Chapter 3: 77-67

Ridge Racer
[Namco - PlayStation - 1995]

While this game definitely shows it's age today, back in the launch of the original PlayStation, this was a pretty incredible title. Ridge Racer was one of the launch titles for the new PlayStation "empire", and pretty much ushered in a new era of not only how we play and see racing games, but brought full 3-D entertainement to the forefront. Of course, Ridge Racer didn't start it's life as a PlayStation game, it actually began as an arcade game in 1993. Ridge Racer paved the way for future arcade-style racers that would appear many times over in the future.

Viewtiful Joe
[Capcom - Nintendo Gamecube - 2003]

In a year of sequels, licensed crap, complex offerings and the like, Viewtiful Joe was a bit of fresh air. With an art design and direction that gave the title a lot of life, as well as a classical approach to gameplay design, Viewtiful Joe was a the game that brought back the lost era of 2-D brawlers, and threw in a lot of new and modern elements to keep it fresh, yet familiar. It's also worth mentioning that this game does have a true sense of challenge.

Need For Speed Underground
[EA Games - Xbox/Cube/PS2 - 2003]

Originally, I had NFS: High Stakes in this slot, but the more recent NFS Underground is an entry that's hard to ignore. Like the what I said for the entry of Tony Hawk's Underground, this entry in the series can be applied to the entire game series. While the majority of NFS games have been about racing cars that you'll never be able to afford, and outrunning the fuzz, Underground is a radical shift in the NFS series. This time around it's about racing cars that you could actually afford, and customize your ride in so many ways that no two cars would look alike. While this game could have been larger (in terms of geography), it fairly represents a rising culture.

Pilotwings 64
[Nintendo - Nintendo 64 - 1996]

As the "other" game on the N64 launch, Pilotwings 64 was a grossly overlooked title. For some time, PW 64 was an incredible realsitic looking game, with some great looking scenery, and a good sense of exploration. While the game lost some of it's more realisitic challenges as seen in the Super NES game (why Skydiving wasn't a major event is beyond me), it still was a pretty fun game to play through. Some may have seen this as a tech demo with some gameplay elements thrown in, it's one of the N64's best little treasures.

Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening
[Nintendo - Game Boy - 1993]

Four years after Nintendo's Game Boy system was released, gamers finally got a Zelda game to-go. While I think that this is one of the weakest Zelda offerings that I've played, it's still a pretty good game in general. Part of the problem was the story itself, where everything that you've done seems like a waste of time when you get to the final outcome (kind of like the movie "Identiy"). But it was still an engaging game to play, and did deliver on the core mechanics on what we expect from a Zelda game.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
[Ultra Games (Konami) - NES - 1989]

Although it's a bit embarrasing to admit that I do like this game at my age, TMNT was actually a part of my childhood. Me and my younger brother were so into the Ninja Turtles that you couldn't step anywhere in our house with not seeing anything Ninja Turtle related. As for the game itself, it's pretty much the only good console Ninja Turtle game made, aside from the Super NES port of Turtles In Time. TMNT was a hard and challenging game that I still have not completed to this day. Although my Ninja Turtles have been burnt, smashed and whatever torture I gave them after I outgrew them, I'm still pretty fond of the game.

Super Castlevania IV
[Konami - Super NES - 1991]

While the new Super NES incarnation of Castlevania did nothing much to improve the genre or the series, it's just a great solid game in general. Boasting at least 13 levels, with at least 2 or more stages each, Castlevania IV is a challenging update of an old classic.

Sim City
[Nintendo - Super NES - 1991]

While the game (and series) started out on the PC in 1989, the Super NES port improved many things done in the PC original. For one, the game looked better. The menu layout was better designed. You had a lot of help and advice thanks to Dr.Wright (which is based off the games creator, Will Wright). Plus, you were able to recieve "gifts", such as casinos, zoos, parks and more to help your city grow. It's suprising to see a system such as the Super NES take a PC game and make it better, but in the case of Sim City, we had just that.

Sled Storm
[EA Games - PlayStation - 1999]

To alieviate some confusion, this is NOT the PS2 version of Sled Storm. For some reason, EA decided to name the sequel the exact same thing. The original is a much better game with more courses, tricks and a better sense of depth and simulation. Sled Storm was also a rather unique entry to the racing genre, taking after Nintendo's own Wave Race 64 as a case that for a racing game to be fun, it doesn't have to be on tarmac.

Mega Man IV
[Capcom - Game Boy - 1993]

This is pretty much the best Mega Man game for the Game Boy system, and it's also one of the most challenging games I've ever played. It's much harder than the NES Mega Man games, and even some other MM games for that matter. Basically, this is half of the NES version of Mega Man 4's bosses and Mega Man 5's bosses with some new enemies and challenges thrown in. While it's not an original premise, it is hard. In fact, I can't remember if I've ever beaten the game. Although this game is expensive as hell to find today, Capcom will be releasing a Mega Man Anniversary collection for the GBA in fall 2004, which includes colorized versions of all five GB Mega Man games. Look for that one soon.

Resident Evil 2
[Capcom - PS1/N64/DC/Cube - 98/99/00/03]

Resident Evil 2 is pretty much one of the standout titles of the RE series. With two seperate adventures to play through, and a whole lot of cheap scares, RE 2 was a classic in the making. It's also incredible that this game made it to the N64 with the video and everything, which was something people thought couldn't be done.

Take Me To Chapter 4, #66-56

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