I've heard a little bit of the soundtrack and thought it was great but I haven't played it myself, it's expensive on OG hardware and I'm not aware of any ports.
I would love to read one of your reviews for this game (even if you don't like it), and I'm sure lots of other people would too. There were parts of this game that stunned me that they were able to do that in an SNES game (like The Trial).
It's been a long time since I have played DKC, so hard for me to make a direct comparison. I remember thinking that the pre-rendered 3D sprites were pretty cool at the time, but the Mario gameplay had smoother movement. But can't trust memory without a replay I guess.
Re:smb3, I know the true Mario afficianados may disagree, but the 16-bit graphics (including animation detail)and sound/music just add a level of polish and feel to the game that feels like more than the sum of its parts.
Your memory is sharp. I've played both less than 5 years ago and I do think SMW is a bit tighter in that department; in DKC and DKC2 if you don't land right on top of an enemy you take damage, it can be frustrating.
I'm more partial to the 16-Bit era too, to me,most of the NES library feels like a dry-run for younger, better games thag would come later, that's not to say they aren't great though
I think the pre rendered on a crt looked incredible at the time as we weren't used to 3d. In hindsight the game was good of course but there wasn't as much stuff going on screen as prefer platformers due to the large sprites.
I generally think anything released before the PS2 looks dreadful on an LCD TV, it robs 8 and 16bit images along with early 3D of their colour, contrast and depth.
Glad you liked it! I do have a more modern list too but generally speaking? I think games from about 2012-2017 (with some exceptions) were pretty crap. Things have picked back up again though
Your list would align quite nicely with mine, if I made one. I will always defend Sonic games, but I'm not blind to the fact that Super Mario World had some exceptional platforming and control. Even so, Super Mario World doesn't really wow me, it's presentation looks quite basic.
Now you mention it, and having lived through that year, 1998 actually was the best year ever for video games. You are correct sir
I think that's the crux of it: Sonic gambles more and stumbles more but it was developing a gameplay style no platformer had. Super Mario World is polished to a mirror sheen but at its core, it is the same as what came before.
Cheers! I didn't live through it but I'm happy to enjoy its fruits
That's fair enough, a bit of a genre blind-spot for me I'm trying to fill in a bit; my list from November for post-2000 games does include KOTOR and Morrowind
So, here's a question: best years in gaming history? I'd vote 85, 91, 94, 98, 2001, 2007 or 2008 and...2013. I dunno. Curious what you think. Love the Shenmue vote. And THPS being the runnerup for 99. Stoked for the next list. I have qualms with SMB3 not being game of the year, however, but that's because I'm a NES kid. Anyway, great writing as always, it's just getting better and better.
1998 is my pick for #1. 2007 I would also say was exceptional, 1994 stands out too, 2005 is slept on: God Of War, RE4, F.E.A.R among others and the launch of both the 360 and the DS. 1985-1987 were all great from what I can see.
2005 was a glorious year. It was the pinnacle of that particular console generation while the future was gearing up ahead of us. Lots of games were pushing the limits on the currently-existing hardware, like God of War and RE4.
It was also he last year of a pre-update, pre-patch, pre-DLC world. Why do I say this? The Horse Armor Pack for Oblivion released in 2006, and, like Skynet, soon began destroying the old model of the industry from within.
Console games would no longer all be set stable entities, but amorphous blobs that could be change at any time. The price point would not be a one and done deal, but an ever-evolving contract and a subscription model. Games would change from an emphasis on a crafted standalone system that you entered, to something akin to going to a corporate fast food restaurant. What is Fortnite but a McDonalds chain, offering new items for consumption to hook the customer, usually children, based on immediate trends and market research that can siphon more money from your bank account? As every large-scale intellectual property for marketed in the form of a Happy Meal toy to children, regardless of the theme of the movie or show, so too are characters in Fortnite. Why is Weezer there? Family Guy? Nicki Minaj? Because it doesn't matter. Anything to keep you playing.
So, I look at 2005 as the final year of something that exist since Nintendo revived the industry. Not the glory days- there was plenty of junk, always- but a more innocent time only due to technological constraint.
2005 was certainly the last year of 'old gaming' thoigh I would argue that many of the issues you mentioned didn't fully saturate the industry until the Xbox One, PS4 and Wii-U: my most-disliked period of gaming so far; at the very least, in no small part thanks to community backlash, many of these evils are contained to the live-service sphere now. I do feel that gaming has gotten better since around 2017 and that things are heading in a good direction generally.
All of that being said, from 2005 onwards we also saw the increased homogenisation of video games, today, there are only a small handful of genres that get the Triple-A treatment. This is probably my #1 issue with modern gaming.
Oh, it was definitely like that scene in Terminator 2 where we see them just starting to work on Skynet.
I think gaming has definitely improved quite a bit in the last decade, absolutely. As for the AAA slog and generic games, weirdly enough, I think things are healing, and we shall see a new era dawm with the release of...Bubsy 4D.
*Pulls the flesh off of my arm to reveal I'm entirely 16-Bit underneath*
I wouldn't be shocked at all if something like that unironically happened, Gex got a revival and nobody on Earth considered those to be amazing games by any means
Nice to meet a fellow Altered Beast enjoyer. I like the game precisely because it's so stripped down. No fluff, just perfectly adequate arcade action elevated by cool transformations and iconic voice samples. It's not a particularly innovative game even by 1989 standards, but it's rock solid nevertheless.
Cheers! When the SNES Mini came out (with the Probotector name removed, I do like how PAL/European gaming history is just rewritten with zero regard) me and my brother stayed up all night for practically the next week playing it, hard as nails but so fun.
I didn't get an N64 until my 9th birthday (2009) and never knew anyone who had one so unfortunately, I've never had that N64 split-screen experience; Goldeneye's single-player was more fun for me but I like TimeSplitters more than both.
Revenge Of Shinobi very nearly made it on, I know I've played it in the past and the soundtrack is awesome but I remember almost nothing about it so decided not to put it on.
One of the few games I think you really can just play the remake [by Lizardcube, who did last year's new Shinobi game, from 2017] for, since they basically rebuilt the whole base game to be as close to the same as possible and let you swap to the original graphics and audio at any time, PLUS the remade graphics and audio are still great
It got remade? I had no idea. The SMS' legacy isn't celebrated nearly enough, overshadowed by the NES' dominance in the USA who subsequently came to dominate the internet once it emerged
Fantastic list. The only pick I take exception to is Super Mario World - I'd argue it's a quantum leap forward from smb3, and the title that made me buy an SNES on the launch weekend.
Thank you! And how so in regards to Super Mario World? I wasn't around yet and I'd be interested to hear why; I think it's one of the best SNES games but I feel DKC had a lot of fresh ideas by comparison, though it did come out a few years later.
Have you played Chrono Trigger though? It has an amazing soundtrack
I've heard a little bit of the soundtrack and thought it was great but I haven't played it myself, it's expensive on OG hardware and I'm not aware of any ports.
You gotta play it. It really is as good as people say.
+1 on the Chrono Trigger recommendation. Square, Enix, and Toriyama, the dream team!
I think the Steam port is acceptable now. So yeah, it's great and not repetitive like a lot of RPGs.
There's a Steam port? I had no idea.
Edit: Just spotted the comment that mentions it... Substack didn't bother to notify me of this.
I played the DS version and really enjoyed it. There's also a Steam and iOS/Android port. https://geektogeekmedia.com/geekery/video-games/best-version-of-chrono-trigger/
I would love to read one of your reviews for this game (even if you don't like it), and I'm sure lots of other people would too. There were parts of this game that stunned me that they were able to do that in an SNES game (like The Trial).
It's been a long time since I have played DKC, so hard for me to make a direct comparison. I remember thinking that the pre-rendered 3D sprites were pretty cool at the time, but the Mario gameplay had smoother movement. But can't trust memory without a replay I guess.
Re:smb3, I know the true Mario afficianados may disagree, but the 16-bit graphics (including animation detail)and sound/music just add a level of polish and feel to the game that feels like more than the sum of its parts.
Plus I'm a sucker for Yoshi and the Star road :)
Your memory is sharp. I've played both less than 5 years ago and I do think SMW is a bit tighter in that department; in DKC and DKC2 if you don't land right on top of an enemy you take damage, it can be frustrating.
I'm more partial to the 16-Bit era too, to me,most of the NES library feels like a dry-run for younger, better games thag would come later, that's not to say they aren't great though
Yoshi has to be the best part of the game :)
I think the pre rendered on a crt looked incredible at the time as we weren't used to 3d. In hindsight the game was good of course but there wasn't as much stuff going on screen as prefer platformers due to the large sprites.
I generally think anything released before the PS2 looks dreadful on an LCD TV, it robs 8 and 16bit images along with early 3D of their colour, contrast and depth.
Loved Tony Hawk! Too many fun memories trying to learn every trick haha.
An absolute classic, I fire up the Dreamcast every once in a while and get shredding too
Awesome list! Makes me want to dust off some old consoles.
New games are a letdown after playing these growing up.
Glad you liked it! I do have a more modern list too but generally speaking? I think games from about 2012-2017 (with some exceptions) were pretty crap. Things have picked back up again though
I look forward to more lists and hopefully some good new games!
Christmas 98 was lit 🤘
Man i dunno about goldeneye runner up! great list otherwise!
Believe me, I'm still not sure either haha
This is such a good read man! My GOD!!
Glad to hear it :) More to come
love the Shenmue shout-out.... also, 1998, what an absolutely insane year.
Your list would align quite nicely with mine, if I made one. I will always defend Sonic games, but I'm not blind to the fact that Super Mario World had some exceptional platforming and control. Even so, Super Mario World doesn't really wow me, it's presentation looks quite basic.
Now you mention it, and having lived through that year, 1998 actually was the best year ever for video games. You are correct sir
I think that's the crux of it: Sonic gambles more and stumbles more but it was developing a gameplay style no platformer had. Super Mario World is polished to a mirror sheen but at its core, it is the same as what came before.
Cheers! I didn't live through it but I'm happy to enjoy its fruits
Ok.
I have a hard time arguing with this, but final fantasy (tactics) and RPGs are missing
That's fair enough, a bit of a genre blind-spot for me I'm trying to fill in a bit; my list from November for post-2000 games does include KOTOR and Morrowind
So, here's a question: best years in gaming history? I'd vote 85, 91, 94, 98, 2001, 2007 or 2008 and...2013. I dunno. Curious what you think. Love the Shenmue vote. And THPS being the runnerup for 99. Stoked for the next list. I have qualms with SMB3 not being game of the year, however, but that's because I'm a NES kid. Anyway, great writing as always, it's just getting better and better.
1998 is my pick for #1. 2007 I would also say was exceptional, 1994 stands out too, 2005 is slept on: God Of War, RE4, F.E.A.R among others and the launch of both the 360 and the DS. 1985-1987 were all great from what I can see.
2005 was a glorious year. It was the pinnacle of that particular console generation while the future was gearing up ahead of us. Lots of games were pushing the limits on the currently-existing hardware, like God of War and RE4.
It was also he last year of a pre-update, pre-patch, pre-DLC world. Why do I say this? The Horse Armor Pack for Oblivion released in 2006, and, like Skynet, soon began destroying the old model of the industry from within.
Console games would no longer all be set stable entities, but amorphous blobs that could be change at any time. The price point would not be a one and done deal, but an ever-evolving contract and a subscription model. Games would change from an emphasis on a crafted standalone system that you entered, to something akin to going to a corporate fast food restaurant. What is Fortnite but a McDonalds chain, offering new items for consumption to hook the customer, usually children, based on immediate trends and market research that can siphon more money from your bank account? As every large-scale intellectual property for marketed in the form of a Happy Meal toy to children, regardless of the theme of the movie or show, so too are characters in Fortnite. Why is Weezer there? Family Guy? Nicki Minaj? Because it doesn't matter. Anything to keep you playing.
So, I look at 2005 as the final year of something that exist since Nintendo revived the industry. Not the glory days- there was plenty of junk, always- but a more innocent time only due to technological constraint.
2005 was certainly the last year of 'old gaming' thoigh I would argue that many of the issues you mentioned didn't fully saturate the industry until the Xbox One, PS4 and Wii-U: my most-disliked period of gaming so far; at the very least, in no small part thanks to community backlash, many of these evils are contained to the live-service sphere now. I do feel that gaming has gotten better since around 2017 and that things are heading in a good direction generally.
All of that being said, from 2005 onwards we also saw the increased homogenisation of video games, today, there are only a small handful of genres that get the Triple-A treatment. This is probably my #1 issue with modern gaming.
Oh, it was definitely like that scene in Terminator 2 where we see them just starting to work on Skynet.
I think gaming has definitely improved quite a bit in the last decade, absolutely. As for the AAA slog and generic games, weirdly enough, I think things are healing, and we shall see a new era dawm with the release of...Bubsy 4D.
*Pulls the flesh off of my arm to reveal I'm entirely 16-Bit underneath*
I wouldn't be shocked at all if something like that unironically happened, Gex got a revival and nobody on Earth considered those to be amazing games by any means
https://youtu.be/4Z2sxd3H30Y?si=5i4wSwYxXkPcxLOw
Nice to meet a fellow Altered Beast enjoyer. I like the game precisely because it's so stripped down. No fluff, just perfectly adequate arcade action elevated by cool transformations and iconic voice samples. It's not a particularly innovative game even by 1989 standards, but it's rock solid nevertheless.
It's plain, good fun. Not exactly high art but games don't need to be.
Thanks for reading :)
Solid choices all around, another great writeup!
Super Probotector was one of my fav multiplayers.
Goldeneye was great, but Perfect dark was the one that stole most deathmatch hours for us.
Goes a bit further back, but Turrican was an excellent one, and revenge of the shinobi.
Half expected Golden axe to be here honestly!
Keep up the good work.
Cheers! When the SNES Mini came out (with the Probotector name removed, I do like how PAL/European gaming history is just rewritten with zero regard) me and my brother stayed up all night for practically the next week playing it, hard as nails but so fun.
I didn't get an N64 until my 9th birthday (2009) and never knew anyone who had one so unfortunately, I've never had that N64 split-screen experience; Goldeneye's single-player was more fun for me but I like TimeSplitters more than both.
Revenge Of Shinobi very nearly made it on, I know I've played it in the past and the soundtrack is awesome but I remember almost nothing about it so decided not to put it on.
Thanks!
Altered Beast over The Dragon's Trap??? And you say you have a Master System.
Had it recommended a lot but haven’t expanded my SMS library recently
One of the few games I think you really can just play the remake [by Lizardcube, who did last year's new Shinobi game, from 2017] for, since they basically rebuilt the whole base game to be as close to the same as possible and let you swap to the original graphics and audio at any time, PLUS the remade graphics and audio are still great
It got remade? I had no idea. The SMS' legacy isn't celebrated nearly enough, overshadowed by the NES' dominance in the USA who subsequently came to dominate the internet once it emerged
Sad no entry for Sonic 3. Otherwise a solid list. No notes
Fantastic list. The only pick I take exception to is Super Mario World - I'd argue it's a quantum leap forward from smb3, and the title that made me buy an SNES on the launch weekend.
Thank you! And how so in regards to Super Mario World? I wasn't around yet and I'd be interested to hear why; I think it's one of the best SNES games but I feel DKC had a lot of fresh ideas by comparison, though it did come out a few years later.