Phew... there goes most of my Monday morning. That was a seriously excellent discussion, well worth listening to as advertised. I was about to say that I'm not jealous of what you four had to do there, narrowing down so many greats into a short list like that, but then I suppose I have to vote in the poll now (which isn't up yet by the way, unless my eyes are glazing over it stupidly). Must say, there were some unexpected comments and choices from each of you that I really wasn't anticipating you would say - generally, I was surprised at how important the influence factor played in your selections, especially concerning games that you admitted you didn't think too highly of with regard to its actual quality.
I'll spoiler out the rest of what I want to say, so as not to ruin it for anyone who hasn't finished listening to the episode.
I think you picked an extremely deserving last six in general, and really I can't blame you for not being able to reduce it to five.
Super Smash Bros Melee and the incredible multiplayer experiences are something I and just about everyone with a Gamecube can relate to. Back in my early teenage years, it was a regular part of my life; I would have friends over literally every day after school to play it. That's what puts it on a podium above both its predecessor and successor. When I think about it, if I'm honest with myself, Brawl is probably a better overall package. The difference is that I played that in my late teenage years and sadly, having friends come to my house to play it was much more infrequent. I have so many more fond memories with Melee, so this is a very good choice.
Metroid Prime... on a personal level, I don't know if I would rank it among my own top games of the decade. It is a brilliant adventure and there are so many aspects of it that I can definitely appreciate. What sours my impression of Prime is when I first played it, I was 12 years old and honestly, I was quite a bit worse at games when I was younger, so I originally found it too overwhelming and put it down for years. Going back now, I can respect it a lot more, as well as the Metroid series as a whole, but I didn't come away with that feeling that this was something special when I initially played it. As such, Metroid Prime didn't make such a big impact on me, which I guess is sort of a shame.
Super Mario Galaxy is a decision that I can definitely get on board with. I totally agree with whoever it was who said that it is the most imaginative and creative endeavour by Nintendo in the last 10 years. When talking about the world it creates, I can understand where you guys are coming from, about how it feels disconnected compared to Sunshine. Of the three Mario 3D games, Sunshine has the best hub world, in Delfino Plaza. Having said that, the lack of a theme in Galaxy allowed EAD Tokyo to inject a immense amount of variety that few games in existence can rival, while the tropical resort theme in Sunshine did constrict the level variety. It is somewhat surprising, though, at how little influence Mario Galaxy has had. I'm shocked that other developers haven't taken inspiration from it, considering how good the ideas are.
Wii Sports is the single one of the six that I don't believe is worthy of being there. The impact it has had on the industry is beyong comprehension, no arguments. It is staggering to reflect on the past three years since the launch of that game with the system. And there's no doubt that it's simple, accessible design has captured millions of people who had never been interested in this form of entertainment beforehand. HOWEVER, and this is a significant 'however', as I pointed out at the top of this post, you all conceded that you weren't all that keen on the gameplay of it and in my view, I feel a game should not be chosen on influence alone. The other nominations, you did include how impactful they were in your reasoning for selecting them, but you also discussed everything else it had going for it. For Wii Sports to be considered one of the best pieces of software of the decade, we must observe the full picture and I don't know for sure that you did.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is likely the best representative you could have picked for the Zelda franchise. I loved Wind Waker too, plus I don't have the negative reservations that many do about Twilight Princess 'cause I really liked that as well. Majora's Mask is in its own league, though. Fantastic dungeons (I concur that the Great Bay Temple may be the best in the series), music is wonderful, particularly the Deku Palace theme, and Clock Town is indeed a pretty magical place. I remember always looking forward to the period of time after completing a dungeon, when I would spend hours trying to finish the side quests that I wasn't able to before. Argh, I'm starting to get the urge to go play it again.
Resident Evil 4 is awesome. I'm struggling to think of more to say about it. I don't revere it as highly as some of these others, but I still see it as a strong candidate. I hadn't played any games in the Resident Evil franchise besides this, and simply purchased it based on the universal acclaim and numerous Game of the Year awards. It did not disappoint. This is Survival Horror at its finest -- maybe not so much the horror because I didn't find it all that frightening, but they did channel the survival elements so well. The health & ammo management, the cunning AI and the fluid controls all come together in those great set pieces, such as the house defence in chapter 2 with Luis. Games after RE4 have copied it, including its derivative sequel, although not as well in my opinion.
Thank you to the whole quartet for a great show, and special thanks to Greg - can't have been much fun to edit a beast of a discussion like this one.
Topic: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 183 (Read 9641 times)
