Top 25 games turning 25, part 1

We’ve mentioned before that 1994 was one of those big years in video game releases.

Sure, it was the year that brought us Rise of the Robots, Shaq Fu and Super 3D Noah’s Arc, but it was also the year of Doom II, System Shock, TIE Fighter and Street Fighter II: Turbo.

…not that any of those seven games are eligible, because i’ve not played a one of them.

So, just to belabor the point, here are the first batch of the Top 25 video games turning 25 this year (that I played; you’ll note it’s light on fighting games and Windows games) presented in alphabetical order. Because I
a) am a coward; or
b) have spent too much time on this already to agonize over ranking them.

Castlevania: Bloodlines

It’s a good thing I’m starting this post with a Sega Genesis title, because it’s going to be Nintendo the rest of the way.

Bloodlines might be my favorite Sega-exclusive game. It’s either this or Phantasy Star IV, but that came out in 15 days too early (in Japan) or 32 days too late (in North America) for this list so let’s not care about it for now.

Bloodlines starts very strong. It has a fantastically rendered opening cutscene, the excellent music typical of a Castlevania title (and Michiru Yamane’s first time as a composer for the series) and the first level sets the tone of the size of the game with a remastering of the first third of the original Castlevania. It even managed to fly under the radar as the first Castlevania game to have an item crash.

All in all, a spectacular showing for those who wanted a more traditional 16-bit Castlevania experience for those who felt Super Castlevania IV and Rondo of Blood had strayed too far from the formula.

Donkey Kong ’94

What a wonderful surprise this must have been to people who thought they were just getting a standard-issue remake. Oddly enough like Bloodlines before it, DK ‘94 starts off with a remake of its original game. And you’d be excused for thinking that’s all it would be as at the time Nintendo was churning out a fresh round of ancient game remakes for the Game Boy Color.

But the game soon tires of teasing you. True to the original, but more expansive, Mario’s pursuit of Donkey Kong goes beyond a single construction site and spreads throughout the city and beyond. Mario himself learns a bunch of nw acrobatic tricks to contend with all-new obstacles and enemies themed to each area. Freed of the limits of 1981’s tech, Nintendo proved Donkey Kong had plenty of room for expansion without abandoning the core gameplay.

This game also has a long legacy as the progenitor of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, at least until it shifted focus to being a Lemmings ripoff. Though I don’t think any of them were more polished or more fun than this.

Donkey Kong Country

Nintendo was not content to just reinvent Donkey Kong on its own terms. If Mario could go on to a successful platforming career, why not also the guy the game is named after?

While Rare was already well-known developer with well-known properties, DKC was the game that put them on the map. It was the collaboration that led them to being a de-facto second party publisher for the big N through their golden age on the Nintendo 64.

While the first DKC is only second-best in the series, that’s no slight against it. I would be more worried if the developers HADN’T learned a thing or two along the way to improve for the sequel.

Rare’s game makes the list for a never-before-seen on console pre-rendered graphic spectacle paired with solid platforming, music good enough to launch the North American game soundtrack market. Not a bad day’s work.

Earthworm Jim

Earthworm Jim was a smash hit in it’s day. It’s probably not that surprising now, in the age of quirky indie games, but the hype that lead to a brief merchandising empire and one of the greatest cartoon shows of all time (fight me) might never have made it in another era.

The sad thing is, Jim hasn’t aged so well. It still looks great and its subversive sense of humor is still spot-on. But the level design is so haphazard as to seem procedurally generated, and badly so at that. A rather important shortcoming for a platformer.

But when you can, play that original Earthworm Jim and enjoy that flash in the pan that was a breath of fresh air from both standard video game fare and the noxious 90s exxxxxxxxxxxxtreeeeeeeemeness. Enjoy the moment when Shiney Entertainment seemed like a rising star with a rocket strapped to its butt. Enjoy what should have been an era-defining story that turned out just to be doing its own thing. A perfect game for nostalgia goggles.

Final Fantasy VI

You can also fight me on Final Fantasy VI being the best Final Fantasy. The only possible way you could distract me from advocating for it is to move Final Fantasy Tactics to the mainline series.

How many more compliments can I load onto this game? It’s damn near perfect. It’s the first of two 1994 games in my Top 10 of all time.

Look, you jumped on the SNES Classic bandwagon, right? Just go play it. Now. I’m stopping this part of the list here so you can go do that.

GO!