Thought Experiment: The Criterion Collection Of Video Games
Basically "what if Criterion extended there branding to video games". For those not versed in movies Criterion is a DVD & Blu-Ray distribution company focused on making culturally/historically significant but niche films and shorts accessible to the average Joe & Jane in the name of cultural preservation.
Criteria:
1) Historically significant (started a genre, auteur director , started an art style trend, revolutionized gaming marketing or distribution, etc.) keep in mind historically important isn't the same as "good".
2) Not re-released often
3) "Can a start up conceivably get the rights" (for the sake of a fun thought experiment and to avoid flooding this with a ton of AAA Atari/Nintendo/SEGA/Sony Computer Entertainment titles). For the sake of flavor I'm also going to assume this was some sort of Criterion spin off brand meaning pre-existing movie studio relationships are a thing I can factor in. This is relevant since basically every still active major movie company has owned a game studio at some point in its existence.
* doesn’t need all three to be on list.
Feel free to suggest stuff in the comments!
Criteria:
1) Historically significant (started a genre, auteur director , started an art style trend, revolutionized gaming marketing or distribution, etc.) keep in mind historically important isn't the same as "good".
2) Not re-released often
3) "Can a start up conceivably get the rights" (for the sake of a fun thought experiment and to avoid flooding this with a ton of AAA Atari/Nintendo/SEGA/Sony Computer Entertainment titles). For the sake of flavor I'm also going to assume this was some sort of Criterion spin off brand meaning pre-existing movie studio relationships are a thing I can factor in. This is relevant since basically every still active major movie company has owned a game studio at some point in its existence.
* doesn’t need all three to be on list.
Feel free to suggest stuff in the comments!
89 Games
2 Comments
Might suggest a few more later but here's what I got now:
Alpha Waves is often considered to be the first 3D Platformer ever.
Jumping Flash! was a 3D Platformer released before Croc.
Blaster Master: Overdrive is another WiiWare locked retro revival.
Night Trap should be here for similar reasons to Mortal Kombat.
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior set the blueprint for pretty much every 2D Fighter.
Final Fight set the blueprint for many 90s Beat-Em-Ups and also was integral to the creation of Street Fighter II.
Star Fox was one of the earliest examples of 3D graphics on console.
Star Fox II was cancelled but eventually released by Nintendo, although its releases include a discontinued plug n' play and an online subscription.
Alone in the Dark is (to my knowledge) the earliest example of a fixed-camera Survival Horror game.
Alpha Waves is often considered to be the first 3D Platformer ever.
Jumping Flash! was a 3D Platformer released before Croc.
Blaster Master: Overdrive is another WiiWare locked retro revival.
Night Trap should be here for similar reasons to Mortal Kombat.
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior set the blueprint for pretty much every 2D Fighter.
Final Fight set the blueprint for many 90s Beat-Em-Ups and also was integral to the creation of Street Fighter II.
Star Fox was one of the earliest examples of 3D graphics on console.
Star Fox II was cancelled but eventually released by Nintendo, although its releases include a discontinued plug n' play and an online subscription.
Alone in the Dark is (to my knowledge) the earliest example of a fixed-camera Survival Horror game.
Lozicle
10 months ago
Virtua Fighter (1993): Helped popularizing 3D polygonal graphics. Allegedly inspired the PlayStation's 3D graphics hardware. Might also be worth including Yu Suzuki's other games, like Space Harrier, Out Run and Virtua Racing.
Cave Story (2004): The critical acclaim for this game that was developed by one person inspired many independent developers. Debatably also inspired the revival of the 8-bit style in the late 2000s seen in games like Mega Man 9.
Touhou Rei'iden: The Highly Responsive to Prayers (1997): The first entry in the Touhou Project doujin game series, which has inspired many fan works, including art, music, animations, and other doujin games.
Touhou Koumakyou: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (2002): The most popular and well-known game in the Touhou Project series.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992): This definitely breaks rule 2 (there are four ways to play it on the Nintendo Switch), but I think Frank Cifaldi made a good argument for it on the Insert Credit podcast, and I wanted to expand on it. His argument was that Sonic 1 and 2 inspired many imitator mascots with attitude, and Sonic 2 is definitely not the game they intended to release. How cool would it be to include bonus material showing the island maps and time travel ideas they had planned? I think they could also include the Nick Arcade and Simon Wai prototypes as bonuses too (albeit with some way to mitigate the crashing). Alternatively...
Sonic Jam (1997): Basically a Criterion Collection release of the Genesis/Mega Drive Sonic platformers. It probably has the most detailed museum of any Sonic collection. It's also the only rerelease to include difficulty options, with remixed level layouts designed by the original Sonic Team.