I thought this might be a fun idea for a thread. Basically, you post your 3 favorite genres, and then in each genre, you post the first game you played, the last game you played, and your favorite game. Explanations encouraged but optional, of course! And feel free to define genre however you want, this isn't an essay. Unless you want it to be!
I'll start.
2D Platformer
I struggled with whether or not to consolidate this with 3D platformers, but I feel like the design philosophy behind them is too different for the most part, the only similarities being video games where the characters can jump. But I grew up on 2D platformers, my first video game ever was a 2D platformer (more on that later), and there's no feeling better than running through a level, blasting and jumping past enemies to get to the end. Of my top 10, three of them are 2D platformers.
First: Super Mario World. My first video game ever as well. I remember clearly going to my neighbor's house and watching him play SNES with my brother, until eventually we got one of our own. It was the first game I ever played, beat, and cleared 100%.
Last: Kero Blaster, I played this little ditty a few months ago. It's a shame it didn't receive a similar amount of attention as Cave Story as it's very charming, and essentially has two NG+ modes to keep you busy after the initial campaign. The combination of shooting and platforming is really satisfying and true to the name of Pixel, it's a gorgeous game. It's on sale on Switch!
Favorite: Donkey Kong Country 2. I used to go back and forth on whether it was this or Super Mario Bros. 3, but replaying both recently, DKC2's sense of aesthetic and soundtrack still resonates with me to this day. Having the game star the sidekick who was kidnapped in the previous title was a stroke of genius, and Diddy/Dixie are my favorite Kongs with the pirates still being my favorite form of the Kremlings to this day.
JRPGs
Although I grew up playing the Mario and Pokemon RPGs, for the most part I kinda steered clear of JRPGs until high school. Part of that was because I didn't grow up on titles like Final Fantasy, partially because they seemed intimidating and difficult to wrap my brain around. I quickly realized that Super Mario RPG, one of my all time favorite games, had trained me perfectly on the genre and what to expect, and ever since then I've been playing catch up. The best JRPGs really make you feel like you're on an adventure with a motley crew, and even if the plot is hit or miss, the characters resonate all the same.
First: Super Mario RPG. Although as a little kid I had trouble getting past the earlygame bosses and understanding how equipment worked, for the most part, this game was the perfect tutorial for the genre. The charming visuals and writing encouraged me to keep playing, and it introduced me to the legendary composer Yoko Shimomura. It's a not terribly long but perfectly paced adventure with many memorable moments, and to this day it's still my favorite Mario RPG, although Paper Mario 64 is a very close runner up.
Last: Tales Of Berseria, which I played earlier in the year. I was actually surprised I hadn't played a JRPG since then, but when you're busy it's harder to devote time to a genre that is minimum 40 hours. Still, as my first Tales game, I really enjoyed this; Velvet is a really compelling protagonist and generally speaking I really liked the other party members. Battling is kind of button mashy and the soundtrack isn't the most memorable, but I definitely had a great time with the game and hopefully soon I will start playing the other Tales games.
Favorite: Persona 5. I've gushed about P5 a lot on here, so I won't repeat that, but as someone who found the dungeon crawling in Persona 3 and 4 to be the low point, I never thought 5 would make it a highlight. The style, themes, soundtrack, emotional resonance, everything else came together into a game that lasted 100 hours and left me wanting more.
3D Platformer
I tried to think of another genre I've played a lot that would fit here - I considered squeezing in Zelda as "action/adventure" but then I realized the Zelda titles are the only ones of that mold I've really played, I thought about fighting and racing games, but they aren't what I think of for "favorite" genres, I'm a fan of Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil but besides them I don't really play third person shooters, I haven't really played the character action genre a ton outside of DMC and MGR... so I just said "fuck it" and went back to the platforming well. Anyway, 3D platformers rule. Whether they're exploration based or obstacle course based, I can't get enough of them, and with the fact that we're going through a bit of a renaissance for the genre, I'm hoping we'll see more outside of Mario games. Speaking of...
First: Super Mario 64. Yeah, Mario has been my gateway drug into gaming. But I'd wager this was the first 3D platformer for many reading. I remember my cousin getting the game for Christmas and being mindblown watching him play. Even my 5 year old brain understood how momentous this game was. To this day, I would argue Mario controls better and smoother than many modern 3D platformers, with a toolkit that lets him accomplish a lot and never feels too restricted. More than 20 years later, you still see 3D platformers struggling to stand out of this game's shadow.
Last: The original Crash Bandicoot on the N. Sane Trilogy earlier this year. I had played Crash 2 and 3 on my PSP a few years before, but steered clear of Crash 1 because of its reputation. After picking up the trilogy I decided to give it a go, and although the first few worlds were managable, I started to see what people meant once I got to the mid-lategame. Still, I enjoyed it for what it was and how it got the series started, and felt pretty accomplished after vanquishing it. I even cleared Stormy Ascent!
Favorite: Banjo-Kazooie. I feel like this game embodies what I love most about 3D platformers: giving you dense worlds to explore and run around in, without ever padding it too much with empty space. If you've played it, I don't need to tell you about the charming settings and legendary Kirkhope soundtrack. I definitely don't need to tell you how excited I was to see the bear and bird in Smash Ultimate with all of the homages to this game on their stage with the remixed soundtrack.
I'll start.
2D Platformer
I struggled with whether or not to consolidate this with 3D platformers, but I feel like the design philosophy behind them is too different for the most part, the only similarities being video games where the characters can jump. But I grew up on 2D platformers, my first video game ever was a 2D platformer (more on that later), and there's no feeling better than running through a level, blasting and jumping past enemies to get to the end. Of my top 10, three of them are 2D platformers.
First: Super Mario World. My first video game ever as well. I remember clearly going to my neighbor's house and watching him play SNES with my brother, until eventually we got one of our own. It was the first game I ever played, beat, and cleared 100%.
Last: Kero Blaster, I played this little ditty a few months ago. It's a shame it didn't receive a similar amount of attention as Cave Story as it's very charming, and essentially has two NG+ modes to keep you busy after the initial campaign. The combination of shooting and platforming is really satisfying and true to the name of Pixel, it's a gorgeous game. It's on sale on Switch!
Favorite: Donkey Kong Country 2. I used to go back and forth on whether it was this or Super Mario Bros. 3, but replaying both recently, DKC2's sense of aesthetic and soundtrack still resonates with me to this day. Having the game star the sidekick who was kidnapped in the previous title was a stroke of genius, and Diddy/Dixie are my favorite Kongs with the pirates still being my favorite form of the Kremlings to this day.
JRPGs
Although I grew up playing the Mario and Pokemon RPGs, for the most part I kinda steered clear of JRPGs until high school. Part of that was because I didn't grow up on titles like Final Fantasy, partially because they seemed intimidating and difficult to wrap my brain around. I quickly realized that Super Mario RPG, one of my all time favorite games, had trained me perfectly on the genre and what to expect, and ever since then I've been playing catch up. The best JRPGs really make you feel like you're on an adventure with a motley crew, and even if the plot is hit or miss, the characters resonate all the same.
First: Super Mario RPG. Although as a little kid I had trouble getting past the earlygame bosses and understanding how equipment worked, for the most part, this game was the perfect tutorial for the genre. The charming visuals and writing encouraged me to keep playing, and it introduced me to the legendary composer Yoko Shimomura. It's a not terribly long but perfectly paced adventure with many memorable moments, and to this day it's still my favorite Mario RPG, although Paper Mario 64 is a very close runner up.
Last: Tales Of Berseria, which I played earlier in the year. I was actually surprised I hadn't played a JRPG since then, but when you're busy it's harder to devote time to a genre that is minimum 40 hours. Still, as my first Tales game, I really enjoyed this; Velvet is a really compelling protagonist and generally speaking I really liked the other party members. Battling is kind of button mashy and the soundtrack isn't the most memorable, but I definitely had a great time with the game and hopefully soon I will start playing the other Tales games.
Favorite: Persona 5. I've gushed about P5 a lot on here, so I won't repeat that, but as someone who found the dungeon crawling in Persona 3 and 4 to be the low point, I never thought 5 would make it a highlight. The style, themes, soundtrack, emotional resonance, everything else came together into a game that lasted 100 hours and left me wanting more.
3D Platformer
I tried to think of another genre I've played a lot that would fit here - I considered squeezing in Zelda as "action/adventure" but then I realized the Zelda titles are the only ones of that mold I've really played, I thought about fighting and racing games, but they aren't what I think of for "favorite" genres, I'm a fan of Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil but besides them I don't really play third person shooters, I haven't really played the character action genre a ton outside of DMC and MGR... so I just said "fuck it" and went back to the platforming well. Anyway, 3D platformers rule. Whether they're exploration based or obstacle course based, I can't get enough of them, and with the fact that we're going through a bit of a renaissance for the genre, I'm hoping we'll see more outside of Mario games. Speaking of...
First: Super Mario 64. Yeah, Mario has been my gateway drug into gaming. But I'd wager this was the first 3D platformer for many reading. I remember my cousin getting the game for Christmas and being mindblown watching him play. Even my 5 year old brain understood how momentous this game was. To this day, I would argue Mario controls better and smoother than many modern 3D platformers, with a toolkit that lets him accomplish a lot and never feels too restricted. More than 20 years later, you still see 3D platformers struggling to stand out of this game's shadow.
Last: The original Crash Bandicoot on the N. Sane Trilogy earlier this year. I had played Crash 2 and 3 on my PSP a few years before, but steered clear of Crash 1 because of its reputation. After picking up the trilogy I decided to give it a go, and although the first few worlds were managable, I started to see what people meant once I got to the mid-lategame. Still, I enjoyed it for what it was and how it got the series started, and felt pretty accomplished after vanquishing it. I even cleared Stormy Ascent!
Favorite: Banjo-Kazooie. I feel like this game embodies what I love most about 3D platformers: giving you dense worlds to explore and run around in, without ever padding it too much with empty space. If you've played it, I don't need to tell you about the charming settings and legendary Kirkhope soundtrack. I definitely don't need to tell you how excited I was to see the bear and bird in Smash Ultimate with all of the homages to this game on their stage with the remixed soundtrack.
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