Great games from the outgoing consoles

[ahnslaught]

With the incoming tide of next-gen, I thought it would be interesting to get an idea of what everyone thinks were the games from the outgoing batch of consoles that had great setting/atmosphere/storyline. These games don't necessarily have the best graphics, gameplay, or whatever, but just create a very fun world for you to play in.

Killer 7 clearly gets a spot for me because of its great visual style. Storyline and random characters are just too weird for me, but it sure does look great.

Wind Waker also gets a spot for me. Very expressive animations and the world looks very "together."

Panzer Dragoon Orta for keeping up the wonderful world that was created by the previous entries in the series. It's even better that it's a rail shooter, so that it shows you the world kind of like a movie. Also, IMO, it does the magic and technology thing 1000 times better than any series bar none.

I also recently discovered Stella Deus, which has a great storyline setup (very Nausicaa-esque) with great illustrations and character designs. I've just started playing this, so who knows where it will lead, but it has all the potential to be something special.

I'm sure there are plenty of others. What do you guys think?

[kyouki]

I have a few games that I really enjoyed this past generation... although I complain a lot about the direction games have been going this past generation, honestly I've had some good times.

Gamecube had Resident Evil 4. Regardless of the lack of true widescreen and the extra stuff in the PS2 version this is still the best version of the game. I loved the first few hours of this game, but once you get inside the castle it really gets lousy. However, those first few hours are absolutely great! It was worth playing the game for that. Other people seemed to like the latter parts of the game, so it was doing something right.

Playstation 2 had some great games. I love Romancing Saga which is a masterpiece as far as I am concerned. Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks is a really great beat'em up though it gets dull later on and the enemies take WAY too many hits to die. PS2 also ended up becoming possibly the best system for fighting fans yet, with the awesome Neo Geo Online collection, a ton of retro compilations, and excellent versions of all the Street Fighter games. Virtua Fighter 4 Evo is beyond me, but I could appreciate that it is most definitely the most rewarding and awesome 3d fighter ever. Silent Hill 2 is possibly my most favorite game ever, and the Siren series attempted something new in survival horror and did a great job at it.

[YourAverageJoe]

Alien Hominid, a game that escapes game designers' quest for graphics and delivers awesome gameplay instead.

[Neo Rasa]

[jameseightbitstar]

I'm tempted to say Smash Bros. Melee and DBZ Budokai.

Which just goes to show the (lack of) depth of my current-gen experience.

[ahnslaught]

Ah, Otogi - I'm kinda embarrassed that I never tried these two games. And for the xbox, no less, where Japanese games are quite rare! I may have to remedy it quickly...

Going OT for a second, neorasa (or anyone that's played this), I'm curious as to what you think of the gameplay - from what I've seen, it's a 3d action game like Ninja Gaiden (which I love), so if you can draw any parallels, it would help give some perspective on the game.

[Malroth]

...You know you want to see this remade on the Wii.

[Neo Rasa]

ahnslaught said:

Ah, Otogi - I'm kinda embarrassed that I never tried these two games. And for the xbox, no less, where Japanese games are quite rare! I may have to remedy it quickly...

Going OT for a second, neorasa (or anyone that's played this), I'm curious as to what you think of the gameplay - from what I've seen, it's a 3d action game like Ninja Gaiden (which I love), so if you can draw any parallels, it would help give some perspective on the game.

The gameplay is like Devil May Cry/Ninja Gaiden but not nearly as indepth with its combos and weapon variety. It's more focused on creating a solid atmosphere (which it more than succeeds at) and throwing tons of enemies at you at once without any slowdown (in Otogi 2 at one point I racked up a 4,000 hit combo without even touching the ground).

You have a lower variety of moves to work with but precise timing is just as important, and it's much easier to get killed if you make a mistake.

[jameseightbitstar]

I actually saw Irritating Stick at Gamestop recently. I almost bought it.

I think they've already found a buyer though.