• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

If there is a single swan song for every console ever released, which are they?

SNES I always think of Rockman and Forte. Came out later than most games, 1998, and really looked like a Playstation game.
 
Xbox: Metal Wolf Chaos

metalwolfchaos01.jpg
 
Famicom - Adventure Island 4
NES - Kirby's Adventure
Super Famicom - Power Soukuban (Released New Year's Day 1999!)
Super NES - Super Mario RPG
Playstation - Final Fantasy IX
N64 - Paper Mario
Gamecube - Twilight Princess
Playstation 2 - God of War 2
 
SNES - Super Mario RPG
N64 - Majora's Mask
Gamecube - Twilight Princess
Wii - Pandora's Tower or The Last Story (?)
PS1 - Spyro: Year of the Dragon
PS2 - God of War 2 or Persona 4
PS3 - Yakuza 5
 
God of War II for the PS2. It is fucking unbelievable what SSM pulled out the PS2 so late in the game. Persona 4 is obviously amazing and it came out later but God of War II is an incredible technical achievement and the pinnacle of that franchise.
 
I'm leaving out anything before the Saturn as I was too young to have enough recollection of the generation transitions.

Sega Saturn - Panzer Dragoon Saga
PlayStation - Final Fantasy IX
N64 - Perfect Dark
Dreamcast - Shenmue II
PlayStation 2 - God of War 2
Xbox - Forza Motorsport
Xbox 360 - Halo 4
Wii - Xenoblade Chronicles
PlayStation 3 - The Last Of Us

It's NiGHTS Into Dreams... for the Saturn, IMO.

That's a little early.

I guess you could argue that was the last year the Saturn qualified as being alive...
 
I wouldn't put Twilight Princess as the swan song for the GameCube when far more people played it (and earlier) on the Wii.

Edit: But looking at what released in 2006, I guess nothing else fits.
 
It's NiGHTS Into Dreams... for the Saturn, IMO.

If NiGHTS were the Saturn's swan song, there would only be like one great Saturn game which is very much not true. The correct answer, as has already been said, is Panzer Dragoon Saga (or Shining Force 3).

For the Genesis, I'd say Alien Soldier which set the 68000's heart on fire.

Dreamcast is obviously Shenmue 2.

For the Master System, discounting Brazil, it would probably be Golden Axe Warrior.
 
NES-Kirby's Adventure
SNES-Donkey Kong Country 3
N64-Paper Mario
GC-The Legend of Zelda; Twilight Princess
Wii-Xenoblade Chronicles (NA)/The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Worldwide)
Wii U-Probably the Legend of Zelda for Wii U
GB-Pokemon Red and Blue
GBC-The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages/Seasons
GBA-Pokemon Emerald
DS-Pokemon Black and White 2
3DS-Probably Pokemon Z
Master System-Golden Axe Warrior
Genesis-Sonic 3D Blast
Saturn-Burning Rangers
Dreamcast-Shenmue 2
Game Gear-Sonic Blast
PS1-Mega Man X6
PS2-Final Fantasy XII
Xbox-Just Cause
PS3/X360-GTA V
PSP-Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
PSVita-Dragon Quest Heroes II
 
Lets see...
-N64: Majora's Mask, Paper Mario or Conkers Bad Fur Day
-GameCube: Twilight Princess
-Nintendo Wii: Project Rainfall Collection (Xenoblade, Last Story, Pandora's Tower)
-PlayStation: Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon, FFIX
-PlayStation 2: Persona 4, Kingdom Hearts II, God of War II, Okami, God Hand
-PlayStation 3: Ratchet & Clank Into the Nexus, Puppeteer, Last of Us, Persona 5 (when it comes out)
-Xbox: Conker Live & Reloaded
-Xbox 360: Gears of War: Judgment
-Super Nintendo: Star Fox 2 (Unreleased), Donkey Kong Country 3, Mega Man & Bass
-Nintendo Entertainment System: Kirby's Adventure, Mega Man 6
-Sega Dreamcast: Sonic Adventure 2, Phantasy Star Online
-Sega Saturn: Burning Rangers, Nights into Dreams
-Sega CD: Lunar 2: Eternal Blue (Edit: Thank you NinjaCoachZ for the heads up :D)
-Sega Genesis: Vectorman 2, Dynamo Heady
 
To whomever mentioned Thracia 776: excellent choice. The fact that an SNES game was released in 1999, i.e. post Dreamcast and when even the PS1 was nearing its end, is mind-boggling to me. There was also Wrecking Crew '98 released not long before.

I'd also like to put forth Magic Knight Rayearth for the Sega Saturn.

I wonder what the 3DS's will be? LBX2? Yokai Watch 2? YW Busters?

Pokemon Z is my guess, in the same way that Black 2 and White 2 were for the DS, Emerald was for GBA, and Crystal was for the GameBoy Colour.

-Sega CD: Sonic CD

I'm not an expert on the Sega CD's chronological library, but I think Lunar 2: Eternal Blue came out pretty late in its life cycle as well, IIRC.
 
That's a little early.

I guess you could argue that was the last year the Saturn qualified as being alive...

I could see people arguing for Burning Rangers, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Fighters Megamix, or Panzer Dragoon Saga.

My argument for NiGHTS is that it came out at the same time as Crash Bandicoot and SM 64 and held its own critically; it has a sizable and enduring fanbase (I think swan songs should be easily recognized and most people haven't played Saga or X-Men vs. SF on Saturn...or Burning Rangers or Megamix, for that matter); and finally, when people talk about the Saturn, that is one of the first games they think of.

These criteria of mine are purely subjective, and I understand why some people might just look at quality and pick the highest quality game on the console, but for me, picking this type of game goes a bit beyond quality.
 
Genesis: Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
Saturn: Panzer Dragoon Saga
Dreamcast: Skies of Arcadia? Dunno...

SNES: Chrono Trigger
N64: Conker's Bad Fur Day or Majora's Mask
Gamecube: Zelda: Twilight Princess
Wii: Xenoblade Chronicles
Wii U: it will no doubt be Zelda again.

PS1: not sure, maybe Dragon Quest VII? Or FFIX (haven't played either much)
PS2: Odin Sphere or Guitar Hero III
PS3: The Last of Us? or Dragon's Crown... or will it be Trails of Cold Steel? xD

Xbox: no idea lol
Xbox 360: no idea either, stupid cross-gen still going on but exclusives dropped off quite early into that gen it seems... or wait, Gears of War: Judgement maybe?

It's NiGHTS Into Dreams... for the Saturn, IMO.
How? It came out in 1996, fairly early into the Saturn's life cycle. The Saturn's swan song is very obviously either Panzer Dragoon Saga or Shining force III.
 
PS1 - Final Fantasy IX (2000)

XBOX - Ninja Gaiden Black (2005)

PS2 - Persona 4 (2008)

PS3/360 - Metal Gear Rising (2013)
 
NES - Probably Mr. Gimmick, released by Sunsoft in 1993. Only saw a very limited EU release outside of Japan.

267030-mr-gimmick-nes21ohv.png


SNES - Rockman & Forte, released in 1998. Trumps its predecessor Mega Man 8 which was a 32-bit title. This is what MM8 should have been in the first place.

rockman-and-forte-snecqp5z.gif


Master System - Aladdin released in 1994. Quite a different game from both the Genesis and SNES versions. I don't really keep up with the later Brazilian releases for the system so there might be some genuine gems there

59526-disney-s-aladdio1odz.gif


Genesis - Alien Soldier, by Treasure in 1995. Exceptionally designed boss rush focused game.

alien-soldier-104qq2x.png
 
I could see people arguing for Burning Rangers, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Fighters Megamix, or Panzer Dragoon Saga.

My argument for NiGHTS is that it came out at the same time as Crash Bandicoot and SM 64 and held its own critically; it has a sizable and enduring fanbase (I think swan songs should be easily recognized and most people haven't played Saga or X-Men vs. SF on Saturn...or Burning Rangers or Megamix, for that matter); and finally, when people talk about the Saturn, that is one of the first games they think of.

These criteria of mine are purely subjective, and I understand why some people might just look at quality and pick the highest quality game on the console, but for me, picking this type of game goes a bit beyond quality.

It seems to me the defining criteria for a 'swan song" is that it came out late in a system's late when things were winding down. Picking a game that was one of the systems earliest hits is like the complete opposite of a "swan song" To me picking Nights doesn't make sense when Burning Rangers and Panzer Dragoon Saga come out two years later only about 6-7 years removed from the Dreamcast's Japanese launch.
 
Lol at the vita swan songs.

Shenmue 2 for dreamcast for sure. Debatable given you had to import it here but it was there nonetheless.

Panzer dragoon saga for Saturn - never did get a chance to play it :(
 
The Saturn was already about dead in NA by the time NiGHTS came out, though.

I accept other responses, though none of them fit the bill for me. The closest would be Saga because even though few people have played it, it does have the "great game" rep it needs and was there right at the very end.

As was Burning Rangers, which I think ca--


Burning Rangers is great; you bite your tongue.
 
It seems to me the defining criteria for a 'swan song" is that it came out late in a system's late when things were winding down. Picking a game that was one of the systems earliest hits is like the complete opposite of a "swan song" To me picking Nights doesn't make sense when Burning Rangers and Panzer Dragoon Saga come out two years later only about 6-7 years removed from the Dreamcast's Japanese launch.

Plus, the Saturn had good support in Japan right up to the Dreamcast launch there in 1998 (and even after it). I don't really know what the late quality releases are though. Street Fighter Alpha 3 came out on Saturn, and I'd wager it's better than the PS1 port. There was also a survival horror game called Deep Fear released in 1998.

 
360 - Rise of the Tomb Raider
PS2 - God of War 2
PS3 - The Last of Us
Megadrive - Virtua Fighter 2
Dreamcast - Canon Spike?
 
Top Bottom