In the sticky list seem to be missing some SNES platform classics, but i'll mention those who haven't been mentioned before.
Super Mario Brothers 3 / Super Mario World
these two estabilished the state of the art in platform games in their era. It doesn't get any better than that.
Yoshi's Story
hand-drawn style, unheard of at the time. Original graphic style, classic SMB gameplay.
Earthworm Jim ( and EWJ2? tho good was more of the same.)
Everyone *MUST* play this one as well, the humour, great characters, unique graphic style, great music and fast gameplay (and intermission levels) make it a reall classic in my view. Pity they sold out the property and now its gone.
cheers!
Ten games every designer should play
Quote:Original post by Madster
In the sticky list seem to be missing some SNES platform classics, but i'll mention those who haven't been mentioned before.
Super Mario Brothers 3 / Super Mario World
these two estabilished the state of the art in platform games in their era. It doesn't get any better than that.
Yoshi's Story
hand-drawn style, unheard of at the time. Original graphic style, classic SMB gameplay.
Earthworm Jim ( and EWJ2? tho good was more of the same.)
Everyone *MUST* play this one as well, the humour, great characters, unique graphic style, great music and fast gameplay (and intermission levels) make it a reall classic in my view. Pity they sold out the property and now its gone.
cheers!
They're coming, it's just taking me a while to finish the list.
-Thief 3: all the fps in the list are shooters, the list lack of stealth games, I think Thief 3 is a perfect (if not the best) example
-Chrono trigger: the problem of the jap rpg is the leveling fase, that part of the game where you have finished all side quests, but your pgs are not strong enought to beat the final boss. Chrono trigger is very long, so your pgs are at full strenght just with the main quest, there are few others jap rpgs with this merit
-Rayman 3: the best platform ever for pc
-Mario 64: I will not indulge on this game because all that someone may say about M64 is already said by someone else (with a better english too :) )
-Total Annihlation: the best AI in an rts. In Warcraft 3 the AI track a line, chose a type of unit, and keep attack from he same side with the same units. In TA the AI chose units and course of action depending on the defensis of the player base, and organise the defense of the base against the type of units the player use to attack.
where are the rpgs that made history? Fallout, Ultima 8
note: we may add a section with bad games, some game one has to play to know what we intend for a bad work, as (for me, I have my reasons, and these examples are not intended as bad games for "we" but, for the moment, just for ME) Outcast or Half Life 2 (single player).
_____
edit
WHOA!!!! How may I forgot Earthworm Jim!!! It MUST be added
-Chrono trigger: the problem of the jap rpg is the leveling fase, that part of the game where you have finished all side quests, but your pgs are not strong enought to beat the final boss. Chrono trigger is very long, so your pgs are at full strenght just with the main quest, there are few others jap rpgs with this merit
-Rayman 3: the best platform ever for pc
-Mario 64: I will not indulge on this game because all that someone may say about M64 is already said by someone else (with a better english too :) )
-Total Annihlation: the best AI in an rts. In Warcraft 3 the AI track a line, chose a type of unit, and keep attack from he same side with the same units. In TA the AI chose units and course of action depending on the defensis of the player base, and organise the defense of the base against the type of units the player use to attack.
where are the rpgs that made history? Fallout, Ultima 8
note: we may add a section with bad games, some game one has to play to know what we intend for a bad work, as (for me, I have my reasons, and these examples are not intended as bad games for "we" but, for the moment, just for ME) Outcast or Half Life 2 (single player).
_____
edit
WHOA!!!! How may I forgot Earthworm Jim!!! It MUST be added
Thanks for your thoughts/suggestions. I've been taking a little break from updating the list, but I'm gonna get going with it again this weekend.
My ten cents. These are games that simply had great gameplay or innovated in gameplay.
1.Zelda: Majora's Mask. Most people didn't like this game, but it makes one major innovation over Ocarina of Time: TIME TRAVEL. If I so wish, I can play all of Majora's Mask over from the beginning just be restricting myself from using a certain item at a certain point in my replay. This includes replaying rebuilding the Great Fairies and Temple bosses, and that is an innovation first seen in this game. It added replay value to the Adventure/RPG.
2.Bomberman 64: The Second Attack. This game's story mode demonstrated just what kind of wacky things you can do with a single power/weapon ie: elemental bombs. Wanting to get all the Elemental Stones got me to play extra levels, which in turn unlocked a different final boss.
3.Super Mario 64: See above.
4.All Kirby games with powers: Gave the player a fun AND tangibly useful reward for defeating even the most common enemies in a certain way. Later games extrapolated on this theme.
5.Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: Had lots of cool environments to explore along with a neat double win condition: get to the end AND have Baby Mario with you.
6.Dance Dance Revolution: The obvious reasons.
7.Ape Escape: I slightly wierd but involved storyline sets up a set of diverse levels filled with normal enemies and ones you must capture. Doing so involves the use of the normal buttons as equip triggers and the second analog stick as using the current item. Best use of said analog control ever, IMHO.
8.Sonic Adventure 1&2: Demonstrated that platform action games CAN work in 3D, gave the player incentive to work for the big reward of an extra final boss. However, players were let down that we never got to play as Super Sonic or Super Shadow in normal levels.
9.Sonic 3&Knuckles: Decent challenge in normal levels with really hard bonuses that led to a huge payoff. Repeat in the &Knuckles portion for an even bigger payoff of Hyper Sonic. Possibly the best platformer ever and covered everything #8 failed to.
10.Pokemon. Clearly demonstrated how NOT to put replay value in a game. However, it makes up for it by introducing the "trained monster" dynamic. IMHO, we can never really put the player in the character of an avatar with an involved story in an RPG. However, if AI was developed to make NPCs such as our monsters who fight for us behave socially, it's quite possible players could develop a pseudo or even real friendship with their monsters.
1.Zelda: Majora's Mask. Most people didn't like this game, but it makes one major innovation over Ocarina of Time: TIME TRAVEL. If I so wish, I can play all of Majora's Mask over from the beginning just be restricting myself from using a certain item at a certain point in my replay. This includes replaying rebuilding the Great Fairies and Temple bosses, and that is an innovation first seen in this game. It added replay value to the Adventure/RPG.
2.Bomberman 64: The Second Attack. This game's story mode demonstrated just what kind of wacky things you can do with a single power/weapon ie: elemental bombs. Wanting to get all the Elemental Stones got me to play extra levels, which in turn unlocked a different final boss.
3.Super Mario 64: See above.
4.All Kirby games with powers: Gave the player a fun AND tangibly useful reward for defeating even the most common enemies in a certain way. Later games extrapolated on this theme.
5.Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: Had lots of cool environments to explore along with a neat double win condition: get to the end AND have Baby Mario with you.
6.Dance Dance Revolution: The obvious reasons.
7.Ape Escape: I slightly wierd but involved storyline sets up a set of diverse levels filled with normal enemies and ones you must capture. Doing so involves the use of the normal buttons as equip triggers and the second analog stick as using the current item. Best use of said analog control ever, IMHO.
8.Sonic Adventure 1&2: Demonstrated that platform action games CAN work in 3D, gave the player incentive to work for the big reward of an extra final boss. However, players were let down that we never got to play as Super Sonic or Super Shadow in normal levels.
9.Sonic 3&Knuckles: Decent challenge in normal levels with really hard bonuses that led to a huge payoff. Repeat in the &Knuckles portion for an even bigger payoff of Hyper Sonic. Possibly the best platformer ever and covered everything #8 failed to.
10.Pokemon. Clearly demonstrated how NOT to put replay value in a game. However, it makes up for it by introducing the "trained monster" dynamic. IMHO, we can never really put the player in the character of an avatar with an involved story in an RPG. However, if AI was developed to make NPCs such as our monsters who fight for us behave socially, it's quite possible players could develop a pseudo or even real friendship with their monsters.
I am AMAZED that no-one has even given a passing glance to THE best game of ALL time... Elite and its spin-offs.
Sure, Frontier and First Encounters were bugged as hell - but nothing has ever come as close to fitting an entire universe onto a 3.5" floppy.
Sure, Frontier and First Encounters were bugged as hell - but nothing has ever come as close to fitting an entire universe onto a 3.5" floppy.
Definitely
Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time,
Prince of Persia - Warrior Within
Painkiller
Farcry
Bubble Bobble :)
Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time,
Prince of Persia - Warrior Within
Painkiller
Farcry
Bubble Bobble :)
Final Fantasy IX - The best Final Fantasy in the series. Why? The story, the side quests (Chocobo quests, wasn't just fun, it seemed like the designers actually made it part of the game), the well balanced Abilities, the sounds (when I first entered the Black Mage village, wow!), the deep characters. It is the most complete Final Fantasy game I've played. A must-play(finish).
Here's some suggestions. I decided to group some by franchises rather than one specific title since it was too difficult to choose in some cases. These are in no particular order.
Chrono Trigger - This is a must for RPG fans and designers looking for a good example of how to tell an engrossing story.
Final Fantasy - Most notably the SNES classics II and III, but VII worth noting as well. While the story and character development in these is not as strong as Chrono Trigger, these provide great examples of classic RPG gameplay.
Mario Kart - The SNES and N64 versions stand out most in my mind.
Metroid - Super Metroid for the SNES is arguebly the best of the entire franchise and in my oppinion the best platform action game ever created. This is THE gamers game.
Mario Bros. - Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 3 for the NES should be highly noted.
Zelda - The original on the NES, A Link to the Past for the SNES, and The Ocarina of Time for the N64 are all worth playing.
StarCraft/WarCraft - Everyone of these games is worth playing.
Halo/Halo 2 - Duh!
Halflife/Halflife 2 - Ditto
GoldenEye 007 - Probably the first example of how a FPS can be done on a console.
--------------------------
Other games worth mentioning:
Sim City - Any of the Sim City games/toys are worth playing.
Lemmings - One of the greatest puzzle games.
Blast Corp for the N64. - This game offered a very unique concept and a plethora of mini games that required decisive skill, wits, and strategy.
Body Harvest for the N64. - This game was extremely ambitious with the scope and scale of its worlds, the puzzles that the player was required to solve, and the variety of gameplay and objectives. This game also builds mood and atmosphere in a way that can only be rivaled by Super Metroid and maybe Halo. The music is perfect for the environments and the game definetly makes the player feel as if they are immersed in a dying world where the weight of civilization and survival relies on the players success. If the graphics and character play control were better, this game would definitely make the top 10. Unfortunately, the graphics were sub-par when this title was released and the character play control was very clunky and non-responsive. Still, for sci-fi and adventure/puzzle game enthusiasts I would still highly recomend this game as a MUST-PLAY.
[Edited by - engineeredvision on May 23, 2005 7:28:12 PM]
Chrono Trigger - This is a must for RPG fans and designers looking for a good example of how to tell an engrossing story.
Final Fantasy - Most notably the SNES classics II and III, but VII worth noting as well. While the story and character development in these is not as strong as Chrono Trigger, these provide great examples of classic RPG gameplay.
Mario Kart - The SNES and N64 versions stand out most in my mind.
Metroid - Super Metroid for the SNES is arguebly the best of the entire franchise and in my oppinion the best platform action game ever created. This is THE gamers game.
Mario Bros. - Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 3 for the NES should be highly noted.
Zelda - The original on the NES, A Link to the Past for the SNES, and The Ocarina of Time for the N64 are all worth playing.
StarCraft/WarCraft - Everyone of these games is worth playing.
Halo/Halo 2 - Duh!
Halflife/Halflife 2 - Ditto
GoldenEye 007 - Probably the first example of how a FPS can be done on a console.
--------------------------
Other games worth mentioning:
Sim City - Any of the Sim City games/toys are worth playing.
Lemmings - One of the greatest puzzle games.
Blast Corp for the N64. - This game offered a very unique concept and a plethora of mini games that required decisive skill, wits, and strategy.
Body Harvest for the N64. - This game was extremely ambitious with the scope and scale of its worlds, the puzzles that the player was required to solve, and the variety of gameplay and objectives. This game also builds mood and atmosphere in a way that can only be rivaled by Super Metroid and maybe Halo. The music is perfect for the environments and the game definetly makes the player feel as if they are immersed in a dying world where the weight of civilization and survival relies on the players success. If the graphics and character play control were better, this game would definitely make the top 10. Unfortunately, the graphics were sub-par when this title was released and the character play control was very clunky and non-responsive. Still, for sci-fi and adventure/puzzle game enthusiasts I would still highly recomend this game as a MUST-PLAY.
[Edited by - engineeredvision on May 23, 2005 7:28:12 PM]
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