What Games Are We Thankful For?

[Retrology]

Happy Thanksgiving, fellow retro/modern gamers! Let's get right into it, what games are you thankful for?

I'll start.

Breath of the Wild (Can't. Stop. Playing. This.)

NFL Blitz 2000 (The only football game you need if you don't have 2K5)

Plants Vs. Zombies (Great lighthearted arcade style strategy game that can be played at any time

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Easiest Sonic game to get into imo)

Excitebots Trick Racing Best racing game ever made, and one of the more creative.

[Stalvern]

Super Mario 64 taught me everything I needed to know about playing video games. The Neverhood taught me a lot about art and imagination, not just in games but generally speaking. Pretty much everything in my gaming "worldview" can be traced back to those two experiences. I am deeply thankful for them.

[jon]

You know what, it seems like SM64 is aging really well. I'll never forget the bridge coming up to the castle, that you could jump up on top of the railings. For some reason, in 1996 that blew me away, that you can jump on anything. It might be hard to understand but it was a real momentous achievement.

[DrLitch]

Super Metroid. I had Video Games prior to this but this is the first game I was totally absorbed within.

Starcraft. In 1999, I was away from home for first time in life / Freshman at University, this got me through my homesickedness.

Xcom UFO Defense [or titled UFO Enemy Unknown]. 1994 DOS game, was also Freshman at high school (in new area so I knew none of the kids) and there were a few other kids that played this game. Good ice breaker/friend maker at an akward time.

You know what, it seems like SM64 is aging really well.

I think it is although that camera makes some sections awkward.

[Voor]

Super Metroid. I had Video Games prior to this but this is the first game I was totally absorbed within.

Starcraft. In 1999, I was away from home for first time in life / Freshman at University, this got me through my homesickedness.

Xcom UFO Defense [or titled UFO Enemy Unknown]. 1994 DOS game, was also Freshman at high school (in new area so I knew none of the kids) and there were a few other kids that played this game. Good ice breaker/friend maker at an akward time.

You know what, it seems like SM64 is aging really well.

I think it is although that camera makes some sections awkward.

Wow. I was going to say super Metroid. Same experience. I actually STILL watch races and randomizers on twitch nearly every day (there are channels dedicated to them, with lots of runners). The game itself is amazing, but when you factor in the tricks that can be done to break the intended sequences, it’s no wonder why it’s been one of the most speedrun games of the last 10-15 years.

I also played Starcraft a lot my freshman year in college. It was the first game I played online. I had a group of about 5-6 friends, and after work, we’d play from about 9pm-2am (“big game hunters” was our map of choice), and somehow have energy to make it to class to next morning. No way I could do that now. Lol. Playing with strangers online is much less fun, due to all the hacking and cheating.

[noah98]

1. Skyrim: never gets old! Still having fun with it.
2. Dragon Age Inquisition: immersive and expansive. Finally got the dlc.
3. Batman Arkham Origins: The Christmas theme still rules!
4. Animal Crossing (Gamecube): warms my heart!

[ASalvaro]

1.Burger Time (Intellivision Version only)
2.Mr Do (Arcade))
3.Time Pilot (Arcade)
4.Pengo (Atari 5200)
5.Galaga 88 (Arcade)

[VideoGameCritic]

Warlords for the Atari 2600. No matter what the occasion, four players means instant fun.

[Matchstick]

Tecmo Superbowl (The only football game you need if you don't have 2K5)

Fixed that for ya -- But I would put Blitz in third place, easy!

The Neverhood taught me a lot about art and imagination, not just in games but generally speaking.

Excellent observation, sir. While it's not one of my personal favorite games, the amount of effort and determination by the developers to get that game put together is certainly awe-inspiring. I, too, learned a bit from my time with the game years ago, as I was already aware of claymation practices and also had an understanding of just how long it took to animate characters frame by frame, being careful to cover up fingerprints or indentations from handling to make sure each shot flowed smoothly from one to the next. I played Neverhood not thinking, "How'd they do that," but rather, "I know how they did that, and I can't believe they pulled it off. Must've taken foreeeever!"

To me, that game was proof that a concept of that sort could succeed, that a game animated entirely through claymation could be a reality provided the developers had access to the time and resources required. Very, very impressive stuff, especially considering the era in which it was made. I never got around to playing the follow-up game Skullmonkeys, though, or the recent spiritual successor Armikrog. Any thoughts on those ones, Stalvern?

In my own little world, I'd give the nod to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Maybe not just the first game, but the series on the whole had such a positive impact on the world of skateboarding that I highly doubt the industry would be where it is today without those games. Not that skateboarding was doing bad in the late 90s (it wasn't, mainly due to the X-Games) but the popularity of that series took skateboarding to the mainstream, proving it could be massively popular outside of Southern California.

I've met so many people over the years that first got turned on to skating from playing the games, or older types that got back into skating because their kids played the games and wanted to try it for themselves. Heck, even my wife first started skating because she liked the games so much, and even though she got a much later start, she's a better skater than I could ever hope to be! So many positive impacts, from encouraging kids to go play outside to the financial windfalls for the brands represented in the game, or the bands on the soundtrack. Let's just say Goldfinger sold a ton of CDs thanks to those games, and most of the brands represented in the games are still around today, such as Toy Machine and Zero. In fact, some of the individual boards represented in the game have never gone out of print, their popularity cemented through generations of gamers.

The series was a massive success on so many levels, but for all the money the games made, it was skateboarding, itself, that benefitted the most. For that, I am eternally thankful.

An honorable mention goes to UN Squadron on the Super Nintendo. I loved the game when I was younger, mostly because if I squinted my eyes a bit, I could visualize it as a Robotech game. From the three selectable characters bearing resemblances to Rick Hunter, Roy Fokker, and Ben Dixon, to the "drunken missile" weapons and non-stop waves of exploding enemies and massive enemy battleship bosses, I thought the game really nailed the feeling of one of my favorite childhood cartoons.

Then came the day when I was in the video store and saw a tape for rent called Area 88, and couldn't help but notice that the cover of the box looked a heckuva lot like one of the guys from UN Squadron. "Holy smokes, they made a cartoon out of the game?" Of course, the opposite was true, as the game was a marketing tie-in for the anime in Japan. That moment in time opened me up to a whole other world I barely knew existed: Japanese animation. Sure, I had seen Robotech, Voltron, and other shows on TV, but to me, they were just cartoons, and I didn't think of them as coming from another country overseas, being part of a whole different industry than American Saturday morning cartoons.

I dove into Area 88, then The Professional, as I also loved the Golgo 13 game on the NES. One by one, I watched more and more anime tapes that I had first been exposed to through their videogame counterparts, and I just couldn't get enough. For years, I was hooked on Japanese animation, and while the moment has largely passed here in my older age, I am quite thankful that UN Squadron exposed me to many, many quality films and shows over the years that I otherwise never would have known existed. I cling tightly to my videotapes of Ninja Scroll, Ghost in the Shell, Bubblegum Crisis, and Perfect Blue, keeping them right alongside those Area 88 tapes and other game-related ones, such as the three Fatal Fury films and the original Street Fighter animated movie.

As long as my VCR keeps working, I'll keep giving thanks with each and every tape I play

[Stalvern]

I never got around to playing the follow-up game Skullmonkeys, though, or the recent spiritual successor Armikrog. Any thoughts on those ones, Stalvern?

Skullmonkeys is fun but very ordinary in comparison. It's basically a clay Donkey Kong Country with goofy cutscenes.

Armikrog is a hot mess. I reviewed it on Steam; my thoughts are there.