Virtua Neptune's Top 10 N64 Games

The hero of the 3D age for many, and still one of the most beloved systems of the bygone era where 64 Bits was a lot. It opened up the doors for so many memorable titles and even improved upon many of them with sequels that were far superior to the original. It wasn't a perfect system, it had it's horrible titles, but we need not talk about those now. Nintendo brought out its greatest franchises for this system and gave them legendary titles that are still very fondly remembered when you lost friendships over red shells or silly things like getting shot down for the seventh time and that Bond music playing for the seventh time! You will pay, Justin! 

Despite all of that, though, here are just a few titles that are so nostalgic, they will never leave the internet, or have a fanbase that will let them go to the wayside. Here is the top 10 Nintendo 64 games!

Forsaken 64

When you want a good shooter with a free wheeling style, Forsaken is one you can count on. This title is just fun to pick up and play. It can get a little harder in later levels, but you can't beat the satisfaction of navigating the vast mazes of hallways in your ship. This is one of the unsung heroes of the multiplayer games on the N64, as you can do a four player split screen. Decide which ships to pit against one another and have a ball destroying each other!

Gauntlet Legends

No matter what port came out for this, it always seems to come out on top. Gauntlet is a long celebrated arcade game that originated back in the old arcade days, got several ports from the NES onward, and then ended up absolutely smashing the co-op gameplay with its release of Gauntlet Legends for the N64, Arcade and the Sega Dreamcast. The graphics are nothing to brag about now, but they haven't aged poorly either. The levels are fun to play with friends or even play alone. It requires a lot of movement and accuracy, as well as quick reflexes when the groups get larger. This is a fantastic title to play with friends.

Doom 64

While it is not as recognized as its contemporaries, Doom 64 stands on its own. It looks very different from the original Doom, but it bears the same soul. There is more of a focus on puzzle solving and going through confusing levels, but much of the Doom arsenal is still there. It also has its own original monsters, and even a couple of new weapons. Just like Doom, you can play through this version whenever you feel like destroying demons and munching on some explosions. 

Turok

A first person shooter that did not have the staying power, but it still remains a favorite. Turok was a fun venture into the world of dinosaurs and Rambo-type environments. His arsenal has a beautiful chaingun, and the heavy explosives on display do not disappoint when it comes to packing a punch. While the levels can get a little long and wear out their welcome after a while, it is truly satisfying to play this when it comes to its cheats. The cheats are so much fun, so many memories of this game come from just playing on the big-head version.

Starfox 64

A giant leap in the series from the SNES, which was already a graphical marvel of its time. Starfox 64 has been on the forefront of 3D space shooters, putting it just a bit above Star Wars Shadows of the Empire. While the tank section isn't quite as fun as the space flight, it doesn't stay in the game for very long. The boss battles are the highlight for this title and that is saying a lot. The graphics on display here are beautiful and still hold up today. It was also a bit strange to hear Slippy and Falco have actual voices with which to speak. It made Slippy's horrible death cries all that much more funny.

Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time

It's hard to put a price tag on experiencing a game such as this for the first time. Take in the fact that these are the type of graphics we could only see in the movies or the arcades and then take in the fact that the last time we visited Hyrule, it was in 2D and 16 bits. The leap to 64 bits was a marvel of its time, and the Zelda series made that leap and perfectly stuck the landing. From taming the horses at the ranch to taking on the Water Temple, playing this was a great time. There are people who can practically beat this game blindfolded because they've played it so many times and defeating Ganon is as natural as breathing.

Super Smash Brothers

A game we never knew we needed, but once the cat was out of the bag, there was no putting it back. The Smash Brothers series has had a mile of success thanks to its fantastic fighting mechanics on top of beloved characters. They're not just cheap immitations or simple cameos, they came with their own attacks and strategy of attack. Pitting Mario against Pikachu and Link against Donkey Kong, how could you possibly go wrong? While the roster may seem bare bones by today's standards, you need to start somewhere. It was always a joy to unlock the characters it did have, though, and playing this against friends and tournaments was a pasttime old school gamers will not soon forget.

007 GoldenEye

A landmark in the local multiplayer circuit. Parties of old used to be centered around GoldenEye and all of the iconic levels. This was a game that was supposed to be just another movie tie-in and its graphics did not age well at all. The gameplay was free-wielding and the first person shooter elements were executed remarkably and people took notice. There's a huge story mode and people played that as well, but it pales in comparison when people get into the four player split screen mode. Rocket levels and Golden Gun games were a staple of the genre from that point on.

Super Mario 64

The revolution of 3D platformers and the pinnacle of gaming for a good period of time. This is the standard that 3D platformers are still judged on to this day. Mario Galaxy ended up doing the same job but many still stuck to this title out of earned loyalty. Jumping through portraits and using HUB worlds was nothing new at the time, but this game made it iconic. Going through these levels is just plain fun. Collecting the stars in every level and exploring the secrets of the Mushroom Castle is a mindless way to settle your brain into a good space. I still say this has the best Bowser boss battle.

Mariokart 64

This is a great example of the second iteration perfecting a formula. Mariokart 64 blew the original SNES title out of the water in every way. Rainbow Road is a beautiful experience and the highway course has ruined people's day in the traffic. This is such a great way to spend time with friends and while it doesn't have quite as many characters and courses as later sequels, this is still the standard that we've come to expect from kart racing games. 

To be fair, Mariokart 64 is my favorite of the Mariokart games. It is so simplistic, you don't need to spend 10 hours trying to decide who to choose as a character if you're new and it's just very tight knit. Nintendo 64 is an exemplary console when it comes to simple and what makes a game great when it has a bit more freedom than it once did. The idea of 3D was not new, but the 32 and 64 bit era really opened up the possiblities of what made a game great. This didn't take away from the 2D titles that revolutionized the industry, it simply added to their ranks. It may seem crude by today's standards, but there is a reason why collections like Mario 3D All-Star and titles like GoldenEye is still brought up when someone is talking about party games. Just be prepared to take a right cross if you keep using the red shells. 

Marvel vs Capcom Collection - Punisher - Eat Justice Lead! (Pt 2)

The Punisher is a very divisive hero in many respects. Some people absolutely hate the extreme violence and gunplay that's on a medium more intended for children. Some people love the guns and the blood! Frank Castle has had many good iterations on multiple different platforms. From movies, TV Shows and cameos to video games upon video games, he's had it pretty good. While his first foray into movies wasn't the most successful, I will stand by the Thomas Jane movie. His guest appearance in the Spider-man Animated Series was a fun ride and so was his Netflix series, for the most part. 

When it comes to video games, his success is a bit more hit and miss. He's found the most success in arcade cabinets in both the awesome railshooter and today's subject. The Punisher is a beat'em up/shoot'em up in the most raw manner. Personally, I've never seen this one in any of the arcades, I've been to. Most of the time, it was the machinegun game with the big bad toy gun on the arcade. This game looks a lot more like Capcom just threw up their hands and decided Frank Castle belongs in Final Fight. 

The Punisher wants to go after Kingpin. If you have a player 2, you can have both Punisher and Nick Fury. If they could have made a Thomas Jane and Samuel L Jackson movie, which will never happen, that is the reality I want to live in. The idea that we could have seen them go through, punching and shooting through miles upon miles of baddies. Often, you'll run into mini-bosses who have a long hitbar and know karate. These go down especially fast if you are able to carry a weapon into the fight as well. 

The pistols come in at random times. They'll give the badguys firearms, and all the sudden, you're shooting instead of punching. Honestly, there is a big difference and it's a fun experience to just pick up a gun and start shooting away at the criminals trying to kill you. Obviously, the final boss is the Kingpin and he's pretty decently difficult. He has always been a combative villain and his strength is actually quite formidable. Of course, the whole time, you have infinite "quarters" to put into the arcade game, so winning isn't really much of a stretch. 

Throughout the entire game, there is a strange sound that all of the characters make as they either die, do a special move or Punisher just gets resurrected back to life. It's kind of a "AAAEEEEOOOOHHH!!" It happens throughout the entire game and at first, it's rather comical. Then you suddenly realize that it is happening CONSTANTLY throughout the entire game. It starts to grate on the nerves just a little bit. The repetitive nature of the beat'em up franchise doesn't really hold well to this sound or any subtle annoyances like flashing lights or any other sort of similar gimmick. They just start to drive people insane after a while, and it hurts the replay value a bit. 

As beat'em ups go, Punisher is average for an arcade shooter from Capcom. If you're a fan of their work anywhere else, The Punisher is going to give you a bit of blood and a lot of punching, so if you have a friend who wants to play Nick Fury, it's a good time to arm up and make some criminals Eat Justice Lead! Virtua Pow! 

Super Mario Brothers The Movie (1993)

The first thing that should be made clear is that the making of this movie was said to be on par with Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The fighting between the two directors was so bad that Bob Hoskins and John Liguizamo were constantly drunk while shooting it to deal with the toxic environment. The movie was written so unlike a Mario movie and it's clear that this never should have been a live action movie because they did not have the technology, nor the know-how to create a world like the Mushroom Kingdom. 

So, what do they do? Make it BladeRunner, of course! A good old dystopian science fiction setting with depressingly terrible poverty, horrible mohawks and poor ridden in the streets. This was a terrible idea to put into something that already had a perfectly good artistic look to it. Super Mario Brothers Super Show caught the essence of Mario Brothers better than this movie, and they were on a fraction of the budget. 

Now, does this make it a terrible movie? Not especially. The acting is not great most of the time, but it's also nice and campy, while also being downright hilarious when it comes to Toad. Sometimes, it's just so easy to get involved with the movie because the story is engaging enough to keep your attention, while also making sure you're not taking it too seriously. 

This is not a movie for everyone, but it is a movie I can watch all the way through and get a good nostalgic feeling for times past. You'd never see another movie made like this for a kid's property. There are some serious adult themes while not being outright graphic with it. Also, Dennis Hopper's transformation at the end is quite nightmarish. Oh, did I forget to mention Dennis Hopper was here? Well, he's probably the best part of the movie. He's not what I would call Bowser or "King Koopa" as he is called in this flick, but he is most definitely putting up the best performance because he's doing it his way and the way he likes to do it. Hopper is fun in everything, watch Blue Velvet. 

The special effects are decent for the time. As the special effects suggest, it was made by the same guys who made that weird 80's computer animated guy Max Headroom. It's obvious the original directors had a lot of influence over the movie, despite being fired during its production. Bob Hoskins swore off ever working with them again and judging by a lot of how the movie is edited, it's said that this was a horrifically choatic shoot. 

For some reason, though, it has a raw charm to it. It's a movie that kind of never should have existed, but it's alright that it does. It's not a good Mario property, but you can find a lot of humor and a lot of very interesting and entertaining scenes because the movie is just so stark raving mad! It's not something you can show to just anyone. They need to have a certain taste for bad or camp movies. If it looks even slightly interesting to you, it's worth a shot. It wasn't popular with audiences and critics would never touch it again, but you should be the critic on this one. Perhaps the 80's nostalgia will find its way into your heart. Virtua Hope.

Top 160+ Favorite Games of all time! (Pt 1)

 That's right, folks, I have decided to compile a list of over 160 Greatest Games of all time, which will become outdated tomorrow, so let's get started! I was born in the late 80's, so my first system was the Nintendo Entertainment System. From there, I have played many, many games for more than one decade and I have come up with a list that puts them in the best order that could be deciphered. Is the order exact? Of course not! These games are so different and similar to one another, while also being in completely different ballparks! 

Still, there are also plenty of gaming franchises I was never really a part of, and we'll get to those later. For now, you'll see that there is a very big trend of some franchises, while also doubling up on a few through collections and whatnot. That is kept to a minimum, and this is not a tried and true list. Still, it is the best estimation of the most awesome games that Planet Virtua has to offer. If you have a list, by all means, share it with us! They'll probably be totally different and that's alright. There's a ton to get done, so we'll see how many we can cram into one article before we say enough! This list will be in many installments, just be ready for some long ones. So, up we go into the clouds of miracle games put on this green Earth!

#162 Incoming

Yes, this was at the bottom of my most disliked Dreamcast games of all time. It was also an admitted guilty pleasure and has had a couple of hours put into it. This simple little game where you shoot incoming aircraft with a turret has such crude graphics and the gameplay is really nothing to write home about, but it's something akin to a mobile game (which are not featured on this list) or what some gamers might call junk food games. Destroying the big flying saucers with your double barrel machinegun and firing off missiles to make flying objects go boom just has a raw feeling of accomplishment to it. This game delivers on that, but honestly the turret section is the best. The helicopter and tank sections are honestly a little clunky, though have some of the same charms. It's a tentative addition to this list, but it's also the very first CD-ROM game I've ever played. Its Dreamcast and PC ports are eerily similar, but don't let that stop you. We're blasting on!

#161 Forsaken

Another raw bit of fun, this time in the first person spaceship shooter. It's not really much like Quake, nor is it really much like your normal vehicle game. The controls are not the greatest, but destroying ships left and right while flying a cool craft is always a plus. It captures that old 90's FPS charm that many crave, but it's admittedly not the choice title for everyone. Many would call it bland, but we can't help but love how it has aged with such awesome foul language and that nostalgic angst that seems to be something of a lost art. This is one you should look up if you're more than a little bored.

#160 Mortal Kombat Gold

If we're talking about graphics that have NOT aged well, we'd be talking about Mortal Kombat Gold. This is another bit of a sarcastic choice. It's bad, but in a good way. We've already talked about how the production was a bit of a mess with the switch to the 3D format, and the weapons system didn't quite pan out to great fun, but the fighting mechanics are there. What's also there is the amazingly campy and cheesy dialogue, ending videos and that beautiful MK gore we all recognize and love. Many shun it away, but this is one that you should at least look up on youtube and give a gander at the amazing cringeworthy content it produces. It's a big gory ball of fun.

#159 Tony Hawk's Underground

Tony Hawk 2 was fun on the PS1, but this PS2 was graced with the later edition that came out for the Gamecube as well. Skating has never been a big genre here, but this is just fun to learn all around and it's fun to just give a good skate here and there. Don't expect much of this sort of thing on the list, but nostalgia plays a good role in this game's limelight here on the Virtua. It's fun to create your own skater and just make your own story as you skate and hit your hea--ouch!

#158 Super Mario Sunshine

A charming, but less polished follow up to the masterpiece that was Mario 64. The Gamecube Mario game has its hickups, but it is a beautifully rendered experience. The graphics are shiny, as the title suggests, and the story is a good bit of fun. The gameplay really highlights itself with the water machine, but admittedly, sometimes they overdid the pushing of its limitations. Some of the gameplay can get rather frustrating when having to deal with those strange controls and performing all of the tricks it requires. This is the part of the list where the games start to grow much more solid in foundation. If you want to judge the numbers, these are still recommendations, but only to those who are interested.

#157 Sunset Overdrive

Despite some of its repetitive elements, this is still a good looking game with a lot of fun mechanics that keeps it interesting. Though, there are a few sections that get frustrating, much like the ship sections and the LARPing. Other than that, exploding the energy drink zombies is fun and SOME of the characters are actually really cool. You want to wipe the floor with some of the snot nosed brats you run into, but other than that, the weapons pack a good punch and the sliding mechanics give this game a great fast pace. Not the tops of a 3rd person shooter, but not a bad title to end up with.

#156 Tecmo Super Bowl

If you loved football and you were a gamer back in the 90's, this was probably a familiar sight to you. This is a football game that evolved through the NES to the SNES and the Sega Genesis. The gameplay is pretty smooth, and easy to learn, even for the younger crowd. It's just fun to get to know which team you like to use and which players to use for what positions on your field. It's so satisfying to win against an especially hard team, because it feels like you're relying on your skills as well as the luck based system for catching passes and when the other team calls your play, sacking your quarterback. This was back in the Jerry Rice and Joe Montana days of football. Play as Bo Jackson or Barry Sanders. All of the football legends of the NFL are on display! If you don't care about football, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, and that's fine. 

#155 Quake 4

The Quake series is a familiar face around this parts, and this title comes with its hitches, but killing strogg is still a lot of fun. Despite the turret/vehicles sections being long and arduous, the story and the weapons are still a lot of fun. Seeing the changes your hero goes through and the struggles your squadron has with the war on the strogg is a lot of fun to be a part of and it really feels like you're contributing. The game gives you a good sense of accomplishment and it's actually a pretty good successor to Quake 2, all things considered.

#154 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

The Creed series is another one you won't see much of on this list, but this one actually came with my PS4. The ship sections are actually pretty addictive, and the stealth mechanics are well implemented without being overbearing. It's strange they never could replicate how awesome this game turned out after it was made. Getting your own ship and firing down enemy vessels is just a good feeling all around. It's one of those games that honestly more fun when you make up your own story around it. The one they had in the game itself wasn't that bad, but the heart wants what it wants.

#153 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Of all the Harry Potter games, it was hard to believe that there would be one that made it on this list. They are not especially great, puzzle platformers not being the strongest genre on this scope. Goblet of Fire, however, is a cooperative combat game and it's actually a lot of fun, especially if you have one or two players to play with. Going around as Harry and Hermione while shooting up lizards and other monsters was just a pile of fun and this can be considered the best of the bunch. If you've even looked at Order of the Phoenix's gameplay, you'd probably get a glimpse of some of the worst of the bunch and we'll not get into those. All we have to say to them is Avada Ke---

#152 The Simpsons Hit and Run

If you love cars and the Simpsons, chances are that this is going to be the game for you. It's very difficult and sometimes can get very frustrating, but racing against time and other cars while mindlessly crashing into things with no drawback at all is just ridiculous fun. You get to play as an assortment of characters with different cars. You even get to play as Homer and Homer's other alias, Mr. Plow, wherein he rides a snow plow. If you're even a casual fan of the Simpsons and have access to this game, do not pass it up. The recommendations are getting MUCH stronger now. Not like Bartman strong, but you know.

#151 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

If you want to be the most powerful Jedi ever and pass around Stormtroopers like they were nothing, then your ship has come in! You are so overpowered, it looks like you could take down the entire Empire by yourself! Starkiller's powers move entire Star Destroyers in the sequel, and it's really not much less here. He's still taking down enormous machines and kills people by the thousands. If you're up for a power trip, this is a good title, though it does it quite easy. The boss battles are pretty mundane as well, but it's a fairly solid game all together. 

#150 Resident Evil 2 (2019)

Sometimes, remakes get it right. I've only played maybe 10 minutes of the original Resident Evil 2, but I played through this entire remake. It's a good bit of horror, even when you have a shotgun. The Lickers will sneak up on you quick and zombies will come out of nowhere to bite you. Even if you struggle with them successfully, you'll get bitten. It's a fairly long game, and the boss battles are probably the best parts about it. Taking down the big man in the trench coat is one of the best parts, as the Tyrants turn out to be some of the strongest creatures in the franchise. It's a good example of how to remake a game. It's just a shame they couldn't manage the same thing for Resident Evil 3.

#149 Unreal Tournament 2004

Whether it's the original or 2009, Unreal Tournament was awesome. This was up there with Counter-Strike and Quake 3 Arena in the LAN party circle, and it's just plain fun to rain deadly laser beams on your friends while you try to capture the flag or just flat out kill the opponents in a death match. Whether you play as a team with friends or A.I., this game is a lot of fun. It's free wheeling bullets in an FPS arena fighter that doesn't take itself too seriously. Just kill each other for our entertainment, don't ask why.

#148 Fallout 3

While it is slow to get going and has a few pacing issues, Fallout 3 is a fun run. Some of the puzzles are nonsensical and sometimes the story can drag to terrible levels, but once you get into the action and some of the deeper parts of the lore, it's easy to get engrossed in this game. The weapons pack a good punch, especially if you're fortunate enough to get an AK-47. It's fun to explore other vaults, stores, houses and just explore the world as a whole. You don't even need to go too deep into the story, this is a good example of one where you can make your own. Honestly, this and New Vegas were probably considered the peak of the franchise for good reason. It is worth a try! Just beware the Death Claw!

#147 Dragon Quest VIII

You will see the game franchise with the most iconic slimes in this list quite a bit. There are many that deserve to be on this list, but it's long enough. Dragon Warrior cannot be outstated as one of the earliest precursors to the RPG model we know today. This one gives it a 3D setting and introduces new characters that we can get to know and like. All of them have their own weapons and attacks to do and you need to make sure you get all of your healing items and spells in order. The graphics, the dialogue and the kookiness of the old Akira Toriyama artstyle was something of a great return to form. More on this series later.

#146 Pokemon FireRed

Red was my favorite Pokemon for the longest time, and then FireRed came out. It updated everything and actually revamped the love it possessed within me. There came more playthroughs and it still remains the best of the bunch. Around 150 was enough, we didn't need 700 some odd. Facing down the Elite 4 was still a ton of fun, especially when you kicked your rival's tail across the stadium! Get yourself a diverse bunch of Pokemon types and show the island who's boss!

#145 Naruto Clash of Ninja 2

The Gamecube was a marvel of its time, unappreciated and considered a failure. Well, the same could be said for the character of Naruto and now look at him. This is one of the older titles, but it holds up still today, especially with how complicated later endtries became. The balancing system on the new games became bonkers, and Clash of Ninja 2 did a better job of getting it down. The unlockable characters are fun to get and it's always a blast going through the group fights. Some control issues occur, especially when you try to turn around quickly. Either way, this is very much based in nostalgia, as this was in every collection for the Gamecube I've had.

#144 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

A title that came free with my Xbox 360 and made me want to buy Skyrim along with it. The free range exploration is always fun, and breaking the law so that guards give you the arrest speech, it's all good fun. The game is long and the world is huge, so you can explore for quite some time, you just need to make sure you're not trying to go against higher level creatures and enemies that you're not ready to fight. Following the story at the beginning is a good idea to help you level up until you're ready to take on the real challenges or explore to your heart's content. If you're in it for the high fantasy, then this is your game. Well, this and Skyrim.

#143 Soul Calibur III

Once you get a PS2, you want to get the top fighting games for it. Soul Calibur 3 is an exclusive to the PS2 and only released as an arcade cabinet otherwise. There really isn't much more to say about this title that could be said for the rest of the series. These games have been a staple of the genre for years. Characters like Taki, Astaroth, Voldo and Yoshimitsu are known throughout the entire arcade fighting community for their very intricate fighting styles. While the graphics are vastly improved in this, there are more to consider when it comes to this franchise, so we'll leave that as it is for a brief time.

#142 Red Dead Redemption

This cannot be overstated as a favorite in the sandbox gaming world. This is one of the best examples of a pioneer of its time because of the different mechanics involved. Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead are two very different games for more reasons than just genre and setting. The style with which you need to fight, the different technology you need to learn and a lot of side games that involve gambling brings this title to its own strengths and weaknesses. It was buggy and some sections of it were mecilessly difficult, but it remains one of the best examples of a replayable game. Not to mention the cheats are a lot of fun too! YEEHAW!!!

#141 Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

There is an art with how games implement stealth and hack and slash mechanics so seamlessly and get the graphics so exact. Lord of the Rings is a piping hot franchise and the Shadow of Mordor gives you such a good look at a side of the world we didn't get an extremely good look at. The level system and the fighting mechanics from the Arkham series gives this title a lot of replay value. The story isn't stellar, but it's enough to give you the excuse to assault orcs with graphic and gory slices with your swords. This title does not hold back when it comes to killing these monsters, and the boss battles are well enough without being awesome or terrible. Be sure to give this game a shot if you're a fan of dark fantasy and black blood.

#140 Soul Calibur II

The Dreamcast title that stuck on the screen for long periods of time. Dead or Alive was good, but Soul Calibur II was amazing. It is crude by today's standards and there are many better fighters, but this one was just great with its characters. This was the one where Taki and Yoshimitsu ruled my playthroughs. Sophitia, Kilik and Maxi also gave a good performance. Who could resist doing Maxi's nunchaku techniques and pulling off his combos? That's not even bringing up Nightmare!

Wow, that's a lot of fighting games and open world RPG's. That's a fairly strong start to a very large list. This list is obviously going to take up more than two or three, but it's a lot of fun to showcase some favorites and this is a very good way to do it, as far as I'm concerned. We're still riding to the top! Keep it tuned to Neptune!

  

 

Quake 4 - Die, Strogg, Die!

Quake has gone through many identities since its inception, and the series never turned out the way it was originally intended. This seems to ring true for the entire franchise of Quake. Quake 1 was supposed to be a medieval fantasy first person melee fighter, but they couldn't get the mechanics to run properly in time for Quake to be finished. Quake 2 was supposed to be an entirely different game, but they couldn't figure out anything better for it. While Quake 2 was a mere shell of creativity over what is more a glorified test of mechanics, it did have enough of a storyline to grant it a deeper plotted sequel. 

Quake 4 was created by Raven and they decided to make it even more Space Marine Military shooting and they doubled down on the concept. You're a famous soldier who is only known because he was the only survivor of a particular mission that killed the rest of his crew. You're fighting against the Strogg and you're part of the squadron that is behind enemy lines with a path to cut them off and cripple their efforts. 

The game is good, but it does lack a through-line. It has all of the elements we love, including a very nice arsenal of weapons that fits in perfectly with the Doomverse guns of old. The shotgun is garbage, thanks to a very uneven spread, but the railgun is probably one of the best ones overall. It's a pretty standard shooter with some very dark themes and you'll see that it doesn't really fit with the rest of Quake, aside from a few elements. 

Sometimes, the missions just drag. It's just kind of bad when you find yourself in hallways that look the same and keep shooting down the same stroggs over and over again. This is compounded when you get to the vehicle sections. The tank and the rail shooter sections are just a snorefest, especially when you get to the boss battles after spending forever shooting down strogg and strogg vehicles. This game could have used a bit more variety in both setting and gameplay, because sometimes the hallways just end up looking the same and you lose your way more than once if you're not careful. 

It does a good job telling the story of the lengths they have to go in order to counter the strogg enemies. You find yourself going deeper and deeper into the strogg forces to find their nexus and their sources of power in order to disable them. This leads you to getting captured by one of the strogg overlords and processed into a strogg soldier yourself. You see, stroggs are huge humans who are implanted with machinery and brainwashed into becoming crazy cannibalistic soldiers. The process for your character is interrupted, but only at the last moment. You are now fully strogg, but you do not have the reprogramming. 

They didn't do a great deal with this concept other than change up a few bits of game mechanics and your soldier comrades start looking at you funny. Other than that, though, I feel like there could have been more insight as to how this truly affects your character and teammates who now see you as one of the enemies. Obviously, they didn't have time to make it a Hall-mark movie, but more than what came of it would have been nice. 

It's a fun game, but Quake 4 is definitely not one of the stronger titles in the franchise. It is one of the better titles to come from Raven and the graphics for the time were decent. There's just not enough excitement to make this game very memorable and sometimes, it can get a little too easy to just kind of drop out of the game because you feel like you've played these missions more times than is necessary and they felt very similar. Killing the strogg and getting stronger weapons is still fun, though, and if you have not tried out this title, then there are far worse titles for you to give a chance. It is very easy to find on the digital game stores for cheap, so giving a few extra hours of your life for it isn't such a tall order. It won't cut off your legs to replace them with replacements or nail a chestplate onto your body. No one said it would do that. Prepare for reprogramming, Virtua Strogg.  

Super Mario RPG - Quest for the Marshmallows

If there was ever an SNES game that captured my interest, when I didn't even own one, it was Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. This has to be the most in depth and captivating Mario game. It was also one of the earliest examples of 3D gameplay. While it was not full 3D like Mario 64, it was done in a very tasteful way, more in the vain of Donkey Kong Country. This game is very unique in several ways, one of the bigger ones was it was one of the earliest examples of Princess Peach in a combat role. Super Mario 2 and Super Mario RPG were pioneers in that. It is also one of the first times you can play as Bowser. 

The game does start with kidnapping Princess Toadstool, yes, but she becomes your teammate, along with Bowser and a few other familiar faces. It is kind of a bummer that we didn't get to see Luigi in this game, but there are still a plethora of characters. Geno is added to the roster, as is Mallow, who both round out the cast very well. Mallow is a decent healer but is otherwise rather uninteresting. Geno, however, is awesome and severely under utilized, as he has hardly ever even been seen since this very game. Geno is a damage powerhouse, as is Bowser, but his final weapon does more damage than Rock Candy, which does 200 damage. He is essential when it comes to the bigger bosses. 

Mario RPG takes its story very, very seriously. You go through a lot of worlds and a lot of settings throughout the entire game. Every single time, you have a clear goal to reach. Some of these bosses are ridiculously hard, while others are serious pushovers. Thankfully, the grinding in this game is not especially bad. If you stick around a few zones to take on a few enemies here and there, you should have enough experience and money to get yourself upgraded. Gear and levels are absolutely needed. Make sure you at least go through the motions to some degree.

The timed hits keeps you engaged with the gameplay. You need to make sure you keep hitting the A button at the right points for each attack. Sometimes, this also means you see Bowser pick up Mario and throw him at the enemy twice. There is plenty of good humor in this game and that gave me a good chuckle. Weapons are not too hard to save up for, thankfully. If you keep up with the main quests and grind to a small extent, you'll have what you need if you keep progressing through these ridiculous worlds.

Smithy, the final boss, is rather difficult if you don't have a good amount of Rock Candies, good rolls for damage and a plethora of healing items. The final level takes a lot of strategizing and concerving your best items for the boss battles coming your way. By then, you'll have your proper team lined up and you'll have a good system set up. 

Going through the story, you start to find out more and more about the characters around you and they do a great job making you want to help. Wherever you go, you're doing good deeds and helping the citizens of the world as you progress. The game does its job very well in giving you the drive to keep going deeper and saving as much of it as you can. A good example of this is when you get Mallow to join you on your journey and he is able to help you get to the clouds where he is actually from. It's kind of funny because he lived with his family of frogs. As a walking cloud marshmallow, he was just shocked to learn that he was adopted. This is the peak of his character development, but honestly, after that, he isn't very necessary to the plot in a very noticeable way. 

The graphics in this game were rather groundbreaking for its time. It's gotten a port on the Nintendo Switch and it is a real shame that there was never a complete sequel to this game. Paper Mario was charming and fun, but it never reached this level of greatness. Mario RPG became one of those strange experiments that Nintendo just doesn't do anymore. Taking Mario and giving the reigns of his game over to the Final Fantasy devs turned out great results. It's a real shame that we don't see this sort of mish mashing anymore. It is a dying breed, sadly. Still, we got something of a masterpiece out of it. It's a long game, and the story takes some strange turns, but it's among some of the greatest RPG's of its age. Just remember to get to some of the gray clouds to get some water.