Skip to main content

The top 50: 49-40

Well, we are sill going with the list. I hope that people have actually been reading this...





49. All Star Baseball Series (Acclaim, N64)

Acclaim released the first installment of the All Star Baseball series in 1999 on the Nintendo 64. It revolutionized the way players swung the bat with its then-unique targeting reticle. Player batting stances and pitching windups were motion captured, another reason that this game felt like a true simulation. It was the first really good baseball game to include both the MLB and the MLB players association licenses. Even my dad was totally addicted to this game... it's a shame the series never truly evolved.
photo courtesy of coolrom.com




48. Donkey Kong Country 2 (Rare, SNES)

Donkey Kong Country was more than good enough to make this list. Its sequel was even better, with bigger, better levels, more worlds and even greater challenge. Donkey Kong has been captured and it is now up to Diddy Kong to rescue him. Diddy's new partner Dixie adds a whole new dimension to the game with her ability to glide and bridge big gaps. All of the extras give DKC 2 a lot more depth than most action games.

photo courtesy of 8bitx.com




47. Starfox 64 (Nintendo, N64)

Star Fox 64 was the first game to feature the rumble pack, an accessory that made the N64 controller vibrate. While the peripheral may have been pointless, the game itself was awesome. Players control Fox McCloud in his quest to battle the evil overlord Andross. Players can travel through all sorts of different environments blasting through hordes of enemies. The easy levels will become no problem after a little experience, but the hard ones are a major challenge for any player. The game does a great job of creating atmosphere too.
photo courtesy of neogaf.com




46. Lunar: The Silver Star Story (Working Design, Sega CD)

The Sega CD console was short lived and full of awful titles, but this game was an exception. Players take the roll of Alex, a young man looking to break away from the dull small town life he lives. Along with his girlfriend Luna and best friend Ramus, Alex sets out in search of a better life. After a chance meeting with a legendary creature, the three learn just how important they are to the future of their world. The game has an awesome battle system and an epic story. It is also one of the most challenging RPGs of all time.
photo courtesy of romulation.com



45. WCW vs. NWO revenge (THQ, N64)

It is hard to believe that WCW, a company that is no longer in business, was kicking the tar out of the WWF in the ratings in 1998. This game only beat its WWF counterpart on the list by a few spots, mostly because of its grappling system. Different combinations of three buttons allowed players to unleash an arsenal of moves with each wrestler. In addition to the huge list of WCW wrestlers, players could select from competitors who are based on Japanese stars (they absolutely LOVE professional wrestling in Japan). The best part though...hitting your opponent over the head with a steel chair.
photo courtesy of coolrom.com




44. Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike (Capcom, PS 1)

The sequel to the most popular fighting game of all time, Street Fighter 3 added a whole new dimension to the fighting system. Players could now parry and use super moves, a new feature to the series. Aside from series mainstays Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li, SF 3 introduced a whole new cast of characters. Perhaps most notable was the new boss Gil, who was an unbelievable challenge. This game would have been higher, but the imperfection of one of the new features holds it back. A player that is good at parrying can easily parry every single strike you throw at them...and that is just no fun.
photo courtesy of shoryuken.com



43. Timesplitters 2 (Eidos/Free Radical Design, PS2)

This shooter was released around the same time as a certain other overrated first person shooter. The game's story may have been awful but the levels were expansive and challenging. Timesplitters also added tons of little challenges and extras to keep players coming back for more. The map editor could have been a little better, but it was still fun. LAN play allowed for linked games between different PS2s. Truly and underrated classic.

photo courtesy of nintendospin.com



42. Resident Evil 2 (Capcom, PS1)

During the first Resident Evil, players learned that the T-virus had been leaked into the Midwestern town of Raccoon City. The town's entire populous has been turned into zombies and have destroyed everything in site. To get the game's full experience players must play through twice, once as Claire Redfield and again as Leon Kennedy. Both characters have unique back stories that are fleshed out throughout the game. RE 2 had a little more action than its predecessor, but it didn't detract from the horror.


photo courtesy of tech.uk


41. Final Fantasy 4 (Square, SNES)

Known as Final Fantasy 2 in the United States, it is actually the 4th game in the series. It's active time battle system became a staple of the series for years to come. Sure the system was a little flawed, but it was extremely revolutionary for its time. The story was pretty awesome too. Few games had as much character development as FF 4. It is easy to legitimately feel attached to the characters. Although most of its sequels are superior games, the fact that FF 4 is so high on the list shows how great the series is.

photo courtesy of ps2fantsy.com

40. Chrono Trigger (Square, SNES)

Chrono Trigger put yet another unique spin on the RPG genre. A freak accident sends Chrono and his friends back in time. Players travel from time period to time period exploring the world at different points in its development. Critics raved about the battle system which incorporated the active time battle system along with double and triple team moves. Random battles were replaced by contact based ones which was a huge plus for many players. All of that combined with awesome graphics and production make this a truly great game.
photo courtesy of benford.com










Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The 10s: Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven

When I first started writing about games, I was very hesitant to include PC titles at all. As I've said numerous times before, it's just not something I've ever really felt qualified to talk about. There are so many iconic PC games that were just blind spots for me as I never really actively sought them out. If it didn't come on a PC Gamer demo disc or I didn't hear about it through word of mouth, I didn't know about it. Does anyone else remember those PC Gamer demo discs? I had as much fun playing with the UI on them as I did any of the actual demos. Maybe if I spent less time clicking around the secret underground club and more on actually playing the games, I would have had more PC experience. Eh, I'm okay with the fact that while Fallout and Diablo weren't nearly as critical a part of my early gaming life as Coconut Monkey. Even when I did play and enjoy PC games, it was typically because I played the console versions first. Games like Doom, Command ...

Lost Odyssey: Part 2

Last week, we started our look at Lost Odyssey, a title that seemed to break unwritten rules of gaming left and right. We have a traditional RPG, which is the brainchild of the creator of Final Fantasy, released for XBox, a console not known for the genre, at a time when said genre was at what felt like the absolute bottom of its popularity. We started with the story, characters and world, all of which I thought were really good to great. That's a great start for an RPG, where those aspects are very important. But all of that can be undone if the gameplay isn't up to par. It's critical in any generation, but this is an essential aspect to call out in 7th gen RPGs. There was a lot of experimentation going on in the genre at the time, a lot of which didn't yield positive results. I guess I get it, the genre wasn't doing well at the time and developers were trying to do anything they could to bring it back to relevance. Sometimes, that meant terrible gimmicks. Other ti...

The 10s - Resident Evil 4

  "The American Prevailing" is a cliche that only happens in your Hollywood movies. Oh Mr. Kennedy, you entertain me. To show my appreciation, I will help you awaken from your world of cliches." Of all my 10s games, I think Resident Evil 4 may be the one I feel the weirdest about. I know, I know, how could I feel any level weird about Resident Evil 4, one of the most sacred of sacred cows of gaming history. This is one of those games that people will straight up rail you for disliking, as if it's some sort of personal attack. I guess that's starting to change a little bit, it's become a victim of being so popular that people start to hate it just for being so. That always seems to happen in the gaming industry, though that is a different discussion for a different day. Besides, it's not really why I've always had a sort of weird relationship with RE 4. I'm not the first person to say this and I'm certainly not going to last, but it just didn...