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No One Can Stop Mr. Talking Time's Top 50 32 & 64-Bit Video Games!
- Thread starter Issun
- Start date
The older I get the less I think Xenogears is a mess, and really the less I think it's more ambitious than it can handle or too reliant on psychoanalytical jargon and religious allusions that they don't understand or whatever. It's really extremely successful at having a world that revolves around their weird marginally scientific look through a Sethian mythos. Part of it is that it's something I've internalized and reinterpreted myself, but the game never really seems off the rails they sit, and it never feels like it falls short of both the emotional and metaphysical checkpoints it's clearly aiming for. It's certainly unfortunate we missed out on some gameplay sections, but it still feels complete.
I forget where I put it, but another day it'd be my number 1. Probably knowing it'd show up made me care less about giving it a higher rating, but regardless it's the game from the era that still has me thinking about it.
I forget where I put it, but another day it'd be my number 1. Probably knowing it'd show up made me care less about giving it a higher rating, but regardless it's the game from the era that still has me thinking about it.
Thank you. I was playing it safe in my post, but I really think Xenogears accomplished a lot.
I still stand by my statement about the dialogue though. While it can be poetry on occasion, there's still moments like where the smartest character in the game needs to have explained to him what the Sewer Control Room Key does.
Usually it splits the difference.
There are 2 games from the Playstation that I often think about as having the biggest impact on my adolescence. 1 of them is Xenogears, and the other one is surely going to show up (it's Metal Gear Solid). Xenogears in particular is so incredibly dense and rich with themes and there's still not a whole lot of games that can measure up to its ambitions. It was a hell of a game to be exposed to when I didn't really have a lot of exposure yet to other anime, giant robots, Jungian psychology...
Fun fact about Banjo-Kazooie: it's the last good Rare game
#12
My memories will be part of the sky...
Developer: Squaresoft
Publisher: Squaresoft
Platform: Sony Playstation
Release Dates: July 7, 2000 (JP), November 13, 2000 (NA), February 16, 2001 (EU)
239 Points, 11 Votes, Highest Vote: #2 (Daikaiju, balder the brave)
My memories will be part of the sky...
Developer: Squaresoft
Publisher: Squaresoft
Platform: Sony Playstation
Release Dates: July 7, 2000 (JP), November 13, 2000 (NA), February 16, 2001 (EU)
239 Points, 11 Votes, Highest Vote: #2 (Daikaiju, balder the brave)
For me, Final Fantasy IX was yet another masterpiece in a whole series of them. For my brother, it is a very important game and depending on when you ask him, might be his favorite of all time. So I'm going to turn the floor over to him for this one.
Issun-Broshi sez:
Final Fantasy IX was one of those games that comes along at a formative time in your life and just pushes all the right buttons for you. Often those games, or any other piece of media really, completely enmesh themselves in that time of your life. Every time you think about it, it takes you back to when you first experienced it. It’s a truly special thing. The only problem, however, is they don’t always hold up when you revisit it later. So, does FFIX hold up? Well, I probably wouldn’t be writing this if I didn’t think the answer was yes.
After the massive success of Final Fantasy VII, Squaresoft took some risks with the next chapter in the series. It was not met with much adulation. While it did receive more credit as it aged, I for one think it’s pretty great actually, at the time, it destroyed a lot of the goodwill VII had created. So, with FFIX, Square went back to basics. Returning to its fantasy roots, Square delivered a masterpiece with their ninth installment. Filled with easter eggs and callbacks to previous games, it was the perfect way for Square to end that chapter of their series and bridge to the next generation.
One of the things I look for most in an RPG is the characters and boy did they deliver here. Almost all of them were complex, interesting, and showed growth throughout the game. They played off each other well and helped each other evolve. Vivi in particular became a fan favorite, which makes sense since Vivi is almost a perfect amalgamation of the game, the easter egg and the interesting character. Even the side characters show growth and contribute to the story. The story itself is fun and well-constructed and the dialog is pretty decent. The music is some of the best in the series and the battle system and skills system are both intuitive and well designed. Making the characters more unique in terms of skillsets again, compared to the previous two games was nice as well.
At the heart of it though, the themes are key to why so many people love this game. Loss, grief, love, virtue, coming to terms with our mortality, what’s worth fighting for, figuring out who we are, and what family is to us are all themes we can connect with. No more are these themes apparent than in “You’re Not Alone”, one of the most powerful scenes I had played to that point. There’s truly something for everyone in this game. Even the mini games are rather good. I will not write here how many hours I’ve probably spent playing Chocobo Hot and Cold.
So, in my mind, Final Fantasy IX will firstly be the game I stayed up all night to play on weekends because I couldn’t put it down. It will be the game that I played shortly before a lot of change and upheaval in my life. It will be the first game I ever actually beat before my brother. But, at the end of the day, it stands as one of the best games of the 32/64-bit era and a well-respected favorite of all time.
Selected Track:
#11
Do a barrel roll.
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo 64
Release Dates: April 27, 1997 (JP), June 30, 1997 (NA), October 4, 1997 (EU)
239 Points, 11 Votes, Highest Vote: #5 (Adrenaline, balder the brave)
Do a barrel roll.
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo 64
Release Dates: April 27, 1997 (JP), June 30, 1997 (NA), October 4, 1997 (EU)
239 Points, 11 Votes, Highest Vote: #5 (Adrenaline, balder the brave)
The original StarFox was an important release for the 16-Bit era. Even though the Super FX Chip graphics look extremely dated today, they still look cool. However, the series truly entering the third dimension was huge. StarFox 64 is faster paced, the ships are sleeker, and the environments more detailed. While the noises your team made in lieu of actual speech were charming, it was also cool to hear them voiced.
While the first game is still a milestone and great in its own right, I don't think it detracts from that game to say that the N64 version is probably what the team always wanted the universe to look like.
Selected Track:
Because of the short runs and multiple paths, Star Fox 64 is probably the game I've played from start to finish the most times.
It wasn't my #1, but FFIX was the highest rated FF on my list. It's certainly the *least* innovative FF of the era, full of callbacks to the 16-bit games and beyond, but it's well put together and ends up being just so dang cozy, it's like a big hug from the franchise. The characters are great and have a "I want to hang out with them" factor higher than most. I feel like its history starting out intending to be a side-game rather than a main-line numbered FF lets it just be a little more *relaxed*, rather than always trying to be the newest, flashiest, most impressive thing.
4-So
Spicy
Star Fox 64 was on my list. Great game that I spent many hours with. In fact, the last Star Fox game I've played unless you count Star Fox Adventures.
The less said about Final Fantasy 9 the better, and I don't want to yuck those yums, but that it ranked above Final Fantasy 8 or that it ranked so highly at all leaves me shaking my head. Not gonna relitigate it here, though. This is for fun times! C'est la vie.
The less said about Final Fantasy 9 the better, and I don't want to yuck those yums, but that it ranked above Final Fantasy 8 or that it ranked so highly at all leaves me shaking my head. Not gonna relitigate it here, though. This is for fun times! C'est la vie.
star fox is great, but i never really had much chance to play it. A friend down the way had it, though, and it was also so cool but i got little to say.
Love FFIX though. The writeup gets it right, it's just a really beautiful game in how human each individual characters struggle develops. The best rpgs usually do have huge stories with apocalyptic consequences, but they always manage to make the central conceits and emotional relations into very real intrapersonal conflict. One of the best casts in gaming probably.
Love FFIX though. The writeup gets it right, it's just a really beautiful game in how human each individual characters struggle develops. The best rpgs usually do have huge stories with apocalyptic consequences, but they always manage to make the central conceits and emotional relations into very real intrapersonal conflict. One of the best casts in gaming probably.
Star Fox 64 has the personal distinction of being the only game I can recall getting heavily invested in scote attacking. My personal best was somewhere around 1700 to 1800. Very fun game to play, made all the better by the hammy, voice acter pageantry of the thing.
Tomm Guycot
(he/him)
FF9 was a game I loved incalculably while playing and have rarely thought of since. Outside of Chocobo Hot and Cold for some reason.
Whether that means it was perfect with no need to reconsider, or that it somehow failed, I honestly can't tell you. But when Bahamut fights Alexander, the winner is us.
(And one last word on Xenogears - I cannot be persuaded that this wasn't an instance of a game we all thought was going to be hyper important, another Squaresoft megaton, and then just wasn't. But to each their own. I do think their decision to time the dialogue speed to some unheard speaker was the worst decision anyone has made in gaming)
PS. StarFox64 gave me vertigo, screw that game
Whether that means it was perfect with no need to reconsider, or that it somehow failed, I honestly can't tell you. But when Bahamut fights Alexander, the winner is us.
(And one last word on Xenogears - I cannot be persuaded that this wasn't an instance of a game we all thought was going to be hyper important, another Squaresoft megaton, and then just wasn't. But to each their own. I do think their decision to time the dialogue speed to some unheard speaker was the worst decision anyone has made in gaming)
PS. StarFox64 gave me vertigo, screw that game
I had Final Fantasy 9 at #11 on my list.
And the loser is Bahamut.
I voted for Star Fox 64. It was quite the spectacle to play at the time. I remember spending a lot of quality time with the game, mastering courses and trying to go for all the medals. Personally I feel the experience of SF64 has been significantly lessened over the years by being more used to big, explosive 3D action in gaming. The charm and personality is still there though, slowly sweetened by all the memes since.
Sarge
hardcore retro gamin'
Huh, today's entries definitely caught me off guard. Sometimes I gotta get out of my own world, ya know? FFIX was my least favorite PSX, and I've never been a big fan of Star Fox in any form. Both of these could be a personal failing, who knows?! That being said, I can see the quality in both of these games. They're both good examples of their respective genres being executed well.
Mr. Sensible
Pitch and Putt Duffer
I am required by Internet Law to post this here
Star Fox was my 25. It pushed something out, but I made the list so long ago now that I don't recall what it was, but I played a lot of that game when it was new. I really hoped the Wii U one would be a worthy successor. It was not.
Also, because I gotta when it comes up:
"Could you be a little more specific? We got a lotta new games comin' out." No, Nintendo, no you don't.
Also, because I gotta when it comes up:
"Could you be a little more specific? We got a lotta new games comin' out." No, Nintendo, no you don't.
conchobhar
What's Shenmue?
Final Fantasy IX is a good one. I really like its world: how detailed the locations are, how much character is imbued in even the most minor NPCs, how many creatures and culture intermingle— all while avoiding any "fantasy racism". It's a very rich, cozy place.
IX was also the game that got me into the series… not quite the first FF that I played (that's VI), but the one that convinced me that, hey, maybe this series is actually worth a look. I would have included it in a list for that alone.
IX was also the game that got me into the series… not quite the first FF that I played (that's VI), but the one that convinced me that, hey, maybe this series is actually worth a look. I would have included it in a list for that alone.
Xenogears is messy and has a lot of issues that make it ymmv. But outside of the dumb Tower of Babel platforming segment, that game was utterly sublime for me to play. It's got an interesting and rich world, the characters are very likable, it was super Anime
at a time where that was the bees knees to me, and my goodness the robots in this game are fantastic. The second disk is of course disappointing, but I think it's also fundamentally extremely appropriate for a game that is so very clearly influenced by Evangelion to basically end in the same manner. And speaking of Evangelion. Just like that show, yes there's tons of sophistry and biblical allegories. But the real meat of the narrative themes are the personal stories told about its characters, and getting to really dig at their inner struggles. Xenogears was #4 on my list. There are lots of objectively better games, but that ranking is purely based on emotions for me. And I especially loved how the game ended. (Sticking the ending is very important to me.)
Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it's my favorite Matsuno OST.
Banjo Kazooie is a really good game that was an unfortunate cut from my list. The first half of the game is some of the most fun I've ever had with a platformer. It's creative and charming and really well put together. But the game failed to make my list just on how wearisome the collect-a-thon becomes and how lame a trend that was (and still is) in gaming. It's like, hey, I have mild ocd, and collect-a-thons of this nature feels mildly like abuse to someone like me.
Final Fantasy IX is probably my least favorite Final Fantasy that I ever played to completion. It's not remotely a bad game (otherwise I probably wouldn't have stuck with it long enough to beat it). It's very competent at what it does, it looks great, the characters are fun. But it's also the antithesis of what I want from a Final Fantasy game. I fell in love with this franchise for how forward looking and trail blazing it seemed to be. At the risks it would take and how I was guaranteed something new and fresh with each installment. And FF9 is like nah, what if we just went full Dragon Quest and safely milked nostalgia for a bit. Which is fantastic if that's what you want in your games, but that just wasn't me. I also need good narratives/interesting stories to carry my interest through most RPGs, and FF9's is a little disjointed and mostly falls apart at the end, but that's not all that irregular for a FF. Not surprised it's on the list this high, and I'm happy for everyone who holds this game dear.
StarFox 64 always seemed like a great game, but it was also an early casualty of, "Is there enough play time to be worth the money?" kind of shitty value propositions that was beginning to trend in the 32bit era and that I was unfortunately susceptible to a degree to. I also really liked Tie Fighter/X-Wing, and made unfair comparisons between those games and this. Young WisteriaHysteria was not a smart kid!
at a time where that was the bees knees to me, and my goodness the robots in this game are fantastic. The second disk is of course disappointing, but I think it's also fundamentally extremely appropriate for a game that is so very clearly influenced by Evangelion to basically end in the same manner. And speaking of Evangelion. Just like that show, yes there's tons of sophistry and biblical allegories. But the real meat of the narrative themes are the personal stories told about its characters, and getting to really dig at their inner struggles. Xenogears was #4 on my list. There are lots of objectively better games, but that ranking is purely based on emotions for me. And I especially loved how the game ended. (Sticking the ending is very important to me.)Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it's my favorite Matsuno OST.
Banjo Kazooie is a really good game that was an unfortunate cut from my list. The first half of the game is some of the most fun I've ever had with a platformer. It's creative and charming and really well put together. But the game failed to make my list just on how wearisome the collect-a-thon becomes and how lame a trend that was (and still is) in gaming. It's like, hey, I have mild ocd, and collect-a-thons of this nature feels mildly like abuse to someone like me.
Final Fantasy IX is probably my least favorite Final Fantasy that I ever played to completion. It's not remotely a bad game (otherwise I probably wouldn't have stuck with it long enough to beat it). It's very competent at what it does, it looks great, the characters are fun. But it's also the antithesis of what I want from a Final Fantasy game. I fell in love with this franchise for how forward looking and trail blazing it seemed to be. At the risks it would take and how I was guaranteed something new and fresh with each installment. And FF9 is like nah, what if we just went full Dragon Quest and safely milked nostalgia for a bit. Which is fantastic if that's what you want in your games, but that just wasn't me. I also need good narratives/interesting stories to carry my interest through most RPGs, and FF9's is a little disjointed and mostly falls apart at the end, but that's not all that irregular for a FF. Not surprised it's on the list this high, and I'm happy for everyone who holds this game dear.
StarFox 64 always seemed like a great game, but it was also an early casualty of, "Is there enough play time to be worth the money?" kind of shitty value propositions that was beginning to trend in the 32bit era and that I was unfortunately susceptible to a degree to. I also really liked Tie Fighter/X-Wing, and made unfair comparisons between those games and this. Young WisteriaHysteria was not a smart kid!
FelixSH
(He/Him)
Oh, so much nostalgia.
Banjo-Kazooie
I put Mario 64 before BK (place 2 and place 3), but that order is probably arbitrary. I was just a bit younger when playing Mario 64, so that burned itself a bit more into my brain. In general, I prefer playing BK.
Anyway, I was around 11 when playing BK, and have a million nostalgia points for that game. I experienced it as this giant, colorful cartoon-fairytale, that it maybe was supposed to be. I replayed it 1.5 years ago, and still had a ton of fun, but was surprised to find out how short some of these levels, that seemed so giant at the time, really were. I still had a ton of fun with it, the asthetics are so beautiful and fun to me, I love the weird "talking"-noises and that EVERYTHING is alive and has giant cartoon eyes.
I also love the gameplay. collecting stuff that makes funny noises motivates me, to really look into every part of a level. I also really like completing stuff, and having noted down how much there is, and how much I already have, makes me enjoy playing a lot. I'm a bit sad that there never was a revival of this genre, except for a handful of games a few years ago.
I played through Banjo-Tooie two times. Once, when it was new. I was disappointed, because the world felt less whimsical and fun to me. No idea why, it's possible that it was just due to me being 14 at the time - at this point, I just experienced games differently, and less magical. I played it a second time a few years later, and had a lot more fun with it, nearly doing a 100% run (couldn't find a single Jinjo in the dinosaur level. I really need to replay that game.
Final Fantasy IX
I haven't played this in ages, but in my head, it's my favourite FF. I only had played the SNES games at this point, and the only one that I really loved of these was VI. So I didn't have any nostalgia for the series. I just want to make clear that this game doesn't live on nostalgia, it's just a really, really well crafted game. It probably does everything by the numbers, but it does it so well. The characters are fun and well crafted, everyone is an animal (I love that fact so, so much) and the game looks and feels so much like a dark fairy tale. I loved to live in this beautiful world.
I can't say to much more at this point, because I haven't played it in such a long time. But I can't wait to get to replay this game.
Xenogears
I heard about this game for years, and only played it 1.5 years ago. I guess you guys remember the thread that I made about my experience with it. I appreciate and love the game, it was an amazing experience. Just so much ambition, such an epic tale. I dunno, my memory is fuzzier now, but the thread is still in the archives, there are all my thoughts. I just can say that I had a very good time with it.
Starfox 64
I have a lot of nostalgia for this game. I don't really get too much out of the genre, but I put a lot of time in this one. Mainly for high-score reasons, because beating a level with a good score unlocks a harder version of this level. And beating a specific score in all harder versions unlocks something different. That alone is really helpful, in making me want to play a game like this.
Also love that everyone is an animal, and that everyone speaks in nonsense-talk. Atmospherically, it's really well done. It's just a great game.
Banjo-Kazooie
I put Mario 64 before BK (place 2 and place 3), but that order is probably arbitrary. I was just a bit younger when playing Mario 64, so that burned itself a bit more into my brain. In general, I prefer playing BK.
Anyway, I was around 11 when playing BK, and have a million nostalgia points for that game. I experienced it as this giant, colorful cartoon-fairytale, that it maybe was supposed to be. I replayed it 1.5 years ago, and still had a ton of fun, but was surprised to find out how short some of these levels, that seemed so giant at the time, really were. I still had a ton of fun with it, the asthetics are so beautiful and fun to me, I love the weird "talking"-noises and that EVERYTHING is alive and has giant cartoon eyes.
I also love the gameplay. collecting stuff that makes funny noises motivates me, to really look into every part of a level. I also really like completing stuff, and having noted down how much there is, and how much I already have, makes me enjoy playing a lot. I'm a bit sad that there never was a revival of this genre, except for a handful of games a few years ago.
I played through Banjo-Tooie two times. Once, when it was new. I was disappointed, because the world felt less whimsical and fun to me. No idea why, it's possible that it was just due to me being 14 at the time - at this point, I just experienced games differently, and less magical. I played it a second time a few years later, and had a lot more fun with it, nearly doing a 100% run (couldn't find a single Jinjo in the dinosaur level. I really need to replay that game.
Final Fantasy IX
I haven't played this in ages, but in my head, it's my favourite FF. I only had played the SNES games at this point, and the only one that I really loved of these was VI. So I didn't have any nostalgia for the series. I just want to make clear that this game doesn't live on nostalgia, it's just a really, really well crafted game. It probably does everything by the numbers, but it does it so well. The characters are fun and well crafted, everyone is an animal (I love that fact so, so much) and the game looks and feels so much like a dark fairy tale. I loved to live in this beautiful world.
I can't say to much more at this point, because I haven't played it in such a long time. But I can't wait to get to replay this game.
Xenogears
I heard about this game for years, and only played it 1.5 years ago. I guess you guys remember the thread that I made about my experience with it. I appreciate and love the game, it was an amazing experience. Just so much ambition, such an epic tale. I dunno, my memory is fuzzier now, but the thread is still in the archives, there are all my thoughts. I just can say that I had a very good time with it.
Starfox 64
I have a lot of nostalgia for this game. I don't really get too much out of the genre, but I put a lot of time in this one. Mainly for high-score reasons, because beating a level with a good score unlocks a harder version of this level. And beating a specific score in all harder versions unlocks something different. That alone is really helpful, in making me want to play a game like this.
Also love that everyone is an animal, and that everyone speaks in nonsense-talk. Atmospherically, it's really well done. It's just a great game.
Our final HMs are two games that got one vote each, but had blurbs that needed to be shared, and one game that I'm surprised only got two votes.
Decathlete/Athlete Kings: 17 Points, 1 Vote
You Don't Know Jack: 34 Points, 1 Vote
Sid Meier's Civilization II: 33 Points, 2 Votes
Of all the PC games that didn't make the list, this one was the biggest shock. Only Ixo and I voted for it. This was the game that catapulted the Civ series specifically and 4x games in general into the mainstream, and there are still some who swear by it over its sequels. It as the first game in the series I played, and while I feel subsequent releases have improved on it exponentially, I still always both love and hate Civ II for introducing me to "just one more turn" gameplay.
That's it for Honorable Mentions. We're going to one a day for the top 10, with no posts on the weekends.
Decathlete/Athlete Kings: 17 Points, 1 Vote
You Don't Know Jack: 34 Points, 1 Vote
Sid Meier's Civilization II: 33 Points, 2 Votes
Of all the PC games that didn't make the list, this one was the biggest shock. Only Ixo and I voted for it. This was the game that catapulted the Civ series specifically and 4x games in general into the mainstream, and there are still some who swear by it over its sequels. It as the first game in the series I played, and while I feel subsequent releases have improved on it exponentially, I still always both love and hate Civ II for introducing me to "just one more turn" gameplay.
That's it for Honorable Mentions. We're going to one a day for the top 10, with no posts on the weekends.
I had Civ 2 on my first list but ended cutting it for something else. Not that it isn't fantastic but the first game is the one that got me addicted to the series and the genre.
I also cut Civ 2 from my list. It's still pretty fun to revisit and it had really neat expansions. Getting gunpowder before everyone else is hilarious and I don't see why you'd play any other way. From Civ 3 onwards I remember the AI being much larger butt-holes towards the player if they were winning.
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
You Don't Know Jack was such a big deal for me. My friends and I were crowded around the computer each ready to buzz in, and we knew each other well enough that The Screw was terrifying as we were very aware of each other's strengths. We would do Cookie's voice at each other, I got the game as a gift at a birthday party and we immediately all ran to play it.