All the topics for this month’s Together Retro poll are the runners up from the first eleven months of the year:
JANUARY - pierrot
Capcom Loves Dreamcast
Hard to imagine a more lovely couple than Capcom and the Dreamcast. Easily the largest group of games in any of these categories, and there's more hair-straightening, finger-blistering action here than you can shake an arcade stick at.
FEBRUARY - Michi
We’re All Doomed! - COMBINED WITH AUGUST
Has TR never done Doom? Is this a thing? Whatever the case may be, if you’d like to destroy the hordes of Hell, then strap on your space helmet and pick up your space guns, cause we’re going for a very bloody ride. Already played Doom? Then feel free to join us by playing Doom II, Final Doom, Doom 64 and Doom 3. Let’s all leave a bloody trail of corpses together. And if, by chance, you happen to finish the first game early and would like to keep playing by booting up a new, lets say, addition that may be coming out soon and telling us all about it….well, I guess as long as you played through Doom with us first I wouldn’t be opposed to that either.
MARCH - marurun
The arcade at home on 8/16-bit era consoles
This theme is about trying to recapture the arcade experience on 8 or 16-bit era consoles. Home versions that completely remake the arcade experience need not apply. Neo-Geo AES/CD doesn't count, but Neo Geo ports do!
APRIL - BogusMeatFactory
Robots Fighting Robots
Nothing is more awesome than hearing the clash of metal on metal as enormous machines do battle. Here are a selection of awesome games featuring robots fighting robots:
MAY - prfsnl_gmr
Sega Before Sonic
This category takes us back to a time when Sega has less ‘tude and more personality. A time before Sonic the Hedgehog. A time before June 23, 1991. For this category, you pick games developed or published by Sega before June 23, 1991, and then write about them in the Together Retro thread. Some good choices would be: Alex Kidd, Bonanza Bros., Congo Bongo, Fantasy Zone, Golden Axe, Moonwalker, Phantasy Star, Shinobi, Space Harrier, Tac-Scan, Zaxxon, etc. Sega was a pretty prolific developer and publisher; so, you will be able to choose from a lot of games if this category wins the vote (which it probably will because you guys love Sega so much).
JUNE - alienjesus
That’s My Boy!
This category is for showing our love for the original Game Boy, 30 years old this year! We want to look beyond the obvious options and explore the library in more depth, and the system has a lot to offer. Specifics: there’s only a few rules for this one - Black and white game boy only, no colour. Games shouldn’t be from the obvious list of staples - no Mario Land, Pokemon, Metroid 2, Links Awakening etc. They should also not be direct ports of games better known on home consoles ie. no mortal Kombat, Ducktales etc. Lesser known ports and Pc ports are fine!
Suggestions: Catrap, Burning Paper, X, Great Greed, Sword of Hope, Rolans Curse, Noobow, Solar Striker, Q Billion, Nail n Scale, Tail Gator, Revenge of the Gator, Adventures of Star Saver, James Bond 007, Motocross Maniacs, Mercenary Force
JULY - Nemoide
LucasArts, but not Star Wars
Pretty self-explanatory, games by LucasArts that aren't Star Wars-related. The company may only be a shadow of their former glory, but their classic games deserve to be played. Their point & click adventures are especially great and can easily be played on almost any hardware setup thanks to ScummVM.
Suggestions: Sam & Max Hit the Road, Day of the Tentacle, The Curse of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Outlaws, Gladius, Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
AUGUST - Gunstar Green
That's one Doomed Space Marine - 90's First Person Shooters - COMBINED WITH FEBRUARY
While the genre in its loosest sense technically predates Wolfenstein 3D and even Catacomb 3D, the 90's was when it really took form. Games like Doom changed the way people thought about the PC as a game machine and the early FPS games had a specific action-oriented feel to them with level design that leaned towards exploration, elements that have been coming back into style in recent years with games like DUSK and Ion Maiden. Load up your shotgun of choice and blast through waves of baddies in these pre-2000 power fantasies.
SEPTEMBER - noiseredux
Back To School
September is upon us. Let us relive going back to school via retro games! This option is fairly loose in that we're focusing on games that take place at school. You could probably come up with tons of games that have a school in them, though it might be more interesting to really focus in on games that take place in schools as their primary setting.
Suggestions: Bully, River City Ransom, Rival Schools, Corpse Party , Obscure & Obscure Aftermath, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Harry Potter...
OCTOBER - CFFJR
Industry Icons: Yu Suzuki
Stealth Shenmue pick! Don't worry, I'm only kidding. Industry Icons will celebrate creators, developers, and characters with a big influence on the game industry as a whole. This one will focus on Yu Suzuki. Any game he worked on is fair. Wikipedia has a handy dandy list for your reference. I for one had no idea he had a hand in 18 wheeler. Surprising.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Suzuki#Games_developed
NOVEMBER - Markies
Licensed For Speed
Requirement: Must play a licensed racing game. 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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YOU CAN VOTE 3 TIMES!!!! YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR VOTES!!! GO CRAZY!!!
(I’ll close this thing down at a random time of my choosing on Black Friday, November 29.)
