12.25
So after a bit of deliberation we decided to give you a double dose of fun for Christmas! Here is the next ten entries in our awesome list, cobbled together by AR staff members and a few guest contributors from the forums. If you have something to say about this whole affair, would you kindly check in on our lovely forums and tell us face to face? Without further ado, the next ten games are as follows…
#90
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Beat ‘Em Up, Brawler
Release Date: 1992
Platforms: Super Nintendo Entertainment System [SNES]
*NOTE: We are aware there is an arcade version of this game, but we are ranking the Super Nintendo version instead as it has a number of additions to it that make it far and away the best version.
The late-80s and early-90s were easily the peak of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise in popularity. While the show and toys were enjoying major success, a movie also came out bringing even more buzz, and Konami made a few NES and arcade games to capitalize on the success. While there were a few good [The original arcade game], not so good [the original NES game] and some great games [the third NES game is a quiet classic], it wasn’t until this port of the second arcade game to the SNES that the games achieved a true classic. Other than having a bit less animation, different sounding instruments for the music, and two players as opposed to four (the only real downside to this version), the SNES game improved tremendously on the original arcade release. Dashing, throwing, sliding, angled attacks, perfected boss attacks featuring more and better bosses from the original version, as well as an additional stage, TMNT IV is not only one of the best games on the SNES, but one of the best licensed games ever. ~ Spark Of Spirit
#89
Star Fox 64
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Rail Shooter
Release Date: 1997
Platforms: Nintendo 64, Wii
iQue Player
Gamers were first graced with piloting the iconic Arwing as Fox McCloud on the SNES with the original Star Fox. With Star Fox 64, we got a sequel that capitalized on the original in every way and brought the experience to a whole new level. I’m not just talking about little things like real 3D graphics and voice acting being added into the series, but the whole experience in general. We now had far more versatility in controlling the Arwing, along with Fox’s other vehicles, including both a Tank and a Submarine, and we had even more expertly designed stages with creative and challenging obstacles. Most importantly the game was memorable from beginning to end, and holds the most replay value out of any game in the entire Star Fox series. While multiple paths through the game was nothing new, this game offered so much variety in how you transversed you’re way to the final encounter with Andross. If you beat one stage normally, you’d move onto the next zone directly ahead, but if you were to experiment around and fly in a certain pattern, you’d unlock a completely alternate path with a new end-level boss fight, and find yourself in a completely different zone in the next level, possibly even piloting a different vehicle. Indeed, Star Fox 64’s greatest strength was how dynamic the entire adventure felt. It may have been a fairly short rail-shooter, but it was crammed with so many secrets and so much variety that it never felt stale or repetitive. Every level was a blast from beginning to end, the boss fights were tough and memorable, and the soundtrack was nothing short of greatness, as to be expected from a classic Nintendo title. What we ended up getting was one of the best rail shooter experiences ever put to a console, both at its time and still to this day. ~ Ensatsu-ken
#88
Shinobi III: Return Of The Ninja Master
Developer: Sega (Soft7)
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Action-Platformer, Action
Release Date: 1993
Platform: Sega Genesis, Nintendo Wii
PC, iPhone
The original Shinobi games were side-scrolling arcade games that were all great experiences. But after Sega’s own Revenge Of Shinobi from 1988 hinted at something a bit more, it would take four years to see the follow up. Sega’s Team Shinobi (Soft7) worked long and hard on the follow up, even scrapping levels from the game before it was shipped out and designing whole new ones. The result? One of the very best games of all time. What Shinobi III added were a lot more than better aesthetics, but also what Sega and the team had learned in the years since its predecessors from not only themselves, but other hit action games. That’s right, Sonic The Hedgehog, Contra III, Ninja Gaiden, the Game Gear Shinobi games, and even the rise of fighting games and beat em ups all contributed a lot to the great additions Shinobi III added. What this meant for was a faster pace, acrobatic platforming, set-pieces, many more moves, strategy, and a good balanced level of difficulty. While there were few Shinobi games after this (only 3), all took after this entry as many have considered it the series peak. Not only the series peak, but one of gaming’s peaks as well. ~ Spark Of Spirit
#87
Ys: The Oath in Felghana
Developer: Nihon Falcom Corporation
Publisher: Nihon Falcom Corporation / XSeed Games [North America]
Genre: Action-RPG, Adventure
Release Date: 2005
Platforms: PC, PlayStation Portable [PSP]
One of Japan’s most treasured series, the Ys series of games could best be described as an RPG for the action gamer. You need fast reflexes, a good battle plan, and the right weapons to win any fight. This is an RPG where depending on the type of player you are, the stats either mean nothing, or are your best chance at survival. It’s a curious style of game, and one that has hooked gamers for decades. But it’s this remake of the original Ys III (originally a side-scrolling platformer) that combines the fast paced action of the original Ys games, with the hardcore action of later installments, and creative platforming, and exploration influenced from the original Zelda games that sets it apart from nearly every other game of its type. While the Ys series has a lot of versions of a lot of games [Personal recommendation – the Turbografx version of Ys I & II], this stands as the fan favorite and is one of the best action games available. Don’t miss it! ~ Spark Of Spirit
#86
Yakuza 2
Developer: Amusement Vision
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Action-Adventure, Beat ‘Em Up
Release Date: 2008
Platform: PlayStation 2
Kazuma Kiryu returns to the streets of Kabukichou Kamurocho to wreak further havoc on the notorious crime syndicates and amateurish street gangs of Japan’s seedy underbelly! Armed with tight controls, manly voice acting, and super fly fashion sense, you’ll spend hours upon hours cracking skulls, playing mahjong, and exploring two decently-sized cities. With Yakuza 2, you get the complete package; fast and satisfying combat, a truly great storyline, tons of content, and some of the best video game music from the aughts. 3D beat ’em ups are rarely worth giving the time of day, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find many games more outright fantastic than this one! ~ Foggle
#85
Jet Set Radio Future
Developer: Smilebit
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Action-Adventure, Platformer
Release Date: 2002
Platforms: XBOX
Most platformers simply involve jumping and climbing you’re way from one location to another, while most action-adventure games merely involve you hitting a bunch of bad guys until they can’t get back up in addition to some exploration here and there. Jet Set Radio Future, however, is not like most games. As a platformer, it literally involves you skating through various terrains, with you’re main objective to bring some life and soul to the cities that are claimed by rival street skating gangs. On top of this unique way to traverse and platform you’re environment, the game also offers unique action scenarios, from having you plow through multiple opposing enemies with your jet rocket propelled skates to literally grinding on mechanical bosses. Its a game that is unique, colorful, and full of character through and through, and it does a damn good job of whatever it tries to do. Most games get criticized for being repetitive with scenarios and having dull gameplay, but every minute of JSRF literally has you doing something so bizarre that its unforgettable, from skating on roller-coaster tracks to racing against another gang in a game of Death Ball. Add onto that plenty of unlockable characters to join your gang, multiple non-linear environments that are so grand in scope to explore, and a great soundtrack to keep the mood of the game flowing, and you have yourself a true, sadly underrated, masterpiece. This game owes a lot to its predecessor on the Dreamcast, Jet Grind Radio, which set the core mechanics into motion and established an identity and attitude for the game, however Jet Set Radio Future ranks on our list for taking the soul of what made its predecessor so great and putting its own spin on the formula with a more aggressive and faster style of skating and platforming and a wholly fulfilling story mode with tons of extra side-missions to keep you playing for hours on end. ~ Ensatsu-ken
#84
Gunstar Heroes
Developer: Treasure / M2 [Game Gear]
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Run N’ Gun, Shooter, Action
Release Date: 1993
Platforms: Sega Genesis, Nintendo Wii
XBOX 360, PlayStation 3, Sega Game Gear
The evil organization is threatening to destroy the world by collecting the four gems! Get them first and stop the bad guys. But who cares, really? This is a Treasure game. Nobody plays a Treasure game for the story- though this is probably the least offensive one by far being so simple and unobtrusive. Treasure was made up of ex-Konami staff that worked on games like Axelay and Contra III: The Alien Wars, and one can easily see how that is playing Gunstar Heroes. In Gunstar Heroes, you mix and match weapons before stages to give yourself an original custom gun, select your stage like so much Mega Man, drop kick and throw enemies, fight some truly creative bosses and scale some fantastic original stages, leading to what many consider not only Treasure’s best game, but one of the best on the Sega Genesis. If you’re craving for some good action, Gunstar Heroes is what you’re looking for! ~ Spark Of Spirit
#83
The Secret Of Monkey Island
Developer: Lucasfilm Games
Publisher: LucasArts
Genre: Graphic Adventure, Point & Click Adventure
Release Date: 1990
Platforms: PC, Amiga, Sega CD, Atari ST
There were Point and Click Adventure games before Monkey Island, there were Point and Click Adventure games after Monkey Island. But when one looks for the absolute best of the genre, few entries in the genre are as highly regarded as the Monkey Island series of games. Despite being spearheaded by future industry players like Tim Schafer, Ron Gilbert, and Dave Grossman, the Secret Of Monkey Island is still outstanding nowadays. The game unfolds not much unlike a Saturday Morning cartoon, with memorable writing, clever puzzles (aside from maybe one), and a real engaging design to the whole package that will get anyone into the genre. While the original team would go on to make one more entry in the series, a new team would make the wacky Curse Of Monkey Island after that, and TellTale Games would release the Tales Of Monkey Island series of episodes, none have managed to match the carefree freshness and outright inspiration the original game exuded. To simply call it the best Point and Click (or Graphic) Adventure game of all time is not enough, as it is one of the best ever made.
Oh yeah, and there is no “secret” of Monkey Island. Unless you want to count that three-headed monkey that only one person can apparently see. ~ Spark Of Spirit
#82
WWF: No Mercy
Developer: AKI Corporation/Amik Ace Entertainment
Publisher: THQ
Genre: Wrestling, Sports
Release Date: 2000
Platforms: Nintendo 64
When wrestling hit a high point of popularity back in the late ’90s, video games based on the sport flourished. The very best of these were made by AKI. Starting with the WCW license and moving to WWF after licenses switched hands, the very peak of these games was the last one- WWF No Mercy. Featuring an engine that highlights the very best aspects of wrestling (the showmanship and the feats) and putting them in a rock solid fighting system with tons of gimmick matches, as well as multiplayer play, and you have the best wrestling game there is. It is a shame that THQ has never enlisted AKI’s (now SynSophia) services since, as fans would love to see a sequel to what is still the best wrestling game yet made. ~ Spark Of Spirit
#81
Mortal Kombat II
Developer: Midway
Publisher: Midway
Genre: Fighter
Release Date: 1993
Platforms: Arcade, Super Nintendo Entertainment System [SNES], Sega Genesis,
Sega 32x, Sega Saturn, PlayStation 3, Amiga, PC
Mortal Kombat was a phenomenon. Featuring digitized actors, a catchy atmospheric soundtrack, a memorable cast of characters, and a creepy atmosphere, there weren’t many games before it… AFTER it, is a whole other story considering all the clones that poured out completely missing why it was such a hit. But while it was original, the gameplay was simplistic to the point of being boring for most. However, what the sequel did was simply make the controls smoother and bit faster with more moves and characters than before, yet have it remain accessible while upping what everyone enjoyed from the original (all the aforementioned) and adding even more secrets and mystery that the original had in spades. What this led to was an even bigger reception to the point where it seemed that everyone (even the developers themselves) forgot where the appeal in the series came from and the series started its decline downhill after the release of the divisive third entry which relied more on flash and silliness, and less on simplicity and atmosphere. However, eventually it came around again and last year when Mortal Kombat returned, inspired by Mortal Kombat II, the spark had since returned and the series had regained its footing. The influence behind this title should not be dismissed. ~ Spark Of Spirit