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

Which games were most ahead of their time?

Ultima_VI_menu.gif


This game is well ahead of its time not only because it is one of the best RPGs ever made. The game was released at a time when a harddisk is not a standard feature in PCs, and it came with seven 5.25 floppy disks.

If you think watching the same summon animations in FF 7 and FF 8 for a thousand times is still tolerable, you ain't seen nothing yet. Playing this game without a harddisk is a trial of patience in the ultimate form, as it is constant disk swapping hell (sometimes every few steps). Only Origin and Lord British games could make you go through that.

And damn you EA!
 
Hitler Stole My Potato said:
Then I don't know how Lunar could be considered ahead of its time. It's pretty ordinary. It's ALWAYS been ordinary. The only thing Lunar ever had was the voice work and the anime cut scenes, something that was already done before. Just because it was the first rpg for the Sega CD player doesn't make it ahead of its time.
Click to expand...


What I'm saying is that Lunar used storytelling techniques (anime cinemas, voice overs) that weren't an industry standard upon it's release, but have since become one.
 
jeremy1456 said:
.
And if you wanted to get even go deeper into it, Lunar had a very unorthodox battle system (movement of position on the battlefield) that I can't remember in any turn based RPG from that time period.
Click to expand...

Play any Ultima game from the 80's.
 
jeremy1456 said:
What I'm saying is that Lunar used storytelling techniques (anime cinemas, voice overs) that weren't an industry standard upon it's release, but have since become one.
Click to expand...


The PC Engine/TurboGraphix CD player which came out years before the Sega CD player had games doing just that (anime cinemas and VO). Lunar didn't set any precedent.
 
Hitler Stole My Potato said:
The PC Engine/TurboGraphix CD player which came out years before the Sega CD player had games doing just that (anime cinemas and VO). Lunar didn't set any precedent.
Click to expand...

Ah man, I remember those days... =D

I don't have alot to add really.

I remember being amazed at alot of the PC sports games back in the day. Tony LaRussa 3, Front Page Sports (Football/Baseball) and Sierra's Nascar stuff. Seemed pretty advanced compared to the console stuff before.

I'd still say the overwhelming winner here is Ultima Online.
 
EDF2 and RE4 are the most recent games that were/are ahead of thier time. Both offer gameplay that I would only expect from the next generation of games.
 
Kintaro said:
I'd still say the overwhelming winner here is Ultima Online.
Click to expand...

Even though I've been pimping System Shock, I'd have to agree that Ultima Online was really ahead of it's time....even though there were some earlier MMORPGs - like that one on Delphi network...I can't recall it's name...but Ultima Online was doing a hell of a lot more.
 
MidgarBlowedUp said:
EDF2 and RE4 are the most recent games that were/are ahead of thier time. Both offer gameplay that I would only expect from the next generation of games.
Click to expand...
Neither are, despite both being great games
 
How accurate were console racing games prior to the playstation generation?

I wasn't a big racer fan in the 16bit days and can't remember enough of what I played to know if it was even close to real. Did anyone make an accurate 8 or 16bit console driving sim?
 
linsivvi said:
Ultima_VI_menu.gif


This game is well ahead of its time not only because it is one of the best RPGs ever made. The game was released at a time when a harddisk is not a standard feature in PCs, and it came with seven 5.25 floppy disks.
Click to expand...


Ultima VI? That came out in '90, right? I think most people with IBM compatibles had hard drives then, or at least I thought they did. Back in the 8088 days things were different but in 1990 those were the high flyin', fast computin', soon to be obsolete heydays of the 386i/s.
 
Hard Drivin'
yHard_Drivin'.gif

Without it, 3D racing games as we know it would probably not exist. A bold statement? Perhaps. But Hard Drivin' was one of the first successful 3D racers ever made, and that has to count for something. :D
 
Anyone else here start gaming in the 70's (basically when videogames were invented)?

I can't help but smile of at some the games people mention here... You can tell many people started gaming with the NES, or even later than that. I don't particularly like being old, but I do enjoy the perspective my age gives me. :)

It's good to see games like Archon and Ultima mentioned in this thread. (And of course, my entry, Star Raiders.) There was an entire era of games long before the NES! Long before Nintendo took over the reigns of videogaming, dozens of genres were born - from RPG's, to sidescrollers, to adventure etc. Those games were truly "ahead of their time" because they started it all!

It was an amazing time to be around. Gaming was at its most magical - it was ALL totally new and everything was an experiment (not counting the inevitable clones). I miss those days sometimes, even though modern games are far more advanced. *sigh*
 
Hitler Stole My Potato said:
Ultima VI? That came out in '90, right? I think most people with IBM compatibles had hard drives then, or at least I thought they did. Back in the 8088 days things were different but in 1990 those were the high flyin', fast computin', soon to be obsolete heydays of the 386i/s.
Click to expand...

Not if you were a poor student and still stuck with a 3 years old computer.

Yes I had a 8088. :/
 
ProphetZG said:
Anyone else here start gaming in the 70's (basically when videogames were invented)?

I can't help but smile of at some the games people mention here... You can tell many people started gaming with the NES, or even later than that. I don't particularly like being old, but I do enjoy the perspective my age gives me. :)

It's good to see games like Archon and Ultima mentioned in this thread. (And of course, my entry, Star Raiders.) There was an entire era of games long before the NES! Long before Nintendo took over the reigns of videogaming, dozens of genres were born - from RPG's, to sidescrollers, to adventure etc. Those games were truly "ahead of their time" because they started it all!

It was an amazing time to be around. Gaming was at its most magical - it was ALL totally new and everything was an experiment (not counting the inevitable clones). I miss those days sometimes, even though modern games are far more advanced. *sigh*
Click to expand...

Late 70s here. I still remembered playing Space Invaders in a coffee shop as a kid, back when they had arcade machines in coffee shops in my area. Only old enough to turn hardcore in the mid 80s though.
 
Yeah, Space Invaders was AMAZING when it came out! :P

It's funny looking back - people might find it hard to believe that SI was ever "impressive" but back in 1978 it was! :D The mirror display technique it used (in the USA machines) was very cool for one thing, the sound effects were captivating, and the game had an actual degree of strategy to it. The invaders even had "personality" - all that was pretty new and exciting back in the day. Plus you could get the high score if you got good enough, and that was always pretty cool - seeing YOUR score up there, and coming back later to see if anyone had beaten it.

SI was certainly ahead of its time! :)
 
Hitler Stole My Potato said:
The PC Engine/TurboGraphix CD player which came out years before the Sega CD player had games doing just that (anime cinemas and VO). Lunar didn't set any precedent.
Click to expand...

Completely ignored the point...

Oh well, another day on the GAF :)
 
-Bushido Blade
-Shenmue
-Chrono Trigger
-Maniac Mansion
-Zero Tolerance.

Final Fantasy VII in terms of narrative and over-all story telling and character development.
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
You're kidding right? While both the games you mention are good games, they really didn't redefine a genre or do things that changed the way that games were played in a major way. And to say that none of the other games listed in this tread were ahead of their time is very short sighted.
Click to expand...

Majora's Mask was well, well, WELL ahead of its time. The three-day design was completely unlike anything ever done (or since) and the NPC/town/world design was just unprecedented. WTF are YOU thinking? Majora's Mask, in terms of gaming design, is one of the most innovative experiences to be had. Go back and play it again, it is a marvelous game that defies convention.

Perfect Dark list of awesome:
4 player + 8 bots
Co-op
Counter Co-op
Carrington Institute
Weapon design
Singleplayer level diversity was INSANE (Air Force One, High-Rise building, hell, going down that elevator in the Datadyne building blew my mind! All those floors!)
Multiplayer challenges
Slow-mo bullet time
Stat Tracking and leveling (online tracking FTW)

Shit was IMMENSE and do you remember face-mapping? Too bad that got cut.
 
I'll do one more oldie before going to bed...

Anyone here like fighting games? Then you owe some respect to...

Karate Champ - Technos / Data East circa 1984.

kchampvs.png
kchamp.png


While not the first one-on-one fighting game ever made (that would be Warrior from 1979), it was way ahead of its time for CONTROLS. The control scheme was a system of dual joystick combinations, which yielded a huge number of moves (for its time). Previous fighting games were relatively simple affairs, with one or two buttons, and maybe 3 or 4 unique attacks at best. But KC had a ton of moves, and it heralded games like Street Fighter and Street Fighter 2 which would run with the concept of complex controls in a fighting game. And as we all know, hundreds of fighting games would follow. But the first fighting game that required the player to really STUDY the moves to play the game competently - was good old Karate Champ!

So for introducing complex control systems to fighting games, I'd consider Karate Champ ahead of its time. :)
 
Hard Drivin'
Virtua Fighter
Phantasy Star (non linear console RPG, with first person dungeons)
Virtua Racing
Toejam and Earl (taking co-op action adventure games places they need to go more often)
 
Hitler Stole My Potato said:
Play any Ultima game from the 80's.
Click to expand...

Well, 3 or later (1 and 2 didn't have battlefields). I was tempted to include Ultima 3 in my original post in this thread because of that, but not that many rpg's seemed to do that afterward aside from Ultima (forgot about Lunar). Maybe I should have included it anyway!

Ultima 6 was 1990. Wow, I thought 3 or 4 disks was bad for the Amiga version..7 is insane.
 
ProphetZG said:
Anyone else here start gaming in the 70's (basically when videogames were invented)?

I can't help but smile of at some the games people mention here... You can tell many people started gaming with the NES, or even later than that. I don't particularly like being old, but I do enjoy the perspective my age gives me. :)

It's good to see games like Archon and Ultima mentioned in this thread. (And of course, my entry, Star Raiders.) There was an entire era of games long before the NES! Long before Nintendo took over the reigns of videogaming, dozens of genres were born - from RPG's, to sidescrollers, to adventure etc. Those games were truly "ahead of their time" because they started it all!

It was an amazing time to be around. Gaming was at its most magical - it was ALL totally new and everything was an experiment (not counting the inevitable clones). I miss those days sometimes, even though modern games are far more advanced. *sigh*
Click to expand...

Well, I was born in 83, but I played the Amiga my family had (and that I now have and it still works) before an NES. So really, my personal "gaming roots" are from the Amiga, despite my being 4-6 years old and playing them before getting an NES in 1990.

As an above poster stated about Karate Champ, would Street Fighter 2 count as well?
 
Star Raiders was cool. I had the crappy 2600 version w/ the keypad peripheral, but even that was enjoyable. Then again, I was 5 or 6 years old when I played it in 1984, and I didn't know "superior" versions even existed.
 
Phantasy Star (non linear console RPG, with first person dungeons)
Click to expand...

Check out Ultima II (Sierra Online 1982). ;)

These screens are from a PC port, but it's the same old game that originally appeared on the venerable Apple II. You can see how the player could travel around the overworld, and enter first person perspective dungeons:

screen3.jpg
screen1.jpg
screen4.jpg


Granted, Phantasy Star is a much better game. But Ultima II did it all first - 5 years before! Ahead of it's time? Yup. :D
 
Ultima 1 had first person perspective dungeons, too. Akalabeth may have as well, but I've never really played that. The biggest difference between Ultima 1 and 2 was that the tile-based overworld was implemented in towns in 2, while in 1, you were a tiny square in a single-screen town. They both had space travel, but I think it was more implemented in 2 than the first one. And 2 had the Moongates.
 
ProphetZG said:
Check out Ultima II (Sierra Online 1982). ;)

These screens are from a PC port, but it's the same old game that originally appeared on the venerable Apple II. You can see how the player could travel around the overworld, and enter first person perspective dungeons:
Click to expand...

Origin, and especially Ultima games, had always been ahead of its time. Pretty much every Ultima games pushed the envelopes of hardware limitation back then, and still managed to provide an entertaining and deep experience. Just more reasons for my EA hate.
 
ProphetZG said:
Games ahead of their time eh? :D Let me introduce...

Star Raiders - Atari circa 1979.

Designed and programmed by Doug Neubauer, also the designer of the Atari 800's POKEY IO/audio chip. Truly ahead of its time, this game introduced first person space combat to the masses. Complete with a pseudo 3D star map, smooth pre-scaled sprite first person combat, and even starbase docking sequences, Star Raiders would set the tone for countless 3D space action games to come.
Click to expand...

I bet back in the day, fanboys saw this and were like "OMG teh Graphix Whores! Gameplay > Graphics FTW!"
 
Red Scarlet said:
Ultima 1 had first person perspective dungeons, too. Akalabeth may have as well, but I've never really played that. The biggest difference between Ultima 1 and 2 was that the tile-based overworld was implemented in towns in 2, while in 1, you were a tiny square in a single-screen town. They both had space travel, but I think it was more implemented in 2 than the first one. And 2 had the Moongates.
Click to expand...

Ah cool, I wasn't sure if Ultima I had the first person dungeons or not - never played it. I did recall that II had them for sure., and I know they got dropped in III.

Just goes to show how far back the roots of RPG's go back. Garriott really pioneered just about everything in the genre! And I looked up Akalabeth - my god, Akalabeth had first person dungeon views and goes way back to 1980! :P

666855.jpg

Akalabeth AKA "Ultima 0"
 
Ultima: I only played pagan and ascension...but in pagan you could do almost anything...I spent hours with this game, and barely left the first town...loved stealing stuff in the night from shops, such as jewels, and selling them back to the shopkeeper the next day....also loved getting bitten to death by kids or being stampeded by the sheep

Outcast: best action adventure Ive ever played...integrated the first and third person viewpoints really well....large somewhat seemless world....amazing world design and atmosphere, mature game with lots of possibilities...one of the best games ever

Blade Runner: Graphics still look pretty good...really open ended and surprising...I was very impress when you interviewed that guy in the chinese soup kitchen and ask him to take the replicant test or some such and he over turns the food he has been mixing and escapes...later when you return to your flat he runs out and tries to knife you to death

mdk, mdk 2: Never completed these games but their style and concept was very impressive...pretty fun to play as well

Shadow of the collosus: There is nothing like it (apart from ICO)......the collosus are the most impressive enemies in a game ever...its not just there sieze, its their design as well

peace
 
sugarhigh4242 said:
I bet back in the day, fanboys saw this and were like "OMG teh Graphix Whores! Gameplay > Graphics FTW!"
Click to expand...

LOL! :lol

Well, back then we were just impressed with EVERYTHING! Gameplay, graphics - it was ALL GOOD to us! :) Graphics were so limited anyways, maybe that was a good thing.
 
ProphetZG said:
Ah cool, I wasn't sure if Ultima I had the first person dungeons or not - never played it. I did recall that II had them for sure., and I know they got dropped in III.

Just goes to show how far back the roots of RPG's go back. Garriott really pioneered just about everything in the genre! My god, Akalabeth had first person dungeon views and goes way back to 1980! :P
Click to expand...

Did the Apple version of Ultima 3 not have first person dungeons? I've played the Amiga/UC (Apple?)/NES versions, and I don't remember the UC one not having first person dungeons. They were in 4 (Amiga) and 5 (Amiga/IBM) too. AFAIK, 6 was the first to drop them. Maybe I should grab my book of Ultima (which for some reason had a 2-d layout for "Hell" as the last dungeon in Ultima 3, while the Amiga version had a "town" as the last dungeon in that, like the NES version also had).

2 is the only one out of the first 6 I haven't gone through, so all I really know about it are the very few times I fiddled with it (20 mins or less), and what I read about it in the Book of Ultima.
 
You know what, you are probably right - it's been a very long time (obviously) since I played those early Ultima games. I think III did have them as well. I played that game all the way to the end in 1984 too, shame on me for not remembering! :lol

I can't really remember when they got dropped...

EDIT: Yep, I checked and III definitely had the first person dungeons, my bad.

I played Ultima III on the Atari 800, and one thing I recall clearly is the music. It had one helluva a great soundtrack (for its time). VERY moody and atmospheric.
 
Anyone else here start gaming in the 70's (basically when videogames were invented)?
Click to expand...

just - i was born in 75, and although i remember pong and space invaders , i don't think i truly appreciated gaming until i got the Zx81/Dragon 32
 
Phantasy Star was ahead of its time. It was the cinematic, story driven RPG that the mold was made from for RPGs made on 16 bit systems, 32bit systems, PS2 gen, and the upcoming gen.
 
ProphetZG said:
You know what, you are probably right - it's been a very long time (obviously) since I played those early Ultima games. I think III did have them as well. I played that game all the way to the end in 1984 too, shame on me for not remembering! :lol

I can't really remember when they got dropped...

EDIT: Yep, I checked and III definitely had the first person dungeons, my bad.

I played Ultima III on the Atari 800, and one thing I recall clearly is the music. It had one helluva a great soundtrack (for its time). VERY moody and atmospheric.
Click to expand...

I don't know if they're the same songs or not, but I did record some of the Amiga version songs not too long ago (Sosaria/Combat/Exodus's Castle). I can put them up if you are interested (they're midi or whatever from the game, but I loved them and still do to this day).

So if they were 3-d in the Apple one, I wonder where the map came from for "Hell".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Danganronpa 1.2 Reload is 3.99$ on PSN, as a one-time offer ahead of the new games release
Deals 
5
167
ElRenoRaven replied
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (2007) was ahead of its time
17
623
amigastar replied
  • Poll
Do you believe your favorite game of all time is ahead of you or behind you?
2 3
136
1K
cinnamonandgravy replied
Of all the systems you have owned, which one were you MOST hyped for?
2 3 4 5 6
271
3K
nikos replied
  • Poll
Most industry defining & influential game of all time ?
2 3 4
169
2K
crackajack replied
Top Bottom