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EDIT: With a tie in the poll, I have decided the winner will be Working Designs Games!

Welcome To The November 2019 Together Retro Poll!

Once again, I have not participated at all in these Together Retro months at all. I was a few days away from playing Dead or Alive 3 on my XBOX recently, but the Zelda collection just took too long and I had to push DOA3 back to October.

So, once again, I have chosen games that will force me to play a game for November. Each category has a game for me to play and the winner will be the game that I play. I tried to add some variety to the categories and be a little bit more specific with my choices. Some are larger while others are smaller.

I would prefer for people to play retro games for these categories. For some, you pretty much have to. For others, there are modern iterations that fit into the category, so if that is all you can play, then please go ahead. I would prefer Retro, but I would just like to see participation for my month.

If you have any questions, let me know. I will be around to answer them and I am always willing to bend the rules so that people will play more games.

With that in mind, welcome to my second Together Retro Poll!

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Every Luigi Has His Day

Requirement: Must be a Game Starring Luigi

What I’ll Be Playing: Luigi's Mansion

It's time to celebrate everybody's second favorite plumber. As a kid, I always preferred to play as Luigi compared to Mario. I always liked to be different and Luigi always appealed to me more. Plus, Mario was boring while Luigi was cool.

This is a little bit of a tricky category because the entire Mario franchise, you can play as Luigi. But, I would not consider Super Smash Brothers as a Luigi game even though you can play as him. For this choice, Luigi has to be a prominent person in the game. Any Luigi Mansion game would be good and I would also consider the Mario Brothers RPG's as a Luigi game as well. For a strict list, here is one for you: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Luigi_video_games

Suggestions: Luigi's Mansion, New Super Luigi U, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

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Rare's Golden Age

Requirement: Must be a game made by Rare for the Nintendo 64.

What I’ll Be Playing: Banjo-Tooie

Rare is a very divisive developer. People either love or absolutely hate their games with more people leaning towards affection. I understand Rare games, but I always know they can be frustrating as hell. Rare never makes easy games and some of them can be a real pain. However, they are all unique and all of them have good quality.

This is a very simple category as we will be sticking to one system and one developer. The game has to have been made by Rare and has to have been released on the N64. I'll allow the games to be played on different systems, but they must have been originally developed for the N64.

Suggestions: Blast Corps, Goldeneye 007, Diddy Kong Racing, Jet Force Gemini, Banjo-Kazooie

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Do or Do Not; There Is No Try

Requirement: Must play a game made in the Star Wars Universe.

What I’ll Be Playing: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2

Love it or hate it, Star Wars is one of the most popular franchises of all time and I think it will be around long after all of us are in the ground. Films keep getting released and video games never seem to end. Some of the games have been absolutely terrible while others have taken the franchise into whole new directions. Let us explore the depth of the Star Wars universe.

This is my largest category by far. The list of Star Wars games is utterly immense and just seems to go on forever. I will not hold back on the console as long as the game is set in the Star Wars universe, then I am okay with it. Here is also a gigantic list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Wars_video_games

Suggestions: Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2, Lego Star Wars, Rogue Squadron, Battlefront

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Licensed For Speed

Requirement: Must play a licensed racing game.

What I’ll Be Playing: Sega GT

Racing games are probably my second favorite genre behind RPG's. This is a genre that lets me experience something I could never do in real life. I can drive over 100 MPH in the thick of traffic, have a head on collision and then restart the whole thing in 5 seconds. The controller gripping and pulse pounding action always keeps me at the edge of my seat. Also, the different varieties adds a uniqueness for each experience.

This is another specific category. The racing game must have licensed cars in them, meaning actual real life cars. So, no Mario Kart or future racing games are allowed. I'm talking about cars made by Honda, Toyota, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz. For a good list, here is a another good list: https://www.giantbomb.com/licensed-cars/3015-5677/games/

Suggestions: Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo, Need for Speed, Ridge Racer, OutRun.

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Working Designs Games

Requirement: Must play a Game made or published by Working Designs.

What I’ll Be Playing: Growlanser III: The Dual Darkness

We already have a category with a controversial developer, so why not a second one? Working Designs did a ton of good in their day as they translated and brought over games to the West that never would have happened. However, the translation that they actually did could be really hit and miss. With Pop Culture references and Working Designs adding their own touch, the sanctity of the original game was sometime compromised.

Once again, a very simple category. If Working Designs touched the game, then it would be acceptable for this month. They have quite an extensive catalog of games throughout several consoles, so it should be fairly easy. Once again, here is a nifty little list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_Designs

Suggestions: Growlanser, Lunar, Dragon Force, Alundra, Arc the Lad.

Great categories. The choices ar obvious, though. Rare and Working Designs FTW!

I've got Working Designs games in my backlog and could definitely go for a WD month!
I voted for licensed racers too. I play racing games in the arcade, but could stand to play something on a console!

Given that I live in Japan and therefore can't really play any Working Designs translated games without pirating American copies or importing them, would it be okay if I just played a game they went on to eventually translate?

these options are fantastic. I voted for Luigi and Star Wars, but I'd be happy with almost all of them. I don't think I'd have any options for Working Design games given that my household is 100% Nintendo consoles nowadays.

If Luigi wins I already have New Super Luigi Bros, as well as Super Luigi Bros on NES Remix.

If Star Wars wins... oh my. Most definitely a good excuse to revisit Episode I Racer, which I adore. But man, there's sooooo many possibilities here.

If Rare 64 wins, well, I'd be thrilled as I've been in a N64 phase lately (the first time I've ever experienced such a thing in my life, haha).

If the licensed racing thing wins. I'm not sure? Beetle Adventure Racing maybe? I'd find something.

Some ideas from my side:

Luigi: I'm not sure here - it seems like spin-offs like Mario Golf where you can play as Luigi throughout don't count? I guess I could play Mario & Luigi Paper Jam Bros, but it's kinda new for Together Retro.

Rare's Golden Age: This is the one I want to win, because it gives me a nice excuse to finish a personal goal of mine - beating every Rareware game on N64. I actually only have 1 left, which is Mickey's Speedway USA, so that's what I'd play.

Star Wars: I actually don't own any Star Wars games I've not played yet, but an excuse to replay the Rogue Squadron series might be fun.

Licensed driving games: I think I'd play Beetle Adventure Racing here.

Working Designs: Working Designs didn't release any games in Europe, so my choices are limited. However, apparently Sega did license the WD translation when they published Dragon Force in PALland, so that's what I'd play for this.

PartridgeSenpai wrote:Given that I live in Japan and therefore can't really play any Working Designs translated games without pirating American copies or importing them, would it be okay if I just played a game they went on to eventually translate?

Yes, that would be perfectly acceptable.

With Working Designs being a NA company only, anybody outside of NA can play any game that Working Designs did eventually translate.

alienjesus wrote:Luigi: I'm not sure here - it seems like spin-offs like Mario Golf where you can play as Luigi throughout don't count? I guess I could play Mario & Luigi Paper Jam Bros, but it's kinda new for Together Retro.

I would be fine with any of those selections. Paper Jam Bros might be new, but it is a Luigi game. And Mario Golf would be good as well because it is not solely focused on one character. Maybe if you started the game as Luigi, that would do better.

Markies, with Working Design in the lead - how would you feel about the tangential playing of Miami Law? It's the first game that Gaijinworks published/localized? It's also just now ten years old? Am I thinking tooo far outside the box here?

I voted for Star Wars and Licensed Racers. Both categories are budget-friendly and have games on multiple consoles. Star Wars titles alone span from the arcade/2600 to the modern day systems. Additionally, I've wanted to check out some PS1 racing games and many titles have licensed cars in them.

I don't drink the Rare Kool-Aid.

To make things interesting, I went for Star Wars, thus bumping this to a three-way tie. I also voted Rare, putting them one back from a four-way. Markies, these options are such a wide mix, it's fascinating seeing how it is playing out.