Topic: RFN RetroActive Game Nominations

[NWR_Lindy]

Superman 64 LOL

I'd be willing to play that, since I've never experienced it.  It's so legendary that I'm actually interested in seeing if it's as bad as advertised.

[Stratos]

Say, is the main list on the first post going to be updated at some point with the new games nominated that you guys deem acceptable?

[Flames_of_chaos]

Here are some suggestions:   Lifeforce, Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels, Ikaruga(referring to the Cube version but I suppose the DC or XBLA version can suffice), MUSHA, Act Raiser, Breath of Fire II, Contra III, Fzero X,  Gunstar Heroes, Lords of Thunder, Ninja Spirit, Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG, Star Tropics, Ninja Gaiden II (the NES one not the 360 one), Mach Rider

[Stratos]

Mario RPG is already listed.
I also noticed that Mario Sunshine is listed twice. Does that mean it gets two chances in the poles? 

I too am getting concerned about the list getting too long. If we keep at it, we'll have 100 plus games. Maybe we should create a nomination limit per user?
What if every user was allowed one or two nominations at a time and staffers could have three. Once one of your games got picked you could submit another one. That way there is a better chance that everyone's suggestion will be chosen instead of one person getting all of their nominations picked.

[Mop it up]

Regarding Superman 64, as one of the few masochistic souls to actually see the game through to completion (yes really), I would have to say that it actually is not as bad as its reputation would have you believe. I wouldn't even consider it the worst game on the Nintendo 64 -- Carmageddon gets that honour -- and it is nowhere near the level of abysmality of Big Rigs: Over The Road Racing.

That said, it is still one of those games so cringe-worthy, it is the perfect topic of discussion for any retroactive round table. Any enjoyment you will receive from the game will come from the moments when you think it can't get any worse, and of course it does. You will laugh. If not at the game, then at yourself for your strange desire to continue and discover what is next.

If you do play it, be sure you try out the multiplayer mode with somebody. It's good for a laugh. Once. And then it becomes an insult to your intelligence.

[Jonnyboy117]

I haven't yet decided how to organize the suggestions.  What I can say is that I'm more likely to ignore a long list of game titles with no explanation of why each one would be good for RetroActive.  The most convincing suggestions are those made one or two at a time, with a well reasoned argument for why each should be considered.

[Stratos]

I only really wanted to nominate Banjo-Kazooie in response to the release of 'Nuts and Bolts' along with you guys' conversations on the podcast about the 360 version. Perhaps get a 'Rare and Banjo: Then and Now' line of conversation going.

Listening to the Radio Trivia podcast made me want to see Turok 2: Seeds of Evil get the RetroActive treatment. TYP and Greg had a neat conversation about it and it was even compared to The Conduit in some respects. The way it pushed the N64 was really beyond it's time. Plus it has Raptors. Raptors give it an instant win in my book.

One last game that I seriously would like to recommend would be Rayman 2: The Great Escape. I only played this game once or twice at a friends house and hear it was an excellent platformer that was overlooked by most in its day. You can get it for less than $20 brand new and unopened on Amazon and even cheaper used ($5).

[Snipper64]

I totally agree with the guy above me, Banjo Kazooie is a leganary game, the only game that can compare to the great mario 64. It's so intervated, detailed, and very funny, but over looked. Acording to the old nintendo power "top sellers" the 2 games always fighting for number one FOR MONTHS was Banjo-Kazooie and Golden Eye. I hear alot of good about golden eye, but never hear anything about Banjo...

[Mop it up]

Banjo-Kazooie is a pretty good game, but the sheer amount of garbage you need to collect prevented me from really getting into it. It took me months to play through it because there was only so much of it I could take at one time, and I didn't bother with 100% completion and just quit after the credits rolled.

Banjo-Tooie, however, was an incomprehensibly awesome sequel. Not only did it fix every problem I had with the first game, it also contains worlds so vastly huge and detailed as to boggle the mind. It was the Nintendo 64's last hurrah.

[NovaQ]

I'm going to retry a nomination for Secret of Mana. It's a great game, especially if you can get at least one other competent player to accompany you. It could also bring up several topics for discussion:

1. What happened (has happened) to the Mana series? SoM seems to be the most celebrated entry of them all. Why haven't any of the newer games garnered as much praise? Are there any great post-SoM game that simply haven't received enough recognition?

2. Could a more straight-forward sequel to SoM be successful now? Would it be a good fit for Wii? If so, how (3D or 2D, online or offline, split-screen or single-screen, etc.)?

3. Are there any games as of late that have carried SoM's torch, so to speak (similar gameplay qualities but in 3D)?

4. SoM does a fine / functional job of handling multiplayer for an ARPG and, aside from extra controllers, doesn't require any additional hardware or peripheral purchases (anymore). SquareEnix's more recent foray into multiplayer ARPGs, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, mostly does - or at least is compromised by such needs. (Except for My Life as a King and the upcoming Crystal Bearers, all of the titles require additional hardware, like multiple DS', to be fully enjoyed. Echoes of Time for Wii has oddly cramped screens and DS graphics so... blah.) Anyway, should SquareEnix favor the SoM model of handling multiplayer ARPGs in the FFCC titles?

(5. Why did SoM's direct sequel, Seiken Densetsu 3, never come out for non-Japanese SNES'?)

[Stratos]

I'm going to retry a nomination for Secret of Mana. It's a great game, especially if you can get at least one other competent player to accompany you. It could also bring up several topics for discussion:

1. What happened (has happened) to the Mana series? SoM seems to be the most celebrated entry of them all. Why haven't any of the newer games garnered as much praise? Are there any great post-SoM game that simply haven't received enough recognition?

2. Could a more straight-forward sequel to SoM be successful now? Would it be a good fit for Wii? If so, how (3D or 2D, online or offline, split-screen or single-screen, etc.)?

3. Are there any games as of late that have carried SoM's torch, so to speak (similar gameplay qualities but in 3D)?

4. SoM does a fine / functional job of handling multiplayer for an ARPG and, aside from extra controllers, doesn't require any additional hardware or peripheral purchases (anymore). SquareEnix's more recent foray into multiplayer ARPGs, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, mostly does - or at least is compromised by such needs. (Except for My Life as a King and the upcoming Crystal Bearers, all of the titles require additional hardware, like multiple DS', to be fully enjoyed. Echoes of Time for Wii has oddly cramped screens and DS graphics so... blah.) Anyway, should SquareEnix favor the SoM model of handling multiplayer ARPGs in the FFCC titles?

(5. Why did SoM's direct sequel, Seiken Densetsu 3, never come out for non-Japanese SNES'?)

I think that FFCC is the spiritual successor to SoM at least in initial concept. I liked the original and would love to see another one that doesn't look like it should be on the DS.

I second your nomination!

[vudu]

I un-second your nomination because I just played Secret of Mana a couple months ago!  But it is a great game. 

[Stratos]

I un-second your nomination because I just played Secret of Mana a couple months ago!  But it is a great game. 

Fine! 
I just got frustrated with the AI a little bit ago so I don't want to play it until I convince a friend to join me.
 

[NovaQ]

Yeah, it has to be played co-op to really enjoy it. Have you played around with the AI settings, though?

[Stratos]

Yeah, it has to be played co-op to really enjoy it. Have you played around with the AI settings, though?

You can do that? I guess it would help if I read the manual instead of just fumbling my way through it.

[NovaQ]

I've never read the manual, and it's been a while since I played it, but I think if you hit Y and go into the right setting on the right level of the menu, you can adjust the defensive / offensive properties of any computer players. It can help a lot.

[Stratos]

I've never read the manual, and it's been a while since I played it, but I think if you hit Y and go into the right setting on the right level of the menu, you can adjust the defensive / offensive properties of any computer players. It can help a lot.

I'll check that out. Thanks for mentioning it.

[NovaQ]

I'm glad I could help. Ideally, though, getting another (or even two more) human players is the way to go. The cpu-player adjusting is just kind of a stopgap.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I'm going to nominate StarTropics. Mainly because I loved the game for NES and it is one of those games people don't know much about that I believe is a classic.

[Mop it up]

I'll second the nom for StarTropics, even although I'm not fond of the first game but love the sequel.

[Stratos]

I'd nominate Cho Aniki since it is a notorious one for the podcast, except that it has already been talked about for a good deal on multiple podcasts.

*EDIT* Never mind. It's in the next RetroActive poll. I must have missed it when I looked over this thread. Word search failed me.

[DAaaMan64]

Nominating Jet Force Gemini

[Stratos]

Nominating Jet Force Gemini

I Super Second it!
W00t for JFG
A sequel would be nice on Wii. Too bad it won't happen.

[Stratos]

I want to nominate Star Fox Adventures.
That game is not considered very good in a lot of peoples eyes and I only didn't like the ending. The rest of the game was pretty good as far as I remember. It would be interesting to go back and see if it was just underrated due to it being a mish-mash of the Star Fox license and Rare's Dinosaur Planet concept or if the game really was poor as people say. Plus it was Rare's last major project for Nintendo, would be nice to reflect on Rares impact on Nintendo and how the company has been since the departure and their impact on the XBox systems.

Also, are you going to update the first post list with new nominees or will we only find out if our suggestions are added if we see it in the polls?

[TJ Spyke]

While it is far from being under-talked about, I would love to see Super Mario World talked about for an extended time and nominate that. I played that game to death, beating it many times on the SNES, many times on the GBA, and a few times on the VC (after trying to play it with a GameCube controller, it convinced me to buy a Classic Controller). It is arguably the best 2D Mario games (fans seem to be split between Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3), I think just about everyone here has probably played it, and it would easy for everyone to get and play again if they haven't played it in awhile.