Standing in the place of Sonic as a new generation of gaming opened up a new dimension to compete with Mario, Crash Bandicoot is a competent platformer with impressive presentation, especially for the mid-90s. The only thing that really holds it back from being a classic is how obtusely irritating a lot of the stage designs are. Perhaps it was to ensure players would take their time and hone their skills at this panicky platformer with a panicky protagonist, but this game wouldn't really meet legitimate quality in the sum of all its parts until the sequel!

You ever wonder how some classics can be really short, but built to last for newcomers? Mega Man is the prime example. Feels good to run, shoot, and jump! . . . BUT the game is hard as hell, especially near the end! It feels almost unfair at times.

A lot of parts feel like beginner's traps, at least that's how I saw it back when I was younger getting into these games. Still, it makes for a satisfying playthrough--especially when I get myself to used the gained abilities on enemies-- and the original score is great too!

A cute little rhythm game that's pretty strict on reacting and learning the stage patterns! Bit.Trip Runner was a fairly early highlight in the indie sphere, despite first coming to fruition on WiiWare (whatever that was).

As someone that doesn't care for chiptune music most of the time, I actually found the soundtrack in this game very endearing. It has this atmosphere that's a little hard to pin down why I like it so much, but it fit the world perfectly. Not exactly ideal as a game that featured stereoscopic 3D, but I chipped time away on my 3DS with it either way.

A fun game with a pretty unique design and cute-ass style. Very Very Valet expects you to simply perform your duty, and gives you carte blanche to be as efficient--or messy- as you'd like, so long as you get the job done.

The most fun aspect is how you can ram and pile-on cars just to get them in the right spots. I'm glad they didn't factor in things like the condition of the car, the developers clearly knew they weren't making some "Valet Simulator" or anything of that sort, it's supposed to be kooky fun, right?

The game is just a bit too simplistic with not much to do outside of the main game, besides the extra stages that test your driving and parking skills. The game clearly took a lot of inspiration from Crazy Taxi, which is great. It can be fun in multiplayer as well, only upping the sheer chaos that can come from your valet jobs.

A game that could've only come from the mind of a seasoned developer that understands how much is put into making video games, and those that try to capitalize off of it. WarioWare Inc is so damn delightful from beginning to end, and boasts an amazing array of characters that are all charming and unique in their own way!

It's hard to even describe what this game is going for, but it's funny looking at it nearly 20 years later and seeing how much it resembles indie games that would come many years afterward! And seeing just how enriched this world of WarioWare was with each individual micro-game sporting its own style is also pretty amazing.

This is Video Games: The Game™

Twisted Metal 3 and 4 are two peas in a smelly pod. They are both equally shoddy games with equally hideous presentation. I'm convinced they were made around the same time, or with the exact same people. Granted, each game only had a number of months to be complete so for what it's worth, that in itself is impressive.

The only thing this has over the 3rd title is that the gameplay is slightly refined. Controlling cars feels a little less like shit, and flipping yourself over has no recovery frames. They likely listened to feedback regarding how people took the 3rd game back in the day and tried to improve it . . . nice job on that count.

Unfortunately, the gameplay feels just as monotonous and the stage design is still lacking, perhaps I just don't like these whimsical styles they went for. Things like the carnival, the kid's room, and even the Aztec arena feel more aligned with a Disney skateboarding game, not Twisted Metal.

The characters are also hideous with really underwhelming endings, the one thing that's revered more than anything else regarding this franchise. Frankly, I'm surprised Twisted Metal 3 and 4 are ranked as highly as they are on this website. I can't help but think narrow-minded nostalgia has a strong hand here. I was single digits when these games came out, guys. I was there too. It still sucked.

Harmonix already showed the most enjoyable and simplistic way to enjoy rhythm gaming with the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series, that--in a sense--imitated the motions and actions it took for its respective musician. Dance Central is a very obvious evolution to that.

In a world where the concept of dancing games were already popularized through Dance Dance Revolution (which wasn't really dancing, just hitting notes rhythmically with your feet/fingers) and Just Dance (which has no real guide or real restrictions), Dance Central would be the Kinect game that felt like it utilized this new peripheral best by actually teaching the players choreographed dance moves.

From what I understand, this was the first dancing game that actually required the player to get the moves and motions right to real dance moves. The que cards on the side instruct the player how to move--sometimes with not enough information--and stay on-rhythm. While some of it may look silly when you're pulling off these moves on your own, much of it is practiced in large groups of choreography dancers, where it's much more appropriate.

I'm not saying Dance Central will teach you how to become the life of the party at that wedding reception you're going to, but it gives you a good idea what it takes to bust a move. It's also a fun way to get some exercise. I always found the easiest way to get to working out for the uninitiated is to add a game-like score to it. The only shortcomings are the mandatory "free moves" segments that are in every song, and the fact that it isn't 2 players.

I put this down when I realized the only moment I had fun--and not dripping with sweat from anxiety or full of anger--was when that game-ending "VICTORY!" graphic hits the screen.

There's design here and there that's admirable, they make it feel good to movey and shooty as far as this lightly skilled FPS player can tell. But ultimately, the structure of its competitive aspect is not for me. Most aren't. So I uninstalled it during lockdown because, even with friends, I was just not having fun at all. Then the Blizzard fallout happened, and I was like "Hey what an easy boycott, avoiding Blizzard and Activision is easier than ever now!"

There's no real ethical consumption under capitalism, but hey this is the least I could do. Never playing 2 either.

A pretty good shmup with tough patterns and gratifying weapons. The large enemy designs are also pretty charming, and I'm kind of a sucker for andromorphic characters that look groaty and disheveled. It makes them feel more real, if that makes sense. The story they carry is also mildly interesting, with gripping bits here and there. I also like that they kept the original Hungarian voice-acting.

The challenge of the bosses and their projectile trajectory is the real meat, and the game's story mode is pretty lenient with its continues and checkpoints. Apparently diagonal bullets are considered bad faux pas, but I wouldn't really know, this is not my subgenre at all.

The atmosphere is what helps me remember this game, goes for a good tech-y steampunk vibe, and Akira Yamaoka's contributions as head composer shine throughout.

The successor to Frequency, which saw many improvements. Including a visual style that isn't senseless, more popular songs (likely from Sony's publishing power), and a more refined design that more heavily promoted perfect runs and chains. Granted, the latter was still exceedingly tough on higher difficulties.

There isn't much to speak of outside of this, as there's no real narrative. My one complaint is that the lanes get a little too "hill-y" and make it more difficult to see the oncoming notes. Regardless, this was still a solid rhythm game with a unique design, and something that would creep up in Harmonix's career from time-to-time while in the midst of their Rock Band craze.

An arcade rail-shooter that's probably only as popular and significant as it is because it was the absolute cheapest rail shooter cabinet ever. Area 51 functions well, from all the times I've played it, but none of its design or action is that compelling. It feels a little too much like a quarter-muncher at time, and there's no indication when you'll take damage, which feels the most random.

The live-action characters have a bit of charm, but not much. The alien designs certainly scream 90s as hell, but otherwise I think there's good reason this doesn't hold a candle to the absolute classics in rail-shooters that were being output by Namco and SEGA.

Loved it as a kid, but looking back, how on Earth did I deal with this game's design so much? I have such specific memories of clearing everything at 150cc as well as mirror mode, but now I struggle to even get 1st place in most 100cc races. It probably comes from playing the modern titles that have barely changed its core design/mechanics since 2008.

The merge between 2D sprites and 3D venues was done nicely as a smart way to save on resources that didn't feel off-putting in the slightest. I like how much the game calls for precision, it's no wonder this started forming the competitive aspect between players all the way back in the late 90s.

It's just hard to go back to these days. And I wouldn't even say the game aged (I don't believe in that notion), we just became so accustomed to a different kind of design from this same series afterward. Mario Kart 64 has much more in common with its predecessor than it does with all the mainline entries afterward . . . I can still get that giant Rainbow Road shortcut like a champ tho.

From what I understand, this entire package was originally to be sold as a single game, but there were troubles with its development, and SEGA saw a solution where the developers didn't have to make sacrifices, and they could essentially sell the game for twice the regular price.

Regardless how much of this was for the sake of helping out the developers or just plain ol' corporate greed, I've only ever played "S3&K" in its complete package. And . . . it's amazing! Such a huge assortment of levels, fantastic music, fun to play from beginning to end, challenging as hell (at least when I was a kid), and I loved the very light story between Sonic and Knuckles while pursuing the dastardly Eggman!

The only thing that sort of turns me off is the updated art style. Everything looked softer and more cartooney, whereas I adored Sonic 1 and 2's sharper nature. Otherwise, this is a jam-packed experience that set a precedence of what a Sonic game should be!

A competitive [REDACTED] in the style of sumo rules! Super Smash Bros. was EVERYTHING to me when I was 8 goddamn years old. I never experienced a crossover of such proportions (12 characters and I only liked about 7 of them). This was a brilliant swan song to the Nintendo 64 that probably didn't know it would start a monumental movement of BO brawlers for decades to come!

The gameplay is simplistic, but extremely satisfying. The sound effects are especially remarkable, and something the sequels never really captured after this. It's hard to explain, but I just love the audio feedback to nearly everything in this game, especially the heavy attacks that launch away the opponents! It's nice looking back at this franchise's humble beginnings.

While not being too aware of the entire cast at the time, I was absolutely floored the first time I unlocked Captain Falcon, being one of the few that knew who he was before this game. He's been my main ever since.