Board 8 > transience presents: The 50 Most Essential 2d Video Games (with writeups)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Well yeah, I would definitely not say that either Pong or Zork is "essential."

Moreso than for its gameplay though, Pong is always gonna be relevant for being the video game that brought games from arcades and computer labs and put them into living rooms.

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Man, I just got a feeling of deja vu reading you post, JaKyL.

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What, did I accidentally steal a line from someone?

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bit trip beat is kind of a single player pong game. and we can't forget psx pong from the late 90's which wasn't a bad game.

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People who don't finish their sentences
I'm a Castlevania superfan! Ask me anything!

No, I don't think so. And now thinking about it, it is very likely that I have seen a new page in a topic with only a post by you with 2 lines and that sig with text to image turned on, so the feeling this time is pretty stupid, but it was there none the less.

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30. Super Mario World

Platform: SNES
Release Date: 1991
Video:

Super Mario World is a great game, my favourite Mario game. The cape, Yoshi, switch palaces, star road, alternate exits, Yoshi coins, ghost houses -- all things that came straight from this game. There's a fun factor to World that I find missing from other Mario games. It's undefinable but there's just a special something about the way the levels are designed, the way the cape moves or the thrill of getting a Yoshi. Maybe it's the music. Maybe it's the physics. I don't know. Something about this game is just happy.

And yet when I sit down try to think of a specific moment in Mario World that defines the game, I can't come up with one. When I think of Mario 1, 2 or 3, I can instantly recall specific areas or levels. In Mario World it's just a blur of happiness. What I'm trying to say is that Mario World, while awesome, doesn't quite have the pedigree that Mario 1 or 3 do. It's undoubtedly a second tier Mario game when it comes to importance. You could skip this game and just play 3 and probably wouldn't miss very much.

can't imagine life without Yoshi, though

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xyzzy

i'll take that as a formal confession that mario 3 > mario world

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i'm dumb as hell holy crap -ExThaNemesis

3 is the superior game

World is my preferred game

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"Mr. Paris, I assume you've had a great deal of experience being rejected by women." ~SCP~
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3 > World

Superiority and preference

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Mario 3 > Mario World sounds about right.

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peace comes from within

World the best easily

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SegMlCassieIsAmazingjhsux~>[64T2jampXDpikaness is awesome!8forgaMike RSmurf is too!

world has much better levels in theory but you can cheese half the game with the cape which is pretty lame

also 'there is zero punishment for dying' this is not a good thing!
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29. Super Meat Boy

Platform: XBLA/PC
Release Date: 2010
Video:

Super Meat Boy is platforming distilled to its very essence. If Super Mario Bros. is the father of modern platforming, then Super Meat Boy is its logical conclusion -- extremely fast, incredibly precise, hundreds of levels, a wall jump, tons of warp zones and secret items, a level editor, literally dozens of playable characters, super duper hard (and that's not including the built-in hard mode). Super Mario Bros. is a light stroll with you and Mario, pressing the A button when you see a pit or enemy and holding the B button if you feel like it. Super Meat Boy, on the other hand, demands you play a level dozens of times until you know its intricacies -- not just where to go but how hard to press the button and when to let go.

Meat Boy is an incredible package with so much content packed in that it's kind of dizzying. It is basically a love letter to video games. The game features references to dozens of classic gaming series. Gish, Braid, VVVVVV, Minecraft, I Wanna Be The Guy, N+ -- all of these games are represented and are faithfully recreated within Meat Boy. It's too bad they had to stick to indie games without publishers because this could have been even better with some gaming icons.

I find Super Meat Boy to be an essential game that goes all-in on its concept and succeeds brilliantly. Its physics and momentum are not my cup of tea, but it feels like the last platformer you will ever need to play.

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xyzzy

SMW is my least favorite of the big five Mario platformers, although I'm still a huge fan of it and don't prefer SM64 to it by a whole lot (if I do, that is).

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Currently Playing - StarCraft: Brood War

28. Galaga
Platform: Arcade
Release Date: 1981
Video:

Anytime I see a Galaga arcade cabinet, I have to play it. It's a quick 10-15 minute play and it's never a game I actively seek out, but if I see it then I play it and enjoy it. Galaga isn't really all that influential but I have a hard time thinking of an old-school shooter that is more essential or popular. Galaga is just as fun now as it was 30 years ago, a true accomplishment considering how most games from that era aged. Getting two ships at once, bonus stages, shooting all the waves while they're looping around -- this game's just fun.

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xyzzy

27. Final Fantasy

Platform: NES
Release Date: 1987
Video:

It's really hard to gauge the original Final Fantasy. In a lot of ways, this game is completely obsolete -- very little of what you see in FF1 has remained relevant. The game has very dated gameplay and is nearly impossible to play today without an emulator with frameskip. Remakes have added functionality and modernized it some, but there's only so much you can do with that dated magic system and a limited battle system.

That said: Fighter, Black/White/Red Mage, crystals, LIGHT WARRIORS, airships, Garland, Lich/Tiamat/Kary[Malirith]/Kraken, TCELES B HSUP, many of the spells that came to define Final Fantasy (Fire/Lightning/Ice/Haste/Holy/Flare/Exit) and countless others. Many core elements began here and evolved into very important parts of the series. I don't know how much this game means in the grand scheme of things but it certainly feels like a huge first step. It feels absolutely classic even to people who didn't play it 20 years ago. It may be dated but I think most people can agree that it has some very memorable parts and can be pretty addicting if you can get over how old it is.

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xyzzy

SMB over V? Hmm. I think I'd go V there, but both are list-worthy.

Putting FF1 that low must have hurt!

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peace comes from within

V is better - SMB is a bit more important considering everything it goes for. V is just a fun one-button little game with cool music.

FF1 the best

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xyzzy

Yeah, I guess I'd agree with that. I liked the writeup for SMB, that sums it up well.

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peace comes from within

26. Street Fighter IV

Platform: 360/PS3
Release Date: 2009
Video:

This game is probably the most influential 2d game of this generation -- and really, all it did was take Street Fighter 2, tweak it in all the right ways and give it functional online play. In the end, all people really wanted was to be able to use classic character and mash dragon punches. You can do all of that in SF4.

But there's also a really deep and involved competitive side of this game that appeals to a whole other crowd. SF4 is a brilliant game because it can satiate both casual and competitive players.

I think the main thing this game did right was its timing. It came out right in the middle of the youtube generation and at the beginning of the ustream/justin.tv boom. Now you can all watch all the competitive matches you want and live stream a big fighting game tournament. It's gotten to the point where SF4 is like a sport and you know the participants. There are countless resources for getting better thanks to all of these sites - I heard a joke the other day that 95% of the internet is now dedicated to teaching you how to not suck at fighting games. It's kind of true!

SF4 came out two and a half years ago and was a smash hit. Since then we've gone from being starved for 2d fighters to being overrun by them - Blazblue, Marvel 3, and MK9 are all pretty big and there are a bunch more on their way. Somehow, it's the 90s all over again. Capcom is even doing yearly updates to games and porting old fighters in an attempt to keep the SF4 bug going. SF4 may have been in the right place at the right time but it's also a freaking awesome game. If SF2 didn't exist, this would be a top 10 game for sure.

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xyzzy

Top 25 time

50. Contra 4
49. Uniracers
48. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
47. Ninja Gaiden
46. Outland
45. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
44. World of Goo
43. Mortal Kombat 2
42. Tecmo Bowl
41. Lode Runner: The Legend Returns
40. Crystalis
39. Warioware, Inc.
38. N+
37. Mega Man 9
36. Final Fantasy VI
35. NBA Jam
34. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game
33. Bionic Commando Rearmed
32. Metroid: Zero Mission
31. VVVVVV
30. Super Mario World
29. Super Meat Boy
28. Galaga
27. Final Fantasy
26. Street Fighter IV


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xyzzy

I think SFIV is one of the most influential games this gen, probably top 5. Just out of bias I'd probably put it higher!

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peace comes from within

oh yeah I forget about Diablo 2 and Warcraft being "2D" games. Those are easily top 10.

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Donny: Are they gonna hurt us, Walter?
Walter: No, Donny. These men are cowards.

yeah weapons is one of the main things I like about MM9

besides the somewhat different level design that I like a bith more than 1-8's styles

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We're up to 5 games I haven't played.

DoS
World of Goo
Mega Man 9
Warioware
Super Meat Boy

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RayDyn on his Droid, probably at work.

Alright, I was gonna rage about FFVI's placement (being on the list) but that writeup sits well with me.

FF1 da best.

25. Arkanoid

Platform: Arcade
Release Date: 1986
Video:

I always thought it was interesting that Pong-type games kept evolving right up until Arkanoid came out. You had Pong, then Breakout, then stuff like Video Olympics, then Arkanoid, and then nothing. They just stopped being made. I thought it was because Arkanoid nailed the concept so well that there was nowhere else you could really go. For once it was actually fun to just sit there and break blocks.

It's not like silly block games didn't keep evolving. We moved on to Tetris and Dr. Mario and Rampart and who knows what else. I don't know that Arkanoid is super significant in the grand scheme of things but it remained the premiere block breaking game for at least 10 years. I saw this game in arcades everywhere throughout the 90s. That strikes me as it being kind of an important game.

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xyzzy

24. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

Platform: NES
Release Date: 1987
Video:

Punch-Out is weird. It isn't really inspired by anything, nor did it go on to inspire anything. It's kinda tucked away in its own little corner. But at the same time, it is one of the most classic games ever made, something everyone has either played or is familiar with. The sound effects, the music, Glass Joe, Piston Honda, King Hippo, the ways to knock down fighters, the special moves that each fighter uses -- most gamers know this stuff and know it cold. It was beaten into their heads by this damn game.

Punch-Out was always interesting because it was basically a twitch puzzle game disguised as a sports game. There's really nothing sport-y about this game. Its arcade style hides the fact that your opponents are giant puzzles that you have to decode and react to. I always thought that was really neat. Punch-Out maybe shouldn't be on this list but damn if it doesn't feel like an essential game.

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xyzzy

I always get confused when people use "SMB" for Super Meat Boy.

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I'm pretty sure they have that acronym on purpose.

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xyzzy

23. Super Mario Kart

Platform: SNES
Release Date: 1992
Video:

I'm of two minds about this game. I think this game is incredibly important in a way - there was nothing like it prior to its release and it became *the* multiplayer game on the system (and maybe the first real Nintendo multiplayer game ever, an area that they now dominate with games like Wii Sports or Smash Bros). It spawned an entire subgenre of less serious racing games, not to mention tremendous sales. This might be the most significant release on the SNES as nothing else really created a genre like this. Metroid 3, Mario 4, Zelda 3, Final Fantasy 6 -- the SNES is sequel heaven. There were very few new ideas there, just sequels that could take advantage of the huge jump in technology. Mario Kart was an innovative new take. A racing game with a mode dedicated to just killing each other? What!

On the other hand, SMK has kind of died out and given way to sequels. Nobody really plays SMK anymore. It's slow and the sequels have really turned all the things that people look for in a Mario Kart up to 11. More items, more players, more stages, more CPU players, etc etc. Personally, I think every Mario Kart released after SMK went away from skill and into random luck and chance, with Mario Kart Wii being a game that's borderline bad because of it, but the fact is that SMK doesn't really have a place these days. I loved this game so big in the 90s and I will be surprised if I ever play it again. I don't know that I can recommend somebody play it today.

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xyzzy

Huh,t hat's what Arkanoid is.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

MK64 > SMK >> The rest

I quit playing Mario Kart with the DS version, and nothing I've seen from the Wii version compels me to play it.

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Wow I'm not familiar with Arkanoid at all.

Also I didn't care for Super Mario Kart even back when it was new, but Mario Kart 64 just clicked for me. Not sure why.

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<Die the death>! <Sentence to death>! <Great equalizer is the death>!!

I hated Mario Kart 64. I think you can trace my dislike of the n64 to that game. it just felt so long and boring.

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xyzzy

Arkanoid is awesome, always played it when I went to my parent's friends house

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Fire Todd Haley

Whoa, people not knowing what Arkanoid is.

I am old.

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yeah I'm surprised people don't know Arkanoid - I thought it was one of those games like Galaga where everyone had played it at some point. it might just be people over 25 or something.

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xyzzy

so because I'm only 25 I missed it?

I played the hell out of Galaga and Breakout, I think I just somehow missed this one. It happens.

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22. Dragon Warrior

Platform: NES
Release Date: 1986
Video:

Dragon Warrior is the slowest, most outdated game on this list. It is a game dedicated to walking in circles fighting enemies for literally hours before you can level up once. If I were to realistically recommend someone start somewhere with Dragon Warrior, it would be DW3 - it retains a lot of the first game's charms while turning it into a game that's actually playable.

But... there's something about the original Dragon Warrior. It might just be nostalgia, and if so you can disregard this recommendation. But I think it's more than that. Put it this way - I adore some Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest games but none have stuck with me over the years like the first one. The world map is pretty much imprinted on my head. I can tell you the HP values of most of the enemies. You start out fighting slimes and red slimes, then drakees and ghosts, then babbles and magicians and magidrakees, then scorpions, etc etc. I can tell you exactly where the square is that you fight the Axe Knight to get Erdrick's Armour. I can walk through the cave where Princess Gwaelin is held -- by a green dragon, who you can beat by putting him to sleep and getting a little lucky -- without using a torch. I can recite "Dost thou love me? But thou must." I can tell you the ten spells in order - Heal, Hurt, Sleep, Radiant, Stopspell, Outside, Return, Repel, Healmore, Hurtmore. I haven't played this game in years and years.

I don't even know why I know this. Dragon Warrior is just an absolute classic. I don't even recommend that people beat it, but they should probably play a few minutes of it and get to know what the game is like. The vastly superior sequels can't touch the classic feel of the original. It's probably nostalgia but it's nostalgia that's shared by a lot of gamers everywhere. I'm 90% sure that it's due to this game being the first of its kind on a console, but I don't care. This game is damned notable.

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xyzzy

Guadia Quest > Dragon Warrior

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<Die the death>! <Sentence to death>! <Great equalizer is the death>!!

Is Super Mario Kart a 2D game?

I mean, I know technically it is, but it's totally meant to simulate 3 Dimensional racing.

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Thank you, Eddie Guerrero.
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FF1 is good, tranny, but it's definitely not as good as 4, 5 or 6

IMO, IMO

I will say I prefer going back to it over the other NES installments. It wins the first trilogy.

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tag

im not a big sidescrolling gamer though, idk why

2D racers like SMK and RPGs like FFVI are favorites, but i never got into sidescrollers. It's hard to name even one i've finished

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/ssbsb/

is pole position 3d? damned 2d/3d distinction

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iphonesience

people not knowing what Arkanoid is? the hell

And I don't think it's an age thing, I'm only 20 and I've known what it is for probably a decade

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I didn't know at 24. I'm not an arcader... at all.

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"Mr. Paris, I assume you've had a great deal of experience being rejected by women." ~SCP~
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I'm not an arcade guy either, but I played Arkanoid on the SNES.

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Street Fighter 4 has sprites? Anyway I don't feel strongly about SF2 or 4. It seems crazy to me that Third Strike isn't the most popular game in the series.

Mario 3 > World maybe, but they're pretty close. I agree about the general feeling of happiness from World, that isn't present in 3 as much. 3 has better level design and difficulty curve, and World has the dumb cape. That's what separates them in my mind, they're both really quite good.

With Super Mario Kart, I've never succeeded in getting anyone into it unless they played it when they were younger. My group of friends hovers around Mario Kart 64 or Crash Team Racing, those seem to be the ideal point between skill and fun or whatever. The SMK controls can be tough to someone who's used to the newer ones.

I've been meaning to play Super Meat Boy, should probably do that soon. Sounds like something I'd like.

I didn't own an SNES until 2005. Before that I could only play at other peoples' houses so I devoted my time to games I'd heard lots of buzz about.

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"Mr. Paris, I assume you've had a great deal of experience being rejected by women." ~SCP~
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