1994 is a strange year for me. A year of space games, atmosphere, and experimental storytelling in games. Think about how different FF6's story was presented compared to Wing Commander III's FMVs to System Shock's SHODAN esoteric battle against a computer. Then there is SimTower, which started my obsession with sim/management-style games, where story is nonexistent.
Super Metroid had great controls, an interesting map, pitch-perfect setting and tone, and a "cool" factor that makes everything about this game easy to feel simultaneously powerful and challenging. Not unbearably punishing like Contra and Ninja Gaiden, more serious than Mega Man, and more flexible than nearly every Castlevania protagonist, Super Metroid was the epitome of the action-explorer-run'n'gun genre.
Final Fantasy VI made games cinematic without resorting to using actual actors and film (see next game below). The music, the art direction, and the use of the 2D space to tell a story was a masterclass. While the story was not as palatable as IV and not as unique as Chrono Trigger, the villain was creepier, the individual scenes more memorable, and the characters still solid. A must-play for any JRPG fan.
This game surprised me. I did not expect the space sim story filled with FMVs to grab my attention and not let go. I probably shouldn't have been surprised considering WCII had an awesome story - but the transition to FMV actually worked. The controls of the actual "game" were still not my favorite and too burdensome, but I can't shake how the hell they made me more invested in this space-time war than some other sci-fi property involving Mark Hamil.
Saturday morning cartoons? Nope. I was instead plopped in front of the computer playing this addicting game. The rush of making your first floor of office buildings and restaurants before you run out of money, the moment with a VIP shows up, and when you finally have played enough to get that damn movie theater . . . there was nowhere to go but up and I couldn't help but try my hardest to reach the top of the sky every time.
You can't play EarthBound unless you've played other JRPGs. Trust me. The humor fell flat when I first tried this game but after getting more RPGs under my belt, I came back and this game made me smirk for hours and hours.
Not as memorable or played as much as the first one, but still a solid iteration.
X2 is a good follow-up but not as memorable as the first X game for resetting the series. Also, the music did not do it for me this time around. At least it had a better story than Breath of Fire 2. That's right - fuck off BoF 2.
Everything about playing this game felt bad - the inventory, the controls, the final battle. But, you can't ignore how thrilling the setting and the antagonist were.
I totally get why people revere this game. I just didn't get a chance to play this until the age of anti-heroes so it didn't play as remarkable as it was perceived at the time of its release. While WCIII's story was more engaging because of the characters and actors, TIE fighter did an admirable job building and expanding the Star Wars universe.
The graphics sold this game. I remember having a VHS tape with just footage of the game play before it had been released. I didn't quite enjoy the game play as much as the graphics - and it felt like there were too many levels.
The song with "Cruis'nnnnnn" in it sticks in my mind. This was my go-to arcade game along with next year's Time Crisis. Just plain fun.
