Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV, which was released in America for the SNES as "Final Fantasy II", was a huge milestone for the Final Fantasy series. Not only was it the first 16-bit game in the series, but perhaps most significantly, it was the first Final Fantasy to feature a real-time battle system, as opposed to a simple turn-based system. The importance of this development cannot be overstated since following Final Fantasy IV, the real-time battle system became a signature feature of Final Fantasy games--a feature that made Final Fantasy especially fun and addictive, and put FF IV far ahead of other RPG titles available at the time. I'm not saying that FF IV had the first real-time battle system of any RPG or any console RPG, but it certainly brought the addictiveness of console RPGs to a whole new level in its day.
Final Fantasy IV's other major features--including the 16-bit graphics and sound, the size and detail of the game world, the colorful cast of characters, and the dramatic story--are all things that RPG fans today take forgranted by comparison to the console RPG fans of old. RPGs weren't always artistically stunning, didn't always have epic musical scores, and didn't always necessarily have interesting characters or a good story to them. FF IV was one of those console RPGs that was pushing the envelope at the time and helped to evolve the genre into what it is today.
I would especially like to draw attention to the character and plot in FF IV. What's really amazing about this game is it's almost theatrical quality, what with the themes of love, questioning one's loyalties, betrayal, rebirth, and friendship. FF IV features round characters (not characters with a circular geometry; rather characters who "come around" in the story and end up someplace personally that they did not begin), character foils, irony, and other such literary devices. Even though the plot is not a particularly complex one, it is rich in ways that were rare in video games at the time, and that contributed to future Final Fantasy titles having quality plots as well (although some of those games were obviously better for that than others.)
Given that Final Fantasy IV is the source of so much of what Final Fantasy has become for millions of fans, it's easy to see why it is such a great game. I know that there are many Final Fantasy fans out there who have not played it--if you are one of them, you really should! It can't help but deepen your appreciation for the more modern Final Fantasy games, as well as Final Fantasy in general.
Rainbow Six
The original Rainbow Six was one of the first FPSes to be as realistic as Rainbow Six is. The first obvious difference between R6 and other FPSes of the era (we're looking at stuff following Quake II, roughly) is that in R6 you only need to get shot once to die, and not even necessarily in the head. I'm sure a lot of developers at the time would have been skeptical with thoughts along the lines of "so you get shot once and you die--where's the fun in that?" R6, on the other hand, considers itself more of a simulation and less of an action game, so the high lethality level makes sense at least in theory.
It's apparent that the original inspiration for Rainbow Six was to create a tactical counter-terrorist squad game. There is a planning phase before each mission in which you choose equipment, create teams from your available operatives, and lay out way-points for the teams with action flags, go-codes, and the whole works. In more modern incarnations such as the PC version of Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield, you don't even need to join in on the action; you can just click the start button and watch your plan play out. Of course, the fact that you can jump in and join the fight changes R6 from a simulation into a sim-action game. There's no mistaking it for anything other than an FPS game.
The gameplay in R6 is solid, although far from epic-making. What I mean to say is that it is functional and free from obvious faults, but other FPSes of the time, like Half-Life, had much better gameplay, and I would say that that's a big part of the reason why Counter-Strike (a Half-Life mod) became such a wild success, even though Rainbow Six had staked out the whole counter-terrorism theme first.
Where R6 really shines is in atmosphere and mood. There are few, if any, other games that made me feel like I was really "saving the world" as R6 did. It's one of those games that's so immersive and realistic feeling that you honestly feel bad when your teammates are injured or killed, and you get genuinely nervous while turning a corner, waiting to see if there is a terrorist lying in wait for you. To put it another way, when you get into R6, you really get into it. It's one of those games that cries out for you to personally involve yourself in it.
Another strong point for the original Rainbow Six is the storyline, which was developed (co-developed?) by Tom Clancy. I'm not a huge Tom Clancy fan, but that's entirely beside the point: Rainbow Six has a solid storyline for a video game of its kind, and it really drew me in.
When all of the cards are down, it's fair to say that Rainbow Six was the game that originally made me into a fan of counter-terrorism as a theme for FPS games, and I am confident that there are many gamers out there who can say the same thing. No matter how you look at it, Rainbow Six broke a lot of ground, and the effect that it had on the gaming industry is still felt today.
Soul Edge
Soul Edge is the missing link in the evolution that lead to the development of Soul Calibur, and obviously Soul Calibur II. It seems like everyone knows about Soul Calibur, but a lot of people seem to talk about it as if it was some brilliant game that popped out of nowhere--a totally original work. Wrong! Let me fill you in on an informal bit of history.
Let's go pretty far back--not as far back in fighting game history as it is possible to go, but pretty far. Before there were tournament fighters, there were "street brawlers." The distinction is that in a street brawler game, the player faces off against many weak enemies, whereas a tournament fighter typically pits the player against a single strong opponent. Street brawlers began with the likes of Karateka and Double Dragon, so far as I know. What I do know for certain is that tournament fighters did not become wildly popular until the arrival of Street Fighter II, and we all know how big of a deal that was. Halo 2 has nothing on the phenominon that SF2 created.
The genre of 2D tournament fighters plodded along for quite a while before Sega's Virtua Fighter, which took the genre into 3D. Right from the start, it was apparent that although Virtua Fighter was similar to a 2D tournament fighter, there were significant differences between the 2D fighter genre and the 3D fighter genre. Thus, the 3D tournament fighter became a genre of its own.
In response to Virtua Fighter, Namco launched Tekken--another 3D tournament fighter, which was roughly as crude as Virtua Fighter. Tekken evolved into Tekken 2, which I personally consider to be the most influential 3D tournament fighting game ever made, but I'm hardly an authority on the subject. At this point, you're probably thinking "yeah, then Tekken 2 became Tekken 3--we get it already." Well, not quite.
Before there was Tekken 3, but after there was Tekken 2, there was Soul Edge. Soul Edge is the direct descendant of Tekken 2, and directly along the line of ancestry of Soul Calibur. Soul Edge was basically Tekken 2 with swords, and featured the initial cut of the Soul Calibur character line-up that we all know today, including Mitsurugi, Sigfried, Seung Mina, Sophitia, Voldo, and Cervantes.
After Soul Edge came the home version, for PlayStation, known as Soul Blade. Soul Blade introduced a quest mode and a bunch of extras, much like what you get on the home version of Soul Calibur II. Interestingly enough, it was also graphically superior to Soul Edge, which just goes to show how great PlayStation graphics were relative to a lot of other gaming hardware at the time. And it was the first PlayStation game I ever bought, heh. Needless to say, that was one awesome game, and it is still worth a look today, if you happen to run across a copy. (It's not very rare at all. I see copies at EB Games all of the time.)
From Soul Edge/Blade came Soul Calibur--first in the arcades, and then for Sega Dreamcast. The rest is history.
Secret of Mana
Here's one a little more out of left field: the SNES classic "Secret of Mana," known as Seiken Densetsu 2 in Japan. I chose to rant about this game in particular because I am a big Squaresoft fan and a huge RPG fan, but such was not always the case. My entry point into the genre lies somewhere between The Legend of Zelda and the American version of Dragon Warrior, but Secret of Mana represented a definite turning point for me. You might say that Secret of Mana put my love for RPGs into sharp focus, even though it is only itself an action-RPG, so that by the time Final Fantasy VI arrived, I was primed for total and utter fandom.
Personal stuff aside, it's easy to see the appeal of the action-RPG known as Secret of Mana on this side of the Pacific. When the game was released, it certainly pushed the envelope in terms of the quality of artistic direction put into video games. The visual artwork is stunning, and the soundtrack is excellent. The level design, character design, and monster design are all top-notch. This game even introduced the Squaresoft "Moogles" which have become so emblematic of the Final Fantasy series (I am pretty sure that Final Fantasy VI--released in North America as Final Fantasy III for SNES--was the first Final Fantasy to have any Moogles in it.) Generally speaking, Secret of Mana ideally fills the role that RPG games play in terms of drawing the player into a fascinating fantasy realm. Even the plot and character development are strong for a game of that era, and as an extra bonus, Secret of Mana supports multiplayer for up to 3 players simultaniously. Imagine a game back in 1994 that offers nearly everything that Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles offers, and you're pretty close to Secret of Mana. I would even say that Secret of Mana was a far better game in its time than FF:CC is now.
Unfortunately, Nintendo of America didn't see fit to translate the sequel to Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3, over to America because it arrived too late in the SNES life-cycle and Nintendo 64 development was already gearing up. That's a real shame, because from what I've seen of Seiken Densetsu 3, it is a real gem of a game--truly a Squaresoft masterpiece, and probably even the best in the Seiken Densetsu series. As for Seiken Densetsu 1, it's a GameBoy game and was available in America as Final Fantasy Adventure; there is now a GameBoy Advance remake of it known as Sword of Mana. Seiken Densetsu 4, a PlayStation game, also made it to America under the title "Legend of Mana."
If you are a Squaresoft fan at all, you really should investigate this classic game. It was a huge influence on the development of future Squaresoft titles, and made a signficant impact on the console RPG genre in general. And, of course, it's one of my all-time favourite games.
1943
I've ranted about one Konami game so far, so it's only fair that my next ramble is about a Capcom game. I've chosen one of
the games that really caught my attention as a younger person and whipped me up into a frenzy not only about shoot-em-ups but video games in general. Rest assured, I will rant about other shooters in the future (Galaga, Gradius, Metal Slug, and Ikaruga are likely topics), but this one is really special to me: 1943.
It's worth noting here that the NES version of 1943 is wildly different from the arcade version. They are both brilliant games, though, and I think that most of what I have to say applies to both, but for the most part I am talking about the arcade version here.
The first thing that strikes you about 1943 is how colorful and animated it is. The game's hand-drawn, comic-style artwork really brings the vision of an air battle over the Pacific to life, and it perfectly compliments the game's frantic pace. What's more, the level design is something to behold; like any truly great shooter, 1943's waves of enemies are very deliberately and creatively planned. The overall visual effect is fantastic, and that helps a good deal to make 1943 the kind of game that sucks you in and makes you forget completely about the outside world (for a time, at least).
Complicating the simple "waves of enemies come, you shoot them" scheme is the system of power-ups present in 1943. Of course, almost every shoot-em-up has such a system, but 1943's system has a degree of planning and resource management to it that is quite impressive. Not only can you choose between different weapon types and switch what weapon you are using by picking up particular power-ups, but you are actually required to toggle the type of certain power-ups by shooting them. Some power-ups are strategically placed so that you can switch to a more suitable weapon before heading into a new area where the type of enemies will change. Finally, you have both a weapon and a life value which both count-down over time. If your weapon counter runs out, you loose your special weapon and are stuck with the default gun. If your life counter is high, you can survive a hit from an enemy shot (although it will drain your life counter a lot), and if your life counter is low, any hits you suffer are instantly lethal. The combination of these factors makes item management a major aspect of the game, in a good way.
1943 also goes the extra mile to reward experienced players. As I already mentioned, a player who knows what kinds of enemies lie ahead will be able to more effectively choose what weapon power-ups to take. Additionally, there are secret items hidden at specific points in the levels where shooting a certain spot repeatedly will reveal extra power-ups. A player that knows the location of these items has a huge advantage, although they are not so well hidden that they cannot be discovered accidentally--far from it, in fact. The moral of the story is that while 1943 will probably overwhelm you at first, given time the game will reward you enough to make you feel like a badass shoot-em-up wizard. That is a worthwhile experience if there ever was one.
When one factors in all of its various play mechanics, it becomes apparent that 1943 is one of those ingenious shoot-em-ups that blurs the line between action-shooter and action-puzzle game, and I love that about it more than I have words to express.
Castlevania 2
I don't intend to fret too much over what game "deserves to be first" or any crap like that; I just want to get this show on the road. So I've decided to write up Castlevania 2 first.
If you are a fan of any recent Castlevania games, like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, or any of the GameBoy Advance games in the Castlevania series, you owe a lot of your fandom to the 8-bit classic Castlevania 2. The original Castlevania was a fairly typical, although brilliantly executed, arcade-style platformer: as the vampire hunter Simon Belmont, you jump and bash your way through a linear sequence of levels to progress through Dracula's castle and end his reign of terror. For whatever reason, Castlevania 2 decided to take the series in a new direction with a decisively quest-game style approach. The basic "jump and bash" mechanics of the original Castlevania are still there, but now the levels were open-ended and allowed the player to move in different directions rather than simply forward. In order to reach the final stage, the player needs to talk to game characters, remember clues, and explore to find the sub-bosses. If it weren't for Castlevania 2, we would never have seen the likes of Symphony of the Night, in which the exploration element of the game is front and center. On top of all of that, Castlevania 2 has top notch artistic direction, with excellent quality artwork and music composition for a game of its era. This is yet another trend that Konami has carried forward to present day Castlevania titles, especially Symphony of the Night.
Influences on modern-day Castlevania games aside, Castlevania 2 exhibits a lot of the old-school NES game challenge factor that is lacking from many games these days. It's easy to get stuck in Castlevania 2, especially considering that games didn't commonly have strategy guides (not NES games, at any rate) and the internet hadn't spread into the everyday person's home yet. If you didn't have the right issues of Nintendo Power, or contact with a friend who had finished the game before, you were in for a rough ride. If you ask me, that was part of the fun of video games back then--they were brutally tough, and sometimes you had to spend hours and hours plugging away at them to figure out some little puzzle bit that you had overlooked.
If you are a Castlevania fan, you must play Castlevania 2. In many ways, it was an early turning point in the development of the series and it laid the foundation on which the Castlevania games that we enjoy today are built. You owe it hommage, to say the least.
Introduction
I play video games a lot. I certainly don't play more video games than anybody else (I have a day job, after all), but I definitely cover a lot of territory. What's more, I care about video games, possibly more than anyone else I know. To me, video games are the new media; they are a form of artistic expression still in its infancy, like photography or radio was almost a century ago. I want people to know that video games are not merely some cheesy form of light entertainment--that there is real substance to them. So, I have created this blog for the sole purpose of ranting and writing short blurbs about video games.
For the most part, I am going to try to post primarily suggestions of video games that gamers should play if they want to broaden their horizons and become more "hardcore." This blog comes at a time when video games have reached a new critical mass in popularity, and the video games that are being made for the masses (those appealing to the lowest common demoninator) are drawing most of the attention and leaving some more artistically valid video games in their shadow. This is not to say that I'm going to focus my attention on new games; any game at all that I think deserves mention will be mentioned.
My primary realm of experience is with NES, SNES, PlayStation (PSX and PS2), GameCube, and PC games. I hope to rant a lot about games from the 90's and some from the 80's, as well as present day. I'll do my best to present my honest opinion about games that I have a lot of experience with, and not simply early impressions of games that I've only just begun to play. So check back once in a while, if you want to learn more about video games.
