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[JoshuaJSlone]

River City Ransom - The game was practically the sandbox beat'em up. You could do damned near anything to bludgeon a bad guy in this game. So awesome.

Good example. The combination of freedom, fun action, and stat-building are all over the place today, particularly in urban settings. Multiplayer... still not always there.

 

[Grayman]

Jikkyou Power Pro Wrestling: Max Voltage was a SNES wrestling game with polygonal characters. Google doesn't turn up many screenshots though.

 

[Cdammen]

The Sims wasn't first, but it got the success

 

[Powerslave]

Abe's Oddysee/Exoddus

 

[Blackace]

M.U.L.E

Mail Order Monsters (which needs to be recreated)

Lords of Conquest

Gold box D&D

DarkSun

Wasteland

Xcom

 

[leesmapman]

Metal Gear 2 for the MSX2

 

[_Angelus_]

PacMan

 

[cartman414]

Final Fantasy VII in terms of narrative and over-all story telling and character development.

Nah. Final Fantasy 6 did it better IMO. Tomm Hulett of Atlus explains it better than I ever could in his recent blog entry on the game on his 1up page, (http://konami_whore.1up.com).

Then of course you have your Phantasy Stars and what not.

Oh, and Dragon Quest IV, for its multiple chapter structure, where each one prior to the last chronicles various characters in the game prior to their meeting.

 

[boutrosinit]

Speedball 2. Chaos Engine.

Also, I agree wholeheartedly with a lot of the choices in this thread. Particularly SOTC and Tobal 2

 

[Dolphin]

Oh how I wanted a Freespace 3. Freespace 2 was the game Allegiance should have been.

 

[Nakasan]

Why the crap hasn't NiGHTS been mentioned yet?
Some reasons why it was "ahead of its time"...

For all the current HD fanboys; NiGHTS has a widescreen setting. Sure, doesn't seem like much right now, but back in '96, widescreen really wasn't very widespread, and was certainly not the television of choice for gamers at the time. So I think Sonic Team were litterally thinking ahead of the current time to a time in the future when gamers would have widescreen teles and so put the option in there for that reason.

Although already done in Magic Carpet, the levels grew and changed during game play.

Letter based scoring system... Anyone else know a game before it that could give you an "A".

A-Life. Seriously, A-life. Massive. Massively ignored too. Bloody general public.

 

[{Mike}]

Also : Seaman. This game is designed for the Wii

 

[Nostrildamus]

Its combination of non-linearity and so many features and forms of gameplay was pretty massive for a console RPG back then.

I agree.

Also, I feel the "Quest for Glory" series was somewhat ahead of it's time.

 

[SERGE]

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.

I gotta agree, there was many games before this that did the whole 3D dungeon/fighting/overworld gig
I was born in 74 and saw and played a helluva lot but PS blew my mind when I first saw it at a friends place, at that time I had NEVER seen graphics like that on a console.
It was what made me become totally crazy for RPGs.
And as someone else said earlier it still holds up pretty well in 2006.

 

[D2M15]

Alternate Reality - rockin' the completely freeform 3D RPG back in 1985.

 

[8bit]

Mercenary:

Aliens:

 

[Fallout-NL]

Most good stuff has already been posted, but I think this one deserves a mention as well. Customizing and racing cars back in 1989.

 

[D-X]

I still wanna know how this would've played on a DC given the lack of clickable thumbsticks

 

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Mail Order Monsters (which needs to be recreated)

That and Racing Destruction Set.

 

[btrboyev]

the only real answer is phantasy star. You look at that game and look at any other rpg on any other console or computer in 1988 and there was no comparison.

 

[plagiarize]

Trespasser.

Oh it was as shit as shit itself, but the technologies and ideas they tried to cram into that game were quite literally ahead of their time. PCs just couldn't handle it... and it was too hard for the coders to get right. yet one by one we're seeing the stuff trespasser did become more and more standard.

not just the physics, the interface (awful in execution but a good idea), the real time foley system (ie the materials of the two things hitting together, and how hard you hit them together generated a sound effect that sounded right. Deus Ex: IW did this many years later and made out like it was a huge advance), the lack of HUD, the big open environments... i believe it was one of the first games to use bumpmapping too.

also, this thread needs more Carrier Command and Midwinter.

 

[jarrod]

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.

Agreed, Majora's Mask was really unlike anything else at the time... it was like the complexity of Shenmue (though admittedly on a more compact scale) mixed with the emotional impact and narrative aesthetic of ICO... only unlike both games, it was on a previous generation platform, stored in just 32MB of ROM and didn't play like shit.

 

[storybook77]

It and it's predecessors paved the way for career/franchise modes as we know them today.

 

[djtiesto]

Seeing all these people remembering the Phantasy Star series and their contributions to gaming makes me smile. Such an incredbile series... Glad to see the Ultima series got their dues as well.

I also wanna suggest Ys Book 1 and 2 (Turbo/PCE CD) - Probably one of the first games to take advantage of the CD medium... anime cinematics, voice acting, redbook audio soundtrack... I could imagine that would be really impressive back in 1991.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

the only real answer is phantasy star. You look at that game and look at any other rpg on any other console or computer in 1988 and there was no comparison.

Perhaps I am overlooking something, but aside from a scifi setting and first-person dungeons, it seems to me quite similar to the other major early console RPGs?

 

[Red Scarlet]

First person dungeons were in Ultima 1 and probably Akalabeth in the early 80's, and space travel was in Ultima 1 and 2 as well. You could also use a laser gun as a weapon!

I'm sure Phantasy Star 1 was a fabulous game, but other games have done some of it's hallmarks for awhile before it (and I'd imagine Ultima 5, released in 1988, had more 'advances' than Phantasy Star 1 had).

FF1 had a pretty sci-fi setting too, and it came out in 87.

 

[fusoya59]

Since most of my other suggestions were mentioned...Such as Archon...This came to mind.

THANK YOU for mentioning descent.
descent's 3d engine was WAAAAAAAY ahead of its time. basically you moved not only in left right up and down directions, but also upside down, tilted, backwards, and the works! descent gave you COMPLETE 3d freedom.

to this day i have not seen a completely "free 3-d world" to roam around in. i don't recall any other games that allow you to play in a 3/4 rolled-upsidedown perspective.

 

[Warm Machine]

Loads of good picks already but I'll say Crazy Taxi. It is actually almost a blue print for modern GTA games. Open contemporary world, characters with attitude, licensed music. If you could walk around on foot (which isn't a stretch for the tech in the least) it'd be close to what we are able to play today.

 

[kurisu_1974]

herzog (msx)

an rts game before the concept even existed... had a nice follow-up called herzog zwei...

metal gear (msx)

this is an amazing game, even after all these years... i finished the sequal only a couple of months ago, now that it is finally available in english in the metal gear 3: substinence package... it was awesome too, one of the best games i played this year...

 

[Warm Machine]

You know what, Power Stone was so far ahead of its time fighting games have had 7 years to catch up and still haven't managed it.

 

[Tadaima]

Things that, even today 10 years later, some devs struggle with.

 

[Cronox]

Body Harvest on N64 was way ahead of its time if you ask me. It had the 3D GTAish gameplay down way before GTA3 did.

 

[Kevtones]

Body Harvest on N64 was way ahead of its time if you ask me. It had the 3D GTAish gameplay down way before GTA3 did.

Agreed, I meant to mention this alongside Rocket: Robot on Wheels but forgot too.

A bunch of different time periods, huge, sprawling, go anywhere levels. Drive virtually anything. The music was also dominant. Loved the game despite the frustrations.

That and Spacestation: Silicon Valley were such a solid one-two punch. Loved both those games from DMA.

 

[Hunter D]

First person dungeons were in Ultima 1 and probably Akalabeth in the early 80's, and space travel was in Ultima 1 and 2 as well. You could also use a laser gun as a weapon!

I'm sure Phantasy Star 1 was a fabulous game, but other games have done some of it's hallmarks for awhile before it (and I'd imagine Ultima 5, released in 1988, had more 'advances' than Phantasy Star 1 had).

FF1 had a pretty sci-fi setting too, and it came out in 87.

PS1 was ahead of its time because it was the first cinematic RPG.

 

[duckroll]

I have two humble contributions, since Star Control 2, System Shock, Privateer, Quest for Glorys, Ultimas, and X-Com are already spoken for.

Nethack bitches!

Flashback!

 

[Ikael]

 

[tambourine]

How about M.U.L.E.?

 

[Lince]

 

[gollumsluvslave]

Some C64 goodness :-

Parallax
http://www.lemon64.com/index.php?mainurl=http://www.lemon64.com/games/details.php?ID=1889

Flying, on foot exploration, upgradeable characters and so forth - had some flaws, but *way* ahead of it's time IMHO.

Paradroid
http://www.lemon64.com/index.php?mainurl=http://www.lemon64.com/games/details.php?ID=1889

Just a really cool concept - the robot control minigame was fantastic in it's own right.

Construction Kits have been mentioned before - my 2 faves being:-

Boulderdash Construction kit
http://www.lemon64.com/index.php?mainurl=http://www.lemon64.com/games/details.php?ID=1889

and

Shoot-em Up Construction kit
http://www.lemon64.com/index.php?mainurl=http://www.lemon64.com/games/details.php?ID=1889

Creating your own levels for Boulderdash, and your own shoot-em up games was just crazy stuff I remember.

 

[Tonche]

Stunts! Replay mode, track builder, awesome stuff.

Edit: Definitely Street Rod as well.

 

[Walter Matthau]

I agree with Ultima Online. I think some people here are definitely stretching the meaning of "ahead of their time". Very few games truly are.

 

[Luckett_X]

Definitely agree with Outcast (PC).

The game was just untouchable back then, I found the whole thing breathtaking. Graphics were INSANE, the living breathing world was incredible filled with amazing A.I, the orchestrated soundtrack utterly delicious as well, and a fairly serious intellectual storyline.

So yes, of course the game didnt sell well and the company went bankrupt so we'll never see another one again. GOD DAMN YOU, GAMES INDUSTRY! STOP THIS SHIT!

 

[jarrod]

herzog (msx)

an rts game before the concept even existed... had a nice follow-up called herzog zwei...

I've actually never played it, but I've always been told Herzog 1 was actually a glorified shooter, not a true RTS (like Zwei).

 

[nelsonroyale]

Definitely agree with Outcast (PC).

The game was just untouchable back then, I found the whole thing breathtaking. Graphics were INSANE, the living breathing world was incredible filled with amazing A.I, the orchestrated soundtrack utterly delicious as well, and a fairly serious intellectual storyline.

So yes, of course the game didnt sell well and the company went bankrupt so we'll never see another one again. GOD DAMN YOU, GAMES INDUSTRY! STOP THIS SHIT!

yes one of the best games ever....curse the indiscriminate public...curse the games industry! grrr

Another excellent game (s)

Syndicate for amiga

peace

 

[Zenith]

G-Police.

first game to let you drive round a full 3D city.

 

[Chû Totoro]

Shenmue.

 

[Gattsu25]

Seriously, people are confusing this for a "Games you like" thread

Nethack is great but not ahead of it's time compared to Rogue

Freespace 2 is an awesome game, top of the genre, but not ahead of it's time.

Final Fantasy VII is shite and might I add -- The SEVENTH game in the FF series. Seriously, peoples--Think. It wasn't even the first 3D game with 2D backdrops

 

[professor_t]

loads gun.....safety off.....puts gun to my head. Fires.


Damn. Missed again.

You're aiming the gun at the wrong person . . .

 

[manxor]

Mail Order Monsters (which needs to be recreated)

YES... yes it does, one of my favorites from the 80's. The theme song still runs in my head every now and then.

Funny, I got this game back in Jr. High from a friend as payment for creating a fake report card for his parents. :lol

 

[dark10x]

Definitely agree with Outcast (PC).

The game was just untouchable back then, I found the whole thing breathtaking. Graphics were INSANE, the living breathing world was incredible filled with amazing A.I, the orchestrated soundtrack utterly delicious as well, and a fairly serious intellectual storyline.

So yes, of course the game didnt sell well and the company went bankrupt so we'll never see another one again. GOD DAMN YOU, GAMES INDUSTRY! STOP THIS SHIT!

Yep, this is also one of my very favorite games. Absolutely loved the experience. I would kill for another Outcast adventure and was crushed by the cancellation of Outcast II.