TGVGD The Great SNES Game Draft - Voting

[TD]

It sounds like everyone has a different method for picking their list/votes. I noticed I tend to give more weight to quantity of good picks than quality of good picks.

I took the quantity approach myself. In fact I told myself at the beginning of this that if anybody had 5 or more games that would've made my list then I would've voted for them. Alas, aside from my own, not a single list met my criteria.

It does seem like there's a jRPG + sports game bias, and not many people seem to care about platformers. I'm a whore for platformers though.

I don't think bias is the right word.

The interesting thing about the NES/SNES drafts is that it really demonstrated how different the taste in gaming can be. It also showed how tastes can change.

I'll use myself as an example. The NES era - I was all for platformers and played them to death. This translated to the SNES in the early stages with games like Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, and Joe & Mac.

Then at some point - I got tired of them. I don't know if it was platformer fatigue or just wanting to try something new. Enter my fascination with RPGs that has stuck since the SNES era.

Even games I've heard good things about like Super Mario 2, DKC2 & 3, the Mega Man games, and more - I never really got around to playing. This was probably due to those interests changing and what I'll call money issues growing up. But even when I went back to try those games, they just didn't connect with me.

In fact - I think I just don't like platformers overall anymore. Which leads me to something Raine said and a light bulb moment..

I haven't played them in probably 30 years, but my memory tells me they were a fun romp! Especially with a co-op partner.

Co-op. This is exactly what made platformers stand out to me in the SNES era and beyond. All of the SNES platformers I loved had a strong co-op element to them. They were social games.

I also think the fact they were social games is what made sports games and fighting games also so fascinating for many of us when we were younger.

 

[Smacktard]

Even games I've heard good things about like Super Mario 2, DKC2 & 3, the Mega Man games, and more - I never really got around to playing

I'm shocked man, especially knowing how much of a gamer you are. Some of those games are among the greatest of all time. I know what you mean about genre fatigue though. I long ago got tired of FPS, but I started playing through the Resistance games recently and they're alright. I'm suffering Metroidvania/roguelite fatigue too, but I have to say that Metroid Dread was excellent, and Hades was fantastic too.

All of the SNES platformers I loved had a strong co-op element to them. They were social games.

Yeah, now that you mention it, I have a lot of great memories playing DKC co-op. I don't have anyone to play couch co-op with anymore, apart from my wife who isn't a huge gamer. We had a lot of fun playing Snipperclips though, and I'm hoping I can get her into Super Mario Wonder. She's okay with Shredder's Revenge, which is kinda nice.

 

[VashTheStampede]

So I absolutely LOVE Mega Man. I think Mega Man 2 is a rare "perfect game".

I never enjoyed the X series.

 

[TD]

I'm shocked man, especially knowing how much of a gamer you are. Some of those games are among the greatest of all time. I know what you mean about genre fatigue though. I long ago got tired of FPS, but I started playing through the Resistance games recently and they're alright. I'm suffering Metroidvania/roguelite fatigue too, but I have to say that Metroid Dread was excellent, and Hades was fantastic too.

Honestly in a way it sucks for me - I'm definitely a huge gamer but basically since I was like 8 years old, I started to fall into the trap of "price of the game vs hours of entertainment". It's a shitty trap to fall into because you miss out on some great games but gaming has never been a cheap hobby.

I do still really want to go back and try those games, but I worry about not getting the co op experience with them. In addition to that, time is an issue too. For example, all I've really played for the last month is Sea of Stars, I still haven't beat it and in terms of modern RPGs it's actually quite short.

My backlog of modern games is huge. If I consider the backlog of retro games I want to play? I just have to accept that I won't play 90% of the games I want to.

I hear you on the FPS thing. Long ago I played Counterstrike and Unreal Tournament to death. After that, myself and 3 buddies played shit like Halo and MW2 on console for a bit. But since then I haven't touched an FPS and have no desire to.

Hades is another game I really want to try too. I just don't know if and when I'll get it to. Roguelites are huge in the market too so I'm not sure how I feel about them. Absolutely loved Rogue Legacy 2 though.

Yeah, now that you mention it, I have a lot of great memories playing DKC co-op. I don't have anyone to play couch co-op with anymore, apart from my wife who isn't a huge gamer. We had a lot of fun playing Snipperclips though, and I'm hoping I can get her into Super Mario Wonder. She's okay with Shredder's Revenge, which is kinda nice.

My wife also isn't a huge gamer. She'll rarely play a game with me and even then, it can't be something new. So when we play, we are playing either Sonic, Super Mario World, Tiny Toons, or Worms.

Same situation, no one to play couch co op with and those are some of my best memories in gaming. I do have one friend that we play online together a couple hours a week, or sometimes not at all. Online play isn't the same though.

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

So I absolutely LOVE Mega Man. I think Mega Man 2 is a rare "perfect game".

I never enjoyed the X series.

I enjoyed mega man x, but not the sequels as much. Mega Man 2 through 4 were just amazing. And then the ones they released on the Wii later were fantastic nostalgia bombs.

 

[Smacktard]

I think Mega Man 2 is a rare "perfect game".

I never understood the love for MM2. It's a bit busted; one of the weapons is broken and trivializes all of the bosses. And there's a Wily boss that you literally cannot beat if a specific one of your weapons isn't at full. If you:re just below full, you have to die until you get game over and restart the level.

I enjoyed mega man x, but not the sequels as much. Mega Man 2 through 4 were just amazing. And then the ones they released on the Wii later were fantastic nostalgia bombs.

X1-5 are great, but after that the series nose-dives. X1, X3, and X4 are my favorites, but MM9 on the Wii is one of the best games ever. It's Mega Man perfected.

For example, all I've really played for the last month is Sea of Stars, I still haven't beat it and in terms of modern RPGs it's actually quite short.

FWIW if I didn't have 3 hours a day of downtime at my job (5 during the month of Ramadan), my backlog would be a lot bigger. I do have this problem though where I keep buying games despite having an enormous backlog I won't get through anytime soon.

If I consider the backlog of retro games I want to play? I just have to accept that I won't play 90% of the games I want to

This thought scares me. I keep thinking I'll eventually be able to finish my backlog when I'm retired, or something lol.

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

I got around the issue of the game backlog by not playing games anymore.

 

[TD]

This thought scares me. I keep thinking I'll eventually be able to finish my backlog when I'm retired, or something lol.

I got around the issue of the game backlog by not playing games anymore.

My backlog has been growing faster than I can play them for years so I feel this to the core.

...I shudder to think what a backlog will look like come retirement.

All this chat reminds me of this painful reality:

 

[Raine]

I never enjoyed the X series.

WELL I KNOW WHO'S GETTIN' GANKED WHENEVER I BECOME A RANDOM KILLER.

It's really just MMX and MMX2, for me. MMX is the absolute pinnacle of the entire overarching series - it is perfect. And I don't mean that just in the sense that it plays great (although all of the ports fucking suck, Capcpom!), but also in that it's super good at teaching mechanics without overtly telling you. And it is still, as far as I can remember, the only one where the stages change based upon other Mavericks having been killed or not. I understand that eats a lot of resources and was the catalyst for X2 and beyond not continuing it, but that. Shit. Was. AMAZING?!

I never understood the love for X3. X4 was cool 'cause you got to play as Zero without limitations; X5 was meh, X6 was garbage, X7 was whatever comes after garbage, and I never actually got around to even looking at X8. I'll buy X9 for a high price (not $70 lmao) on Day 1 though, Capcpom! Do it you cowards.

Also give me a Legends remake! And Legends 3, god damn it!!

Honestly in a way it sucks for me - I'm definitely a huge gamer but basically since I was like 8 years old, I started to fall into the trap of "price of the game vs hours of entertainment". It's a shitty trap to fall into because you miss out on some great games but gaming has never been a cheap hobby.

Oh, for sure. I think I owned fewer than 10 games each for NES, SNES, GEN and N64 - and basically all of those were secondhand copies or pack-ins, like Super Mario World and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. If it wasn't for $2 game rentals, I wouldn't have any real experience with 99% of what I grew up playing. I got a "decent" selection of PS1 games just by virtue of those being cheaper and a local Mom & Pop opening up around that time.

Amusingly, I got into RPGs because I rented Yoshi's Story for the N64. Was super excited to play that over the weekend, but... not even four hours later, I got the ending credits. Didn't know back then that there were branching paths and such, but still - even for $2, there wasn't enough there to sink my teeth into. A friend brought over Final Fantasy VIII a couple of days later, and that following summer I proceeded to do a 36-hour marathon of that game. Been an insane masochist ever since.

I still like platformers, N+ would absolutely be on my X360 list, I just don't get around to playing them too often. Took a good 6 years to fire up Mario Galaxy (and Galaxy 2), and that experience was marvelous. It's now been however long since Odyssey released, though, and I have made no effort to play it.

 

[VashTheStampede]

X is fine. It's perfectly fine.

It's just no Rockman.

I dunno, I haven't tried to play one in a couple decades maybe. Perhaps I'll revisit them as an older, wiser gamer.

 

[TD]

If it wasn't for $2 game rentals, I wouldn't have any real experience with 99% of what I grew up playing.

Ugh. I miss game rentals so bad. Those were the glory days of gaming for me. When Blockbuster went out of business I was so sad.

This whole no rental, no demo, you gotta buy it at full price shit has put me off of trying SO MANY games.

A friend brought over Final Fantasy VIII a couple of days later, and that following summer I proceeded to do a 36-hour marathon of that game. Been an insane masochist ever since.

Most people I know seem to have their first experience with RPGs with a friend. Mine was FFIV (II in NA) and I became obsessed. I wanted to play them all on SNES and went back to play some on NES.

Took a good 6 years to fire up Mario Galaxy (and Galaxy 2), and that experience was marvelous.

Time for my gamer chops to be judged.

...I haven't really played a mario game since Super Mario World.

Although it wasn't fully by choice and had more to do with budgeting one console per gen. The last Nintendo console I owned was SNES.

 

[VashTheStampede]

Most people I know seem to have their first experience with RPGs with a friend. Mine was FFIV (II in NA) and I became obsessed. I wanted to play them all on SNES and went back to play some on NES.

Dragon Warrior was my first.

In retrospect I'm shocked I stuck with it.

 

[TD]

Dragon Warrior was my first.

In retrospect I'm shocked I stuck with it.

Honestly RPGs had some deep and meaningful topics that I obviously didn't fully grasp as a kid so I'm kinda shocked I got into them so young.

The amount of substory points or plots that I look back on - I wonder how I would've felt as a kid if I understood it.

One of the most notable "wtf" ones that I looked back on..

Spoiler: FFVI Celes

A fucking suicide attempt to start the second half? My 8 year old brain did not fully grasp that.

 

[VashTheStampede]

Spoiler: FFVI Celes

A fucking suicide attempt to start the second half? My 8 year old brain did not fully grasp that.

For me the moment that made me a lifelong RPG guy was the events directly preceding that.

Spoiler: Spoiler for a near 30 year old game

The bad guy WON. He got what he wanted! The rest of the game is practically a revenge story!

 

[TD]

For me the moment that made me a lifelong RPG guy was the events directly preceding that.

Spoiler: Spoiler for a near 30 year old game

The bad guy WON. He got what he wanted! The rest of the game is practically a revenge story!

YES.

Honestly there's so much about that game that makes it easily my favourite RPG of all time. I think I've played through it at least two dozen times and I still get giddy at some of it.

It's a big reason Kefka was my #2 RPG character.

Part of me wishes they'd do a ground up Remake of it but the other part of me feels like they would just ruin it.

 

[VashTheStampede]

I still get a weird hit of anxiety when I get the "Gotta wait for Shadow..." prompt lol

 

[TD]

I still get a weird hit of anxiety when I get the "Gotta wait for Shadow..." prompt lol

SAME.
There's also a couple times it hasn't worked and I'm still not sure why.

 

[Fire Queen]

Also give me a Legends remake! And Legends 3, god damn it!!

most correct thing in this thread so far

 

[Raine]

This whole no rental, no demo, you gotta buy it at full price shit has put me off of trying SO MANY games.

Indeed. It's also why GamePass fascinates me, and why I tried GameFly for a little while in the late aughts... but have done/did almost nothing with them. Going through the full PS2/GCN/XB1 gen without rentals would've been miserable without being in that sweet spot of having personal income but no mandatory responsibilities. So many amazing fucking games would've just whipped on by.

Time for my gamer chops to be judged.

...I haven't really played a mario game since Super Mario World.

Although it wasn't fully by choice and had more to do with budgeting one console per gen. The last Nintendo console I owned was SNES.

Understandable. I would tell you to, like, buy the Mario 3D Allstars so you can do SM64 + Sunshine + Galaxy, but Nintendo is fucking stupid!

There wasn't really enough on the N64 to warrant a purchase. But, at the risk of giving y'all ideas, Mystical Ninja, Mischief Makers, Diddy Kong Racing, Mario Kart 64, Mario 64, Mario Party 1~3, Ocarina and Majora, Smash Bros, Banjo-Kazooie, Snowboard Kids, even trash like Buck Bumble, Glover, Chameleon Twist... wait no hold on there was plenty to justify a purchase I'm going to be sitting here for half an hour listing games.

It's just that the PS1 was absolutely fucking untouchable. And cheaper! I definitely played most of my N64 games through rentals and only picked up copies years and years later; even now I think I only have about 30 max in the garage.

 

[Smacktard]

So many memories of Glover... I don't think I was ever able to beat the Frankenstein boss

 

[xDXxAscension]

Seems as if most just voted for their own lists.

 

[VashTheStampede]

Seems as if most just voted for their own lists.

Yeah I never thought I'd say this but I guess I'm too much of an optimist.

 

[xDXxAscension]

Yeah I never thought I'd say this but I guess I'm too much of an optimist.

Don't get me wrong love the idea of the drafts and everything just kind of a redundant game if everyone is gonna vote for themselves. Few members that don't play sprinkled in.

 

[VashTheStampede]

Don't get me wrong love the idea of the drafts and everything just kind of a redundant game if everyone is gonna vote for themselves. Few members that don't play sprinkled in.

Yeah I do think I have changed my mind about instituting a rule regarding that in the future

 

[Jon]

Seems as if most just voted for their own lists.

I did not do this for the record. Though now I wish I did lol

 

[xDXxAscension]

I did not do this for the record. Though now I wish I did lol

Yeah, I voted for someone else myself.

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

Yeah I never thought I'd say this but I guess I'm too much of an optimist.

This is why I don't participate, so I can vote with a clean conscience.

 

[Rick52]

there's 25 total votes so far, and basically half of the draft field have already said they voted for other people

so that's, what, maybe 6 at most out of 25? its not that much of a problem (says one of the few that voted for himself)

 

[Local Hero]

I voted for TD, though it pained me so.

Link to the Past and Super Mario world are my favorite games on SNES, followed closely by Chrono Trigger.

The rest of TD's picks edged it out but I have extreme voters remorse

 

[TD]

I mean if I didn't vote for myself I would genuinely be voting for half a list of games I like and half a list worth I don't - which would've been Ants most likely. Wouldn't have changed the end result at all though.

For anyone curious, number of games I liked per list:
Jon - 3
Snapple - 2
Smacktard - 2
FQ - 1
FR - 2
Xdxx - 2
Cole - 2
Ants - 4
Local - 1
Rick - 1
Marl - 3

This is why I ultimately just voted my own since there were 8 games I like. If the ability to not vote yourself gets removed then fine - at the end of the day it feels like it's being taken a bit too seriously anyhow.

 

[TD]

It's also why GamePass fascinates me, and why I tried GameFly for a little while in the late aughts... but have done/did almost nothing with them.

Canada doesn't even get GameFly or anything like it.

It's the main reason I like PS Plus Extra/Premium. Closest thing I'll get to game rentals.

 

[Ants!]

What kind of sense would it make to pick games you wouldn’t vote for?

 

[VashTheStampede]

What kind of sense would it make to pick games you wouldn’t vote for?

Shiny badge for appealing to the masses

 

[Raine]

What kind of sense would it make to pick games you wouldn’t vote for?

I can think of a lot of games/genres other people love, but that I would personally never want to play. Things like the Burnout series just never captured my attention, and like GTA4 can be one of the highest rated games of all time all it wants - but I think it's shit.

 

[Tubby23]

Depends whether your intention is winning or picking your top 8 favourite games

 

[TD]

What kind of sense would it make to pick games you wouldn’t vote for?

Based on how the draft went it sounds like a lot of people pick games they didn't play.

I get that happening when you've played a small amount of games or when everything you've played is gone, though.

You could also easily look up top lists and use that to try to win cause yay badges.

 

[Ants!]

I guess I misunderstood the purpose of the game, then. I would have wanted my favorite games to win, not really interested in just picking a list of popular titles that I may or may not have liked just so I could win. Lol

 

[TD]

Things like the Burnout series just never captured my attention

 

[TD]

I guess I misunderstood the purpose of the game, then. I would have wanted my favorite games to win, not really interested in just picking a list of popular titles that I may or may not have liked just so I could win. Lol

Not gonna lie - being picked as the winner of the NES one after picking 8 games I played and loved felt  great.

I was running out of ideas by the end which is why I went Pacman lol

 

[VashTheStampede]

I guess I misunderstood the purpose of the game, then. I would have wanted my favorite games to win, not really interested in just picking a list of popular titles that I may or may not have liked just so I could win. Lol

The purpose of the game is what you want it to be, really.

I'd personally play it your way and then just silently judge everyone who doesn't vote for my list.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Shiny badge for appealing to the masses

the only badge I want is that Dreamcast one you and Kelly are hogging.

 

[Smacktard]

Based on how the draft went it sounds like a lot of people pick games they didn't play.

I did this in the NES draft because I ran out of games to play. Tbf, I chose games that interested me and which I'd want to play.

Every game on my SNES list I've played, with the exception of Dracula X. It's sort of a reimagining of Rondo of Blood, which is my favorite Castlevania game, so I'm sure I'll love it. I'll finally be able to play it when my copy of Castlevania Advance Collection ships.

I would've picked Uncharted Horizons 2 this game too, but Local nabbed it before me. I've also never played that game, but it looks super interesting. I've been wanting to play it for a while.

You could also easily look up top lists and use that to try to win cause yay badges.

I did this for NES. Not to pick top games, but to refresh my memory. If it's a top game I don't care about, I wouldn't pick it.

 

[Smacktard]

the only badge I want is that Dreamcast one you and Kelly are hogging.

If you didn't want it so hard, I'd say you could have it

 

[Fool's Requiem]

If you didn't want it so hard, I'd say you could have it

 

[VashTheStampede]

the only badge I want is that Dreamcast one you and Kelly are hogging.

Quick name your top 8 favorite Dreamcast games

 

[TD]

I did this in the NES draft because I ran out of games to play. Tbf, I chose games that interested me and which I'd want to play.

This is a cool approach too imo and I like that. I feel like objectively you have a good/popular list even if most of it doesn't resonate with me.

I did this for NES. Not to pick top games, but to refresh my memory. If it's a top game I don't care about, I wouldn't pick it.

That's a good idea too. I didn't even think of it until later into the NES one.

My refresher was looking at what I had loaded into my emulator.

 

[Ants!]

Like if I was going for the other strategy, I would not have picked Plok or Lemmings or Gemfire, for example. I’m pretty sure very few people have heard of those, and Gemfire in particular I just love to death and have replayed it more than any other game, but I would have been more please with one other person saying they knew and liked the game than I would have been with twenty people voting for a game I picked but didn’t particularly care for

 

[Fool's Requiem]

Quick name your top 8 favorite Dreamcast games

Soul Calibur
Crazy Taxi
Hydro Thunder
Capcom vs SNK
Fatal Fury Mark of the Wolves
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2
Dead or Alive 2
San Francisco Rush 2049

 

[TD]

the dreamcast badge

 

[Smacktard]

no powerstone
no virtua tennis
no jet set radio

I'm sorry, but you're officially forbidden from receiving the Dreamcast badge. I know, I know. I'm sorry but that's the way it is