HF Retro Game of the Year - 1997 - GoldenEye 007 Wins!

[RandV]

The only flaw in Mario Kart 64 is that from Super Mario Kart they took the top speed away from my man/ape Donkey Kong (and Bowser) and gave it to Yoshi

 

[Osprey]

I think that I understand what's great about the Mario Kart franchise, but I've never really understood why people praise the later entries as much as they do. I've played the original Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 64 felt just like Super Mario Kart to me, but with better graphics, and Mario Kart Wii, even though it came out over a decade later, still just felt like SMK with a graphics update. It's not that that's a bad thing--that kind of consistency is awesome and I wish that Super Mario Bros. had that, instead of each game feeling different--but I just get a little confused when people praise the later entries. Perhaps it's because Mario Kart 64 was a lot of people's (especially around here) first Mario Kart and whether it wasn't that different of a game from its predecessor is irrelevant.

 

[SniperHF]

Unlike a lot of games in the 2D to 3D transition, Mario Kart was helped immensely. It plays a lot better than the SNES version.
And 4 player.

 

[RandV]

I think that I understand what's great about the Mario Kart franchise, but I've never really understood why people praise the later entries as much as they do. I've played the original Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 64 felt just like Super Mario Kart to me, but with better graphics, and Mario Kart Wii, even though it came out over a decade later, still just felt like SMK with a graphics update. It's not that that's a bad thing--that kind of consistency is awesome and I wish that Super Mario Bros. had that, instead of each game feeling different--but I just get a little confused when people praise the later entries. Perhaps it's because Mario Kart 64 was a lot of people's (especially around here) first Mario Kart and whether it wasn't that different of a game from its predecessor is irrelevant.

Umm yeah, as someone who spent countless hours playing Super Mario Kart, from doing hundreds of battle rounds (we always played no red shells) to spending hours running time trials to shave milliseconds off of best time, I have to strongly disagree here. I actually do agree in principle with what you're saying, but the starting point is Mario Kart 64, not Super Mario Kart. It could just be an age thing but in general I had a funner time playing SMK, while I also played MK64 a tone I never got into the same level of obsessive detail as the original. But after getting used to MK64, it was hard to go back.

I mean it may look the same other than going from 2D->3D, but how the different characters operated was changed there was a subtle but significant shift in controls as well. In SMK when taking corners a lot of it was about taking your finger off the gas to reduce speed, while MK64 implemented and embraced the more aggressive power sliding manoeuvre that's become the franchise standard.

 

[Shareefruck]

How much of that is just the "standard" being what you've recently gotten used to and what's easier, rather than actually being better, though? I feel that it makes the game more challenging and manual. I've always disliked how the power-slide allowed you to take sharp turns relatively easily and be rewarded for it, rather than dreading them.

Btw, is the letting off the gas thing even proven to be a better method in SMK? I used to do that as a kid, but playing it again with the SNES classic, I've switched to the strategy of taking turns early and aggressively sliding into them (only occasionally tapping on and off slightly the moment before spin-out), and it feels like a better method to me.

Personally, I feel that the Mario Kart series has grown really stale and has barely moved in a meaningful way since the original as well, other than 3D tracks being easier on the eyes than Mode 7 and allowing four players. Other than that, the music hasn't gotten better, and other enhancements haven't added much to the experience, IMO.

Edit: Yeah, like this. You're not supposed to step off the gas on turns. That's just the easy, slow, risk-free way of handling it.


Like with most things, the SNES version is definitely less accessible, more minimalistic (which I prefer) and more unforgiving, but I think it's debatable if that makes it worse than the others.

While I dislike almost everything about the N64, I actually feel that Mario Kart 64 is one of the least impressive, innovative, and admirable of the big Nintendo sequels (like Super Mario 64, Starfox 64, or Ocarina of Time).

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

The only flaw in Mario Kart 64 is that from Super Mario Kart they took the top speed away from my man/ape Donkey Kong (and Bowser) and gave it to Yoshi

Don't Bowser and DK have the highest top-end speed, just brutal acceleration? Whereas someone like Yoshi has much better acceleration but not as good top speed. That's how I remember it at least.

Umm yeah, as someone who spent countless hours playing Super Mario Kart, from doing hundreds of battle rounds (we always played no red shells) to spending hours running time trials to shave milliseconds off of best time, I have to strongly disagree here. I actually do agree in principle with what you're saying, but the starting point is Mario Kart 64, not Super Mario Kart. It could just be an age thing but in general I had a funner time playing SMK, while I also played MK64 a tone I never got into the same level of obsessive detail as the original. But after getting used to MK64, it was hard to go back.

I mean it may look the same other than going from 2D->3D, but how the different characters operated was changed there was a subtle but significant shift in controls as well. In SMK when taking corners a lot of it was about taking your finger off the gas to reduce speed, while MK64 implemented and embraced the more aggressive power sliding manoeuvre that's become the franchise standard.

Yep, drifting in MK64 was much better and easier to control. The maps were a lot better as well, with a lot of memorable races. They created some pretty interesting strategies, like holding onto lightning for the Wario Stadium big jump to take out 1st/2nd/3rd place as they are too slow to make the jump when shrunk. And battle on Block Fort was great.

 

[RandV]

Don't Bowser and DK have the highest top-end speed, just brutal acceleration? Whereas someone like Yoshi has much better acceleration but not as good top speed. That's how I remember it at least.

Yeah I'm more joking with my angry rant, while it did always annoy me it was a change for the better. I don't remember the specific detail but it was much more clearly defined in SMK, even the instruction manual labelled Koopa & Toad as for beginner players while Bowser & DK were advanced. There were 4 attributes: size, acceleration, speed, and cornering. Koopa/Toad had best cornering, Yoshi/Peach had best acceleration, Mario/Luigi were balanced, and DK/Bowser had best size, speed, but worst acceleration and cornering.

For an advanced player though speed was what really mattered, to the point that if SMK had large scale online multiplayer the only people winning matches or setting the best time trials would be using DK or Bowser. Starting with MK64 I don't know if they outlined exactly what was changed they made it a bit more ambiguous so that anyone could win with anyone... though if you wanted to set the best time trials in MK64 I think you had to use Yoshi. I could be wrong but I feel like they mostly cut the speed attribute out of the equation and just differentiated on the other 3.

Either way, from my extensive SMK experience when it comes to Mario Kart I have forever been loyal to Donkey Kong

 

[MayDay]

I played SOOO much 4-player Goldeneye in the late 90s. What a blast. By far the #1 multiplayer game amongst my group of high school friends. Has my vote easily.

And aside from how influential it was, I have to disagree with those who say it doesn't hold up. Sure it's not as polished and refined as modern console FPSes, but if you go into it with the right frame of mind and the right group of people, it can still be fun as hell. A couple years ago I had a little get together with some of those old friends, someone wrangled up an old N64 and a Goldeneye cartridge. And guess what, it was still fun.

When I think of N64 classics that haven't held up well, I think of Mario 64. Sorry, but it's true. Great game, incredibly influential, but it's a PITA to play today.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Goldeneye tied for first??

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Looks like this is going to need a runoff between GoldenEye and Mario Kart 64.

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

Either way, from my extensive SMK experience when it comes to Mario Kart I have forever been loyal to Donkey Kong

that's ironic since you technically didn't play as Donkey Kong in SMK

 

[Shareefruck]

I played SOOO much 4-player Goldeneye in the late 90s. What a blast. By far the #1 multiplayer game amongst my group of high school friends. Has my vote easily.

And aside from how influential it was, I have to disagree with those who say it doesn't hold up. Sure it's not as polished and refined as modern console FPSes, but if you go into it with the right frame of mind and the right group of people, it can still be fun as hell. A couple years ago I had a little get together with some of those old friends, someone wrangled up an old N64 and a Goldeneye cartridge. And guess what, it was still fun.

When I think of N64 classics that haven't held up well, I think of Mario 64. Sorry, but it's true. Great game, incredibly influential, but it's a PITA to play today.

I don't think that something still being fun with the right frame of mind is evidence that it necessarily holds up, though, personally. Lots of mediocre things can be fun with the right frame of mind (just like bad movies can be fun with the right friends and the right frame of mind). The important question is, removed from nostalgia, is it one of the best games released in 1997 when looked at today?

I would argue that, outside of the laughably bad voice acting, if Symphony of the Night was released today, without any change, it would still be widely praised and considered one of the better games released this year. Same with something like Vampire Savior. A good game is a good game.

 

[TMLegend]

Lmao @ this poll. How do you not vote for FFVII??? And I'm not even a big time VII fan.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Lmao @ this poll. How do you not vote for FFVII??? And I'm not even a big time VII fan.

It's a decent game. My bias comes from not playing it at time of release and playing it after IX (which imo is a better game), but I just don't see the big deal about it.

Hell even it's predecessor is a better game I feel like.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Lmao @ this poll. How do you not vote for FFVII??? And I'm not even a big time VII fan.

As shocking as it may be, people often have different tastes in games.

 

[TMLegend]

As shocking as it may be, people often have different tastes in games.

It's not about taste. FFVII is by far the biggest and most influential game of that year. It literally revolutionized and made the JRPG genre popular in the western countries.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

It absolutely is about taste. Just because a game was more groundbreaking doesn't mean that people necessarily think it was the best game.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

If we're talking influence, isn't Ultima Online the best option? Haven't played it, but it was the first big mainstream MMO game and people seem to still have fond memories of it.

 

[Shareefruck]

It's a decent game. My bias comes from not playing it at time of release and playing it after IX (which imo is a better game), but I just don't see the big deal about it.

Hell even it's predecessor is a better game I feel like.

Its predecessor is easily the best Final Fantasy, and arguably one of the greatest games of all time, IMO.

 

[Pilky01]

Release date December 1997

A crime against humanity that we haven't gotten a follow up after the N64.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Its predecessor is easily the best Final Fantasy, and arguably one of the greatest games of all time, IMO.

I like VI a lot but for me IV is my favourite.

Kefka is definitely the best villain of the series though.

 

[PK Cronin]

Went with Age of Empires, strictly due to the amount of time I invested into it. Great game and I had a lot of fun with it. Mario Kart 64 is the game that holds up the best today I think.

 

[Osprey]

If we're talking influence, isn't Ultima Online the best option? Haven't played it, but it was the first big mainstream MMO game and people seem to still have fond memories of it.

Ultima Online is probably one of those rare cases in which it was highly influential despite not being that great of a game. It was so buggy and laggy, wasn't balanced and was largely just a sandbox in the beginning (i.e. not much story or many interesting quests). It was hard to enjoy the game, itself, but it was easy to enjoy that it was a totally new experience and playing with friends or strangers in an open world made up for a lot. The latter is what was influential. The game, itself, was actually inferior to the single player Ultima games. In that way, perhaps it wasn't too different from Goldeneye. I've never played that, but I get the impression that it's remembered fondly less because of gameplay, since it doesn't hold up well, and more because it was the first of its kind.

 

[Shareefruck]

I like VI a lot but for me IV is my favourite.

Kefka is definitely the best villain of the series though.

I can respect that. They're probably my two favorites, and I think they're both pretty close to flawless, but IV in a more minimalistic way, where it just "feels" right. The only thing I dislike about IV is the cop-out at the end

Spoiler

with all of the sacrifices.

The opening credits cinematic in VI gets me every time and is one of my favorite things.

 

[sabresfan129103]

Went with Symphony of the Night. Some other REALLY good games on that 1st. Metroidvania's are one of my favorite kinds of games. Had to go with the game that started that genre.

Fallout 1 is also a great game and I think it's way better than 2.