Games that seem like they belonged to the next gen?
Aug 26, 2020 16:21:14 GMT -5
Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Aug 26, 2020 16:21:14 GMT -5
Some 1990 games:
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX, 1990) - Stealth Action/Action Adventure
-Radar feature in a non-vehicle sim game (turns off temporarily when detected or while in air ducts, shows enemies and some important NPCs; Cyborg Hunter?)
-Enemy soldiers now move between screens (King's Valley)
-Certain terrain makes noise that will get the enemies' attention, you can crawl under tables and some vehicles (also helps to avoid the aforementioned noises)
-Can speed up text on a per paragraph/text box basis
-Checkpoints at the beginning of each area/when exiting or entering a building (Psycho World?)
-Get tips from NPCs via the transceiver (they won't always reply though - a bit jarring in the beginning when you're told to call people and they don't reply)
-Some interesting level design (getting transported to places by using the box disguise, escort segment, the rooms with soldiers hiding among soldier mannequins, moving infrared laser rooms (new variations on them, garbage room in the first building, enemies turning off the lights)
-Pretty good at creating a sense of vulnerability at times
-Some new interesting gear (use the cigarettes to detect infrared lasers, mortar missile (chopper boss), mouse robots to distract enemies with, the enemy can place a tracker in your inventory if you get captured (can be thrown away), night vision goggles, national anthem casette tape (freezes soldiers for ~10 seconds), etc.)
-About twice as long as the prequel
Final Fantasy III (NES, 1990) - JRPG
-Job system
-"Per enemy type" multi-targeting
-Numbers indicating who is striking what target in the next round
-Can unlearn spells
-Summons
-Damage indicator on the actual monster sprites (similar to Zelda II)
-More equipment customization
-More interactive environment
-Temporary party members that follow the party in the overhead view and can be talked to manually
-Underwater exploration
-Pretty major overworld change at one point
-Proper row system
-Shops and stash in the airship
Bomberman (PCE, 1990) - Maze Action/Arena Combat, 5-Player vs., Portable link battle support (TurboExpress)
-Two vs. modes (skull mode includes a negative skull power up)
-Several levels of upgrades (blast size, number of bombs at once, speed - SP only)
-Upgrades carry over to the next level in SP
Moving Adventure Psy-O-Blade (MD, 1990) - Adventure/Visual Novel, Rail Shooter segment, Sci-fi horror theme
-Pretty rich lore/fluff if you examine stuff (for the time and for consoles)
-Save almost anywhere
-Meta humour, Pop culture references (Sierra adventure games?)
-You can't die
-Animated portraits during dialogue (Strider NES, Faria)
-Social justice stuff (black characters in authority positions, computer savvy female char, spoiler: another female char saves the day in the end)
Gargoyle's Quest: Ghosts 'n Goblins (GB, 1990) - JRPG/Action Platformer Hybrid or Platform Adventure (Zelda II-like), Horror/dark fantasy theme
-Play as a demon fighting for rulership of the demon realm
-Some interesting mechanics (stamina-based flight and wall climbing/clinging (Strider, NG), create platforms on spiked walls)
-Large and detailed boss sprites on GB
Race Drivin' (ARC, 1990/AMI/PC/MD, ) - Racing (Cars)
-3D polygonal graphics at a pretty good framerate
-Ramp jumps
-Loops
-Satisfying crashes
-Replays (see also Stunts (PC) from the same year)
Alpha Waves/Continuum (PC/Atari ST, 1990) - 3D Platformer/Maze Platformer, TP view
-First polygonal 3D Platformer? (Simulcra from the same year sort of counts)
-Bouncing physics
-Emotion-themed areas (main difference is in the music)
-2-player vs. split screen (Atari ST and Amiga only)
Wing Commander (PC, 1990) - FP Space Flight/Combat, RPG/Adventure hybrid
-Weaves what you’d expect to be menus into a P&C game environment (save slots, training arcade cabinet, score board (behind the bar) and medal screen (in your locker))
-RPG/Adventure aspects (get new ships and weapons as the game progresses, well-developed characters for the time, manually talk to NPCs between missions, talking team mates during missions, some enemies will communicate with you during battle)
-The game continues when a team mate dies during a mission and has NPCs talking about them afterwards and even plays a funeral cutscene)
-The game also continues if you fail a mission without dying (mission tree system with some storyline variations)
-Give orders to teammates during missions (stay in formation, break formation and attack, attack my target, etc.)
-Auto-pilot (A) triggers a short cutscene in which your ship moves towards the next objective (lets you skip longer distances like a fast travel feature)
-Can have the camera chase your missiles up until impact
-Skip dialogue on a per sentence basis during dialogue and mission briefings
-Good map system (click a location to have a crosshair appear on the in-game radar and main screen)
-Lock-on missiles (need to be behind the enemy though)
-Switch between targets in combat with T
-Weapon inventory (cycle with W (missiles) and G (guns))
-Basic mission rankings
-Some of your teammates are actually pretty useful (unlike in Star Fox)
-Can eject yourself from your ship (to surrender instead of dying)
-Some enemies will escape if you don’t kill them quickly enough
-Sequence breaking - if you know the mission tree well you can cheat its win/loss system and get to the good ending while skipping most of the game (by ejecting during missions)
-Ship damage can randomly take out weapons/break the ejection system/make you slow down a lot/remove parts of the interface (this last one also causes a constant noise to trigger until the mission is over which is very annoying though)
46 Okunen Monogatari: The Shinka Ron (PC-98, 1990) - JRPG (prequel to EVO: Search for Eden), TD view
-Evolution mechanic (start out as a primitive fish and use points gained from defeating enemies to change your stats and eventually transform your creature into something stronger, faster, smarter or tougher; possible creatures are based on real evolutionary trees for the era you're in (there are six: ocean, reptiles, early dinosaurs, late dinosaurs, pre-modern, and spoiler: (dystopian) future) and eventually you can evolve into a human being and "beyond")
-Can evolve "off the evolutionary map" and end the game prematurely
-Outcast theme (once a strange light begins to sicken the others, they blame you - the outsider - and kick you out of the village; similar to Secret of Mana)
-Mortal servant of a deity theme (play a mortal servant of Gaia, the goddess of the Earth)
Graphically impressive games:
worldsunraveled.weebly.com/1990s-8-bit-games.html
worldsunraveled.weebly.com/1990-16-bit-games.html
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX, 1990) - Stealth Action/Action Adventure
-Radar feature in a non-vehicle sim game (turns off temporarily when detected or while in air ducts, shows enemies and some important NPCs; Cyborg Hunter?)
-Enemy soldiers now move between screens (King's Valley)
-Certain terrain makes noise that will get the enemies' attention, you can crawl under tables and some vehicles (also helps to avoid the aforementioned noises)
-Can speed up text on a per paragraph/text box basis
-Checkpoints at the beginning of each area/when exiting or entering a building (Psycho World?)
-Get tips from NPCs via the transceiver (they won't always reply though - a bit jarring in the beginning when you're told to call people and they don't reply)
-Some interesting level design (getting transported to places by using the box disguise, escort segment, the rooms with soldiers hiding among soldier mannequins, moving infrared laser rooms (new variations on them, garbage room in the first building, enemies turning off the lights)
-Pretty good at creating a sense of vulnerability at times
-Some new interesting gear (use the cigarettes to detect infrared lasers, mortar missile (chopper boss), mouse robots to distract enemies with, the enemy can place a tracker in your inventory if you get captured (can be thrown away), night vision goggles, national anthem casette tape (freezes soldiers for ~10 seconds), etc.)
-About twice as long as the prequel
Final Fantasy III (NES, 1990) - JRPG
-Job system
-"Per enemy type" multi-targeting
-Numbers indicating who is striking what target in the next round
-Can unlearn spells
-Summons
-Damage indicator on the actual monster sprites (similar to Zelda II)
-More equipment customization
-More interactive environment
-Temporary party members that follow the party in the overhead view and can be talked to manually
-Underwater exploration
-Pretty major overworld change at one point
-Proper row system
-Shops and stash in the airship
Bomberman (PCE, 1990) - Maze Action/Arena Combat, 5-Player vs., Portable link battle support (TurboExpress)
-Two vs. modes (skull mode includes a negative skull power up)
-Several levels of upgrades (blast size, number of bombs at once, speed - SP only)
-Upgrades carry over to the next level in SP
Moving Adventure Psy-O-Blade (MD, 1990) - Adventure/Visual Novel, Rail Shooter segment, Sci-fi horror theme
-Pretty rich lore/fluff if you examine stuff (for the time and for consoles)
-Save almost anywhere
-Meta humour, Pop culture references (Sierra adventure games?)
-You can't die
-Animated portraits during dialogue (Strider NES, Faria)
-Social justice stuff (black characters in authority positions, computer savvy female char, spoiler: another female char saves the day in the end)
Gargoyle's Quest: Ghosts 'n Goblins (GB, 1990) - JRPG/Action Platformer Hybrid or Platform Adventure (Zelda II-like), Horror/dark fantasy theme
-Play as a demon fighting for rulership of the demon realm
-Some interesting mechanics (stamina-based flight and wall climbing/clinging (Strider, NG), create platforms on spiked walls)
-Large and detailed boss sprites on GB
Race Drivin' (ARC, 1990/AMI/PC/MD, ) - Racing (Cars)
-3D polygonal graphics at a pretty good framerate
-Ramp jumps
-Loops
-Satisfying crashes
-Replays (see also Stunts (PC) from the same year)
Alpha Waves/Continuum (PC/Atari ST, 1990) - 3D Platformer/Maze Platformer, TP view
-First polygonal 3D Platformer? (Simulcra from the same year sort of counts)
-Bouncing physics
-Emotion-themed areas (main difference is in the music)
-2-player vs. split screen (Atari ST and Amiga only)
Wing Commander (PC, 1990) - FP Space Flight/Combat, RPG/Adventure hybrid
-Weaves what you’d expect to be menus into a P&C game environment (save slots, training arcade cabinet, score board (behind the bar) and medal screen (in your locker))
-RPG/Adventure aspects (get new ships and weapons as the game progresses, well-developed characters for the time, manually talk to NPCs between missions, talking team mates during missions, some enemies will communicate with you during battle)
-The game continues when a team mate dies during a mission and has NPCs talking about them afterwards and even plays a funeral cutscene)
-The game also continues if you fail a mission without dying (mission tree system with some storyline variations)
-Give orders to teammates during missions (stay in formation, break formation and attack, attack my target, etc.)
-Auto-pilot (A) triggers a short cutscene in which your ship moves towards the next objective (lets you skip longer distances like a fast travel feature)
-Can have the camera chase your missiles up until impact
-Skip dialogue on a per sentence basis during dialogue and mission briefings
-Good map system (click a location to have a crosshair appear on the in-game radar and main screen)
-Lock-on missiles (need to be behind the enemy though)
-Switch between targets in combat with T
-Weapon inventory (cycle with W (missiles) and G (guns))
-Basic mission rankings
-Some of your teammates are actually pretty useful (unlike in Star Fox)
-Can eject yourself from your ship (to surrender instead of dying)
-Some enemies will escape if you don’t kill them quickly enough
-Sequence breaking - if you know the mission tree well you can cheat its win/loss system and get to the good ending while skipping most of the game (by ejecting during missions)
-Ship damage can randomly take out weapons/break the ejection system/make you slow down a lot/remove parts of the interface (this last one also causes a constant noise to trigger until the mission is over which is very annoying though)
46 Okunen Monogatari: The Shinka Ron (PC-98, 1990) - JRPG (prequel to EVO: Search for Eden), TD view
-Evolution mechanic (start out as a primitive fish and use points gained from defeating enemies to change your stats and eventually transform your creature into something stronger, faster, smarter or tougher; possible creatures are based on real evolutionary trees for the era you're in (there are six: ocean, reptiles, early dinosaurs, late dinosaurs, pre-modern, and spoiler: (dystopian) future) and eventually you can evolve into a human being and "beyond")
-Can evolve "off the evolutionary map" and end the game prematurely
-Outcast theme (once a strange light begins to sicken the others, they blame you - the outsider - and kick you out of the village; similar to Secret of Mana)
-Mortal servant of a deity theme (play a mortal servant of Gaia, the goddess of the Earth)
Graphically impressive games:
worldsunraveled.weebly.com/1990s-8-bit-games.html
worldsunraveled.weebly.com/1990-16-bit-games.html