Rockumentary - Episode Three

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Jet Fire's Top 100 Games of All Time (#95 - #90) (Article)

Jet Continues his countdown.
NOTE: ARTICLE WILL BE UPDATED SOON WITH IMAGES.


95. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Developer: Naughty Dog
Released on: PS2
Release Date: Dec 4, 2001

As with many games on my list recently, I’ve only played the original Jak & Daxter, so the original’s place is subject to change if I enjoy it’s sequels more. Still, I believe Naughty Dog made a nice progression between their Crash Bandicoot platformers to Jak & Daxter. Instead of small, linear levels like Crash Bandicoot, this game provided you with a nice, big open world based on a large island, and unlike most platformers, Jak & Daxter always kept me immersed by having no loading times between levels. Everything flowed together so seamlessly, with the transition between areas, the constantly smooth animation, bright and colourful areas, and interesting challenges that contained lots of variety (such as the hoverbike moments).

Speaking of transition a second ago, I also enjoyed how the game made sense as to how you got to the next area, by collecting power cells to fuel machines to get you past impassable barriers and locations. It makes more sense and is less generic than the whole “collect a key or magic crystal to open the magic door to another location that has a completely different climate on the other side”. On one more note about transition, you don’t have to worry about your work being reset if you only complete some tasks halfway. If you’re supposed to complete a task, like killing a certain amount of enemies and you only defeat half of them, and end up leaving to explore a different area, the enemy count won’t reset when you come back so you can just resume your mission. When you gain an orb, you won’t be sent back to the start of the level, so you don’t have to keep covering the same amount of ground. I know that some earlier platformers have some of the same aspects, but it’s the accumulation of all of these aspects that just makes Jak & Daxter so seamless.

To be honest, I can’t remember that much about this game, other than the fact that it was extremely fun, held me in front of the television from start to finish, and gave me a reason to collect every single last collectible. While there are many more platformers with more innovative concepts and ideas than Jak & Daxter, this game almost perfects the concept with it’s spot on controls, interesting locations, fun characters and addictive nature. Even though there wasn’t much of a personality to Jak, Daxter was essentially the voice of the game, providing great commentary as I went along my adventure. I even liked how death itself seemed seamless, and Daxter would stand over your body, talking like a smartass all the while. If I can relate Jak & Daxter to an older game, it’s almost like Spyro the Dragon on the original Playstation. The game isn’t particularly hard (although there are a few challenges that will take a lot of tries to complete), but the bright colourful nature and addictiveness related to the aspect of collecting and using your wonderfully smooth control to nab everything makes it an easily accessible game. It’s really something that you can just pick up and play, knowing that not much frustration will exist…only fun will. It’s not groundbreaking (hence, why it is much lower on my list), but it doesn’t need to be as long as it plays really well.

94. Ratchet & Clank
Developer: Insomniac Games
Released on: PS2
Release Date: Nov 4, 2002

“Wow, another platformer!” you ask? Well, platformers and RPGs are my favourite genres, but trust me, this list will have a lot of variety going for it after a few more titles, so bear with me. The reason that Ratchet & Clank ranks so close to Jak & Daxter, is that it does everything that Naughty Dog’s creation does, and more. Ratchet and Clank amps up the difficulty, has better cinematics, story and more engaging characters, more awe-inspiring locales, and even though I thought it would be gimmicky at first, the weapons and gadgets are incredibly creative and fun to use.

To begin, I have to elaborate on the cinematics. Even though this is the first Ratchet game on the PS2 (like, before, I’ve only played the first entry), the cut-scenes still look amazing, and have this Dreamworks-like style to it’s visuals and humour. It makes me feel like I’m watching and playing through a Saturday morning cartoon series. Captain Quark steals the show, giving the most laughs, but the rest of the cast is entertaining enough. Ratchet sounds like Michelangelo from TMNT to me for some reason. Also, since the cut-scenes rely on the in-game graphics, the transition between watching and playing is seamless (although watching my ship fly from planet to planet over and over did get a little tiring). The level of graphical polish and size of each planet’s world is astounding for such an early generation PS2 game. See all those buildings in the screenshot? They aren’t just backgrounds. You can go there, and uncover the game’s many challenges and secrets. There are so many paths to take in each world, leading to more bolts to obtain (to buy new weapons with), and challenges to earn new weapons/gadgets. I was always in a state of collecting, and was always looking forward to that shiny new weapon that was just within my grasp of obtaining, or what new, interesting world was waiting for me next.

And how unique those weapons are! A gun that turns enemies into chickens, anyone? How about robot orbs that circle you, and will explode into anyone who comes close? One of my favourites has to be the Devestator, which is a guided missile that you can control from a first person perspective, similar to the Nikita Launcher in Metal Gear Solid. I know it’s not the most original, but is certainly fun to use, and will get you out of plenty of jams when you can’t expose yourself from cover due to too much enemy fire. The Mine Launcher is also a useful addition to set up an impassable field that will kill pursuing enemies, and the Telsa Claw can send out streams of lightning, locking onto all nearby enemies like a Sith’s force move. Another critical gun to obtain is the RYNO (Rip You A New One), although it costs way too damn much to obtain and is more of a chore to get than a reward. The gadgets also add more moves to Ratchet and Clank’s move set, like the magnetic boots that allow you to walk on walls and ceiling, the grind boots that let you grind on rails (Sonic Adventure 2 style), the heli-pack which gives Clank a propeller (allowing you to jump higher and further), and my favourite, the Swingshot, which allows Ratchet to grapple onto floating orbs, Bionic Commando-style). All of these items add so much more to Ratchet’s move set than about any other platformer out there, making areas very fun and variety-filled to traverse.

What are my downsides to the game? Even though Ratchet & Clank offers up more variety than most platformers, some parts of the game can remain downright tedious and frustrating. On the tedious side of things, some weapons, like the RYNO are far too expensive. You see, through most of the game, you will collect bolts as currency, by defeating enemies, smashing crates, or finding them in hidden areas. Most of the time, by the time you have 100 percented a level in terms of collecting bolts, you can buy a new weapon from the store on the next planet (or shortly after you arrive). However, some of the last weapons to obtain, will require you to go back to the previous planet, and bolt grind until you have enough money to buy them. In total, the last weapons may take a few hours in total of just bolt grinding, and the RYNO in specific, took me over 2 hours straight from bolt grinding in the most bolt rich area in the game. If you want these coolest items, you’re going to have to suffer first.

As for the frustrating aspect, there are a few moments in the game that are truly worthy of controller smashing. One requires swingshotting from buildings to hover cars, and you are under fire most of the time. The camera gets so devilish during this area, that it makes it difficult to see where you land, and sometimes, your swingshot won’t even grapple onto the orbs, while you have to change grapple points in mid-air, causing you to fall to your death, and repeating 10 minutes of the level again until you reach that point. By the time you make it back, these problems make you commit the same mistakes (as well as the lack of familiarity as to what to do, since you were concentrating more on how to get to this area). I literally wasted an hour or two just trying to get past this broken segment. If it weren’t for the chicken gun as a reward for this, I wouldn’t have bothered. One more tedious aspect that I can recall are the hoverboarding moments. Now, I don’t mind a bit of variety in my gameplay. Jak & Daxter had a hoverbike moment, and it was fun. And Ratchet & Clank even had some fun moments where you would either take control of Clank directly (and building up an army of little robots to unleash), or turn Clank into a Super Mecha Death Clank to compete with enemies of larger size. Still, the hoverboarding moments were almost like racing Wizpig in Diddy Kong Racing. If you make one screw up…One Screw up! Then you will have no chance of gaining the lead in front of your other opponents, causing you to replay it over and over and over.

Now, I know I’ve been knocking on Ratchet & Clank’s downsides for a bit, but beyond those few points, the experience is a refreshing and interesting one that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in a good platformer. The worlds are just so imaginative, the weapons and gadgets are a blast to use, the characters and story sequences are fun and have a good sense of humour, and aside from those frustrating moments I mentioned, the game’s difficulty is easy to moderate. I’m definitely going to play it’s sequels in the future, which are more chaotic than this one. Anyways, if there is anyone that is actually interested in starting to play the Ratchet and Clank series, I find that the first game is a perfect place to start. I played this in October of 2008, and it didn’t feel dated at all to me, which is a good sign of a timeless game, seeing as how long ago it was made.

93. Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil
Developer: Namco
Released on: PS2
Release Date: July 25, 2001

If anyone hasn’t ever given a Klonoa game a shot just because his name and character design are obscure and cute or because the game just isn’t mainstream, because there are so many more Resident Evils and Final Fantasies to buy, than I pity you…and your children for missing out on such a magical, dream-like experience. For those that aren’t educated as to what Klonoa’s about (which I am sure is about 99%) of the gaming population, it’s a 2.5D sidescrolling platformer that is more about puzzle solving and platforming than action. Picture it like Mario (even though Klonoa’s new design is a little Sonic-ish, don’t let it put you off), only with a higher emphasis on puzzle solving. Klonoa’s main ability to use to solve puzzles is by using his wind ring to inflate his enemies, and use them to interact with his environment. You can inflate an enemy and throw it to your sides (or into the background or towards the screen) to attack other enemies, or to activate switches. You can also use those enemies for double jumps (Klonoa will jump, and then will kick off of the enemy he’s holding for another jump), sending the enemy you were holding careening downward to hit an enemy/switch, allowing you to access new places. Some enemies cannot be harmed from the sides, in which a double jump attack is the way to go, or vise versa. Also, sometimes Klonoa will have to grab an enemy that is in the air, and do the double jump while still in the air, to reach an enemy that is even higher in the air to do the same thing. You can combo your double jumps together and even use your ears to hover in place for a moment if you need that last little boost of air time to reach a platform/adjust your position.

The puzzles do mostly rely on the jumping/throwing mechanic, but there are always different enemy types/action sequences to prevent the game from getting stale. For instance, Bomb enemies will take about ten seconds to explode after you pick them up. You may need to throw that bomb by a certain switch to open a certain door, and then solve a small puzzle quickly to reach that door before the timer goes off, causing the door to quickly open, then close. There are some amazing action sequences in this game as well, by trying to escape a large enemy and raging fires on the rooftops of a rome/Venice style town. The enemy is constantly pursuing you, and will kill you if he reaches you, and you’re required to use quick thinking skills to assess an escape route to take on the fly. There are moments in the game as well, where you will fall off huge waterfalls, shoot from background to foreground from cannons, and surf down rapids while avoiding enemies/collecting gems. All the while, the game looks absolutely bright, colourful, vivid and cartoony with the cel-shaded look on the characters. Another neat feature introduced that was not in the first game is to allow a second player to take semi-control over the dog behind you. The second player couldn’t directly control the dog as it hovered behind Klonoa, but by pressing a button, the dog would fly under Klonoa and knock him into the air for a double (or triple if Klonoa already used an enemy) jump. It’s not really a groundbreaking feature or a full on cooperative experience, but it does allow someone else to jump in and make a little bit of a difference instead of just watching (like the second player in Mario Galaxy).

All in all, Klonoa 2 is a fun, light-hearted platforming experience with a fairly easy difficulty curve. Although this game doesn’t even come close on my list to being as fun and challenging as it’s predecessor, it still offers up enough fun and variety to be deemed a classic in my eyes. Seeing as how the first game is impossible to find right now until Namco releases it’s remake of it in May this year, if you’re into sidescrollers and can find Klonoa 2 for the PS2 at a low used price, then jump at the opportunity. The Klonoa series is truly a hidden gem within the sea of more popular mascots and M-Rated games that is absolutely worth experiencing.

92. Sonic the Hedgehog
Developer: Sonic Team
Released on: Sega Genesis, PS2/PSP (Sega Genesis Collection), PS2/GC/XBOX/PC (Sonic Mega Collection), 360/PS3 (Ultimate Genesis Collection), XBLA/PSN
Release Date: June 23, 1991 (Genesis), Nov 16, 2006 (PS2/PSP), Nov 10, 2002 (PS2/GC/XBOX/PC), Feb 10, 2009 (360/PS3), Aug 11, 2007 (XBLA)

The game that started it all for Sega…was actually the second Sonic game I’ve played. Although the first game may seem like the most monumental Sonic game ever produced, I felt that pretty much all of his 2D Genesis games had surpassed it and left it in the dust. Still, the original Sonic the Hedgehog is a damn fine game in it’s own right, and can’t be blamed for not having the same elements as it’s sequels since it was the first game in the series, and the sequels themselves wouldn’t exist without it. I’m sure that every gamer here has played this game (or at least a Sonic game in general), so I won’t dive into the details on what it’s about or how it’s played. I’ll just explain what I like and don’t like about it.

First of all, I’ll get what I don’t like off my chest. These factors keep the original from surpassing it’s sequels in my eyes. First of all, is the aspect of building up Sonic’s speed. While the original game is still fast in it’s own right, it would take at least 3 seconds to get the hedgehog up to full speed from a jog to a full out sprint. It may not seem like a long time, but there aren’t always long stretches of land to do so. If you get trapped in-between two hills or inside a half-pipe, it can take awhile for Sonic to build up momentum to get out of there…all because one critical move had not been developed yet, the Spin Dash. This dash arrived in Sonic’s sequels and allowed him to curl up in a ball and spin in place really fast, which upon releasing, would send Sonic spinning really fast in the direction you were facing. This move allowed Sonic to instantly accelerate to full speed without any build-up time, making his sequels much faster paced. In turn, this makes the original feel much slower by comparison. Also, that eliminates the spin dash as an attack, so all you’re left with is his roll attack when running, and his jump. Another small nitpick are that there are certain pits in the game containing spikes that will kill you instantly even if you have rings. However, small placements of spikes throughout the level will only cause you to lose rings (or die if you don’t have any). My other beef with the game is how useless the chaos emeralds are. I think collecting them all only nets you a slightly better ending (I’ve only done it once long ago), but the concept of Super Sonic hadn’t come into play yet, so there’s no transforming. This pretty much eliminates any incentive for me to enter the special stages. Plus, the bonus rounds were really annoying, random and confusing to me, and seemed more like a gimmick than anything.

Yes, I’ve complained quite a bit so far, but aside from those two gripes the original Sonic the Hedgehog is still a blast to play, and stays in the spirit as the rest of the Genesis games. Even though acceleration can be slow at times, you’ll still be finding yourself careening through loops, bouncing around off of bumpers, vaulting off of enemies and rolling off of ramps and hills all the while. The stages have some nice variety, such as the classic Green Hill Zone (where you’re running through a grassy landscape with the chequered ground), the Marble Zone (which is a nice transition from grassy fields to lava filled ruins), to the Labyrinth Zone (introducing us to the panic-inducing underwater, drowning-risking sequences), to the Casino Zone (complete with bumpers and flashy lights) to Robotnik’s final stage (with many dangerous traps that could crush and buzz-saw you to death, forcing you to use some caution). I forget exactly how many stages were in this game, but those stood out as being very memorable. When pure level design can be so memorable to get you nostalgic about a certain game, you know the game has succeeded and withstood the test of time, and Sonic the Hedgehog is no exception.

I also have to touch on the visuals and music very briefly. For a first year Genesis game, Sonic the Hedgehog has aged extremely well. Just look at all of the colour, and the animations and frame rate are super smooth and never slow down. The game always runs at a fast pace, and the stage variety always ensures that you’re never looking at the same colour palette for too long. The music is of course, absolutely classic. I played this game for the first time in years, and I could still recall every note from the Green Hill Zone, Marble Zone, and Robotnik’s final zone. The Sonic games had the best music on the Genesis, in my opinion. Also, the sound effect of Sonic picking up rings is the best sound effect of all time in a game for me.

It’s a little difficult to explain what made old Sonic games like this so good, but I think it’s also the simplicity in the controls and gameplay mechanics. All you need is a D-Pad to move and one button to jump. Anyone can instantly pick it up and play it, and a gamer can return to it over 10 years later and instantly familiarize themselves with the controls and flow of the game. You run fast, you pick up rings, you jump, you roll into stuff, and you dodge enemies and traps. That’s it, but it works so well and seamlessly, that I can’t help but grin with pure joy when I pick up the controller. For me, some of the simplest games can be the easiest to get into, and can retain their classic status for years to come. Mario, Sonic, Pac-man, Kirby, Tetris…they aren’t the most hardcore, challenging games like Ninja Gaiden, Contra (without the code), Castlevania, Metal Gear and the like, but their simplicity and easy-going nature makes them so much more compelling to re-experience again and again. Sonic doesn’t need gimmicks to make a great game. As the original shows, a pad and one jump button are all that it takes to whisk you away on a fun rollercoaster ride that is more fun to experience for the moment, and not for a mere end result.

91. Double Dragon II: The Revenge
Developer: Technos Japan Corp
Released on: NES
Release Date: January, 1990

What importance does the second Double Dragon game hold on my list? It was the first beat-em-up game that I’ve experienced, as well as one of my first cooperative games. Not only that, but it was incredibly hard, and I still haven’t beaten it to this day due to this incredibly hard stage where the megaman-esque disappearing and reappearing platforms emerge. By the time I make it that far, I’m on my last life or two, and since the jumping is a bit sloppy, I never catch onto the pattern and timing and plummet to my instant death over and over until I lose. Still, that doesn’t stop the game from being a riot until that point.

Considering that I don’t hold beat-em-ups in the highest light (I do enjoy them, but not enough for many of them to make it in my Top 100), only about 3 games, including Double Dragon II, have made it onto this list. Just to get it out of the way right now, River City Ransom is not on this list, but not because it’s bad or anything. I actually really enjoyed it. However, Double Dragon II had a larger impact on me for reasons I just can’t explain. Both games felt pretty similar to each other when I think about it (aside from RCR’s stat building), but Double Dragon II had a few things that made it very memorable for me.

The first is the challenge. This is a game where you really have to value your life, and shows that if you attempted this in a real-life scenario, you were going to get seriously messed up. Getting the crap beaten out of you by people ganging up, being thrown off or falling off of ledges leading to instant death, and getting caught in traps that take precise timing to survive would stand in your way towards victory. For some reason, some games make it fun to be a sucker for punishment, just to see how far you will make it next time. Most NES games are like this, which make them a joy to play years later to see if you’ll beat the game or if the game will beat you before you die.

Another aspect that I enjoyed was the enemy variety. You had the standard thugs with the spiked shoulder vests, and the kinky whip-toting chicks after you, but you also had intimidating bosses like the Abobos, the teleporting boss at the beginning that would grapple you and the Ninjas that dropped from the helicopter, along with their agents beforehand. I know there were plenty of others that had an assortment of weapons such as chains, flails, dynamite, knives, etc, that you could beat them up for. The stage variety always ensured that you were visiting new areas that weren’t only about beating people up, but trying to get past traps and pits in one piece. My favourite would have to be inside the enemy helicopter, knocking enemies (including bosses) out of the helicopter door when it would open. There was also a suction effect for the door that would pull you out of the chopper if you get knocked down, forcing you to stay on your toes.

There are a few more things to mention. One is the absolute catchy music, which isn’t surprising, since most NES games offer great tunes. Still, I can always hum it, even if I haven’t heard it in forever, and the dinging of the hand sign that tells you to go will always be burned into my brain. It’s timeless. Second, is that this game makes it onto my list for the coop experience alone. Only when playing with a friend is when this game can be enjoyed to it’s fullest. It’s one of those few NES games that I can play with someone else to aim towards a seemingly impossible goal, having fun the whole time doing it, and improving along with that person as we play through it again and again.

Double Dragon II was a game that I consider very challenging, but rarely frustrating. Like many other NES games, it took many tries, skill and memorization to get further in, but never once did it feel like a chore to me. Aside from having that ultimate seemingly unattainable goal for me at the end, it also had the form of gameplay that has you playing for the moment. Every punch, every kick, every enemy blown up by dynamite, every Whirlwind and Flying Knee Strike that sends your enemies off of cliffs to their doom and vice versa when you get thrown, and any lucky or ironic scenarios are just fun to experience for their own particular moments. In Double Dragon II, it didn’t matter to me if I made it to the fourth level or the very last one, because I would be having fun the whole time before that, and maybe someday I will see the end of it.

90. Road Rash II
Developer: EA
Released on: Sega Genesis
Release Date: July 22, 1993

Road Rash II on the Sega Genesis is one of the very few games that I don’t own that is on my list. I really need to go out soon and obtain a copy though, because it’s one of the most addictive and hilariously entertaining racers that I’ve ever played. It’s also one of the few racers that I actually enjoy, and don’t see as a generic “me too” game. In this game you compete in road races on your motorcycle through different countries. Road Rash II requires you to place in at least 3rd place at the end of each race to move forward. The higher your rank, the more money you can earn to purchase faster bikes to keep up with the racers in later levels. However, you can lose money by wrecking your motorcycle or getting busted by the cops. If you can’t afford to do either, the game ends. If I remember correctly, you have to place second or first in the later races as well.

All of that sounds like a decent concept for a normal racer on it’s own, but what makes Road Rash II so fun to pick up and play are it’s weapons, opponents, obstacles, twists and turns in the courses, high speed gameplay, long courses that don’t run laps, and of course the damage meter on you and your opponents. This game is meant to be violent, and it’s not just a gimmick to toy around with, since you’ll need to be an ass to survive. Other bikers will take awhile to catch up to, and every mistake you make brings the people behind you closer. In order to give you an edge when you catch up to someone, or if someone is tailing you, is to use force. You can punch and kick your opponents, and if they happen to have a weapon, you can steal it from them and use it on them and other opponents. You can also attack or ram your opponents into other obstacles, such as incoming vehicles on the road, or signs, trees and other obstacles. Doing so will cause them to go careening off of their bikes, in which they will have to physically get up and run to where their bike crashed to resume the race, which will ensure yourself getting way ahead of them (or vise versa if they do it to you). Since everyone has their own damage meters, your bike, as well as opponent’s bikes can be destroyed. So if you need to focus on destroying some pesky opponents instead of just outracing them, you can do so. Everyone also has their own health meter, so you can knock someone out of the race by simply beating the crap out of them, and vise versa.

So you see, combat is just as heavy of importance as racing in this game, and the opponents aren’t simply punching bags, as they can seriously cripple you, sending you out of the race. All the while, you’ll have to multi-task by keeping an eye on the road and adjusting your speed and turns. If you take that one turn too fast, you may bash into that tree or cow on the side of the road, sending you flying or severely damaging your bike. If you’re focusing on beating an opponent too much, you may not realize that you’re on the wrong side of the road until a truck comes over a hill and sends you soaring (and in some countries, the right side of the road may change, causing you confusion). You may also end up speeding, passing a cop and getting their attention, causing them to run you off the road to bust or kill you. This element of multi-tasking may seem like a lot to handle, but it makes the races more exciting. Even when you crash, the outcome may be so funny and random, that your frustration of losing your place may pass for a few laughs. I found myself actually laughing through most of the races as my brother and I would usually alternate after each race and laugh at our misfortunes or lucky outcomes.

There’s also a two-player mode, but it’s pretty disappointing, since it’s just the two of you on the road without any computer controlled racers to provide random craziness. Although you can pick out what weapon you want to start out with in this mode. I remember picking out a can of mace when I was playing with a friend and just as the race started, I sprayed him in the eyes with it before we accelerated, leaving his guy sitting there and screaming as he held his hands over his face, as I took off ahead of him. Good times.

Anyways, the Road Rash games on the Genesis were simply amazing and fun to play through, and were constantly addicting to see how far you can get, how many people you can destroy, and what kinds of crazy situations you can get into. While all three were great games, all I can remember is having the best time with the second (I think I enjoyed the tracks more). Whether you’re crossing the finish line in first place, or running into an incoming car, which sends your guy flying face first off his bike into the windshield of an incoming cop car (resulting in him getting busted afterwards), Road Rash II is a joy to play.

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