The Sane Psycho
Banned
In this thread, we discuss games that we love that we feel get a lot of unfair criticism or that seem to receive a lot of hate. This is a thread meant to shine a more positive light on those underappreciated classics. The first such game I'd like to talk about is Donkey Kong 64.
This is a game that was actually beloved by fans and critically acclaimed in its time, but has garnered more negative reaction over the years. The main criticism seems to be that it goes overboard with the collecting. Now, that is a legitimate criticism, but I love collectathon platformers, so I actually enjoyed collecting all the shit in this game. And the gameplay is classic Rare 3D platforming, so no complaint there. In my eyes, this is one of the best looking 5th generation games.
Then there's the near six hour soundtrack by Grant Kirkhope, which is one of his best works.
But what I really want to talk about is how damn ambitious this game was. The scope is simply staggering, especially for an N64 game from 1999. The levels are massive, to the point that they actually have warp pads that teleport you to various points in a level.
And one has to mention the sheer gameplay variety. Now, the Kongs do share some moves, like the gun mechanics, music based special attacks, throwing explosives, and even photography. Oh yeah, and the game includes FIVE playable characters, each with their own unique movesets.
There's also a lot of content on this cartridge, making the Expansion Pak justifiable. For example, I like how you can rewatch all the cutscenes from the main menu. There are also plenty of minigames to play, like the minecart game, and it even includes the original Donkey Kong and Jetpac in their entirety (which are actually required to beat the game).
Oh, and let's not forget about the other modes in this game, including the boss arena that lets you replay boss battles. It even includes a shooter deathmatch multiplayer mode, even if it is a little limited. How awesome is that?
So yes, I love Donkey Kong 64, despite the criticism it receives nowadays. It's one of my favorite N64 games, as well as one of my favorite 3D platformers period.
Well GAF, what are some of your favorite underappreciated classics?
This is a game that was actually beloved by fans and critically acclaimed in its time, but has garnered more negative reaction over the years. The main criticism seems to be that it goes overboard with the collecting. Now, that is a legitimate criticism, but I love collectathon platformers, so I actually enjoyed collecting all the shit in this game. And the gameplay is classic Rare 3D platforming, so no complaint there. In my eyes, this is one of the best looking 5th generation games.
Then there's the near six hour soundtrack by Grant Kirkhope, which is one of his best works.
But what I really want to talk about is how damn ambitious this game was. The scope is simply staggering, especially for an N64 game from 1999. The levels are massive, to the point that they actually have warp pads that teleport you to various points in a level.
And one has to mention the sheer gameplay variety. Now, the Kongs do share some moves, like the gun mechanics, music based special attacks, throwing explosives, and even photography. Oh yeah, and the game includes FIVE playable characters, each with their own unique movesets.
There's also a lot of content on this cartridge, making the Expansion Pak justifiable. For example, I like how you can rewatch all the cutscenes from the main menu. There are also plenty of minigames to play, like the minecart game, and it even includes the original Donkey Kong and Jetpac in their entirety (which are actually required to beat the game).
Oh, and let's not forget about the other modes in this game, including the boss arena that lets you replay boss battles. It even includes a shooter deathmatch multiplayer mode, even if it is a little limited. How awesome is that?
So yes, I love Donkey Kong 64, despite the criticism it receives nowadays. It's one of my favorite N64 games, as well as one of my favorite 3D platformers period.
Well GAF, what are some of your favorite underappreciated classics?
