2013 Together Retro Calendar - Looks Like We Made It

[retrosportsgamer]

Virtua Tennis
Sports
DC, PS2, Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Vita

I wrote this as part of my "Best sports games for those who don't like sports" piece:

Tennis games have always inherently embraced the physics of pong games, making them easy to pick up and have a basic understanding of where the ball is going to go. The Virtua Tennis franchise has been around since 1999, and while the most recent releases are less celebrated due to dated controls and iteration fatigue, this basic arcade experience is one that appeals to non-sports gamers today. Virtua Tennis 4 (as with the others in the series) is littered with minigames that can be played as part of your World Tour or in a party mode setting. The minigames flash some RPG elements, as you earn coins to upgrade your created tennis player in the Tour mode, and the games themselves are in short timed bursts, which leads to repeated playthroughs.

[noiseredux]

Tell me if any of my genre classifications are wrong, i wasnt sure with some. Also, let me know if you prefer this format or whether the old format where you could just see if there was one or more than one vote for each game.

As for some of the recent selections, they may be great games but they're either expensive, rare or limited to one console. We try and play games with lots of ports available, preferably not too pricy ones where possible.

thanks AJ. How ever you format is fine, as it still will save me some time when compiling polls later. I wouldn't worry too much on tallying votes now though. As far as games that exist only in ridiculously expensive formats -- I'll def be keeping that in mind if we need to narrow anything down for the polls later.

[ExedExes]

As for some of the recent selections, they may be great games but they're either expensive, rare or limited to one console. We try and play games with lots of ports available, preferably not too pricy ones where possible.

That was why I tried to avoid single-ports wherever I can. After finding a noiseredux post that happened to have all the TR games played and copying that list and looking through the North American Virtual Console list (to at least justify some reasons for my stuff), it's a tough task. Many genre-defining games have been played. Another consideration with my picks were games that are not gonna be done in a day or a week and then the thread dies (Soul Calibur from this year), I tried to select some games that have longevity and/or replayability and not so much personal nostalgia or a list that was limited to shmups and Dreamcast (aka "Games EE Would Like To Revisit"). It's tough finding some that have multi-ports, so I leaned on those that are easier to find/obtain at a decent price. I'm sure I'll find some more.

[AppleQueso]

I was unaware you could n ominate an entire series. I went ahead and changed my nomiation for the whole Road Rash series, since that'll broaden the available platforms.

[harper]

Title: Elemental Gearbolt
Genre: Light gun/RPG???
Ports: PS1
Why we should play it: A really unique gun game. Its anime, low-key orchestral score and atmospheric fantasy aesthetics set it apart from the pack. Compatible with namco and konami guns, and a regular controller if you're lame.

I'd be down for this. I love the look of this game so much and the music is amazing. Not to mention I still need to finish it. Only problem I can really see with it is it can be a little bit pricey, (I'm not sure if "accessibility" is taken into account when making the final picks) but this one is definitely worth a play.

[dsheinem]

I'm not sure if "accessibility" is taken into account when making the final picks

Traditionally it has been a significant factor in deciding on a shortlist of games. We've also taken into account the fact that someone will have to write up the article AND that there are some people affiliated with a game that I may be able to bring on to the podcast (for example I am hoping to post an interview with Ron Gilbert this month).

*=I think I could get an interview with someone involved...

Of the ones suggested so far, I like:

Baldur's Gate (WRPG)*
Space Channel 5 (Rhythm)
MUSHA (shmup)
Road Rash (series) (racing/sports)*
Fantastic Dizzy (adventure)
Fatal Fury Special (fighter)

That's six. For the other half I'd suggest these, all of which are available across many platforms:

-Zombies Ate My Neighbors/House of the Dead 2 (October double bill)

-Half-Life (and Black Mesa, of course)* - FPS - I really don't want to play a console exclusive FPS and this is one too few people have played.

-Final Fantasy VI - JRPG - seen by many as the pinnacle of the genre and in a series that we oddly haven't ever included in TR.

-Centipede* - becasue we need at least one classic arcade game and this one is a series that has had legs There's potentially be a lot of fun titles to play (ports of the original, spinoffs, etc.)!

Lemmings* - Puzzle - To mourn the death of Psygnosis and to (re)experience one of the best games made by the studio.

Zork trilogy* - text adventure - because we've shamefully never done one!

I will say that I feel pretty confident that all of those picks would be very accessible and very popular. Hopefully others agree

Also, people should look at this: http://racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=32264

[AppleQueso]

-Zombies Ate My Neighbors/House of the Dead 2 (October double bill)

-Final Fantasy VI - JRPG - seen by many as the pinnacle of the genre and in a series that we oddly haven't ever included in TR.

These are both great choices, but might i suggest Final Fantasy V instead of VI for the latter? It's one of the most overlooked entries in the main series. A lot of people I imagine haven't played it.

[alienjesus]

Lemmings* - Puzzle - To mourn the death of Psygnosis and to (re)experience one of the best games made by the studio.

Zork trilogy* - text adventure - because we've shamefully never done one!

I would be happy with those. I considered nominating Zork myself at one point, and Lemmings was my second puzzle choice after Oddworld. The other ones I'm not so keen on. Final Fantasy VI is good, but I figure a lot of people may have already played it, plus it's fairly pricy to obtain on SNES or GBA from what I understand.

I'm still gonna push for a few more of mine :p. I really want Parappa to win over Space Channel 5, simply because I've played SC5 to death.

I also really want us to play Pirates! for Talk like a Pirate Day, plus play some game & watch for some high score old school fun. I'm also really keen to play Shock Troopers. I've played the second one in the arcade and adored it, and the first is supposedly even better I'm glad you backed up Dizzy as an option too

Here's another suggestion of mine.


TITLE: F-Zero X
GENRE: Racing
PORTS: N64, Wii (Via VC)
WHY?: Because I picked it up just the other day and it is amazing. The aesthetic is awesome, the speed still impresses, and the heavy metal music coming out of my N64 makes me laugh with how unexpected it is

[Ivo]

I like many of the suggestions so far.

In particular I support Dizzy (one of the games) as an interesting one, and one of the classic rhythm games. SC5 would make a very good TR (Space Michael!), even though I have finished it already. Parappa is also full of its own style, never played it myself though.

Ivo.

[noiseredux]

Dave, you beat me to it -- I was just going to mention that we've been making October a horror-themed TR for several years now. And that we've done a couple double-features for horror.

Personally, and this is just me, regarding series... I tend to prefer when we pick a single game from a series. Like THEE game that defined the series. Again, just me and I'll be glad to let majority decide.

Also, regarding Dave's nomination of Half-Life -- I totally back this up. I pushed for it last year too.

EDIT: I also think Zork is a great idea. Text Adventure is a hugely important genre that we've never touched on for TR.