Saturday, February 20, 2016

EGM #100's Top 100 Games Of All Time: A Lookback (Part 3 of 4)



It's Part 3, everybody. Time to scratch the 50 Best Games Of All Time circa 1997.




#50 - Devil's Crush (TurboGrafx-16)
One of the more popular pinball video games... don't think I've played this one, so I can't say much here.

#49 - Mario Kart 64 (N64)
Surprised to see this so low on the list. I'd imagine the original SNES game would be higher up... still, Mario Kart 64 expands on the formula with more realized tracks that feature hills and slopes... and replaced DK Jr. with Rare-ified DK.

#48 - Military Madness (TurboGrafx-16)
Never played this one, so I've little to say.

#47 - Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Genesis)
Capcom's medieval arcade nightmare graced the Sega Genesis and proved to be a worthy port on a system more than capable of bringing the goods. I'm flat out terrible at these games no matter what platform I play them on, but they are something.

#46 - Space MegaForce (Super NES)
Otherwise known as Super Aleste, because if you're going to have at least one Compile shmup on the list, may as well be Space Megaforce.

#45 - Contra (NES)
The classic game. The 30 lives code. The shitty ViB113 video. The even shittier Irate Gamer video. Man, oh man. References to things beyond this publication's... er, publication. AWESOME!

#44 - Metroid (NES)
Of course, it was going to make the list. I just thought it'd be slightly higher.

#43 - Herzog Zwei (Genesis)
You know, Mark Bussler of Classic Game Room had high praise for this RTS-styled game and I really do need to give it a fair shake one of these days.

#42 - Strider (Genesis)
Given the choice between this almost-but-not-quite-arcade-perfect Genesis port and the rather shoddy NES game, EGM made the right choice in going with the superior 16-bit entry.

#41 - Arkanoid (NES)
EGM made a note to mention the special Vaus controller that Arkanoid originally came with. For those who were fortunate enough to get those controllers, I hate you. And so does anyone else who had to buy this game second-hand and use the imprecise D-Pad to move your stupid paddle around.

#40 - Lunar: Eternal Blue (Sega CD)
Never played any of the Lunar games... and I don't think I will because they're fucking expensive these days.

#39 - StarFox 64 (N64)
Good.

#38 - Ys Books I and II (TurboGrafx-CD)
Heard of these, but never played them.

#37 - Super Mario Bros. (All-Stars Edition) (NES)
No, fuck off, EGM. I ain't playing that game. If you're not including All-Stars as a single entry, then you're doing a disservice by including the individual slices. The originals are just fine, they hold up, and the All-Stars version has slightly different physics.

#36 - Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Saturn)
EGM opted for the Saturn version, which has more secret characters than the Playstation and also supposedly has more frames of animation. For the time, Alpha 2 was a pretty solid game that would eventually get outperformed by its successor... although that is up for debate.

#35 - Metal Gear (NES)
I find it funny that they'd include the flawed NES version. I'd imagine if they let imports on this list, they'd include the MSX original or the MSX sequel, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. At the time of release, Metal Gear Solid had yet to see release and would change the series for better or worse.

#34 - Kid Icarus (NES)
Nice to see Pit get some recognition. A pity he wouldn't get another new game until years later after a chance appearance in the Wii Smash Bros. game.

#33 - NBA Live '97 (Playstation)
Oh, look. Another sports title released this year...

#32 - Bionic Commando (NES)
At the time, Bionic Commando was a cult NES hit known for its amazing gimmick. And then Capcom revived it as an allegedly rubbish remake.

#31 - NFL GameDay 98 (Playstation)
Oh, look. Another... oh, fuck it.

#30 - Phantasy Star II (Genesis)
No comment... great game that I need to spend more time on.

#29 - Chrono Trigger (Super NES)
Ditto for Chrono Trigger.

#28 - The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Game Boy)
It doesn't surprise me that they'd include Link's Awakening on here. EGM seemed poised to include almost every Zelda on here in some form or fashion. Sadly, the three Zelda games that graced the ill-conceived Phillips CD-I system failed to make the cut.

#27 - Gunstar Heroes (Genesis)
Another one I've not played. Again, heard good things, so I'll take your word for it.

#26 - Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars (Super NES)
Damn... just shy of the Top 25. A pretty fun and almost revolutionary game that I wish they made another one of. Paper Mario is fine and all, but it's not the same thing.

And thus, only the Top 25 of EGM's 100 Best Games Of All Time (circa 1997) remains.

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