The Essential 50

[Benit149]

http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3116290

This is a list of 50 games that 1UP did detailing 50 games that pioneered the games that we know today. I haven't read all the articles, but they're certainly fascinating to read. The one for E.T. still impacts me the most because of how the game represents Atari's corporate bungling. I believe this list is well-selected for pioneer games, both for old titles that introduce gameplay styles, and new titles that introduce gameplay function, interactivity and graphics.

What do you guys think of it? Accurate? Inaccurate? Any games they should've added but didn't? For the record, I actually don't think Suikoden should be on there because Dragon Warrior is the first RPG, and to be blunt, Suikoden blends in with the other RPGs, even if it has a unique system.
_________________
"Luca Blight, patron saint of population decrease." -- Benit, MST149

Benit149: First Lady of Addervon, Princess of Slight Fever, defender of the Nameless.

[Krawnik]

For the most part, I really think they've made some great choices. I read this article a while ago, and I really think they've got it nailed. Even the games listed that I don't particularly like, I'll cede that they are important to the development of modern video games. Sonic the Hedgehog made the list, which makes me really happy. Also, I'm glad to see Jet Grind Radio made the list, even if I don't believe that it was particularly influential, it was still an absolutely incredible game. Shame my Dreamcast is broken *weep!*. If you ask me, Simcity and Civilization 2 should have been on there somewhere, probably in place of Half-Life or the Sims (I know the Sims was pretty influencial on gaming, but it spawned from Simcity, which is also a far superior game. So much fun that game is! Shame I haven't got it anymore *weep!*).

But yes, I like the list they assembled.
_________________

416- friggin' racists, messing up my generalizations, also stealing my jobs, women.
RIP Ninjalicious

[Tron Bonne]

i don't know. I just don't see how a text adventure like zork can be seen as on of "The Most Important Games Ever Made". maybe it was before my time, but a game made up of sentences such as "you are standing in a field. what do you do?" hardly counts as a game that influenced all games thereafter .

Look at this taken from the Zork article:

[Krawnik]

I don't think it means that Zork is some original blueprint for all non-action games of modern time, Badguy. It means more that Zork opened up the possibility for games to be non action oriented. While it may not be acknowledged, or even remembered anymore, I think the arguement they are trying to make is that Zork opened up the possibility for games to be text based or puzzle-solving based in their entirety. Without a text-based puzzle adventure like Zork, games like, say, Myst may not exist, because Zork was the game that pioneered the concept of puzzle-based gameplay.

I think, at least. The game itself doesn't have to be that good, and doesn't neccesarily have to age well at all. All that matters is that it either started something, or changed something, that allowed modern games to exist the way they do.
_________________

416- friggin' racists, messing up my generalizations, also stealing my jobs, women.
RIP Ninjalicious

[Tron Bonne]

I still disagree. There were text adventures before and after Zork( and I'm not too crazy about those either), and who's to say something wasn't gained from those games?

and for the list, I can think of at least twenty other games that could have taken zork's place, like the original Legend of Zelda. You can't say that Zelda didn't ifluence and contibute to games as a whole today. or what about conta or metal slug?

I'm just saying that there were other games that had a bigger impact, positive or negative, on games today than Zork.
_________________

[Benit149]

Sure there are far better games that are puzzle-oriented now, but Zork is on the list because it PIONEERED the genre. Doesn't mean it was a great game in itself, but it became the progeny for such titles like Myst and Shivers. This isn't about the quality or popularity of the game, but the revolutionary concept and development behind it that would pave the way for future games. I trust the Essential 50 list to be as accurate as it can be with Zork's entry.
_________________
"Luca Blight, patron saint of population decrease." -- Benit, MST149

Benit149: First Lady of Addervon, Princess of Slight Fever, defender of the Nameless.

[Tron Bonne]

I understand that the list is supposed to be for games that pioneered concepts that many games take advantage of today. And although I still don't like it, we'll have to agree to disagree, and leave it at that.

I am glad that Mario 64 and Final Fantasy VII made the list, especially mario 64. I remember how revolutionary and refreshing it was to play when it came out. I hope the new mario game for revolution will be as innovative, if not more than '64.

and Pac-Man is just awesome. simple as that.
_________________

[Timbo]

I think the list is really well thought out, but I think it's missing a few essential PC titles. Ultima Online is put on for the first MMORPG, but I think Everquest surpasses it in importance. Everquest is immensely more popular and defined the genre to a mass market, while Ultima just thought of it first.

The same goes for Herzog Zwei, that may be the first Real Time strategy game, but so many others solidified it as a genre. I'd place Warcraft or Starcraft above it in importance. Warcraft made people know about the genre, but Starcraft is probably the most successful RTS ever made.

I would probably place Resident Evil somewhere on there as well.
_________________
"There is no normal life, there's just life. Now get on with it"

[RedCydranth]

Quite Simply, Zork was the first game with a story. Pong and bland no plot type games were all the industry had before Zork. And yes, the Japanese knew of Zork.. and it was NOT an obscure game because at the time there weren't many games, so any game that came out was head of.

SimCity is not on there because of Populous. Populous is the predecessor to the "play god" era of games that spawned Civilization, Sim City, Warcraft, Command & Conquer and Age of Empires. Although Sim City was virtually non-violent in comparison to other Real Time Strategy games, unless you consider tornadoes, riots and UFO's direct violence, it was still brought about because of Populous. As for the Sims, it was on there because it was the first of any um... Pointless games. In the era of gaming we're in, we as players set out to beat the game, and once we do, we turn it off and set our eyes on another game. The Sims however, the end is never, or until you kill your family off. You can go on playing forever, getting better and different jobs, building your home, relationships and such. The games point isn't to win, its to live life. Something that no other game had really ever done (there was like 2 similar games that failed back in the earliest days of vid gaming and its because they couldn't allow the player do do much). And because there isnt a whole lot more one can do, there haven't been many clones, dispite its popularity. And that's another thing that is unprecedented. Everytime a new style game becomes popular, an explosion of games based on that style is launched. Look at how Doom spawned literally 20 or more FPS. Dragon Warrior launched RPGs. PaRappa opened the door for music beat games like DDR, Frequency and most recently Donkey Konga. The Sims is barely imitated, only by Urbz, a creation of Maxis, the same companty that made Sims. The only other one I can think of is Animal Crossing for the Game Cube. That game has similar elements and has no real "win" scenario.

I agree with the list, but I think 50 is too many... Of those games I've played 40 of them. I'm old enought to remeber them and playing them growing up. And those i haven't played I can agree that they are deservant of the glory.
_________________
I'm sorry and I apologize are the same thing.
Except at a funeral.

Fantasy Football (NFL) Sign Ups in Sports Forum!

[Tonberry]

I thought the list to be pretty accurate and I was pleasantly amused that Parappa The Rapper being on the list. I rented that game once. It was fun, but I don't get waht is so special about it.

[RedCydranth]

Before PaRappa video games music was just a secondary thought, PaRappa made music the actual game. A first in the industry. i played it and didn;t care for it bacause it was all timing skill, not fun value. But for many who enjoy music more than video games it brought both worlds together. It allowed you to push buttons to the beat. Not much to it, but it can be addictive.

Since then Dance Dance Revolution has been the primary name in the music gaming genre. I often go to the movie theatre, to which theres an arcade attached, and see a bunch of people huddled by the DDR game watching some master dance like there's no tomorrow. But its not just moving, its moving your hands and feet to certain places to the beat. For the longest time video games = sit on your bum and veg out to a tv screen. With exception to the NES trackpad, theres been nothing like DDR. And since without the popularity brought out by PaRappa, DDR wouldn't be around.

"So.. one game being a direct result can't mean PaRappa should be on there" may be your rebuttal, but I guess that is why this thread is here. to post what games you felt shouldn't be on the list.

I could agree that in place of PaRappa, DDR could be there. But this isn't a Top 50 games ever.. its a list of importance. PaRappa being the poineer of that genre placed it on the list over DDR.
_________________
I'm sorry and I apologize are the same thing.
Except at a funeral.

Fantasy Football (NFL) Sign Ups in Sports Forum!

[Tonberry]

Well, I wasn't really trying to put it down, but I didn't recognize its signifigance. I do now though. Thanks for explaining it for me.

[Krawnik]

Gotta give PaRappa credit for it's pure style as well. Pretty much the same reasons that JGR is up there. PaRappa was one of the first games to have nothing but style at it's core. To take simplistic but addictive gameplay and just stack it with polish. You can't turn around in PaRappa without encountered carefully crafted stylistic decisions, from the way the characters look (omg 2D!? wicked) and move (they actually sway in the breeze! wicked!!), to the scenarios and the zany adventures our poor hero goes on. The game was dripping with style, and it made it okay for games to be like that.

PaRappa is not only the father of games like DDR and Mad Maestro (I don't care what anyone says, Mad Maestro is awesome), but the father of games like Katamari Damacy, Jet Grind Radio, and Rez. It also made it okay for games to make drastic visual and audio choices in the name of style, knowing based on PaRappa's success that there was a market for it. The visual style of Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and again JGR can be credited to the success of PaRappa, and the music of Katamari Damacy can be traced to the madness that was Chop Chop Master Onion, the biggest acid trip ever seen in a video game to date.

As for Simcity, my argument for it's position on the list as well as or instead of Populous is that not only do I think it reached more people and did the whole idea better, but I've never heard of Populous. :P Okay, so that's a pretty lame reason, Simcity can be cut. But Civilization 2? Nothing so far has been more in-depth than Civ2. The game was basically, "here, have a Settler unit, now do whatever you want for the rest of time." For the bloodthirsty, it meant creating an army and torching your opponents. To politicians, it was all about playing off the other leaders to get your own advantages. The adventurous launched Triremes with a settler and maybe an archer just in case, and sailed off to settle new lands. Personally, I take a scientific route, and I'm always the most advanced civilization on the map. I make a point of inventing Gunpowder around 600 BC, then proceeding to wipe out my nearest neighbour, and use the fear I created from that little incident as a cornerstone in future political negotioations. Civ2 was huge, and I honestly think it should be up there.

Ahwell.
_________________

416- friggin' racists, messing up my generalizations, also stealing my jobs, women.
RIP Ninjalicious

[Benit149]

[Tron Bonne]

The thing I liked about Parappa was that the weren't really rap, or rather his lyrics weren't in the same style as many successful rappers of today.

I'd rather rap about diarrhea and karate lessons than "busting some cap in some guy" any day.
_________________