A brilliant satire, one of those games where you could type just about anything and the game would understand. Great music accompanied by great comedy. Truly a gem of computer games.
I'd say this game along with Pitfall were the top 2 games for Atari 2600, but this game was the type you could just keep playing and playing. For me, this was the first true space shooter, and deserves the credit for why the market was so saturated with them later on. Still, modern-day versions do exist, but this is one where the original is the original.
In my opinion, the best game for the Atari 2600. It gave you basically an adventure game that was still simple, and easy to navigate. The problem with most Atari adventure games was that you wouldn't know what the next step was, and there was no guide to really help. That said, this game's simplicity helped it stand out.
This is one of the games that made arcades legendary, and one of the main reasons anybody ever went to one to begin with. Even when people were playing Street Fighter in the early 90's, this early 80's classic would still have people playing. This game was found in laundromats, pizza shops, and arcades, and made countless businesses plenty of quarters. I still have no idea if they had to share royalties or not.
So much difficulty. If you play this game normally, you will have a heck of a time beating it. However, with the 30 lives code, a solid couple hours and you're all set. A great shooter game. Until I found the code, this game would have been too hard to rank high, but I think that gives gamers an extra challenge, even when they beat it with the code, they can go back and try with just the normal 3 lives.
Rygar was one of the first original adventure games. It had the feel of Zelda and Zelda II rolled into one, and for me, that made this game special. What stood out more than anything was what, at the time, was the most superb landscapes ever seen in a video game; I dare say even better than Mario or Zelda. Another great part of Rygar was the catchy music in the background, every level made you feel like a hero.
This game was a real gem in the NES library, actually one of the best games on the NES in my opinion. Has a maze feel to it, the only thing I don't like is that locked doors re-lock after you open them , so use those keys wisely. I wouldn't quite rank it as high as Zelda or Punch-Out, but it was certainly one of my all-time favorites, and it's still fun today. You usually don't expect quality games from movies, but this proved otherwise.
To this day, I still consider this one of the hardest games ever played. Punch-Out was hard, but beatable. This game? Just not beatable. But that didn't stop children from trying. an instant classic. Even today I would consider this a go-to game in terms of fun and challenge. I think even today it could contend with some modern-day great games.
The graphics of systems were becoming more advanced, but the storylines seemed to dissipate in the opinion of some. While a game like Final Fantasy III (USA)/Final Fantasy VI (Japan) (SNES version) had so many sidequests, the engine limited the graphics. When PS2 came along, the graphics improved, but the vastness decreased. I still think the Final Fantasy series has delivered some of the more riveting stories compared to some other games. This game did, however, have somewhat of a shocking ending, but all in all it's a good play and still recommended.
Mario continued to improve; the feature of this game that stayed with me was the fact that the 1st player could choose not only Mario or Luigi, but also Peach or Toad, something that for me at the time seemed revolutionary.
One of the classic fighting games. Most people had some version or another of Street Fighter, but the series of Street Fighter II was what sent this series into hyperdrive. Out of them all, I think Street Fighter II Turbo was my personal favorite, only because it's the version at my nearest arcade at the time. The only problem with the Street Fighter series was that it was hard to create anything new and fresh until many years later, so most people probably felt it got stale or repetitive. However, this game still brings back memories.
A new legendary character was born, and I won't spoil it for you, but most know what I'm talking about probably. In any case, I believe this was really the first side scroller where the adventure hero could manipulate a simple 2-button controller into so many moves. It was definitely a fun feel, and incredibly challenging. It was kind of like a maze within a story mode. And it wasn't just a side scroller, for the most part it was, but you could also have times where you're going up or down. The Metroid series would be around for a long time.
While the original was innovate, MegaMan 2 created a smoother control system, more seamless gameplay, whch resulted in a better experience. The first was good, but I consider the second to the best in the series, as I found later renditions to be too repetitive.
A side-scroller adventure game; the controls were good. It's a very good game actually, but the levels are plagued with pitfalls that seem unavoidable. It's a challenge.
Personally, I find this game very frustrating by level 2 with the Medusa Heads and Pitfalls, and I kept getting killed by the spikey chandeliers in level 2 when they weren't really touching me. CastleVania II is certainly far worse, but this game did spark what was a nice run for the series, and the controls were fluid, which is more than many NES games can say.
Super Mario Bros. was a video game that changed the video game industry forever. It took us from the Atari into worlds with scenery. Over time, the scenery would continuously improve even to this day, and the original Mario, Nintendo's flagship character, has become a mainstay.
This game was an underrated masterpiece. Like many other games, it fell victim to the factor of "It's too much like Final Fantasy," which in my opinion, just isn't true here. Sure, it's a battle-system RPG, but the battle system was much different, that music was astounding, the challenge was excellent, the CGI cutscenes were epic. If there was one downgrade to this game, it was the factor that the non-cutscene graphics were much like Final Fantasy VII, 2 years later, when other games had developed smoother similar graphics. What stood out to me most, was this was one of, if not the first, game to utilize voiced cutscenes that didn't sound electronically integrated. This game was a real treat for RPG fans, and a must-play for those who haven't heard of it.
The legendary series has always stepped up its game when it comes to quality, and this is no exception.
This game was just awesome. For my local arcade, there were essentially 3 games that were a must: Pac-Man, Street Fighter, & Double Dragon. One of the absolute best side-scrollers of all-time. Controls were fluid, and you could power up with better weapons dropped by enemies. Highly recommended.
Probably the only true competition for Mario's legacy, but between the originals, Zelda stands as the far superior original game. Mario was the pioneer. Zelda was the man. It took us into this in-depth world of monsters unlike anything we had ever seen before, and we would continue saying that about Zelda games for many many years. This game was awesome, but challenging. if you plan on beating it without any codes, prepare yourself for a long haul in advance.
The first Mario on the SNES console, and it did not disappoint. it was very much like Super Mario Bros. 3 in terms of mechanics and various worlds, but added elements, one infamous character (Yoshi), and tweaked a bit of what you could do with Mario in some regards. Essentially, it focused a lot on developing what Mario could do with Yoshi. I would say this is just a step above Mario 3, but of course the graphics improving helped out a bit as well.
This was a unique take on a Mario game. Mario had been knocking out every genre left and right, from educational games, 3-d, arcade-style, side-scroller, the only genre that wasn't utilizing Mario was RPG, until this gem. I have to admit, I was a bit taken aback by the new characters introduced, that haven't really re-emerged into the Mario mainstream quite yet. However, this game still had a great battle system, with entertaining music, and all-in-all, gave you that Mario experience you were looking for. What really is impressive about this game, is the popularity it received, despite the emergence of next gen systems like the N64 shortly after it's release.
To this day, I still consider this the best boxing game of all-time, even better than those of today with great graphics, this still brings the most fun. Full of colorful characters, and eventually and insanely difficult challenge at the end on a few opponents.
It is my belief that this was the game that skyrocketed Zelda into the label of "legendary." SNES RPG-style games changed the face of the gaming industry forever, and games with stories became vast worlds to explore--Zelda was no exception, and some even consider it a pioneer.
One of the best games ever made. This was one of those games that you could play for endless hours; and in fact I almost did. It was challenging, yet had a captivating story; actually several stories, with what were advanced video game graphics at the time. However, the true testament to this game was the vast storyline, and the control system amidst the battle system. My only complaint may have been certain moves were hard to perform on an SNES controller, and there was one part that would have been impossible to figure out without utilizing a cheat code, in regards to the last part of the first half of the game on the floating world. Truly a legendary game. On a side note, this game was released in Japan as Final Fantasy VI, and re-released on Sony PlayStation as Final Fantasy VI, with remastered cutscenes. I would recommend playing that version if possible. The TRULY great way to play this game is without codes, and leveling up your characters, it is frustrating but it is the ESSENTIAL frustration/enjoyment phenomenon that made this great.
This game was a masterpiece. it gave us young link and adult link, in a world of time travel. For the time, it was a great new 3d landscape that had only been done with great success by Mario. The music was the key to this game, as it was a main point. Add to this the vast amount of sidequests, which really makes a game. Replay value can go a long way in making or breaking a game. The worry for many was that enhanced graphics would decrease the value of gameplay, however games like Mario 64 and Zelda 64 did not let their audiences down.