it) enormously inferior games like the Spyro ones, which do not even understand the basic structuring purpose of the collectathon aspect, you should certainly check it out, especially as it is not very expensive (~10 for a module,~30 for Rare Replay, giving you access to 29 more games, or ~15 via XBLA in a bundle with the sucessor Banjo-Tooie).
Nocturnowl
Member
Cheers for the thread plug, I'll make sure to finish up my list here before the day is done, well after I pull myself away from Mario Maker at least.
sixteen-bit
Member
1. Sega Ages: Outrun (Saturn) - Favorite home port of my favorite game ever, simple as that
2. Klonoa (Playstation) - Good-ass platformer that's emotional af
3. Ogre Battle 64 (N64) - Good memories playing with friends (really!)
2. Klonoa (Playstation) - Good-ass platformer that's emotional af
3. Ogre Battle 64 (N64) - Good memories playing with friends (really!)
1. Planescape: Torment; Still the best writing ever in a game. The dialogue is incredible, and there is soooo much of it. The NPCs are astoundingly well realised and the way they react to you depending on your actions gives the game a lot of depth and replayability. Visuals and sound design are also excellent making for one of the most atmospheric RPGs I’ve played. The combat is so-so and the last third of the game has too much of it but there are ways of getting around it or at least making it less of a chore.
2. Grim Fandango; For me the high point of graphic adventures. Few ideas have been as inspired as meshing film noir with Mexican day of the dead folklore. It makes Grim possibly the most distinctive game I can think of, at least thematically. The writing is fantastic, maybe second only to Planescape, though of course much snappier and wittier, much like the best film noir. This is enhanced by the voice acting, which is sublime. I even liked the puzzles and tank controls (no pixel hunting).
3. The Curse of Monkey Island; I can’t believe it, I’m actually playing a cartoon! I think that must have been the reaction of most who bought the game on release. Curse is not just gorgeous though, it’s one of those rare masterpieces that manages to get just about everything right: the puzzles, the soundtrack, the writing, and just the general sense of adventure and world design. OK it might not be as smart as Monkey 2 or as funny as Monkey 1 but I feel it’s a more consistent and engrossing adventure overall.
4. Tomb Raider; I remember playing Fade to Black and thinking how incredible it was to play a platforming adventure of this sort in 3D. You can only imagine what a shock to the system Tomb Raider was when I played it shortly after. The feeling of exploring those 3D environments and figuring out where to go was like nothing else I’d experienced. And there was actual, proper, challenging platforming. And the traps. And the puzzles. And the sound design. And that T-Rex.
5. Kula World; Or “Roll Away” in the US. One of the best puzzle games I’ve ever played and shame on you all if I’m the only one to vote for it. You can still get it as a PS1 classic. The way it makes use of 3D space at a time when 3D was still in its infancy was ingenious. There are so many ideas, so much creativity and inventiveness on show. It also controls beautifully and the timer means you’re always on your toes, dovetailing expertly with the points system and level structure.
6. Sid Meier’s Civilization 2; Just one more turn…maybe another…what, it’s 5.00 am…one more…The Civilization series is probably only second to football (soccer) management games in their horrible addictiveness, but at least this is somewhat educational! I don’t know if Civ 2 is the best in the series but it’s definitely the most iconic, those graphics haven’t aged a day.
7. UFO: Enemy Unknown/X-Com: UFO Defense; Two terrible names, one brilliant game. Gollop’s magnum opus and still one of the most ambitious games ever made combining squad-based tactics with higher layers of strategy. Despite all that, it’s the atmosphere of the game that sticks with me the most. The sense of dread and apprehension of what was waiting for you around every corner. This game was TENSE.
8. Tomb Raider 2; In many ways I actually preferred this to the first. The levels were more diverse and atmospheric. Temple of Xian in particular I remember being brilliant. However, the human enemies combined with the terrible gunplay pull the game back somewhat and there were too many swimming sections for my liking. Still an excellent and highly memorable sequel.
9. Dungeon Keeper; Voting with my heart rather than my head here. Dungeon Keeper was a pretty shallow, repetitive strategy game. But man was it fun. Building your own little dungeons, mining for gold, seeing what creature you could next lure into your home, letting a horned reaper go ballistic on a pesky band of do-gooding heroes. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what’s important? Going ballistic on do-gooding heroes? Good times.
10. Final Fantasy Tactics; Another flawed game that was just too much fun to leave off the list. The job system is great, the classes are a lot of fun to experiment around with. The missions are varied and interesting unlike say Tactics Ogre. The game also is just brimming with charm and has a phenomenal soundtrack. Without a doubt though, the absolute best thing about this game is the way your cute little characters jump up and down when they level up.
2. Grim Fandango; For me the high point of graphic adventures. Few ideas have been as inspired as meshing film noir with Mexican day of the dead folklore. It makes Grim possibly the most distinctive game I can think of, at least thematically. The writing is fantastic, maybe second only to Planescape, though of course much snappier and wittier, much like the best film noir. This is enhanced by the voice acting, which is sublime. I even liked the puzzles and tank controls (no pixel hunting).
3. The Curse of Monkey Island; I can’t believe it, I’m actually playing a cartoon! I think that must have been the reaction of most who bought the game on release. Curse is not just gorgeous though, it’s one of those rare masterpieces that manages to get just about everything right: the puzzles, the soundtrack, the writing, and just the general sense of adventure and world design. OK it might not be as smart as Monkey 2 or as funny as Monkey 1 but I feel it’s a more consistent and engrossing adventure overall.
4. Tomb Raider; I remember playing Fade to Black and thinking how incredible it was to play a platforming adventure of this sort in 3D. You can only imagine what a shock to the system Tomb Raider was when I played it shortly after. The feeling of exploring those 3D environments and figuring out where to go was like nothing else I’d experienced. And there was actual, proper, challenging platforming. And the traps. And the puzzles. And the sound design. And that T-Rex.
5. Kula World; Or “Roll Away” in the US. One of the best puzzle games I’ve ever played and shame on you all if I’m the only one to vote for it. You can still get it as a PS1 classic. The way it makes use of 3D space at a time when 3D was still in its infancy was ingenious. There are so many ideas, so much creativity and inventiveness on show. It also controls beautifully and the timer means you’re always on your toes, dovetailing expertly with the points system and level structure.
6. Sid Meier’s Civilization 2; Just one more turn…maybe another…what, it’s 5.00 am…one more…The Civilization series is probably only second to football (soccer) management games in their horrible addictiveness, but at least this is somewhat educational! I don’t know if Civ 2 is the best in the series but it’s definitely the most iconic, those graphics haven’t aged a day.
7. UFO: Enemy Unknown/X-Com: UFO Defense; Two terrible names, one brilliant game. Gollop’s magnum opus and still one of the most ambitious games ever made combining squad-based tactics with higher layers of strategy. Despite all that, it’s the atmosphere of the game that sticks with me the most. The sense of dread and apprehension of what was waiting for you around every corner. This game was TENSE.
8. Tomb Raider 2; In many ways I actually preferred this to the first. The levels were more diverse and atmospheric. Temple of Xian in particular I remember being brilliant. However, the human enemies combined with the terrible gunplay pull the game back somewhat and there were too many swimming sections for my liking. Still an excellent and highly memorable sequel.
9. Dungeon Keeper; Voting with my heart rather than my head here. Dungeon Keeper was a pretty shallow, repetitive strategy game. But man was it fun. Building your own little dungeons, mining for gold, seeing what creature you could next lure into your home, letting a horned reaper go ballistic on a pesky band of do-gooding heroes. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what’s important? Going ballistic on do-gooding heroes? Good times.
10. Final Fantasy Tactics; Another flawed game that was just too much fun to leave off the list. The job system is great, the classes are a lot of fun to experiment around with. The missions are varied and interesting unlike say Tactics Ogre. The game also is just brimming with charm and has a phenomenal soundtrack. Without a doubt though, the absolute best thing about this game is the way your cute little characters jump up and down when they level up.
KuwabaraTheMan
Banned
1. Final Fantasy IX; This is still the greatest Final Fantasy of all time in my mind, and just thinking about the game can take me back to when I first played it. The wide-eyed sense of wonder at the game, the incredible music, the compelling characters, and more. The game certainly has its flaws, most notably the load times and slow battles, but as a whole I can think of few games that I would take over this one.
2. Paper Mario; While it was easily surpassed by its sequel on the Gamecube, the original Paper Mario is still a personal favorite of mine. It created a great formula for the sequel to perfect, the battles were a lot of fun, and the writing was very snappy. This is definitely an underrated gem of the era.
3. Sim Tower; I can think of few games that absorbed my life more as a kid than Sim Tower. I can still easily recall the various sounds of the game even after all this time. Of all the sim games, this was the one that captured me in such a singular way. Its elegant in its simplicity, and I would really love to see someone take another go at making a game like Sim Tower today.
4. Sid Meiers Civilization II; The origin, for me, of one more turn syndrome. Theres not much more that I need to say than that.
5. The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening DX; An amazing experience. It introduced me to the world of Zelda, and it still remains one of my favorites from the franchise.
6. Super Mario 64; One of the most important games of its time, and a very good one, too. Yes, it has been surpassed by Sunshine and both Galaxy games, but its still a very enjoyable game, and it really created a lot of stuff that we just take for granted today. Truly an incredible game.
7. Banjo-Kazooie; Just a joyous experience from start to finish. Its a crying shame that this type of game has largely fallen by the wayside, because it was a lot of fun.
8. Pokemon Gold/Silver
9. Final Fantasy Tactics
10. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
2. Paper Mario; While it was easily surpassed by its sequel on the Gamecube, the original Paper Mario is still a personal favorite of mine. It created a great formula for the sequel to perfect, the battles were a lot of fun, and the writing was very snappy. This is definitely an underrated gem of the era.
3. Sim Tower; I can think of few games that absorbed my life more as a kid than Sim Tower. I can still easily recall the various sounds of the game even after all this time. Of all the sim games, this was the one that captured me in such a singular way. Its elegant in its simplicity, and I would really love to see someone take another go at making a game like Sim Tower today.
4. Sid Meiers Civilization II; The origin, for me, of one more turn syndrome. Theres not much more that I need to say than that.
5. The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening DX; An amazing experience. It introduced me to the world of Zelda, and it still remains one of my favorites from the franchise.
6. Super Mario 64; One of the most important games of its time, and a very good one, too. Yes, it has been surpassed by Sunshine and both Galaxy games, but its still a very enjoyable game, and it really created a lot of stuff that we just take for granted today. Truly an incredible game.
7. Banjo-Kazooie; Just a joyous experience from start to finish. Its a crying shame that this type of game has largely fallen by the wayside, because it was a lot of fun.
8. Pokemon Gold/Silver
9. Final Fantasy Tactics
10. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
As a preface I was pretty damned LTTP with the PS1 so there's going to be an obvious lack of PS1 games in my list as I didn't really play all that many games for it.
1. Banjo-Kazooie ; This game was my childhood. Playing Mario 64 round my uncle's house made me want the console, but playing this on Christmas Day in '98 defined the whole generation for me. The worlds, at once seemingly huge yet actually relatively compact playgrounds bursting with secrets and puzzles. The incredible soundtrack. The silly yet endearing gibberish voices. The tight design and expansive yet not overcomplicated moveset. The well balanced number of collectibles. 10-year-old me finally getting that goddamned propellor jiggy in Rusty Bucket Bay. A masterpiece.
2. Pokèmon Red/Blue ; I agonised over this or GSC but ultimately the original has to win out. I picked this up while on holiday in the USA knowing nothing about it - but the concept had me hooked within minutes of turning my Game Boy on. Sure, later versions built on the Pokèmon concept and I could hardly recommend starting with Red/Blue to someone who'd never played a Pokèmon game before nowadays, but the original template laid down the foundations for greatness to come and was a solid little game in its own right.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; Pretty much a no-brainer, the game is deservedly regarded as a classic. Looking back, Nintendo really knocked it out of the park when it came to transitioning their franchises from 2D to 3D - while Mario 64 was the game that started it all, OoT really nailed it. Everything about this game, from the tone to the pacing to the combat, was just far better than a first attempt at bringing Zelda to 3D had any right to be. And no, the Water Temple was never that bad.
4. Blast Corps ; Topping my list of games I'd most like to see a sequel to (and only thing that would make me buy an Xbox One) I can still live without a sequel because I can replay the original any time I like. This game represents to me one of the last times a game was truly insane in its basic concept (a nuclear carrier trundles around the ENTIRE PLANET on autopilot, never running out of fuel, unable to be steered out of the way of buildings, so you have to level everything in the way) and remains one of the most satisfying experiences. Vehicles felt weighty, buildings blew up spectacularly (for the time) and nothing quite emulates the feel of getting a Backlash slide juuuuust right and levelling a building in one shot. I platinum this game all the time. Just love it.
5. Diddy Kong Racing ; The king of cart racers for me, throwing in multiple vehicles (yet keeping them balanced), ingenious tracks and another God-tier Rare soundtrack. My only criticism would be that the powerups weren't all that flashy, but on the other hand it makes the game more of a pure driving experience than the perennial frustration that Mario Kart has thrown up with Blue Shells etc since the N64 iteration. Novel concepts like Boss Races and the Silver Coin Challenge elevate this game for me.
6. Dragon Warrior Monsters ; If this list was ranked by playtime I think this game would be top spot. This game oozed charm - the hub hid lots of nifty secrets and duking it out through the leagues of GreatTree Arena somehow always felt more hype than Pokèmon (possibly because of the difficulty). I couldn't stop breeding and battling and remember the awe I felt that sometimes boss monsters would want to come with you and the even greater awe when I discovered you can breed your way to using the later portion of the games super-cool boss monsters yourself. Breaks my heart that the 3DS remake of this game never released outside of Japan.
7. Quake ; Everyone likes to talk about Doom, or later entries in Quake, but the first Quake has a special place in my heart. I think what really won me over was the aesthetic, at a time every other FPS (except Blood, I guess) was going in a sort of sci-fi route, including Quake's sequels, the gothic/medieval/satanic mishmash that comprised Quake's realms was a welcome change, with some really cool weapons (nailgun, yo) and interesting map design.
8. Panzer Dragoon Saga ; Another coin-flip between this and II, Saga just wins out by virtue of its scope, novel battling system and engrossing story. As I didn't play very much PS1 during the gen at all, this game was the gen-defining JRPG for me and a beautiful addition to the PD series. I love the lore behind the whole PD universe, and being able to interact with it beyond the constraints of the rail-shooter genre is what made this game for me.
9. Super Mario 64 ; Apart from being an incredible game in its own right and the game that introduced the world to the true potential of 3D gaming (and the analogue stick), this is the game that persuaded me to get an N64 instead of a PS1 for Christmas, and therefore introducing the rampant Nintendo bias seen on this list.
A game that doesn't age and is still super playable to this day, the still-thriving speedrunning community is a testament to how timeless this classic really is.
10. Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight ; For me still the greatest Star Wars game ever made. The choices between Light and Dark Side, the cool levels (like the opener, or The Return Home to Sulon, or Fuel Station Launch), the many, many secrets to find, and a nice mix of satisfying weaponas and Force powers, plus cutscenes that were incredible for the day make this game not just an amazing Star Wars game, but an amazing FPS. I'd say it was a must play even for those who aren't all that into Star Wars.
X. Shadowman
X. Spyro: Year of the Dragon
X. The Curse of Monkey Island
X. Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror
X. Jet Force Gemini
X. Goldeneye 007
X. Lylat Wars (Starfox 64)
X. Banjo-Tooie
X. NiGHTS Into Dreams
X. Guardian Heroes
X. Pandemonium!
X. Shadows of the Empire
X. Warioland 3
X. Toonstruck
X. Planescape: Torment
X. Baldur's Gate
1. Banjo-Kazooie ; This game was my childhood. Playing Mario 64 round my uncle's house made me want the console, but playing this on Christmas Day in '98 defined the whole generation for me. The worlds, at once seemingly huge yet actually relatively compact playgrounds bursting with secrets and puzzles. The incredible soundtrack. The silly yet endearing gibberish voices. The tight design and expansive yet not overcomplicated moveset. The well balanced number of collectibles. 10-year-old me finally getting that goddamned propellor jiggy in Rusty Bucket Bay. A masterpiece.
2. Pokèmon Red/Blue ; I agonised over this or GSC but ultimately the original has to win out. I picked this up while on holiday in the USA knowing nothing about it - but the concept had me hooked within minutes of turning my Game Boy on. Sure, later versions built on the Pokèmon concept and I could hardly recommend starting with Red/Blue to someone who'd never played a Pokèmon game before nowadays, but the original template laid down the foundations for greatness to come and was a solid little game in its own right.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; Pretty much a no-brainer, the game is deservedly regarded as a classic. Looking back, Nintendo really knocked it out of the park when it came to transitioning their franchises from 2D to 3D - while Mario 64 was the game that started it all, OoT really nailed it. Everything about this game, from the tone to the pacing to the combat, was just far better than a first attempt at bringing Zelda to 3D had any right to be. And no, the Water Temple was never that bad.
4. Blast Corps ; Topping my list of games I'd most like to see a sequel to (and only thing that would make me buy an Xbox One) I can still live without a sequel because I can replay the original any time I like. This game represents to me one of the last times a game was truly insane in its basic concept (a nuclear carrier trundles around the ENTIRE PLANET on autopilot, never running out of fuel, unable to be steered out of the way of buildings, so you have to level everything in the way) and remains one of the most satisfying experiences. Vehicles felt weighty, buildings blew up spectacularly (for the time) and nothing quite emulates the feel of getting a Backlash slide juuuuust right and levelling a building in one shot. I platinum this game all the time. Just love it.
5. Diddy Kong Racing ; The king of cart racers for me, throwing in multiple vehicles (yet keeping them balanced), ingenious tracks and another God-tier Rare soundtrack. My only criticism would be that the powerups weren't all that flashy, but on the other hand it makes the game more of a pure driving experience than the perennial frustration that Mario Kart has thrown up with Blue Shells etc since the N64 iteration. Novel concepts like Boss Races and the Silver Coin Challenge elevate this game for me.
6. Dragon Warrior Monsters ; If this list was ranked by playtime I think this game would be top spot. This game oozed charm - the hub hid lots of nifty secrets and duking it out through the leagues of GreatTree Arena somehow always felt more hype than Pokèmon (possibly because of the difficulty). I couldn't stop breeding and battling and remember the awe I felt that sometimes boss monsters would want to come with you and the even greater awe when I discovered you can breed your way to using the later portion of the games super-cool boss monsters yourself. Breaks my heart that the 3DS remake of this game never released outside of Japan.
7. Quake ; Everyone likes to talk about Doom, or later entries in Quake, but the first Quake has a special place in my heart. I think what really won me over was the aesthetic, at a time every other FPS (except Blood, I guess) was going in a sort of sci-fi route, including Quake's sequels, the gothic/medieval/satanic mishmash that comprised Quake's realms was a welcome change, with some really cool weapons (nailgun, yo) and interesting map design.
8. Panzer Dragoon Saga ; Another coin-flip between this and II, Saga just wins out by virtue of its scope, novel battling system and engrossing story. As I didn't play very much PS1 during the gen at all, this game was the gen-defining JRPG for me and a beautiful addition to the PD series. I love the lore behind the whole PD universe, and being able to interact with it beyond the constraints of the rail-shooter genre is what made this game for me.
9. Super Mario 64 ; Apart from being an incredible game in its own right and the game that introduced the world to the true potential of 3D gaming (and the analogue stick), this is the game that persuaded me to get an N64 instead of a PS1 for Christmas, and therefore introducing the rampant Nintendo bias seen on this list.
A game that doesn't age and is still super playable to this day, the still-thriving speedrunning community is a testament to how timeless this classic really is.10. Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight ; For me still the greatest Star Wars game ever made. The choices between Light and Dark Side, the cool levels (like the opener, or The Return Home to Sulon, or Fuel Station Launch), the many, many secrets to find, and a nice mix of satisfying weaponas and Force powers, plus cutscenes that were incredible for the day make this game not just an amazing Star Wars game, but an amazing FPS. I'd say it was a must play even for those who aren't all that into Star Wars.
X. Shadowman
X. Spyro: Year of the Dragon
X. The Curse of Monkey Island
X. Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror
X. Jet Force Gemini
X. Goldeneye 007
X. Lylat Wars (Starfox 64)
X. Banjo-Tooie
X. NiGHTS Into Dreams
X. Guardian Heroes
X. Pandemonium!
X. Shadows of the Empire
X. Warioland 3
X. Toonstruck
X. Planescape: Torment
X. Baldur's Gate
Barry Burton
Member
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; The greatest video game ever made. Getting lost in this fully-realized 3D world for the first time changed my entire outlook on video games and how much they could accomplish. No game, other than maybe the original Super Mario Bros., was better than its contemporaries to the extent that Ocarina of Time was. (1998, Nintendo)
2. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask; A very different game from its predecessor, and superior in many respects, Majora's Mask is one of only a small handful of games that I consider to occupy the same echelon as Ocarina of Time. Under-appreciated for a long time (and probably still is) but it has gotten its due over the subsequent years. Still to this day, very few games have done a better job of establishing a sense of place and community for its in-game world and its inhabitants. (2000, Nintendo)
3. Goldeneye 007; The N64 was not only home to my favorite single-player experiences, but my favorite multi-player experiences as well. And while the local multi-player scene on the console was amazing for a number of reasons, Goldeneye is the one game that stood out the most. It was *the* game that sold me on the N64, mainly so that staying up all night playing the game for hours no longer required me to go over to a friend's house. (1997, Rare)
4. Super Mario 64; Looking back on it, the iconic Italian plumber's debut in three dimensions was a real tipping-point for the video games industry. It established all of the ground rules for interacting with and moving around in 3D space, and almost single-handedly paved the way for what was to come over the course of the generation. But imagine if they had failed? How would things have played out if Nintendo wasn't successful in bringing Mario to a new generation in the same way Capcom and Sega have struggled to bring their iconic 8- and 16-bit franchises to 3D? Thankfully, they hit it out of the park on their first attempt, and the rest is history. (1996, Nintendo)
5. WWF No Mercy; Consider this a "Lifetime Achievement" spot shared with those that came before it (WCW vs. nWo World Tour, WCW/nWo Revenge and WWF Wrestlemania 2000). Fifteen years later, these are still the best professional wrestling games out there, and No Mercy represents the peak of THQ's output during the N64-era. On a console with many great multi-player games to choose from, these games were a hit with all of my friends, many of whom weren't even into wrestling. (2000, AKI/Asmik Ace)
6. Tomb Raider; I actually played this originally on a PC, and a bad one at that (think lowest-possible resolution settings to get it at a playable framerate -- yikes!). But I persevered past that, and even at low fidelity, it was one of the best early 3D experiences that I had. By bringing together platforming, traversal, exploration and puzzle-solving to navigate through each tomb, Tomb Raider hit that sweet spot where it was both challenging and rewarding to figure out how to get to the next area. It really is a shame that the series has continued to get away from this game design more and more in the years since. It's an excellent game. And it has to be mentioned: the introduction of the T-Rex? Probably the most memorable individual moment of that generation. (1996, Core Design)
7. Super Smash Bros.; The one that started it all. Subsequent Smash Bros. games have consistently upped the ante in terms of spectacle and chaos, and while I still consider Melee to be my favorite of the bunch, there's a lot to be said for the pure, simple, stripped-down fun of the original. In fact, many of the (by comparison) smaller and simpler stages introduced here still rank among the best that they've ever done. As the Smash Bros. game that I easily spent the most time playing with friends, I look back on it with an immense amount of fondness and appreciation. (1999, HAL Laboratory)
8. Perfect Dark; I don't have the same amount of reverence for Perfect Dark as I do for Goldeneye, mostly because it came out towards the end of the N64 and we just didn't play it as much. But as far as "sequels" go, this is about as good as it gets. The amount of customization that they added to the multi-player was staggering. I also preferred the campaign here, as its X-Files-esque alien conspiracy and near-future cyberpunk theme appealed to me a lot more than the typical Bond fare. It's one of those cases where I'd probably put Perfect Dark ahead of Goldeneye had it come out first, and had *it* been the game we'd sunk hundreds and hundreds of hours into. I see it more as a great successor, rather than a beloved classic in its own right. (2000, Rare)
9. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis; While the original is regarded as a landmark title in the survival horror genre, and its sequel got even more acclaim and attention, it's the often-overlooked Resident Evil 3 that I consider to be the best of the Playstation-era Resident Evil games. With its refocused emphasis on item management, challenging puzzles and the threat of a constant pursuer, it gets back to the survival horror core of the first game in ways that I felt they got away from in RE2. It's my second-favorite in the series behind only the masterful REmake. (1999, Capcom)
10. Metal Gear Solid; I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this game. I've always considered it to be pretty overrated on the whole; there was just never enough gameplay there for me, and while the number of long cinematics and emphasis on storytelling was groundbreaking at the time, it was never something that I actually considered to be "good". But as my introduction to the bizarre world of Hideo Kojima, I still have quite a bit of respect for this game: for its striking attention to detail, for its breaking-the-fourth-wall goofiness, and for the best locale in the series -- Shadow Moses Island. In spite of my misgivings towards it, it's undoubtedly one of the most important and memorable games of all time, and laid the groundwork for the excellent PS2 sequels. (1998, Konami)
iconoclast
Member
1. Super Street Fighter II Turbo
2. Dodonpachi
3. Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 ; AKI's best game. The additional features in No Mercy give that game an edge in some ways, but the bottom line is that AKI's engine comes much closer to simulating a Japanese wrestling match than an American one. And VPW2 has a better roster.
4. Metal Slug X ; The best run & gun ever made. Superb stage design from start to finish, beautiful graphics and animation, and a fun arsenal of weapons. The scoring is also a lot of fun at a casual level (but total garbage at high level).
5. The Adventure of Little Ralph ; One of, if not the best action/platform game ever made. Excellent in every way.
6. Metal Gear Solid
7. Super Mario 64
8. Strider 2 ; There's a lot of sloppy design in Strider 2. It's definitely not as well made as the original Strider or Cannon Dancer, but its excellent mechanics (that have only been outdone by Hard Corps: Uprising), much higher difficulty, and great scoring system make it more interesting to play than either of them.
9. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
10. Banjo-Kazooie
x. Fire Pro Wrestling S: 6 Men Scramble ; This would probably be #1 on my list if I were looking at these games in a vacuum. I don't think 6MS has much value nowadays, though, because the sequels are better in almost every way.
x. Pokemon Blue ; Similar to Fire Pro, this would be in my top ten if I wanted to ignore all of the superior sequels (including the remake). But there's no reason to play this nowadays.
x. Armed Police Batrider
x. Battle Garegga
x. RayForce
x. Dangun Feveron
x. Cannon Dancer ; Spiritual sequel to Strider from the original creator. It's better in pretty much every way, but it's too short and easy (so, just like Strider). Scoring is as simple as it gets, so it doesn't have much long-lasting appeal. Still a fantastic game, though.
x. Metal Slug
x. Castlevania Chronicles ; [A port of] the best Castlevania game.
x. StarCraft
2. Dodonpachi
3. Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 ; AKI's best game. The additional features in No Mercy give that game an edge in some ways, but the bottom line is that AKI's engine comes much closer to simulating a Japanese wrestling match than an American one. And VPW2 has a better roster.
4. Metal Slug X ; The best run & gun ever made. Superb stage design from start to finish, beautiful graphics and animation, and a fun arsenal of weapons. The scoring is also a lot of fun at a casual level (but total garbage at high level).
5. The Adventure of Little Ralph ; One of, if not the best action/platform game ever made. Excellent in every way.
6. Metal Gear Solid
7. Super Mario 64
8. Strider 2 ; There's a lot of sloppy design in Strider 2. It's definitely not as well made as the original Strider or Cannon Dancer, but its excellent mechanics (that have only been outdone by Hard Corps: Uprising), much higher difficulty, and great scoring system make it more interesting to play than either of them.
9. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
10. Banjo-Kazooie
x. Fire Pro Wrestling S: 6 Men Scramble ; This would probably be #1 on my list if I were looking at these games in a vacuum. I don't think 6MS has much value nowadays, though, because the sequels are better in almost every way.
x. Pokemon Blue ; Similar to Fire Pro, this would be in my top ten if I wanted to ignore all of the superior sequels (including the remake). But there's no reason to play this nowadays.
x. Armed Police Batrider
x. Battle Garegga
x. RayForce
x. Dangun Feveron
x. Cannon Dancer ; Spiritual sequel to Strider from the original creator. It's better in pretty much every way, but it's too short and easy (so, just like Strider). Scoring is as simple as it gets, so it doesn't have much long-lasting appeal. Still a fantastic game, though.
x. Metal Slug
x. Castlevania Chronicles ; [A port of] the best Castlevania game.
x. StarCraft
RetroPlayer
Banned
Such a difficult question this.
I was 19 when the PS1 was released and I remember seeing Wipeout for the first time and thinking that it was from the future.
Those who were around then were coming off of the 16bit machines, so seeing Wipeout and hearing that soundtrack for the first time was like something from another planet.
OK, a list -
1. Wip3out - PS1
2. Gran Turismo 2 - PS1
3. Silent Hill - PS1
4. Grand Theft Auto 2 - PS1
5. Sega Rally - Saturn
6. NiGHTS Into Dreams - Saturn
7. Virtua Fighter 2 - Saturn
8. Super Mario 64 - N64
9. Tomb Raider (Original) - PS1
10. Starfox 64 - N64
So many more great games in this gen though.
I was 19 when the PS1 was released and I remember seeing Wipeout for the first time and thinking that it was from the future.
Those who were around then were coming off of the 16bit machines, so seeing Wipeout and hearing that soundtrack for the first time was like something from another planet.
OK, a list -
1. Wip3out - PS1
2. Gran Turismo 2 - PS1
3. Silent Hill - PS1
4. Grand Theft Auto 2 - PS1
5. Sega Rally - Saturn
6. NiGHTS Into Dreams - Saturn
7. Virtua Fighter 2 - Saturn
8. Super Mario 64 - N64
9. Tomb Raider (Original) - PS1
10. Starfox 64 - N64
So many more great games in this gen though.
entremet
Member
Those are some cool friends. My friends mostly like action games.
Great post Yoshi.Which Collectathons did you play? I like Banjo-Kazooie so much, that I'd be willing to buy a 500 console that is guaranteed to have no other game than Banjo-Threeie, but has Banjo-Threeie, on the other hand, I keep on trying to play Spyro and just cannot get any enjoyment out of it.
- What does Banjo have in common with other collectathons? To progress in the game you have to collect stuff, both "big stuff", i.e. puzzle pieces in this game (if you know Mario: stars, if you know Spyro: Dragon statues, if you know DK64: golden bananas), and "small stuff", i.e. notes in this game (if you know Mario: coins, if you know Spyro: gems, if you know DK64: coloured bananas). You have free movement in a relatively wide areas and you can almost always tackle several different objectives in the order you prefer
- What does it make different than other collectathons? In comparison to the weaker Banjo-Tooie and the much weaker DK64, the areas are smaller, but offer about the same amount of meaningful content. That means that the worlds are super-densely packed with interesting interaction points, platforming challenges and small puzzles (it's no Zelda game though, so don't expect overly complex puzzles), there is almost no unnecessary "way" in the game, but you always get something meaningful to do, no matter where you turn. Also, the game is subtely structured via the collectibles, using them the best among all collectathons. You do not collect notes just for its own cause, instead you are guided by the notes to the main points of interest. You can see this as a more subtle analogon to today's radars and minimaps. Due to the smaller size of the levels, you get really familiar with the levels fast and should never get lost, at the same time, the levels are open in structure and big enough to invite for fantastic exploration.
The mechanics, I would say, are weaker than in Super Mario 64, but stronger than in all the direct rivals, i.e. DK64, Spyro 1-3 and Vexx. The level design though I would argue is the best of all collectathons and modern open games are - from my perspective - embarassed by the sheer density and quality of the worlds in Banjo-Kazooie. It's the imaginative, varied, but immensely focussed level design that makes Banjo-Kazooie a very special game, one that hasn't been bested in its subgenre for 17 years. It is also, again imo, the only game to ever beat a contemporary Mario in at least some fields, in this case level design, game structure, presentation and humour, not base mechanics though. But I need to stress the fact that the mechanics are still great and the progressive learning of more and more - useful and necessary - moves, as well as the transformations, changing up the mechanics quite a bit every once and a while make the mechanics still stand out in a positive way.
- What if I don't like N64 aesthetics? Well, take a look at the game and decide if you can stand the looks. Banjo is certainly a standout title among the N64 games as it has no fog, a stable framerate, actually nice looking textures, no vaseline effect and animates very well. You can play it on Xbox 360 and Xbox One, receiving a more clean look:
Let me add that B-K also has a fantastic soundtrack and a unique and fun sense if humour.
So all in all I would say, if you hate collectathons for the fact that you have to collect things and you have to traverse semi-open worlds, then Banjo-Kazooie is not for you. If you don't hate Super Mario 64 though and your collectathon experience is dominated by (as I see it) enormously inferior games like the Spyro ones, which do not even understand the basic structuring purpose of the collectathon aspect, you should certainly check it out, especially as it is not very expensive (~10 for a module,~30 for Rare Replay, giving you access to 29 more games, or ~15 via XBLA in a bundle with the sucessor Banjo-Tooie).
Agree 100%.
thesaucetastic
Unconfirmed Member
Question: do the Wii ports of Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask count? Because they're the N64 versions emulated, and they're the first time I played through both games all the way through.
i wasn't allowing this in the previous thread because people would be listing their experience with remasters like tww hd or metroid prime trilogy, but i think straight ports to more recent platforms is okay. i would have counted suikoden ii if someone only recently played it on psn, for example.
this will also be the rule for gen 4 stuff, since so many of those games are available for download and probably experienced first that way.
Trying to get my vote in under the wire. I'm going a bit off the cuff with my choices. I'm excluding any game that has been improved upon with a subsequent remaster (MM 3D and Klonoa, to name two).
1. Paper Mario ; there are few words to truly describe the utter joy of a Paper Mario game. It's as though the splendiferousness of a typical Mario game was somehow extracted from those games and its potency increased tenfold. I adore the Mario series, but it truly wows me how compelling I find the Paper Mario artstyle. I also am no fan, especially these days, of turn-based gameplay, and yet I find the battles in the series very gripping. The story and characterization is excellently charming, as is the OST.
2. Rayman ; this vote is for the PSX iteration. The game is unyielding in its challenge, and from what I can tell, reasonably impossible to 100% without the 99 lives code. Despite that, its creativity and wonder are off the charts. It is easily the best 2D platformer I've played from this generation.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons ; one of the most under-appreciated Zelda games, as is The Minish Cap. I'm giving this one the nod over its counterpart, Oracle of Ages, simply because of Subrosia, one of the most charming settings any Zelda has yet to offer.
4. Crash Bandicoot 2: The Wrath of Cortex ; you ride polar bears in this game, and it is adorable. The jet pack levels offer needless frustration, and getting 100%, I expect, is a task akin to that in Rayman as described above. The game improves on everything its predecessor already did right. It's a side-scroller at heart, and that's usually an easy win for me, but this game is impressive nonetheless.
5. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards ; speaking of side-scrollers. Another under-appreciated gem from this generation, and one that offered power-mixing in the series in a fun and creative way. Fridge Kirby's my fave.
6. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; this game astonished me as a kid and probably shouldn't be on this list--but only is because I haven't played more than a short bit of the likely superior 3DS remake as of yet. Regardless, it continues to capture my imagination and I look fondly back at how it gripped my young self so strongly. I remember beating Ganondorf in, I think, 7th grade--probably a couple years after I got the game--and after having lost to him the previous evening, just being so elated at having beaten the game.
7. Crash Bandicoot ; everything I said about CB applies here as well, it's just a smidge less compelling, primarily because of the tougher save system. Save systems are just something I feel strongly about, I suppose. Plus, you don't get to ride a polar bear in this one. Although, there are some epic levels in the game nonetheless.
8. Diddy Kong Racing ; racing done eminently right. The recent rumors of DKR2 have only fueled my recollection of the sheer excitement of working through adventure mode in this game. Wizpig is an epic competitor, one I don't recall if I ever actually beat (at least, in the final battle). I like the DS port quite a bit, but I think this is the better version on the whole, at least in my memory. I'd be glad to see it on VC, but I suppose that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. Even still, it offers a stellar OST, terrific art direction, and an extraordinarily compelling SP mode.
The below games are other I got quite a bit out of, but am not directly voting for. I chose to stick with 8 as though I could choose a 9 and a 10 from the games below, I don't feel as strongly about their inclusion so for me personally they don't belong in the same quality tier as the 8 above.
Honorable mentions:
Pokémon Red: This is a game I got a lot out of as a kid, to the point of pleasant obsession. I don't think as a game it holds any real appeal for me anymore, but I'm not really into turn-based games for the most part.
THPS/2: These games had their addictive charm for me, for sure. I suppose the GBA THPS2 doesn't count here, but I do think that was quite a nice version as well.
Super Mario 64: An inventive, awe-inspiring 3D platformer that set the stage for subsequent releases in the genre. A very good game, but a bit lean on platforming and heavy on exploration. Better than its sequel, for sure, though, and offers plenty of wonder.
Oracle of Ages & Link's Awakening: Two stellar Zelda games, eminently compelling in their own right. Not as good as Seasons, but still quite excellent.
Super Mario Land series: I got a lot of enjoyment out of these. Inventive, unusual entries in the Super Mario series, and thankfully increasingly lengthy. The save system got significantly better with the 3rd entry from what I recall, but the second was already a good step up. The game over --> re-beat all bosses was very disappointing to me in the second game, though. Still, very fun and offbeat Mario games.
Banjo-Kazooie: I found this game quite addicting in my youth, but collectathons don't excite me as much these days. Alas, I have to leave it off the list. Incredible music, though, and the platforming was very good.
Harvest Moon 64 & BTN: These games consumed my early teen years. I really wanted to meet a girl like Karen. I loved listening to the rain and visiting festivals and forming friendships. Now, life sims do little for me. Real life as an ostensible adult has enough responsibility for me, I don't want much more in my games. I know that's an unpopular opinion and I don't mean it to slight anyone's enjoyment of HM/SOS/AC games, just my own perspective for myself only.
Star Wars Episode I Racer: Addictive, arcade-y racer. Not a big SW fan but I really dug this game and its sense of speed. The races were quite gripping!
I adored Klonoa on Wii but have not played the PSX version. I'm a huge fan of MM3D but I think the original is too obtuse for most, including my kid self. Or I was too lazy as a kid to play it without a guide. Regardless, I strongly prefer the new iteration.
1. Paper Mario ; there are few words to truly describe the utter joy of a Paper Mario game. It's as though the splendiferousness of a typical Mario game was somehow extracted from those games and its potency increased tenfold. I adore the Mario series, but it truly wows me how compelling I find the Paper Mario artstyle. I also am no fan, especially these days, of turn-based gameplay, and yet I find the battles in the series very gripping. The story and characterization is excellently charming, as is the OST.
2. Rayman ; this vote is for the PSX iteration. The game is unyielding in its challenge, and from what I can tell, reasonably impossible to 100% without the 99 lives code. Despite that, its creativity and wonder are off the charts. It is easily the best 2D platformer I've played from this generation.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons ; one of the most under-appreciated Zelda games, as is The Minish Cap. I'm giving this one the nod over its counterpart, Oracle of Ages, simply because of Subrosia, one of the most charming settings any Zelda has yet to offer.
4. Crash Bandicoot 2: The Wrath of Cortex ; you ride polar bears in this game, and it is adorable. The jet pack levels offer needless frustration, and getting 100%, I expect, is a task akin to that in Rayman as described above. The game improves on everything its predecessor already did right. It's a side-scroller at heart, and that's usually an easy win for me, but this game is impressive nonetheless.
5. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards ; speaking of side-scrollers. Another under-appreciated gem from this generation, and one that offered power-mixing in the series in a fun and creative way. Fridge Kirby's my fave.
6. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; this game astonished me as a kid and probably shouldn't be on this list--but only is because I haven't played more than a short bit of the likely superior 3DS remake as of yet. Regardless, it continues to capture my imagination and I look fondly back at how it gripped my young self so strongly. I remember beating Ganondorf in, I think, 7th grade--probably a couple years after I got the game--and after having lost to him the previous evening, just being so elated at having beaten the game.
7. Crash Bandicoot ; everything I said about CB applies here as well, it's just a smidge less compelling, primarily because of the tougher save system. Save systems are just something I feel strongly about, I suppose. Plus, you don't get to ride a polar bear in this one. Although, there are some epic levels in the game nonetheless.
8. Diddy Kong Racing ; racing done eminently right. The recent rumors of DKR2 have only fueled my recollection of the sheer excitement of working through adventure mode in this game. Wizpig is an epic competitor, one I don't recall if I ever actually beat (at least, in the final battle). I like the DS port quite a bit, but I think this is the better version on the whole, at least in my memory. I'd be glad to see it on VC, but I suppose that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. Even still, it offers a stellar OST, terrific art direction, and an extraordinarily compelling SP mode.
The below games are other I got quite a bit out of, but am not directly voting for. I chose to stick with 8 as though I could choose a 9 and a 10 from the games below, I don't feel as strongly about their inclusion so for me personally they don't belong in the same quality tier as the 8 above.
Honorable mentions:
Pokémon Red: This is a game I got a lot out of as a kid, to the point of pleasant obsession. I don't think as a game it holds any real appeal for me anymore, but I'm not really into turn-based games for the most part.
THPS/2: These games had their addictive charm for me, for sure. I suppose the GBA THPS2 doesn't count here, but I do think that was quite a nice version as well.
Super Mario 64: An inventive, awe-inspiring 3D platformer that set the stage for subsequent releases in the genre. A very good game, but a bit lean on platforming and heavy on exploration. Better than its sequel, for sure, though, and offers plenty of wonder.
Oracle of Ages & Link's Awakening: Two stellar Zelda games, eminently compelling in their own right. Not as good as Seasons, but still quite excellent.
Super Mario Land series: I got a lot of enjoyment out of these. Inventive, unusual entries in the Super Mario series, and thankfully increasingly lengthy. The save system got significantly better with the 3rd entry from what I recall, but the second was already a good step up. The game over --> re-beat all bosses was very disappointing to me in the second game, though. Still, very fun and offbeat Mario games.
Banjo-Kazooie: I found this game quite addicting in my youth, but collectathons don't excite me as much these days. Alas, I have to leave it off the list. Incredible music, though, and the platforming was very good.
Harvest Moon 64 & BTN: These games consumed my early teen years. I really wanted to meet a girl like Karen. I loved listening to the rain and visiting festivals and forming friendships. Now, life sims do little for me. Real life as an ostensible adult has enough responsibility for me, I don't want much more in my games. I know that's an unpopular opinion and I don't mean it to slight anyone's enjoyment of HM/SOS/AC games, just my own perspective for myself only.
Star Wars Episode I Racer: Addictive, arcade-y racer. Not a big SW fan but I really dug this game and its sense of speed. The races were quite gripping!
I adored Klonoa on Wii but have not played the PSX version. I'm a huge fan of MM3D but I think the original is too obtuse for most, including my kid self. Or I was too lazy as a kid to play it without a guide. Regardless, I strongly prefer the new iteration.
openrob
Member
Just saying it's kinda sad that I can't place many Sega games on here as they have a strong presence in both the previous (Mega Drive) and and latter (Dreamcast) generations. no one had a Saturn in UK haha.
1. Pokemon Blue ; It's Pokemon. The hype, the desire to be a Pokemon master, looking for Mew under the truck, trading with friends, the journey to Indigo Plateu. It gave me that sense of adventure I never had experienced before.
2. Final Fantasy 7 ; For such a single player game, it was a very communal experience for me. My first 'complete' play through was just playing it with friends, It wasn't even my game, we just played it mostly together, taking turns, etc.
3. Jazz jackrabbit ; Was an amazing little game that I just loved the hell out of. Underrated
4. Snowboard Kids ; "SLASH!" Summed up cheesy and fun multiplayer games from the 64 era.
5. Goldneye ; Multiplayer madness.
6. Super Mario 64 ; A great platformer and one that seemed never ending. Such a HUGE game.
7. Crazy Taxi ; Since it counts - that game was absolutely great - sunk many an hour into this amazing Arcade game. It also imbedded a ton of offspring into my head YEAAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAAAH
8. Bajo-Kazooie
9. Theme Hospital ; Great game and still enjoyable
10. Extreme G ; My first N64 game and so it gets a spot for that.
Honourable Mentions
x. Legend of Zelda: Orarania of Time
x. Pokemon Stadium ; the mini games were great and the ability to play Pokemon through the 64 was upoer cool
x. Pokemon Silver ; The sequel to Pokemon I think was the first time I really poured over information about a game coming up to release. Reading my gaming mags about night and day cycles and a whole bunch of new pokemon. Dat shiney cart goodness!
x. Yoshi's Story ; First game I played that was imported. This alone gave it legendary status for me haha. And the music still gives me feels
1. Pokemon Blue ; It's Pokemon. The hype, the desire to be a Pokemon master, looking for Mew under the truck, trading with friends, the journey to Indigo Plateu. It gave me that sense of adventure I never had experienced before.
2. Final Fantasy 7 ; For such a single player game, it was a very communal experience for me. My first 'complete' play through was just playing it with friends, It wasn't even my game, we just played it mostly together, taking turns, etc.
3. Jazz jackrabbit ; Was an amazing little game that I just loved the hell out of. Underrated
4. Snowboard Kids ; "SLASH!" Summed up cheesy and fun multiplayer games from the 64 era.
5. Goldneye ; Multiplayer madness.
6. Super Mario 64 ; A great platformer and one that seemed never ending. Such a HUGE game.
7. Crazy Taxi ; Since it counts - that game was absolutely great - sunk many an hour into this amazing Arcade game. It also imbedded a ton of offspring into my head YEAAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAAAH
8. Bajo-Kazooie
9. Theme Hospital ; Great game and still enjoyable
10. Extreme G ; My first N64 game and so it gets a spot for that.
Honourable Mentions
x. Legend of Zelda: Orarania of Time
x. Pokemon Stadium ; the mini games were great and the ability to play Pokemon through the 64 was upoer cool
x. Pokemon Silver ; The sequel to Pokemon I think was the first time I really poured over information about a game coming up to release. Reading my gaming mags about night and day cycles and a whole bunch of new pokemon. Dat shiney cart goodness!
x. Yoshi's Story ; First game I played that was imported. This alone gave it legendary status for me haha. And the music still gives me feels
Nocturnowl
Member
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; Such a startlingly unique choice I know, it almost feels pedestrian to say my favourite game is Ocarina of Time, a position its held since I first played it all those years ago and hasnt looked to relinquish it any time soon.
At the time Id played nothing quite like it, the sense of adventure and scope blew away anything Id played prior, that barren Hyrule Field that would be considered a knock against the game these days was something to behold for me back in the day. The clutch of nostalgia may be strong but OoT endures because its simply one of the very best games to this day, even among numerous sequels that have brushed up on the Zelda formula in 3D OoT still commands the throne on the strength of its pacing and variety that sidesteps the pitfalls future entries would fall into.
To this day I still get a buzz from experiencing the same moments that Ive replayed well into the double digits, its my video game equivalent of returning home, its the game where comfort is king.
It arrived at exactly the right time to capture my imagination, to leave the lasting impact, the defining game of my childhood and Im gonna stop here before I just continue with the full on gushing.
PS: Kaepora Gaebora is awesome, haters can suck it and read that again.
2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night ; The greatest character in this game? Why its the castle itself, each area lavish with detail and a compendium of creatures from the many myths of man, suitable map layouts that match with the locations in question as well as helping create further variety in actual structure and not just being a series of overly similar rooms. SotN just got this so very right, Draculas Castle is heavy with the weight of atmosphere from its creepy catacombs to the hallowed halls of the chapel because even monsters got to pray every now and then I guess. Its all elevated further by a top tier soundtrack, a true sense of discovery and a whole host of tiny details that make the game truly feel like a labour of love.
The difficulty is a bit all over the place marking another shift from the series action platforming origins, the true appeal lies in the exploration and with so much to see theres always intrigue as to what lies beyond the next pair of distinct doors that totally arent there for loading. By the time you reach the (inverted) endgame the game has practically dared you to break it, from your weakened beginnings after Death swiped your stuff to the finale where you have the capability of laughing your way to a complete squash match against Drac himself SotN truly shows the power scale of how far youve come.
And lets not forget that deliciously campy dialogue, who doesnt love voice acting that sounds like it was recorded in a cave?
3. Perfect Dark ; I dont know how Perfect Darks cart managed to cram all its content in there without erupting from the overload, I have to come to the obvious conclusion that Rare were wizards, maybe they went to Stonehenge and performed some arcane ritual to the British gaming gods or perhaps theyre just damn good at their job.
Well whatever it was they did an admirable job of almost living up to the Perfect in Perfect Dark. The spiritual successor to beloved classic Goldeneye with only a fraction of the fame but those of us in the know are aware that PD pretty much expands on GE in every possible way and is the superior game for it.
To try and succinctly summarize the joys of this game is a tall order indeed, so many little details are pouring into my mind right now like the psychosis gun that caused enemies to become your lackeys in the single player which then made me remember how you could give commands to your CPU allies in multiplayer so throwing a bunch of mines on them and then setting them loose as your personal bomber was a thing you could do. And this could be occurring in a game of capture the briefcase where theres 5 different teams each with their own base (unbalanced as heck but hilarious), filled with gimmick bots like the classic Fist Simulant that wont ever shoot you, hell just disarm you and punch you to death complete with screen shattering dizziness.
Everything but the kitchen sink was like a mantra for this game, thats surely how they ended up including a version of the single player campaign where player two can take control of the enemies to thwart you, heck theyd have let you shoot your friends faces with game boy camera integration but I guess Nintendo figured that wasnt exactly a pleasant idea.
Of course the march of time probably makes some of the people picking up the recent Rare Replay collection and discovering it for the first time find the game a touch unusual and outdated in playstyle and structure even with its 360 re-release polishing. Understandable, Its from a different era of console shooters thats not everyones cup of tea with the lack of that newfangled dual analogue aiming but dammit its my tea and Ill still happily drink from this pot.
4. Banjo-Kazooie ; Collectathon became something of a dirty word towards the end of the 5th console generation, lets not so quickly forget the game that made the subgenre of explorative 3D platformers even more popular in the first place after SM64 set the stage, enter Banjo-Kazooie.
Colourful as they come, the visual style that BK employs still holds up well today for a relatively early N64 title sidestepping the messy puddle numerous other games from the era splash into muddying their graphics (see what I did there, oh Im so proud). Banjo revels in the bright and bold, even stages taking place in a sewer or grimy bay burst with vivid visuals, then youve got areas like Freezeezy Peak offerings Christmassy colour explosion.
Speaking of the worlds, they strike a sweet spot in size offering exploration without getting overwhelming, while one could indeed point out that the actual platforming within isnt nearly as robust as say Super Mario 64 theres still variety within each and every world courtesy of the bear and birds diverse range of abilities.
The way the whole package comes together with its quirky British humour, wonderful soundtrack and googly eyed goodness creates a blend that truly embodies its aim of being a fantastical fairy tale adventure. Plus its endgame involves a quiz based on the game itself before the final boss, thats two different takes on the final test of what you picked up on over the course of the game and I love it.
5. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask ; Built off the Ocarina of Time base reusing a fair amount of assets be it music, NPCs and even the musical Ocarina mechanic, on paper it should be the most samey feeling of 3D Zelda sequels being the only one that's truly a direct one.
Yet the 3 day structure changes everything, the entire dynamic of the world design, its bevy of side quests and its atmosphere helps make it wholly unique.
What I love about Majora's Mask is it presents itself as the perfect companion package to Ocarina of Time offering its own twist on something near and dear to my heart.
As the years have gone by Ive grown to love how human the game feels with the various ways characters react to the looming annihilation. This gives the game undeniable character that endures to this day, it pulls me into the troubles of Termina with an urge to help as many as I can yet accepting that victory is bittersweet when time resets and a mask was my only memento of that possible future.
Compared to some other Zelda games Majora's Mask feels so tightly packed and condensed with little wasted space. While the world design is effectively four wildly diverse branches sticking out of a central hub where sand gives way to snow at a moments notice they're connected enough to feel like a complete whole. And that grim atmosphere, the final hours never fail to send a tingle down my spine, its magnificent.
The overworld in general has a nice run of tasks and obstacles to overcome before reaching the main dungeons, this softens the blow of only having four dungeons by making the journey to each feel like a series of quests as opposed to just sprinting from one dungeon to the next late game AlttP style. And this is without factoring in all the sidequests, effectively this game feels like the most free and liberating Zelda title of the 3D series where you've got options in what you might like to go and do next, it handles that sense of exploration and discovery very well which is a point where other 3D Zelda games struggle a bit.
MM carries this dare I say almost mature subtext that mostly stays in the background for those who seek it while a standard and easily understandable motivation is given for the games main mission. The N64 Zelda duo are the series peak for me, even in the early days of jumping to 3D these entries just nailed it, a killer one-two punch of adventuring goodness.
6. Starfox 64/Lylat Wars ;Housing that newfangled Rumble Pak, Lylat Wars made its arrival one Christmas morn in a box that dwarfed other N64 titles, thats making a statement before even putting the cart in the console.
Its about time you showed up Fox. Youre the only hope for our world.
And what a statement it was, furious vibrations erupted from my controller like wizadry, muppet like heads spewed gloriously campy voiced dialogue and I had the ability to move around the Starfox logo on the title screen which I probably spent far too much time with.
Ah, so this is Star Fox?
It may be on rails but just like a rollercoaster its a wild ride in spite of that. Though its a ride that can take many different paths to reach its final destination, in that sense you can break free of the rails and choose your own route.
Jeeze Laweez! What is that?!
On occasion the game flings into all range mode, freedom of movement is given to tackle more mobile bosses or a ship filled combat arena diversifying the gameplay further. Each planet offers a memorable and unique stage, seeing them all is a reward in itself but little did I know the true game was just beginning
Dont get too cocky Star Fox!
The medal collecting elevated the game even further, before it was just a case of surviving, now it was about figuring out how to best reach each stages high score, Lylat Wars was a master of replayability. Even so it took me years to finally achieve my ultimate goal here.
Never give up. Trust your instincts
Years later, after numerous runs through the Lylat system I finally earned the novelty of running around on foot in the admittedly ho-hum multiplayer mode, oh and unlocking Expert Mode which means that it was time to go through once more, I almost certainly made sure sure to swing by Macbeth that time around.
I cant stooooop IT!
7. Rollercoaster Tycoon ; I may not have known how my park value was measured (actually, I still dont), I took entirely too long to make use of advertising campaigns and I probably had food stalls right next to vomit inducing rollercoasters but none of that mattered. Even with my minuscule understanding of the simulation genre I brute forced my way through the early stages of the campaign to slowly understand just how things worked in RCT and soon enough I was having coasters entwine with each other as Elephant fountains erupted on the sidelines, a surefire recipe for excitement right there.
Theres just something magical about the sandbox that is RCT, like sometimes you just demolish everything and make the mother of all Go Kart tracks winding around an entire park and place your bets on which racer will win. Or you go for that perfectly cohesive theme that elevates your park to the next level. And maybe sometimes you inadvertently delete a bit of path over the water and grit your teeth as a bunch of park goers drop to their watery graves (pfft, they were grouchy anyway, you can find the park exit, you have a map!)
It still endures as well, I can happily play the game today and it feels like it hasnt aged at all, the sneaky thrill of jacking up umbrella prices when the rain falls is just something that ages like fine wine I suppose. Added Attractions/Corkscrew Follies was one heck of an expansion that imbued the core game with greater life. Alas its last upgrade Loopy Landscapes was too much for me, I barely made a dent in those twisted trials.
As a heads up with insider info gained from two parks I made with a friend of mine earlier this year naming your rides after the movie Wild Wild West is akin to placing a hex on the rides that will cause them to crash. Even the replacement known as Jim Wests Ghost crumbled like its parks predecessor. Said curse followed from one park to another because we foolishly created the necromancy of Jim West in honour of our previous blunders and well Im just saying that things quickly went downhill.
And thats why I love this game.
8. WWF No Mercy ; Arguably the best year of WWEs in ring product also gets arguably the best WWE game even to this day, how very fitting.
AKI had tackled a number of wrestling games across WCW and WWE on the N64 alone at this point and No Mercy was effectively the culmination of all their efforts, in fact me and my brother got into watching the sweaty spectacle based upon No Mercys predecessor Wrestlemania 2000, thats the power these games had, especially in multiplayer.
You didnt need to be a wrestling fan to enjoy No Mercy but being one certainly elevates the whole thing further where you appreciate the ability to work over an opponents limbs to increase the effectiveness of a submission finisher and you notice that for some reason Steven Richards has filled Big Shows role in the WWE title story mode which on occasion drew upon the product itself for its multiple paths (actually Big Show was booted from the game mid development for not losing enough weight in real life, not being in this game is a grim punishment to be sure).
No Mercy could toe the line of being a sim like wrestling game that was slow and methodical understanding how to represent the flow of an actual match while also being capable of the complete stupidity that comes with the territory. Which is why you can pull a giant cheese wedge out of the crowd as a weapon for your stupidly dressed obese Created wrestler whose finisher is to spit a fireball in your opponents face complete with leaving burn marks, now thats attention to detail.
Sure the Christmas fun took a bit of a hit with a widespread bug in early PAL copies that caused the game data to delete itself but me and my brother kept on playing anyway because it was that damn good.
And after all this game allows me give Kane the WWE title runs he so richly deserves so it was hard to stay mad.
9. Wario Land 2 ; Wario doesnt have to worry about death, crush him, zombify him, set him on fire, Wario can take it, heck he can spin it to his advantage. But he does have to worry about losing all those coins and thats the funny thing about Wario Land 2. An explorative platformer with time for puzzles, action and of course some well timed jumping yet the shadow of death never looms over the player, though youll still fear the foes as spilling coins hinders your chances of nabbing a stages treasure and thats what Wario is all about, the treasure.
This is a game where bosses do something worse than deal damage, they inconvenience you by knocking you out the room so you have to run back for the next round, somehow this manages to be far more punishing. Of course what bosses youll face can vary, Wario Land 2 splits itself into branching paths with multiple endings further emphasizing its explorative style of gameplay.
Really what I love about this game is that its a collectable focused platformer thats not only filled with plenty of nooks and crannies to discover hiding more gold to line Warios pockets but that it doesnt ask the player for EVERYTHING so its not like missing a few coins makes a wasted run. Factor this in with how taking damage is effectively spilling some coins it all comes together to make a perfect formula for Warios greedy self and the open level design. WL2 effectively coined (hah!) the style of gameplay that the WL series would be defined by, if the original was a kinda rough idea of making a platformer that was a twist on Mario this here is almost more like an antithesis of Marios focus and this marks where the true split from Mario Land and Wario Land occurs.
Basically this is one of Nintendos most underrated platformers.
10. Pokemon Gold/Silver ; If anyone has actually remembered my thoughts on the various generations of Pokemon that Ive dropped on GAF over the years you might be surprised that a Gen 2 game has snuck on here, Im not one to shy away from pointing out the things that irk me about how Gold/Silver handled various aspects of its content and I certainly dont consider it an unbeatable entry in the series by any stretch.
BUT as classic and dear to my heart as Red version may be I cant ignore just how mechanically messed up those original Pokemon games are, Gen 2 swoops in like the master mechanic fixing the glaring faults and sprucing up the series with landmark features that endure to this day (not that the series changes all that much). Ultimately its the definitive take on the Game Boys most defining franchise and its still very much playable to this day, no more diving through menus to cut a bush here, now thats evolution right there.
Otherwise you know the drill, its pokemon and this was peak time for the franchise, following up on the phenomenon was a tall order but Game Freak met expectations and then some, they called it a fad and yet here we still are with like 700 plus of the buggers to catch, if they bungled this sequel I wonder how different things couldve been?
x. Super Mario 64 ; A landmark title that absolutely nailed the strange new world of controlling a character in a 3D space, to this day SM64 may still be one of the best examples of character control in its genre even more so than its sequels. Unfortunately I do find that as fun as the game is a lot of its objective and level design has taken a big punch to the nads from father time. But make no mistake, at the time this was the Bees Knees.
x. Rayman 2 ; One of the most focused platformers of its generation that I imagine couldve got on the main list if Id revisited it more thoroughly in the last month, well I still think The Precipice is a great stage off the top of my head.
x Metal Gear Solid ; Disc 1 is rad, Disc 2 is unfortunately kinda plodding especially on replays where it cant use the numerous twists to hide the lacking gameplay side of things. Still this here is another landmark title of the generation.
At the time Id played nothing quite like it, the sense of adventure and scope blew away anything Id played prior, that barren Hyrule Field that would be considered a knock against the game these days was something to behold for me back in the day. The clutch of nostalgia may be strong but OoT endures because its simply one of the very best games to this day, even among numerous sequels that have brushed up on the Zelda formula in 3D OoT still commands the throne on the strength of its pacing and variety that sidesteps the pitfalls future entries would fall into.
To this day I still get a buzz from experiencing the same moments that Ive replayed well into the double digits, its my video game equivalent of returning home, its the game where comfort is king.
It arrived at exactly the right time to capture my imagination, to leave the lasting impact, the defining game of my childhood and Im gonna stop here before I just continue with the full on gushing.
PS: Kaepora Gaebora is awesome, haters can suck it and read that again.
2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night ; The greatest character in this game? Why its the castle itself, each area lavish with detail and a compendium of creatures from the many myths of man, suitable map layouts that match with the locations in question as well as helping create further variety in actual structure and not just being a series of overly similar rooms. SotN just got this so very right, Draculas Castle is heavy with the weight of atmosphere from its creepy catacombs to the hallowed halls of the chapel because even monsters got to pray every now and then I guess. Its all elevated further by a top tier soundtrack, a true sense of discovery and a whole host of tiny details that make the game truly feel like a labour of love.
The difficulty is a bit all over the place marking another shift from the series action platforming origins, the true appeal lies in the exploration and with so much to see theres always intrigue as to what lies beyond the next pair of distinct doors that totally arent there for loading. By the time you reach the (inverted) endgame the game has practically dared you to break it, from your weakened beginnings after Death swiped your stuff to the finale where you have the capability of laughing your way to a complete squash match against Drac himself SotN truly shows the power scale of how far youve come.
And lets not forget that deliciously campy dialogue, who doesnt love voice acting that sounds like it was recorded in a cave?
3. Perfect Dark ; I dont know how Perfect Darks cart managed to cram all its content in there without erupting from the overload, I have to come to the obvious conclusion that Rare were wizards, maybe they went to Stonehenge and performed some arcane ritual to the British gaming gods or perhaps theyre just damn good at their job.
Well whatever it was they did an admirable job of almost living up to the Perfect in Perfect Dark. The spiritual successor to beloved classic Goldeneye with only a fraction of the fame but those of us in the know are aware that PD pretty much expands on GE in every possible way and is the superior game for it.
To try and succinctly summarize the joys of this game is a tall order indeed, so many little details are pouring into my mind right now like the psychosis gun that caused enemies to become your lackeys in the single player which then made me remember how you could give commands to your CPU allies in multiplayer so throwing a bunch of mines on them and then setting them loose as your personal bomber was a thing you could do. And this could be occurring in a game of capture the briefcase where theres 5 different teams each with their own base (unbalanced as heck but hilarious), filled with gimmick bots like the classic Fist Simulant that wont ever shoot you, hell just disarm you and punch you to death complete with screen shattering dizziness.
Everything but the kitchen sink was like a mantra for this game, thats surely how they ended up including a version of the single player campaign where player two can take control of the enemies to thwart you, heck theyd have let you shoot your friends faces with game boy camera integration but I guess Nintendo figured that wasnt exactly a pleasant idea.
Of course the march of time probably makes some of the people picking up the recent Rare Replay collection and discovering it for the first time find the game a touch unusual and outdated in playstyle and structure even with its 360 re-release polishing. Understandable, Its from a different era of console shooters thats not everyones cup of tea with the lack of that newfangled dual analogue aiming but dammit its my tea and Ill still happily drink from this pot.
4. Banjo-Kazooie ; Collectathon became something of a dirty word towards the end of the 5th console generation, lets not so quickly forget the game that made the subgenre of explorative 3D platformers even more popular in the first place after SM64 set the stage, enter Banjo-Kazooie.
Colourful as they come, the visual style that BK employs still holds up well today for a relatively early N64 title sidestepping the messy puddle numerous other games from the era splash into muddying their graphics (see what I did there, oh Im so proud). Banjo revels in the bright and bold, even stages taking place in a sewer or grimy bay burst with vivid visuals, then youve got areas like Freezeezy Peak offerings Christmassy colour explosion.
Speaking of the worlds, they strike a sweet spot in size offering exploration without getting overwhelming, while one could indeed point out that the actual platforming within isnt nearly as robust as say Super Mario 64 theres still variety within each and every world courtesy of the bear and birds diverse range of abilities.
The way the whole package comes together with its quirky British humour, wonderful soundtrack and googly eyed goodness creates a blend that truly embodies its aim of being a fantastical fairy tale adventure. Plus its endgame involves a quiz based on the game itself before the final boss, thats two different takes on the final test of what you picked up on over the course of the game and I love it.
5. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask ; Built off the Ocarina of Time base reusing a fair amount of assets be it music, NPCs and even the musical Ocarina mechanic, on paper it should be the most samey feeling of 3D Zelda sequels being the only one that's truly a direct one.
Yet the 3 day structure changes everything, the entire dynamic of the world design, its bevy of side quests and its atmosphere helps make it wholly unique.
What I love about Majora's Mask is it presents itself as the perfect companion package to Ocarina of Time offering its own twist on something near and dear to my heart.
As the years have gone by Ive grown to love how human the game feels with the various ways characters react to the looming annihilation. This gives the game undeniable character that endures to this day, it pulls me into the troubles of Termina with an urge to help as many as I can yet accepting that victory is bittersweet when time resets and a mask was my only memento of that possible future.
Compared to some other Zelda games Majora's Mask feels so tightly packed and condensed with little wasted space. While the world design is effectively four wildly diverse branches sticking out of a central hub where sand gives way to snow at a moments notice they're connected enough to feel like a complete whole. And that grim atmosphere, the final hours never fail to send a tingle down my spine, its magnificent.
The overworld in general has a nice run of tasks and obstacles to overcome before reaching the main dungeons, this softens the blow of only having four dungeons by making the journey to each feel like a series of quests as opposed to just sprinting from one dungeon to the next late game AlttP style. And this is without factoring in all the sidequests, effectively this game feels like the most free and liberating Zelda title of the 3D series where you've got options in what you might like to go and do next, it handles that sense of exploration and discovery very well which is a point where other 3D Zelda games struggle a bit.
MM carries this dare I say almost mature subtext that mostly stays in the background for those who seek it while a standard and easily understandable motivation is given for the games main mission. The N64 Zelda duo are the series peak for me, even in the early days of jumping to 3D these entries just nailed it, a killer one-two punch of adventuring goodness.
6. Starfox 64/Lylat Wars ;Housing that newfangled Rumble Pak, Lylat Wars made its arrival one Christmas morn in a box that dwarfed other N64 titles, thats making a statement before even putting the cart in the console.
Its about time you showed up Fox. Youre the only hope for our world.
And what a statement it was, furious vibrations erupted from my controller like wizadry, muppet like heads spewed gloriously campy voiced dialogue and I had the ability to move around the Starfox logo on the title screen which I probably spent far too much time with.
Ah, so this is Star Fox?
It may be on rails but just like a rollercoaster its a wild ride in spite of that. Though its a ride that can take many different paths to reach its final destination, in that sense you can break free of the rails and choose your own route.
Jeeze Laweez! What is that?!
On occasion the game flings into all range mode, freedom of movement is given to tackle more mobile bosses or a ship filled combat arena diversifying the gameplay further. Each planet offers a memorable and unique stage, seeing them all is a reward in itself but little did I know the true game was just beginning
Dont get too cocky Star Fox!
The medal collecting elevated the game even further, before it was just a case of surviving, now it was about figuring out how to best reach each stages high score, Lylat Wars was a master of replayability. Even so it took me years to finally achieve my ultimate goal here.
Never give up. Trust your instincts
Years later, after numerous runs through the Lylat system I finally earned the novelty of running around on foot in the admittedly ho-hum multiplayer mode, oh and unlocking Expert Mode which means that it was time to go through once more, I almost certainly made sure sure to swing by Macbeth that time around.
I cant stooooop IT!
7. Rollercoaster Tycoon ; I may not have known how my park value was measured (actually, I still dont), I took entirely too long to make use of advertising campaigns and I probably had food stalls right next to vomit inducing rollercoasters but none of that mattered. Even with my minuscule understanding of the simulation genre I brute forced my way through the early stages of the campaign to slowly understand just how things worked in RCT and soon enough I was having coasters entwine with each other as Elephant fountains erupted on the sidelines, a surefire recipe for excitement right there.
Theres just something magical about the sandbox that is RCT, like sometimes you just demolish everything and make the mother of all Go Kart tracks winding around an entire park and place your bets on which racer will win. Or you go for that perfectly cohesive theme that elevates your park to the next level. And maybe sometimes you inadvertently delete a bit of path over the water and grit your teeth as a bunch of park goers drop to their watery graves (pfft, they were grouchy anyway, you can find the park exit, you have a map!)
It still endures as well, I can happily play the game today and it feels like it hasnt aged at all, the sneaky thrill of jacking up umbrella prices when the rain falls is just something that ages like fine wine I suppose. Added Attractions/Corkscrew Follies was one heck of an expansion that imbued the core game with greater life. Alas its last upgrade Loopy Landscapes was too much for me, I barely made a dent in those twisted trials.
As a heads up with insider info gained from two parks I made with a friend of mine earlier this year naming your rides after the movie Wild Wild West is akin to placing a hex on the rides that will cause them to crash. Even the replacement known as Jim Wests Ghost crumbled like its parks predecessor. Said curse followed from one park to another because we foolishly created the necromancy of Jim West in honour of our previous blunders and well Im just saying that things quickly went downhill.
And thats why I love this game.
8. WWF No Mercy ; Arguably the best year of WWEs in ring product also gets arguably the best WWE game even to this day, how very fitting.
AKI had tackled a number of wrestling games across WCW and WWE on the N64 alone at this point and No Mercy was effectively the culmination of all their efforts, in fact me and my brother got into watching the sweaty spectacle based upon No Mercys predecessor Wrestlemania 2000, thats the power these games had, especially in multiplayer.
You didnt need to be a wrestling fan to enjoy No Mercy but being one certainly elevates the whole thing further where you appreciate the ability to work over an opponents limbs to increase the effectiveness of a submission finisher and you notice that for some reason Steven Richards has filled Big Shows role in the WWE title story mode which on occasion drew upon the product itself for its multiple paths (actually Big Show was booted from the game mid development for not losing enough weight in real life, not being in this game is a grim punishment to be sure).
No Mercy could toe the line of being a sim like wrestling game that was slow and methodical understanding how to represent the flow of an actual match while also being capable of the complete stupidity that comes with the territory. Which is why you can pull a giant cheese wedge out of the crowd as a weapon for your stupidly dressed obese Created wrestler whose finisher is to spit a fireball in your opponents face complete with leaving burn marks, now thats attention to detail.
Sure the Christmas fun took a bit of a hit with a widespread bug in early PAL copies that caused the game data to delete itself but me and my brother kept on playing anyway because it was that damn good.
And after all this game allows me give Kane the WWE title runs he so richly deserves so it was hard to stay mad.
9. Wario Land 2 ; Wario doesnt have to worry about death, crush him, zombify him, set him on fire, Wario can take it, heck he can spin it to his advantage. But he does have to worry about losing all those coins and thats the funny thing about Wario Land 2. An explorative platformer with time for puzzles, action and of course some well timed jumping yet the shadow of death never looms over the player, though youll still fear the foes as spilling coins hinders your chances of nabbing a stages treasure and thats what Wario is all about, the treasure.
This is a game where bosses do something worse than deal damage, they inconvenience you by knocking you out the room so you have to run back for the next round, somehow this manages to be far more punishing. Of course what bosses youll face can vary, Wario Land 2 splits itself into branching paths with multiple endings further emphasizing its explorative style of gameplay.
Really what I love about this game is that its a collectable focused platformer thats not only filled with plenty of nooks and crannies to discover hiding more gold to line Warios pockets but that it doesnt ask the player for EVERYTHING so its not like missing a few coins makes a wasted run. Factor this in with how taking damage is effectively spilling some coins it all comes together to make a perfect formula for Warios greedy self and the open level design. WL2 effectively coined (hah!) the style of gameplay that the WL series would be defined by, if the original was a kinda rough idea of making a platformer that was a twist on Mario this here is almost more like an antithesis of Marios focus and this marks where the true split from Mario Land and Wario Land occurs.
Basically this is one of Nintendos most underrated platformers.
10. Pokemon Gold/Silver ; If anyone has actually remembered my thoughts on the various generations of Pokemon that Ive dropped on GAF over the years you might be surprised that a Gen 2 game has snuck on here, Im not one to shy away from pointing out the things that irk me about how Gold/Silver handled various aspects of its content and I certainly dont consider it an unbeatable entry in the series by any stretch.
BUT as classic and dear to my heart as Red version may be I cant ignore just how mechanically messed up those original Pokemon games are, Gen 2 swoops in like the master mechanic fixing the glaring faults and sprucing up the series with landmark features that endure to this day (not that the series changes all that much). Ultimately its the definitive take on the Game Boys most defining franchise and its still very much playable to this day, no more diving through menus to cut a bush here, now thats evolution right there.
Otherwise you know the drill, its pokemon and this was peak time for the franchise, following up on the phenomenon was a tall order but Game Freak met expectations and then some, they called it a fad and yet here we still are with like 700 plus of the buggers to catch, if they bungled this sequel I wonder how different things couldve been?
x. Super Mario 64 ; A landmark title that absolutely nailed the strange new world of controlling a character in a 3D space, to this day SM64 may still be one of the best examples of character control in its genre even more so than its sequels. Unfortunately I do find that as fun as the game is a lot of its objective and level design has taken a big punch to the nads from father time. But make no mistake, at the time this was the Bees Knees.
x. Rayman 2 ; One of the most focused platformers of its generation that I imagine couldve got on the main list if Id revisited it more thoroughly in the last month, well I still think The Precipice is a great stage off the top of my head.
x Metal Gear Solid ; Disc 1 is rad, Disc 2 is unfortunately kinda plodding especially on replays where it cant use the numerous twists to hide the lacking gameplay side of things. Still this here is another landmark title of the generation.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
Damn, waited til the last minute didn't ya Nocturnowl? I'm really glad you showed more love for Final Fantasy IX AniHawk.
Eolz
Member
Wanted to write more, but badly planned it and not much time left, so... :/
Hard choices to make past top 3.
1. Super Mario 64 ; The industry wouldn't what it is without it. Revolutionary, incredibly inventive and influential, and despite many problems, still really fun to play.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; Didn't age well (play the 3DS version instead), but nearly just as influential. Best rated game of all time, and a classic for a lot of reasons. Put the basics for modern action adventure games, and the Z-lock has been extremely important in game design.
3. Half-Life ; Again, another extremely influential game. Modern FPS wouldn't what it is without this game, thanks to being more than a simple Doom-like. Better AI, focus on story, some thought put into the levels, etc. Valve, please provide some closure and end the saga.
4. Pokemon Gold/Silver : This one has been an hard choice. Gen 1 is more influential, but Gen 2 perfected everything on aging hardware. Even without speaking of the (perfect) remakes, this is still to me the best Pokemon generation ever.
5. Planescape Torment ; The best western narrative game imo. Focused on the city as a whole, completely turns on its head the old "amnesia" trope, and just as excellent today, despite a pretty weak combat system.
6. Garou: Mark of the Wolves ; Arguably the best 2D fighting game ever, focusing on simplicity through a limited roster and number of features, and for the best. Special moments for me too, like the other games in this top 10.
7. System Shock 2 ; Another game changer. "Immersive sims" like some devs like(d) to call them, exist thanks to this game. A perfect mix of horror, FPS, adventure, and RPG.
8. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask ; A second Zelda game? Yes, but there hasn't been anything like it before or since. Darker, weirder, harder than OoT, it just changes more than you would expect from a simple sequel. Genius redefined with the 3DS remake, the original version is still really good.
9. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night ; That's thanks to this game that the term Metroidvania exists (and a lot of conventions), for better and for worse. An excellent game, but not the best Castlevania.
10. Goldeneye 007 ; Popularized multiplayer FPS on console way before Halo. Really polished for its time, great controls, levels, balance, etc.
x. Star Wars Episode 1: Racer ; PC version, one of the most underappreciated futuristic racing games, and one of the only good things coming from Episode 1.
x. Final Fantasy VII ; This game is incredibly overrated but deserves a mention for pushing the JRPG into more mainstream audiences.
x. Quake ;
x. Super Smash Bros ;
x. XCOM : Terror from the Deep ;
x. Metal Gear Solid ;
x. Fallout 2 ;
x. Duke Nukem 3D ;
x. I have no mouth and I must scream ;
x. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment ; Would have put it there if the PSP remakes didn't fix everything.
x. Starcraft ;
A poor gen in terms of quantity imo, but goddamn if the ratio of gems wasn't great, mainly due to this famous year: 1998.
Hard choices to make past top 3.
1. Super Mario 64 ; The industry wouldn't what it is without it. Revolutionary, incredibly inventive and influential, and despite many problems, still really fun to play.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; Didn't age well (play the 3DS version instead), but nearly just as influential. Best rated game of all time, and a classic for a lot of reasons. Put the basics for modern action adventure games, and the Z-lock has been extremely important in game design.
3. Half-Life ; Again, another extremely influential game. Modern FPS wouldn't what it is without this game, thanks to being more than a simple Doom-like. Better AI, focus on story, some thought put into the levels, etc. Valve, please provide some closure and end the saga.
4. Pokemon Gold/Silver : This one has been an hard choice. Gen 1 is more influential, but Gen 2 perfected everything on aging hardware. Even without speaking of the (perfect) remakes, this is still to me the best Pokemon generation ever.
5. Planescape Torment ; The best western narrative game imo. Focused on the city as a whole, completely turns on its head the old "amnesia" trope, and just as excellent today, despite a pretty weak combat system.
6. Garou: Mark of the Wolves ; Arguably the best 2D fighting game ever, focusing on simplicity through a limited roster and number of features, and for the best. Special moments for me too, like the other games in this top 10.
7. System Shock 2 ; Another game changer. "Immersive sims" like some devs like(d) to call them, exist thanks to this game. A perfect mix of horror, FPS, adventure, and RPG.
8. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask ; A second Zelda game? Yes, but there hasn't been anything like it before or since. Darker, weirder, harder than OoT, it just changes more than you would expect from a simple sequel. Genius redefined with the 3DS remake, the original version is still really good.
9. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night ; That's thanks to this game that the term Metroidvania exists (and a lot of conventions), for better and for worse. An excellent game, but not the best Castlevania.
10. Goldeneye 007 ; Popularized multiplayer FPS on console way before Halo. Really polished for its time, great controls, levels, balance, etc.
x. Star Wars Episode 1: Racer ; PC version, one of the most underappreciated futuristic racing games, and one of the only good things coming from Episode 1.
x. Final Fantasy VII ; This game is incredibly overrated but deserves a mention for pushing the JRPG into more mainstream audiences.
x. Quake ;
x. Super Smash Bros ;
x. XCOM : Terror from the Deep ;
x. Metal Gear Solid ;
x. Fallout 2 ;
x. Duke Nukem 3D ;
x. I have no mouth and I must scream ;
x. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment ; Would have put it there if the PSP remakes didn't fix everything.
x. Starcraft ;
A poor gen in terms of quantity imo, but goddamn if the ratio of gems wasn't great, mainly due to this famous year: 1998.
VirtuaFighter64
Banned
fuk u
thesaucetastic
Unconfirmed Member
Ah, I see. While I do think that rule was necessary for gen 6, I'm glad it's been relaxed now. Now that I think about it, I forgot to list Rayman 2 for the Dreamcast in my honorable mentions back then, whoops.
But anyway, here's basically Zelda: The List!
1. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (Gameboy Color); It was my very first Zelda game, and coming off the original Gameboy, color on a handheld was kind of a marvel. Yes this game has problems, like the frequent switching of items in the menu, redundant text boxes whenever you so much as touch a rock without a power bracelet, and phoned in bosses, but it had a lot good points. I loved the story, the setting, the puzzle like overworld, the dungeons... It's probably still my favorite Zelda game, although it's had some pretty tough competition...
2. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Nintendo 64); ...Like this one. The atmosphere was phenomenal, and I loved Clock Town. All of the sidequests and interrelations between npcs made for a really living world. I consider it the most focused Zelda game, and that's its greatest strength. It's too bad there are so few dungeons, but I still enjoyed my time with them. Best one was Stone Tower Temple.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64); Obviously given my first two entries, this one had to be on the list somewhere. There are a lot of things that OoT does better than LA and MM, but overall, I still have to rate it under them. Really enjoyed the story though, and Sheik and Link's relationship.
4. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (Gameboy Color); Capcom made some really good Zelda games. I played OoA before OoS, so that's probably why I like it more. Since they're so similar, I guess I'll put OoS in the honorable mentions.
5. Banjo-Kazooie (Nintendo 64); One of my first games for the N64. I really enjoyed exploring the levels and the puzzles. I enjoyed all the collectibles back then, but I don't think I'd have the patience to get them all now.
6. Donkey Kong 64 (Nintendo 64); I really liked switching between all the different Kongs (especially since they all had different abilities with specific puzzles dedicated to them) and, again, exploring the levels. Nostalgia goggles might make this seem better than it actually is, judging by other people playing it. I should try it out again soon.
7. Tales of Destiny (Playstation); Really fun characters, and the world building is pretty cool. The older Tales games just have this charm that sucks me right into them.
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Gameboy Color); This was actually a really good RPG, and adapted the novel pretty well. It's a pretty underrated gem, honestly.
9. Earthworm Jim (PC); The game was bizarre as hell, but I really liked it for that.
10. Tomb Raider (PC); Loved exploring the environments. The enemies scared me though, especially the tigers.
x. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (Gameboy Color); Seasons was such a good game, too.
x. Pokémon Yellow (Gameboy Color); Shout outs to the pikachu that followed you everywhere.
x. Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt (Nintendo 64); For being shitty but still fun(?) to play, somehow.
Too bad I didn't knock out any of my PS1 RPG backlog in time for this. Oh well.
I personally love this generation. I got my first console, the PSX, my first handheld, the GBA, and first dipped my toes in some PC gaming. This gen holds a special place in my heart, so picking ten of my favorite games was hard, but I picked the following games based on how much I liked them (obviously), and how much of an impact they had on my then developing tastes in certain genres. I mean, the games industry was well established with big players at the time. It's crazy to think about how much variety you had to choose from if you wanted a platform to game on. Anyway, the following are my top ten games on the 5th generation:
1. Super Mario 64 - My favorite 3D Mario game by far, I consider this the best N64 game ever. Levels that encourage you to explore, tight controls, and a killer soundtrack, and the game is one of very few from the era that aged fairly well. Most of you have played this game, so there's not much else that needs to be said.
2. Metal Gear Solid - My introduction to the insanity of Hideo Kojima. A lot of what makes this game memorable for me are the batshit moments (in my four-year-old mind), like Mantis making your controller rumble, having to look at the back of the game box for Meryl's frequency, and so on. I liked the cinematic style of the game too. One little touch that stuck with me were the credits rolling during the opening parts of gameplay, making it feel like an interactive movie. Killer game, best boss ensemble in the series, and one of the best games of this gen.
3. Pokemon Silver - My favorite generation of pokemon, not only for the pokemon designs, or the balance changes or new edition, but that soundtrack is fucking killer. Also, fire starters for life!
4. Grandia - My first console RPG. I'm not gonna lie, that fact and my nostalgia for this game heavily color my perception of this game, but fuck it. Is it too easy? Yeah, but so what? It's the journey that counts, and FUCK what a journey. The characters, settings, and music are straight up woven into the fabric of my brain. Play it, and you wont forget it!
5. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Dat. Z. Targeting. There's no question, this is the best action adventure game of this generation. And as much as I fucking hate the concept of time travel used in video games, this is one of those exceptions, because the game is so damn good. I loved the concept of a day and night cycle in games, which fascinated me as a kid. The dungeons were memorable as well, and that epic showdown with Ganondorf had me shaking by the time it was over.
6. Thief: The Dark Project - Best stealth game of the generation, and one of the first PC game I ever played, Thief has no equal. Densely detailed levels, absolute stealth playstyle that was super rewarding if you went through undetected, and far and away the best story in the series, I recommend this game to anyone who wants to scratch their stealth itch.
7. Final Fantasy IX - While this isn't my first Final Fantasy game, it'd the first one I played through all the way and enjoyed my time for the majority of it. With VII, most of the game was spoiled to hell for me, so when I got around to playing it myself, the impact wasn't there for me. I straight up didn't like VIII because the story and characters (Fuck Squall) were not engaging enough for me. When I got Final Fantasy IX, everything changed. Hardly anyone I knew was playing this game because they had moved on to the PS2 while I was still on PS1. And a lot of people I knew wrote it off for not looking more like VIII. Personally, I liked IX's look more. And when I played it, the characters were definitely more interesting. I actually cared about what was going on with these characters and what they would do during the story. Definitely my favorite FF of the era. And those of you who skipped this game should give it a shot.
8. Super Smash Bros. - A fighting game featuring Nintendo characters. That fact and the kickass commercial sold me on the game. The rest is history.
9. Tekken 3 - When it comes to fighting game series' that I practiced to git gud at and loved, you can have your Street fighters, Dead or Alives, Virtual Fighters, and King of Fighters, because Tekken is my main jam. Just don't pick Eddy like a cheap scrub.
10. Star Wars Trilogy Arcade - My favorite arcade game of all time. I'm a huge Star Wars fan, so when I heard that you could face off against Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel, I flipped my shit and begged my parents to take me to the mall to play this game. Now of course my parents being the cheapskates that they are, they only gave me a buck in quarters to play the game. And fuck, I have never been so stressed to not die in a game ever. Beating all the levels to unlock the Boba Fett and Vader levels is one of my favorite and most badass memories in gaming.
1. Super Mario 64 - My favorite 3D Mario game by far, I consider this the best N64 game ever. Levels that encourage you to explore, tight controls, and a killer soundtrack, and the game is one of very few from the era that aged fairly well. Most of you have played this game, so there's not much else that needs to be said.
2. Metal Gear Solid - My introduction to the insanity of Hideo Kojima. A lot of what makes this game memorable for me are the batshit moments (in my four-year-old mind), like Mantis making your controller rumble, having to look at the back of the game box for Meryl's frequency, and so on. I liked the cinematic style of the game too. One little touch that stuck with me were the credits rolling during the opening parts of gameplay, making it feel like an interactive movie. Killer game, best boss ensemble in the series, and one of the best games of this gen.
3. Pokemon Silver - My favorite generation of pokemon, not only for the pokemon designs, or the balance changes or new edition, but that soundtrack is fucking killer. Also, fire starters for life!
4. Grandia - My first console RPG. I'm not gonna lie, that fact and my nostalgia for this game heavily color my perception of this game, but fuck it. Is it too easy? Yeah, but so what? It's the journey that counts, and FUCK what a journey. The characters, settings, and music are straight up woven into the fabric of my brain. Play it, and you wont forget it!
5. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Dat. Z. Targeting. There's no question, this is the best action adventure game of this generation. And as much as I fucking hate the concept of time travel used in video games, this is one of those exceptions, because the game is so damn good. I loved the concept of a day and night cycle in games, which fascinated me as a kid. The dungeons were memorable as well, and that epic showdown with Ganondorf had me shaking by the time it was over.
6. Thief: The Dark Project - Best stealth game of the generation, and one of the first PC game I ever played, Thief has no equal. Densely detailed levels, absolute stealth playstyle that was super rewarding if you went through undetected, and far and away the best story in the series, I recommend this game to anyone who wants to scratch their stealth itch.
7. Final Fantasy IX - While this isn't my first Final Fantasy game, it'd the first one I played through all the way and enjoyed my time for the majority of it. With VII, most of the game was spoiled to hell for me, so when I got around to playing it myself, the impact wasn't there for me. I straight up didn't like VIII because the story and characters (Fuck Squall) were not engaging enough for me. When I got Final Fantasy IX, everything changed. Hardly anyone I knew was playing this game because they had moved on to the PS2 while I was still on PS1. And a lot of people I knew wrote it off for not looking more like VIII. Personally, I liked IX's look more. And when I played it, the characters were definitely more interesting. I actually cared about what was going on with these characters and what they would do during the story. Definitely my favorite FF of the era. And those of you who skipped this game should give it a shot.
8. Super Smash Bros. - A fighting game featuring Nintendo characters. That fact and the kickass commercial sold me on the game. The rest is history.
9. Tekken 3 - When it comes to fighting game series' that I practiced to git gud at and loved, you can have your Street fighters, Dead or Alives, Virtual Fighters, and King of Fighters, because Tekken is my main jam. Just don't pick Eddy like a cheap scrub.
10. Star Wars Trilogy Arcade - My favorite arcade game of all time. I'm a huge Star Wars fan, so when I heard that you could face off against Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel, I flipped my shit and begged my parents to take me to the mall to play this game. Now of course my parents being the cheapskates that they are, they only gave me a buck in quarters to play the game. And fuck, I have never been so stressed to not die in a game ever. Beating all the levels to unlock the Boba Fett and Vader levels is one of my favorite and most badass memories in gaming.
blast processed
Member
True dat. I would love to talk PC gaming in the 90's, almost considered making an appreciation thread, but most on here cut their teeth on consoles. I don't think I would get many posts because of that.
thesaucetastic
Unconfirmed Member
I find it kind of a shame, too. I would be interested in a PC classic gaming thread though. Specifically, I was interested in getting more into CRPGs, but the only starting point I have is to play Planescape: Torment someday.True dat. I would love to talk PC gaming in the 90's, almost considered making an appreciation thread, but most on here cut their teeth on consoles. I don't think I would get many posts because of that.
derExperte
Member
1. System Shock 2; SS1 is almost as good
2. Quake 3
3. Half-Life
4. Planescape Torment
5. Outcast
6. Fallout
7. Grim Fandango
8. Blade Runner
9. Tie Fighter
10. Falcon 4.0
x. Wing Commander 3
x. Wipeout 2097 / XL
x. FreeSpace 2
x. Unreal
x. Thief
x. Dozens of excellent and innovative 1st person shooters that few remember.
2. Quake 3
3. Half-Life
4. Planescape Torment
5. Outcast
6. Fallout
7. Grim Fandango
8. Blade Runner
9. Tie Fighter
10. Falcon 4.0
x. Wing Commander 3
x. Wipeout 2097 / XL
x. FreeSpace 2
x. Unreal
x. Thief
x. Dozens of excellent and innovative 1st person shooters that few remember.
1. Xenogears - Most engrossing story in a game I've played, great music, fun battles
2. Resident Evil 2 - Combination of setting, music, story, and scares makes it survival horror at it's finest
3. Conker's Bad Fur Day - Hilarious game, probably the funniest I've played, and I like it immensely better than Mario64 and Banjo because it's not such a collectathon. It's nice that it's all one big world rather than split into a bunch of a little worlds. You can lose motivation to finish in Mario and Banjo. The variety of goals and story keeps you always motivated in Conker.
4. Castlevania: SOTN - Incredible atmosphere, very fun gameplay, and one of the best soundtracks in all of video gaming.
5. Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Great amount of charm and heart. It's a game that you makes you feel good to play it.
6. Suikoden - Super fast battles where characters can attack at the same time, memorable characters, a ton of fun building an army. Unlike Chrono Cross, this is a RPG with a big cast done right.
7. Grandia - Ultimate kids going on adventure game, charming, extremely funny, some of the best battles of any RPG
8. Silent Hill - One of the scariest games ever made.
9. Suikoden 2 - Same as Suikoden 1 but I just don't think the war battles were done as well, it has an extremely bad translation, and the villain was a little too over the top.
10. Final Fantasy 7 - A tad bit overrated but still terrific. It never made me care about the characters, but the atmosphere of Midgar was awesome. The melancholy mood of she whole game was awesome. The music was fantastic. Gameplay was decent, considerably better than 8 or 9. Golden Saucer and the other mini games were a blast.
Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy Tactics, Resident Evil 1, Metal Gear Solid, Banjo Kazooie, Dragon Quest 7, Mario Kart 64
2. Resident Evil 2 - Combination of setting, music, story, and scares makes it survival horror at it's finest
3. Conker's Bad Fur Day - Hilarious game, probably the funniest I've played, and I like it immensely better than Mario64 and Banjo because it's not such a collectathon. It's nice that it's all one big world rather than split into a bunch of a little worlds. You can lose motivation to finish in Mario and Banjo. The variety of goals and story keeps you always motivated in Conker.
4. Castlevania: SOTN - Incredible atmosphere, very fun gameplay, and one of the best soundtracks in all of video gaming.
5. Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Great amount of charm and heart. It's a game that you makes you feel good to play it.
6. Suikoden - Super fast battles where characters can attack at the same time, memorable characters, a ton of fun building an army. Unlike Chrono Cross, this is a RPG with a big cast done right.
7. Grandia - Ultimate kids going on adventure game, charming, extremely funny, some of the best battles of any RPG
8. Silent Hill - One of the scariest games ever made.
9. Suikoden 2 - Same as Suikoden 1 but I just don't think the war battles were done as well, it has an extremely bad translation, and the villain was a little too over the top.
10. Final Fantasy 7 - A tad bit overrated but still terrific. It never made me care about the characters, but the atmosphere of Midgar was awesome. The melancholy mood of she whole game was awesome. The music was fantastic. Gameplay was decent, considerably better than 8 or 9. Golden Saucer and the other mini games were a blast.
Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy Tactics, Resident Evil 1, Metal Gear Solid, Banjo Kazooie, Dragon Quest 7, Mario Kart 64