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Back before the internet was really a thing, back when the M2 was still apparently some sort of gaming machine, back when video games were no longer just Kid Stuff, back before there was click-bait, there were Controversialtm "best of" lists to fill that niche. Next Generation was a gaming magazine in the 90s, it didn't have cheat codes, but it had interviews with developers and creators/artists. It was supposed to be for adults, for the discerning video game hobbyist. The closest thing i can think of to it now is maybe NoClip. Anyway, in 1996 they put out a list of the 100 greatest games of all time as chosen by their staff. Some of their choices are great, some are kinda ridiculous, but they did little writeups for each one and i especially enjoy the "Memorable Moment" part. So without further preamble: Next Generation's 100 Greatest Games of All Time i'm going to do 10 pages per post           to be continued a kitten fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Dec 3, 2018 |
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Dec 3, 2018 18:43
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Part Two        The Top 10    That's right it's Mario 64, which had just barely come out at that point. And to be honest, it really did feel like a game changer to me at the time, but i'm not sure if it would still be on a personal Greatest Ever list. Discuss. A gallery link that I found as i was trying to beat my crappy scanner into life, thus saving me the trouble  https://imgur.com/a/8X4B6 a kitten fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Dec 3, 2018 |
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Dec 3, 2018 18:55
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I was gonna be mad that Leisure Suit Larry was on the list and Grim Fandango wasn't, then saw the publication date and calmed down.
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Dec 3, 2018 19:01
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Lemmings and Virtua Fighter are the weirdest choices. I feel like those 2 were really not that popular? Maybe it's just me? I realize it's 1996 but Super Bomberman 2 as No.3 is amazing.
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Dec 3, 2018 19:05
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a kitten posted:Discuss. Also Virtua Fighter being top-10 and NBA Jam being #99 is absolutely  bonkers.
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Dec 3, 2018 19:05
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DLC Inc posted:Lemmings and Virtua Fighter are the weirdest choices. I feel like those 2 were really not that popular? Maybe it's just me? Super Bomberman 2 is still to this day probably some of the best 4 player (if not mulitplayer in general) fun i've ever had. Good friends, cheap beer, and very cold winters added up to some seriously good times. e: wow i forgot that Diablo just barely didn't make it due to its release date. Also, Diablo came out that long ago?!? a kitten fucked around with this message at 19:11 on Dec 3, 2018 |
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Dec 3, 2018 19:08
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This list... doesn't seem too bad, honestly. Some misses (Lemmings #8, really), some underselling of what would come to be regarded as all-time classics (Metroid #70), a whole bunch of stuff in the middle I've never even heard of, but overall most things are where you would expect them to be for the time. Even amid the SM64 hype they definitely nailed the timeless perfection of Tetris.
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Dec 3, 2018 19:10
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It might be hard to believe now but I remember every video game magazine around treating Virtua Fighter like an enormous step forward for video games. VF2 was a pretty significant upgrade, too, so I kind of get it.
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Dec 3, 2018 19:19
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Yeah seeing Virtua Fighter 2 in the arcade was like living in the future.
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Dec 3, 2018 19:19
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Pretty sure Mario 64 falls under the Mario series category. Dunno why it’s counted twice. Also they said phantasy star iv was just “going through the motions” which is dumb it’s the best one of the series. And in the doom entry they no other shooter does it as good as doom but then ranks quake higher. And why are there so many flight sims
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Dec 3, 2018 19:29
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Overbite posted:Pretty sure Mario 64 falls under the Mario series category. Dunno why it’s counted twice. I'm of the opinion that it's a big copout for them to list a series. Individual games in any series have strengths and weaknesses, you're not making a best franchises ever list, you're making a best games ever list. Super Street Fighter II, for instance, is considerably better in every way than just plain ol' SF II on the SNES. Faster, more characters, better gameplay, etc.
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Dec 3, 2018 19:36
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Duke Nukem 3D wouldn't even be the 35th best video game ever if there were only 35 video games in existence
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Dec 3, 2018 21:06
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I remember having a lot of arguments in school about the relative placement of games back in 1996. I think our country's main gaming magazine back then was HYPER, though.
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Dec 4, 2018 07:55
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Here's their full review of Mario 64 (from the same issue) I think the reason they gave it it's own spot in the list is that they felt it was such a huge paradigm shift that needed to be separate. I dunno if that still seems quite as true 22 years later, but i do know that it was the first time it really felt like i was controlling a character moving through a real 3D space and you could just go anywhere and explore and literally just walk around and explore. Like i said, i'm not sure if it really needs to be the Best Game Ever, but holy poo poo it was a revelation at the time. The review is kind of funny now too, just to see the "analogue stick?!" and "camera controls?"  stuff.
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Dec 4, 2018 16:43
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I don't think Mario 64 is the best game ever, but it is still pretty much the blueprint for every 3D action/adventure game ever since, so it's definitely high up there in the 'most influential games ever' list.
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Dec 4, 2018 16:51
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Mario 64 was okay but it was no Quake 3 Arena, the first game I saw previews of that made me think, "games are basically real life now."
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Dec 4, 2018 16:53
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Jose Oquendo posted:I don't think Mario 64 is the best game ever, but it is still pretty much the blueprint for every 3D action/adventure game ever since, so it's definitely high up there in the 'most influential games ever' list. Yeah without Mario 64 there's no Uncharted, no Resident Evil 4, no 3D Zeldas and most importantly no Busby 3D. It's key.
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Dec 4, 2018 16:57
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but not Solomon's Key
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Dec 4, 2018 16:59
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I've seen this before (and actually posted a link to it in Imp Zone where we dug out stuff from a bunch of other old magazines) and I absolutely love it. It's really interesting to see such a list before 1998, before we decided which genres were "important" (see the comment above asking why flight sims are included) and coming out in the sliver of time between Mario 64 coming out in Japan and the US. Naming Mario 64 #1 was obviously a stunt move, and yet now it probably looks even less edgy.
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Dec 4, 2018 16:59
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elf help book posted:I've seen this before (and actually posted a link to it in Imp Zone where we dug out stuff from a bunch of other old magazines) and I absolutely love it. It's really interesting to see such a list before 1998, before we decided which genres were "important" (see the comment above asking why flight sims are included) and coming out in the sliver of time between Mario 64 coming out in Japan and the US. Naming Mario 64 #1 was obviously a stunt move, and yet now it probably looks even less edgy. Awesome! I was just wishing i had hung on to more than just this one issue.
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Dec 4, 2018 17:15
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a kitten posted:Awesome! I was just wishing i had hung on to more than just this one issue. Here's the run of Next Generation Magazine https://archive.org/details/next-generation-magazine The Internet Archive has TONS of old gaming and computer magazines you can sink your teeth into. A lot of the 80s stuff is really fascinating, including zines on how to crack games of the era. Nintendo Power isn't in there, they had it for like 4 days and then whoops they got taken down, but that's easy enough to find elsewhere if you're clever.
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Dec 4, 2018 17:19
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Yeah the Internet Archive is great for these. I've been reading through old CV+G magazines and it's been fascinating. I really want to do a in-depth thread on video game history but doing it would take time away from actually playing video games 
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Dec 4, 2018 18:36
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Jose Oquendo posted:I don't think Mario 64 is the best game ever, but it is still pretty much the blueprint for every 3D action/adventure game ever since, so it's definitely high up there in the 'most influential games ever' list. It's one of the first games I remember playing so for me it's basically the best game ever. I remember being such a stupid loving kid I couldn't work out how to defeat the bomb boss in the first level.
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Dec 4, 2018 18:40
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elf help book posted:I've seen this before (and actually posted a link to it in Imp Zone where we dug out stuff from a bunch of other old magazines) and I absolutely love it. It's really interesting to see such a list before 1998, before we decided which genres were "important" (see the comment above asking why flight sims are included) and coming out in the sliver of time between Mario 64 coming out in Japan and the US. Naming Mario 64 #1 was obviously a stunt move, and yet now it probably looks even less edgy. Hah, I see they purposefully excluded Myst. Probably rightfully so?
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Dec 5, 2018 03:03
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Wow, no Wing Commander Series? That seems like a pretty huge omission for 1996.
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Dec 14, 2018 02:27
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~Coxy posted:Hah, I see they purposefully excluded Myst. Myst was hugely influential to the rise of CD-ROM on PC and remains a classic but its sequel Riven is one of the best adventure games ever made. Came out in 97 though so this list was unable to see its true greatness.
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Dec 14, 2018 06:34
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Wing Commander was a major oversight. It's still a big franchise in 96, and the first one is on par with X-Wing. Although 3D beats sprites any day, even back in the day, the story and character development in WC combined with the graphics to make it a groundbreaking game.
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Mar 10, 2019 22:28
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mllaneza posted:Wing Commander was a major oversight. It's still a big franchise in 96, and the first one is on par with X-Wing. Although 3D beats sprites any day, even back in the day, the story and character development in WC combined with the graphics to make it a groundbreaking game. Wing Commander being MIA does seem pretty weird, although it does remind me that i barely remember the gameplay for it at all. It also reminds me to wonder whatever happened to Colony Wars, i remember it looking fantastic for a ps1 game (it would have been too late for this list regardless) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoAJ_ibAAsY
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Mar 10, 2019 22:56
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Weird to see the Trinity mention. Growing up, I had a lovely Atari st system that wasn’t very capable so I played a lot of text adventures. I never forgot the Zork games but haven’t thought of the other infocom games in years. Trinity started out with the outbreak of nuclear war in a British park or something so kid me thought it must be good even if I hardly understood it.
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Mar 10, 2019 23:23
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Good to see that even in 1996, they're giving games objectively incorrect rankings. Marble Madness is #15, Doom (series) comes in at #19? Quake is #9 but Duke Nukem 3D comes down at #35 despite them even saying "for many, the game Quake should have been" Also don't see Theme Park or Transport Tycoon on that list Rarity posted:Duke Nukem 3D wouldn't even be the 35th best video game ever if there were only 35 video games in existence
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Mar 10, 2019 23:56
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this list doesnt have that snes jrpg where you're a lesbian gladiator
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Mar 10, 2019 23:58
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jokes aside it is very telling of the era how little awareness there is of japan-only games. Like crediting Shining Force for creating the SRPG genre, lol.
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Mar 11, 2019 00:00
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Endorph posted:jokes aside it is very telling of the era how little awareness there is of japan-only games. Like crediting Shining Force for creating the SRPG genre, lol.
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Mar 11, 2019 00:07
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Next Generation was amazing. For those not familiar with it it definitely wrote more about the business of games as much as the games themselves and wasnt aimed at kids as much as other US magazines. In fact it was published by the same company that published Edge in the UK and could be seen as the American counterpart to Edge, even sharing articles with each other. btw a bunch of the issues are on archive.org Basticle fucked around with this message at 00:31 on Mar 11, 2019 |
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Mar 11, 2019 00:23
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My list is better.
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Mar 11, 2019 00:25
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Ah! I found it in that archive finally. In 1999 they did a follow-up Best of All Time (only 50 though) I don't think it's nearly as fun, but it's pretty drat funny that they bump Mario 64 down to Mario (series) and just replace the #1 spot with Zelda: Ocarina of time. Fun to see Parapa and MGS make their debut, but there's still no Wing Commander e: and apparently Fallout was 51 https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration50Feb1999/page/n73
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Mar 11, 2019 00:58
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a kitten posted:Ah! I found it in that archive finally. My favourite part of that magazine is the article on Super Smash Bros: "it's aimed for the pre-teen audience, and the US has Virtua Fighter. We don't think it'll be popular"
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Mar 11, 2019 01:29
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Overbite posted:And why are there so many flight sims Flight sims were a big genre in the 90's. Like Adventure games they are now niche but it wasn't always the case. Rarity posted:Duke Nukem 3D wouldn't even be the 35th best video game ever if there were only 35 video games in existence This is objectively wrong. Duke Nukem 3D was huge at the time and as a single player FPS was king of the hill until Half Life.
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Mar 17, 2019 17:54
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Duke 3D is incredible and holds up extremely well to this day. Its expansion packs, now that's a different story.
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Mar 17, 2019 18:25
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Great coop game too.
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Mar 17, 2019 18:25
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