OCR 'Must-Have Games' List: -Part TWO-

[The Coop]

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1)- Okay. Anyone who votes no on this needs to be put out of our misery

Beautiful pixel work, an amazing soundtrack, a big quest, multiple endings depending on how well you do, loads of weapons, hidden spells, memorable lines, great character designs, and decent voice work. This is a must have on all fronts. YES.

Duke Nukem 3D (PC)- The original, nothing-cut-out version. All the levels, all the gore, all the swearing, all the one liners, and all the nudity. The graphics are good, the music is great, and gameplay is smooth, there are lots of weapons and special items that give the game a bit more depth, and the levels are varied. The controversy surrounding the game got it attention, but the fact that it's a good game kept people around once the controversy faded. YES.

Mega Man Zero 4 (GBA)- The final entry for the series on the GBA. The graphics are nice, the music is good, the gameplay is well done, the challenge level is still there, and the story continues to be well handled. Some might say "It's just more of the same", but considering that the first three games were quality stuff, this game's continuing that trend isn't a bad thing. YES.

In the Hunt (PS1)- There's a rumor going around that some of the people responsible for this game went on to SNK, and started the Metal Slug franchise. Looking at the graphics, I can see why some think this. Graphically, this game as a wonder to see. Detailed as hell visuals, and lots of little touches that give the sprites a unique style. The music is good, and this version even has a remixed version of the tunes on the disc. The gameplay is slow in terms of movement, but it's intense. Shit is blowing up almost constantly, with buildings going down, enemies coming and going, tight squeezes, bullets being sprayed about, and tough boss fights. It's an overlooked release for the PS1, but any shmup lover should play it. YES.

WipeOut 3 (PS1)- The final entry for the PS1, and it went out on a high note. Very nice graphics, good tunes, a lot of twisting tracks and ships to choose from, a sold challenge, a great sense of speed once you get to the higher ship classes, and the ability to take some serious air off of the jumps. It's the fast, weapon-friendly racing style that made the previous games so much fun, and it's a game not to be missed. YES.

Raiden DX (import PS1)- Some have called this game "Raiden II remix", but it's more than that. Yes, it has the same great graphics that made Raiden II so cool, but it adds more to the pot than just slightly altered stages. First, there's a whole new and deeper scoring system in place, adding in the extra replayability that comes with such a thing. The stages have the same bosses as RII, but the stages themselves are redone so that they're not simply a result of copy/pasting. There's a redone soundtrack, and several soundtracks to choose from in general. There's also two new modes to play though. One is single stage that takes about fifteen minutes complete, and the other consists of the first five stages from RII exactly as they were graphically (but with the new scoring system in them). So while it may be something of a remix title, it also provides all sorts of new challenges.

If you like Raiden II, pick this up. You'll get at least the same level of enjoyment from it. YES.

Quake III Arena (PC)- Sure, it's a good multiplayer game, but holy shit is it an utterly boring single player experience. It feels very much like an afterthought, as it provides you with AI that's not very good, no story whatsoever, and predictable bot patterns. Frankly, the most interesting part of the game was the scripting that enables the bots to respond to you taunts and sentences in single player mode. I had more fun playing around with that than I did playing the game.

If you're in it for the multiplayer, you might like it after you've grabbed a mod or two. Otherwise, don't bother. Sorry Ganemi, but Borderline NO.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (GBA)- The forgotten middle child of the GBA trilogy. The music for this game turned people off to it in a hurry, as it does sound much like something done on the original GameBoy. If you can get past that, you'll find a good game to play. Well drawn graphics, a good sized quest, unlockable modes, a new magic system, a strange little "collect everything" ability, and you'll even find the composition of the music to be good (even if the sound of it isn't). It's a very good and fun game, that only suffers from a case of musical sample downgrading. YES.

Dragon Warrior VII (PS1)- "Oldschool". That's the word that comes to mind playing this game. The graphics feel like they're straight out of the 16bit era, and the game plays very much like it's predecessors (random battles, turn-based battles, etc). This game also has an absolutely massive quest (100 hours isn't an exaggeration), and some nice tunes as you play through. It's a big game with well designed dungeons, an interesting way to gain new areas to explore, and a great class system. Dated looking? Sure. Worth playing? YES.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (PS1)- The final entry on PS1, and a much more action packed entry to boot. As usual, the graphics look nice for the PS1, the cinemas are pretty good, and there are loads of zombies waiting to be disposed of. However, RE3 does a few things different. First, the controls are more fluid than the first two games, making movement in Raccoon City much less of a chore. Second, it's not as stingy with the ammo are the first two games, making RE3 more action oriented than the previous two. And finally, Nemesis. This hulking beast chases you throughout the game, forcing you to battle and avoid it at various points in the game. As a result, there's a level of tension in the game that outdoes what was found in RE1 and RE2, as you always know Nemesis is out there, but you don't know when it'll show up.

RE3 was a refreshing change to the formula that had been established by this time, and a YES to me.

Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon (GBA)- Take the original great Genesis game Shining Force, give it a graphical face lift, tweak the story a bit, add in a new card battle system, simplify the controls a little so the game's menu system is a bit less combersome in spots, and here your end result. The original Genesis game was great, and this game mirrors it. It may seem a little dated given how far the strategy RPG genre has come, but it's still a great game that GBA owners shouldn't pass up. YES.

Metroid: Zero Mission (GBA)- OutSpoken pretty much summed it up. Graphically, it's quite nice, and the sound is good too. The gameplay is a bit different than what might be considered typical for the Metroid series, as it adds things like stealth to be used in spots, and it plays a little quicker. It's not the pinnacle of the series, but it's by no means a bad game. Borderline YES.

[Azul v2]

YES to these two:

Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 - probably the best PC RPGs the PC has ever known, although japanophiles and mmorpg players will whine differently. The storyline is excellent (best of any post-nuclear earth stories), the gameplay is great, the humor is great, sound and graphics ahead of its time, cutscene and movie CG is excellent, and the games had substance. Unlike every other RPG you can win the game without ever wielding a weapon by talking with or sleeping with everyone, or you can make your character mentally retarded and go around shooting everything you see, including children. The "matureness" of these games far surpasses grand theft auto. What you do in one town can affect the others. You can get both for under $15, and its well worth it. Think Diablo but with guns and turn-based combat and a whole lot of dialouge.

Also, two of the best intro movies to any game ever in the history of games.

Fallout 1 -

Fallout 2 -

Fallout 3 is under development by Bethesda and is scheduled to release in Fall 2008.

[BardicKnowledge]

***** Round Thirty-Five: *****

Mario Kart 64 -- YES While this hasn't held up as well as the other multiplayer N64 titles, it's still an essential, and the only video game I've see whole families get together and play.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night -- YES If you hate this game, then I hate you. That's all that needs to be said.

Team Fortress 2 -- NO It's good, but mostly due to a complete lack of map variety, it's not good enough to make the must have list. If you want great team gameplay, play UT2004's Assault mode instead (or it's excellent set of CTF maps).

Duke Nukem 3D -- NO Giving the stripper money is only funny so many times. After that, it's basically behind it's time. Cool guns though...

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time -- YES There's a good reason why The Escapist featured an article about how this game should have changed the face of adventure gaming forever. This game has charm -- and it has a lot of it. Unfortunately, the two sequels aren't nearly as good (although The Two Thrones is certainly worth checking out).

***** Round Thirty-Six: *****

Bushido Blade 2 -- YES Every fighting game fan should have this game on the shelf somewhere -- not only is the game fun at first-play (one-hit kills, yay!) but it's deeper than a lot of people give it credit for. Go realism!

Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy -- NO This should have been an expansion pack to JK2 -- it doesn't feel like a fully fledged game to me, and it addition they gimped one of the better moves in the game (the yellow DFA).

Quake III Arena -- YES If Unreal is fast, then this is the Sonic the Hedgehog of FPS gaming. You'll never spawn and die so quickly...or enjoying doing it as much. Extra awesomeness for the sweet melee weapon.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance -- YES Worst one in the trilogy, but it definitely belongs there, which makes it one of the top 10 games to own on the GBA period.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past -- YES This vote is only a YES provided that you don't already own the SNES original, which is far superior. With that said, LttP is one of the greatest games ever. Own a copy!

***** Round Thirty-Seven: *****

Yoshi’s Story -- NO Too much cute and not enough gameplay -- check out one of the Yoshi's Island games instead.

Final Fantasy VI Advance -- YES This could be the pinnacle of the FF series. Which, incidentally, means that everyone here should play it. The extras are decent but not great, but the retranslated script is supreme (it's better than Woosley's because the old Nintendo censors don't hold it back this time around). Doesn't benefit from the re-release quite as much as V did, though (the extras are much better in V also).

Metroid: Zero Mission -- YES I was skeptical of this one, but found myself having a great time. They even designed a specific ending around sequence breaking! Of course, it's made a little easier in this game as a result, but it's still awesome. Finding a plot-relevant way to include the Super Metroid items was also sweet.

[dsx100]

Mario Kart 64: Borderline Yes

This game was insanely fun to play and actually still is. However I never thought it was as good as the other Mario Kart games, specifically DS and the original. This game in my opinion could have been made better and it also has some qualities not worthy of "must-have status". However, you just can't deny its fun and still a great game for the N64. To me sometimes thats the only thing that matters. If you own a N64, pick it up and I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Duke Nukem 3D: Yes

This game is in many ways just another Doom clone but in my opinion, it is the best Doom clone ever made. The gameplay was a very similar to Doom's but it had enough original stuff to keep it fresh. The levels where very well designed and full of secert areas. Duke 3D in my opinion also has one of if not the best weapon selection found in any FPS to date. The weapons are just so unique, with very few of them being replicated in later FPSs. The graphics and sound where execellent for the time. The game is pretty damn funny too. If you have a PC, just give a shot and see what you think.

Quake 3 Arena: Yes

Quake 3 is easily to ultimate deathmatch experience. If you are looking for an insanely fun multiplayer FPS that specializes in deathmatch and capture the flag, look not futher than Quake 3. Yes this game is simple shallow, and lacks any real good single-player but it is just a blast to play multiplayer in everyway. It is hard not to to have a ton of fun playing this game. Also Quake 3 is probably the most skill involving FPS ever made. It takes a lot to get insanely good at this game. If your a very competative FPS player, Quake 3 is your game. The graphics and sound where amazing for the time and are still pretty good today. Quake 3 is just a fast-paced, action packed, extreme multiplayer FPS that I'm sure anyone can enjoy to some extent.

Metroid Zero Mission: Yes

Another execellent 2D handheld Metroid. Yes it may not be as good as other 2D metroids but that doesn't mean its not execellent itself or unworthy of must-have status. The gameplay is just top notch form top to bottom and really provides a great experience. For those who haven't played the original Metroid or just didn't like the original or thought it was to hard, Zero Mission is a great alternative. For those who have played the original and liked it, Zero Mission is still worth a shot because it is just a great re-imagining of the original and it has tons of extra content. Zero Mission is easily the best looking 2D Metroid to date and one of the best looking games on the GBA. The music is just awsome as well. If you have a GBA, this is no reason why you shouldn't at least try the game out. It really is a great game.

[sephfire]

THIS IS IT.

What happens now, you ask? We have one week left for people to slip in last-minute votes. By the end of the week, this thread will be complete.

***** Final Round: *****

Army Men: Air Combat

Console: N64

Publisher: 3DO

Developer: 3DO

Release: July 2000

Super Smash Bros.

Console: N64

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: HAL Labs

Release: Apr 1999

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Console: Playstation

Publisher: SCEA

Developer: Naughty Dog

Release: Oct 1997

Gradius Gaiden *

Console: Playstation

Publisher: Konami

Developer: Konami

Release: Aug 1997 (JP)

Mega Man 8 Anniversary Collector’s Edition

Console: Playstation

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Capcom

Release: Feb 1997

RayCrisis: Series Termination

Console: Playstation

Publisher: Working Designs

Developer: Taito Corp.

Release: Oct 2000

Xenogears

Console: Playstation

Publisher: Square EA

Developer: SquareSoft

Release: Oct 1998

Street Fighter Alpha 3

Console: Playstation

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Capcom

Release: Apr 1999

The Orange Box

Console: PC

Publisher: EA Games

Developer: Valve Software

Release: Oct 2007

World of Warcraft

Console: PC

Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment

Release: Nov 2004

Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald

Console: GBA

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Game Freak

Release: Mar 2003

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3

Console: GBA

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Nintendo

Release: Oct 2003

Mega Man & Bass

Console: GBA

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Capcom

Release: Mar 2003

Riviera: The Promised Land

Console: GBA

Publisher: Atlus Co.

Developer: Sting

Release: July 2007

Street Fighter Alpha 3

Console: GBA

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Crawfish Int.

Release: Dec 2002

Sonic Advance 3

Console: GBA

Publisher: THQ

Developer: Dimps Corporation

Release: June 2004

***************

My votes:

Super Smash Bros -- YES

The one that started it all. It came totally out of nowhere and absolutely rocked. Who'd have thought a Nintendo cross-franchise brawler would be so fun?

Xenogears -- YES

Not a favorite of mine, but it's a solid RPG with great music and some interesting story themes. I think the only reason I can't enjoy it more is the number of people I've met who take it's story a bit too seriously.

The Orange Box -- YES

It doesn't matter how new this is. YOU MUST HAVE THIS. Every individual game it contains is a must have by my standards, and to get all five for the price of one? Delicious.

World of Warcraft -- YES

Like it or not, this is THE MMORPG right now. And it deserves that spot. WoW is one of the most accessible, well-designed MMORPG games ever created. Perfect? No. Fun and addicting? Yes. If you're in the mood for MMORPG, World of Warcraft will probably have everything you need.

[anosou]

THIS IS IT.

O.O EEEEEK!

***** Final Round: *****

Super Smash Bros.

Console: N64

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: HAL Labs

Release: Apr 1999

YES - The game that started the hysteria. If you have an N64 you can't possibly live without this.

World of Warcraft

Console: PC

Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment

Release: Nov 2004

YES - Sad but true, THE online game. Played by millions and enjoyable for everyone. This is gaming.

[anosou]

VOTE PROGRESS

Just filling in some gaps.

Need More Votes (fewer than two YES votes or tied)

Playstation

Tekken 3 (2-2) YES - The best Beat 'em up on the playstation.

WipeOut (1-0) YES - A machine-selling game. With a fresh design, sweet soundtrack and great gameplay this is a keeper.

Majority NO

Playstation

Final Fantasy VIII (0-3) YES - come on don't be like that. This game just does something new and imho FFVIII is one helluva game. The battle system is highly customizable, the story is twisted but engaging, the graphics were SWEEET and it's a blast to play. There's NOTHING wrong with this game. Even though FFVII and FFIX was better, this game was nowhere near bad. It's still VERY much worth having.

Grandia (0-0) YES - A great port and a great game. With loads of charm, the fastest battles you've seen and a fantastic story this is a must for everyone with an interest in RPGs.

The Legend of Dragoon (1-2) NO - Just making sure this doesn't pass. While it seems sony worked like dogs on this, they just didn't know what they were doing. It's a clone but sadly a bad one. The battle system is never really evolving, the story is cliché and the whole package is very so-so.

Valkyrie Profile (0-0)

[Sir_NutS]

***** Final Round: *****

Super Smash Bros. YES

I have one of the fondest memories with this game. Back in the day I wasn't too informed about what was coming up in regards to games other than reading outdated magazines. Then one day I step up on my VG rental store looking for a game to play, and I see the new, quirky box with pikachu, samus and mario on the cover. I thought "what the hell is this? this must be another mario party." But I rented anyways because I liked mario party 1 and 2. I didn't even play the game right away, and the game was sitting somewhere in my room. At night my friends came to my place and we were all bored and I said "well lets try this new game I got"

At first we were all with skeptical faces, then when we started playing the game, those faces turned to WTF faces. Then after 5 minutes we were laughing our asses off, literally. We spent the whole night like this, having fun and laughing out loud at every funny moment, every time someone got smashed into oblivion, etc. I had to practically kick my friends out of the house.

Anyways, Smash is a game that represents all that is good in videogames in several ways, and it's one of the most fun games out there, even to play alone. It's a game that dismissed the mold of old fighting games and brought something simple, accessible yet complex and enjoyable. It's one of those revolutionary concepts that come every few years and although it will probably be milked to oblivion from this point on, it's still one of the most fun games, ever.

Xenogears YES

This is one of the greatest RPGs on playstation. Great graphics, great story that is not stupidly convoluted like the xenosaga sequel, and very likeable characters. Also the system is fun and the music is amazing. The mech battles lacked but they don't mess up the game.

World of Warcraft YES

Hate on MMOs all you want, cringe at the thought of 13 year old kids on female draenei characters shouting "ZOMG L2P U NUB", but this MMO is without a doubt the best one out there, despite of some balance issues. Blizzard set themselves up to create the best MMO out there and they succeeded with such a success that is still unbelievable.

But enough about this game success, it wouldn't have happened if the game was as good as it is. The game boasts awesome graphics, an amazing art direction (usual from blizzard), a great soundtrack, and above all, this game got rid of plenty of the annoyances found on MMOs like everquest and made a MMO that is FUN for everyone. With plenty of races to choose, classes to play, and withing each class, a different role, there are multiple ways to enjoy the game, and maybe the perfect one for every kind of person. Blizzard also opened the doors to developers to customize the game via addons the way they wanted, giving each one the possibility to customize their game to their will. Also blizzard doesn't stops updating the game with new content, events, fixes, etc, even outside of expansions.

Many people like to hate on MMOs, but WoW is a game one has to try at least once to understand that it's actually one great, enormous game with a world waiting for you to discover.

[Sir_NutS]

Final Fantasy VIII (0-3) YES - come on don't be like that. This game just does something new and imho FFVIII is one helluva game. The battle system is highly customizable, the story is twisted but engaging, the graphics were SWEEET and it's a blast to play. There's NOTHING wrong with this game. Even though FFVII and FFIX was better, this game was nowhere near bad. It's still VERY much worth having.

Telling from the bolded points, I guess we didn't play the same final fantasy 8. FF8 is not a helluva game, it fails in so many points it would take me pages to detail, and most of them are very noticeable. The story is twisted but NOT engaging at all. I almost stopped playing after the first, uber-lame plot twist, and every one after that made me want to play this game less. Graphics were good, I'll give you that, but the game was a pain to play because of all of the flaws and so little fun it had to offer. I practically beated it only to add it to my collection of "Beaten FF games", after that I wouldn't even think to go through it again. Lame characters, Lame Lame plot, lame and boring gameplay, no reason to play this game at all. I mean, one of the most important reasons to play a turn-based RPG are it story, it's characters and it's gameplay. When the three of this are fubar I don't see any motivation to recommend the game to anyone.

I agree with grandia though.

[anosou]

Telling from the bolded points, I guess we didn't play the same final fantasy 8. FF8 is not a helluva game, it fails in so many points it would take me pages to detail, and most of them are very noticeable. The story is twisted but NOT engaging at all. I almost stopped playing after the first, uber-lame plot twist, and every one after that made me want to play this game less. Graphics were good, I'll give you that, but the game was a pain to play because of all of the flaws and so little fun it had to offer. I practically beated it only to add it to my collection of "Beaten FF games", after that I wouldn't even think to go through it again. Lame characters, Lame Lame plot, lame and boring gameplay, no reason to play this game at all. I mean, one of the most important reasons to play a turn-based RPG are it story, it's characters and it's gameplay. When the three of this are fubar I don't see any motivation to recommend the game to anyone.

I agree with grandia though.

Well all you said is "they were lame". I think it was bold of square to try something new! The whole concept of distorting time was imho very interesting and so was the fact that all characters you joined up with had previously met. It might've been a bit patchy I'll give you that, but so was FF7.

Honestly though, the gameplay kicked serious ass. this was the first RPG that I know of that really made items count. The same with the mini-game of cards. Every item you got could be made useful and be used to make magic or skills. Every card you won could later be made to items. Sure, this game isn't as focused on the leveling part and that might not be everyones cup of tea. Instead the Junction systems allow for insane combinations and customizing. GF's were lame as an attack but instead the skill-concept made Gf's a crucial part of the game. FFVIII also offers a large ammount of secrets and sidequests including Omega Weapon, many hidden GF's, Weapon creating, finding Popo the UFO, collecting magazines and so on.

It feels to me like you didn't play this game the way I did.

Agree to disagree?

[DJ Mighty]

Well all you said is "they were lame". I think it was bold of square to try something new! The whole concept of distorting time was imho very interesting and so was the fact that all characters you joined up with had previously met. It might've been a bit patchy I'll give you that, but so was FF7.

Honestly though, the gameplay kicked serious ass. this was the first RPG that I know of that really made items count. The same with the mini-game of cards. Every item you got could be made useful and be used to make magic or skills. Every card you won could later be made to items. Sure, this game isn't as focused on the leveling part and that might not be everyones cup of tea. Instead the Junction systems allow for insane combinations and customizing. GF's were lame as an attack but instead the skill-concept made Gf's a crucial part of the game. FFVIII also offers a large ammount of secrets and sidequests including Omega Weapon, many hidden GF's, Weapon creating, finding Popo the UFO, collecting magazines and so on.

It feels to me like you didn't play this game the way I did.

Agree to disagree?

Different opinions maybe? I agree the game is NOT worth owning. The battles were too long. You needed GFs for big damage but they took so damn long. The story i agree was lame. Seemed like they really only wanted to concentrate on the love story and everything around it didn't seem to make much sense. Instead of just debating everything you said, ill just say i disagree with everything you said but i will fight to the death for your right to say it. If i didn't accidently find out Quintis(or whatever her name is) little cheat, and level 27-90 in less than an hour i would have never finished the game.

[sephfire]

I replayed FF8 recently to get a fresh opinion of it, and it was better than my first impression had been. It really is a pretty good game. I consider it just shy of "must-have-dom." I don't feel the story or characters are as strong as other Final Fantasy games have been, but many people still got attatched to them. The art was great. The soundtrack wasn't Uematsu's finest overall, but some tracks in this game were the best he ever did (Liberi Fatali is still amazing and one of his best works). The battle system was decent enough, but the Drawing system really broke it. No matter how many cool things you could do by Junctioning the magic you gathered, you still had to sit there in battle drawing from enemies over and over and over throughout the game, which just isn't fun.

People might have been more lenient in judging FF8 if it weren't a Final Fantasy, but with so many great FF games to live up to, FF8 just falls a bit short. It's good that Square experiments with the RPG formula so much. They're just about the only developer who can afford to do it so frequently. It just didn't work out this time around.

[BardicKnowledge]

Woohoo, the final round!

***** Final Round: *****

Super Smash Bros. -- YES This game started a phenomenon, folks. Own it.

Gradius Gaiden * -- YES Probably the best game in the series, and simultaneous multiplayer to boot. This game is absolutely awesome -- and it's good to fly something other than the Vic Viper every once in a while.

Mega Man 8 Anniversary Collector’s Edition -- BORDERLINE YES This game is still good, and it's nice to see a 32-bit traditional Megaman. Playing this you can tell the formula is beginning to get old, but it's much, _much_ better than X5 or X6 (even though X4 remains the cream of the crop for Blue Bomber action on the PSX).

Street Fighter Alpha 3 -- NO The new characters are nice, but as a big Street Fighter fan, missing frames = very bad. If you learn all of your timings on this, it won't transfer to other versions of the game (PS2, arcade). Therefore I can't recommend it.

The Orange Box -- YES You get the best single-player FPS ever made, the first two sequel packs, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 all as one package? Fuck yes -- buy this now.

World of Warcraft -- YES MMORPG's don't really do it for me (I play Ragnarok Online as mostly an extended chatroom, and that's it). With that said, this game has become a huge part of gaming culture, and demands to be played/watched. There's a _truck_ commercial about it...vote yes.

Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald -- NO There's no reason to get rid of the awesome time features that Gold/Silver featured, and the other new features didn't do anything to counterbalance it. Skip this and go straight to Diamond/Pearl.

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3 -- YES This game is arguably the best Mario game ever made (partly due to the fact that it has the best physics engine...there's a thread around on it). There's a whole commercial movie dedicated to the release of this game. If you haven't played it, you're missing out.

Mega Man & Bass -- YES If you're feeling the need for a more traditional Megaman game after the Zero series, you'll find it here -- this one's a gem.

***************

[Sir_NutS]

Well all you said is "they were lame". I think it was bold of square to try something new! The whole concept of distorting time was imho very interesting and so was the fact that all characters you joined up with had previously met. It might've been a bit patchy I'll give you that, but so was FF7.

Honestly though, the gameplay kicked serious ass. this was the first RPG that I know of that really made items count. The same with the mini-game of cards. Every item you got could be made useful and be used to make magic or skills. Every card you won could later be made to items. Sure, this game isn't as focused on the leveling part and that might not be everyones cup of tea. Instead the Junction systems allow for insane combinations and customizing. GF's were lame as an attack but instead the skill-concept made Gf's a crucial part of the game. FFVIII also offers a large ammount of secrets and sidequests including Omega Weapon, many hidden GF's, Weapon creating, finding Popo the UFO, collecting magazines and so on.

It feels to me like you didn't play this game the way I did.

Agree to disagree?

I will take the time to expand my previous vote, as my last comment might seem I might be turning down this game just for the hell of it:

First i must state that my expectations prior playing FF8 weren't high since playing FF7. I did not enjoy FF7 as much as the majority of people did and found a lot of flaws in it as well that still stand to this time, still FF7's good points stand out so well that it qualifies as a great game, but didn't made my expectations for FF8 any higher.

First, the graphics were very good and I loved those moments of CG movie - 3d gameplay blend. Nothing much to say there. The Music was acceptable but nothing outstanding. Of the entire soundtrack only a few songs stand out, mostly everything else just acceptable.

Story.. ah the story. The story of this game, to put it simple, is atrocious. Not only it convolutes itself several times in awkward ways but some aspects of it are forgotten for entire disks. The plot starts well, but after rinoa is presented everything goes down the drain. The story tries to focus on rinoa and squall relationship, but since this relationship is incredibly badly developed and the characters are some of the lamest you will ever find in any rpg, this takes the story nowhere.

Squall is simply an annoying cloud (is that even possible?). Same attitude, but this guy has this attitude for no reason. Feels more like a whiny angsty 8 year old kid than a grown up person, and the moments he tries to be cool he fails miserably. On the other side we have Rinoa which is the MOST, and I have beaten hundreds of games and several RPGs, the MOST annoying character you will ever get to play in any game. She is a flat, stereotypical and annoying try at a main character that will keep you the whole game wishing for sephirot to come and get this one out of the way too.

The other characters are taken from a "RPG stereotypes" book and pasted in the game. We have Flat comedic relief Zell who is an uninteresting as a potato, Seifer who is the "I'm good but I like to pretend I'm bad lol" guy, Quistis who doesn't have any importance whatsoever, irvine which is completely void of any personality, Selphie the always happy and giddy kinda girl (at least she's not THAT annoying) and there you have the most cliche characters since final fantasy 1, if this game had you visiting the king of the town before the start of the adventure, it would have been the perfect stereotype. All of the characters are of little importance for most of the game, and this would have been a good thing, if Rinoa and Squall weren't totally lame.

A typical FF8 cutscene goes like this: Rinoa has some obsession with squall and he just keeps his annoying attitude of "whatever" (get used to that word, you will see it like a thousand times in the game!). Rinoa annoys squall (and you at the same time) about paying attention to her. Squall agains goes whatever on her. Then something related to some convoluted plot goes in the background. After 100 cutscenes like this, they totally fall in love, convoluted story goes even more convoluted that in the end creates a black hole and swallows itself, the world is saved.

Finally the gameplay. The junction system is broken and this is no secret to anyone. There's no strategy to it, no planning, no depth. At least FF7's materia system had that on it's side, in ff8 you just junction something and draw away for the rest of the game, you will see your characters become gods in no time. The draw system is broken as well, so broken that you can overpower your character in less than it takes squall to throw another "whatever" at you, not to mention that you will be drawing stuff for the rest of the game. BORING. And then the GFs, while plenty, are completely useless by near the end of the game, and you will likely won't want to use them anyways because by the time the attack animation ends you will probably be asleep. The equipment system is a complete mess. you need to upgrade your weapons. How do you do that? first you need to find magazines with the upgrade, then you need to go and farm a monster for god knows how much time until it drops that rare item that your weapon requires, but is it worth? hell no. Just keep drawing and junctioning, you will rarely worry about weapons. Limit breaks: overpowered and broken at the same time, as you can pull them off easily with some character switching. The money system I won't even get into that. So what all this mess leaves us with? well, you got a card game. w00t!

Yes this game tried a lot of new things, but it failed on most of them. Rinoa and Squall relationship is a joke. Want to see a love story well made? go play FFX, where you actually give a rat's ass about their "love". I spoke enough about the gameplay, and the OST is forgettable for the most part. Sure, it's not the worst rpg ever, but certainly a bad one, not enough flashes and Final Fantasy title slapped on the box can save this one.

NO reiterated.

[molto pene]

my tiem to vote

nintendo 64 games:

Pilotwings 64

This game was really fun and it had a gyrocopter! A GYROCOPTER. plus you could shoot yoursefl out of a cannons and fly really far or the frogmen would eat you. YES

Super Smash Bros.

My little retarded broter used to play this game allllll the time. So I stoled it from him and now I play it allllll the time. It's really good! YES

Tetrisphere

It's like tretris but it's in a big ball!! I heard this game was really good but then I played it and I decided it wastnt so good afters all. NO

GoldenEye 007

dude i had a gameshark and the things you could do with this game with a gameshark well it's amazing you can like push a button to blow up doors or make people'z heads reaylly huge or all kinds of things plus even without the gameshark this game is still freaking awesome so defientritely YES

Perfect Dark

this gaem is like a cheap imitation of Goldeney 007 with an ugly girl instead of BADASS JAMES BOND. so lame. NOPE

Yoshi’s Story

this game REALLY was not very good. NO

playstations games;

Ape Escape

I remmber this game it had some monkeys and a man with a net who has to catch the monkeys. I was drawn a picture of the monkeys once in school and my differential equations professore got REALLY MAD it was funny!! YES

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

This game was not so great it was fun but when the big moonster guy says "STARS" I am like what ever and didn't even care any more. NO

Xenogears

This game is frfeakign awesome! it even has refrences to ancients viking mythology! and hot anime chix. it doesn't get cooler than vikings and anime chix man YES i even have a xenogears HAT it is that awesome

Chrono Cross

dude Chrono Trigger was one of the best games ever made so by relation or assocation or whatever Chrono Cross is also one of the best games ever made! Plus when you beat it you get the fast forwards ability so you can beat it again really fast DEFINATLY

Final Fantasy VIII

i played this game for about 10 minutes and the whoel time this whiny bitch with a scar on his face cried like a girl and i had to stop before i clawed my own eyes out with my bare hands NO

Resident Evil

so you're stuck in this giant mansion, right? and these zombies are trying to eat you, right? and that wesker guy is gonna get owned, right? what are you gonna do? you can't call the ghostbusters BECAUSE they don't exist in this game! YES

Ehrgeiz

How did you skip this game? It's liek a fighting game only it has cloud and TIFA in it. YUP

saturn game:

i don't have a sega saturn but i know enough to say that Duke Nukem 3D is a cheap imitation of the REAL one for computer so NO

computer games:

Civilization IV

THIS game was long dumb and boring. definiteyl NOT

Deus Ex

I had to upgrades my chips a lot in this game but it was still fun. So i hafta say DEUS YES

Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries

OH i forgot about this game I played it when I was in like middle school or somethign and it was aaaawesome. Fucking robots can blow shit up everywhere everytime. YES

World of Warcraft

I used to play this gaem a lot so I turned into a semi retards but then my guild leader ninjad all teh loot from AQ20 so i quit so this game can sux my balls NO

Cave Story

this game made me cry when the little rabbit girl died. i gues that's a good thing?? YES

Duke Nukem 3D

two words: BOOBIES. YES

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

I like getting blowjobs from hookers then beating thems with a baseball bat to get back my money. oh and there's a multiyplayer mod for the computer which is prett ynice. YES

Painkiller

THIS game is just liek every other first perso shooter game everrrrrr made. fuck NO

Unreal

see: painkiller. NO

Wing Commander

This game is awesome because you blow up space furries with your space fighter. YES

Big Red Racing

i feel like drinking a gallon of turpentine and pissing on a brush fire. BUT I don't feel like playing this buggy ass game again! NO

Cosmo’s Cosmic Adventure

This was pretty cool. you were a little alien dude with suction cups on yore feet and you could wander all around some alien planets and stuff. YES

Interstate ’76

70s muscle cars with guns all over them? poetry reading niggers with afros? badass funk soundtrack? possibly the best game ever of all time!!!! YES

Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis

All the Operation Flashpoint games were buggy pieces of crap. NO

X-COM: UFO Defense

I remember this game! It's the one where the aliens are invading and you have to shoot them down with your little dude right? I played this one and the one where you blowed up the missiles a LOT YES

Day of the Tentacle

How do you not have this game on the list? YES DEFINITEY

gameboy advance games:

if i had a gameboy advance i tells you i wouldn't be playing any of these shitty gaems so NO to all of them. except for Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past which gets a giant flaming YES IN THE FACE

[sephfire]

Do you post that badly on purpose?

[molto pene]

i post badly?

sorry english is not my frist language!!!!

[sephfire]

Ah, I see. Unfortunaly, I can't count most of your votes toward the total as they don't really follow the voting rules. Each vote must include a couple sentences explaining why a game is or is not a must-have. What about the game makes it great? What parts were poorly executed? It's about examining the game's qualities. Fanboyism and unrelated personal experiences aren't relevant. Read some other people's votes to get an idea of what we're going for.

I do appreciate the time posting your votes just the same. We can always use more people in here.

[Sir_NutS]

He's molto.

[avaris]

Valkyrie Profile - Borderline Yes

This is one of the most unique games ever made. It has a number of emotionally gripping story elements. Has an awesome blend of norse mythology for the kids. Combines free roaming, action, and rpg elements. Well most people will find something they don't like about this game you can't deny that it leaves an impression on you. Which IMO is the most important part of a game. The flow of the game takes a little while to get used but once you do it has enough flair and variety that just about anyone will find something to like about this game. It also has some of the best sad and upbeat/energy music ever in a video game IMO.

Guilty Gear - Yes

A fighting game with insanely fast gameplay and a soundtrack that matches the energy of the gameplay. It actually has a really good anime style story to boot. RPG fans who enjoy fighting game and rock music this is a dream come true. Regardless anyone should at least pick up one of the guilty gear games to experience it's pure speed. It's style and presentation will keep you glued to the screen for awhile. The possibility for an instant kill isn't too shabby either.

[The Coop]

At long last, the final entry...

Gradius Gaiden (import PS1)- The last Gradius game (as of right now) to play and look like classic Gradius, it's also one of the best entries in the series. Good graphics, good music, levels that are both familiar and new (with some cool twists), four different ships to choose from, and the gameplay that's been a staple of the series since its inception. It a well made shmup from beginning to end. YES.

RayCrisis: Series Termination (PS1)- As the title suggests, this is the last game in the series that includes RayForce (Galactic Attack on the Saturn earlier in here), and a previous PS1 entry on this list, Raystorm. It plays much like Raystorm, and has the same visual perspective. As such, it plays a lot like that game, but it adds it's own little touches. The graphics are good, the music is decent, the levels are interesting, and the gameplay is solid. It's not quite as good as Raystorm, but it's still a good shmup that brings the series to close by taking it to its beginning. Borderline YES.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 (PS1)- Alpha 3 is a great fighting game. So many characters, a good gameplay balance, lots of modes to play in... good stuff. This version of the game is about as good as one could hope for on the PS1. However, compared to the other ports out there, this one comes out on the bottom. The graphics are good, the music is good, and the game modes are all there, but the timing is a bit off. As such, it's hard to call it a must have.

If you only have a PS1, then by all means get this game. You'll enjoy it. But if you have a Saturn that can play imports, a Dreamcast, or a PS2, get their versions instead. Borderline NO.

Mega Man & Bass (GBA)- Back in the days of the SNES, a game called Rockman & Forte was released. Basically, it played very much like the regular MegaMan series, had rather nice graphics and music, featured a new character to play as, and proved to be an enjoyable game that could have easily been called MegaMan 9. Sadly, it never came to the US... until a few years later.

The GBA port of the SNES game is quite faithful. The graphics and music are reproduced very well, the gameplay is intact, the challenge level is good, and the levels are fun. Add in a few game save slots, and you've got a very solid action/platform GBA game that's worth picking up. YES.

Sonic Advance 3 (GBA)- The final GBA Sonic game (no, the horrid Sonic the Hedgehog port doesn't count). Like the first two, it's got nice and colorful graphics, good music, and loads of stages. However, this one combines the platforming style of the first game, with the speedier gameplay of the second one, while tacking on a kind of tag team aspect, that allows you to pick up a teammate that follows you around (like Sonic 2) for special abilities. Some folks don't like this game, but I enjoyed. YES.

[dsx100]

Super Smash Bros: Yes

This game is probably the most unique fighting game of its time. It ditched the whole life bar thing, made you win by ring out, and it was ridiculously easy to play but yet very deep. A lot of games now copy the Smsh Bros formula, including is sequels, but it was pretty unique for its time and its still a blast to play. Seriously though, who wouldn't like to play as there favorite Nintendo mascot and beat the crap out of other Nintendo mascots. Best fighting game on N64 and probably the best multiplayer game on N64.

Orange Box: Why Not

Yes it relatively new and 3 of the games in the package still haven't got out of there new game feel but this deal is so damn good its really hard not to recommend. Half-life 2 is just a great game that is alone worth 50 bucks, but you also got 2 expansion packs for it, a great new puzzle action game, and a good multiplayer experince. Like many have said, its probably the best deal in video game history.

Crash 2: Yes

Just like the other two crash games, Crash 2 is just a great and unique platformer for the PSone. Everything from Crash 1 was brought back and improved upon greatly. The graphics, sound, and gameplay where all much better. There was also a lot more collectibles this time around which offered a lot of replay value to the game. The boss fights where just awsome, definately the best of the Crash series and some of my most favorite of any videogame. A great platformer that any PSone owner should try.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 (PS1): Borderline Yes

The PSone version of Alpha 3 really isn't the best version. The Dreamcast and PS2(found in Alpha Anthology) version are much better. However, the PSone version is still pretty good and I personally felt the missing frames didn't affect the game that much. All the modes, characters, graphics, and sound are still there making it a good fighting game for the PSone. If you only have a PSone or for some reason don't want to buy SF Alpha Anthology for PS2 the this is what you have to make due with and thats not a bad thing because Alpha 3 for PSone is still a great port. Its a great fighter even if its not the best version.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 (GBA): Yes

Agian not the best version of the game but for GBA and DS owners this the easily th best fighter avialable to you. Being able to play SFA3 where you wanted was great and the only option you had before MAX was released for PSP and still the only option for those without a PSP. As far as port wise goes, this games has its pros and cons. One big pro is that it doesn't suffer from the missing frames in PSone version so there aren't any timing issues. The cons are the graphics are a lot less detailed(but still great for the GBA), some of the modes found on the console versions where taken out and some stages and music where missing. Despite all this, its still pretty amazing that they where able to port SFA 3 to GBA. The game plays awsome, especially on DS lite and GBM which have great D-pads. The game looks and sounds great for a GBA game. This game also includes 3 new characters not found in previous versions. Awsome 2D fighter for GBA and DS that any Street Fighter or fighting game fan should definately pickup.

[Neo Samus]

Super Smash Bros. N64- HELL YES!!!!! I remember learning about this little game when I got an issue of EGM talking about the Import version. I was reading the article and I remember it saying, the chances of Smash Bros. coming to the US was very slim. I found out that my local import shop had the game to buy and demo for a small fee per hour. I was speechless. The game was amazing!!!! Why would this not be coming to america? I felt like I had to do something. So I did. I called Nintendo EVERYDAY (mind you I was like 14 or 15 at the time and I'm now 24) to bring this great game to the states. They might have already planned to bring before I called, but I like to feel like I had something to do with smash bros. coming to the states. That is why it is my must own.

[sephfire]

Vote tallies updated.

[BardicKnowledge]

seph, would you update the front post to reflect Megaman 8's correct title on the PSX category?

Right now it just reads "Megaman Anniversary Collector's Edition" with no '8', making it sound conspicuously like the Anniversary Collection released for PS2 (actually, Rockman Complete Works was released for PSX -- it was MM1-6 and had the remade music you can hear in Navi Mode on the PS2).