Board 8 > I think 2001 might be objectively the best year for gaming.

(+) Yeah! (+)

It's not even my favorite year, but holy shit, it is both stacked at the top with classics and it runs deep with gems, as well as being a general turning point for gaming all around. All in all, there were 8 different consoles, before you even include PC, that produced something of significant worth, as gaming transitioned between the 5th and 6th generation of consoles about as seamlessly as possible.

The PS2 is in full-swing now and basically cranking out at least one modern classic a month. A short list of PS2 games to come out this year - Final Fantasy X, Grand Theft Auto III, Metal Gear Solid 2, Silent Hill 2, Devil May Cry, Gran Turismo 3, Ico. That do anything for you? That's far from the end of it too, I'm sure I missed some things, but those are all huge. The PS2 is pretty much on top of the world at this point.

The GC and Xbox would both be released at the end of the year to a lot of hubbub. The GC, within about a month of launch, would put out Super Smash Bros. Melee, which, you know, is pretty big. It would also round out its launch window with Luigi's Mansion, Pikmin, Super Monkey Ball, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II, and Wave Race: Blue Storm, all console exclusives. They do not make launch windows like this anymore. Xbox, meanwhile, would have its mega-hit, Halo, and like it or hate it, Halo was a massive fucking deal and it was a huge achievement for console games at the time. I wasn't an Xbox owner but I played one at my friend's and I was impressed. It also had Dead or Alive 3 and Project Gotham Racing so it wasn't a total one-hit wonder though it wasn't as deep in exclusive games as GC was. Both consoles were fun as hell right out of the gate though.

The GBA also came out and here's a short list of stuff within its first few months of life: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Advance Wars, Golden Sun, Wario Land 4, Super Mario Advance, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Mega Man Battle Network. Not all of this is quite within the "launch window" but it's within the first six months. The GBA was great and this was a gigantic leap forward for portable game systems.

Other consoles were having some nice swan songs. The Dreamcast was sadly winding down to the end of its short life, but it would still put out Sonic Adventure 2, Phantasy Star Online (a personal favorite), and Crazy Taxi 2 before it croaked. The Nintendo 64, living pretty much entirely on its big titles, would put out two critically acclaimed hits in Paper Mario and Conker's Bad Fur Day. The Playstation 1 would still be cranking out a lot of shit for some reason but it had Dragon Warrior VII, and uh... Mega Man X5, I guess (we won't talk about X6 though). Oh, the Game Boy Color had The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Ages and Pokemon Crystal. It's a pretty fucking deep year when I'm getting to Zelda and Pokemon this far in.

Oh do you like PC games? How about the new expansion to this little game called Diablo II? Lord of Destruction is pretty much the definitive version of the game, so even though Diablo II came out before 2001 I kind of give 2001 credit anyway. Baldur's Gate II would also get its Throne of Bhaal expansion. Serious Sam would come out this year, as well as Max Payne.

There's other shit too. I didn't even find room for stuff like SSX Tricky or Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. There's just great stuff everywhere. This was a year of gaming where it just felt like everything was firing on all cylinders and I think back on 2001 very fondly as a whole - it really felt like a big year.

It'll probably still lose to 1998 for some reason.

I think Ico is a gigantic smear on the year personally but you built a solid argument for the rest.
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MenuWars posted...

I think Ico is a gigantic smear on the year personally but you built a solid argument for the rest.

I mean, hey, I listed plenty of games I personally don't like!

2001 is a clear second... but it's a distant second.

1998 is going to win because the best game ever came out that year, and not one but but FIVE mega series were started that year, in addition to having maybe the best olatfoemer ever. And being the 3D tipping point.

Also CotM is arguably the worst of the metroidvanias, it's still a good game if you're into that kind of thing, but it's not a standout.
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MenuWars posted...

Also CotM is arguably the worst of the metroidvanias, it's still a good game if you're into that kind of thing, but it's not a standout.

I mean, it's my favorite personally! I admit that the GBA list in general ranks a little less in the 'standout' category but I think it's still astonishingly good for a portable system of this time.

Interesting. I find that the map layout is a bit too linear in it and it's immensely grindy. I do however think it has the second best final boss form of the series. But his attack patterns are kinda garbage.
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2001 has some big games. I'm not crazy about most of it though - I think I ranked it around 13th or so, so middle of the road. I do like me some Shadow Hearts though.
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Halo reinvented, or basically created the modern day shooter, Silent Hill 2 is arguably the best survival horror game ever, even now. Crazy Taxi and PSO were fucking fantastic and PSO especially was a lot of peoples first foray into any online gaming.

Also Project Got Ham Racing was an amazing racing game and basically brought kudos to the mainstream love it or hate it.

So there's a lot to love there. Certainly can't describe it personally as middle of the road. But I suppose it depends what genres you love. If you're an RPG outside of FFX it wasn't your year.

Also Advance Wars!!!
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yeah but what's it got for me, the person who only plays adventure games (other than the excellent Shadow of Destiny)
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MenuWars posted...

Project Got Ham Racing

Want.
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It is the best year in gaming by any stretch of imagination but 1998 and possibly even 1997 is going to beat it in this contest.
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PumpkinCoach posted...

yeah but what's it got for me, the person who only plays adventure games (other than the excellent Shadow of Destiny)

PW1 came out in japan that year if you can read moonrunes. Totally qualifies it as a top tier year for adventure games IMO
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Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Civilization III
Boulders Gate 2
Dark Age of Camelot
Black & White
Tribes 2
Aliens versus Predator 2
Worms World Party

more PC games
2001 was pretty strong wasn't it
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Yeah, I thought about mentioning Gyakuten Saiban, but I'm going by NA release dates here and that obviously doesn't fly. It IS crazy to think about it being one of the first GBA games though! It was within about 9 months of the GBA's japanese release.

LOLIAmAnAlt posted...

Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Civilization III
Boulders Gate 2
Dark Age of Camelot
Black & White
Tribes 2
Aliens versus Predator 2
Worms World Party

more PC games
2001 was pretty strong wasn't it

Yeah I was hoping someone would fill in my knowledge gaps on the PC front because I knew there was a lot of stuff I wasn't familiar with. (Baldur's Gate II is 2000 though, only the expansion is 2001)

oh hey, Anachronox and Project Eden came out in 2001. yeah, p. good year.
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MenuWars posted...

Also CotM is arguably the worst of the metroidvanias

Harmony of Dissonance would like to have a word with you
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ZeroSignal620 posted...

MenuWars posted...

Also CotM is arguably the worst of the metroidvanias

Harmony of Dissonance would like to have a word with you

Yeah this
Anyone hating on CotM while HoD exists...I don't get it
I have no idea how they managed to screw that game up, it's such an easy forumla to make a good game at and yet they failed
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I like Circle of the Moon because it's the Metroidvania that most feels like an old Castlevania

it's not good at either style though! portrait much better in that regard
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Paratroopa1 posted...

It's not even my favorite year, but holy shit, it is both stacked at the top with classics and it runs deep with gems, as well as being a general turning point for gaming all around. All in all, there were 8 different consoles, before you even include PC, that produced something of significant worth, as gaming transitioned between the 5th and 6th generation of consoles about as seamlessly as possible.

The PS2 is in full-swing now and basically cranking out at least one modern classic a month. A short list of PS2 games to come out this year - Final Fantasy X

should have just ended the topic right here. Good enough
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I agree that HoD is probably the weakest metroidvania Castlevania, but it's still pretty fun!

Anyway, 2001 definitely has a strong case. For me DQVII and probably Paper Mario are top 10 games, and then MGS2, FFX, Melee, and the Oracles are all solid support.
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Best arcade game of 2001 was probably Initial D: Arcade Stage.
I remember specifically hunting down arcades with friends to find this game.
It was fun
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