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Post by Ex on Sept 12, 2022 11:02:34 GMT -5
I played a legit 3DO back in the '90s. A friend had one, and we messed with Space Hulk and a few other games. At that time, I remember thinking the 3DO was a crappier PlayStation, not even as good as the PC I had at the time. I forgot about the console as did most gamers soon thereafter. But what I didn't realize until recently, is how many odd exclusives the 3DO actually has. Sure the 3DO has a lot of ports, and maybe its exclusives by and large aren't as good compared to the more popular ports. But I'm wondering if anyone here has played such oddities as: And there's many more where those came from. Recently we've been seeing more 3DO English translations like Doctor Hauzer and Battle Blues. Is it time for the 3DO's second chance? Is the 3DO soon to become the hot thing in retro gaming? Or will it once again wither into the confines of scorned obscurity? What do YOU think of the 3DO?
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Post by bonesnapdeez on Sept 12, 2022 12:06:03 GMT -5
I like it a lot, but we shouldn't oversell it too much. Most any "random" 3DO game is probably going to be very bad.
The console occupies a weird spot, stuck between the 16-bit CD-ROM systems (peripherals) and the much more robust 5th generation.
As far as games go, Lucienne's Quest is the shining jewel of the system. An early 3D JRPG, it's got a neat isometric battle system, charming characters, and a funny (but not obnoxiously dated) script. Peak Microcabin. There's also Guardian War, which is a solid strategy RPG albeit with some ugly visuals.
D, the FMV horror classic, which originated on the 3DO and is two-disc, is essential. I'm also a big fan of Strahl, an anime FMV game like Time Gal.
There are some solid sports games on the system. I love the T&E Soft golf titles, but of course those are multi-plat.
3DO packaging, in North America at least, was both awesome and obnoxious with those giant ass long boxes.
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Post by toei on Sept 12, 2022 12:17:30 GMT -5
I have more respect for the 3DO than famous failed consoles of the '90s like the Jaguar, CD-i, or 32X. It did have a few killer apps at the time; Need for Speed started as a 3DO-exclusive, Gex as its mascot. The 3DO Road Rash was a lot of fun and received rave reviews when it came out. It was the first real 3D console, a full year before the Saturn and PSX. Sure, the 3D wasn't on the same level as what those consoles would eventually produce (though it wasn't much worse than their first-gen titles), but I was a little kid at the time, and a year was an eternity, so it counted for a lot. I never owned one - I only got to try a store demo once. I played what I remember as a 3D offroad game (not sure what it was) for a few minutes and was blown away. It was a very expensive console, just like all the others I mentioned were at launch, and there was never any chance that my mother was going to buy me one, but I used to look at this store catalogue we had and fantasize I owned all those consoles, even the shitty ones. I had no idea what the CDI was like, but it cost like 500$, so I had to assume it was great.
As I mentioned recently, the only 3DO game I played from start to finish is its one Japanese RPG that got an English-language release, Lucienne's Quest. Not the most attractive title, but it's a surprisingly fun, solid and fast-paced turn-based RPG with light SRPG elements in its battle system. Maybe not that surprising knowing that Micro Cabin made it. Micro Cabin was like a mini-Falcom in the '80s, with Xak being their Ys, up until they jumped into the console world. They also made Mystara: Realms of the Lore on the Saturn, an overlooked SRPG. Lucienne's Quest used a mix of 2D sprites and wild-ass early 3D for environments. Compared to the other 32-bit RPGs that used the same mix, it looks pretty crazy.
Lucienne's Quest is evidence of something interesting about the 3DO; unlike the Jaguar, the other major American-made console of the time, it really tried to make it in Japan. In the end it didn't make it anywhere, but there were a number of Japan-only RPGs that came out, and other games tailored to the Japanese market, years before Microsoft would try and fail in turn. There were ports of a few famous Japanese 2D fighters, and a few mediocre to bad exclusive fighters, but nothing to brag about. Notably, for the first real polygon-pushing console, it never got a proper 3D fighter. As a fan of the genre, that bothers me. Even the 32X had a surprisingly decent Virtua Fighter port. Later on, the 3DO's planned successor, the M2, was repurposed as an arcade board, powering a couple of 3D fighters by Konami that I still don't think are fully emulated yet. I still hope to play Fighting Bujutsu.
The lack of exclusives is what hurts the 3DO's legacy the most. Most of its successful titles were ported to the PSX and Saturn before long. Need for Speed, Road Rash, Gex. Even Lucienne's Quest was remade for the Saturn in Japan (under its original, very unoriginal title of Sword & Sorcery). That leaves very few reasons to revisit the console.
Personally, I'm intrigued by this RPG. Maybe it can get a translation one day soon?
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Post by anayo on Sept 12, 2022 12:33:40 GMT -5
My favorite 3DO exclusive is Immercenary.
My favorite 3DO "timed exclusive" is Road Rash. (The video below is not the 3DO version, it's me beating the Windows version in 2020, but I think it still counts.)
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Post by Ex on Sept 13, 2022 13:57:00 GMT -5
Most any "random" 3DO game is probably going to be very bad. Yet possibly very weird, and therefore entertaining in its own right (for a little while). >Lucienne's Quest is the shining jewel of the system
Is there any 3DO exclusive that's legit good? I used to look at this store catalogue we had and fantasize I owned all those consoles, even the shitty ones. Yeah I remember those days. I bother much fantasizing about owning consoles in the '90s that cost $500+ dollars (that's about $970 in today's money). Although, I did build a PC in 1994 that cost me ~$500 in parts, and I worked my ass mowing lawns for a whole summer to afford that. My idea at the time was a PC that cost $500 would have a far larger library of games than a console that cost $500. And PC games tended to (and still do) depreciate very quickly, so better for my meager budget back then. But I digress. >Micro Cabin was like a mini-Falcom They were, but they also made this for 3DO: I don't think Falcom would have made that. I appreciate Micro Cabin's risk taking there though. Seems like that's the trend for non-Japanese console makers who try to infiltrate that market. Japanese gamers want Japanese consoles and Japanese games. >for the first real polygon-pushing console, it never got a proper 3D fighterYeah Ballz: The Director's Cut is the closest thing, and it's not real 3D. >The lack of exclusives is what hurts the 3DO's legacy the mostI agree, but I'd change that to "quality exclusives", because the 3DO has plenty of oddball (and likely crappy) exclusives. I mean, where else you gonna play Dennis Miller: That's News to Me or Blonde Justice? >very few reasons to revisit the consoleI always considered the 3DO to be a joke console. Nowadays? It's still a joke console. But not for a lack of Panasonic/Sanyo/GoldStar trying. They needed better third party developers to provide high quality exclusives that STAYED exclusive. Despite being a joke, I think the 3DO does have plenty to offer for retronauts who enjoy kitschy obscurities. In that regard, I'll probably mess with some 3DO emulators in the future. If/when I do, I'll post 3DO game thoughts here. My favorite 3DO exclusive is Immercenary. Doesn't look too bad considering. Also, 3DO has DOOM and Wolfenstein 3D. Alas, no Quake.
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Post by bonesnapdeez on Sept 13, 2022 15:26:48 GMT -5
The lack of exclusives hurts it, but I don't find it a huge deal. The Atari 7800, for instance, in another great system with mostly multi-plat games.
Now, best exclusive on the 3DO? The aforementioned Guardian War.
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Post by Xeogred on Sept 13, 2022 19:47:03 GMT -5
I still get the 3DO and Jaguar mixed up. Just had to reconfirm with a quick search, it's the Jaguar I saw once in the wild at a friends of my dad's back in the day. That's all I've got. lol
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Post by bonesnapdeez on Sept 13, 2022 19:55:47 GMT -5
I still get the 3DO and Jaguar mixed up. Some of those heavily ported games did end on both systems: Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Syndicate, Flashback...
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Post by anayo on Sept 15, 2022 6:58:10 GMT -5
I think the most overrated 3DO game is Gex. I used to own the Saturn version. One day when chibby and I were around high school or college age we tried playing it together. The levels were super generic and it didn't feel good to control, so we put it away. However I do really like this fan animation of Gex as the star of a made-up Saturday morning cartoon. I know it isn't real, but it still captures the feeling of what it was like growing up during the 90's mascot animal craze. I think the most disappointing 3DO game is Doom. The bloke who got hired to do it found out that his employer knew nothing at all about making games. Mr. Boss Man apparently thought that porting a game was just a "drag and drop" operation. So the guy working on 3DO Doom went into crunch mode, cobbling together what is now considered one of the worst versions of Doom. There's a video interview somewhere online where I learned all this, but for some reason I can't find it now. I wonder what a proper 3DO port of Doom would look like if it had the right time and resources put into it. I'm thinking like Doom 32X Resurrection, but for the 3DO.
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Post by Ex on Sept 15, 2022 8:34:45 GMT -5
That Gex parody video was 100% spot on, very impressive lampooning all around. As far as Gex video games go, the franchise was never able to muster even an ounce of interest from me. I was probably already too old for Gex when it originally debuted. I do recall seeing video of the game once, and thinking the character animation was smooth and it was interesting how Gex could climb on walls and ceilings. Maybe that Spider-Man movement set lead to some unusual level design at least.
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