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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Oct 5, 2007 14:14:01 GMT -5
13. Phantasy Star 2 (Genesis) Phantasy Star II is a console role-playing game released in 1989 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, and later in two different compilations for the Sega Saturn and Game Boy Advance named The Phantasy Star Collection. It was also released on the Sega Smash Pack Volume One for the Sega Dreamcast. Also, it is part of the Sega Genesis Collection for PlayStation 2 and PSP. It also has a remake, named as Phantasy Star Generation 2 for the Playstation 2, which was released in 2005 as part of the Sega Ages lineup. Part two of SEGA's Phantasy Star series of games that began in 1987, Phantasy Star II is a true sequel to the first game of the series, carrying over many of the familiar elements that made Phantasy Star so original. Along with other Phantasy Star games, Phantasy Star II is seen as a particularly difficult RPG. The battle system is turn-based, allowing the player to chose commands for up to four characters. Each of the eight characters has a different set of preferred weapons and armor, as well as techniques, suited to the character's job. Somewhere deep within the Andromeda Galaxy lies the Algol Star System. The parent star, Algol (referred to as "Algo" by this point in the timeline), has three planets orbiting about it. First is Palm (formerly "Palma" in the original Phantasy Star), the home of the government. Governors, treasurers, and great thinkers dwell here in great ivory towers, away from the hubbub of everyday life. Next is Mota (formerly "Motavia"), the shining jewel. Once a dry desert planet infested with ant lions, Mota has been transformed into a blue and green tropical paradise. Domed farms grow crops, and the water is regulated into dammed rivers. Life on Mota is sweet, peaceful, and easy. The people have everything they want, and do not need to work. Farthest out is Dezo (formerly "Dezoris"), the ice planet. Little is known about this mysterious and dark planet. One thousand years have passed since Alis and her friends liberated Algo from the evil Lassic. Algo has since prospered under the care of a giant computer called the Mother Brain. The Mother Brain regulates the Climatrol Tower, the Bio-Systems Lab, and all other things that provide whatever the Mota people need. The game begins with a short monologue in which the character Rolf recalls a strange recurring nightmare he has been having. In the dream, a young girl who resembles Alis from Phantasy Star is battling a demon, although he, himself, does not know anything of her identity. Although Rolf is nearby, he is unable to even move or speak while the demon is striking at the girl. Finally, just before the demon kills the girl, Rolf awakens. From his home in the Motavian capital Paseo, Rolf goes to the Central Tower to meet with the Commander, the head of government on Mota, in order to receive his newest mission. Phantasy Star II is regarded by many as a forerunner for certain aspects of console role-playing games, such as an epic, character-driven storyline and a strategy-based battle system. It has made a number of "Greatest Game of all Time" lists: it was number 97 on EGM's list of The 200 Greatest Games of Their Time, and in August 2005 it was inducted into Gamespot's Greatest Game of All Time list.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Oct 5, 2007 14:15:39 GMT -5
12. Shining Force 2 (Genesis) Shining Force II is a 1994 tactical role-playing game for the Mega Drive/Genesis console, and a sequel to the original Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention game. The two games are not directly connected story-wise, although a Japanese Game Gear title "Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict" does draw the two games together directly. Also, the events of the first game are often referred to through book titles and small bits of dialogue. The game is longer than the first, and is more free-roaming. There is no chapter system, so the player can return to most of the places that he/she had been before. There is also a larger number of characters. Shining Force II gameplay is similar to its antecessor, and it's considered to be relatively simple compared to other tactical RPGs. Battles take place in grids of squares, and each unit occupies 1 square. Units can belong to one of 2 sides: allies (usually controlled by the player) or enemies (usually controlled by the computer AI). This is not an absolute rule, since cheat codes allow enemies to be controlled by the player, or allies to be controlled by the computer AI. The gameplay is turn-based; each unit can both move and perform one action (attack, use a spell, use an item) on its turn. Some commands such as equipping or dropping items don't count as actions. The order of the turns is determined by the unit's agility score. Units can use offensive actions (such as attacking or using a BLAZE spell) only on units belonging to other side, and they can use support actions (such as using a HEAL spell or a medical herb item) only on units belonging to the same side. There are a very few exceptions, such as the Prism Flower's Laser attack, which can hit units from both sides. Like most video game RPGs, units can become stronger by fighting enemies and performing some actions. Those give the units experience points (EXP.), which allow them to gain levels. In Shining Force II, each ally unit is represented by a character with a background and personality, much like the Fire Emblem series. There are no "generic" units, except on the enemy side. Like what happens in most RPGs with a large cast of characters, however, many of these characters are poorly developed and give little or no contribution to the plot. Each ally unit also has a class, which defines a set of abilities for that unit. Once a unit reaches level 20, it can advance to another class through a "promotion". A unit can be promoted at any level between 20 or 40; the longer the player waits to promote a unit, the stronger it will be after promotion. Some characters do not have promotions, so they may be considered pre-promoted. These units tend to be significantly weaker than those promoted at level 40. Some characters also have two options of promotion; one of the options is accessible only through a special item. Battle goals for the player (ally side) are fairly straightforward: either kill all enemies, or kill the enemies' leader. Killing the leader of the opposing army will herald the defeat of the entire opposition. Likewise, the enemy side wins when they manage to kill the ally leader, Bowie. Even if the party escapes or the leader is killed, however, the player can recover the allies and fight the same enemy again. The experience and money gained is carried over, regardless of the battle outcome, so the game is considerably easier than most strategy RPGs, since there is no Game Over, and most of the time, the player's army gets stronger even if the ally side is defeated. However, if the allies are defeated in a battle, they lose half of the money in their possession. Most games from the Shining Force series (with the exception of the Game Gear and Sega CD games) also possess an exploration mode, besides the regular battle mode. This gameplay mode is more similar to a traditional RPG game. In this mode, the player assumes the role of the Shining Force leader (Bowie in Shining Force 2). The player can walk around, interact with people, and set the members and equipment of the army. This is the story provided by the Japanese manual of the video game: Arc Valley is a corrupted place! A place where evil powers gather. Who the Arc Valley suppresses is the king of kings among devils. Lucifer, Darksol, Zeon fought for their desire at the Arc Valley. The battle between devil kings was so fierce it burnt the land, dyed the sea, and shredded the sky. In the end of the battle, the winner Zeon, was called the king of kings by all devils. The other two kings who envyed him attacked Zeon and sealed his powers into the Jewel. Zeon, who lost all his powers, was swallowed by the sea of fire in Arc Valley Zeon's moans shattered mountains and buried him within the valley. The wise god, grieved for the devils' battle, created the power of light. The power of light chose the one who should be honored. The honorable man created a sword in the wise god's mountain. The honorable man who inherited power from the wise god swung the sword he created against the two devil kings. The clear light emitted from the sword destroyed the devils, in the Arc Valley. This correpted place, Arc Valley, became an ancient shrine, a forbidden place. To keep the king of all evils from awakening, no one is allow to intrude this place. If, by any chance, the dark forces are reviving the god's power will choose the honorable man. Believe in the power of light! Take the sword, destroy the devil. Despite its popularity in emulation and frequent discussion on gaming sites such as GameFAQs, Shining Force II did not see a large production run and is now considered something of a rarity. A copy of this game in its original box with instructions can sell for as much as $60-$70 on ebay and specialty stores.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Oct 5, 2007 14:18:04 GMT -5
11. Altered Beast (Genesis) Altered Beast is a 1988 arcade game developed and manufactured by Sega. After its initial arcade release, it was ported to several home video game consoles and home computers. Makoto Uchida was the primary developer of the game and also was responsible for the creation of Golden Axe. Altered Beast is a platform/fighting game that puts the player in control of a centurion who had died in battle. The centurion has been raised from the dead to rescue Zeus' daughter, Athena. The player battles undead and demonic hordes, controlling the shapeshifting hero. He must defeat several levels in order to save the kidnapped goddess. Although 'Centurion' was a rank in the Roman Army, the game takes place in a setting resembling Ancient Greece, complete with gods, temples and ruined Ionic columns. The player must battle armies of fictional and undead creatures to defeat the evil Demon God Neff, who is holding Athena captive. Along the way, the player has to obtain "Spirit Balls" (power-up orbs which increase his strength and size) from defeating white two-headed wolves (Although it is hinted that this wolf might be the cerberus wolf of Greek Mythology). These enable the player to turn into a superhuman (stage one: "giant man" stage two "superman"). When three are collected, the hero transforms into a beast with exceptional abilities. The game contains several levels which the player must battle through, which can only be completed if the player acquires the beast form. At the end of each level is a "boss" creature, which is Neff himself in different forms. Before Neff transforms at the end of each level, he says "Welcome to your doom!" The enemies the player encounters differ depending on level as does the beast the hero transforms into. These beasts include a werewolf, a thunder dragon, a tiger man, a bear, and the more powerful golden werewolf (other beasts can be seen in the Japanese Famicom version and the Game Boy Advance version). Each beast has its own special abilities, such as the dragon's ability to fly. Between each level are small animations giving the player glimpses of Athena's peril. The game was moderately successful, the player's ability to transform into different creatures being a big draw. The game actually does have an ending where the player rescues Athena. At the completion of the game (upon Neff's defeat in the city of Dis), Zeus thanks the player for his help. The credit sequence is rather long and gives the impression that the entire game was actually a film; interspersed in the credits are images of "actors" in various stages of costume for the different characters or monsters in the game. One of the more well-known features of Altered Beast is the quote, "Rise from your grave!" said by Zeus. However, the quote has often been humorously interpreted as being "Wise fwom your gwave" or similar variants, due to the inherent distortion/garbling of the digitalized voice stemming from the relatively new hardware of the time. Altered Beast was produced as a standard upright only with custom artwork on the cabinet. In most versions, the game's controls consist of an eight-way directional and three buttons, one each for "punch", "kick" and "jump". The game has single player and cooperative two-player modes. Altered Beast was ported to several platforms after its original release in 1988. It was released for Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Master System, PC Engine, PC Engine CD, Famicom, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Commodore Amiga and DOS. Sega Smash Pack for Windows and Dreamcast and Sega Genesis Collection for Playstation 2 and Playstation Portable contained an emulated version of the Mega Drive/Genesis port. The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version is particularly noteworthy as it was the original pack-in game for that system in North America, Europe, and Brazil. This version is now available for download on the Wii's Virtual Console. Certain differences are seen between the several versions of the game. Some of them, like the Master System one, have only four levels (and suffered from ongoing in-game slowdowns), while others have different beasts to mutate into, such as a humanoid lion form seen in the NES version, or the bear form seen in the Mega Drive/Genesis version. The PC Engine CD version (released only in Japan) incorporated a new CD-quality soundtrack that differentiates it from other versions, however its graphics are virtually the same as the console version for the PC Engine (also only released in Japan). A PlayStation 2 title was released by Sega in 2005, known as Jûôki: Project Altered Beast in Japan and simply Altered Beast in Europe; the game was not released in North America. In Japan, it was rated 17+ for its intensity. It was rated 10th on ScrewAttack's Worst 2-D to 3-D games list. Rather than serving as a sequel to the original game, the newer title features a more modern setting that is unconnected to the original game. The story follows a man called Luke Custer who is a "Genome-Cyborg", which in the game is a human that has had his DNA and other genetic make-up altered so that he can (after acquiring the chip containing the right genes for each creature) transform into a mythical beast. The main creatures he transforms into are a Werewolf, a Merman, a Garuda, a Wendigo, a Fire Minotaur, and a Thunder Dragon. Its storyline differs from the original Altered Beast games where during the game, you gain a serum that allows you to change at will. There are a number of difficult boss challenges and puzzles within the game, plus some extra characters to transform into including a White Weretiger, a Grizzly Bear, and the alien-cloned U.W.H. (Unidentified Weightless Human) for those who finish the game. Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms, published by THQ, is a sequel for Game Boy Advance in the style of the original arcade game. It adds new features like power-ups, new beast forms and destructible environments. [1] In this game, you turn into a Werewolf (called Canis), a Snake Man/Nagi (or Naga), a Dragon (or Draco), a Tiger Man (or Smilodon), a Spiked Turtle (or Terapis/Terrapin), a Shark Man (or Charodon), a Rhinoceros Man (or Cerathos), an Eagle (or Avion), a Scorpion (or Scorpios), and a Chimera. An episode of the second season of Mega64 includes an Altered Beast skit. In its initial arcade release, Altered Beast was a well-received game. Its port to the Sega Mega Drive was considered inferior to the arcade. Its re-release for the Wii's Virtual Console was given a lukewarm reception by GameSpot, describing the game as merely decent with some nostalgic value.
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Post by Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action on Oct 5, 2007 14:23:27 GMT -5
They got Shining Force and Shining In The Darkness on Virtual Console, I wonder if they'll put Shining Force II?
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Oct 5, 2007 14:24:47 GMT -5
Here is the list so far...
200. John Madden NFL 98 (Genesis) 199. John Madden Football (Genesis) 198. The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare (Genesis) 197. Star Wars: Rebel Assault (CD) 196. Cool Spot (Genesis) 195. Urban Strike (Genesis) 194. Bass Masters Classic (Genesis) 193. Slam City With Scottie Pippen (CD) 192. The Secret of Monkey Island (CD) 191. Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker (Genesis) 190. Toy Story (Genesis) 189. James Bond: The Duel (Genesis) 188. Kriss Kross: Make My Video (CD) 187. European Club Soccer (Genesis) 186. RBI Baseball 3 (Genesis) 185. John Madden NFL 94 (Genesis) 184. Truxton (Genesis) 183. NFL Quarterback Club (32X) 182. Phantasy Star (Genesis) 181. Fantastic Dizzy (Genesis) 180. Mickey Mania: The Timless Adventures of Mickey Mouse (CD) 179. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Genesis) 178. Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing (Genesis) 177. NFL Quarterback Club (Genesis) 176. Barkley Shut Up And Jam (Genesis) 175. FIFA Soccer 96 (32X) 174. Space Harrier II (Genesis) 173. Cyborg Justice (Genesis) 172. The Death And Return Of Superman (Genesis) 171. Chuck Rock (Genesis) 170. World Cup USA 94 (Genesis) 169. California Games (Genesis) 168. Animaniacs (Genesis) 167. NHL Hockey (Genesis) 166. Popful Mail (CD) 165. Golden Axe 3 (Genesis) 164. Road Rash (Genesis) 163. Alien Storm (Genesis) 162. The Terminator (Genesis) 161. Clay Fighter (Genesis) 160. Super Hang On (Genesis) 159. Tecmo Super Bowl 2 (Genesis) 158. Dark Wizard (CD) 157. Ecco: The Tides Of Time (Genesis) 156. Crue Ball (Genesis) 155. Disney's Pinocchio (Genesis) 154. Alisia Dragoon (Genesis) 153. Super Battleship (Genesis) 152. Mad Dog McCree (CD) 151. The Punisher (Genesis) 150. Micro Machines: Turbo Tournament 96 (Genesis) 149. Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis) 148. Battletoads (Genesis) 147. Bubsy II (Genesis) 146. Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold (CD) 145. Mutant League Hockey (Genesis) 144. Jaguar XJ220 (CD) 143. King Of The Monsters 2 (Genesis) 142. Lethal Enforcers (Genesis) 141. Boogerman: A Pick & Flick Adventure (Genesis) 140. Virtua Racing (Genesis) 139. Star Wars Arcade (32X) 138. Brutal: Above The Claw (32X) 137. Sta Wars Arcade (CD) 136. Tecmo Super Bowl (Genesis) 135. Puggsy (Genesis) 134. Mega Turrican (Genesis) 133. James Pond 2: Codename Robocod (Genesis) 132. Thunderforce IV (Genesis) 131. Double Dragon (Genesis) 130. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (Genesis) 129. NBA Jam (Genesis) 128. FIFA International Soccer (Genesis) 127. Columns (Genesis) 126. Kick Off 3 (Genesis) 125. College Football USA 96 (Genesis) 124. Al Michaels Announces Hardball III (Genesis) 123. NFL Sportstalk Football 93 Starring Joe Montana (Genesis) 122. Virtua Fighter (32X) 121. The Adventures of Batman & Robin (CD) 120. Rolling Thunder 2 (Genesis) 119. Spider-man & X-Men: Arcade's Revenge (Genesis) 118. Pete Sampras Tennis (Genesis) 117. Coach K College Basketball (Genesis) 116. NHL 95 (Genesis) 115. FIFA Soccer 96 (Genesis) 114. Pirates! Gold (Genesis) 113. Toejam & Earl In Panic On Funkatron (Genesis) 112. Battletoads & Double Dragon (Genesis) 111. Jurassic Park (Genesis) 110. WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game (Genesis) 109. The Simpsons: Virtual Bart (Genesis) 108. Earthworm Jim: Special Edition (CD) 107. Mega Bomberman (Genesis) 106. Silpheed (CD) 105. Robocop Vs. Terminator (Genesis) 104. Madden NFL 96 (Genesis) 103. Eternal Champions (Genesis) 102. 3 Ninjas Kick Back (CD) 101. Super Street Fighter II (Genesis) 100. Beyond Oasis (Genesis) 99. Sensible Soccer (Genesis) 98. NHL 94 (Genesis) 97. Wings of Wor (Genesis) 96. Wonder Boy III: Monster's Lair (Genesis) 95. World Series Baseball 95 (Genesis) 94. Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II (Genesis) 93. Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle (Genesis) 92. RBI Baseball 93 (Genesis) 91. World Series Baseball 98 (Genesis) 90. Rocket Knight Adventures (Genesis) 89. NHLPA Hockey 93 (Genesis) 88. Night Trap (CD) 87. Lunar: Eternal Blue (CD) 86. Pit-Fighter (Genesis) 85. The Haunting Starring Polterguy (Genesis) 84. Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters (CD) 83. Metal Head (32X) 82. Phantasy Star IV: The End Of The Millenium (Genesis) 81. Madden NFL 95 (Genesis) 80. Thunder Force III (Genesis) 79. Super Baseball 2020 (Genesis) 78. Vectorman 2 (Genesis) 77. General Chaos (Genesis) 76. Madden NFL 97 (Genesis) 75. Buck Rogers: Countdown To Doomsday (Genesis) 74. Vay (CD) 73. Target Earth (Genesis) 72. Batman (Genesis) 71. FIFA Soccer 95 70. Desert Strike: Return To The Gulf (Genesis) 69. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Genesis) 68. Primal Rage (Genesis) 67. Ghosts N' Ghouls (Genesis) 66. The Lion King (Genesis) 65. Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (Genesis) 64. Greatest Heavyweights Of The Ring (Genesis) 63. Micro Machines (Genesis)/Micro Machines 2 (Genesis) (tie) 62. Knuckles Chaotix (32X) 61. Contra: Hard Corps (Genesis) 60. WWF Raw (Genesis) 59. Shining In The Darkness (Genesis) 58. Eternal Champions: Challenge From The Dark Side (CD) 57. WWF Raw (32X) 56. NBA Live 95 (Genesis) 55. Ren & Stimpy: Stimpy's Invention (Genesis) 54. Doom (32X) 53. X-Men (Genesis) 52. Lunar: The Silver Star (CD) 51. World Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck (Genesis) 50. Mortal Kombat II (32X) 49. Toejam & Earl (Genesis) 48. Saturday Night Slammasters (Genesis) 47. Revenge Of Shinobi (Genesis) 46. Phantasy Star III: Generations Of Doom (Genesis) 45. Dinosaurs For Hire (Genesis) 44. Quackshot Starring Donald Duck (Genesis) 43. Mortal Kombat III (Genesis) 42. Golden Axe II (Genesis) 41. Troy Aikman NFL Football (Genesis) 40. Shining Force (CD) 39. Shinobi III: Return Of The Ninja Master (Genesis) 38. Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Genesis) 37. Dynamite Headdy (Genesis) 36. Ecco The Dolphin (Genesis) 35. NBA Jam Tournament Edition (Genesis) 34. Shadow Dancer: The Secret Of Shinobi (Genesis) 33. Road Rash 2 (Genesis) 32. Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (Genesis) 31. Snatcher (CD) 30. Beavis & Butthead (Genesis) 29. Kid Chameleon (Genesis) 28. Mutant League Football (Genesis) 27. Sonic Spinball (Genesis) 26. Shining Force: Legacy Of Great Intention (Genesis) 25. Spiderman & Venom: Maximum Carnage (Genesis) 24. Ristar (Genesis) 23. Herzog Zwei (Genesis) 22. Vectorman (Genesis) 21. Splatterhouse 2 (Genesis) 20. Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis) 19. Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition (Genesis) 18. WWF Royal Rumble (Genesis) 17. Sonic CD (CD) 16. Disney's Aladdin (Genesis) 15. Gunstar Heroes (Genesis) 14. Earthworm Jim (Genesis) 13. Phantasy Star 2 (Genesis) 12. Shining Force 2 (Genesis) 11. Altered Beast (Genesis)
Dont get Carpal Tunnel on me now as we enter the top 10 next.
Here Are The Clues To The Next Five Games.....
* Death Adder Awaits (Genesis)
* It Hurts So Good, They Had To Come Back For Seconds (Genesis)
* Sketch Turner Fights In A World He Created (Genesis)
* So Real, It Hurts (Genesis)
* Turmoil In The Streets (Genesis)
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Oct 5, 2007 14:26:18 GMT -5
They got Shining Force and Shining In The Darkness on Virtual Console, I wonder if they'll put Shining Force II? I would like almost all classic games on the virtual console.
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Post by Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action on Oct 5, 2007 14:28:52 GMT -5
They got Shining Force and Shining In The Darkness on Virtual Console, I wonder if they'll put Shining Force II? I would like almost all classic games on the virtual console. Hell, I'd like it if ALL games were on it. Classic or not.
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Post by Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action on Oct 5, 2007 14:29:27 GMT -5
Oh and Comix Zone is coming up!
Great Beat-Em-Up right there.
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Oct 5, 2007 15:04:34 GMT -5
Streets of Rage?
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Oct 5, 2007 15:05:05 GMT -5
I'm really glad many of my games ranked so high.
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Post by Black Hammer Rocks the AssWhip on Oct 5, 2007 15:25:22 GMT -5
Oh and Comix Zone is coming up! Great Beat-Em-Up right there. It was my number one. Good to see it placed in the top ten. It is an amazing game, one I always have fun with, no matter how much I sucked.
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Post by Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action on Oct 5, 2007 15:27:58 GMT -5
Oh and Comix Zone is coming up! Great Beat-Em-Up right there. It was my number one. Good to see it placed in the top ten. It is an amazing game, one I always have fun with, no matter how much I sucked. I never could beat it, but it was fun! I put it in my top 10.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2007 15:33:12 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure Golden Axe is one and i'm guessing George Foreman's Boxing for the "So Real, it hurts".
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Oct 5, 2007 16:04:15 GMT -5
10. Mortal Kombat (Genesis) Mortal Kombat was the first entry in the famous and highly controversial Mortal Kombat fighting game series by Midway, released in arcades in 1992. It was later picked up by Acclaim Entertainment for the home version, then later returned to Midway. It centers on the first Mortal Kombat tournament and the ultimate defeat of the evil Shang Tsung by the monk Liu Kang. The game was a response by Midway to Capcom's successful Street Fighter II, which spawned a number of fighting games. However, it used a distinctly different fighting system from the Street Fighter formula, which was used in all subsequent sequels until Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. The controls consisted of five buttons arranged in an "X" pattern: a high punch, a high kick, a low punch, a low kick, and a block button, as well as an eight-way joystick. If the two fighters were standing next to each other, hitting any of the attack buttons would result in a modified strike: a low punch turned into a throw, a high punch turned into a heavy elbow, head butt, or backhand, and either kick turned into a knee strike. Crouching and hitting either punch resulted in an uppercut, which was the most damaging attack of the game. Jump kicking and crouch-kicking were executed in a similar fashion to Street Fighter, although leg sweeps and roundhouse kicks were performed by holding away while pressing the appropriate kick button. The blocking in Mortal Kombat by itself greatly changed the flow of fighting in comparison to contemporary games which used Street Fighter conventions. Characters do not block while retreating or crouching, but only block when the block button is pushed. Even then, characters take (reduced) damage from any hit while blocking. However, successfully blocking moves is simple – a crouching block can successfully defend against all moves, even aerial attacks such as jump kicks – and blocking characters give very little ground when struck rather than sliding backwards. This style of blocking rewarded dodging to avoid damage but also made counterattacks much easier after a successful block, and the ultimate result was an environment which rewards a more furtive playing style than contemporary games. Each of the seven playable characters move and fight in the exact same fashion, which led to complaints that the characters lacked distinction. However, each character's moves differed in their hit detection, speed, and damage. (For example, Kano's crouching kick dealt more damage than other characters' crouching kicks, while Raiden's jump kick had a longer range than other jump kicks.) The game retained a similar scoring system (based off successful hits, the Test Your Might minigame and other bonuses) to those games; this would be dropped in later entries to the Mortal Kombat series in favor of counting wins. Another of the game's innovations was the Fatality, a special finishing move executed against a beaten opponent to kill them in a gruesome fashion. For example, one character (Sub-Zero) would grasp a defeated opponent by the head, then rip out the head and spine while the body crumpled to the ground in a pool of blood. Mortal Kombat also introduced the concept of juggling, an idea so popular it has spread to many games and even other genres. Juggling takes advantage of the fact that when a character is knocked into the air, that player is unable to control his or her character and is still vulnerable to other hits, until he or she lands and gets up again. The idea behind juggling is to knock the enemy into the air and then follow up with other combat moves to keep them there. Theoretically, one could juggle one's opponent to death without ever taking damage, though this was difficult to accomplish in practice. In early versions of the game, juggling was extremely easy because the physics caused characters to fly upwards when hit; by version 5.0, however, characters reacted with somewhat more realism, and also fell more rapidly with successive hits, effectively limiting juggles to 3 hits under normal circumstances. Finally, Mortal Kombat also changed the way special moves were performed. Street Fighter (and many other fighting games) performed most special moves in fractions of circles (usually full, half or one-quarter) on the joystick followed by a button press (such as a quarter-circle forward, plus punch). Mortal Kombat was the first to introduce moves that did not require a button press (such as tap back, tap back, then forward), and only a few of the special moves required circular joystick movement. 500 years ago, the annual Shaolin Tournament, the most prestigious fighting tournament in the world, was interrupted by the appearance of an old sorcerer and a strange four-armed creature, who entered the tournament and defeated the Great Kung Lao. This Shokan warrior was the half-human, half-dragon fighter named Goro, who became the ultimate fighting champion for the next five hundred years. This was all part of Shang Tsung's plan to tip the balance into chaos and help Outworld conquer the Earth Realm. Liu Kang would go to the tournament with the intent to restore balance. A martial artist/movie star, Johnny Cage, also entered the tournament and befriended Liu when a fight broke out between himself and Kano. Lin Kuei warrior Sub-Zero was invited to join the tournament by Shang Tsung himself, two years earlier after his ordeal with Shinnok's Amulet. (According to his MK Ending, his reason for joining the tournament was to assassinate Shang Tsung, by the request of a wealthy enemy of Tsung's. This story thread is continued with the younger Sub-Zero brother in MKII). The undead Shirai Ryu ninja Scorpion entered the tournament intending to kill Sub-Zero, believing Sub-Zero to be responsible for killing him (in Mythologies, it was also stated that Scorpion thought that Sub-Zero had murdered his family and clan as well). Raiden, the God of Thunder, was also asked personally by Shang Tsung himself, and Raiden himself boasted that "all those who would oppose Raiden would be crushed." He took the form of a human in order to participate in the tournament. Kano, the Black Dragon's most diabolical thug, was being chased by a U.S. Special Forces Unit, led by Lt. Sonya Blade, when he managed to get onto the boat heading for the tournament; his goal in the tournament was to loot Shang Tsung's Palace (where the walls are rumored to be made of gold). Once Sonya and her men arrived, Shang Tsung's personal army ambushed them. The Special Forces Unit was captured in the surprise attack, so Sonya had no choice but to take part in the tournament in order to save them. Thus the tournament was set. With Outworld already having won nine tournaments in a row, the heroes would have to avoid handing Earth Realm its tenth loss, or all of humanity would crumble into the darkness of the Outworld (the "ten tournaments in a row" detail was added in Mortal Kombat Trilogy, and had previously been a key plot point in the film adaptation of the original Mortal Kombat). Mortal Kombat featured two bosses. One was a sub-boss, which was a four-armed Shokan warrior named Goro, a half-human, half-dragon beast. Goro was a great deal stronger than the other characters, and was impossible to grab. Upon Goro's defeat, the player would then face the game's main boss, Shang Tsung. Despite the sorcerer's old age, he moves with incredible speed and summoned skull fireballs at will. Shang Tsung's darkest magic empowered him to steal the souls of fallen adversaries. Due to this sorcery, he also had the ability to morph into any character of the game, including Goro, and assume their appearance and their special abilities. Upon defeat, the many warrior souls that Shang Tsung used during battle would leave his body and then he would be engulfed in flames. The Mega Drive/Genesis version was censored, but entering a secret code (a-b-a-c-a-b-b) restored the full gore and fatalities from the arcade version. This version was given an MA-13 rating by the Videogame Rating Council.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Oct 5, 2007 16:06:45 GMT -5
9. Golden Axe (Genesis) Golden Axe is a side-scrolling arcade hack-and-slash game released in 1989 by Sega. It is the first game in the series. Makoto Uchida was the primary developer of the game and also was responsible for the creation of Altered Beast. According to the Killer List of Videogames, Golden Axe is the most important arcade game of the year 1989. Several ports of the game were created, most notably for the Mega Drive/Genesis and Sega Master System. The game places the player in control of one of three warriors each bent on revenge against the vile tyrant Death Adder. Death Adder has taken over the once peaceful land of Yuria. One of them is a battle axe-wielding dwarf, Gilius Thunderhead, from the mines of Wolud, whose twin brother was killed by the soldiers of Death Adder. Another is a male barbarian, Ax Battler, wielding a two handed broadsword looking for revenge for the murder of his mother. The last is a long-sword wielding Tyris Flare, an amazon, whose parents were killed by Death Adder. The very existence of Yuria is now threatened – Death Adder has kidnapped the king and his daughter, the beautiful Princess, and he is holding them captive in his castle. Death Adder has also found the Golden Axe, the magical emblem of the land of Yuria and plans to destroy it and kill the royal family unless all the people of Yuria bow to his will, swearing an oath of allegiance to his evil regime and accepting him as ruler. Progress is made through the game by hacking and slashing through Adder's henchmen, including men armed with clubs and maces, skeleton warriors, and knights. Aiding the characters in this quest is their ability to cast spells that hurt all enemies on the screen. The force of this magic depends on the number of "bars" of magic power currently available. The bars are filled by collecting blue 'magic potions' found throughout the game. The male warrior Ax, limited to 4 bars, is able to cast Earth spells. The dwarf Gilius, limited to 3 bars, casts lightning spells and the female warrior Tyris can cast devastating fire magic, but her most powerful spell costs 6 bars. Various steeds found in the game (bizarrians) can be ridden when the enemy rider is knocked off or if one is found dormant. These mounts add further attack prowess to the player by allowing them to attack groups of enemies at a time by swiping the bizarrian's tail and, in the case of the larger dragons, can deal heavy damage by breathing fire. The Duel was a gameplay mode added to most ports. The main part of this mode was single-player only, although there was a slightly altered two-player option. In this mode, the player battles enemies in waves. A handful of enemies attack, then when they are defeated the player moves on to the next group of enemies. Sometimes even bosses appeared to challenge the player. The player had to make do with the health they started with for the duration of this mode, there were no thieves or other sources of health, and the player could not use magic at all. If played in two-player mode, The Duel became a one-on-one battle against the other player with no enemies or stages. Various ports of Golden Axe exist for various platforms including the Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System, Sega CD, MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy Advance, ZX Spectrum, Wii and Xbox 360. The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version of the game retained the gameplay of the arcade game, while adding two extra levels and two extra modes of gameplay, The Duel and Beginner (an easier and shorter quest with an alternate boss at the end). Due to technical limitations (the media distribution was on a 6 megabit cartridge) the graphics took a noticeable hit, and some complex animations had to be cut. Despite not being as colorful as the arcade original, fans considered the extra levels and modes to more than make up for this loss. A strange error was made in that Gilius Thunderhead's "Golden Axe" is no longer golden in the home console translation, it is now silver. The game was also remade, with new background music, voice-overs, for a Sega CD game collection. Almost all the game's background music are real CD tracks that can be listened to on a regular CD player. The graphics were identical, but a higher frame rate for the animations of the characters. Strangely, this version of the game was only one player even though Streets of Rage, which could also be found on the same CD, retained its two player co-op mode. The Sega Master System version of the game retold the original story from the perspective of Ax Battler, who was called "Tarik" in this game. While the game was only one-player, it featured all the levels from the arcade game as well as all the magic powers in the arcade version. At the time of the game's release many video game magazine editors and fans expressed surprise with how close the graphics of this game came to the Mega Drive version, despite the inferior technology of the Master System. The version of the game for IBM PC compatibles came out in 1990. This particular port's graphics were well done, similar to the arcade version in 256 color VGA mode. However, it was not a direct translation of the Arcade as much as it was a port of the Mega Drive version with an improved color palette. The overall number of levels was expanded to eight through the addition of two extra stages. The game supported all major graphics adapters available at the time, including VGA, EGA, CGA, Tandy and Hercules. Although the game would run on a 4.77 MHz IBM PC XT, at least a 16 MHz IBM PC AT was recommended for fluid scrolling and animations in VGA mode. The Atari ST and Amiga versions of the game were released in 1990 by Virgin Software. Unlike the PC version, the Amiga version was not a port of the Mega Drive version but was virtually identical to the arcade game with no loss of colors or animations. The Atari ST version was very close to the Amiga version with the exception that it modified the character health status bars from bars to gems at the bottom of the screen and even enhanced the icons for the characters faces. The ST version was less colorful than the Amiga version but retained all of the Arcade animations and detail. Both of these versions came closer than the Mega Drive in terms of graphics, but are missing the extra levels and do not control as well as the home console versions (particularly the Atari ST version with its 2 button controller). Gilius Thunderhead retains the gold color of his axe in the Amiga version. The ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 versions suffered from different problems. While the Commodore 64 version was better graphically than the ZX Spectrum version, it limited the action to a one player experience. To make matters worse, only one enemy character was "allowed" on screen at once to battle the player, upsetting the gameplay of the original. In Japan Golden Axe was released by Telenet for the PC Engine CD-ROM sometime in 1990. It is not well known that this game existed because it is generally conceded by fans and critics alike to be the worst translation of the title ever released. The graphics were actually noticeably inferior to the Sega Mega Drive System version; the fault of amateur programmers as the system was more than capable of handling an accurate translation of the title equal to or surpassing the Mega Drive offering. The sound and music, despite being a CD-ROM title, was of the same quality as the visuals and play. The game did have a nice anime style intro and new sprites for the character select screen. Understandably, this title was never released anywhere outside of Japan. As part of the Sega Ages series of remakes, Sega released a 3D remake of Golden Axe for the PlayStation 2. Originally released in Japan as a budget release (it sold for only 2500 yen), the title has generally been poorly received due to its lackluster graphics, poor animation, and shoddy hit detection. The game is now available in the United States and Europe as part of the Sega Classics Collection, a multi-pack of other Sega Ages remakes. This game is despised by game enthusiasts far and wide due to its poor quality. There is some theorisation by fans that this and other Ages remakes were actually planned for the original PlayStation or Sega Saturn but were somehow delayed, and then were tidied up for release on the PlayStation 2. This theory goes some way to explain the unusually limited graphics. Games were still being published for the original PlayStation for a few years after the introduction of the PlayStation 2 during which time Sega became an official third party licensee for the Sony console. A re-release of the original Golden Axe was planned for Windows systems, through Sega's partnership with Real Networks' 'RealArcade' subscription-based game download service. It has never progressed beyond the beta testing stage. Sega made a collection of their games, called Sega Smash Pack for the PC and Sega Dreamcast which was basically emulated version of several Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games (including Golden Axe) on one disc. THQ's Sega Smash Pack for the Game Boy Advance included a port of the Genesis/Mega Drive version of Golden Axe. The game did not feature multiplayer simultaneous play in arcade mode (though it did support multiplayer for The Duel). The small screen size made gameplay harder than in other ports and there were some notable flaws in presentation. For these and other shortcomings, some fans criticize it as being far worse than the Genesis version, despite being on a technologically superior platform. The Mega Drive/Genesis version of the game has been made available through Nintendo's Virtual Console service for the Wii console and can purchased in the Wii Shop for 800 points. It is also compatible with the Wii Remote, the Wii Classic Controller and the GameCube controller. The Mega Drive/Genesis port is also available on the compilation for Playstation 2 and PlayStation Portable known in the U.S. as Sega Genesis Collection and in Europe as Sega Megadrive Collection, along with many other Genesis/Mega Drive titles (including both Mega Drive/Genesis sequels). The Arcade version and Genesis version, plus Part II & III are also available on GameTap. The Xbox Live Arcade port of the game was announced at E3 2007, and released July 11, 2007 via the Xbox Live Marketplace. It is a direct port of the arcade version of the game, rather than a port of the Genesis version.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Oct 5, 2007 16:09:07 GMT -5
8. Comix Zone (Genesis) Comix Zone is a 1995 arcade-style action game for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. Gameplay involves defeating enemies with punches, kicks, holds, and combos of the three, managing your inventory, and solving puzzles. The game's most remarkable feature is that it is set within the "panels" of a comic book. Each level consists of two "pages" and secrets are discovered by shredding the "paper" and revealing items. Dialogue is rendered within talk bubbles with the typical comic font. Sprites and backgrounds possess the bright colors and dynamic drawing style favored by superhero comics. The music was composed by Howard Drossin, a known video game and movie composer. Graphics were done mainly by comic artists. Sketch Turner, 'starving artist' and freelance rock musician, is working on his newest comic book, named 'Comix Zone'. Comix Zone is the story of the New World Empire's attempt to defend Earth from an invasion of alien renegades, with inspiration coming from Sketch's (oddly vivid) dreams and nightmares. One night, while Sketch is working on Comix Zone during a storm, a massive lightning bolt strikes outside his apartment, somehow affecting the comic book too. In this instant, the villain of Comix Zone - a powerful mutant named Mortus - manages to escape the comic book's pages, and hurl the stunned Sketch into the world of Comix Zone. Inside the comic book, Sketch meets General Alissa Cyan, who believes he is a superhero - 'the chosen one' - who has come to save their post-apocalyptic world from the evil of Mortus and the alien invaders. Ignoring Sketch's protests, Alissa sends him on his mission, keeping in touch with instructions and hints via radio. The 2-dimensional "drawn on paper" theme is maintained throughout the game. Now that Mortus has a physical presence outside of Comix Zone, he is free to change the world as he wishes, simply by drawing in enemies for Sketch to face - or in one instance burn up part of a page. Sketch is capable of tearing shreds out of the backdrop and folding them into paper planes to throw at enemies as a weapon. Because this paper world is also part of everything within Comix Zone (as they are drawn on it), this action takes a significant slice off the player's health bar. Certain combos will send enemies hurtling, and if a fragile border between frames is in the way the enemy crashes through it, tearing it to shreds. When confronted with an unbreakable frame barrier, the hero merely swings himself out of the frame, over the top of the border, and back down into the next scene. Sketch's pet rat Roadkill (whom he saved from certain doom in a garbage truck) is also capable of operating switches and discovering items hidden in panels, making him useful in helping Sketch's progress through Mortus' traps. The game has multiple ending decided by actions taken during the final fight with Mortus. In the "good" ending,which is triggered by defeating Mortus and freeing Alissa in time, shows Sketch and Alissa leaving Comix Zone. Comix Zone becomes the highest selling comic of all time, Allissa Joins the military and becomes the head of U.S Security, and Roadkill gets 100 pounds of mozzarella donated to him. In the bad ending Sketch escapes Comix Zone, but because the player doesn't save Alissa, she dies and Comix Zone is destroyed. The story ends with Sketch contemplating re-releasing the evil to re-live his adventure in hope of a better ending. There are no lives whatsoever in this game - falling down a hole (i.e. off the page) or simply being killed by enemies leads immediately to the bad ending - Mortus's drawn body is given flesh and bone, and ominously promising that 'I'm going to rock this world!' However, Mortus did intend to give Sketch a 'sporting chance'. After the first page, if Sketch dies, Mortus will allow Sketch another chance to complete the page from the first panel, stating "Oh, come on -- that was just too easy!" After the second page, Sketch will get one more chance. If Sketch still has a chance at completing the game, his last words will be "Is this the end of the story?" If he has no such chances, his last words will simply be "Game over, man. The end." As part of Sketch's travel into Comix Zone, he takes the hero's role in the story, giving him access to typical superhero fighting skills far beyond his regular abilities. If he attacks an immobile object, Sketch's health will diminish slightly, meaning that if he is low on health other tools such as explosives should be used to continue instead. One power-up - a collectible fist - temporarily transforms Sketch into Super Sketch, who shreds the page and destroys all enemies and obstacles in his path. Comix Zone is designed to be used with the 6-button gamepad: buttons X, Y and Z correspond to the three inventory slots Sketch has. If used with a 3-button gamepad, button C cycles through the items, and button A activates the item. Button C on a 6-button gamepad is used for a custom action, blocking by default - on a 3-button gamepad, Sketch blocks automatically. Sketch can utilize the background of the comic as a weapon. By holding down the attack button, Sketch will start tearing at the background (which uses life). Once torn, Sketch will make a paper plane out of the torn background and launch it at the enemies and objects in front of him. Sketch's rat, "Roadkill", can be deployed to electrocute enemies or pull switches in low clearing areas which Sketch might otherwise not be able to reach. If the player keeps tapping down in the control pad, Sketch will sometimes break wind, although this has no known use in the game. The game is hidden within the Japanese version of Sonic Mega Collection and is locked part of all region versions of Sonic Mega Collection Plus, which is unlockable with having a Sonic Heroes game save, or is unlocked over time. The game was ported to the Game Boy Advance, but fans criticized this rerelease because its significantly smaller screen size allowed much less onscreen. This was said to lessen the effect of seeing into the other frames around the player, making it more like a traditional platform game. The game is also apart of the Sega Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. Comix Zone was released on Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console, on January 29, 2007.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Oct 5, 2007 16:12:04 GMT -5
7. Streets Of Rage (Genesis) Streets of Rage is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1991. The game is known as Bare Knuckle in Japan. It is the first part of the Streets of Rage series, a trilogy of games released for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. The game was released when Nintendo's SNES was imminent, and Sega needed exclusive games to rival the SNES. They needed a game similar to Capcom's Final Fight, a successful and popular arcade game. As such, Streets of Rage is very similar to Final Fight. A key selling points was that it supported 2 players, a feature omitted from the SNES port of Final Fight. The game and its successors would all sport a soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro based on various styles of European Electronic music. This series would eventually lead to Yuzo's rise in popularity among game composers. So much so that he has dj'ed several songs from the series at various clubs in the mid-90's and throughout recent years including one scheduled for June 2007 in Singapore. According to the game's Instruction Manual: Turmoil in the Streets What was once a happy, peaceful, productive city, full of life and activity, has fallen into the hands of a secret criminal syndicate. The leader of the syndicate has somehow managed to keep his identity a secret. The organization soon absorbed the city government (anyone can be had if the price is right). They even had the metropolitan police force in their back pocket. Looting, random violence and destruction are rampant. No one is safe walking the streets, day or night... As the chaos continued at full strength, three young police officers tried to establish a special attack unit. They were repeatedly turned down by their superiors, most of who had been bought by the organisation or were too afraid to make a stand. One day, when they could no longer stand by and watch their city being demolished, they quit the force! Adam Hunter, Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding decided to forego their careers in legal law enforcement and put their lives on the line. They are without weapons, but each possesses great hand-to-hand combat abilities. Take them into the heart of the city and battle the most dangerous wave of bad dudes and chicks ever assembled. Make the city a place where people no longer have to walk the Streets of Rage! The city that the Streets of Rage games are set is unnamed, but it seems to be based on New York. The box art for the US/Euro release features the Empire State Building in the background, and in the Round 2 of Streets of Rage 2, one can see the Twin Towers of the now sadly destroyed World Trade Center in the skyline. The Twin Towers can also be seen in the box art of Streets of Rage 3. Gameplay is simple and remains the same throughout all three games: 'B' is used to attack and pick up items, 'C' to jump, and 'A' is a special attack, and by pressing the jump and attack buttons together the character will do a back attack. In Streets of Rage, the special attack is 'assistance' from a police car which will pull up at the level's beginning and fire napalm for Player 1 and rocket-powered grenades for Player 2. The multiple explosions will take health from all enemies, but curiously, not the players. The player is given one Special Attack per life or per level, with power-ups shaped like police cars giving another. Similar to the game Golden Axe, enemies walk onto the screen from both sides as well as occasionally appearing from other locations (less so than in the game's sequels). With the exception of round 7, there is a boss battle at the end of every round with a disproportionately large enemy ; unlike its sequels, none of the enemies are named within the game (only in the Japanese version's manual) and only the bosses have Life Gauges (that appear below the player's during the boss battle). The game has two endings. Players can either destroy Mr. X or take his place as boss of the crime syndicate. To achieve the latter, a second player is needed. Before the final battle, Mr. X asks both players whether they would like to join him as his right hand man. If one player agrees and the other refuses, the players will be forced to fight each other. Mr. X will ask the winner once again if he would like to become his assistant. If the winning player then refuses, Mr. X calls the survivor a traitor and they fight for control of the syndicate. If the player wins, he or she is shown sitting in the boss's chair and laughing as the new crime overlord of the city. The "bad" ending of the game is considered non canon due to the "good" ending having actually occurred. If both players or the player in a one-person game agree to become Mr. X's right hand man, Mr. X presses a lever with his foot and drop the players back to Round 6 to play to the last scene again. If the players say no, Mr. X will fight the players. Upon beating him, a slide show is shown during the credits with the three characters looking over Mr. X's body, walking outside to meet the cop in the police car, and then standing on a bridge watching the sun set. 8-Bit Versions: A version of Streets of Rage for both the Sega Game Gear (1992) and Sega Master System (1993) were made. The Game Gear version suffers from poor color palette and gameplay. It also omits Adam from the game and does not have the sprite animation for kneeing enemies. It features 2 players support by cable link. It also has only 6 rounds instead of 8. The Master System version has a different graphic engine and gameplay mechanics, not being a port from the Game Gear version as was used to be in the late years of the system. It also features a boss on Round 6 which is not found in any other version of the game. It lacks 2 player support. Arcade Versions: Sega ported Streets of Rage to arcade cabinets using both their Mega Tech and Mega Play arcade boards, the difference being that in the Mega Tech version you pay for time, not credits. Collections: A signature title and franchise for Sega during the Mega Drive era the title was collected often: firstly Mega Games II (with Golden Axe and Revenge Of Shinobi) that was later bundled with the Sega Mega Drive. Sega Classics Arcade Collection (a Mega CD compilation with the two previously mentioned titles, plus Super Monaco GP and Columns, also available as in cartridge format for Mega Drive II). The voice effects for the characters in this version of the game were all redone. 6 Pak (composed of Streets of Rage, Sonic the Hedgehog, Columns, Revenge of Shinobi, Golden Axe and Super Hang-On); and Mega 6 (composed of Streets of Rage, World Cup Italia '90, Columns, Super Monaco GP, Revenge of Shinobi and Sonic the Hedgehog). Streets of Rage, along with its two sequels, was included in the Japanese Version of the Sonic Gems Collection for the Gamecube and PlayStation 2, but was omitted from the North American GameCube version to avoid it gaining a T rating, and also from the European GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions for similar reasons. They are now also available on GameTap. Virtual Console: The Genesis version of Streets of Rage was made available for the Wii Virtual Console in North America on February 19, 2007 and in Europe on March 2, 2007.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Oct 5, 2007 16:14:42 GMT -5
6. Mortal Kombat II (Genesis) Mortal Kombat II (also referred to as MKII or Mortal Kombat 2) is an arcade game and the second title in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. Storywise, the events before and during this game are portrayed in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. Essentially, Mortal Kombat II is an extension of the game system of Mortal Kombat. A few normal moves have been added (crouching punch, for example). The roundhouse kick was made more powerful in part II, and like the uppercut, launched opponents into the air. Additionally returning characters gained new special moves. The game also introduced multiple fatalities, as well as additional finishing moves to the franchise. However, each character still shared generic attributes – speed, power, jump height and airtime – and all normal moves were similar between each character. As with its predecessor, the only thing differentiating each character were their appearance, special moves, hit detection, and finishing moves. This has also led to the similar criticism of the fighting system being very shallow and lacking any real character depth. However, the game plays slightly faster and much more smoothly than the original. As with its predecessor, matches in the game are divided into rounds. The first player to win two rounds, by fully depleting his/her opponent's life bar is the victor. At this point the loser's character will become dazed and the victor is given the option of using a finishing move. In addition to the fatalities of its predecessor, the victor could also use babalities, friendships, and stage specific fatalities. This game also drops the point system from its predecessor, in favor of a win tally. The characters of Mortal Kombat II have a less digitized and more hand-drawn look to them than in the first game. Both the theme and art style of the game are slightly darker, with a less vibrant colour palette employed. Mortal Kombat II also strays from the severe oriental theme of its predecessor, though it does retain the original motif in some aspects, as in some of the music. Finally, the nature of the game is slightly less serious with the addition of trivial and 'joke' fatalities and the addition of the alternative finishing moves. Following his defeat (in the first Mortal Kombat game), Shang Tsung begs his master, Shao Kahn, to spare his life. He tells Shao Kahn that the invitation for Mortal Kombat cannot be turned down, and if they hold it in Outworld, the Earthrealm warriors must attend. Kahn agrees to this plan, and restores Tsung's youth. He extends the invitation to Raiden, who gathers his warriors and takes them into Outworld. The tournament is dangerous, as Shao Kahn has the "home field advantage", and an Outworld victory will unbalance the furies and allow Outworld to subsume Earthrealm. Mortal Kombat II follows Mortal Kombat and precedes Mortal Kombat 3. The story is similar to Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, though some fans argue that the latter has many contradictions to the events in the Mortal Kombat storyline. Mortal Kombat II was so popular when it hit the arcades that several of the machines were later installed with deadlock security panels on the back to prevent thieves from ripping the game's motherboard straight out of the machine and taking it home (pictures of an arcade fitted as such are available as unlockable images in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance). Both MK and MKII were among the first arcade games to display warnings on the cabinet that the motherboards were protected by burglar alarms. Although Mortal Kombat II is considered by fans to be superior to its predecessor, it is often criticized for being unreasonably difficult in its One Player mode. Even on the easiest settings in the arcade, the computer controlled opponents employ tactics well above and beyond the means of what the game would allow any human player to perform. Computer controlled opponents for example can fire off projectiles at will, rather than having to input a command like human players, and thus can fire them off much faster and in greater succession than human players. Computer controlled characters also have the ability to dodge, block, and counter attacks with inhuman precision, due to the games ability to read the button inputs of the human player to anticipate their next move as opposed to visually reacting to a human opponents move as another human opponent would have to do. For example, in a human vs. human battle player two would block player one's projectile by first seeing the projectile on-screen, then pressing the block button. A computer controlled character, however, would automatically start to block once the button sequence was entered on the control panel. Computer players also get nearly complete priority for all their moves, as evidenced by their ability to seemingly ignore uppercuts used by human players, and counter them with uppercuts of their own. Finally, computer controlled opponents gain the ability to perform feats that human controlled players can not, for example Sub-Zero, when controlled by the computer, has the ability to perform his ground freeze move, and immediately follow up with a deep freeze, while a human controlled Sub Zero must wait for the ground freeze to dissipate before he can use the deep freeze. The difficulty was made worse in several home ports, due to the introduction of limited continues. Developed by Probe Entertainment, this port retained all of the blood and fatalities without a special code having to be entered, unlike the original Mortal Kombat for the system. Unfortunately, due to the system's hardware limitations, the port lacked the graphics and sound of the superior Super NES port. Most of the music in this version is altered considerably from the original arcade compositions, and most of the background songs are played on the incorrect stages. Also, Goro's Lair, the secret characters' arena, was removed and replaced with a palette swap of the portal stage. Despite its shortcomings, the Mega Drive/Genesis port contains several exclusive Easter eggs. By activating a cheat menu in the options screen, Dan Forden's "Toasty" image is replaced by a crudely drawn sprite inserted by one of Probe Entertainment's programmers. This image, apparently drawn by the programmer's son, was intended as an alternative graphic that was simple enough to work around the restriction, while also connecting the game to Probe, rather than Midway. However, in the final code, the sprite wasn't used. In all cases, the "Toasty!" sound remains unchanged. Also, if an option entitled "Oooh Nasty!" is enabled in the cheat screen, the player could perform a "Fergality". The player needed to select Raiden and be fighting on the Armory stage to perform it. When successfully executed, the opponent would then transform into a smoking character with an oversized head of former founder and CEO of Probe Entertainment, Fergus McGovern.
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Oct 5, 2007 16:19:43 GMT -5
Here is the list so far...
200. John Madden NFL 98 (Genesis) 199. John Madden Football (Genesis) 198. The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare (Genesis) 197. Star Wars: Rebel Assault (CD) 196. Cool Spot (Genesis) 195. Urban Strike (Genesis) 194. Bass Masters Classic (Genesis) 193. Slam City With Scottie Pippen (CD) 192. The Secret of Monkey Island (CD) 191. Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker (Genesis) 190. Toy Story (Genesis) 189. James Bond: The Duel (Genesis) 188. Kriss Kross: Make My Video (CD) 187. European Club Soccer (Genesis) 186. RBI Baseball 3 (Genesis) 185. John Madden NFL 94 (Genesis) 184. Truxton (Genesis) 183. NFL Quarterback Club (32X) 182. Phantasy Star (Genesis) 181. Fantastic Dizzy (Genesis) 180. Mickey Mania: The Timless Adventures of Mickey Mouse (CD) 179. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Genesis) 178. Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing (Genesis) 177. NFL Quarterback Club (Genesis) 176. Barkley Shut Up And Jam (Genesis) 175. FIFA Soccer 96 (32X) 174. Space Harrier II (Genesis) 173. Cyborg Justice (Genesis) 172. The Death And Return Of Superman (Genesis) 171. Chuck Rock (Genesis) 170. World Cup USA 94 (Genesis) 169. California Games (Genesis) 168. Animaniacs (Genesis) 167. NHL Hockey (Genesis) 166. Popful Mail (CD) 165. Golden Axe 3 (Genesis) 164. Road Rash (Genesis) 163. Alien Storm (Genesis) 162. The Terminator (Genesis) 161. Clay Fighter (Genesis) 160. Super Hang On (Genesis) 159. Tecmo Super Bowl 2 (Genesis) 158. Dark Wizard (CD) 157. Ecco: The Tides Of Time (Genesis) 156. Crue Ball (Genesis) 155. Disney's Pinocchio (Genesis) 154. Alisia Dragoon (Genesis) 153. Super Battleship (Genesis) 152. Mad Dog McCree (CD) 151. The Punisher (Genesis) 150. Micro Machines: Turbo Tournament 96 (Genesis) 149. Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis) 148. Battletoads (Genesis) 147. Bubsy II (Genesis) 146. Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold (CD) 145. Mutant League Hockey (Genesis) 144. Jaguar XJ220 (CD) 143. King Of The Monsters 2 (Genesis) 142. Lethal Enforcers (Genesis) 141. Boogerman: A Pick & Flick Adventure (Genesis) 140. Virtua Racing (Genesis) 139. Star Wars Arcade (32X) 138. Brutal: Above The Claw (32X) 137. Sta Wars Arcade (CD) 136. Tecmo Super Bowl (Genesis) 135. Puggsy (Genesis) 134. Mega Turrican (Genesis) 133. James Pond 2: Codename Robocod (Genesis) 132. Thunderforce IV (Genesis) 131. Double Dragon (Genesis) 130. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (Genesis) 129. NBA Jam (Genesis) 128. FIFA International Soccer (Genesis) 127. Columns (Genesis) 126. Kick Off 3 (Genesis) 125. College Football USA 96 (Genesis) 124. Al Michaels Announces Hardball III (Genesis) 123. NFL Sportstalk Football 93 Starring Joe Montana (Genesis) 122. Virtua Fighter (32X) 121. The Adventures of Batman & Robin (CD) 120. Rolling Thunder 2 (Genesis) 119. Spider-man & X-Men: Arcade's Revenge (Genesis) 118. Pete Sampras Tennis (Genesis) 117. Coach K College Basketball (Genesis) 116. NHL 95 (Genesis) 115. FIFA Soccer 96 (Genesis) 114. Pirates! Gold (Genesis) 113. Toejam & Earl In Panic On Funkatron (Genesis) 112. Battletoads & Double Dragon (Genesis) 111. Jurassic Park (Genesis) 110. WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game (Genesis) 109. The Simpsons: Virtual Bart (Genesis) 108. Earthworm Jim: Special Edition (CD) 107. Mega Bomberman (Genesis) 106. Silpheed (CD) 105. Robocop Vs. Terminator (Genesis) 104. Madden NFL 96 (Genesis) 103. Eternal Champions (Genesis) 102. 3 Ninjas Kick Back (CD) 101. Super Street Fighter II (Genesis) 100. Beyond Oasis (Genesis) 99. Sensible Soccer (Genesis) 98. NHL 94 (Genesis) 97. Wings of Wor (Genesis) 96. Wonder Boy III: Monster's Lair (Genesis) 95. World Series Baseball 95 (Genesis) 94. Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II (Genesis) 93. Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle (Genesis) 92. RBI Baseball 93 (Genesis) 91. World Series Baseball 98 (Genesis) 90. Rocket Knight Adventures (Genesis) 89. NHLPA Hockey 93 (Genesis) 88. Night Trap (CD) 87. Lunar: Eternal Blue (CD) 86. Pit-Fighter (Genesis) 85. The Haunting Starring Polterguy (Genesis) 84. Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters (CD) 83. Metal Head (32X) 82. Phantasy Star IV: The End Of The Millenium (Genesis) 81. Madden NFL 95 (Genesis) 80. Thunder Force III (Genesis) 79. Super Baseball 2020 (Genesis) 78. Vectorman 2 (Genesis) 77. General Chaos (Genesis) 76. Madden NFL 97 (Genesis) 75. Buck Rogers: Countdown To Doomsday (Genesis) 74. Vay (CD) 73. Target Earth (Genesis) 72. Batman (Genesis) 71. FIFA Soccer 95 70. Desert Strike: Return To The Gulf (Genesis) 69. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Genesis) 68. Primal Rage (Genesis) 67. Ghosts N' Ghouls (Genesis) 66. The Lion King (Genesis) 65. Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (Genesis) 64. Greatest Heavyweights Of The Ring (Genesis) 63. Micro Machines (Genesis)/Micro Machines 2 (Genesis) (tie) 62. Knuckles Chaotix (32X) 61. Contra: Hard Corps (Genesis) 60. WWF Raw (Genesis) 59. Shining In The Darkness (Genesis) 58. Eternal Champions: Challenge From The Dark Side (CD) 57. WWF Raw (32X) 56. NBA Live 95 (Genesis) 55. Ren & Stimpy: Stimpy's Invention (Genesis) 54. Doom (32X) 53. X-Men (Genesis) 52. Lunar: The Silver Star (CD) 51. World Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck (Genesis) 50. Mortal Kombat II (32X) 49. Toejam & Earl (Genesis) 48. Saturday Night Slammasters (Genesis) 47. Revenge Of Shinobi (Genesis) 46. Phantasy Star III: Generations Of Doom (Genesis) 45. Dinosaurs For Hire (Genesis) 44. Quackshot Starring Donald Duck (Genesis) 43. Mortal Kombat III (Genesis) 42. Golden Axe II (Genesis) 41. Troy Aikman NFL Football (Genesis) 40. Shining Force (CD) 39. Shinobi III: Return Of The Ninja Master (Genesis) 38. Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Genesis) 37. Dynamite Headdy (Genesis) 36. Ecco The Dolphin (Genesis) 35. NBA Jam Tournament Edition (Genesis) 34. Shadow Dancer: The Secret Of Shinobi (Genesis) 33. Road Rash 2 (Genesis) 32. Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (Genesis) 31. Snatcher (CD) 30. Beavis & Butthead (Genesis) 29. Kid Chameleon (Genesis) 28. Mutant League Football (Genesis) 27. Sonic Spinball (Genesis) 26. Shining Force: Legacy Of Great Intention (Genesis) 25. Spiderman & Venom: Maximum Carnage (Genesis) 24. Ristar (Genesis) 23. Herzog Zwei (Genesis) 22. Vectorman (Genesis) 21. Splatterhouse 2 (Genesis) 20. Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis) 19. Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition (Genesis) 18. WWF Royal Rumble (Genesis) 17. Sonic CD (CD) 16. Disney's Aladdin (Genesis) 15. Gunstar Heroes (Genesis) 14. Earthworm Jim (Genesis) 13. Phantasy Star 2 (Genesis) 12. Shining Force 2 (Genesis) 11. Altered Beast (Genesis) 10. Mortal Kombat (Genesis) 9. Golden Axe (Genesis) 8. Comix Zone (Genesis) 7. Streets Of Rage (Genesis) 6. Mortal Kombat II (Genesis)
Its almost over as we enter the final five games on the list.
Here Are The Clues To The Last Five Games.....
* The Fastest Thing In Life (Genesis)
* The Guardian Of The Master Emerald (Genesis)
* The Sega Dream Team (Genesis)
* The Two-Tailed Fox (Genesis)
* This Time, It's Personal (Genesis)
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Post by Black Hammer Rocks the AssWhip on Oct 5, 2007 16:38:57 GMT -5
Sonic 1-3 in the top five? You serious? Damn.
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