It's a shame because I really did want to like this game due to the source material it was based from. But it's really hard to turn a blind eye to its glaring problems. Oh well, at least we have the TV show.
I always wanted to play Midnight Club 3 because everyone always raved about that game back in the day. I just never got around to. In fact, I never made it past the original Midnight Club, which as far as I can tell is quite primitive compared to the sequels.
Sweet yo! You ain't gonna find that edition of the game laying around most places for that cheap. Nice work!
Stage Select (in no particular order of importance)
Disclaimer: Some of these may be paraphrased since I can't find the exact woradge online. Sorry.
1. Super Mario RPG
When the game says "Mallow the tadpole joins your party (although he looks nothing like a tadpole)!" It was great way to confirm that the game wasn't insulting your intelligence regarding Mallow clearly not being a tadpole.
2. Beyond Good and Evil
Uncle Pey'j (page): "You guys are not what I'd call 'faster than a speeding bullet'" *news abrubly cuts out the rest of his comment* (might be a bit of obscure reference. But if you played that BGE, you'd love the way it happens throughout the game.)
3. Metal Gear Solid
Revolver Ocelot: "And don't even think about using auto-fire!" (He called my bluff right then and there because I was sooo going to do it! I've never seen what happens if you do though).
Crono Crossing 1993
This may not be a popular choice, but my favorite from 1993 is Rocket Knight Adventures. This felt like Konami putting their best foot forward as far as original IPs on the Sega Genesis.
My favorite moment in the game is at the end of stage 5 where Axle chases you in a giant robot, culminating in a sweet robot deathmatch!
Sparkster was one of the few good 90s animal mascots that managed not to be completely forgettable. Also this was the only Sega Genesis game I got brand new (around 1995-ish) thanks to my dad and a K-B Toys bargin bin. Very cherished memory!
Chrono Crossing 1994
Without question it's Super Metroid. My first game in the series was Metroid II and I was estatic when my brother brought home Super Metroid and we saw that sweet prologue that picked up where the previous game left off.
Nintendo hit it out of the park in terms of gameplay, music, and erie atmospher. Interestingly enough, exploring planet Zebeth in this version helped me to find certain secrets in the original Metroid and finally beat it.
Chrono Crossing 1995
I know this is probably going to come up a lot for this edition of Chrono Crossing, but I have to give it up for Chrono Trigger! When I originally found out about it from online game sites in 1999-ish, our Super NES was long gone. So I didn't dare pass up the chance to play it on Final Fantasy Chronicles in 2001.
What surprised me the most was the feeling of nostalgia I felt when I heard the music themes early in the game, despite never having played it on the SNES before. From the melancholy piano theme of the forest to the heroic motiff of Frog's theme, the music is what tied the superb story and gameplay elements together for me.
Chrono Trigger was played at a time when I was still relatively new to RPGs and it hit me in just the right way!
Chrono Crossing 1996
My personal favorite for 1996 is Crash Bandicoot. It was an excellent PlayStation debut from Naughty Dog. Crash's neurotic yet unlikely hero characterization helped him to avoid the hackneyed '90s "Xtreme-animal-with-'tude" that other developers had been chasing since Sonic the Hedgehog.
The music was well composed and the visual presentation was gorgeous (for 1996). And I loved that the game did something I always wanted to see-- having your character run towards the screen for a change instead of just "into" the screen or right and left.
I remember feeling hurt back then that a surprising number of people merely wrote it off as a poor man's Mario 64 simply because Crash Bandicoot didn't have an open world design. The game deserved much better and thankfully did well enough to spawn two beautiful sequels and an awesome kart racing game.
I totally can't wait for this ga....oh, wait...
Chrono Crossing 1999
For me it was a tie between Ape Escape and Ridge Racer Type 4. Ape Escape was the very first time in my life that I purchased a newly released video game. I felt like I had finally caught up to everyone else instead having to buy games that were a year or two older.
I played that game to death for well over a year and it stands of one the best plaformers on the PlayStation (in my humble opinion).
Ridge Racer Type 4 has gotten plenty of accolades over the years, so I won't waste time gushing over it. But my best memory of that game was when my brother brought it home and we saw the intro movie for the time. The first few seconds were so impressive that we thought he somehow got the wrong game.
R4 represented a suave style in racing that Namco has never quite been able to nail again, which was really disappointing to see when I played RR 5 on the PS2.
Stage Select
3. NES- The console that started console gaming for me. Circa 1989, my older brother won $100 from his middle school for being the top honor roll student. He took that money and got the NES Action Set. After playing the Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt for the first time it was the beginning of a beautiful thing.
2. Super NES- It was the consoles I spent the most imt eplaying with my brother. We spend countless hours playing NBA Live '96, Super Mario WorldKart, Kirby's Dream Course, and our all-time fovrite-- Tetris Attack. But perhaps the best SNES moment for me was sometime in 1995 when he brought home Super Metroid and played it for the first time. We were hooked from the opening sequence to the end credits. It was an experience I just could get on the Genesis.
1. PlayStation baby!! To quote Angelo, it was my "coming of age system". It was the first console I saved for with my own money earned from 10 weeks of shining my dad's shoes (and other house chores). I ahd to scrimp, save, andor trade for every every game I purchaed and played each game unitl I could play them in my sleep. Best of all, this was the console that introduced me to JRPGS-- Final Fantasy 7, FF Chronicles (Chrono Trigger), Star Ocean: 2nd Story, Legend of Dragoon, and Chrono Cross. In short, the PlayStation was the system that confirmed I'd be gaming for the rest of my life.
Chrono Crossing
My pick is Crono Cross. Beautiful graphics. Awesome soundtrack. Story was great. Probably the game I spent the most time with during that time period. Also, special shoutout to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and Legend of Dragoon.
