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NeoGAF Games of the Fifth Generation Awards
- Thread starter AniHawk
- Start date
I guess. A good number of voters were probably too young to afford more than one console at the time.
@Ani
Any reason why games like Sega Rally etc. aren't in the Saturn Top games list?
The little presence of western developed games in the list is mainly due to the fact the voters didn't consider PC gaming which at the time was going through a golden age.
I actively avoided PC games in my chart because 10 spots is really too low of a number to include all the classic from arcades, consoles, handhelds, PC.
Any reason why games like Sega Rally etc. aren't in the Saturn Top games list?
The contest's question was what do you think are the best games of the generation, not what console had more variety.
The best programmers were outside Japan even when the biggest console publishers were for the most part still based in Japan.
The little presence of western developed games in the list is mainly due to the fact the voters didn't consider PC gaming which at the time was going through a golden age.
I actively avoided PC games in my chart because 10 spots is really too low of a number to include all the classic from arcades, consoles, handhelds, PC.
I wonder when the change happens. If we did the PS2 generation would is slowly start to change or was it just a flat switch during the PS360 era
We're already done the PS2/GC/Xbox generation and it was still dominated by Japan.
Yeah, I was kinda surprised that VF2 and Xmen Vs. SF wont on the list.
MatrixMan.EXE
Member
Gold and Silver were robbed.
Eh, there's more western stuff there. Metroid Prime, Halo, GTA, etc.
There was a pretty big switch in gen 7. Honestly I feel like Japan did fine during gen 7. A lot of the series here are still going strong, with the exception of FF, but gen 7 also saw the rise of Souls which is extremely popular on GAF. The real change was stuff that would typically be PC-only becoming multiplatform and thus reaching a much wider audience.
Damn not one single mention of Circuit Breakers, I knew I should have voted!
Trouble was it's a hard generation for me to judge as I missed a lot of it, hated the N64, played many of the games years later (often in the form of ports) and many of my favourites have aged horribly.
I'm always fascinated how Theme Hospital seems/(seemed?) universally loved but barely registers on these sorts of lists.
Trouble was it's a hard generation for me to judge as I missed a lot of it, hated the N64, played many of the games years later (often in the form of ports) and many of my favourites have aged horribly.
I'm always fascinated how Theme Hospital seems/(seemed?) universally loved but barely registers on these sorts of lists.
I honestly didn't even think of Metroid Prime. My mind counted that as a Japanese game. But still, in the top 10 there's only really that, Halo and Half-Life.
Gen 7 is when the change happened for sure. Many of my personal favorites are still Japanese, but the popularity rise of western games can't be denied.
GoodMorningPluto
Member
I think it has to do with choosing top 10 games, as in best games of that generation. There are a lot of lovely and charming titles, and Theme Hospital is one of them, but is it that good and memorable to be included in top 10? Not really.
Eolz
Member
I disagree, especially since there's statistics in the OP.
Reminds me of the GOTY vote controversy where some WiiU games were on top and some were saying "well yeah, they only have those to play!".
Great games are great and stay great, even if you were mainly playing on a different platform. Some of those N64 games didn't have any equivalent in terms of quality on PS1 (completely agree for some others though).
crazyrabbits
Banned
Solid list all around. I forgot to vote, unfortunately. Next year.
GIANKRATOS
Member
Ctr should have been first in the Racing award imho
sleepydeer
Member
Ladies and gentlemen, peak videogames:
This is just from the top 100, but that represents 86% of awarded points. Release dates are from searching Mobygames and checking on Wikipedia if it's unclear due to multiple releases etc. Raw data is here https://www.ethercalc.org/e2gbbykkkn (not locked) if anyone wants to play with it.
This is just from the top 100, but that represents 86% of awarded points. Release dates are from searching Mobygames and checking on Wikipedia if it's unclear due to multiple releases etc. Raw data is here https://www.ethercalc.org/e2gbbykkkn (not locked) if anyone wants to play with it.
Ladies and gentlemen, peak videogames:
This is just from the top 100, but that represents 86% of awarded points. Release dates are from searching Mobygames and checking on Wikipedia if it's unclear due to multiple releases etc. Raw data is here https://www.ethercalc.org/e2gbbykkkn (not locked) if anyone wants to play with it.
98 keeping its crown. It would keep it if this were an all-time vote too.
I'd say Super Metroid over Yoshi's Island, but this list looks pretty much in line for what I'd guess.
I think, as you get further back, the list tends to be more and more canonized, as those people who didn't readily grow up in the era and are interested in gaming history are more likely to play those 'universal acclaim' games and not so much something more obscure (but equally fun) like Lufia 2.
thequickandthedead
Member
Silent Hill 1 is one of the scariest games ever made? lmao
Personal tastes, but my top game lists from the most recent generations would still be near exclusive Japanese.
Melchiah
Member
Ladies and gentlemen, peak videogames:
This is just from the top 100, but that represents 86% of awarded points. Release dates are from searching Mobygames and checking on Wikipedia if it's unclear due to multiple releases etc. Raw data is here https://www.ethercalc.org/e2gbbykkkn (not locked) if anyone wants to play with it.
1999 is the highlight of the gen for me personally, with games like Silent Hill, Soul Reaver, FFVIII, RE3, and Dino Crisis. The first three of them were among the games I voted.
Wow, turns out with a few exceptions, Gaf has almost the opposite taste in games to me during that era.
I'd be interested in seeing an age breakdown of who voted for what, especially all those N64 games. I found the handling in Mario Kart 64 a massive step down from Super Mario Kart at the time and was hugely disappointed by it. CTR and Wipeout 2097/XL were VASTLY superior games that rewarded skill and still hold up today.
And Banjo Kazooie... Oh dear
I'd be interested in seeing an age breakdown of who voted for what, especially all those N64 games. I found the handling in Mario Kart 64 a massive step down from Super Mario Kart at the time and was hugely disappointed by it. CTR and Wipeout 2097/XL were VASTLY superior games that rewarded skill and still hold up today.
And Banjo Kazooie... Oh dear
TheAdmiester
Member
Mario Kart at the top of the driving games? Almost no mention of Gran Turismo 2 besides the one in its list?
Welp.
Welp.
sleepydeer
Member
1999 had more games getting recognition; this chart is just counting anything with a top 100 place equally. 1999 was my personal top year too.
The points chart is very hit-driven. Ocarina and Mario 64 alone make up ~40% of the score for their years.
Melchiah
Member
1999 had more games getting recognition; this chart is just counting anything with a top 100 place equally. 1999 was my personal top year too.
The points chart is very hit-driven. Ocarina and Mario 64 alone makes up ~40% of the score for their years.
Nice to know. Thanks for sharing the data. That year is probably still my all-time favorite, followed by 2001 (Shadow of Memories, SH2, Soul Reaver 2) and 2013 (ME3: Citadel, Bioshock Infinite, Dead Island: Riptide, TLOU, Beyond: TS, PS4, Resogun).
sleepydeer
Member
Everything I voted for would make my all-time top 30, which just shows how strong the hits of that era are. I think most games from that generation aged badly but the very best are still at the top of their genres.
What I'd like to know is why 1998-99 was such a great period. 2013 makes sense as the end of a generation where the hardware has been mastered. What factors were in play back then?
Melchiah
Member
I think the same reasoning behind 2013 applies to 1999 as well. Both years also provided new IPs, that added something new to their genres and became pretty popular.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
I'm glad to see that sending out forty PMs to other Final Fantasy IX fans didn't go to waste. It made top ten just like I wanted and even second most voted for a PlayStation exclusive and third most voted RPG.
I was 21 when Conker came out and it was hilarious. Everyone who played Conker in the Rare Replay was remarking how funny it was. I could see a 15 year old thinking it was just swear words. South Park used to get the same rap from people
Also, none of the stuff you said was bad was actually bad.
Yoshi's Island is basically the Majora's Mask of it's gen. A direct oddball sequel that was mostly overlooked at the time but achieved legendary status after the fact.
I agree it might not make top 5 but it could always surprise and bump sonething else out. I didn't expect MM ahead of FFVII either.
arcade versions meant a lot of saturn games were multiplatform.
Ladies and gentlemen, peak videogames:
This is just from the top 100, but that represents 86% of awarded points. Release dates are from searching Mobygames and checking on Wikipedia if it's unclear due to multiple releases etc. Raw data is here https://www.ethercalc.org/e2gbbykkkn (not locked) if anyone wants to play with it.
if you were american, this is how 1998 looks in terms of the top 25:
1. the legend of zelda: ocarina of time
3. metal gear solid
8. resident evil 2
10. banjo-kazooie
12. pokemon gen i
13. half-life
16. final fantasy tactics
22. tekken 3 (console)
23. starcraft
25. panzer dragoon saga
thanks for putting that together, by the way!
NipplesAndToes23
Member
Hey AniHawk you accidentally typed Spyro the Dragoon in the platformer category and I also appreciate the shoutout to my vote for FFIX.
Nocturnowl
Member
Remember when GAF voted on the top 10 Nintendo games a few years back and DKC1 beat DKC2 (and DKCR for that matter) by a fair margin? what a let down.
Maybe this next vote will give a chance for Diddy's Kong Quest redemption.
ShockingAlberto
Member
I would like to know the people who have recently played the games they vote for and people who haven't.
Not that either is invalid, I am mostly just curious.
Not that either is invalid, I am mostly just curious.
I'm actually thinking to give my platformer spot to an outsider (no Sonic, Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi).
Street Fighter 2 also is very likely to be in Top 10.
The problem is going to be the splitting between Turbo and Super.
Link's Awakening has a strong chance to be an outsider.
Mostly overlooked?sörine;178617038 said:
Sure both were released in the waning years of the consoles they were on but still they sold million of units and received from the beginning widely positive critical reception.
Melchiah
Member
I've replayed RE2 and Soul Reaver on the PS3, and I'm not sure if I replayed FFVIII on the PS2 or PS3. I also replayed SH on the PS2. I only finished the latter, as there's too much new games to play, and perhaps my tastes have changed along the way. Not to mention, that I have less tolerance for the shortcomings of the old games, whether it's needless repetition caused by sparse checkpoints or random battles.
EDIT: Oh, and I played UT the last time in 2006, before I moved from desktop to laptop.
That being said, I don't see how it's relevant to the voting, if people haven't played them several years after they were released.
I think I've replayed pretty much everything but the Saturn games on my list this decade. Between Retroarch and Virtual Console I do a ton of retrogaming.
Overlooked relatively. As in a "game of the generation" context. Both reviewed and sold great but at the time neither were really thought of as highly or as commercially significant as Mario World or Ocarina of Time. And both launched during generational transitions too which didn't help.
Sorry but I don't get it.sörine;178627463 said:
Is Chrono Trigger overlooked (even in your relative term)? (of course CT sold far less than both YI and MM in US).
And Donkey Kong Country 2?
After all these years these popular games's reputation shines regardless on when they were launched.
Just look how high Majora's Mask is in this own thread.
My vote
1. Beat it at least 7 times. Most recent was 4-5 years ago.
2. Jun, 27 2015
Participated in UT tournament CUTS2 that was going on RPG Codex. Was fun as hell.3.4.5.6.7.8.9 Don't have a clue...
10. Full play through 3 years ago
So 3 out of 10 played "recently". But I don't think any of them would be unplayable today to be honest.
How recently are we talking? Looking at my list again:
I think Red Alert, COMI and Half-life(not counting playing Black Mesa) are the only ones I haven't replayed in the last few years. I could replay this list for the rest of my life I'm sure.
Spieler Eins
Member
The final boss is the Alien. There's absolutely no set-up for that and the writing does nothing clever with it, but hey, I know the movie it's from, so it's funny!
Conker is not South Park, it's inferior Family Guy non-humour. Kids and people not invested in entertainment media might think the latter is funny too, but it clearly just isn't very good.
And considering that you compared the game to Super Metroid, the game design in BFD really isn't bad, but straight up trash. I mean, if one has finished it more often, it's obviously easier to cope with the bad controls/camera and non-intuitive trial & error structure, naturally because you know what's coming up, but that's just sugar-coating. Although even with the frustrating parts relativised, all the boring parts would remain. Right from the beginning. What's the point in all the padding, why run three times to get cheese for the mouse on that boring walkway? It's completely devoid of fun gameplay and Conker is full of shit like that.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
I'm guessing most people who played it had it for PC, which belonged to the generation before that, and not for its 3DO port.
But... it is. It revolutionized horror. IMO it's a shame that RE2 beat it in the horror list, Silent Hill should have been #1.
Oh come on. Ending was bad yes. But there's a lot of cool and funny references in that game. Apocalypse Now, Saving Private Ryan, Matrix, Godfather, Terminator. And many original stuff too like Giant Poo, The Big Big Guy, barn boys etc. Platforming was infuriating at times but still it was more than competent. Its one of a kind game when we look at 3d platformers genre. So it should get bonus points just because of that in my opinion...
Spieler Eins
Member
I always found the classic SH scarier, but REs classic gameplay quite a bit better. I've only played SH1 this year and it was great (scary as fuck still), but like later entries, the style of puzzles is kinda out there. I mean in RE you're dealing with crazy mansions full of traps, emerald keys and whatnot, but it kinda makes sense within that world, while SH puzzles feel like some out-of-place Kawashima shit sometimes. That turning door puzzle before the first boss, just what was the point? Completely halts the pace. Both series had tank controls obviously, but the combat in SH feels a little clunkier (i.e. no point in ever engaging a fight on the streets in particular) and it needed a little more visual variety for orientation, considering that you're spending way more time looking at your map in SH than in RE(2).
At the end of the day, I have more problems with the infuriating parts, for which I've mentioned several other examples previously and I could certainly find many more on a replay. There were also some decent challenges, but in a Top 25 for a whole gen, there should be (and thankfully is) no game with many of such frustrating sections, stemming from subpar game design elements. Even if the humour held up, my original point also was, that no one would have cared for the title without it, because the other parts are nothing to write home about (except for graphics - in particular in the remake, damn).
timetokill
Banned
It was the first game I played that I had to stop because I was so scared. I was playing at like 2am with all the lights off, and I was getting so unnerved that I had to turn off the game and turn on the lights.
That's like complaining why do you have to hit Bowser more than once or why you have to do the slide in the snow stage twice. It's a game, it's typical to make you repeat things. Do you want to know what's a million times more frustrating? In Banjo Kazooie when you collected almost all of the 100 notes of a stage and then you die. Then you have to do it all over again. Or worse when you have like 97 notes and you have to look in every nook and cranny again and again over and over to find the remaining 3 notes. That happened to me about every stage. One time I gave up after about a hour and looked online only to find out the 3 notes were impossible to get to because I was missing a move. I apparently did the stages out of order so now I had to get out of the stage and collect all 97 notes over again. There is nothing in Conker in the same league of annoying and bad game design. (If I can't beat a stage without a move, don't let me enter the stage if I don't have it)
Worse controls than anything in Conker is in Mario64 where you try to go in a opposite direction than you're walking, and instead of going in that direction, Mario will walk in a circle. Also having the run attack be a dive.
The alien was funny because of the absurdity of it. All of sudden you're in alien and you're controlling a squirrel in the Sigourney Weaver role. I've never laughed at Family Guy, and found this funny so it's definitely nothing like Family Guy.
predictions:
guaranteed top 5:
super metroid
super mario world
link to the past
chrono trigger
final fantasy vi
rest of list:
yoshi's island
dkc2
sonic 2
sonic 3
link's awakening
in other words, complete snes domination. a gameboy game might sneak in there, and one MAYBE two genesis games.
Shikamaru Ninja
任天å ã® å¿è
NeoGaf is the elite of the elite, but something really rubs me the wrong way about Banjo-Kazooie being in the top 10, before Goldeneye and StarCraft and others. It has to be generational thing I guess. Some of you must have been children and loved that game when it came out.
Where the hell is Resident Evil 1. Come on!
Where the hell is Resident Evil 1. Come on!
Nocturnowl
Member
All the games on my list have been replayed in some form over the last two years at least.
Banjo being the most recent earlier this year and it probably would've missed out on the top 10 had I not replayed it.
Effectively it and SM64 (also replayed earlier this year) swapped places with me.