Showcase Games
Games that showcase the system abilities, and make you feel great.
What with all the Talk of Fav Music , plus and minus point of the different systems in the Dreamcast Thread ECT I got thinking of All the games that showcase the system .
You know games that push the host hardware , Make you feel great , and games that you want .. not only to show off to mates , but also to tell/show the world how great the game , and system is .
Like to Keep it 1 or 3 Top real showcase games (Per System) , though I?ll most prob add at least 20 for the Saturn alone , and for the Moment for the systems to be Retro-ish
Right Here goes my pathetic list ...
Master System
Psycho Fox -
I sometimes feel this a little overretted , but as one of the best games to showcase the MS , its Hard to Fault , with super smooth scrolling , lovely sprites and colour everywhere.
Phantasy Star -
If only for the amazing 3D sections , how on earth Naka got that to work on the MS and look so brilliant , I still do this day will never now
Chopper Lifter ? Ok I bet people will laugh , but to me this looked utterly amazing , back inthe day . With the most Impressive Multi Layer Parllax scrolling , I?ve ever seen on a 8 bit system (well baring the PC-Eng).
Mega Drive :
Thunder Force IV ?
Used to have countless battles in school with not only the NCL crew , but the Amiga and ST lads (how would dismiss out of hand Consoles , and so would be Computer teacher) . Still still at the day , I gathered them all , to come up the house after school , and I wacked on the game . Jaws dropped , with everyone saying , that?s a Neo Geo game .
I mean bar issues with colour and Sound , it looks like a Saturn or PS shooter , never mind Neo Geo , and the GFX still hold well today . How did techno boys get that multi Layer scrolling, out of the humble MD, I really couldn?t fathom. And incredible showcase of the system and the programmers talent
SNES :
Contra III ?
I remember reading the MM reviews , and thinking to myself , no way can the game be that good , or look better than Arcade games , but how wrong can one be .
There?s some times, I wish could go back in time and relive the experience or at least find a way to bottle the feeling of Joy one got , and Playing Contra III for the very 1st time, would be one of those moments in time .
Staring off, it looked ok , but nothing really that great , then it?s started to get so very spectacular .
1st sign that I knew was in something special , was when then Bomber plane does it ?s swoop In , not only did it look spectacular , but the sound effect was off the chart , one almost took cover it sounded so real.
You then meet 1st Boss , and WOW, not only was is it massive , but it also used a wonderful effect (that I really hadn't seen before)
That was as to nothing as when you play the Overhead Level , and I did actually shout out the words FUC*KING HELL, as the camera and screen rotated and swooped down , plus the music just demanded me , to put the TV on full blast
If all that wasn?t enough , Konami Ripped the Piss , with one of the best gaming bosses EVER , Him swirling and zooming out of the screen, was enough to one 's eye?s pop out , but you also then had music and sound effects just sounding bloody awesome , with brilliant gameplay , that it could help but put a massive smile on ones face
One of my best gaming days ever that was , and even though I was a BIG SEGA fan , I looked over at my MD, and it looked quite sad on that day .
Mega CD
Batman Returns -
I think I?ll mutter the words John O? Brien on my Death Bed , I have so much respect for what hid did . For ages we had all the Press slamming the Mega CD , no good games , its scaling isn?t a patch on the Snes , and what have you . Along came this game and shut all the doubters up .For the 1st time , inthe home I was playing a game that looked , and moved every bit as good as the best Scaling Coin Ups in my Arcade . Not only was the scaling super smooth and just used on everything and some of the greatest and biggest explosions ever seen , but the buildings looked so real , looked so solid and had a great 3D-ish effect on the sides of the buildings (that not even OutRun had in the Arcades) . It also had no flicker , multi layers of Parallax , and colour wise looked every bit as colourful as a SNES game , add in the Monster Sound Track and Sound effects , and one had a showcase game , in every sense of the world .
PS
Metal Gear Soild -
In the old VGI days , I used to have many debates and would always try and make out the Saturn, could have done this and that , with people like Joe . But not even I would waste my time , trying to make out the Saturn could handle this game.
This game was just stunning, so well realised down the smallest detail , like breath and foot prints . I was playing it down my mates , and it was one of the few games I enjoyed playing as much I did watching it being played (just so I could take it all in ) and the Moment was asked to place the Joypad on the floor and see it move , was the stuff of Video game legends .
Saturn
RSG ?
OK this isn?t about if it?s a Good shooter , what its about is a Showcase , and it really doesn?t come much better than this . I remember speaking to Lee , the day he was sending out all the Dream machines/ VGI lads copies , and him saying ?You wait until you see it , This is what I expect Dreamcast games to look like , it made the wait until the next day painful .
But as soon as one turned it on , You knew Lee was right . Stunning Swirling , rotating Backgrounds, Massive ships and more sprites than one could take it , all with one of the greatest music scores around . Its was almost like Treasure made the game, as a pisstake out of all the Mags and Developers that knocked the Saturn , and just wanted to prove a point . Look at this game ,and feel small . This game must have used every Saturn trick inthe book , and still to this day , dropping throw the clouds as never been done so well or bettered
Grandia -
Worth it for the music and intro alone , but the flypast on the start of the game (parm) ,is one of my personal Biggest jaw dropping moments in video games , I reall was speechless at the time .
Wonderful textures , Polygons and sprites everywhere , and no mater how much one rotated or zoomed in , not a hint of polygon clicthing , folding at all
INCREDIBLE was the only words to describe it .. One then goes to the port and witnesses , one of the greatest water effects ever used , no 32bit system did water Effects like Saturn could .
Games that showcase the system abilities, and make you feel great.
What with all the Talk of Fav Music , plus and minus point of the different systems in the Dreamcast Thread ECT I got thinking of All the games that showcase the system .
You know games that push the host hardware , Make you feel great , and games that you want .. not only to show off to mates , but also to tell/show the world how great the game , and system is .
Like to Keep it 1 or 3 Top real showcase games (Per System) , though I?ll most prob add at least 20 for the Saturn alone , and for the Moment for the systems to be Retro-ish
Right Here goes my pathetic list ...
Master System
Psycho Fox -
I sometimes feel this a little overretted , but as one of the best games to showcase the MS , its Hard to Fault , with super smooth scrolling , lovely sprites and colour everywhere.
Phantasy Star -
If only for the amazing 3D sections , how on earth Naka got that to work on the MS and look so brilliant , I still do this day will never now
Chopper Lifter ? Ok I bet people will laugh , but to me this looked utterly amazing , back inthe day . With the most Impressive Multi Layer Parllax scrolling , I?ve ever seen on a 8 bit system (well baring the PC-Eng).
Mega Drive :
Thunder Force IV ?
Used to have countless battles in school with not only the NCL crew , but the Amiga and ST lads (how would dismiss out of hand Consoles , and so would be Computer teacher) . Still still at the day , I gathered them all , to come up the house after school , and I wacked on the game . Jaws dropped , with everyone saying , that?s a Neo Geo game .
I mean bar issues with colour and Sound , it looks like a Saturn or PS shooter , never mind Neo Geo , and the GFX still hold well today . How did techno boys get that multi Layer scrolling, out of the humble MD, I really couldn?t fathom. And incredible showcase of the system and the programmers talent
SNES :
Contra III ?
I remember reading the MM reviews , and thinking to myself , no way can the game be that good , or look better than Arcade games , but how wrong can one be .
There?s some times, I wish could go back in time and relive the experience or at least find a way to bottle the feeling of Joy one got , and Playing Contra III for the very 1st time, would be one of those moments in time .
Staring off, it looked ok , but nothing really that great , then it?s started to get so very spectacular .
1st sign that I knew was in something special , was when then Bomber plane does it ?s swoop In , not only did it look spectacular , but the sound effect was off the chart , one almost took cover it sounded so real.
You then meet 1st Boss , and WOW, not only was is it massive , but it also used a wonderful effect (that I really hadn't seen before)
That was as to nothing as when you play the Overhead Level , and I did actually shout out the words FUC*KING HELL, as the camera and screen rotated and swooped down , plus the music just demanded me , to put the TV on full blast
If all that wasn?t enough , Konami Ripped the Piss , with one of the best gaming bosses EVER , Him swirling and zooming out of the screen, was enough to one 's eye?s pop out , but you also then had music and sound effects just sounding bloody awesome , with brilliant gameplay , that it could help but put a massive smile on ones face
One of my best gaming days ever that was , and even though I was a BIG SEGA fan , I looked over at my MD, and it looked quite sad on that day .
Mega CD
Batman Returns -
I think I?ll mutter the words John O? Brien on my Death Bed , I have so much respect for what hid did . For ages we had all the Press slamming the Mega CD , no good games , its scaling isn?t a patch on the Snes , and what have you . Along came this game and shut all the doubters up .For the 1st time , inthe home I was playing a game that looked , and moved every bit as good as the best Scaling Coin Ups in my Arcade . Not only was the scaling super smooth and just used on everything and some of the greatest and biggest explosions ever seen , but the buildings looked so real , looked so solid and had a great 3D-ish effect on the sides of the buildings (that not even OutRun had in the Arcades) . It also had no flicker , multi layers of Parallax , and colour wise looked every bit as colourful as a SNES game , add in the Monster Sound Track and Sound effects , and one had a showcase game , in every sense of the world .
PS
Metal Gear Soild -
In the old VGI days , I used to have many debates and would always try and make out the Saturn, could have done this and that , with people like Joe . But not even I would waste my time , trying to make out the Saturn could handle this game.
This game was just stunning, so well realised down the smallest detail , like breath and foot prints . I was playing it down my mates , and it was one of the few games I enjoyed playing as much I did watching it being played (just so I could take it all in ) and the Moment was asked to place the Joypad on the floor and see it move , was the stuff of Video game legends .
Saturn
RSG ?
OK this isn?t about if it?s a Good shooter , what its about is a Showcase , and it really doesn?t come much better than this . I remember speaking to Lee , the day he was sending out all the Dream machines/ VGI lads copies , and him saying ?You wait until you see it , This is what I expect Dreamcast games to look like , it made the wait until the next day painful .
But as soon as one turned it on , You knew Lee was right . Stunning Swirling , rotating Backgrounds, Massive ships and more sprites than one could take it , all with one of the greatest music scores around . Its was almost like Treasure made the game, as a pisstake out of all the Mags and Developers that knocked the Saturn , and just wanted to prove a point . Look at this game ,and feel small . This game must have used every Saturn trick inthe book , and still to this day , dropping throw the clouds as never been done so well or bettered
Grandia -
Worth it for the music and intro alone , but the flypast on the start of the game (parm) ,is one of my personal Biggest jaw dropping moments in video games , I reall was speechless at the time .
Wonderful textures , Polygons and sprites everywhere , and no mater how much one rotated or zoomed in , not a hint of polygon clicthing , folding at all
INCREDIBLE was the only words to describe it .. One then goes to the port and witnesses , one of the greatest water effects ever used , no 32bit system did water Effects like Saturn could .
As soon as I got the SFC, I looked at the MD and thought: " How did that go from being amazing - to feeling like an MS? " 
.... I totally agree with all your sentiments. The game rocks the SFC to the limits. 
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