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What is the single greatest console launch game of all time?

ghostcrew

ghostcrew

The Shrouded Ghost
Administrator
Oct 27, 2017
30,364
Super Mario 64.

Alongside it being one of the best games of all time it also marked a fundamental change in how games were played and made. It was a mammoth leap in tech.

You could probably argue all day if Mario World was better than 64 or not. But it wasn't anywhere near as important or huge of a launch title in terms of gaming as a whole. Super Mario 64 was a megaton moment.
 

Deleted member 76797

Alt-Account
Banned
Aug 1, 2020
2,091
1. Mario 64 - single handedly created the blueprint for 3d gaming and is a fantastic game to boot and not just a tech demo

2. BOTW - Game of the gen and it was a launch game

3. Soulcalibur - What a fucking game this was
 
FreddeGredde

FreddeGredde

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,905
Super Mario World and Breath of the Wild are the only launch games to be on my all-time top 10 list, but I played Breath of the Wild on Wii U, so: Mario World it is!
 
big_z

big_z

Member
Nov 2, 2017
7,797
Mario 64

That game created a moment and feeling no other has been able to recreate since. It's an experience lost to those who were born later.

Tetris, smw, Wii sports, botw are up there with the best of the best. I think a lot of people would put Halo in that category too.
Only Sony hasn't managed a top tier launch game. Maybe some day.
 
Betty

Betty

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,604
I feel it's probably Halo

Totally new IP, pushed FPS's foward on consoles in a big way and it had full co-op and multiplayer.
 
Vinc

Vinc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,387
Lots of people sleepin' on Luigi's Mansion!

But I'm going with Halo. It's just... the perfect launch title.

I would say BOTW might be my favorite, but I worry it's recency bias talking.
 
Stencil

Stencil

Member
Oct 30, 2017
10,378
USA
Super Mario World. Or BOTW.

Halo was pretty good, too. All my friends had Xboxes and only one of us had a couple games other than Halo. Xbox was kind of a Halo machine, huh. Maybe Jet Set Radio Future...
 
kaiush

kaiush

Member
Jan 22, 2018
298
I was gonna say BOTW cause it's my favorite game ever but really, I do think it's Mario 64. Really the only game that truly blew my mind.
 
Combichristoffersen

Combichristoffersen

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,756
Mona said:
i didn't know this thread was for the single perfectly finest console launch game of all time


and i love Persona 4, that doesn't mean its an amazing launch game
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Wouldn't call any of the games in OP amazing, but at least I had fun with Resistance. Can't say that for the others from OP's list *shrugs*

Objectively the answer from that list is probably Mario 64 though, even if I personally find it to be boring as shit.
 
onpoint

onpoint

Neon Deity Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
14,964
716
Tough choice.

Wii Sports carried an entire system on its back. I love a lot of the library. But so many people bought it for just that and games like it.

Halo: Combat Evolved legitimized the Xbox brand in a similar manner.

Super Mario 64 is probably my pick. I don't know that I have ever had a similar first time experience with something as I did that game. It blew the doors off of everything I knew about video games in a way nothing before or after has.
 

srtrestre

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,971
Resistance and Sonic Adventure are my least favorite launch games out of those listed. Last image is showing as broken for me for some reason.
 
thomasmahler

thomasmahler

Game Director at Moon Studios
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
1,097
Vienna / Austria
Probably Mario 64. Not even mentioning the HUGE risk Nintendo took by taking their most beloved IP and using it to show everyone what can be done in 3d, you could argue that this game influenced pretty much everything after that and probably still is. Who knows how long it would've taken for anyone but Nintendo to come up with a way of making moving characters around in a 3d world feel just right? How long would it have taken the industry to understand that inventing the analog stick is actually a pretty good idea? I'd honestly argue that Nintendo showing Mario 64 and the Analog Stick to the world at Shoshinkai 95 was probably the single biggest industry changing event in the last 30 years.
 

Deleted member 63122

User requested account closure
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Jan 16, 2020
9,071
onpoint said:
Tough choice.

Wii Sports carried an entire system on its back. I love a lot of the library. But so many people bought it for just that and games like it.

Halo: Combat Evolved legitimized the Xbox brand in a similar manner.

Super Mario 64 is probably my pick. I don't know that I have ever had a similar first time experience with something as I did that game. It blew the doors off of everything I knew about video games in a way nothing before or after has.
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I agree, BOTW and Wii sports basically saved Nintendo ( a bit hyperbole I know). Halo solidify an entire new console, Mario 64 was something entirely new at the moment. Those games all did a lot for their perspective platforms and gaming as a whole.
 
Zvonimir Boban

Zvonimir Boban

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,523
Halo > Super Mario World > Mario 64 > Don't really care about the rest tbh

The real GOAT though is this:

Tetris_Boxshot.jpg
 
J 0 E

J 0 E

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,272
At 98 on Metacritic, Soul Calibur possibly has the highest metascore for a launch title, doesn't it?

7154-soulcalibur-dreamcast-front-cover.jpg


And it certainly was a phenomenal game, imo.

I played it nonstop throughout the life of the Dreamcast and not from the lack of games but because of how great it was.
 
Tuorom

Tuorom

Member
Oct 30, 2017
10,915
It's Mario 64 and it's not even close. The game is still magnificent. You could update the graphics and re-release it and have a winner.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,738
Mario 64. Most launch games the past couple generations are basically just prettier versions of games from the previous generation. Hell, Demon's Souls and Breath of the Wild are both ports.

Mario 64 completely revolutionized gaming as a whole when it came out. It set the standard for 3D movement.
 

Deleted member 2620

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
4,491
First instinct is Soulcalibur. Dreamcast cheated by building up games for 8 months prior to that launch, but still.
 
indosmoke

indosmoke

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,054
France
I'd say Tetris on the original Game Boy.
But Mario 64 and Halo are good contenders.

These three games share many qualities; they defined or redefined a genre (puzzle, 3D platformer, console FPS), they are the real and undisputed icons/mascots of their respective platforms, their gameplay mechanics didn't age a bit (especially the first two).
 
Aleh

Aleh

Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,298
Never even had a Nintendo 64 and never played Mario 64 but the answer is obviously Mario 64. It actually did revolutionize things which absolutely no other game can say
 
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