Genre-Bending Games

[racketboy]

Sometime down the line, I was thinking about putting together a feature about games that didn't really fit into one single genre, but were incredibly creative.

Here's what I got so far...
Jet Grind Radio
NiGHTS Into Dreams
Chu Chu Rocket
Windjammers
Rez
Guardian Heroes
Pac-Man Vs. - Gamecube
Herzog Zwei - Genesis
Armada - Dreamcast
Virtual On
Katamari Damacy
Blast Corps - N64
Bomberman
Pac-Man
Dig Dug
Rampage


Yes, my list is fairly Sega-centric, so I need some help rounding it out some...

[Majors]

What was the burger-making game from Japan? The one where you're a short order chief at Yoshinoya<sp>? Of course if we go import, there must be a thousand cross-genre titles...like the strip paper-rock-sissors game for Saturn.

Off the top:
-Twinkle Star Sprites
-Odáma
-Killer 7

[Conn]

I dunno if most of these are genre-bending, but they're all quite original;

Katamari Damacy
We Love Katamari
Me and My Katamari
Jet Set Radio
Jet Set Radio Future
Pac-Man VS.
Beyond Good and Evil
Chu Chu Rocket
Metal Gear
Boktai
Doki Doki Panic!
Metroid
Legend of Zelda
Kirby Canvas Curse
Super Mario 64
Tales of Phantasia

[nobodysleeps]

you guys have named pretty much all of em...

Panzer Dragoon Saga..
Indigo Prophecy!!!!

[grittykitty]

watched my friend play a lot of indigo prophecy here... what a cool game! makes me wish i still had a ps2

[nobodysleeps]

Yeah I borrowed it from ScottPilgrim and me and my Wife tore it up in a week...it was so fun...just...I dunno new and fresh...Real good ^^

I'll keep thinking of more...

Trauma Center is sweet.

[grittykitty]

well, it's always overlooked - super mario bros! in short, it changed the concept of a fixed screen (ala pacman, galaga, space invaders, etc) into a something consisting of a bigger world, which of course just wasn't happening at the time! (at least not on consoles or in the arcade) here's an excerpt from a book i bought in osaka called "family computer 1983-1994" that has everything written in both japanese AND english!

The Video Game Screen and Effect of a Design
1985 Super Mario BROS. Scrolling Liberated the World of Games

Widening the world from left to right, and from a dark room to the open ground, Mario, who was locked in a single screen in "Donkey Kong" and "Mario Bros.", has set himself free to the outside world.
The screen of "Super Mario Bros." will only scroll to the right, but not to the left. The belt conveyor can only move one way. To the right. Nevertheless, the game doesn't produce a sensation of a narrow space. It cleverly stimulates the players to move forward, to the right, and solve the mysterious puzzles the game has to offer.
"As the player moves on, the block with the "?" mark appears on the screen. The the mushroom appears as Mario jumps. However, the player is forced to touch the mushroom. ("BIG GENERATION2000 Art Tower Mito)." When Mario takes the mushroom, he grows in size and strength. It inspires the player to move on, to the right, to get more mushrooms.
The colorful graphics, such as the big blue sky, the white clouds, the gray blocks for the underground empire, and the color changes on each stage impose the perception of adventure.
The scrolling-technique that "Super Mario Beos." [sic] game design achieved widened the world of games. It opened up a new dimension to the Famicom games.

You can buy it from Play-Asia (http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-as- ... 0-ine.html) and some other places online

[Majors]

watched my friend play a lot of indigo prophecy here... what a cool game! makes me wish i still had a ps2

I think that was one of the last PS2 games I bought. I was running it on the PC, but really wanted it on the TV while sitting on the couch with a pad in my hand. One reason I did pick it up was because of Omikron, by the same team. In fact, I bought Omi three times...DC, PC and DC again (after it was stolen). Prophecy had the "movie" style that I had been looking for. I think it was to be called Fahrenheit orginally.

I never did beat Omikron...hmmm...bet it would run fast as hell on my current rig.

[ScottPilgrim]

Yeah, I do believe it actually is called Farenheit in Europe... Better name if ask me ...

[ScottPilgrim]

Oh yeah, by the way... I definitely second Panzer Dragoon Saga.... we all know it is an RPG, but there isnt one quite like it out. The battle system is unseen elsewere, it would be a dream come true to see a sequel. Right? Right?