Unbroken chain thread

[Applefiend]

Bet this won't take off, but this is for guys with the killa video games collection.

Using wikipedia etc, play one game from each year, see how far you can get before your collection runs out.

Yes, it's 11pm, I'm bored and I can't sleep.

[Applefiend]

1978 Bowling Atari 2600
Oh boy. Dude has pink shirt, may be Kaz Hirai. One button to throw ball, push up to move ball in flight. Not sure it's possible to get a strike. Screen just flickered as I knocked down all the dots. Yay!

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Bowling_2600_ScreenShot1.gif

[Viper]

I'm out already. There's this nasty long gap between Pong and Missile Command.

[masteratt]

1978 Bowling Atari 2600
Oh boy. Dude has pink shirt, may be Kaz Hirai. One button to throw ball, push up to move ball in flight. Not sure it's possible to get a strike. Screen just flickered as I knocked down all the dots. Yay!

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Bowling_2600_ScreenShot1.gif
wtf....trippy.
is he standing on the line of the lane that is floating?.....or how the hell what....woah.

[Applefiend]

1979 Superman Atari 2600

Think this was on a Angry Video Game Nerd. Deserves everything it gets. Just awful, pointless, unplayable. Something about finding pieces of a broken bridge, and you hold down the button to see the next screen but you don't have to see the next screen. Awful. For my money worse than ET or Pacman on the Atari VCS.

http://blog.bytequeeugosto.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/superman_2600_screenshot2.jpg

[Applefiend]

1980 Space Invaders Atari 2600

First non crap video game, hurrah! Million variations of Space invaders, the technical limitations are actually charming, the score line disappears every time the ufo appears, could play it all day, no really.

First AAA killer console app? I think so.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Space_Invaders_2600_ScreenShot1.jpg

[Applefiend]

wtf....trippy.
is he standing on the line of the lane that is floating?.....or how the hell what....woah.

Yeah it's the oldest game cartridge I own. Something cool about a 31 year old game that still plays.

[Applefiend]

1981 Asteroids Atari 2600

It is so crap. The Asteroids only go up and down not side to side, it controls like garbage, it's total garbage. Think people loved it at the time, they were wrong.

It's poo.

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20050113/asteroids.jpg

[Applefiend]

1982 Donkey Kong Atari 2600

It only has two screens, all the signature tunes are missing as are the animations, but actually fun to play. And I don't have to get off my bum and hit reset on the console to start a new game, so finally progress!

http://otakunogamers.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/donkey_kong_2600_screenshot1.jpg

[Applefiend]

1983 Moon Patrol Atari 2600

Moon Patrol owns j00, it totally does. Jump over the holes, shoot the piles of poo, then zap the aliens, awesome. Remember the skateboard section in Warioware? It's like that, only better!

http://my.stratos.net/~hewston95/RTM17/moonpatrol-2600.gif

[Applefiend]

1984 Stargate Atari 2600

Could this be the greatest Atari 2600 cart ever? Might be. Atari screw up Defender like they screwed up Pacman, then come back with this. Post crash too. In Atari VCS high res too. Fab. Plays great, looks awesome for an Atari VCS. God like. Not the arcade in your home, but close...

http://my.stratos.net/~hewston95/RTM30/2600stargate.gif

[Applefiend]

1985 Super Mario Bros - NES

Actually playing this on Wii VC. That counts.

Catchy tunes! Actual awesome gameplay, power ups! secrets! People still playing their Atari VCSs are stupid, so stupid

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Super_Mario_Bros._NES_ScreenShot4.jpg

[Applefiend]

1986 - Choplifter - Sega Master System

Running on my JVC WonderMega so it comes up "Sega Mark III" when it starts up. Oh yeah.

Really awesome for 1986. Parallax scrolling, lots of colors onscreen, great sound, key game of my misspent youth. There was a time Sega could do no wrong you know...

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/master/choplifter.gif

[Fats]

Awesome stuff Apple. I've only just got around to hooking up my Mark 1 Megadrive. I'm in the market to add another console to my collection as well. Might go for something relatively rare so long as it isn't too expensive.

[Applefiend]

1987 - Castlevania - NES

Freaking awesome year for games, Metroid, OutRun, Zelda. Picked this one. Totally awesome, even now. Devil May Cry of it's time as they ballsed up the next one, Simon's Quest.

http://old-wizard.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/castlevania_nes_03.png

[Fats]

Have you seem Simon's Quest on AVGN? He positively LOVES that game lol.

[Applefiend]

Awesome stuff Apple. I've only just got around to hooking up my Mark 1 Megadrive. I'm in the market to add another console to my collection as well. Might go for something relatively rare so long as it isn't too expensive.

Yeah, my WonderMega plays Sega Master System, Megadrive and MegaCD, quite a beast. Need more carts and disks though, hard to get them in New Zealand. Don't even have Sonic the Hedgehog to play on it.

Heh, yeah, always bitching about Simon's Quest.

[Applefiend]

First pee break, first ten years, inFamous seems a lifetime away. :)

1988 - R Type - Sega Master System

Totally the sh*t. SMS classic side scrolling shooter.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/master/r-type.gif

[Applefiend]

1989 - Tatsujin - Sega Megadrive

16 bit powa biatches. Pretty nice shooter, not the best on MD by a long shot of course. Bit of an early effort so it has slowdown and stuff.

http://espacegames.free.fr/IMAGES%20JEUX%20VIDEO/TATSUJIN/tatsu4.png

[Applefiend]

1990 - Super Mario Bros 3 - NES

8 bit powa biatches. Never actually finished this, for shame!

http://www.nesretro.com/mariohistory/images/SuperMarioBros3.jpg

[Applefiend]

1991 - Sonic the Hedgehog - Sega Megadrive

Kinda the first non ugly looking game I've played, looks great. Had to resort to the PS3 Sega Megadrive Collection, my Genesis collection sucks.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/MD_Sonic_the_Hedgehog.png

[Applefiend]

1992 - Cobra Command - Sega Mega CD

Back to ugly again. An FMV based shooter. We paid a lot of money for our Sega CDs so had to play this kinda crap. First CD based game, 3 years before PS1 and Saturn. It's the future you know. It's also one of those spooky games that feature the twin towers. You nearly fly into them. Spooky...

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/segacd/cobra_command.jpg

[Applefiend]

1993 - Alien 3 - Super Nintendo

Got a pretty nice SNES collection so this is on a real SNES. Mission based Contra style game, it kicks so much ass. Movie was terrible of course, just a lot of British people going "wanka!". Game: choice.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Alien_3_SNES_ScreenShot3.jpg

[Applefiend]

1994 - Donkey Kong Country - Super Nintendo

You're not supposed to like this game are you? We laugh at those people and say screw you. Technical and gaming tour de force.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Donkey_Kong_Country_SNES_ScreenShot3.jpg

[Applefiend]

1995 - Ridge Racer - Playstation

Yeah, it's a new record, you're the greatest. Used to leave this game running and watch the graphics in stunned silence, no more...

http://www.gamesetwatch.com/rr.png

[Applefiend]

1996 - Sega Rally Championship - Saturn

So Mr Playstation brings out his console with Ridge Racer and Tohshinden, Mr Sega brings out Saturn with lousy ports of Virtua Fighter and Daytona. In 1996 all is forgiven. One of the best home arcade conversions evah....

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/sat/sega_rally_championship.jpg

[Fillibuster]

This is an awesome thread Apple...

[Segitz]

1995 (December 31st :D) - Wing Commander 4 - PC CDROM

Probably one of the non-multiplayer games I played through THE most often.

EDIT: Meh, too slow

[Applefiend]

Don't have to keep up with me, start and stop where you like, I'm starting to get tired, it's 4am.

1997 - Castlevania SOTN - Playstation

Too lazy to plug the N64 in. :)

Panned by some critics who should have known better when this came out you know. On no the lizards dudes who jump out of the water are back from ten years ago. :)

http://girlsofwar.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/castlevania_sotn_xbla.jpg

[Applefiend]

1998 - Radiant Silvergun - Saturn

It's an "everything and the kitchen sink" shooter. So you get forward shot, hunters, side shots, a sword, everything, and you have to use the right weapons at the right time. Some nice tricks that Saturns aren't supposed to be able to do like real transparency.

Not my favorite shooter I have to say. <*Tosses it in the fire*>

http://www.ntsc-uk.com/features/ret/RadiantSilvergun/03.jpg

[Applefiend]

1999 - Medal of Honor - Playstation

Got a lot to answer for this one. Very pedestrian these days, just keep walking in a straight line, stop to aim, then shoot everyone three times. At the time it was quite a revelation.

http://www.generation5.org/content/2001/images/moh03.jpg

[Applefiend]

Bit of a nap then I'll start on PS2.

[Fats]

Okay, I think I'll start making some entries.

1994 - Psycho Pinball - Mega Drive

http://web.tiscali.it/squakenet/screen/psychopin.jpg

One of my top 10 games ever. 15 years old yet it still remains fresh and fun to play every time I pick up the pad. The music, visuals, gameplay.. It's just fucking PERFECT!

[Kiwi]

Looks like a cool little idea.

1990 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/media/11627/1/57.jpg

The first ever computer game I played. I got a NES for my 6th birthday, and this is what I got with it. In the shop my mum got it from, the consoles were normally bundled with Mario Bros. or Duck Hunt. Unfortunately, I got this. At the time, I didn't think it was really that bad, but the dam level did make me cry a few times, because it was so stupidly hard, at least it was when I was 6.

I had almost completely forgotten about the game, until I came across this video.

XjUz8IT0CYg

[Applefiend]

Let's finish this thing!

[Applefiend]

2000 - Tokyo Highway Challenge 2 - Dreamcast

Did look at all the games that came out for PS2 in 2000, and I did play some PS2 in 2000, mostly MGS1 with filtered textures, but 2000 wasn't about PS2, 2000, that was the year of Dreamcast.

One of my Dreamcast favorites, you challenge other racers, use the money you get to buy new cars. Really nice. Also known as Shutokou Battle 2 if you're cool. Tons of cool Dreamcast games in 1999 and 2000, then it went away. Evil Sony wasn't it? <*Hides copy of DiskJuggler*>

http://img.listal.com/image/400376/180full.jpg

[Applefiend]

2001 - Grand Theft Auto 3 - PS2

Second year of PS2, already it's game over. Always held Dreamcast in disdain, the problem with it was it died, then everyone who bought it spent the next 5 years bitching and whining about PS2, when they should have been playing GTA3 and a hundred other classics.

I did no such thing, you could see PS2 was much more powerful than Dreamcast with much better developers, so I welcomed it with open arms guy.

http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/grand-theft-auto-3-taxi-jump-screenshot.jpg

[Applefiend]

2002 - Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 - PS2

Second year of screaming "Why Why!?", prattling on about jaggies and crying into their beer for Dreamcast fans, for those of us who didn't want to party like it was 1999, we had GTA3 Vice City and this. Race, avoid the cops who have roadblocks and choppers dropping explosives. Simple fun.

http://www.gamerevolution.com/images/games/ps2/need_for_speed_hot_pursuit_2/need_for_speed_hot_pursuit_2_002.jpg

[Applefiend]

2003 - Halo - XBox

Finally the whinging Dreamcast gits had a champion, the XBox! It had none of the jaggies that hurt their fragile eggshell like eyes, and lots of dubious quality sequels to Dreamcast games.

The rest of us, we just wanted to play some Halo. Still looking pretty good on my 360 today.

http://files.xboxic.com/xbox/halo/thumbs/halo1.jpg

[Applefiend]

2004 - Jak 3 - PS2

Have I run out of games? Have I ****.

This is the first game that's actually filling my widescreen in 480p. Progress!

Problem with Jak 2? Full of boring bits where you go round and round the city on that frigging skateboard. Jak 3 has all the boring bits removed. It's a classic.

http://palgn.com.au/media/pics_inside/art_49_id_3_mw_520.jpeg

[Applefiend]

2005 - God of War - PS2

Guess I should be playing that 360, but PS2 tore 360 a new one all year long. Starting with this:

http://brainstuff.universalconstructors.com/images/stories/god-of-war-ps2/god-of-war-ps2.jpg

Then came Okami, SOtC and Odin Sphere and the rest, PS2 was quality all year.

What can you say about GoW. Crammed full of win, a game that's crafted by people who love video games for people that love video games, that's what it's all about.

[Applefiend]

2006 - Gears of War - 360

In revenge for God of War on PS2 tearing 360 a new one last year, this year Gears of War tears PS3 a new one. Consoles... Why must you fight?

Really beautiful game, very influential. Joy to play. Just like God of War I could sit here and play this right to the end.

Great year for 360.

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/779/779237/gears-of-war-20070409045844667_640w.jpg

So at the start of Gears, how does Marcus's outfit fit in that little bag?

[curryking1]

Jak 1 was totally the best.

Great thread Apple, and sweet picks for the years, although we could argue on a few ;)

Just kidding, hehe. My list would just be chock full of RPGs, and probably lists instead of single games! Haha, must be hard picking out just one title per year, I could never do that :P

Where are you getting all these cool little thumbnail screens btw? Lol, they look great.

[Applefiend]

2007 - Uncharted - PS3

Nobody tearing anybody a new anything this year. PS2 bowed out in style with God of War 2, 360 had Bioshock which was freaking awesome. PS3 didn't have that great a year, lot of multiplatform games that all looked better on 360, but it did have a great port of COD4, and this.

http://www.primotechnology.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/uncharted6-640.jpg

Fantastic. Not easy being the master of three generations, but Naughty Dog did it.

[Applefiend]

Jak 1 was totally the best.

Great thread Apple, and sweet picks for the years, although we could argue on a few ;)

Just kidding, hehe. My list would just be chock full of RPGs, and probably lists instead of single games! Haha, must be hard picking out just one title per year, I could never do that :P

Where are you getting all these cool little thumbnail screens btw? Lol, they look great.

Just google images. Not so much the best of the year, just what I have and fancy playing. And I try and alternate consoles.

[Applefiend]

2008 - Little Big Planet - PS3

2008, the year of Playstation 3? I think it was really, for me at least, although 360 had some very tasty games this year, but they mostly weren't my thing. This year the multiplatform games were mostly competent, and the exclusives lived up to the hype. Came into it's own this year.

LBP, what can we say. Problem with modern gaming is people take bits of popular games from the last year and use them to make something very familiar. Not a lot of original or left of field thinking. LBP was an exception.

http://ngnews.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/littlebigplanet1.jpg

And it's updating, three updates... Didn't have this problem on the Atari VCS. *drums fingers*

[Applefiend]

2009 - Killzone 2 - PS3

Oh boy, it's updating too.

Best this year I think. Quick go and I'm done.

http://www.dignews.com/legacy/screenshots/killzone_2_05.jpg

OK, took about... 9 hours 30 minutes. 31 different games from 1978 to 2009, one from each year. Never mind your evolution of dance, this is the evolution of gaming.

Thank god I don't have any Atari VCS carts older than Bowling. Atari VCS goes on.. and on... for nearly a decade. Good exercise as you see the holes in your collection.

To find a year just type list of xxx games into wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ps3_games there's ps2.

Now it's dinner time, hurrah!

[curryking1]

Just google images. Not so much the best of the year, just what I have and fancy playing. And I try and alternate consoles.

Hehe, that's what I meant. I'd have a hard time picking my favourite from some years.

LBP ftmfw!

[Kiwi]

I think if I had a better attention span, I would've loved LBP. But I simply don't have the patience for that shit.

1991 - Micro Machines (NES)

https://www.atari2600.com/ccp51/media/images/product_detail/NES-CAMERICA16-C.gif

One of my personal favourites from the NES era. I did miss a lot of the real classics when I was a kid, due to not having game magazines to be able to see what games were awesome. So this was one of the few games I had at the time that I loved to bits. Nobody could ever beat me at this game, I was the ultimate champion :-D

[Kiwi]

1992 - Desert Strike (Mega Drive)

http://web.tiscali.it/squakenet/screen/desert_strike.jpg

Kicked arse then, and it kicks arse now. In fact, all the "Strike" games are awesome, this just happened to be the first one I came across. When I was a kid, my mum would always take me to Blockbusters, to rent something for the weekend. This particular weekend, the store had been broken into, and every single game was stolen, except for this one. So I didn't really have much of a choice, but I'm happy they decided to leave that one.

[curryking1]

We didn't ask for your life story, sheesh!

Lol j/k, that's funny.

[Kiwi]

Screw you budday!! :P

I suck at describing stuff, so I find it easier to associate a memory with it.

[Applefiend]

We want the life story!!!!

Think that's what's missing from mine, stories about riding home on my bike 10 miles with Manic Miner on the Sinclair Spectrum. :)

[Fats]

1995 - Micro Machines Turbo Tour - Megadrive

http://www.filebuzz.com/software_screenshot/full/micro_machines_2___turbo_tournament-49890.png

Seemed really revolutionary at the time because it had an extra two controller ports in the cartridge. This meant that up to four people could play at once and it was ridiculously good fun, even if I did keep coming last.

I'll have to keep an eye out for this one on Ebay, really need to pick it up again.

Funny how my first two games were developed by Codemasters. They seem so serious now, what with all the racing games they release. They need to go back to their roots.

[Kiwi]

1993 - Sonic 2 (Mega Drive)

http://blog.pricegrabber.co.uk/buttonsmasher/files/2008/03/sonic-2-md.jpg

I realise the game came out right at the end of 1992, but I didn't get it until early 1993, so there! In my opinion, the best of the Sonic games, and easily one of my favourite games of the generation. Awesome levels, awesome soundtrack, awesome everything! The Sonic & Knuckles game also added extra fun to the game, by letting you play through the whole game again with Knuckles.

[Applefiend]

Think I'll restart, that was good fun. Think I'll do this:

One year per week, Sunday to next Saturday
Ten games per year from my collection

That way you really get a flavor of that year. One game to represent a whole year is a bummer dude.

Starting 1980

[Kiwi]

I think I'll be sticking to one game a year right now. I could probably do a couple a year, because I've already missed a couple of great ones, but TEN?! I didn't really have that many games of my own when I was a kid.

[Fats]

1996 - Andretti Racing - Playstation

http://www.vidgames.com/ps/screens/andretti2.jpg

Probably considered a worthless piece of shit then, and definitely considered a worthless piece of shit now. I was only 11 when I first played this game. I got to try it out in the shop before I bought my Playstation for Christmas. Must have been impressed with it because I bought it and it became my first Playstation game along with Actua Soccer and Mortal Kombat Trilogy.

It honestly looks as rough as a badgers arse now.

[Fats]

1997 - Destruction Derby 2 - Playstation

http://web.tiscali.it/squakenet/screen/destruction_derby_2.jpg

A classic no doubt. Played this endlessly on my own, or with friends. The destruction was immense, the jumps were ridiculous and it was just generally total carnage. It betters the first game in every single way. I just wish I hadn't swapped my friend it for Fifa 97.. I never seen it again after that and to make matters worse Fifa 97 is like the worst Fifa EVER. :(

[Kiwi]

Funny you should mention FIFA...

1994 - FIFA '95 (Mega Drive)

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/gen/fifa_soccer_95.gif

I had the first FIFA game as well, but I've already used up '93, so here's FIFA '95, in '94! Err...

Turns out this was the last FIFA game I ever owned. I played the absolute shit out of this one when I was a kid, and I got so into it that I was nerdy enough to start write down statistics for all of my players, like the amount of minutes they played in a season, and goals scored. I also managed to pretty much master being able to score from anywhere inside the opponent's half, something which my friends hated A LOT.

[Fats]

Lol.. Even that looks better than Fifa 97! :P

[Kiwi]

Lol.. Even that looks better than Fifa 97! :P

I remember playing that one time, it was arse of the highest calibre. Now, onto the last of my Mega Drive posts.

1995 - Ristar (Mega Drive)

http://minicastle.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/ristar-1.jpg

A hugely underlooked game at the time it was around, and a real shame. Easily one of my favourite platformers on the Mega Drive. I never actually "owned" this one, I borrowed it from my cousin, and we haven't actually seen eachother since that time. So, I guess I did own it :-D

This was also the last game I played on my Mega Drive. Soon after the PlayStation came out, my trusty Mega Drive gave up the ghost. The end of an era :cry2: But also, the beginning of another awesome one.

[Fats]

1998 - Rapid Racer - Playstation

http://www.retrogamesale.com/images/100_1476.JPG

The Nintendo 64 had the lovely Wave Race 64 (One of my favourite games) and the Playstation had this. Only problem was was that the Playstation didn't have the nice realistic transparency effects that Wave Race 64 had. I remember reading an article in Play magazine about how this was pushing the Playstation's hardware using the graphics synthesizer and that it was running at around 50FPS.

Looked nice back in the day, from an artistic stand point and had some great music, but overall Wave Race 64 wins hands down.

[Fats]

1999 - Dino Crisis - Playstation

http://cdn1.gamepro.com/screens/103825/51874-30-2.jpg

I happened to have my Playstation modified at the time, ahem, so I actually got to play the Japanese version of this. It was nice that the audio was in complete English but it did make some of the Puzzles a little difficult to understand. I personally found this more frightning than the Resident Evil series as there's something more sinister about Dinosaurs coming after you than Zombies. Should have made more of them!

[Kiwi]

1996 - Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars (PlayStation)

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2008/12/broken_sword_1_topper2.jpg

My first taste of point-and-click adventure games. I guess I was a little bit late getting to the party, but I've always had a soft spot for them ever since. This still stands out as an amazing game to me, and I still play through it every once in a while. The game was a bit of a pain in the arse to play with the controller, so I convinced my mum to go out and get me a PlayStation mouse, which was pretty expensive back then. Great story, witty dialogue, and really fun gameplay, can't really ask for much more from a game like this!

[Fats]

Lol.. I bought a Playstation mouse for £25 for Command and Conquer Retaliation. You know you've crossed the line when you've got a Playstation branded mouse with Playstation mouse mat (Which I wish I still had to be honest).

[Kiwi]

I personally found this more frightning than the Resident Evil series as there's something more sinister about Dinosaurs coming after you than Zombies. Should have made more of them!

You do know they made three games, right? Well, technically four, the fourth was a shitty light-gun game.

I agree with you to an extent about those games being scarier than the Resident Evil games. They played exactly the same as RE, but having enemies that were a hell of a lot faster was pretty frightening!

[Fats]

Aye, apparently the third was shite though and on the original Xbox so I never had the chance to play it. I mean.. It was set in space on a space station! Talk about being far removed from the previous games lol.

[Kiwi]

To be honest, I never played the third one. I don't remember a great deal about the second one, other than there being some stupid time travelling bullshit where you save some prehistoric girl or something? Or am I thinking of something completely different?

1997 - Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (PlayStation)

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/7734/fingame2m91ace13wk6.jpg

I hadn't seen a single thing about this game around the time it came out, until I accidentally chose it instead of something else on an OPSM demo disk that a friend of mine had. Luckily, at this point, my 13th birthday was on the horizon, so I dropped a ton of hints to everybody in the family :-D

Just a random aside from this one. My nan bought me this one for my birthday, and it begun the running family joke of putting presents in odd-shaped boxes. The thing was, after a certain amount of times getting games for birthdays and Christmases, I got a bit cocky with predicting what my presents would be. I mean, the shape of a Mega Drive or PlayStation box was easily recognisable, so I was always like "that's a game!" before even opening the damn thing. So my nan, being the crafty person she is, put this one in a shoe box, and stuffed the box with polystyrene balls. This has gone on for years, including putting Toblerones inside kitchen roll tubes, and making them look like Christmas crackers. The best one was a Toblerone inside a bicycle box.

Aaaaanyway, enough of that shit, ABE'S ODYSSEE IS AWESOME :-D

[Applefiend]

1980 The Games

No - Game - Source - Machine played on Home/Arcade

1 - Space Invaders Part 2 - Taito Legends 1 - PS2/PS3 - Arcade

It's just like Space Invaders only with little cutscenes and numbers of the bunkers. Really. Kinda manages to be retro even in 1980.

http://www.arcade-history.com/images/game/2543_1.png

2 - Phoenix - Taito Legends 1 - PS2/PS3 - Arcade

So freaking awesome. Scrolling backgrounds, multi stage, boss level. Start up tunes, it's a huge advance.

http://www.meristation.com/EPORTAL_IMGS/GENERAL/juegos/PlayStation2-Arcade/7f/IMG2-cw43499cf7ecb26/Phoenix.jpg

3 - Pacman - Namco Museum Vol 1- PS1/PS3 - Arcade

Don't think Billy Mitchell has anything to worry about. Technically not that great a game, none of the scrolling backgrounds or other fancy stuff, but totally sublime guy.

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050614/050614_pacman_vmed_1p.widec.jpg

4 - Rally-X - Namco Museum Vol 1- PS1/PS3 - Arcade

Way more technically advanced than Pacman, but didn't do as well. Lotsa fun.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/electroretro/rallyx.gif

5 - Missile Command - Midway Greatest Hits- PS1/PS3 - Arcade

The game that makes nuclear war fun.

http://onlythe80s.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/missile-command.gif

6 - Boxing - Activision Classics - PS1/PS3 - Console

Oh boy. One black dude, one white dude, so a stunning inditement of racial strife. Keep level with the other guys nose and keep hitting the fire button. That'll be $40 young sir.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Activision_Boxing_Atari_2600_screenshot1a.png

7 - Dragster - Activision Classics - PS1/PS3 - Console

Oh boy. So you set the gears, lightly tap fire, try not to blow up. Another young $40 sir!

https://www.atari2600.com/ccp51/media/images/product_detail/ATA26GAM0254L.gif

8 - Skiing - Activision Classics - PS1/PS3 - Console

Go left/right, stay within the flags, get to the end before the time runs out. Actually fun.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/88/Skiing_Atari_2600_screenshot1.png

9 - Fishing Derby - Activision Classics - PS1/PS3 - Console

By David Crane, he who went onto do Pitfall, then a load of rubbish games like Ghostbusters on NES. It's quite good fun.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/72/Fishing_Derby_Atari_2600_screenshot1a.png

10 - Tennis - Intellivision Classics - PS1/PS3 - Console

I hate Intellivision so so much. It's got like 6 buttons for 1980, wtf!!??!! Really awful. Sucks because it's ambitious but doesn't pull it off. So bad even the angry vg nerd wouldn't touch it.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/intel/tennis.JPG

[Kiwi]

1998 - Resident Evil 2 (PlayStation)

http://www.psu.com/media/articles/psu_champions_re2/resident_evil_2_zombies.jpg

Ahh, where would we be without the Resident Evil games, eh? I suppose you could say that there were a few horror games that came before the first Resident Evil, like Alone in the Dark, but the first RE used the now well-known term, "survival horror".

I'll be honest, I missed out on the first RE game, in fact, I was going to avoid getting this one, because I hadn't played the first. But, for some reason, a copy of the first game was really hard to get hold of, nowhere in town had the game, and it's not like I could go on the Internet, I didn't get a PC until maybe a year or so later. As well as not being able to find the first game, there was this independant game store at the top of town that had the game playing, which I thought was a bit odd, considering the majority of people who came in and played the games weren't old enough to be playing it, myself included.

Anyway, as we probably all did when we were too young to buy certain games, I got my mum to go in and get the game for me. I'm amazed I actually managed to play through the game at the time, because it scared the absolute shit out of me. There were some points where I actually turned the console off, without having saved it, because I was so damn scared. For example, the part where the licker jumps through the window in the police interview room, or when William Berkin meets you when you're on that lift on the way down to the lab.

Ahhh, shit-stained memories...

This is still my favourite of all the Resident Evil games. Just like Broken Sword, I play through this one every now and then. Probably up there as one of my favourite games ever.

[Segitz]

REALLY like this thread... will post my C64 and Amiga games, when I find some time to research some of them!

[Fats]

2000 - Colin McRae Rally 2 - Playstation

http://i.testfreaks.com/images/products/600x400/77/colin-mcrae-rally-2-0.374605.jpg

I felt like we were coming to the end of the PSone's lifespan, for me at least, and the Playstation 2 was only around the corner. Yet another Codemasters game. I feel that Codemasters are fairly under-rated as they just seemed so consistent in everything that they did.

What a fairly odd list of PS1 games. No Metal Gear Solid? No Final Fantasy? No Gran Turismo? I guess I'm trying to show some of the games I played that weren't huge but still found them hugely entertaining.

With the Playstation 2 only releasing this coming November, my mind was very much on the launch games. Namely SSX and Timesplitters.

[Fats]

2001 - Shadow of Memories - Playstation 2

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/screenshots/ps2/shadowofdestiny/shadow_1207_screen006.jpg

Hugely, hugely under-rated game that felt revolutionary and "next-gen" at the time. You were some guy that kept dying, but you had the opportunity to go back in time to try and stop your own death. Seemed like a really deep and hugely involving, intelligent game. I doubt it did well sales wise, so a sequel was out of the question. Must hunt this one down on Ebay.

[masteratt]

YES!!^

I was trying to remember the name of that game and all I had to go on was the plot that I half remembered (which didn't help in google) but now I know! (i kept confusing it with 'shadow clock' or something).

That is indeed an AWESOME game, one of the best I've played on the PS2.

[Kiwi]

DAMN YOU, I wanted that one! :cry2: Awesome little game that, I've been playing it on my laptop for the last few days.

1999 - Silent Hill (PlayStation)

http://www.psu.com/media/articles/psu_champions_silenthill/silent_hill_1.jpg

Another survival horror game, but this one definitely deserves to be on a list like this. I may have found Resident Evil 2 scary, but this is in a whole different league of scary. Rather than being that kind of scare that made me jump, Silent Hill made my skin crawl. They managed to create such a threatening atmosphere, it made you feel that you were constantly being watched, and that anything could happen to you, at any time, and rather than you pretty much knowing what would happen to you, like in most horror games, you never knew what the hell was going to happen in this one.

[curryking1]

1991 - Super Mario World

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2c/Super_mario_world_box.jpg/250px-Super_mario_world_box.jpg

Ya!! The first game I remember ever playing!! Yaaa!! Apparently the story is I was not old enough to grasp the concept of the jump button, and I could never pass the first gap in the first level in the game. My mommy helped me past it XD

[Fats]

Silent Hill one FTW! Pretty expensive on Ebay as well.

[Kiwi]

2000 - Fear Effect (PlayStation)

http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/5628/117627_full.jpg

The PS2 launch was quickly closing in, so I was starting to save my pennies for when that time came. I got myself a job as a paperboy so that I could get enough money to get a PS2 at launch, so the amount of games I bought in that year was fairly low.

But I still had time for this one :-D

This game had an odd mix of graphical styles, at least to me. Rather than most fixed-point camera games, which used 2-D pre-rendered backgrounds, this one used full-motion video for the backgrounds, along with cel-shaded characters. I must admit, I wasn't a big fan of the game to start with. The first section of the game was completely trial and error for me, I died a hell of a lot before I got through. But the further I got into it, the more I enjoyed it.

I think the second game deserves an honourable mention for one thing, and anybody who's played it will know what I'm talking about: HOT LESBIAN ACTION! :wank:

[Fats]

^That's all I heard from my mate that had this game. Lesbians. Should have been enough reason for me to buy it, but I never did. Apparently it was a good game regardless though. :)

[curryking1]

^It's actually amazing, just solid action-adventure fun. Very linear, but the structure is really cool.

And it has a sequel, on the PS1 as well :O

[Fats]

2002 - Timesplitters 2 - Playstation 2

http://www.absolute-playstation.com/gp2a/timesplitters_2_lr_1.jpg

Many a night was spent with my friends all sitting around my modest TV playing 4-player splitscreen. So many game modes to play, single player was entertaining enough and the level editor added some further depth to an already great game. It's still a classic to this very day and a game I'm sure still plays exceptionally well if I were to play it with friends now.

[Fats]

2003 - Amplitude - Playstation 2

http://brutalgamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/amplitude.jpg

Sure some of the music choice wasn't to my taste, but it was all in good fun. Not the first button press music type game I've ever played (that goes to Bust a Groove on the PS1.), but probably the most fun at the time. Preceded all this Guitar Hero malarky by a number of years. Had to throw this out because our kittens decided to let their bowels loose on the disc.

[Kiwi]

That'll teach you for leaving your discs out!

2001 - Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (PlayStation 2)

http://i.neoseeker.com/p/Games/GameCube/Action/Adventure/baldurs_gate_dark_alliance_profilelarge.jpg

I was a big fan of the Baldur's Gate games on the PC, so it was a given that I was going to own this one. It's a very different game to the ones on the PC (the PC games were AD&D role-playing games, but this was just straight up hack-and-slash), but it was still a lot of fun to play. One of the major talking points about this game when it was out was how amazing the water effects were. I remember they were pretty awesome at the time, but they're probably rubbish if I was to look back at them now.

The other great thing about this game was that it had a co-op mode, and it was the first co-op game I remember which didn't involve the use of split-screen. I'm probably completely wrong about that, but I had never seen it before that.

[Kiwi]

2002 - The Getaway (PlayStation 2)

http://www.freewebs.com/videogamefilms/the-getaway-2.jpg

From a technical standpoint, this isn't exactly a great game. The controls are crappy, and the gameplay in general is a bit glitchy. But I must admit that I do have a soft spot for this one. The thing that makes this game great is the dialogue, and to a slightly lesser extent, the story.

The part about this game that made me chuckle was the fuss that BT caused over their part in the game. There's a mission in the game where you disguise yourself as a BT technician, to sneak your way inside a police station, so that you can kill a detective and a woman. BT got all pissy that the game might give their employees a bad name. I was working for BT at the time, personally, I loved it :D

In the end, they asked people to take their copies of the game back, for a copy that got rid of the BT logo, and any mention of them. I still have my copy, screw those guys!

[curryking1]

Is Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance like Diablo? Just like... how similar, how not similar, etc etc.

[Kiwi]

Is Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance like Diablo? Just like... how similar, how not similar, etc etc.

The gameplay is very similar, you're just running around, cutting up anything that gets in your way. You level up, which enables you to unlock new magic spells and upgrade the ones you already have. You also pick up gold from enemies, which you use to buy weapons and armour once you get to a town. Some enemies also drop weapons. Pretty standard fare really.

As far as I remember, it's completely linear, so there's none of that sidequest malarchy.

I would recommend trying it out, if you're planning on giving it a go on PCSX2.

[curryking1]

I just remember seeing great previews of it way back when and I wanted to try it, just never got around to it. Sounds like solid fun though.

[Kiwi]

2003 - Beyond Good & Evil (PlayStation 2)

http://www.thegamesofmylife.com/wp-content/bge_01small.jpg

Easily one of my favourite games from the last generation. It's probably a bit redundant now me saying that this one is underrated, because a hell of a lot more people know about this one now, compared to when it first came out. But saying that, it's a real shame that this one didn't do that well when it came out.

I mentioned this in a thread a while back, but I bought this game out of complete curiosity. When I asked the guy in the shop, he said it had only been out for a week. Considering that it had been reduced to half price, I didn't have high hopes for it, but tried it out for the hell of it, because there was bugger all else out at the time. Sooooo happy that my curiosity got the better of me. :)

[curryking1]

^+1000000000000000000000000000 to that post

I bought BG&E and the Yakuza games based on recommendations from members here and....

***k yeah! Lol.

[Fats]

2004 - Metal Gear Solid 3 - Playstation 2

http://ps2media.gamespy.com/ps2/image/article/532/532018/metal-gear-solid-3-snake-eater-20040720022553477.jpg

Shock horror I think my interest in gaming took a bit of a nosedive around this time. I love Snake Eater but it just didn't live up to my expectations of the 1st and 2nd games, and the fact that I hated prequels didn't help either. It was an entertaining game though, and kept me interested in what had happened previously to MGS1 and 2. Loved the fight against The End though, tense as hell.

[Fats]

2005 - Battlefield II: Modern Combat - Playstation 2

http://darkzero.co.uk/img/v3/2006-04-18-14-bf2mc3.jpg

Found this to be extremely addictive. I think this was the first time I had ventured online and found myself constantly playing it. I think it's out on the 360 so I might buy a copy of it in the hope that people still play it today. The single player was rubbish, it just had that generic PS2 shooter kinda feel to it, but online was amazing and one of the best online games I've ever played.

[Fats]

2006 - Bully (Canis Canem Edit) - Playstation 2

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20061208/bully.jpg

Again I found my time becoming increasingly strained and I focused on other things. But the little time I did use to game, I played this. Bully. It was a bit of a sleeper hit to me and, again, I'm only realising how good it is. I don't think I ever finished it though.. Maybe I'll get around to it at some point.

[curryking1]

Awww... Fats just stole half the forums 2004 pick XD

1992 - Contra III: The Alien Wars

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/55/Contra_III_game_cover.jpg/256px-Contra_III_game_cover.jpg

Ahhhhhh.... how can you go wrong... this was the best multiplayer experience on the SNES by far. Two modes, a sidescrolling set and a top-down set of levels, all meshed into a solid performing, reflexive action game.

What a game... seriously... plays unbelievably well. Every time I visited my cousins, who owned this game, we'd play a mix of this, Super Street Fighter II: Turbo, and Super Mario World lol.

The mix of powers and bomb ability was awesome. There was the standard machine gun, spread gun, laser, flame thrower, and one denoted 'C' I guess for combustion or something because the rounds would explode lol. My favourite combo is C and L (laser), by far the most powerful, especially when you keep firing while rapidly switching between guns you may fire both simultaneously XD

Like most games for me in the early 90s, I started playing this later than it's 1992 release.

[Kiwi]

2004 - Gregory Horror Show (PlayStation 2)

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2003/screen0/589454_20030828_screen001.jpg

Everybody remembers Gregory Horror Show! Right? ...RIGHT??

Yea, this is a bit of a random one.

For those of you who've never seen this one before, this is a survival horror game, based off of an anime series. I'll be honest, I've never seen the anime, in fact, I had no idea what to expect with this one when I bought it. The reason I bought it? £10 launch price.

At the beginning of the game, your character gets lost in the woods, and seeks shelter in this spooky hotel, run by a mouse called Gregory. The object of the game is to escape the hotel, by gathering souls, which are being held by the other guests, and returning them to Death, who, by the way, has a New York accent, and wears a hat with the flag of Sweden on it. (just like in real life! :look:)

All of the guests will generally run away from you if they see you, so the bulk of the game is thinking of ways to trap the guests and get the souls from them. For the rest of the game, those guests will be looking for you, and will chase you around the hotel, trying to get the souls back. So you have to do things like hide in cupboards, or other hotel rooms.

It's a pretty odd little game, and the graphical style is pretty funny looking too. As you can see by the picture above, all of the characters resemble cardboard boxes. If you ever see this game somewhere, then I'd recommend giving it a go. It's a weird little game, but good fun.

[masteratt]

At the beginning of the game, your character gets lost in the woods, and seeks shelter in this spooky hotel, run by a mouse called Gregory. The object of the game is to escape the hotel...
What happens to the door you used to come in?

[Kiwi]

What happens to the door you used to come in?

It's been a while since I've played it, but I think Death visits you in your dreams, and says that if you don't get his souls back, you'll be trapped in the hotel forever.

[Fats]

2007 - Ridge Racer 7 - Playstation 3

http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/740/740518/ridge-racer-7-20070218033116045_640w.jpg

What is there to not like about this game!? Honestly the only thing I can critically say about this game is that it changes nothing, it's remained the same for 15 years. But when something's this good, why change it? It's just got that classic Ridge Racer appeal, great gameplay and genuine, solid depth.

[Fats]

2008 - Left 4 Dead - Xbox 360

http://www.williamjavonrice.com/high-performance-pc/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/left-4-dead.jpg

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Fuckin' awesome with friends online.

[Fats]

2009?

Who knows. I'm more into retro gaming at the moment, so this one is still up in the air. Looking forward to Left 4 dead 2, Uncharted 2, GT5 (If it comes out this year lol) and a few others. Still haven't played the big hitters on the PS3 this year, Killzone II etc. Plenty to choose from.

[Kiwi]

2005 - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Nintendo DS)

http://www.bingegamer.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/phoenixwright.jpg

The first of the Phoenix Wright series. The game was first released on the GameBoy Advance, way back in 2001, but it was never released outside of Japan on the format. I can somewhat understand why it took such a long time for it to make its way out of Japan. A game where you play the role of a defence attorney doesn't sound that great on paper. But it is in fact really enjoyable. The game involves investigating the scenes of crimes to gather clues and evidence to support your case, and to pick the holes in witness testimonies.

I started playing this one again today actually, which is why I'm posting this one in here. Hooray for DS emulators :-D (I own the game, so I'm allowed!!)

[curryking1]

You stole my picture. Punk!

[Kiwi]

and you stole it from Google!! Fack yoo!

2006 - Condemned: Criminal Origins (Xbox 360)

http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/26/6/90/s26690_pc_64.jpg

Well, considering I had been the admin for PSINext for the three or so years before the merger, I never thought I'd own a 360 before a PS3. Funny how things go, eh?

This is the game that I got with my 360. Much like most games around at the time, I didn't know anything about this one. This was a time where I didn't really involve myself a lot with gaming. Getting a 360 was kind of my return to gaming after I had recovered from my accident.

After games like Silent Hill 2 and Project Zero, horror games stopped having an effect on me. I dunno if it was because I was a little older, or just because I'd played so many horror games, but they didn't give me the same sense of dread that they used to. But this one actually made me feel that dread again. In a sort of similar way to the Silent Hill games, the atmosphere created in this game made the whole experience very creepy.

Just a shame they fucked up the second game.

[Fats]

Ah Condemned! I only played a demo of it, scary as fuck lol.

[Kiwi]

2007 - Crackdown (Xbox 360)

http://chud.com/articles/content_images/106/crackdown_carlift.jpg

The result of GTA having sex with The Matrix, I dunno :shrug:

The developer, Realtime Worlds, is actually made up of a group of people who worked at DMA Designs, the original creators of GTA. You play the role of a genetically enhanced agent, and your task is to defeat the three organised gangs who rule the city.

My favourite part of the game is that once you've levelled up a bit, your agent become ridiculously awesome. You're able to pick up and throw cars at people, kick people all the way across the street, and jump across skyscrapers with ease. The game is non-linear, so you can do whatever the hell you like before you decide to take on any of the crime lords. My personal favourite game is seeing how high up I can take another person, and then chucking them back down to the ground :-D

[Kiwi]

2008 - Pixeljunk Eden (PlayStation 3)

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2009/03/edenwide580gdc.jpg

Out of all of the games I had on the PS3, it was always the stuff I bought off of the store that I loved the most. Pixeljunk Eden is the first that comes to mind for me. The concept is fairly simple, swing your character around on a piece of thread, and collect pollen, which activates other plants, enabling you to progress further through the level.

It takes me back to the days where things were a lot simpler, the days when I would get home from school, and go straight up to my room to play computer games. Ahhh, memories... :D

I'm not going to bother posting anything for this year. One, because we're not all the way through the year, and two, I don't own any video game consoles, meaning that my choices are restricted to like three games. I'll probably start all over again with some different games at some point.

[curryking1]

1993 - Sim City 2000

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d4/SimCity_2000_Coverart.png

Yay! My first city building game! What a series now... When you're young, you can learn a lot from this game! I learned a heck of a lot honestly from Sim City. Played this one a lot, though I think I mainly played this game a few years later, but man was it great and the entire series of Sim games still keeps it's awesome humour and the great background muzak :-)

[Applefiend]

1981 The Games - Part 1, 2 to come

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

1 - Frogger - XBLA - 360 - Arcade

Not quite the original as they enhanced the graphics. Really maddening quarter sucker, always need just one more go. Still haven't got my level 5 achievement off xbla, George Castansa, like Billy Mitchell, has nothing to fear from me.

http://www.abcpoetsbedrijf.nl/games/arcade/frogger.gif

2 - Freeway - Activision Classics - PS1/PS3 - Atari VCS

Freeway is a weird one, it was developed independantly of Frogger, but looks a lot like it. you can only move up and down, it's all road and no river, and it's two player.

https://www.atari2600.com/ccp51/media/images/product_detail/ATA26GAM0301L.gif

3 - Astrosmash - Intellivision Classics - PS1/PS3 - Intellivision

Bad colour choices would make this almost unplayable on a 1981 TV set, it's hard enough to see the 'roids on an LCD with hdmi. Would be considered mediocre on the Atari VCS, on Intellivision it's a classic. Bleugh!

Best selling Intellivision game of all time apparently, sold a million.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/intel/astrosmash.JPG

4 - Donkey Kong - Mame - Mac - Arcade

You can only really play this on Mame as Nintendo quickly shifted gears to the home after this so there isn't a Nintendo Arcade classics disk. This is the start of the Nintendo story, between now and 1998 Nintendo do not put a foot wrong. The home versions have screens missing, including the NES version, and are way easier. This is hard, you have to be on your toes to play this.

http://old-wizard.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/donkey-kong.jpg

5 - Space Armada - Intellivision Classics - PS1/PS3 - Intellivision

I hate Intellivision so so much. Here we have a cheap Space Invaders rip off. It's slow, and doesn't have all the variations of the Atari VCS version. The ufos and aliens overlap, it's a jerky mess. It's got so much missing. It's crap, but good for Intellivision, the home of crappy simulations that should be on computer, sh*tty sports games and terrible 20 button game design.

http://www.ataritimes.com/images/other/int_spacearmada.gif

[Kiwi]

Time to start over.

1990 - Gumshoe (NES)

http://image.jeuxvideo.com/images/ns/g/u/gushns007.jpg

This one came out in 1988, but I don't play by the rules! I wanted to put this one in because I thought that some people might not have seen it.

You play the role of a detective, who's on the hunt for a Mafia boss who's kidnapped his daughter. You must collect five diamonds as a ransom in order to get your daughter back. The game is played by using the Zapper, the NES lightgun. You don't control the forwards movement of the character, but you can avoid obstacles in your way by shooting the character, and it makes him jump in the air. You can also shoot enemies that may be in your way. You only have a limited amount of bullets, so you have to collect balloons to keep your ammo full.

[Applefiend]

Part 2 - 1981

6 - Qix - Taito Legends 1 - PS2/PS3 - Arcade

Really nice. Just use your cursor to fill up the blank areas of the screen, if one of the two beasties touch you or your line, you're toast. Fill in 75% you're done. In about 5 years some bright spark works out this game would be better if you filled in pictures of nudey ladies.

Really addictive. Top stuff.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/Qixingame.png

7 - Missile Command - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari VCS

You can nit pick this and say well it has this and that missing, but listen to this angry video game nerd talk about Atari.

AknyR-kRvLc

Yes folks, Missile Command on Atari VCS defines classic. Game itself is awesome, so much hidden depth to it with different strategies, chain explosions and the rest.

But already the cracks in Atari are starting to show, 1981 is the year of the first unlicensed cartridges by people like Apollo.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Missile_Command_2600_ScreenShot1.gif

8 - Ms Pacman - Namco Museum Vol 1- PS1/PS3 - Arcade

You know the story, a bunch of MIT students decided Pacman wasn't hardcore enough for them, so they made a bitching daughterboard for Pacman and the rest is history. This is really Pacman 2, it's one of the first sequels to a game that's better than the original. Multiple mazes, faster gameplay, more warp tunnels, wandering fruit, cutscenes, it's better in all ways.

http://www.10minuteflash.com/arcade/games/images/mspacman.png

9 - Galaga - Namco Museum Vol 1- PS1/PS3 - Arcade

Another major classic. This is the game Lightman played in Wargames then says "Take over for me kid". Absolute classic. One of the last of the fixed screen vertical shooters.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2a/Galaga.png

10 - Scramble - Mame- Mac - Arcade

This and Venture by SNK are the first in a very long line, the side scrolling shooter. Like a lot of the early side scrollers this is about learning the patterns.

http://www.henricus.eu/images/scramble%20ps1.png

That there was 1981, time to be in the arcades popping quarters, or in front of your Atari. I mostly played conversions of these games on machines like the BBC Micro Model B.

[Fats]

1991 - Chase HQ - Master System

http://www.arcade-history.com/images/game/441_1.png

I'm pretty sure that the image above is the Arcade version or something, I don't think the Master System II was capable of graphics like that. This is one of my earliest memory's of gaming (Apart from a few random games on the ZX Spectrum, but they were my brothers) and it was bought along with Sonic the Hedgehog and my Master System II that Christmas. Santa was good to me.

The objective was to simply chase down the bad guys and knock into the back of them until you pushed them off the road. You had a wee distance meter and all so that you knew how close you were to them. Intense stuff at the age of 6.

Listening back to the music brings back a lot of memory's. <3 :)

[Kiwi]

1991 - Kickle Cubicle (NES)

http://www.gamesetwatch.com/kickle4.png

A personal favourite of mine, and also my mum. So often, she'd be in my room, playing this when I got home from school. Kickle Cubicle is a puzzle game, and the object of the game is to collect all of the red bags. The character, Kickle, can use his ice breath to turn enemies into blocks of ice, and you use those blocks of ice to create a pathway to get to the red bags, or to kill certain enemies that can't be frozen.

[Kiwi]

1992 - Metal Storm (NES)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2368/2108070240_f32d31d58a_o.gif

Dunno how many people will recognise this one, because it was never released in Europe. My dad brought this one back from a business trip in Japan. It's a real shame that it was never brought over here, because I think it would've done pretty well.

Words can't describe how awesome it is, so I'll let YouTube do the talking... or playing.

xYOTV-f0DxQ

[Kiwi]

1993 - Cannon Fodder (Mega Drive)

http://www.fabricoffolly.co.uk/images/games/cannonfodder.gif

Ahhh, a lot of memories with this one. I first saw this game when I was over at a friend's house. He had it on the Commodore Amiga, and we used to spend hours playing on it. It was one of the few games where I felt really bad for getting one of my characters killed. Whenever one got killed, I would be like, "NOOOOOOOO!!". After the end of every mission, you'd be shown a list of all the people who you had lost during the missions, and I'd say stuff like, "He was a fine soldier, your death will not be in vain! :cry2:".

[Kiwi]

1994 - NBA Jam: Tournament Edition

http://justclaws.atari.org/graphics/pix/nba1.jpg

HE'S ON FIRE!

BOOMSHAKALAKA!

THE NAIL IN THE COFFIN!

etc...

It's NBA Jam! I don't need to explain why this is awesome.

[Kiwi]

1995 - Beyond Oasis (Mega Drive)

http://kotaku.com/assets/resources/2007/08/beyond_oasis_wayptw.gif

I actually had to do a fair bit of research to find out the title of this one. I remember renting this game out when I was younger, and absolutely loving it. I ended up renting it a couple of times, but only getting a little bit further every time. The trouble in those days was that the save games were on the actual cartridges, and, obviously, the chances of having my save game still on there by the time I rented it again was slim.

It's only taken me like 15 years to track it down again, and I've promised myself that I'll complete it! Knowing my luck, I'll get to the same stage as I did when I was a kid, and my laptop drive will format itself, or something stupid like that!

wa68m7WPTxc

[curryking1]

1994 - Donkey Kong Country

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c1/Dkc_snes_boxart.jpg/250px-Dkc_snes_boxart.jpg

Ahhh my god! What amazing platformers on the SNES. It truly still doesn't, and probably never will, get better than stuff like this and Super Mario World XD

[Fats]

Cannon Fodder! That game was amazing! :)

1992 - Lemmings - Sega Master System

http://www.walkingrandomly.com/images/games/lemmings/amiga_lemmings.gif

Loved the gameplay, the challenging puzzles, and the music. Sometimes got a little too challenging for my 7 year old brain to comprehend. Still pretty much a classic today and the many remakes to follow never really lived up to this. Got this in a big shop a long with After Burner on the cheap. They have since closed down.

[Kiwi]

1996 - Sonic 3D: Flickie's Island (Mega Drive)

http://www.coolrom.com/screenshots/genesis/Sonic%203D%20Blast%20(2).gif

Yep, I bought this game, and yep, it sucked.

What was one of the things you remembered from the games that came before this one? Chances are, you'll say speed. Well, say goodbye to that. I guess I can appreciate the idea of it, games were starting to move toward 3D, but by going 3D, it took out everything that made the Sonic games great (ARE YOU LISTENING, SONIC TEAM?). The gameplay was slow and tedious, and in general, it just wasn't that fun to play. After Sonic CD, which on balance was probably the best in the series, it really started to go downhill (we'll just pretend Sonic Spinball never happened), and here's where it started.

The worst thing about this? I wanted to take it back to the shop for a refund, and they refused. Why? Because that Sega sticker on the side of the box had come off. I had no idea where it went, or how it managed to come off, but that cost me like £40, which made me hate the game even more.

[frosty]

speaking of old games... nothing like demonizing communism while ripping off space invaders!

Q6BEe4m3rBU

[Kiwi]

1997 - Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh (PC)

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n24/klutzon/phant2_screen001.jpg

Back in the early 90's when CDs were first being used for games, full-motion video games were all the rage. Most of them completely sucked though. PC games got a bit ridiculous with the use of full-motion video, some games came with like eight discs, and required you to change discs every five minutes. Phantasmagoria 2 was probably one of the last games like this, the whole full-motion thing had started to wear a bit thin by this point. To be fair, this one isn't THAT bad, but I think most people would like it more for its cheesiness and hammy acting.

One annoying element about this game, and other adventure games like it, was that you had to do some pretty stupid things to progress, things you would never guess in a million years. For example, your character needs to go to work, but before you leave, you need your wallet. You find out that your wallet is underneath the sofa. So, instead of just moving the sofa, or getting something long to pull it out, guess what you have to do? You'll love this. You have to take your pet rat out from its cage, and put the rat underneath the sofa so it'll fetch your wallet. But if that wasn't stupid enough, the rat then won't come out from under the sofa, so you have to use a granola bar that you find in your bedroom drawer to coax it out, and HEY PRESTO, the rat comes out with the wallet! Obvious, right?! ¬_¬

[curryking1]

1995 - Earthbound

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1f/EarthBound_Box.jpg/256px-EarthBound_Box.jpg

Lollll!! What a title! Great RPG, silly, interesting, classic. Craziness in the SNES cartridge, wow XD

[Fats]

Phantasmagoria used to scare the shit out of me as a kid for some reason. I remember seeing it on the PC.. Must have been the music or something because something definitely spooked me out.

[curryking1]

You guys play some weird **s games! :P

[Kiwi]

You guys play some weird **s games! :P

Yea, that's what you get for not having the Internet or magazines to go on for game choices. Personally, I liked it that way. I mean, there were a fair number of games that I got through recommendations from other people, and seeing others playing them, but it was always satisfying finding something that you necessarily wouldn't have gone for if you had had the Internet to help you decide. Granted, sometimes you'd pick up some stinkers, but sometimes, you'd find something awesome, and you'd be so happy with yourself that you picked it up and gave it a chance. Even with the ones that were bad, it gave you some experience on what kind of games you liked, and which kinds you knew to avoid in the future.

1998 - Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (PlayStation)

http://insomnia.ac/reviews/playstation/tenchu/screenshot1.jpg

This is an example of one of those. I actually picked this one up because it had the word "Stealth" in the title, and I was suddenly a big fan of anything involving stealth, because of another certain release in the same year. The stealth aspect wasn't as amazing as that other game, but it made up for it by having loads of blood :-D

[curryking1]

Haha, don't have to tell me twice. I only got internet in like 1997 or something lol, just before I got a PS2 actually. Probably was later than that :P

Somehow the recommendations of games I had and the games I always ran into were always awesome lolz. Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, Final Fantasy VII, Syphon Filter, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Contra III: The Alien Wars, Street Fighter II: World Warriors, Command & Conquer: Red Alert... list goes on with awesomeness...

This is how I developed my taste lol... Pure luck :P

This brings me to my next year!! 1996... Ahhhhhh...... freshhhhh XD

1996 - Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Counterstrike, & Aftermath

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/71/Cncra-win-cover.jpg

Yarly! This was the RTS where I really learned the fundamentals. I never really played it extensively or got to know it specifically with strategies or anything, but this is where my RTS foundation is rooted :D

Copped this whole compilation through the Red Alert Domination Pack.

[Kiwi]

1999 - ISS Pro Evolution (PlayStation)

http://www.uvlist.net/cdn/l/y2005/7/5958.jpg

The beginning of a magical football journey. I had given up on the FIFA games after what EA did to FIFA '96 on the Mega Drive, and I'd been looking for something new ever since that point. I finally stumbled across this one, and I've been playing the Pro Evolution games ever since. Every single aspect of this game was streets apart from any other football game that was out at the time, something which has, as much as I still love them, been lost over the last couple of years or so.

[frosty]

despite it's flaws, the original tenchu is still one of my all time favs.

[Kiwi]

2000 - Suikoden II (PlayStation)

http://cdn.springboard.gorillanation.com/storage/craveonline.com/legacy/article_imgs/Image/suikoden(1).jpg

Suikoden II is pretty much the only RPG I've been able to get all the way through. Most RPGs are pretty standard in the way they play, so it's not like I'm going to criticise other games for having rubbish gameplay. What kept me hooked with this game was all of the extra things that you could do. Oh, and the story is pretty awesome too!

Including the main characters in the game, there are 108 characters that you can recruit. Once you recruit them, they are available to use in battle, and will live in the castle that you take over later on in the game.

The castle is one of the things I loved the most about this game. The further you go through the game, the more built up the castle becomes, and also, recruiting certain characters unlocks and side-stories in the castle. My favourite was the sidestory of the resident chef, who is challenged by cooks from all over the country, who are after his secret recipe. You play a cooking mini-game, where you have to pick ingredients that you can collect throughout the game, to make dishes, which are then judged by a random selection of people from the castle, each with different tastes in food.

Anyway, I'll stop babbling on. I love Suikoden, end of story :-D

[curryking1]

1997 - Final Fantasy VII

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/Ffviibox.jpg

Ahh... behold... the holy grail which brought RPGs into the spotlight. The world could not have imagined a greater entrance RPG on the Playstation or in the 1990s for that matter.

I still play this game today lol! Just recently did a master file up to the third disc, all that needs to be done is breeding chocobos, mastering materia and beating the Weapons XD

JUST LOOK HOW AWESOME THAT BOX IS. ***K!

[Kiwi]

2001 - Grand Theft Auto III (PlayStation 2)

http://i20.tinypic.com/incnq0.jpg

The first few GTA games were pretty entertaining, there wasn't really anything like it at the time. But this was when the series made it big. The first GTA on next generation consoles, and the first in 3D. The first time I saw a trailer for this game, I was gobsmacked. My mouth somehow managed to open wider when I bought the game.

The day I got the game, I went around to my friend's house, and we played the game for what must've been about 24 hours, we couldn't stop! There was so much to do as far as missions, side-missions, and just generally causing havoc, that it never got old. For me, it's still the best of the series.

[Fats]

Where was I? Oh yeah..

1993 - Math Rescue - MS-DOS

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/Math_Rescue.png

My Mum and Dad brought Wolfenstein 3-D back for my brother, I got this. Good times. Probably didn't help me with my Math skills what-so-ever. I just wanted to blast the shit out of aliens.

[seahorse]

that game made you the man you are today

[Fillibuster]

2001 - Grand Theft Auto III (PlayStation 2)

http://i20.tinypic.com/incnq0.jpg

The first few GTA games were pretty entertaining, there wasn't really anything like it at the time. But this was when the series made it big. The first GTA on next generation consoles, and the first in 3D. The first time I saw a trailer for this game, I was gobsmacked. My mouth somehow managed to open wider when I bought the game.

The day I got the game, I went around to my friend's house, and we played the game for what must've been about 24 hours, we couldn't stop! There was so much to do as far as missions, side-missions, and just generally causing havoc, that it never got old. For me, it's still the best of the series.

I got into gaming later than most of you here. I had a PS and loved it, and played a shit load of games, but I was never into video games like I am now. That being said, GTA III will probably go down in history as my favorite video game of all time. The hours I spent on this game blows me away, and is probably a far larger number than I would want to admit...

[Kiwi]

2002 - Metroid Fusion (GameBoy Advance)

http://i.testfreaks.es/images/products/600x400/15/metroid-fusion-gba.1516559.jpg

Great Metroid game this one, this is my favourite, after Super Metroid of course :D

In this game, Samus is infected by an X parasite while exploring SR388 with a survey team. Samus passes out while returning to the Biologic Space Labs, and is ejected from the ship, before it hits an asteroid belt. She is recovered by the Galactic Federation, who find out that the parasite has infected Samus' nervous system. They give her a vaccine, which contains a sample of the Metroid. The vaccine cures Samus, but also gives her Metroid-like abilities, like being able to absorb dead X parasites to gain health.

Samus is then sent to the Space Labs to investigate an explosion, and finds that it is infested with creatures infected with the X parasite. These parasites have also managed to use parts of Samus' suit, which were taken to the lab after she was cured, and form a clone of Samus, known as S-AX. S-AX spends much of the game hunting you down, which provides a lot of tension, because S-AX is stronger, and possesses an ice beam, which Samus has become vulnerable to since her mutation.

Wow, I think that's the first post where I've managed to describe the story fairly accurately. Hooray for me :-D

But anyway, the game plays just like Super Metroid on the SNES. You do very similar things, including looking for upgrades for your suit, and fighting bosses along the way. Being hunted by S-AX certainly adds to the game, because there's certain parts where you have to hide, and parts where you have to just run as fast as you can.

Writing this has really made me want to play through this one again. Guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend!

[Applefiend]

When we first came to this land we went on holiday to the Bay of Islands and I used to sit on the bog playing Metroid Fusion until my legs went numb. OK you probably didn't want to know that.


1982 The Games

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

1 - Pacman - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari VCS

Oh boy... Got Pacman fever? Well here's the f***ing cure.

1fQYphOUzvo

It's wrong to say Video Gaming died this year, everyone just went off to their CBM 64s rather than pay 40 bucks for sh** like this. Half the game is missing, it's a flickery nasty mess. When you lay down serious cash for a cartridge you want the definite version.

Has too much wrong with it to list.

2 - Defender - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari VCS

Far worse piece of garbage than Pacman. If you fire your ship disappears and you're invulnerable. i kid you not. Just crap.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Defender_2600_ScreenShot1.gif

3 - Pitfall - Activision Classics - PS1/PS3 - Atari VCS

I have recurring nightmares of being stuck in a caravan in the highlands of scotland with only an Atari VCS to play. But if I was, I'd play this. Hard as hell, but good. The muts nuts.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Pitfall_2600_ScreenShot2.jpg

4 - River Raid - Activision Classics - PS1/PS3 - Atari VCS

Before you had R-Type and Gradius in your home, you had this! Pretty decent shooter. Ice the ships, grab the fuel. Groovy

http://blastmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/river_raid2600.png

5 - Yar's Revenge - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari VCS

Atari wasn't just about guys who smoked dope and then were too bombed to do good arcade conversions, no! Here's a good un. Blast away at the barrier like the end level of Phoenix, then hit the bad guy with your missile. Groovy

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Yars_Revenge_2600_ScreenShot2.jpg

[Kiwi]

2003 - SOCOM II: US Navy Seals (PlayStation 2)

http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/socom2_051203_01_640w.jpg

My first try at online console gaming. To be honest, I hadn't had much experience of online gaming of any form before then, I spent about half an hour on Counterstrike on my friend's PC, and I got my arse kicked. Things were a lot different on this game though. PSINext was still fairly new at that point, and me and one of the joint-owners of the site, Scott, decided we'd start up a little clan. We managed to gather up two or three other people for our team. We ended up being an awesome team, we pretty much wiped the floor with everybody. Although if Scott does ever come back and see this one day, I guess I should admit that he carried the team quite a few times :P

[Applefiend]

1982 Part Deux

6 - Burger Time - Mame - Mac - Arcade

Rather awesome maze game, where you can turn the tables of the dudes chasing you without modes, power pills and the like. Huge hit on Colecovision, the system I don't have but want the most.

http://www.multiarcades.com/images/Burger%20Time.png

7 - Robotron - Mame - Mac - Arcade

Not very easy to play when MacMame won't let you change the button config. The look and sound of arcade perfect, as the HD DVD people used to say.

http://www.ebogjonson.com/mt-static/images/robotron.jpg

8 - Popeye - Mame - Mac - Arcade

Bit crap, really. Characters are very well animated for 1982, but it just plays like a sack of s***.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Popeye_NES_ScreenShot4.gif

9 - Q*Bert - Mame - Mac - Arcade

Pretty cool as it used random crap pushed through a speech synth to make alien speak. In 1982, very cool. Very addictive stuff too. Also first game to feature swearing.

http://old-wizard.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/qbert.jpg

10 - Joust - Mame - Mac - Arcade

Another arcade game that sounds the way an arcade game should.

http://www.ilovethe80s.com/joust.gif

[Applefiend]

1983 The Games

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

1 - Dig Dug - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari VCS

You know people talk about Gears or God of War being violent, but at no point did anyone attach a hose to a dude then pump him full of air until he burst. That's nasty. Good arcade conversion.

http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/opcfg/digdug1.gif

2 - Donkey Kong - Download - Wii - Famicom
Yes in this year the ファミコン came out. That's right, the ファミコン. Thank god for that!

niFxJaXzvTI

Still not arcade perfect, the pie factory is missing and easy as **** but very good. Could play it all day. Here begins the trend of Western gamers getting the sh***y end of the stick, they got this, we got the inferior Colecovision version.

Game involves a man traveling from place to place saving women with his hammer, so the exact opposite of what British lorry drivers do then.

3 - Donkey Kong Jr - Download - Wii - Famicom

Another example of why video games are a bad influence and should be banned. Involves killing crocodiles by dropping fruit on them. That's so wrong. Like the first one better. Also, don't like getting killed by birds sh***ing on you. It's true, second level.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Donkey_Kong_Jr._NES_ScreenShot4.jpg

4 - Pole Position II - Namco Museum Vol 3 - PS3/PS1 - Arcade

All a bit too twitchy for my tastes.

http://media.strategywiki.org/images/2/2e/Pole_Position_II_screen.png

5 - Galaxian - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari VCS

Not Atari's biggest arcade screwup, but missing a lot of what made Galaxians great. Lots if detail missing. At least you don't go invisible when you fire or stuff like that.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Galaxian_2600_ScreenShot2.jpg

6 - BC's Quest for Tires - ROM - Mac - Colecovision

I do have a stack of crappy Atari VCS games from 1983, but sod that. This is a bit like Moon Patrol, hop over the pits and under the trees. Good stuff.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/BCs_Quest_for_Tires_COL_ScreenShot4.gif

7 - Galaxian - ROM - Mac - Colecovision

Awesome, the arcade comes home. Everything that's good about Galaxian intact. Compare to the Atari VCS version above.

A composite modded Colecovision is my most wanted video game system.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Galaxian_COL_ScreenShot2.jpg

8 - Mr Do - ROM - Mac - Colecovision

It's some kind of cross between pacman and Dig Dug, frankly, I don't care that much for it.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Mr._Do!_COL_ScreenShot2.jpg

9 - Wing War - ROM - Mac - Colecovision

One button flaps your wings, another shoots fire. Haven't a freaking clue what's going on. The curse of bad dragon games... Begins?!?!?

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Wing_War_COL_ScreenShot2.gif

10 - Q*Bert - ROM - Mac - Colecovision

It's Q*Bert, it's pretty crisp, all the graphics and sound aren't there from the arcade but all the fun is. Fab.

5GpptJusOjM

[curryking1]

1998 - Starcraft & Starcraft: Brood War

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/93/StarCraft_box_art.jpg/250px-StarCraft_box_art.jpg

Ahh, tis' the pinnacle of RTS gameplay and RTS lore... nothing stands up to the champ! XD

I never truly got into Starcraft, and since 11 years I have gotten not much better at this game save for whatever skills might transfer over from playing the second best RTS compilation ever so much in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and it's expansion The Frozen Throne.

Nevertheless, it's easy to see it's an outstanding game. You are really never safe in a Starcraft match. The pace is frenetic and wild, and the strategy so technical only seasoned veterans can really keep up in a massive game ending battle. It is so vivid and unrelenting in violence but also style. Starcraft is really a game and world that may as well be called RTS perfection.

2003 - SOCOM II: US Navy Seals (PlayStation 2)

http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/socom2_051203_01_640w.jpg

My first try at online console gaming. To be honest, I hadn't had much experience of online gaming of any form before then, I spent about half an hour on Counterstrike on my friend's PC, and I got my arse kicked. Things were a lot different on this game though. PSINext was still fairly new at that point, and me and one of the joint-owners of the site, Scott, decided we'd start up a little clan. We managed to gather up two or three other people for our team. We ended up being an awesome team, we pretty much wiped the floor with everybody. Although if Scott does ever come back and see this one day, I guess I should admit that he carried the team quite a few times :P

^That level is in SOCOM Confrontation.

It's my best level. I get destroyed the least on it :)

[Applefiend]

1984 The Games

Bang through this year incredibly quick as it's actually a seriously crap year for the Arcades/Consoles. This year I'll say farewell to Atari. I do have VCS cartridges up to 1990, but they're so awful, really...

Next years line up is friggin awesome though.

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

1 - Crystal Castles - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari VCS

Oh boy. Didn't take much to carry a game in 1984. In this you avoid the monsters and collect the dots like pacman, only it's in isometric 3D. Whatever magic it once had, long gone.

http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040907/040907_games_atari_hmed11a.hmedium.jpg

2 - Private Eye - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari VCS

Basic platformer. Jump in your car, avoid/collect stuff, then the game mysteriously ends.

http://umthumbs.gametrailers.com/moses/usermoviethumbs/um_221530_3.jpg

Every bit as exciting as it looks in this picture.

3 - Q*Bert - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari VCS

Parker Bros really made some cracking Atari VCS cartridges, here's another one. All the gameplay intact, very decent conversion.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Q_Bert_2600_ScreenShot1.jpg

4 - Roc'n'rope - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari VCS

So you have a lamp that dazes the monsters, and a rope to climb up to the next platform. Errrm... It's passable I guess. Early Konami effort.

fRmSOmoJmIE

On of the rare vcs games to feature in game music. My ears!

5 - Hero - Activision Classics - PS3/PS1 - Atari VCS

For an Atari VCS cart this is huge and expansive, but the gameplay needs tweaking, too much falling into pits you can't see and getting killed by bombs with real short timers.

http://www.wincpc.ch/projects/hero/atariversion50.gif

6 - Snoopy vs the Red Baron - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari VCS

Little dog fighting game, literally!! Hohohoho. Kinda fun for 5 minutes.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Snoopy_and_the_Red_Baron_2600_ScreenShot1.gif

Run out of Atari VCS games! Wooohooo!

7 - 1942 - ROM - Mac - Arcade

Not the first scrolling shooter, but maybe the first good one. Capcom's first classic, many more to come.

http://retromedia.ign.com/retro/image/article/859/859696/from-1942-and-beyond-20080314042000925.jpg

8 - Marble Madness - ROM - Mac - Arcade

First great game Mark Cerny was involved in, an absolute classic. Spawned a million clones on the Sinclair Spectrum. Awesome. I was so, so good at this when I was 15.

http://sohaya.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/marble-madness.png

9 - Tapper - ROM - Mac - Arcade

Simple fun, kind of like the Nintendo game&watch games. Fab.

http://www.ilovethe80s.com/tapper.gif

10 - Antarctic Adventure - ROM - Mac - Colecovision

Apparently you can get this for the NES, have to get that one. More simple fun, you're a penguin racing from station to station. Avoid the pits, collect the fish and the flags. Awesome fun. Made it to New Zealand, yay!

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/coleco/antarctic_adventure.gif

[Applefiend]

Hey, hey, hey, it's 1985, it's time for....

http://www.becks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/nes-console.jpg

Have a confession about NES, I didn't really play a real one until last year. I didn't have one, none of my friends had one, that was the way it was in the UK. We used to laugh at the NES, I saw one in Dixons and couldn't believe how bad it was. I just took one look at the scrolling on Super Mario Bros 2 and went "yuck". We all had our Amigas with 6800s, 4096 colours onscreen, hardware blitters, and of course ermmm.... Free games. We were only 15, we pirated everything in sight. You'd copy a game, play it for 5 minutes then throw it away.

Here was this white console that rich american kids bought, it was only 8 bit, the games looked really low res, had small sprites, and far fewer colours onscreen than our precious Amigas. We had games with multiple layers of super smooth parallax scrolling, multiple tracks of digitised sound effects, what did NES have?

So I never played NES at the time. Never played Metroid, Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, Zelda, Bionic Commando, Castlevania, Mega Man, you name it. So here's the lesson:

1 - Stop pirating everything in sight young fella, quantity != quality.
2 - It's the depth, originality and playability that matters, not the resolution or whatever. A classic is a classic no matter where it comes from.
3 - Also cheaper != better. It's better to have one NES classic than a dozen Amiga shovelware games.
4 - Good games deserve to be played and finished.

Just nobody in the UK was into NES. If you were mr cool import you might be into MSX 128KB cartridges or something like that. I discovered NES years later through emulators. NES was about the simplest console you could emulate, and by around 1996 lots of people like me discovered timeless these games were.

So we have a real US NES, we've broken the fourth pin from the top off the lockout chip, we've replaced the 72 pin connector. Let's place some damn NES!

[Applefiend]

1985

Managed to delete part 1, that was dim. :)

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

1 - Super Mario Bros - Cartridge - NES - NES

If you really want to enjoy this game, play nothing but a load of Atari VCS games for a couple of weeks. At first, the Nintendo demon will try to deceive you. It doesn't seem that advanced over the Colecovision that came before it, but it's a giant upgrade over the Atari VCS and Intellivision. Has one trick over the Colecovision and that's multicoloured sprites.

The game itself is sublime, it's a gaming 101 of how to make an addictive game, most games you put out 60 bucks for aren't half as addictive as this. Pure genius.

http://forevergeek.com/images/super-mario-bros.e_00.png

Then there was....

hang on, sega master system
Ice climber
kung fu
and pinball.

[Applefiend]

1985 Part 2

Really spoiled with these old systems. Pick a cartridge out my cabinet, slide it into the NES, flick the on switch boom you're into the game. No startup sequence, no loading times, no updates to apply, to preloading onto the HDD. And when the game starts, right into the action. No customising your character or hours of introduction movies or any of that crap.

Boom! Freaking cool.

Because what do you call a machine that's full of updates, loading times, installing onto HDD and the rest of that crap? We call it a PC.

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

6 - Star Force - Cartridge - NES - NES

Came out in 1985 on the Famicom, so we're allowed to play it, hurrah! Vertically scrolling shoot em up, really pretty simple, not much in the way of power ups or fancy bullet patterns, but the best console shooter I've played in this round of unbroken chain.

You got one power up which gives you rapid fire.

qNH8u_bjxQY

7 - Galaga - Download - Wii - NES

Very fine conversion, for all purposes it is the arcade game. Out this year for Famicom, took about 3 years to hit NES, once again the Japanese get the best of everything gaming.

I have Galaga for the Atari 7800, and it's a f***ing mess man.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/nes/galaga.gif

8 - Excitebike - Download - Wii - NES

Every bit a killer an app as Super Mario Bros I think. First of all, built in track editor, so this is Little Big Planet for 1985. Game itself is all about landing jumps, which makes it SSX or Cool Boarders for 1985. Awesome.

http://media.arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.media/Excitebike.png

9 - Commando - Capcom Generations 4 - Sega Saturn - Arcade

Nice, nice. Has the unmistakable sound of the early Capcom games. It kind of reminds me of Killzone 2 weirdly enough, as you really got to fight for every inch of territory. Huge freaking classic, Capcom are on a roll now.

http://www.ilovethe80s.com/commando_screen.gif

10 - Bomberman - Cartridge - NES - NES

This game doesn't really come into it's own until the 4 player versions on Saturn and beyond, but the core gameplay is here.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Bomberman_NES_ScreenShot3.gif

[goodfangji]

wtf....trippy.
is he standing on the line of the lane that is floating?.....or how the hell what....woah.

[goodfangji]

Actually playing this on Wii VC. That counts.

[Applefiend]

It does.

Lorks alordy, it's...

1986

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

1 - Balloon Fight - Cartridge - NES - NES

Love me some of that balloon fight. It's Joust on steriods, bigger, better and more fun. Two player game is mad fun. Been one of my favorite NES games for a long time.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Balloon_Fight_NES_ScreenShot4.jpg

2 - Gradius - Download - Wii - NES

Here's a proper shooter! Right in your home too. Shoot stuff and power up, all the power ups are well thought out too. We'll be seeing much more of gradius as the years roll by. If there's one thing I like it's shooters with peppy toons. Best shooter played so far of course.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cywg7wzfIBs/RnFMDNoelFI/AAAAAAAAAgE/-Pp6thgC-Wc/s320/Gradius_NES_ScreenShot1.jpg

3 - Ghosts and Goblins - Download - Wii - NES

Much like Balloon Fight messed up Joust for me Super Ghouls and Ghosts on SNES messed up this for me. Also the Master System version is way better. Don't know if the NES cart has crap scrolling but this does on VC. Sprites don't quite seem to gel to the background. Bit crap really, there are much better versions. If you want a top Ghosts'n'Goblins/Ghouls'n'Ghosts experiance, look elsewhere.

http://www.dabbledoo.com/ee/images/uploads/gamertell/ghosts_n_goblins_nes.jpg

4 - Fantasy Zone - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Mark III/SMS

It's Fantasy Zone, it's fun as hell. It's the 80s, everything is supposed to be brightly coloured. I've got this on Wii VC and the scrolling is sh**, on the original cart, smooth as silk. Game is awesome, shoot the alien generators, collect coins, power up at the shops. Got tons of levels, it rawks!

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Fantasy_Zone_SMS_ScreenShot3.gif

5 - Secret Command - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Mark III/SMS

Instead of paying Capcom money to port Commando to the Sega Master System, they cloned it. Results aren't that good, it's a bit slow compared to the Arcade game and not as much fun. More a historical curiosity than a classic game.

http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/6/7/2/7/4/1/a_med_SecretCommandSMS.jpg.jpg

6 - Transbot - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Mark III/SMS

It's Transbot! It has 2 or 3 layers of parallax unlike Gradius on NES, but that's about all it's got going for it. About 6 different weapons but none of them are that great, enemies that are rip offs of star wars items. It's got an ATAT Walker in it, seriously. It's a bit crap really. First effort, SMS shooters do get better.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ajKN2VzZ_kw/R-pp_Lh2VjI/AAAAAAAAARE/jxExMRoQkTI/s400/Transbot3.gif

7 - Super Tennis - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Mark III/SMS

I seriously cannot hit the bloody ball, and I was trying for half an hour, every time I did it was a foul. Me no likie.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/master/super_tennis.gif

8 - Arkanoid - Mame - Mac - Arcade

I've paid a mortgage ripping off the ideas in this game. Fab. Could write a book about the history of this game, and how it evolved on the Amiga and Sinclair Spectrum.. In a nutshell it's breakout with powerups. It's hard as hell, a lot of these Arkanoid clones are pussy.

http://www.n-philes.com/m/features/miacp/arkanoid1.png

9 - Outrun - Mame - Mac - Arcade

Sega took the sprite scaling tech they used in Space Harrier and really went to town and built this classic arcade racer. Fast and fun, this game really set the Sega look. It's always sunny in Sega world, there are always palm trees. Serious classic.

http://www.flippers.be/images/arcade/outrun.jpg

10 - Ikari Warriors - Mame - Mac - Arcade

Famously dicked up on the NES, the arcade version is great fun. Full of power ups and vehicles and fun fun fun. Nice. Early SNK classic.

http://jetztimg.sueddeutsche.de/upl/images/user/al/alfredbusenfreund/703936.jpg

[Applefiend]

Bumper edition, I have many games from 1987 I'm keen to play

1987

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

1 - Galaga - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari 7800

You know the story. Atari brought out the VCS in 1976 which was a classic. Brought out the 5200 around 1982 which as the avgn would say was a piece of dog ****. Then worked on the "fixed up" 5200, the Atari 7800. Full bc with the Atari VCS and hawt new 8 bit games. Then the Tramiels took over Atari and the 7800 got shelved.

Then the NES was a success, so Atari released their warehouse full of dubious consoles and cartridges to cash in.

Anyway it's Galaga, it total crap compared to the Arcade, Colecovision and NES versions. No challenge at all.

http://www.8bitrocket.com/atari/galaga7800.jpg

2 - Ms Pacman - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari 7800

Actually a totally cracking conversion of Ms Pacman, has everything you'd want. The mazes, the cutscenes, everything.

But heeeelllllooo, it's 1987....

My copy, mint still in mint cardboard box. Stick your nose in and smell the 80s.... Ahhh...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3572/3350321673_3e9cc8ba4b.jpg

3 - Donkey Kong Jr - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari 7800

Painful sound and low res graphics, but it's playable. If your NES is in the shop and you can't play the vastly superior version on that system. Has faulty collision detection though. Got killed by bird **** that landed near me, not on me. That's so unfair...

Think I'm actually a year early on this one, but since Atari are 6 years late on this game it evens out.

http://members.tcq.net/video61/images/7800/gamepics/dkjr.jpg

4 - Choplifter - Cartridge - Atari 7800 - Atari 7800

Love me some Choplifter on the Sega Master System. The game actually started on Atari systems, and here it is. The Sega version is vastly superior, but if you want to see where it all started, here it is.

Check the graphics on this one:

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/7800/choplifter.png
Oh boy...

5 - Rad Racer - Cartridge - NES - NES

Sega had OutRun, what did Nintendo have. Bloody Rad Racer, that's what! Yeah, I'm an OutRun man, this does nothing for me. On the subject of which...

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Rad_Racer_NES_ScreenShot2.jpg

6 - OutRun - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Mark III / SMS

Rad Racer getting stomped on from a high height. Sheer quality conversion, and another mint copy. Go on, smell this cartridge. Smells like single jewelled gloves, Reagan's hair die, yuppie rolexes and OutRun!

Don't want to sniff my cartridge? OK. Well anyway Rad Racer sucks, OutRun rules. So there. What you got there in Rad Racer? A Honda Civic? Need a Ferrari Testarossa convertable with a blonde by your side. Ain't no blonde getting into your Honda son.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Outrun_SMS_ScreenShot3.jpg

7 - Alpha Mission - Cartridge - NES - NES

An OK shooter. Bit fugly mate, but it has some decent power ups. Will make your eyes sore from Moire patterns floating up your screen though. Played worse. Bit like Xevious.

http://www.flyingomelette.com/reviews/nes/screens/alphacuttlefish.gif

8 - Section Z - Cartridge - NES - NES

Fab bit of 8 bit fun from Capcom. A and B shoot left and right, lot of incentive to keep playing this one. Great 8 bit music too. Great stuff.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Section_Z_NES_ScreenShot3.gif

[Applefiend]

1987 Part Two

Seriously cracking year for games, apart from of course, bloody Atari. Shame to only play ten.

9 - After Burner - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Mark III

4 Mega cartridge! Feel the mega power! Sega started making a great deal about how many Megabits their cartridges were. So your Atari VCS games were usually 4K to 8K. Sega Master System carts were 128K, one megabit(technically a megabit is 125K, but rom chips don't come in weird sizes like that). After Burner was a whooping 4 Megabits, that's 512K. That's freaking huge.

Sega built paging chips into their rom carts as their 8 bit processors could only handle 64K at a time.

Game itself is one Yu Suzuki's first effort. Amazing bit of work, screen filled with detail and big sprites when most 8 bit games of this type could just have the ground represented by a solid block.

Still has the price on it, $89.95NZD, that's about 60 US bucks.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/After_Burner_SMS_ScreenShot3.jpg

10 - Wonder Boy - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Mark III

Fab. Side scrolling platformer with Wonderboy and his missus. Came out on NES as Adventure Island. Controls are a bit quirky, jump, fire and both to high jump. Worth spending a lot of time on as it's pretty rewarding.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Wonder_Boy_SMS_ScreenShot4.gif

11 - Ghostbusters - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Mark III

I thought this was awesome when I was 17. It isn't. Been on an avgn, the SMS version is the best version of this crappy game.

AVGN has way more patience than me, 25 minutes was my limit on this. Just leave it running, go marshmallow dude! destroy the city.

Made by David Crane, he of Pitfall fame. Can't win em all. If the internet was around in full force when this came out, nobheads would spend weeks arguing about which version was best, missing the point. The game sucks dudes. Doesn't matter.

TLVGmvmNitg

12 - Trojan - Cartridge - NES - NES

Definately better than the last one. Side scrolling beat em up from Capcom. Really nice actually, first I ever heard of it. It's like Streets of Rage only with a sword and shield.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Trojan_NES_ScreenShot3.jpg

13 - Legend of Zelda - Cartridge - NES - NES

When you slip a solid gold cartridge into your NES, you get a feeling it's something epic. Then you watch this advert and change your mind.

MmFinopAcE4

Good grief the battery seems to still work on this one. Another major classic. Said to be inspired by Siggies walks in the forest, what the hell kind of f***ed up forest did this guy live in? :)

14 - Volleyball - Cartridge - NES - NES

Haven't a freaking clue what's going on.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/nes/volleyball.jpg

15 - Metroid - Download - Wii - NES

This is what's good about playing old games these days, too lazy to write down a password you just take a camera phone picture of the screen. :) It's Metroid and it's fab. Like the 2D ones much more than the 3D ones.

http://www.entremaqueros.com/bitacoras/urian/wp-content/img/2009/06/metroid_nes.jpg

16 - Punch Out - Download - Wii - NES

Rather play this than Fight Night Round 4. So much charm, so much incentive to keep playing and master it. Groovy

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/nes/punch-out!!.gif

17 - Alien Syndrome - Cartridge - JVC Wondermega - Sega Mark III/SMS

Used to love this game when I was a young sprat. Rescue the hostages, avoid the aliens. Once you have avoided them you fight a turd monster. Seriously. Giant turd.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/aliensyndrome/alien-sms4.png

Could quite happily play nothing but 1987 games for the next couple of months. Some good gear there. But suppose I'll have to move onto 1988.

[Applefiend]

No friggin' Atari this year! Hurrah. No idea why there are Atari fans in the world prattling on about the good old days, really.

1988

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

1 - Blaster Master - Cartridge - NES - NES

Very nice NES game, with side on and overhead sections. Lots of sequels to this game but this was the original and best.

http://pressthebuttons.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/blastermaster.png

2 - Bionic Commando - Cartridge - NES - NES

Real thinking man's shooter this. Think it's right what they say about consoles hitting their stride after 3 years, peaking after 5 and then fizzling out. Awesome up to date version made by the late GRIN, Rest in peace.

http://www.timike.com/HOB/VideoGames/bionic.jpg

3 - Lifeforce - Download - Wii - NES

It's a f*cker this game, hard as hell, but possibly the best shooter on NES. Sideways and overhead sections, really nice.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/nes/lifeforce.jpg

4 - Xevious - Cartridge - NES - NES

By the time this came out on the NES in the US it was already pretty out of date. Still plays OK though. Kind of the handing off the baton from Namco to Konami/Capcom as far as shooters go though. Young minds, fresh ideas.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Xevious_NES_ScreenShot4.gif

[Applefiend]

5 - Super Mario Bros 2 - Download - Wii - NES

Least favorite of the Mario games, I have to say. Something about it not quite right. Later on I found out what was not quite right, it's actually an imposter. There's a real Super Mario Bros 2 that never made it to the US as Nintendo thought it would be too hard for western gamers and make them cry. So what we have here is Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic with a lick of paint.

It's actually a good game, but Mario isn't supposed to be a freaking gardener pulling up root vegetables damnit! He's a plumber.

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/images/thumb/4/47/Super-mario-bros-2-nes-potion.jpg/280px-Super-mario-bros-2-nes-potion.jpg

6 - RoboWarrior - Cartridge - NES - NES

Like this better than the last one. Veggie throwing plumbers indeed. It's kind of a cross between Bomberman and an overhead shooter. Real nice pumping 8 bit NES music. Love to find some time to play this to the end, but alas we can only sample it's delights for 30 minutes or so.

Xqoz30by51w

7 - Rastan - Cartridge - JVC Wondermega - Sega Mark III/SMS

Bought this one a couple of years ago for 4 dollars or something, never played it. The previous owner has had this in the garage since he was a kid I think and it has all the level passwords scrawled in the inside in 12 year old's scrawl. Ahhh....

Don't get that with emulators do you?

It's kind of a Conan the Barbarian platformer, pretty good fun. You get swords that shoot stuff.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Rastan_SMS_ScreenShot4.gif

8 - Double Dragon - Cartridge - JVC Wondermega - Sega Mark III/SMS

There's another one on SMS like this called Vigilante but I don't have that. Very early side scrolling beat em up. Dead genre, that's why we have retro. Great Sega Master System sound. Like NES SMS had it's own characteristic sound. Reprogrammed by Sega, and a pretty decent job.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Double_Dragon_SMS_ScreenShot3.gif

9 - R Type - Cartridge - JVC Wondermega - Sega Mark III/SMS

Lifeforce and R Type in the same year. Nice. A bit flickery and with a bit of slowdown but so righteous for 1988. Has all those cliques in shooters like the giant ship. Just like Double Dragon reprogrammed by Sega.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/R-Type_SMS_ScreenShot3.gif

And finally...

10 - Megaman 2 - Megaman Anniversary - PS3/PS2 - NES

Fab. Definition of hardcore gaming, easy to pick up, just jump and shoot, takes skill and patience to master. Lots of levels, some medium, some a total bastard to master, keep you playing for ages. Game of the year for me I think.

Look at this big boss, and they said you didn't get big bosses that took up the whole screen until 16 bit, pish tosh I say!

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Mega_Man_2_NES_ScreenShot2.jpg

Lots of other cracking games this year like Contra, Bubble Bobble, Metal Gear, Rampage, Zelda 2. Real classic year for gaming I think.

[Applefiend]

1988, totally cracking year for games, now it's 1989, how can they ever beat a year like that? I'll tell ya how...

http://www.edge-online.com/files/mega_drive.jpg

Next gen gaming son. 16 bits of power.

Looks pretty sexy huh? Sadly by 1994 it'll end up looking like this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Mega_Drive_(Asia)_%2B_Sega_CD_(US_NTSC)_%2B_32X.jp g

Oh boy...

1989

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

1 - Ghouls'n'Ghosts - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Mark III/SMS

So you've been looking that these games in the arcade, you want it for the home. You've played Ghosts and Goblins on your NES, and if the Wii VC version is anything to go by you've got a nasty poorly programmed mess with crap scrolling. So here comes the Sega Master System representation of the series, is it any good?

Errm.. No. It plays like it's in slow motion! If you're a fan of the series you'd want to play this out of curiosity, as it's very very different to the version that most of us know. Rest of us? Straight to the SNES version.

I think I actually prefer the NES version, it may look a mess, but it's nice and fast.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Ghouls_n_Ghosts_SMS_ScreenShot4.gif

2 - Golden Axe - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Mark III/SMS

More Envy. You've seen this in the arcade, you can't afford to import the hot new Megadrive from Japan, how you gonna play this at home? Gonna play it on your Master System, that's what. Actually plays really nice and fast with big sprites. Very decent conversion. Scrolling is crap, but you can't have everything.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Golden_Axe_SMS_ScreenShot4.jpg

3 - Marble Madness - Cartridge - NES - NES

It's kind of a weird business in Japan and the US where people have this huge nostalgia for NES, but not for Super Nintendo or Megadrive. Anyway here's Marble Madness, I don't think it's very suited to the NES pad, I'd get yourself a fancy mini joystick to play this. Seems to have mostly survived in tact.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Marble_Madness_NES_ScreenShot3.jpg

4 - Solstice - Cartridge - NES - NES

There used to be a huge craze in the UK for isometric games. Basically 3Dish games made out of sprites. Usually made by Ultimate Play the game. Very rare on console, but here's one. The sinclair spectrum ones were in monochrome, there's a bit of colour in this. Very good stuff, should keep you puzzled for weeks.

http://www.gamesparty.nl/website/images/nes_solstice.gif

5 - Friday the 13th - Cartridge - NES - NES

Here comes the shovelware. It's crap, but playing crap games can be kind of relaxing. Just sitting there holding down left or right hitting the b button. Has 3D Dungeon bits, which was considered dead clever back then.

Game over, thank god for that.

http://lastdojo.blogsome.com/images/Friday_the_13th_NES_ScreenShot2.jpg

5 - Air Fortress - Cartridge - NES - NES

So you start playing and think "This is a bit of a crap shooter, Lifeforce or RType is much better", but that's just a preample to going on foot and blowing up space ship cores in a platform section. It's quite good this. Not very good,it's no Metroid but kinda fun. Really grows on you. I'll go back to this and finish it I think. Hal Labs no less.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Air_Fortress_NES_ScreenShot3.jpg

6 - Adventures of Dino Riki - Cartridge - NES - NES

Rather good really. It's an overhead shooter with sections you jump over and wacky weapons. Great fun.

That's enough 8 bit for 1989. Through keen observation I've discovered how to tell if an 8 bit game is bad. If it doesn't have "Made in Japan" on it, it probably sucks.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Adventures_of_Dino_Riki_NES_ScreenShot3.jpg

[Applefiend]

http://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/1989/genesis/

Makes everything easier. :D

7 - Super Hang On - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Megadrive

Coming off a 6 in 1 cartridge. Wish Sony would do 6 in 1 Blu Rays for PS3. We're next gen baby, but it's not a million miles away from Hang On on Sega Master System. Main draw is original mode, where you can buy parts for your bike.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Super_Hang_On_GEN_ScreenShot2.jpg

8 - Super Thunder Blade - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Megadrive

Everything in the late 80s, early 90s must be Super. It's one of those Space Harrier style into the screen jobs. Shows off a little of the power of your brand new megadrive, but not a million miles away from Space Harrier on Master System.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Super_Thunder_Blade_GEN_ScreenShot2.jpg

9 - Altered Beast - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Megadrive

I have the original cartridge, how sad is that. You're a he man who spends his days walking slowly left to right kicking people in the knee. Every so often you get to be a beast.

Main draw is all the cheesy digitized voices, awwwise from your gwave, welcome to your doom, power up, that sort of thing. People take the piss out of it, but it's better than Double Dragon which only gets love. Was a pack in for ages before the days of Sonic.

http://technabob.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/sega_7_1.jpg

10 - Revenge of Shinobi - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Sega Megadrive

There's always the one good game that you use to justify the expense of importing a console, this is it. Really great playing Ninja game. Shinobi doesn't walk left to right kicking people in the knee, no sir. Great stuff. Should have been a pack in rather than bloody Altered Beast.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/gen/revenge_of_shinobi.gif

[Applefiend]

More of 1989 to come, as soon as I figure out how to plug in this monster and when these games were made. 1989-1991 I think.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/9210/img0096blg.jpg

Look at the size of this monster compared to an iPod Touch. Lordy.

[Applefiend]

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj139/mymediaguyver/PC_Engine.jpg

It's the PC Engine, and it owns j00.

Great little machine. 8 Bit processor with 16 bit graphics. Packed to the rafters with kick ass shooters and hardcore gaming fun. Comes out a little bit less powerful than a Sega Megadrive, but who cares. For all intents and purposes this is 16 bit gaming in lush stereo.

Did the CD add on thing like Megadrive but with way better CD games. And as soon as I get the 300 bucks people are charging for minty Turbo Duos one will be mine.

11 - Galaga 90 - Download - Wii - PC Engine

Really nice remixing of Galaga. Which considering all the crappy Galaga conversions I've played is hella welcome. Do well and the screen fills with fire works as you play. This game is so nice. Sounds great, looks great but still looks early 80s. Fab.

http://www.blogcdn.com/nintendo.joystiq.com/media/2007/08/galaga90_vc_eu.png

[Applefiend]

Bugger, can't get my PC Engine GT to work and I'm bored. I'll have to do this again in a couple of years with a PC Engine Duo. So I say it's....

1990

Every year just gets better and better, not a single bad year ever. What we got this year? I'll tell ya what we got.

http://www.axess.com/twilight/console/detail/sfc3.jpg

Sadly I have the US version with weird purple bits. Best console ever? Could be.

Gonna play the hell out of 1990 then take a break for 3 weeks I think. Give my bloody fingers a rest!

1 - Bonk's Adventure - Download - Wii - PC Engine

There's certainly something missing from modern gaming, and that's nutty japanese games. Here's one. What makes this different from other platformers is Bonk goes around nutting dudes in with his head. Really nice cartoon graphics, huge bosses, it's great. Another one I'll have to go back and play properly.

That's a door below, you nut him and he sticks his tongue out. Funee.
http://pressthebuttons.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/09/22/bonk01.jpg

2 - Bug's Bunny Birthday Blowout - Cartridge - NES - NES
The zero punctuation fella seems to be popular around here. Me, I never went for the "I'm a jaded Anglo Aussie and everything sucks because I'm so clever" schtick. Playing old shitty games for fun is better.

Doesn't mean he's right about everything. Shocking to see how he had the Nintendo tinted glasses on when he thought Cybermorph on Jaguar with 10x the polys and guarand shading was as good looking as that bloody Star Fox on SNES.

Mediocre un play tested platformer for slow kids. Way, way better than Friday the 13th, Ghostbusters, or the crappy Atari Arcade conversions or any other of the serious trash games. Played way way worse, at least it's vaguely a game.

M1tU61Nyv1w

3 - Solar Jetman - Cartridge - NES - NES

Let's talk some holy trilogies in gaming, where each game in the series is better and different from the last. Not many of those. Here's one. JetPac, Lunar Jetman, and Solar Jetman. 1990 game by Rare, so yeah, it will involve collecting stuff. Similar to a game which came after, Subterrania on Megadrive. For me Subterrania is the better game but this is excellent too.

http://games.multimedia.cx/wp-content/uploads/solar-jetman-towing.png

4 - Gradius III - Cartridge - SNES - SNES

Not a great deal going on for the Super Famicom launch, ActRaiser which is awesome but I don't have it, Final Fight, the SNES version is very overrated, and this. More next gen, oh yeah. Can't go wrong with a bit of Gradius.

It's a launch quality game so there's a bit a slowdown and you can see the joins, but very nice. Actually prefer this to the PS2 version of Gradius III I have.

I could seriously sit up all night playing this, addictive as hell. Slowdown is really shocking on the bubble level though. When I lost my fully powered up ship with 4 options... I nearly cried.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/gradius/grad3snes-2.png

5 - F Zero - Cartridge - SNES - SNES

And of course, this. Here's another one I could sit up all night playing. Actraiser, Gradius II and F Zero, that's one kick ass launch right there.

Played a lot of racers in this Unbroken Chain, I think this is the first one I'd still want to play today. OutRun on a Sega Master System is all very well for an hour, but this has what it takes to keep you playing for weeks. Incredible. I actually prefer this to the sequels on N64 etc. I think with the sequels they substitute speed for playability. If you ask me, which you didn't. :)

And nothing like playing it on a real Super Nintendo on a decent sound system.

Always been a Super Nintendo man instead of a Megadrive man. This is a real kick in the pants to Megadrive. It's got awesome clear sound via it's sound chip from Sony, Mode 7 which would give Megadrive a hernia, and those shoulder buttons for gliding round the corners. If you compare your modern Dual Shock 3 to a SNES pad there's a lot of similarities. Nintendo had it all figured out back then.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/F-Zero_SNES_ScreenShot3.gif

[Applefiend]

6 - Arrow Flash - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Cartridge

It's pretty nice. Good anime intro, pumping music, fancy graphics effects, but a little boring with lame bosses. Good though.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/gen/arrow_flash.gif

7 - Dragon Spirit - Cartridge - NES - NES

Could it be? I think it is. It's the mythical good Dragon game. Very nice shooter. Have this on PC Engine too, imagine that version is better.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/t16/dragon_spirit.gif

Actually it's way better on PC Engine, look at this. Damn I need 200 bucks for a PC Engine Duo.

1clesBUXrDc
I'm sitting in a dingy room full of games just like that guy. :D

8 - Startropics - Cartridge - NES - NES

Very very nice, another one I'll have to come back to. Totally mint gameplay, puzzles and fun and general groovyness.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Star_Tropics_NES_ScreenShot2.jpg

[Applefiend]

Hey I got the bloody thing working, time for...

PC Engine games, 1987 to 1990

First check out this little beauty, the Rolls Royce of portable systems, for me the best portable system out there until the Gameboy Advance SP in 2003.

http://www.dei.isep.ipp.pt/~i000313/trabalhos/2006-2007-tmul-teorico/ficheiros_imagens/image237.jpg

Released in 1990, only one year after the original Gameboy, it totally blew it away. It played no compromise 16 Bit games on a backlit screen you could actually friggin' see. Blew away the Gameboy, Gameboy Colour and GameGear in terms of graphic quality. One great innovation was rapid fire buttons right on the console.

The PC Engine games came on these things called Hu Cards, the games were already light and portable, so a new cartridge size for a handheld wasn't required. So you play your game on the PC Engine on the big screen, pull the card out, go right on playing it on the bus to work on your PC Engine GT.

Two drawbacks. First was battery life, it took 6 AAs which it drained in an hour, so it's better to play it on it's AC Adaptor, second issue was it was an expensive machine. But you gotta pay for quality.

1 - The Kung Fu - HuCard - PC Engine GT - PC Engine

The appeal of this game in 1987 was the giant character size. Now it's lost most of it's appeal, it's pretty bad.

Just walk left to right ducking, jumping and kicking people. Kung Fu on NES is the same kind of thing but plays better.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ATQjWW6sPtg/0.jpg

2 - Pro Tennis - HuCard - PC Engine GT - PC Engine

Namco Tennis game, I can manage to hit the bloody ball in this one. Hurrah. Plays pretty well.

http://magweasel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/World-Court-Tennis-J-008.png

3 - Dragon Spirit - HuCard - PC Engine GT - PC Engine

Makes the NES version look pretty poor. Terrific shooter. Two buttons, one the ground, one for air fire. Your dragon gets powered up with extra heads and fire modes. Great shooter, definitive version.

Compare and contrast. PC Engine vs NES

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PC Engine

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NES

4 - Final Blaster - HuCard - PC Engine GT - PC Engine

Very nice shooter. Bit on the easy side.

http://www.pcengine.co.uk/Images-Screenshots_A-K/Final_Blaster_04.gif

5 - Final Soldier - HuCard - PC Engine GT - PC Engine

Another very nice shooter. Lots of weapons choices like homing missiles and options.

http://www.pcengine.co.uk/Images-Screenshots_A-K/Final_Soldier_02.gif

6 - Blodia - HuCard - PC Engine GT - PC Engine

Hard as nails puzzle game, rather like super pipeline only much harder.

http://www.pcengine.co.uk/Images-Screenshots_A-K/Blodia_02.gif

7 - F1 Pilot - HuCard - PC Engine GT - PC Engine

Mediocre racer. Best thing going for it is wing mirrors.

http://www.pcengine.co.uk/Images-Screenshots_A-K/F1_Pilot_06.gif

8 - Jaseikin Necromancer - HuCard - PC Engine GT - PC Engine

jRPG, my lack of Japanese scuppered me but seems like a quality game.

http://www.pcengine.co.uk/Images-Screenshots_A-K/Jaseikin_Necromancer_02.gif

9 - Out Live - HuCard - PC Engine GT - PC Engine
Mech based dungeon crawler. Play it if I could!

http://www.pcengine.co.uk/Images-Screenshots_L-R/Out_Live_02.gif

[Applefiend]

9 - Wrath of the Black Manta - Cartridge - NES - NES

Shameless Ninja Gaiden rip off you say? I'll buy that for 2 dollars.

Pretty nice. Too lazy to get into it at the moment but clearly decent Taito Ninja game. Game starts with a long intro on the telephone. Are Ninjas listed in the phone book?

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Wrath_of_the_Black_Manta_NES_ScreenShot3.gif

10 - Double Dragon II - Cartridge - NES - NES

It's bloody worse than the last one. Who's bright idea was it to switch punch and kick when you turn around? Bloody awful.

Low long until I can play Streets of Rage?

http://www.gooddealgames.com/articles/Double%20Dragon/Double%20Dragon%202.gif

One more? Might as well

11 - Super Mario 3 - Cartridge - NES - NES

In a world full of Super Fami thing and Megawotsit, the 8 bit NES has the game of the year. Talent always is more important than hardware. My cartridge is a PAL version so plays with speeded up music, giving you the impression you need to be quaffing more speed than a japanese pop idol to play it.

Awesome.

http://www.christopherchandler.net/old/images/videogamereviews/SuperMario3firstlevel.gif

[Applefiend]

1991

Nice, nice year for gaming. Nintendo and Sega in full force after your dollars.

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

1 - Streets of Rage - Mega Drive Ultimate Collection - PS3 - Megadrive

It's 16 bit, what do 16 bit consoles do that 8 bit ones don't? Play good fighters, that's what. 1 on 1 and side scrolling. Plays so much better than Double Dragon words fail me.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Streets_of_Rage_GEN_ScreenShot4.jpg

2 - Sonic the Hedgehog - Mega Drive Ultimate Collection - PS3 - Megadrive

Yes folks, there was a time Sonic was considered pretty hardcore instead of just third rate family fun shite. Hard to believe.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/MD_Sonic_the_Hedgehog.png

3 - Golden Axe II - Mega Drive Ultimate Collection - PS3 - Megadrive
Can't have too many shooters or side scrolling fighters. Nice and fast, lots of fun. I imagine quite short. If you want to make it more fun say "By the power of greyskull" when you use your magic.

http://www.vgfreak.com/images/screens/ga-1.gif

4 - Road Rash - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

What's so great about Road Rash?

1 - Bikes
2 - You can punch people in their stupid faces
3 - The guy pumps his fists and goes yeah yeah at the end

We were easily pleased back then.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Road_Rash_GEN_ScreenShot4.gif

5 - Gynoug - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

Fantasy shooter. Love the bosses in this, stone turtles and man faced steam trains. Not as scary as Thomas the Tank Engine though. Very nice.

http://www.planetemu.net/php/articles/files/Image/shenron/gynoug/gynoug_boss.gif

[Applefiend]

Tomorrow we shall play these

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/7955/img0221yqb.jpg

But not now, my bloody thumb hurts. Ow...

If you want to guess amongst yourselves which 5 SNES games I'll be playing, feel free...

[Applefiend]

Let's get this straight, if you want to play video games that are a challenge and have awesome 2D hand drawn artwork, 1991 is a pretty good place to start. The games are getting seriously good looking now. 1991-1997 is the golden age of 2D gaming, not the Atari years or the NES years. There's very few people who acknowledge that. Don't be one.

6 - Super Ghouls and Ghosts - Cartridge - SNES - SNES

Ghosts and Goblins, Ghouls and Ghosts. Great games but you've never had a good home conversion. You've had good gameplay with crappy graphics on the NES, and that slow poke on the Sega Master System. Here comes Super Ghouls and Ghosts. Actually better than the arcade! In 1991, worth buying SNES just to play this one game. Probably take you weeks to complete this game. Awesome.

It's the definition of great old school gaming. Play this on your first go and get wiped out, then you'l get a little but further, then a little bit more, eventually you will finish because you've mastered the game. New school gaming is walking from A to B on your map then hitting a button.

http://www.coolrom.com/screenshots/snes/Super%20Ghouls%20%27N%20Ghosts%20(2).gif

7 - Super Mario World - Cartridge - SNES - SNES

Why do we like the SNES so much? I think because it's one of the few consoles, if not the only console, that hit the ground running. 1991 was the year SNES hit the US, and you got a year of killer games from day one. With other consoles, they give you one decent game and then nothing for 6 months. ActRaiser or Super Ghouls'n'Ghosts would have been enough for a launch. Completely different to Megadrive which kind of limped out with Altered Beast. Wow.

Still rare these days. "Here's your PS3 with Resistance, there will be bugger all until Uncharted so enjoy this".

So here's Super Mario World, play this and try and work out if it's better than Super Mario 3. Game rewards players of all skill levels, beautiful design, fantastic.

http://selectstartgames.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/super_mario_world_snes_screenshot21.jpg

8 - Super Castlevania IV - Cartridge - SNES - SNES

Everything on SNES must be super, everything on Megadrive must be Mega. This is clearly Super. I think there was some discussion of in that Wii forum I try to stay out of that you shouldn't expect a console to be great in it's first year, or it's second year, or it's third year. Bollocks mate. You got your Mario, your Ghouls, your F Zero, your Gradius III, your Super RType, here's another awesome game.

Music is great in this too.

http://girlsofwar.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/1_d_castlevania.png

9 - UN Squardon - Cartridge - SNES - SNES

And another great SNES game in it's first US year. Very decent shooter with planes and gun turrets, you can buy items to funk up your plane. Great.

http://www.eightecs.com/infinitegamemusic/images/un_squadron.gif

10 - Populous - Cartridge - SNES - SNES

Hang on, it says "Aklame presents", this can't be any good. It's not from Japan, don't know about this. What do I have to do here, flatten out bits of land so little men can make houses? Can't be good this...

Absolute classic. Wish PM made games as original as this now.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Populous_SNES_ScreenShot4.gif

[Applefiend]

I'm missing some very major games (zelda, mario kart, street fighter), but they're quite expensive so what the hell, I say it's...

1992

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

1 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

Bigger better sonic with 2 player 2 op! Even a high res split screen race. Very fine looking game, even now.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/MD_Sonic_the_Hedgehog.png

2 - Thunder Force IV - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

The freaking king of Megadrive shooters. Huge play area, awesome music, great weapons, spectacular! Quite a bit of slowdown though.

http://www.coolrom.com/screenshots/genesis/Thunder%20Force%20IV%20(2).gif

3 - Streets of Rage 2 - PS3 - Megadrive

Pick Blaze of course. Even better than the previous one. Great music, great fun. Megadrive having a great year.

http://www.coolrom.com/screenshots/genesis/Streets%20of%20Rage%202%20(2).gif

[curryking1]

I only got one right... Super Mario World.

My other guesses were Contra III, TMNT Turtles in Time, Yoshi's Island, and Donkey Kong Country 2.

Those would be my picks XD

New school gaming is walking from A to B on your map then hitting a button.

Try telling new school gamers this. All those **shats. :P

These people can't accept that Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island have ten times the depth and thinking required to complete the games and get the secrets compared to most new school games, and they did it in farking two dimensions.

[Applefiend]

Ow, ow, my bloody wrist from Streets of Rage 2.

Yup, mix and match new with old and enjoy the classics.

[Applefiend]

4 - Contra III - Wii - Super Nintendo

What do you want on your next gen gaming system? Souped up versions of your most loved games. Here's one. Plays great, controls great, sounds great. Is in fact... Great.

http://www.psp-hacks.com/images/contra-3-snes.jpg

5 - Final Fight - Wii - Super Nintendo

Year out for this but I didn't know I had this.

Nice graphics, good sound, but half the flaming game is missing! And where's all the characters like Guy. And censored from the japanese version. That's no good. Sounds better than the arcade, that's the best you can say.

http://origin.arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.media/FinalFight.jpg

6 - Axelay - Wii - Super Nintendo

Special effect filled shooter by Konami. Full of giant full screen bosses that would have made you s*** your pants in 1992. Vertical sections, horizontal sections, it's all there. Very good.

http://origin.arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.media/axelay.gif

7 - Legend of Zelda - Wii - Super Nintendo

Didn't know I had this one either. Why did we like that Super Nintendo so much? Because it had two genres all sewn up. Fighters and RPGs. It's everything you'd want from a next gen Zelda, looks and sounds great, great puzzles, epic. Terrific. Full of awesome rpgs SNES, most of which are quite pricey on ebay so I don't have them. :)

http://www.gamerwok.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/zelda_1.jpg

8 - Final Fantasy V - PS3 - Super Nintendo

More observant amongst you will have noticed SNES has been tearing Megadrive a new one over the last two years. Nothing wrong with Megadrive, it's a good machine, but SNES just has more high quality games. When megadrive did get high quality games like Desert Strike they got ported to SNES! Ain't that a bitch. Here's FF5. Airships, powering up, you know the deal. Square when everybody liked them and they could do no wrong.

http://mangames.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/final-fantasy-v-j-teng11_rpge001.png

9 - The Magical Quest - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

Another weird thing about the 16 bit era is it was full of great platformers featuring Disney characters. Here's one. Superb. The first Rayman game owes a lot to this I think. Had to get the q-tip out for this cartridge, first time.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rMVZYjxtQj0/R9XKbFzWyXI/AAAAAAAAAY0/lIQSHwD3uY8/s320/Magical_Quest_Starring_Mickey_Mouse,_The_(U)_%5B!% 5D%2B2008%2B03_10%2B20-51-00.png

10 - The Legend of the Mystical Ninja - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

Another huge crying shame. Huge series in Japan, known as Ganbare Goemon there. About 5 or 6 games out for the SNES, lots out for the Playstation, all very good. Can't play em! All in japanese. This is about the only one you can play on SNES.

Bugger. Very nice comic action RPG exploration kinda thingy set in Feudal Japan with minigames and general awesomeness. To be honest, much rather play the Legend of the Mystical Ninja than the Legend of Zelda. That makes me a bad man.

There's a lot of games in japan like this, funny wacky games all about exploration and minigames, never made it over. Bugger.

z7wsoSuH95I

Right, want to collect more cartridges, and do some of that work thingy. Return to this in about 3 to 4 weeks when it will be.... 1993!

[curryking1]

The early 90s rocked so hard! :cloud9:

[Applefiend]

Yup. My list for 1993 is down and it's totally mint, every game a classic. Got 14 games on the list, every one a classic, can't cut it down to 10.

1994 is coming together, Super Metroid, Final Fantasy 6 and Donkey Kong Country is a good start, then I have a monster list of 24 titles for 1995 I don't want to cut down to 10, because they're all classic. According to me 1995 was the best year for gaming there ever was or ever will be. Yoshi's Island, DKC2, Ristar, Virtua Fighter, Tekken, Daytona, Ridge Racer, huge huge year.

My N64 cartridge collection is rubbish because I plain hate the N64 controller so don't like the system much. If I can find myself a Dual Shock 2 to N64 converter I may have to get a good collection together because there's some good gaming there.

So different to now when the biggest game on console is Modern Warfare that looks so much better on PC with better control. *parp*

[curryking1]

So different to now when the biggest (I hope that only means most popular ;)) game on console is Modern Warfare that looks so much better on PC with better control. *parp*

We live in a sad, sad age of gaming.

I can identify with these lists of yours more now. Since 1992 basically. All Super Mario World, all day long (I wish...).

I downloaded Mystical Ninja in your 1992 list. It's pretty awesome, feels like a sidescrolling Zelda. Very hard though... SNES and pre-SNES was frustrating for me in the difficulty department... not Mystical Ninja, I think it plays very well.

But for other games that's one thing I didn't like about some older games, I never grasped the need for the difficulty levels, but it was also because I never felt many games were very intuitive... games like Castlevania I can't even play. I just can't get a feel for them for some reason.

Aside from all of Nintendo's classics, Konami's Contra, and Rare's Donkey Kong. I think it's because I was literally born on Mario Bros and Super Mario World I never could get into games that didn't play at least nearly as smoothly. Edit - somehow I forgot Megaman and Street Fighter games... those were huge for me on SNES :S

I can beat Contra III by myself, I'm very proud of that :)

Is Super Mario RPG coming up? :cloud9:

[Applefiend]

Yeah it's in my 1996 list with Metal Slug. Picked it up for a steal from the Kiwi ebay (trademe). Never actually came out in Europe.

The new lists are very nice as I have more games than time to play them, so I can boil it down to a very good list of games to play.

[Applefiend]

Hey some stuff arrived this morning. I forget Japan is just up and to the right a bit, not the other side of the world.

Awesome, awesome year, be prepared for a long ride.

Hey hey hey, it's....

1993

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

1 - Final Fight CD - CD - JVC WonderMega - Sega CD

The best version son. All levels present, all characters present, plays at full speed, uncensored, with the best music played off CD and the most characters onscreen. Unlike the SNES version, it's also two player which makes it hugely more fun. You know the story, some chavs have kidnapped the mayor's daughter. You have to her back. You could pay the ransom but they'd only spend it on ringtones for their f***ing Nokia mobile phones.

Bloody chavs.

http://www.coolrom.com/screenshots/segacd/Final%20Fight%20CD%20(2).gif

2 - Fifa International Soccer - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

The first version no less. The cool kids played Sensible Soccer. We played Fifa, because it had graphics and sound and all that stuff. So simple even I can play it. Three buttons, chip, pass and shoot. Used to try and get Scotland to win the world cup, but even more work getting New Zealand to win.

http://www.forceforgood.co.uk/historypics/bhfbfifa.jpg

3 - Street Fighter 2 CE - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

If 1993 was anything it was the year of fighters. Megadrive had some of the best this year. Sega's own Eternal Champions, the definitive Mortal Kombat and this. It's an upgrade to the original Street Fighter 2 with all the bosses playable. It suffers a bit from very strained sampled speech (Huurrr ruuuuuu ken) and the Megadrive's limited color palette. Still pretty decent. Very nice playing it on the Megadrive's 6 button pad.

http://www.captainwilliams.co.uk/sega/megadrive/images/sf2ce.png

4 - Street Fighter 2 Turbo - Cartridge - SNES - SNES

Nintendo in typical style. You got Street Fighter 2 CE? Well here's SF2 Turbo, screw you. Much better graphics and sound than the Megadrive version. For all intents it is the arcade game, right in your home. Golly.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Street_Fighter_2_Turbo_SNES_ScreenShot3.jpg

5 - Cool Spot - Cartridge - SNES - SNES

I must of really sucked at platformers when I was in my early 20s as I don't remember the second level of this at all. The red button thingy from the 7up ads has his own game, and it's rather good. Very detailed good looking game. When this first came out I was in fact covered in red spots, but I didn't think they were cool.

http://www.gameclassification.com/files/games/Cool_Spot.png

[Applefiend]

6 - Batman Returns - Cartridge - SNES - SNES

Now we're finally got a freaking good version of Final Fight, what other games are out there for beat em up fans? Look no further than Batman Returns on SNES. Terrible movie, great game. Stunning graphics, makes Streets of Rage 2 look pretty ugly. Has to be one of the best looking side scrolling beat em ups ever made. Plays great too, finally a block button.

http://www.snesclassics.com/snes-roms/images/boxart/batman%20returns-1.jpg

7 - Gunstar Heroes - Download - Wii - Megadrive

Sadly playing this on Wii because not all retro games are $2, some are expensive man. Last year we played Contra III, and lo, it was good. This year Treasure have brought out a game that's just Contra on frickin' speed. Huge weapon selection, fast as hell, really need to be overdosing on the Sunny D to play this one, and full of some very fancy coding tricks. Treasure will be delivering the goods to snobby gits like me for years to come. Hurrah!

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Gunstar_Heroes_GEN_ScreenShot2.jpg

8 - Zombies Ate my Neighbours - Cartridge - SNES - SNES

Really great top down shooter with tons of silly weapons and options. Best played with a mate. Konami really gave Capcom a run for their money back in the day. Batman returns and this.

http://girlsofwar.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/zombies_ate_my_neighbors_gen_screenshot2.jpg

[curryking1]

Zombies Ate My Neighbours, good pick man, one of my favourites.

Batman and Robin is also pretty good.

[Applefiend]

Don't have that one. Cracking year for games though init.

9 - Sonic CD - CD - Gamecube - Sega CD

Hmm... Dunno guv. It's supposed to be the best Sonic evah, because of the Mode 7esque special stages, decent music on the Euro version(I have the US version, the music is a bit crap on that), the animated intro and the rest, but I prefer Sonic 2 myself. Sonic 2 does everything you want from a Sonic really.

Sonic Boom, Sonic Booom..... Eugh, sappy music man.

Playing it on a Gamecube controller, forgotten how bad that controller was, like a Fisher Price Dual Shock 2. Eugh...

Over rated game. I think people have spent 300 on Sega CD and wanted to justify it. Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic 3, all better.

JPC8W672mXc
Here, now you can listen to the sappy awful music, why should you be happy.

10 - Ecco the Dolphin - CD - PS3 - Megadrive

Sonic Boom, sonic booom, you're a super sonic racer. Sappy music stuck in my head now. Yeah, going to spend all morning bitching about your well loved Sega games, what you gonna do about it punk? Huh? Huh?

Ecco the Dolphin is actually pretty good stuff. Very good looking game, very original. A bit sedate but that's OK. Good.

http://www.gamesetwatch.com/ecco1.png

11 - Sub Terrania - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

Still wonderful. Gravity based shooter, Pixel Junk Shooter seems to be this on steroids, with water. Looking forward to that. Probably my favorite Megadrive game of all time. Even though it's cruel and makes you replay all the levels. That's why we got Game Genie level select.

http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/zyrinx/subterrania-4.png

12 - Star Fox - Cartridge - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

Used to see people gawking at this in shops going "Oh my god, it's so amazing", and it was really. The irony of it all is Megadrive is much better suited for cartridges with added DSP chips, but SNES had most of these games. Way back to Super Mario Kart, that had a dsp chip on the cart.

Finished it, for about the tenth time I imagine. Owes a lot to two other games, the original Star Wars game in the arcades way back then, and it does look an awful lot like a Namco game Star Blade, but classic is as classic does.

http://randomracket.com/images/starfox-snes-1.jpg
Stupid frog.

[Applefiend]

Let's finish up 1993, starting with...

13 - Mortal Kombat - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

People talk about Sony being arrogant. Talking out their arse really, about some statement an executive made over some boozy lunch. Nintendo were so arrogant in 1993 they actually started trying to make all their games family f***ing friendly. They butchered Wolenstein, and Mortal Kombat. Of all games, Mortal Kombat. PMRC Tipper Gore pussy whipped quiche eating twats. F**K em.

So you buy this on SNES you get a bunch of moves removed, blood replaced by sweat, different moves not in the arcade, and the whole point of having MK at home is you can practice your moves at home then try them at the arcade.

What a bunch of k*nts.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Mortal_Kombat_gen_ScreenShot2.jpg

14 - Aladdin - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

So Capcom get the license for Aladdin on the SNES, Virgin get the license for Aladdin on the Megadrive. Capcom one has to be better, right? Nope. This one plays better, animates better, is better. Awesome job by the lad David Perry.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Aladdin_GEN_ScreenShot2.jpg

Not to be confused with Dave "The games animal" perry who got owwwnnrrrd playing Mario 64 on national tv then threw a hissy fit. Good times...

UwkJSMFdhTI

15 - ActRaiser 2 - Cartridge - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

More hacky and slashy than the previous one. In the UK we could only look on in envy as it wasn't available here. Beautiful game. If Squeenix were cool they'd make a next gen sequel that was all hacky, slashy and generally like Richard Wagner the video game. But they aren't.

http://www.juegomania.org/ActRaiser+2+(Japon%E9s)/fotos/snes/0/23/Foto+ActRaiser+2+(Japon%E9s).jpg

One last one...

16 - Kirby's Adventure - Download - Wii - NES

Best game of the year for me, so freaking awesome. Rather play Kirby than Halo ODST, rather play Kirby than Batman Arkham Asylum. Awesome gameplay, you suck up and take on the abilities of your enemies. Looks way too good for a NES game too.

Kirby rawks! It rawks!

http://platformersunited.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/kirbyadventurenes.gif

[Applefiend]

1993 is all done. Now if you have any sense in 1994 you'll be playing your Super Nintendo and your Megadrive, but there's a revolution coming, and everyone knows it. 3D gaming and CD Media. In order to be first to the punch lots of companies are bringing out cacky consoles from around 1991 to 1994, trying to get in before the big boys, so we bring you....

The war of the cacky consoles!

http://www.commodore.ca/gallery/hardware/cdtv.jpg
Commodore CDTV

Didn't own one but I did partly develop a couple of titles for this system. It's an Amiga A500 in a box with a 1x CDROM drive and a dma system for fantastic quarter screen motion video. Oh boy. They wanted 500 quid for this in 1991.

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/2659/insightdinosaurscover.th.jpg (http://img194.imageshack.us/i/insightdinosaurscover.jpg/)
Bit of me in this. Eugh....

http://www.vesalia.de/pic/cd32.jpg
Commodore CD32

Didn't own this one either, might be worth getting as it has lots of Amiga games that didn't make it to SNES or Megadrive like Alien Breed, without the hassel of an Amiga and floppy disks. As you can see it looks more like a real video game console.

http://www.old-computers.com/MUSEUM/photos/Philips_cdi210_System_1.jpg
Phillips CDi

Had one of these hunks of junk. Had one good game called Burn Cycle. That was it. Lots of Edutainment crap on it mostly. No point getting one of these at all.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vZtAQUO0UHQ/RpqPdlXo9ZI/AAAAAAAAAHs/6cCJWc6nYWg/s320/jaguar.jpg
Atari Jaguar

Atari are still alive, kill them! Had one of these. Had four really good games, Aliens vs Predator, Tempest 2000, Iron Soldier and Rayman. And then a lot of barely passable games. I actually liked Cybermorph. Then a lot of absolute shovelware. Bit crap, really. Awful awful controller with a bloody keypad like an Intellivision or Atari 5200, then a horrible stiff dpad. What were they thinking. The internet was around when this was and you weren't allowed to talk any crap about the Atari Jaguar online, oh no. You weren't teh unbiased gamer if you did.

But it was a bit crap, really. I still have mine in my garage but can't be bothered to get it running again.

http://darkwatcher.home.att.net/console/3do.jpg
3DO

On the left that would be the *cough* 3DO Slim.

Not only did I buy a 3DO, yes I was that guy, I liked it too. 3DO was a great console, really. It had early versions of all EA's franchises that would dominate the Playstation. The early 3D Maddens, the first Need for Speed, the first 3D Fifa. Road Rash with grunge music. Some good 3D console shooters. Arcade perfect Samurai Shodown and Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. Star Blade. Star Control 2. At least 12 really good games I'd say. Most of these games wound up on Saturn or Playstation so there's not much point tracking down a 3DO, but frankly I had a lot of fun with mine. Frankly... More fun than I had with my Wii.

Nowadays if you want to slag off a system you call it a 3DO. XBox 3DO, PS3DO. Screw all that, decent system actually. It was a preview of the Playstation really. And Naughty Dog and Insomniac got their start here.

Unfortunately it was $700. And $700 in 1993, and it's not as if it played movies as well. Just a games machine.

And finally...

http://www.geocities.com/compcloset/Sega32XBare.jpg
32X

Oh fawk, what were Sega thinking. It has three good games I think, Star Wars Arcade, Doom and Sonic Chaotix or whatever it's called. Came out in 1994 when everyone knew the real next gen console, Saturn was coming.

I would actually buy one for a couple of dollars but I'd never get it working with my JVC WonderMega. Have to buy a Genesis just for the 32X. Hmm.... Don't love Star Wars Arcade that much.

We shall be playing none of these! No sir!

[Applefiend]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=239277994

http://images.trademe.co.nz/photoserver/81/104568581_full.jpg

Must not buy... :)

[Applefiend]

Last year of the Sega/Nintendo axis of um... not evil. Play the hell out of this one too.

1994

No - Game - Source - Machine played on - Console/Arcade

1 - Cannon Fodder - Download - Mac - Super Nintendo

Doubly robbed on this one. First of all, only available to PAL territories, and you're going to want to own this, second... The sequel didn't come to consoles. What a bugger.

Sublime game that plays like a prototype Command and Conquer but still has it's own charm. Fab.

I think this may be coming to PSP. Yum.

http://www.warblade.as/27_cannon_fodder.JPG

[curryking1]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=239277994

http://images.trademe.co.nz/photoserver/81/104568581_full.jpg

Must not buy... :)

You kidding?! Buy x10 (if it were possible) ;)

I need to play some Kirby... what's the best SNES Kirby game?

Will also try Cannon Fodder asap.

[Applefiend]

Actually tempted to buy it, I'm that dumb. I'll go buy Super Mario World 2 instead, honest.

Kirby's Adventure on NES, KA 2 on Gameboy, KA3 on SNES, all very good. Lots of spin offs so be careful. I have the soft spot for the NES game though as it's just such a great and late NES game. Rare to get a game this good, what, 10 years after the Famicom came out? Incredible. Think when I wind up the chain in 2005 Kirby on NES will be the first game I go back to and finish.

2 - Virtua Racing - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

Just arrived this morning. Is this some 16 Bit sexiness or what?

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2838/img0103kas.jpg

Woof! OK, great wrong turns in gaming, the kind that ruin your reputation. Sega and Nintendo were both trying to extend the life of their machines with new hardware. Sega went the root of huge expensive addons. The Sega CD for $300, the 32X for $160. Huge, huge mistake. Sega pushed video based games, nobody wanted them. Nintendo added extra chips to their cartridges. First DSP chips in games like Super Mario Cart to help with floating point math, then putting actual RISC CPUs on the cartridge, SuperFX, SuperFX2, to replace the SNESes puny CPU.

Weirdly enough the best looking SNES game ever used no SuperFX or DSP chips. Donkey Kong Country.

There's an exception to all of this, Virtua Racing. Sega made a cartridge with a DSP on the cartridge, and the minute you pop it in you go "Damn Sega you're so dumb!". Virtua Racing on Megadrive is incredible. It totally blows away all the SuperFX games. Silky smooth 30fps, when Star Fox was 12 at best, to my eyes as many or more polys on screen. Stunning technical achievement. Virtua Racing on Megadrive is so good it's even better than the farmed out VR on Saturn. It's an arcade quality 3D Polygon racer. It's the only arcade quality 3D Polygon racer this generation. Still plays great even now.

So you slap your forehead and say "Screw 32X, and SegaCD, this is what you should have been doing". SVP(Sega Virtua Processor) Virtua Fighter, Virtua Cop, Star Wars Arcade, Doom, all on your Megadrive.

This game is incredible, one of the best 16 bit games ever but....

1 - Complete one off, no other SVP game was ever made

2 - $70 a cartridge, ouch...

IgYYnGJJ79A

3 - Stunt Race FX - Cartridge - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

Oh boy. You know people argue about how bad it is to play something at 30fps instead of 60fps? One things for sure, you do not want to play your racer at 8fps. After Virtua Racing's full screen 30fps this game is really horrible to play. Nasty laggy slide show running in a small window on the screen. It does have lots of modes and things, so you can enjoy your lagginess in various ways, straight up or stunt, but nobody would want to play this now. Vile.

http://www.coolrom.com/screenshots/snes/Stunt%20Race%20FX%20(2).gif

I think we can be glad we were spared FX Fighter or whatever it was called.

[curryking1]

I played that game... Stunt Race FX. I used to think it was awesome... tried it a few weeks ago and the screen was so blurry I couldn't tell wtf was going on >.>

[Applefiend]

Yup. It's like driving through treacle, it's absolutely no fun now. I mentioned to some Nintendo fan on another forum that this was the worst SNES cart I owned and he went ballistic. How dare you! It's a classic!

Plays like a sack of shit.

At the time I'm sure it was all very clever, but I know why Virtua Racing, F Zero, SMK and the other classic 16 bit racers are classic, it's because they're still fun now.

[Applefiend]

4 - Donkey Kong Country - Cartridge - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

So here's the leading platformer on 3DO, $700 for the system, $50 for the game. 750 dollars worth.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/3do/gex.jpg
Quite nice, no?

Here's Donkey Kong Country on the SNES you have now.

http://nirvana.sk/storm/herni_denik/05-31-2006_d/donkey_kong_country.jpg

Oh boy.....

Nintendo beat 3DO to a pulp on graphics, then hold them down and guff in their face. Not only that, it plays better than any platformer on 3DO. Incredible. Here's your next gen a year early, enjoy.

There's three in the series too, and I've only ever finished the first one, for shame.

5 - Aladdin - Cartridge - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

Why did I blow $1.95 on this crap when the Megadrive version is universally considered much better. Well it's quite good actually, not crap at all. I've gone back and played the different Megadrive version, and yes for once the internets are correct and the MD version is much more fun and more truer to the movie, but this game isn't too bad. It plays quite well. Completely different game though, in the Megadrive game Aladdin is a bad ass and whoops everyone with his deadly apples and sword, in this SNES version he's all sneaky and weak.

It's a shame Capcom stopped making platformers.

Actually I got bored of this in 30 minutes and just went back to playing the Megadrive version.

http://www.coolrom.com/screenshots/snes/Aladdin%20(2).gif

[curryking1]

All three SNES Donkey Kong games ftmfw.

I hate that Aladdin game... I just end up playing the first level for a bit after watching the movie. Then I die quickly and stop.

[Applefiend]

Yeah, it's OK. I quite like how you could swing on those pegs and knock out enemies, and I like the way you have to get through the levels using guile rather than just kicking everyone's butt like you're Aladdin the Terminator, but yeah, Megadrive version is just more fun really. I got stuck on the first level of the SNES version, I'd have to hit the player guide to get further. Climb up this building, this guy throwing knives won't let me past, I'm stuck.

What shall I play from 1994 today....

[Applefiend]

6 - Eternal Champions - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

I suck at this game so so much, I was pretty good at this one 16 years ago though. From 1993, only just arrived.

What we have here I think is a forgotten classic. Long before Sega were known for their fighters, Virtua Fighter, Fighting Vipers and the rest, they made their own fighter just for Megadrive called Eternal Champions. And... It's pretty good!

It plays a lot like Street Fighter with a 6 button config, you'll need your 6 button Megadrive gamepad for this. The characters are very Marvel/X-Menny like a year before the classic Capcom X-Men hit the arcades. Game plays very fast and fluid with big characters. It's good stuff.

The problem with it was the kids wanted their fighters to come from the arcades onto console, not just live on console, so it did sink without a trace. No Eternal Champions sequel was ever made, although there was a Sega CD semi-sequel that was better.

Game featured lots of training modes too, which was a tradition continued in home versions of Sega's arcade fighters. Fab.

Very good, better than some of the crap fighters that came out just on console like Clayfighters or that bloody Ballz 3D. It does suffer from a lot of dithering, but on your 15 inch TV through your RF modulator you'd never care. On the WonderMega in s-video it does look like hell though.

Now let's sit back and enjoy some Fatalities from the Sega CD version. Yum.

erKpPsJR7iQ

7 - RType III - Download - Wii - Super Nintendo

So you got your Super RType at SNES launch, and it was quite good, how would you like an RType exclusive to Super Nintendo? Oh hell yes.

Same unforgiving one hit and you're buggered gameplay RType fans know and love, only with much better graphics, sound and rotation effects. If you have a Super Nintendo you're going to want this.

IREM did some really good stuff for Super Nintendo, unfortunately I don't own most of it.

More RTypes to come, RType Delta and RTypes on PS1, the awesome RType Final on PS2, and if you're a big twat, RType Dimensions on 360. Real fans want the exact original game they played when they were a kid, not this "enhanced" crap.

http://www.amigachapterone.com/amiga/dossiers/giger/images/rtype3_05.png

[Applefiend]

8 - Super Metroid - Download - Wii - Super Nintendo

Personally I don't care for it. Has to be one of the most overrated games ever. About time somebody said it.


Only kidding. Sonic CD is still crap though.

Very very wonderful. Could well be the best cartridge for possibly the best system ever made. I much prefer the 2D Metroids to the 3D ones. I've never been a Zelda man to be honest, for me Nintendo are all about the Mario, Metroid and Kirby games.

As Samus you journey alone through a soulless desolate place constantly watched by unknown forces. So it's a bit like living in London.

Series continues on GBA, watch our own Matt play through it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPAYkSW5G7s

http://www.virginmedia.com/images/Super_Metroid.jpg

[frosty]

Sonic CD is still crap though.


:( was my favorite! and the soundtrack was the best from it's time!

[Applefiend]

Doesn't do anything for me. Sonic 2 is better to me, Sonic and Knuckles is more innovative with the cartridge port design, the GBA Sonics look better. The intro music is hella cheesy.

I think the three time zones thing is just a gimmick, the special stages... Aren't special. It doesn't use the capabilities of the Sega CD very well, it's full of sprite scaling an rotation hardware, non of which is used in the main game.

Absolutely doesn't deserve the internets verdict of being the best Sega CD game evah. Some people even tag it the best Sonic game ever. No way...

Not the worst 16 bit one by any means.

[frosty]

yes, sonic boom was mad cheesy. but the rest of the soundtrack was actually rather solid.

[Applefiend]

Right, let's so slag off some more Sega games before I go work my ass off all week. :)

9 - Streets of Rage 3 - CD - PS3 - Megadrive

Internets are right this time, Streets of Rage 2 is definitely the best of the series. Music isn't as good as 2, it doesn't look like a Streets of Rage game, it doesn't have that neony 80s look the first 2 had, and doesn't really play as well! There's some old chinese fella Cyborg to play with, that's unusual I guess.

http://www.freewebs.com/bignall/Streets%20of%20Rage%203%20Screenshot.gif

10 - Sonic 3 - CD - PS3 - Megadrive

Yes I do actually think this is a better game than Sonic CD, and has more and better new ideas than Sonic CD. I guess that makes me controversial... But I don't care! Muhahahahaa. Sonic CD isn't the worst of the series by any means, that's Sonic 3D Flickies Island, f**ing awful.

http://www.rvgfanatic.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_190401/Sonic3.jpg

11 - Sonic And Knuckles - CD - PS3 - Megadrive

The best looking Sonic on Megadrive by far, and adds extra value by adding an extra character to your old Sonic cartridges, how cool is that.

Haven't invested the time to finish this, and I should, because it's an awesome looking Megadrive game. Nice. Maybe the best looking Megadrive game ever....?

http://ui03.gamefaqs.com/2082/gfs_51623_1_2.jpg

Right, now things get difficult as FF6 came out this year and... *shock* I've hardly played it! So I'll spend all next weekend on it.

[Applefiend]

Some of these are pre 1994 but they just arrived.

12 - BioMetal - Cartridge - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

Classy gorgeous looking japanese shooter, that unfortunately got marred by the music of bloody 2 Unlimited by the time it came to the west. You know them. No no, no no no no, no no no no, no no there's no limit. Testing my bloody limit.

Should get myself an adaptor and get the japanese version.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/BioMetal_SNES_ScreenShot3.gif

13 - Bubsy - Cartridge - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

Yay! Crap video games I'm still compelled to play. Actually quite fun to be honest, even though it's a bit crap. I think I just like platformers where you jump on things heads.

Better than BioMetal because it doesn't have 2 f***ing Unlimited on the soundtrack. Kind of fancy playing it to the end, but if I finish it, who would respect me?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d9/Bubsy_(SNES).png

14 - Mortal Kombat II - Cartridge - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

Ah ha. So Nintendo Kock up Mortal Kombat. Then they relent, and let this out the bag. Pretty much arcade perfect Mortal Kombat II for your home console, pretty sweet. Looking really nice, nicer than the Genesis or even the 32X version.

Does it have sweat for blood? Does it ****. Really nice. I really should learn some finishing moves and not just pull out the couple of cheap Liu Kang moves I remember.

http://www.chronicgames.net/images/games/snes/mortal-kombat-ii-screenshot-002.png
The talking trees rule.

15 - Shaq Fu- Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

Oh boy. So you're playing your Mortal Kombat II, your Street Fighter II, you think if only someone would produce a game just like this, only with a basketball star! Then make the characters very small and bugger up the hit detection.

I've played worse! You know if the characters weren't tiny this game might actually be considered good looking. You can kinda see how the designers were thinking: "If we make the characters really tiny, we can animate them really well". Bad call man.

Bet if I looked on usenet postings for 1994 there's some guy defending this. You don't know Shaq Fu like I know Shaq Fu.

http://www.juegomania.org/Shaq-Fu/foto/genesis/0/649/649.jpg/Foto+Shaq-Fu.jpg

16 - Mega Bomberman- Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

One more, I could have died in my sleep and Shaq Fu would be the last game I'd ever played. Very nice bomberman with upped graphics, large scrolling arenas, and lots of other good stuff like a Roo to ride on. Very nice.

Happily play this all night.

http://www.retrogamer.net/users/796/thm450/megabomberman.gif

[Hisham]

Only kidding. Sonic CD is still crap though.

Truest statement ever. Sonic 2, 3 and S&K were all much better in every respect. Sonic CD was such a disappointment because I never had a sega CD as a kid, so when I went back and played Sonic CD after hearing all the good things about it, I was so disappointed.

While I can still go back and play Sonic 2, and S3&K, I just can't bring myself to go back to Sonic CD. That time gimmick was pretty bad. Level design was nowhere near the level of the other 2D sonics. Only thing it had going for it was a good soundtrack but even that soundtrack wasn't as good as the Genesis Sonic games (especially Sonic 3).

/end rant

[Applefiend]

Hisham understands me... :)

[Applefiend]

17 - Choplifter III - Cartridge - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

Third in the series. I think number 2 was on gameboy and nobody noticed, number 3 is on SNES and it's pretty pretty good. Pretty Pretty [That's enough Larry David impressions - Ed]

Cheyrl David, she's pretty fit for an old bird. Choplifter III, yup. Very nice sequel, has bosses and underground sections and special weapons and lots of other great stuff. Good looking game too. Don't think there was a Choplifter IV, although there's lots of pretty bad 3D chopper games floating around.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Choplifter_3_SNES_ScreenShot2.jpg

18 - The Jungle Book - Cartridge - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

Not that great, too much jumping into the unknown and unfair hits. Capcom given the flick and the job given to Virgin. Although it's not a Shiny game I think, they're too busy with their earthworm jim.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Jungle_Book_SNES_ScreenShot3.gif

19 - Dynamite Heady - CD - PS3 - Megadrive

Before Treasure made lots of snobby eliteist shooters. Snobby Eliteism... Yum... They made this which is a quirky platformer for your Megadrive, and it's really nice. You run around throwing your head at stuff, and can pick up powers in a Kirby kind of way. Very nice, well recommended

http://www.pixelsurgeon.com/admin/shared/images/DynamiteHeaddy_lg.jpg1150664554

20 - Phantasy Star IV - CD - PS3 - Megadrive

Could it be a RPG for your Megadrive? I think it is. There were three or four RPGs actually, and even some very good ones for the Mega CD. If you want to play an RPG on your Megadrive the two Lunar games on the Sega CD would be great choices, but so is this. Before there was Star Ocean, Phantasy Star was where you got your sci fi RPG action. Very good it is too, although the menus are a it cryptic so you're going to want the manual, and there's no reason for them to be cryptic in the 16 bit era, bit a very fine RPG.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/MD_Phantasy_Star_4.png

21 - Mega Turrican - Cartridge - JVC WonderMega - Megadrive

And the region bypass game genie code you need is AJBT-AA54, took me 30 minutes to find that. Very fine game, often left out of lots people's classic lists because it started life on the Amiga, and didn't come out of Japan. Doesn't stop it being a classic. Jump, swing and roll your way though this classic action game. It's rather a shame Factor 5 didn't make a full 3D sequel to Turrican rather than the Dragon thing on PS3.

One more and call 1994 a day I think?

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Mega_Turrican_GEN_ScreenShot3.gif

22 - Final Fantasy 6 - CD - PS1/PS3 - Super Nintendo

Coming to the end of the Sega/Nintendo era. Question is what's the best SNES cart ever made ever? Some say Super Metroid, others Donkey Kong Country, they're wrong. :) Some say Zelda, Yoshi's Island, Contra, Street Fighter II Turbo, it's a toughie. Some say this. Some even say it's the best Final Fantasy ever made. One thing for sure it's a cracking game. Last of the Nintendo FFs, last of the old school FFs, serious classic. Never finished it either, for shame! Think instead of playing through FF7 for the second time I may finish this instead.

I think I've seen a few PS1 rpgs that look worse than this. Nice.

http://old-wizard.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/final-fantasy-6.jpg

[Kiwi]

I don't understand why people rate Sonic CD so highly. Sonic 2 is the best in my eyes.

[Applefiend]

It's time for....

1995

According to me the best year of gaming there ever was or ever will be. So there. Some of the best 16 bit era games came out in this year, and 3D gaming was new and exciting.

So this year we have this:

haOCJ8wL0OA
Sega Saturn was screwed up something rotten in the US and Europe, but chock full of classics in Japan.

FloUOdQIgg8
And the Playstation that was good.... Everywhere!

Woohoo. Let's get started

[curryking1]

Woah, that's a lot of 2D games! :S

Somehow Warhawk and Jumping Flash got lost in the shuffle while Crash, Twisted Metal, Wipeout and others got their fair shares.

You know... I think those demo discs they gave out really helped lol.

[Applefiend]

1 - Virtua Fighter - CD - Sega Saturn - Sega Saturn

Woohoo, 3D Fighting is here. This is a bit basic though. It was quickly replaced with Virtua Fighter Remix. Saturn got rushed out for launch in the US in May to beat Playstation, some things that needed rejigging got no rejigging.

Pretty glitchy, but still fun for a Nostalgia blast.

http://www.thunderboltgames.com/s/reviews/sat/virtuafightersaturn_2.jpg

2 - Ridge Racer - CD - PS1/PS3 - Playstation

I actually have a better version of this on a Namco Anniversary disk I bought in Akihabara, but I'm too lazy to fish it out. :) It's Riiiiiiidge Racer, kind of where the Playstation story started. Still fun to play even now, but in some ways Virtua Racing on the Megadrive is slightly more fun to play with better physics. :)

Four courses, Beginner, Mid Level, High Level and TT. A trick we used to do is pull out the game disk and switch it with your own music. Those were the days. So it's true, Playstation can do custom soundtracks. :)

http://www.gamesetwatch.com/rr.png

3 - Wipeout - CD - Sega Saturn - Sega Saturn

Once again wandering the streets of Japan, what do I find? A game called F3600 Anti-Grav Racing League, it's Wipeout for Saturn! And it's not quite as nice as the Playstation version,really blocky with nasty fake transparency, which is why I play....

http://www.emunova.net/img/tests/444.png

4 - Wipeout - CD - PS3/PS1 - Playstation

Much better. Very important video game Wipeout. In the good old days games came from japan, and Euro and US ones were just there to laugh at, or for the lame casuals.. They either had crap art, aped japanese art, or were PC shooters.

Wipeout was in your face European. European dance music, Euro design, and it played great. Not the first Sci Fi racer by any means, but the one that became a favorite. Fantastic. For my money they gave Namco a whooping too, much sexier than Ridge Racer.

Sheer class. Even today the old Sega/Nintendo fanboys don't acknowledge what a piece of class Wipeout on Playstation was. Much better quality product than the big japanese racers on next gen, Ridge Racer and Daytona. So we say.... F*** EM! Ahahahahahaha.

No gaps between the polys like Ridge Racer, no letterboxing like Daytona. Smooth as silk, nie physics, everything bounces off walls and ships the way it should, awesome.

One annoying thing is we all got a demo of this with our Playstations, but the real game took soooo long to arrive. Just soooo long. Played the one basic track over and over and over again on that demo.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/PSX_Wipeout.png

5 - Daytona - CD - Sega Saturn - Sega Saturn

So first came Virtua Racing in the arcades, then the next big 3D racer was Daytona. The home version is a little rushed for launch, in NTSC it doesn't fill the full screen, and in PAL it's badly letterboxed, but... Pretty good. Much more advanced physics than Ridge Racer or Virtua Racing on Megadrive.

Used to sit up all night playing this with the steering wheel. Awesome. Playing the endurance races that would take hours, just sliding sideways round corners. Playing on a gamepad is kinda rubbish. Have to buy a Saturn steering wheel again one day.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/sat/daytona_usa.jpg

6 - Parodius Deluxe Pack - CD - Sega Saturn - Sega Saturn

This was out for the Super Nintendo and PC Engine, but this is the best version. Here Konami take the mickey out of their own shooters, escepially Gradius, and their own games in general. So instead of the clique giant alien ship you have a weird cat ship, instead of a curled end of level monster you have a mermaid. There's a level that takes the mickey out of Castlevania I think, could be Sexy Parodius. It's great fun.

Don't make shooters like this anymore!

http://www.cf-network.com/cfan/IMG/png/parodius-060.png

[Applefiend]

Somehow Warhawk and Jumping Flash got lost in the shuffle while Crash, Twisted Metal, Wipeout and others got their fair shares..

And spot the christmas turkey which was CyberSled :). Kind of want it to see if it's as bad as people said.

[Applefiend]

7 - Air Combat - CD - Playstation - Playstation

Ace Combat sounds so much cooler, but that's what it says on the front. There was lots of Airplane games around. Top Gun on NES, that kinda sucked, After Burner, that hasn't aged well, and then this came along, and lo did we thank the gaming gods.

Still great to play now, although you can bang through it in about an hour or two.

MIA on PS3. Namco you suck...

http://i.neoseeker.com/p/Games/Playstation/Action/Air/aircombat_thumb2.gif

[curryking1]

It's called Ace Combat on the Japanese version.

[Applefiend]

Air Combat, pah! Didn't westerners know what a fighter ace was? pah!

8 - Wing Arms - CD - Sega Saturn - Saturn Saturn

You know some of us wondered if Sega actually hired monkeys to do all their advertising and product planning since the mid 90s. The final proof is here:

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Who really runs Sega. Never mind about that, let's play Sega's answer to Ace, that's Ace Combat. Since there never was a Wing Arms 2 I think you can guess who won.

And after playing it I have to say it's really rather good! No guided missiles, just unguided rockets and guns, but lots of variety in missions, canyon missions where you chase planes through the gorge rather than just popping off static helicopters with missiles.

It concentrates on what's fun in plane shooters, blowing chunks off the enemy with guns.

But again it's Sega and they're gits. So you'll play and enjoy Wing Arms, think, that was great, I'd like another one, and do Sega do a sequel? Nope. Seduce and Abandon, that's what Sega did.

9 - Philosoma - JPN PSN - Playstation - Playstation

We could just play great games, but hey, why pressure ourselves. It's Philosoma... It's sh*t. Bad 2D Shooter, it had one thing going for it which was nice FMV. Hard to believe the power house that is Sony World Wide Studios used to make crap like this.

I should finish it just for the sheer hell of it.

First level is quite like Astrosmash on the sh**iest console of all time, Intellivision.

http://www.triggerzone.de/gamesdb/graphics/screenshot/full/20080229205701_Philosoma06.jpg

10 - Novastorm - CD - Playstation - Playstation

No words just watch:

DryVpT49Eys

One of the better FMV games, shows you how bad the rest were.

[Applefiend]

One more today....

11 - Jumping Flash - US PSN - PS3 - Playstation

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/1100/mario64.jpg

Good grief, I think the jackass is right!

A year before Mario 64, here it is, the first 3D platformer. And it's way fun too. Vertigo inducing fun. Bosses are a bit repetitive, but when you're first you can get away with more.

Absolute classic.

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/7899/287507-jumping_flash_2_large.png

12 - X-Men - CD - Sega Saturn - Sega Saturn

Worth the price of your Sega Saturn alone really. Arcade perfect X-Men, lots of fun to play, the fun for me being whipping fools into the air with Wolverine. Saturn did this kind of thing so much better.

http://www.coolrom.com/screenshots/saturn/X-Men%20-%20Children%20of%20the%20Atom%20(2).gif

13 - Darius Gaiden - CD - Sega Saturn - Sega Saturn

Saturn had 2D shooters and 2D fighters sewn up this generation. Here's one that's actually quite cheap to buy, so a perfect way to start your collection. Part of the Darius collection, Taito's robotic fish shooter. Very nice.

http://www.ncsx.com/2005/ncs072505/Taito/darius.gif

[Applefiend]

14 - Donkey Kong Country 2 - Cartridge - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

Awww... Nintendo continue to extend the middle finger to next gen. I'd much rather play this than most of the tired first person shooter crap that comes out today. Looks even better than the last one I think.

Teh awsum

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hmPsrW7WDFs/SBMwxEPUiaI/AAAAAAAAAlw/TPkmCXajFK4/s400/ice.jpg

15 - Killer Instinct - Cartridge - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

I don't really play fighters anymore as I'm too lazy to learn combos, I'd rather just have fun. When I did this wasn't one of my favorites. Seemed a little rough around the edges. Well loved at the time, the arcade version was rumored to run on Nintendos next gen home hardware, the Ultra 64. Crikey!

Don't much care for it. Much rather play x-men on my saturn.

http://www.chronicgames.net/images/games/snes/killer-instinct-screenshot-001.png

16 - Super Mario World 2 - Cartridge - Super Nintendo - Super Nintendo

Super Nintendo era is coming to an end, which makes me want to cry like baby Mario. Nothing quite like sitting back on the sofa, an iced coke by your side, and a well crafted 2D platformer in your SNES. SMW2 is just the ticket. Powered by the fancy new Super FX2 chip, SMW2 not only plays really well, it's technically very impressive. It also has a crayon drawn look all it's own. Some people said it was a bit babyish but we say.... sod em! On of the absolute classics of the 16 bit era, maybe even the best game this year. In fact I'd say it is.

http://www.thunderboltgames.com/s/reviews/snes/YoshisIslandSNES_5.jpg

17 - Comix Zone - CD - PS3 - Megadrive

Sega try and reinvent the side scrolling beat em up, and do a really good job I think. You have to fight your way through a series of comic book panels, each one has enemies or puzzles. Really like this, could have used a high res better looking Comix Zone 2 on Saturn, but you know Sega, seduce and abandon.

http://blog.pricegrabber.co.uk/buttonsmasher/files/2008/03/comix-zone-md.jpg

18 - Ristar - CD - PS3 - Megadrive

Playing a well crafted platformer on your Megadrive ain't too shabby either. There was a time when Sonic Team could do no wrong you know, here they are doing no wrong. Jumping and grabbing platformer. Very nice. Where's Ristar 2 on the Saturn Mr seduce and abandon? Or even on GBA.

http://www.racketboy.com/retro/ristar-1.jpg

19 - Vectorman - CD - PS3 - Megadrive

Don't care for this one. Hyped to death at the time, but just doesn't play very well. All very clever with rotating this and scaling that and ray traced the other but just not very fun I think. Meuh.

The cutscenes are spookily like Wall-E.

http://www.racketboy.com/images/vectorman-1.jpg

[curryking1]

Apparently there's a JF sequel. Just looked it up.

[Applefiend]

There's even Jumping Flash 3 which I have, full of japanese text though. Nothing like the first two.

[Applefiend]

20 - Gex - CD - PS3 - Playstation

Oh boy. This is a refugee from the 3DO. What made this "next gen" was they could fill the CD with pop culture references from Dana Gould, a stand up comic. Think he did something for the Simpsons. The commentary does get a bit annoying, so no wonder this has never been done again in a game. Using your Playstation to the max it ain't though, it actually looks worse than the Donkey Kong Country games on SNES.

Obviously you want to be playing SMW2 and DKC2 this year for your 2D platform fix, but it's not too bad really. You could sit and play it to the end if you're a 2D platform fan.

Says on the back "EGM editors choice gold" and "gamefan character of the year". They're full of s*** as usual.

http://xs943.xs.to/xs943/09371/gex3951.jpg

21 - Bug - CD - Sega Saturn - Sega Saturn

Buuuug juice! Good fun semi 3D platformer. Mostly involves jumping on beasties heads which is why I like it. Not only is it quite good fun, Sega made a sequel, good grief. Unlike Gex actually feels fully next gen. Hurrah!

Another one on my list of a zillion games I'd really like to finish one day.

http://seganerds.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/bug-1.jpg

[curryking1]

I just played Omega Boost. Not sure where that fits in this thread...

But holy ***k! That game is awesome! And it looks great in normal PSX resolution, and totally un-***king-believable in ePSXe!

Game plays so well too and is totally action packed! Amazing game! I've had as much fun, if not more, with this one than playing ZOE2!

Edit - I also playing Jumping Flash, great game once I figured out how to play hahaha. I didn't realize you could double jump, let alone triple jump so the entire time I was wondering wtf to do until then lol.

One of the bosses I was jumping on it's head over and over while shooting it haha.

Ah Playstation 1... never ceases to amaze me...

[Applefiend]

Not crazy about the Doomesque sections of Jumping Flash, the underground missions. Mostly involves wandering around lost. Rest of it is awesome though.

[Applefiend]

22 - Battle Arena Toshinden - CD - Playstation - Playstation

This disk has been in the wars. Guess blowing on it wouldn't help.

What shall we play as, the old chinese fella Fo or that wifie who keeps showing her pants. Pants lady it is.

You know the story. Sony needed a nice well rounded library for launch. They had the racer, Ridge Racer, but they needed a fighter. So Toshinden, Battle Arena Toshinden in the US, got way way more publicity than it deserved.

Game plays pretty lumpy, everything looks like an Anime dolly. So much better off playing your Virtua Fighter Remix. Had a couple of sequels, but people had wised up by then.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VpXDQXroJCo/SeItTLPWqEI/AAAAAAAAAYs/4w4gJZBlRUg/s320/battle_arena_toshinden.jpg

23 - Virtua Fighter 2 - CD - Sega Saturn - Sega Saturn

Don't remember this coming out so soon, but it says (c) 1995 on the back. So Sega rush out dicey versions of Virtua Fighter and Daytona for launch, then wise up. The call comes down: "Show the kids what the Saturn can do". The result, one really kick ass version of Virtua Fighter 2. Running in the Saturn's highest resolution, it really knocks seven shades of sh**e out of any fighter on the Playstation in 1995. Yes you too Tekken 1. Really awesome to play. Total classic.

http://www.captainwilliams.co.uk/sega/saturn/virtuafighter/images/vf2_shot1.jpg

24 - Sega Rally - CD - Sega Saturn - Sega Saturn

It's easy to forget how Saturn owned Playstation like a little bitch in the first 18 months. Sega Rally on Saturn is a serious classic. Plays great even now.

rk9IrR0EHPk

25 - Virtua Cop - CD - Sega Saturn - Sega Saturn

Disadvantage of having a little games room is I don't have room for a CRT Trinitron, just my LCD Bravia, so I can't play this with the lightgun. Shame as it's the mutts nuts. Simple game, just pop the guys on screen and shoot outside the screen to reload.

Plays with gamepad, mouse or lightgun. Wow.

http://www.fishsta.co.uk/ssvirtcop04.jpg

26 - Astal - CD - Sega Saturn - Sega Saturn

Very nice looking 2D platformer from Sega, reminds me a little of Odin Sphere in visuals. Sadly this is the kind of platformer you can bang through in a day, but not a bad game by any means.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b6/Ss_astal_lvl3.jpg
ere, you looking at my bird.

26 - Clockwork Knight - CD - Sega Saturn - Sega Saturn

And another platformer from Sega. 2.5D side on one this time. It's quite good fun, a little bit Toy Story. This was an early attempt at episodic gaming, they made part 2 as well, and a bomberman clone that never saw the light of day.

Of the three Sega platformers for Saturn for 1995 I like Bug the most by a long long way, but DKC2 and SMW2 is better than all of them.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/sat/clockwork_knight.jpg

I have a ton more from 1995, it really was a cracking year, but how about one more then I'll put the year to rest.

27 - Tekken - CD - PS3/PS1 - Playstation

By christ this is looking a bit rough. Well early tekken, the models are really really bad but compared to Toshinden it's a bloody marvel. Plays fairly well.

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2005/047/reviews/920588_20050217_screen016.jpg
Oh boy...

[Applefiend]

Hey hey hey, it's....

1996

This would be the year of the 3D Platformer, there was a couple last year but this year they really come to shine.

Start slow, build up.

1 - Sonic 3D Blast - CD - PS3/PS1 - Megadrive

Two problems with it. Not really 3D, not really a blast. It's you know... OK, but this is your fricking mascot, and look what the competition has. If Sega were here I'd slap them right in their face. Yeah!

http://www.coolrom.com/screenshots/genesis/Sonic%203D%20Blast%20(2).gif
Check it out, who needs Mario 64! :/

2 - Crash Bandicoot - CD - Playstation - Playstation

This is a bit more like it. Lots of easy fun, looks pretty stunning for 1996. What's good about this is you don't get the long cutscenes with Doctor Neo Cortex whom I find pretty annoying to be honest, just one level after another. Available on the PSN store, every playstation fan should own all three.

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/crashban/images/8/89/Scr1-10.jpg

3 - Metal Slug - CD - PS2/3 - Neo Geo

330 Megabits? Now you're just taking the piss. Lot of Contra clones have come our way, but this one's a real cracker. Very hard to get a hold of in 1996, best home version would have been the Sega Saturn conversion that came out a while later in japan only. Now everyone and their dog has it. What's cool about it is it's not only very well animated, but funny too. Bloody marvelous.

Playing this off Metal Slug Anthology on PS2. Metal Slug 1-6 + X. All the metal slug you'd need really.

http://www.flashingblade.net/classics/metal_slug.jpg

4 - Elevator Action Returns - CD - PS2/3 - Saturn/Arcade

If I was cool I'd be playing this on my Sega Saturn, but it's quite expensive on that so I'll play it on Taito Legends 2.

Like Metal Slug, cool and hardcore as ****. Unlike Metal Slug hard to get a hold of... Legally. One mostly forgotten classic. You flush out various buildings as an agent, riding the elevators and popping fools.

Also like Metal Slug, fun to set fools on fire. One of these "Cool ways to kill dudes" games. Kill em with the elevator, roll a barrel into them and set it on fire. Mad fun.

HzxUPyHriZk

5 - Waverace 64 - Download - Wii - Nintendo 64

Oh hell the Wiimote has run out of batteries and I don't have any spares. And... Yeah, just got it started, play it with the Gamecube controller.

For my money every bit as kick ass a racer as Wipeout, way better than bloody Ridge Racer. Man did I play this to death on my import N64. Game just rocks. It rocks! It rocks!

Shows off the fancy N64 hardware too. Nice water effects, steam effects, lots of transparency, little bit of reflections, fog. Sublime, really. I got called an idiot on a retro board for saying the N64 has the best graphics hardware of the three, PS1,Saturn and N64. But it does, so f*** em I say! Ah hahahahaha!

http://www.mario64.nl/waverace2.jpg

[Applefiend]

Six of the best for the Playstation I say! First year of Playstation was a bit sad, but it starts to pick up this year, by 1998, all over for Saturn.

6 - Suikoden - PSN Download - PS3/PS1 - Playstation

You can tell my emotional depth, I've named my character "Bater". So the text boxes say "Master bater, the emperor will see you now". Going to have another character called "F*ckwit". "Listen good f*ckwit, do you accept this challenge".

Playstation is an absolute treasure trove of jRPGs, here another one. All full of political intrigue, with 90 different characters to command. Crikey. And in 2D which is nice because 2D graphics age better.

Very nice stuff, lots to keep you playing a good long while. Lots of sequels, sadly they dont cost $6 at the PSN store, usually rather pricey.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/Suikoden_screen01.jpg

7 - Spider - CD - PS3/PS1 - Playstation

Game Over, I suck. It's also a treasure trove of platformers. Here's a good un. You're a radioactive spider with bionic arms working your way through 30 levels, filled with other insects, spiders, wasps and nasty creepy crawly thingies. Nasty nasty creepy crawly crawly. Yeah I've been drinking again.

In a way it's kind of like Gex only... Not annoying. Kinda cool, I like the music a lot, kind of subdued secret agent music.

This is why piracy sucks, I got such a kick when I found this on ebay, been looking for it for a couple of years. Now it's mine! mine! you can't have it. :)

Where's the fun in just grabbing everything off a bit torrent?

ga4Zqq1tXa8

8 - Gunner's Heaven - PSN Download - PS3/PS1 - Playstation

What if I told you there was a game that was considered kind of the sequel to Gunstar Heroes? You'd go "hell yeah". Then what if I told you it wasn't by Treasure...

It's actually pretty nice. Obscure as hell, was released in Europe but the kids didn't buy it as it wasn't 3D, came out in Japan but never came out in the US. It's a homage to Gunstar Heroes and rather a gem. Not a masterpiece like that, but good.

The guys who did this went on to do Wild Arms.

http://hardcoregaming101.net/gunnersheaven/gunner6.png

9 - Tomb Raider - CD - PS3/PS1 - Playstation

Core design first came to notice on the Sega Mega CD of all places, but when they produced Tomb Raider for the Sega Saturn they really hit gold. It was converted to the Playstation, Sony wrote them a nice cheque to keep them there, and the rest is history.

The first ones are kind of nice as they use something rarely heard in gaming. Silence. You just hear occasional short bits of music, ah has or of course the crunching of bones. It suits the game which is more about puzzles than action.

http://www.bauergraphics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/6108-tombraider1jpg.jpeg

10 - Pandemonium - CD - PS3/PS1 - Playstation

Just out on PSN, but this is an original disk. Comes with a video of Gex 3, still my beating heart. I'll probably actually buy Gex 3 for $1.99 and play it through as I love Mario 64 clones, and I've played through all the good ones.

Yeah, it is what it is. I don't think this is on anyone's top ten of PS1 platformers even though it involves my favorite thing, jumping on beasties heads. There's a Pandemonium 2 which is much better.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/ps/pandemonium!.jpg

11 - Puzzle Bobble 2 - PSN - PS3/PS1 - Playstation

Yay! You can get Puzzle Bobble 1 for SNES btw. Needs no introduction, to me the king of puzzle games, Tetris be damned. Fun and cutsey and quirky. What the world needs is more quirky japanese video games.

Everybody needs at least one Puzzle Bobble game I think.

http://www.bloghissimo.com/img2/puzzle_bobble_2.jpeg

Two more deadly donuts then to hell with his bagel toaster.

bIyEqpYnEaU

12 - Reloaded - CD - PS3/PS1 - Playstation

It can be difficult to flip your boat over top down shooters when we've been playing them since 1995. Here's the sequel to loaded. It's fun because it's stupidly gory. Blood splatter and broken teeth everywhere. Characters are great fun, remind me of twisted metal, graphics are basic but it is 1996. Fun.

http://i.neoseeker.com/p/Games/Playstation/Action/Adventure/reloaded_profilelarge.jpg

13 - Command and Conquer - PSN - PS3/PS1 - Playstation

The early C&Cs can be a bit of pain as you can't queue up builds, also playing these kind of games on a dpad is no fun, mouse + keyboard to assign troops is better. Pure nostalgia, see where it all started, when Kane was all fresh faced.

http://www.abandonia.com/files/games/378/Command%20&%20Conquer_1.png