17 1 / 2014
The 2014 Countdown: Week 3
I’m back with yet another edition of my year long countdown! If you’d like to read more about my countdown project, read the announcement post.
Punch-Out!! (NES - October 1987)
Originally released in the U.S. as Mike Tyson’s Pun-Out!! Nintendo elected to not renew the license, and just changed the final fight to Mr. Dream. Recently at AGDQ2014, sinister1 played through Punch-Out!! blindfolded. It’s been a favorite of mine since I was a kid, it’s got great characters, a fast pace, and it was a lot of fun figuring out each opponent’s weakness.
Super Metroid (SNES - March 19, 1994)
It’s still my favorite game of all time. With a big influence from moody space movies like Alien, Nintendo pushed the SNES to its limits with huge boss fights, a massive world, and tons of hidden items. The final sequence gave little Capaneus some of his first game feels too.
Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis - December 20, 1992)
While Capcom and Konami were fighting for brawler dominance in the arcades, Sega was happy to win the fight for best console brawler.
Shining Force III (Saturn - May 31, 1998)
Released as three scenarios across three separate volumes, many fans consider this entry the best in the series.
Metal Gear Solid (Playstation - September 3, 1998)
I didn’t play Metal Gear when it first appeared on the NES, but I was blown away by the cinematic presentation of this game. While the game’s muddy texturing hasn’t aged very well, the core gameplay experience is still a lot of fun.
Super Mario 64 (N64 - September 26, 1996)
Before Mario 64 came out, I remember thinking how weird it would be to control Mario in a 3D world. I had gotten so used to thinking of Mario as a 2D platformer, I had no idea if this launch title would work. It did. It was a huge blast, and despite some minor camera annoyances, the world that Nintendo made was amazing.
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (Dreamcast - June 27, 2000)
Wait. Shouldn’t this belong in the Arcade list? It’s true this game hit arcades first, but since the Sega NAOMI arcade hardware was essentially a Dreamcast with a RAM upgrade, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 remains one of the best and most accurate home console ports of all time. It’s also the best Marvel vs. Capcom game in the series, and is still played at dozens of fighting game tournaments around the world.
StarCraft (PC - March 31, 1998)
I remember when StarCraft first came out, I said, “That’s cool”, and immediately went back to Command & Conquer, but luckily a friend of mine kept insisting I play. After digging into the game, I realized how much deeper the game was, with different races, builds, and economic advantages. Still the biggest game ever in South Korea.
NBA JAM Tournament Edition (Arcade - January 17, 1994)
I love this game so much, I have dedicated 4-player arcade cabinet at my office. Probably my favorite sports arcade game of all time. Did you realize that NBA JAM made more money than Jurassic Park in 1993? It was a huge hit.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Game Boy - August 6, 1993)
You’re going to see a lot of Zelda games on my countdowns, so you better get used to it. Somehow Nintendo managed to fit all the fun and amazing design of Link to the Past in a tiny Game Boy cart.