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Post by toei on Aug 13, 2019 21:16:44 GMT -5
For the record, I agree that Parasite Eve is a bit underrated / forgotten, if anything. I genuinely like the game, though I wouldn't put it on any "best of" list. As for release dates, while I understand the logic of sticking to the NA dates, I tend to think in terms of original release dates because it places those games' development in the proper context.
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Post by Sarge on Aug 13, 2019 21:20:14 GMT -5
Yeah, I can understand the desire to keep the original dates, because it keeps some of the tech in perspective. Kinda like how Dragon Warrior might have been better received if it had come out closer to its Japanese release date.
At the same time, that's kinda why I went with US release dates, because I know, at least from my standpoint, I didn't have access to the import scene when younger, and even now I don't really import much current stuff. It kinda gives a snapshot of the market at the time. (That also means I cheated a little by including Terranigma, which didn't make it to the US.)
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Post by Ex on Aug 13, 2019 21:28:06 GMT -5
This is a good time to mention that it boggles my mind to some degree that Thief came out in 1998. Given my playthrough last year, it's remarkable how modern it still felt, even when the graphics didn't match the feel. Super impressive they pulled that out of the hat then. Thief was hugely influential. I've seen it mentioned by many game developers in interviews over the years. Looking Glass was no normal studio. I'd wager the team's mean IQ was 140 at least.
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Post by Xeogred on Aug 13, 2019 21:46:25 GMT -5
1998 looks like it takes the cake for when 3D gaming really got into gear.
Putting Parasite Eve above some of the stuff you guys are dissing is laughable to me.
Link to the Past - 1992 Doom - 1993 Super Metroid, FF6 - 1994
Some random juggernauts I double checked.
Mega Man ONE came out in 1987... not the one I grew up on or a favorite, but well he is my Spirit-Robot.
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Post by Sarge on Aug 13, 2019 21:49:18 GMT -5
Yeah, 1994 had some doozies. Don't forget Mega Man X. Also released in 1994: - Donkey Kong Country - Demon's Crest - Shining Force II - Contra: Hard Corps - Castlevania: Bloodlines - Donkey Kong '94
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Post by toei on Aug 13, 2019 21:51:03 GMT -5
Yeah, I can understand the desire to keep the original dates, because it keeps some of the tech in perspective. Kinda like how Dragon Warrior might have been better received if it had come out closer to its Japanese release date. At the same time, that's kinda why I went with US release dates, because I know, at least from my standpoint, I didn't have access to the import scene when younger, and even now I don't really import much current stuff. It kinda gives a snapshot of the market at the time. (That also means I cheated a little by including Terranigma, which didn't make it to the US.) There's that, but what I'm really thinking of is the state of game design at a particular time, which is influenced by tech, but still distinct from it. The zeitgeist of game design, if you will, which seems to progress as a whole as games copy each other while adding big and little things along the way. If you think of Phantasy Star IV as a 1995 game, for example, it doesn't make it any less good, and it doesn't make its dynamic manga cutscenes or its multi-planet sci-fi / fantasy setting any less distinctive, but it fits generally within the zeigeist of 1995 RPGs in terms of the space given to story and dialogue VS dungeons, character development, game balance, the plentiful side-quests, etc. If you place it back at the end of 1993, then it's very clearly in advance over the rest of the genre in those areas; it's the first of that whole batch of mid-'90s RPG classics (the second is probably Final Fantasy VI, which came out about 4 and a half months later). The reverse applies to your example of DQ / DW 1, which didn't just appear outdated by 1989, but played outdated as well, with its tiny world and basic story.
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Post by Sarge on Aug 13, 2019 21:56:51 GMT -5
Yeah, I don't disagree with that, either. Design sensibilities change as well.
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Post by anayo on Aug 14, 2019 17:52:57 GMT -5
Well, I get where it comes from with 1998. I mean, we got both Ocarina of Time and Metal Gear Solid that year. But you've also got a few all-time greats on PC in Starcraft, Baldur's Gate, and Half-Life. Basically, there were a lot of genre-defining games that year. - Ocarina of Time - Metal Gear Solid - Panzer Dragoon Saga - Xenogears - Tekken 3 - Parasite Eve - Suikoden II - Baldur's Gate - Starcraft - Half-Life - Thief: The Dark Project - Banjo-Kazooie - F-Zero X - Spyro the Dragon Yeah I'm gonna have to go with 1998 too. Just so many awesome games.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2020 16:43:17 GMT -5
Yeah, 1994 had some doozies. Don't forget Mega Man X. Also released in 1994: - Donkey Kong Country - Demon's Crest - Shining Force II - Contra: Hard Corps - Castlevania: Bloodlines - Donkey Kong '94 But best of all, Super Metroid. And Final Fantasy III, Mortal Kombat II, Illusion of Gaia, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. My vote I think goes to 1994, though it's tough to choose. Anything after 1994 is a nixed for me, though, by the fact that 2D greatness > 3D greatness.
For the 80s, it's 1987. You got (US releases) Castlevania, Zelda, Kid Icarus, Mega Man, Metroid, Mike Tyson's Punch Out, Rygar, Zanac.
For the 00s, 2000 saw the release of the great RPG of all time, Ogre Battle 64. So yeah, that was a great year. Crazy Taxi, Diablo II, FFIX, MvC2, and Perfect Dark rounded out a great year.
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Post by Sarge on May 18, 2020 16:47:51 GMT -5
Yep, I was responding to Xeogred's post where he mentions Super Metroid and FFIII, two fantastic games. I definitely forgot about IoG (another fan, yay!), and at some point I need to play through the combined Sonic 3 & Knuckles... and this would be the month to do it. We'll see what I have in the tank after Jazz Jackrabbit.
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