games that interest me that i want to try putting my own spin on some day, in what started as an ordered list but then i got distracted and didnt feel like ranking it anymore:
- metroid
- metroid prime
- megaman
- starfox
- persona
- phantasy star online
- perfect dark
- sonic adventure
- metroid other m
- kirby super star
- uncharted waters new horizons
- banjo kazooie
- castlevania 64
below the cut: a little bit of explanation for each game:
super metroid
the obvious thing about metroid as a series is the non-linear open world structure. everyone knows that—its a boring, basic take. metroid is actually very structured in a way that i find to be more clever than its imitators, and it just hits better for me. i have yet to play a metroid-like that gets me lost because they all adhere to the same formula.
what i like about super metroid is samus hot. samus hot is reward for play game good. nintendo power have illustration for samus hot. i wanted to be samus when i was a kid. this confused adults who didnt understand why a boy was saying "i want to grow up to be this cool woman"
all those SotN-likes that everyone likes just dont do that.
metroid prime
metroid prime came out at a time when i was getting interested in first person shooters, namely goldeneye and perfect dark on the N64. and prime just nailed the controls, y'know? the next game to do that would be my 4th FPS, halo. obviously i cant put my own spin on controls, thats a solved problem
prime is a platformer, it is a shooter, it is an adventure game. i liked having the scan visor open and inspecting scanning everything, getting all that world buildy goodness. it was fun to hunt items. it was fun trying to scan every enemy (though prime 2 would introduce the 100%-able logbook).
but prime has immaculate art direction. game's fucking gorgeous to look at, even 23 years later. soundtrack slaps. i love tallon iv like i love zebes. i feel so confident i know these worlds from front to back that i could draw a map and it would be 99% accurate (wait, what % of prime is the mines?)
metroid other m
allegedly, the english translation was botched, and the writing works better in japanese. like there's core details that were completely skipped over. translation aside, there's a whole plot line that just gets dropped with no satisfying conclusion; it wants to be a murder mystery, but doesnt do the work of a mystery story, and it literally ends with "oh, this one guy was the killer," and we only discover that because he's already fuckin dead.
other m's a fantastic game otherwise. the isometric-ish, fixed-ish camera is dope as hell. the combat slaps. the game has the best ridley fight in the entire series (and there are so damn many ridley fights in this series) (shame it comes after that cutscene, though...) the game's atmosphere is the most similar to the OG NEStroid. the controls work perfectly for the wii remote in a way that i think would be difficult to adapt to a controller with a joystick and more buttons.
megaman
the lore of the games all happened after i stopped playing the series, so idk whats going on, but from what i hear its wild.
i like the stage art and character designs. every indie developer says "i was inspired by megaman legends," like thats not the most basic take of all time. wow, yet another indie dev who likes the art of megaman legends. how original! and sure, the art has a charm about it, with its big blocks of flat colors and simple shading. but the imitators, despite their claims of being inspired by the game, are boring and uninspired. it was like they looked at the art in this game and the only thing they took away was that the textures are pixel art.
while i like the art style of megaman legends, what i like more is the original NES series and the X series. those look cool and flashy. and i think people get their wires crossed, because they'll explain what it is they like about megaman legends' art style, and literally none of it is true. but it is true of megaman X, but they don't say that. its like theyre afraid of saying "i like megaman X" as if it'll make them look like theyre basic edgelords (because the X makes it eXtreme!!!!)
i like megaman X
starfox
i think most people think of starfox as starfox 64, and specifically peppy's "DO A BARREL ROLL!" line. but ive never played any SF games after 64, so maybe most people think of starfox as "blue fox lady hot; furry game" (idk, im not a furry)
but what i fondly remember of the game is that most levels have so many secrets. fly through these arches/rings to get a power-up. fly through all of them them and unlock a secret route to another level. there's a laser power-up hidden behind those buildings that you cant see because of the fixed camera perspective.
there are 3 landmaster (tank) levels. there is one (1) singular blue marine (submarine) level. these are stand-out levels because they are few, making them feel special. i think if you do the normal route you get exactly 1 landmaster level, and you have to go hard on the hard route to get to the blue marine.
there's a level where your home base (great fox) is under attack and you can fly around it to defend it, but you can also fly inside of it and get repairs. game starts with your squadron getting launched out of the ship, and on the hard route it ends with you being able to go back inside. and also you have to save your ship.
sonic adventure 2
ff14 is incredibly similar to sonic adventure. shadowbringers is exactly like sonic adventure 2. i will not elaborate further.
rouge hot. i wanted to be the sassy big titty bat lady as a kid. i might be a furry
perfect dark
joanna dark hot.
goldeneye was a good game but rare stepped up their game for perfect dark. the mission/difficulty/objective structure is so unlike anything after. and the game can be played in co-op. and the multiplayer is goldeneye but better. and the bots in multiplayer are also unlike anything that came after. there is nothing like perfect dark and i want there to be something like perfect dark. i want a game i can play with my sisters and my dad again, and i guess ive gotta be the one to make that game for us to play.
phantasy star online
HUnewearl hot. PSO was the first game i played with a character creator. i got to make a hot lady like whats on the cover. i got to play as my hot lady with my friend. i want to make an action RPG that is best played with friends, with a character creator.
kirby super star
super smash bros has an innovative control scheme that began with kirby super star. KSS is an anthology of games. the leitmotifs carry across the game in a satisfying way, from the first "hey, here's a tutorial" tune to the final credits roll. the backgrounds are cute, the enemies are cute, the scenarios are fun and varied.
persona
i have never played a persona game myself, i have only watched streamers play it
my basic take: i like shogi meguro's music
one downside of watching streamers play the games is that they dont do everything, and the games are long and keeping 100% attention on such a long game is difficult. so there's probably a lot about the games that im missing out on by not playing them myself.
i like the presentation and setting of inaba in 4. i like the way palaces work as dungeons in 5. i dont like tartarus in 3 or mementos in 5, but dungeons in 4 weirdly work for me?
i think it would be fun to make a small town like inaba, come up with a story that plays out over a few weeks/months (not a full year), and... idk. maybe i just want to make a visual novel.
uncharted waters new horizons
UW2:NH is another one of those games that i never played myself, but it fascinates me. i watched my dad play it as a kid. it has 6 (or 8? its an even number) characters with their own scenarios, storylines, and objectives. and they cross each other throughout the game! and this is a SNES game! also its about sailing ships in the age of sail. well, commanding a fleet of ships. and you could duel other captains with what was a cross between a hand of cards, but also it was just rock-paper-scissors (and RNG); easily the weakest aspect of the game.
my dad primarily played it as a trader rather than a pirate. he was very good at managing the trading aspect with the ship-protecting battle aspect. the games myriad systems fascinate me, and ive wanted to make a game like this for many years. make a whole world full of characters and go sailing! and then i'd put it in front of my dad and say, "hey, i made this because i liked watching you play uncharted waters as a kid." my dad loved boats and ships.
i dont know if i'll ever make a game like this anymore. he died of cancer last year. i lost my audience. i never finished any game for him to play.
banjo kazooie
collectathon go brr. my spin on the genre: no self-awareness, no ashamed irony poisoning. the yooka-laylee games lean too far into "lmao arent video games cringe?" like theyre trying to beat buzzfeed to the punch. is buzzfeed even a thing anymore? the writers keep glancing between the audience and the game with their hand on a dial for how self-deprecating they should be.
so my spin would be: the writing takes itself seriously, with complete sincerity, no matter how silly the scenario may be. thats the way banjo-kazooie did it, and thats the reason why its the only good collectathon they made.
castlevania 64
this is a horror game: it has a dark atmosphere, monster ladies have their tits out, and the stories are... tragedies? the platforming is precise and demanding in a way that i like... but there's one level where you can cut loose and just GO for it, which is frankly ridiculous because the floor is ice over an infinite void; of all the times to go fast, that level is not an obvious choice, but it weirdly works, and its so much easier than being cautious and careful.
also: monster ladies have their tits out. this game is probably why im a monsterfucker
drakengard 3
tara platt is zero.