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Celebrating Konami

My Konami Famicom collection

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Which console generation of Konami was best Konami?

3rd
4th
5th
6th

I have a hard time deciding between 5th and 6th.
Wikipedia's poorly thought out definitions of numbered generations grind my gears.

Nontheless the actual answer is the mid to late 80s Arcade/Famicom/NES/MSX or early to mid 90s Arcade/SNES/Mega Drive/PC Engine generations. They were IMO literally the top developer in the world at those times across arcade and console combined.
 
I can't believe no one mentioned this yet.

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The team that developed this lovely gem went on to create Treasure.
 
oh Konami, amazing how I was huge fan of Konami back in the 80s and 90s, now I feel disgusted every time I hear the name. how the mighty have fallen indeed.

thanks OP, now i feel more depressed.

Also don't forget some of Konami's Hidden Gems on the MSX, like Knightmere, Maze of Galious, King's Valley....
 
Ninja turtles games
Batman games
International Superstar soccer and winning eleven series
Pawapuro kun games
Parodius

Oh, God. Konami was so great in the past. That time when Konami or Capcom games didn't need any reviews nor scores. Each game was an instant success.
 
The beginning of the end was when they dropped the classic two ribbons logo.

There were still some good games after that but it was the start of the slowdown.
 
I know it's been said but I just cannot believe the OP snubs Ganbare Goemon.

I wish they would at least dump all of their old games onto the Virtual Console/Steam/PSN

Same goes for Sega

I have accepted most of these IPs are dead, I just wish they would return the games to the fans

I agree about Konami and Sega but the one thing Capcom is actually doing right is putting their old games on Virtual Console and Steam.
 
I know it's been said but I just cannot believe the OP snubs Ganbare Goemon.
The OP is very PSX centric is all. I'm guessing based on the games shown it was their childhood era console, and Goemon was only on N64 in the west in that era. Ironically there were more Goemon games on PSX, but they were Japan only.
 
Which console generation of Konami was best Konami?

3rd
4th
5th
6th

I have a hard time deciding between 5th and 6th.
5 = 4 > 3 >> 6

The thing about Konami is they were basically the best 3rd party on nearly every system they really backed. NES, MSX, SNES, PCE, Genesis, PS1, N64, PS2, GBA. Their closest competition was probably Capcom.
 
IT'S TIME TO DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDUEL!!!!!
 
every few years we do this thread, every few years i remember them as my favorite 3rd party & cry

Which console generation of Konami was best Konami?

3rd
4th
5th
6th

I have a hard time deciding between 5th and 6th.

SNES vs PSX is a really interesting argument, yeah - they were just incredible in both, but i'll never forget that PSX era when i could all but blind buy a game with their logo on it and often have zero regrets. they were just firing on all cylinders, and pre FF VII opening the floodgates, it'd take a high praising Game Players review to make me look past Suikoden 1's cover...but god, was i glad i did. they just felt like they did little to no wrong then.
 
SNES vs PSX is a really interesting argument, yeah - they were just incredible in both, but i'll never forget that PSX era when i could all but blind buy a game with their logo on it and often have zero regrets. they were just firing on all cylinders, and pre FF VII opening the floodgates, it'd take a high praising Game Players review to make me look past Suikoden 1's cover...but god, was i glad i did. they just felt like they did little to no wrong then.
I'd say their quality was quite a bit more spotty on PS1. Especially early PS1.

Diver's Dream was a bit scabby, Contra PS1 games were pure shit. Track & Field, Crypt Killer, Poy Poys, Broken Helix, Kensei, Midnight Run, plenty of early PS1 mediocrity.

Some nice gems like Ronin Blade though.

SNES though, hard to fault. Gradius III has slowdown, a million Power Pros which were kind of middling, but literally no outright duds.
 
In.

I'm more of a fan of the NES/SNES era. Anytime growing up, if I saw the Konami or Ultra logo, I knew that the game was going to be good to great no matter what it was. They very rarely let me down at the rental store or when blind buying games based on the cover art alone.

It's sad to see the state that they are in today but my memories of their heydey will last forever.
 
Loved Metal Gear, Castlevania, Zone of the Enders, Contra and much, much more.

It's a shame to see them in it's current state. At least, I wish they could sell their IPs to someone who would make good use of them.

Also...

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I will always find it funny that the two times I traveled to Japan was the same time that their offices "caught on fire"
 
Every time someone mentions Konami, i remember how good Suikoden series was, and just get sad that they probably never make another good game in the series for a very long time, if ever.

Yea, Konami has put out a shit ton of classics that I continue to go back to even today.

I'm ashamed to say that I've never played any of the Suikoden games though :(

I have the first two on my Vita though. Just gotta will myself to start them.

Just do it, dont stall playing this series, especially Suikoden 2 which is one of the best imo.
 
Looking at Suikoden 2 here, wow the art style and color palette is really nice, what's the best way to play that game ?

Yeah the PSN version played on a PS3 or Vita is the best way to play it

I played it on a HDTV on PS3 and it looked great

The OP is very PSX centric is all. I'm guessing based on the games shown it was their childhood era console, and Goemon was only on N64 in the west in that era. Ironically there were more Goemon games on PSX, but they were Japan only.

Funnily enough I had an N64 growing up and my first Sony console was a PS3, which I got in 2011

As I said before, the OP was a starting point, not a comprehensive post of every great Konami game, I pretty much picked a handful of their biggest/most well know IPs in which to start the conversation
 
True story, the first time I tried to sign up for GAF, I used the account name "Konami Man" (after their weird, brief mascot), but the account was never activated.

Used to be a top 5 developer for me. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
 
I'd say their quality was quite a bit more spotty on PS1. Especially early PS1.

Diver's Dream was a bit scabby, Contra PS1 games were pure shit. Track & Field, Crypt Killer, Poy Poys, Broken Helix, Kensei, Midnight Run, plenty of early PS1 mediocrity.

Some nice gems like Ronin Blade though.

SNES though, hard to fault. Gradius III has slowdown, a million Power Pros which were kind of middling, but literally no outright duds.

sure, sure
but in that era, a great number of those titles either didn't make it here, or did so in such small quantities as to be negligible in most major stores.

Suioken 1/2, MGS, Silent Hill, etc make a much, much stronger case. and i say that as someone tremendously fond of their genesis/SNES output.
 
I thought this was suppose to be a positive thread, but there's a bunch of posts of negativity. You guys have had plenty of threads to do that in already, you don't need to do it here too.
 
Konami was one of the first companies I learned to recognise, thanks to Rocket Knight Adventures. That game was fantastic and I expected great things when I saw their logo, and that continued through MGS1-3 before the Internet killed the idea of following a company's name in gaming. It's a different time now, so that was a good thing.
 
I hold a huge grudge against modern Konami too, but it's pretty rare to see an instance to actually celebrate their glorious past, so count me in.

Man, the memories... Along with Rare and Capcom, Konami's was one of the first logos I started recognizing as a little kid.

Which console generation of Konami was best Konami?

3rd
4th
5th
6th

I have a hard time deciding between 5th and 6th.

5th was pretty good, Silent Hill, SoTN and especially MGS1 were huge back then, I loved them, but I think 3rd and particularly 4th were just mind blowingly good to me. Contra, Castlevania 1 and 3, Turtles in Time, Super Castlevania 4, CV Bloodlines, The Adventures of Batman and Robin, International Super Star Soccer Deluxe, Contra 3, Hard Corps, Sparkster, Zombies Ate My Neighbors... Goddamn Rondo of Blood, man.

their sega genesis output was otherworldly.

adventures of batman and robin
contra hard corps
castlevania bloodlines
rocket knight adventures
zombies ate my neighbors
tmnt hyper stone heist

goooood shit

Haha, it's not often that this game gets brought up, and I happened to play it for the first time just yesterday! But actually I think this version was published by Sega and developed by some studio I never heard of before, while the SNES game was developed and published by Konami (my favorite of the two, although both are great).
 
Most of the big stuff has been covered, but ones I like aside from those:

Professional Baseball Spirits Ace is on mobile, but it's the best portable baseball game, probably ever.

They put out the Crows x Worst games on mobile, and CxW V is my favorite mobile game to date.

Also they at least published Ninja Five-O, not sure if they developed it? Either way, a great great game.
 
When I actually think about it, I'm amazed by how many of my all-time favorite games they are responsible for.

DDR, Silent Hill 2, Metal Gear Solid and Castlevania Order of Ecclesia would all be on my shortlist.

Then there's tons of other great stuff like Vandal Hearts, Suikoden, TMNTIV, Bomberman et al. I also have a feeling there are a lot titles I'd love if I actually played them, like other bemani titles or Hard Corps Uprising.

Sad to see the state they're in. Wish they'd at least re-release more of their back catalogue.
 
The saddest thing about this thread isn't remembering Konami, but those who seem to have forgotten that Hudson was once independent.
 
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