I have to wonder how they goofed on the CD-I, which is clearly more powerful then every other 4th gen sans maybe the PC at the time, with the ability to use pre-rendered sprites and backgrounds, and still have 2D slightly worse than the Genesis in most of its games. Heck, the Zelda games are probably in the top 10 best graphics on the thing not FMV.
I also have to wonder why the N64 had no soundchip making it so virtually every console 5th gen had better sound and Cpu usage. A basic soundchip that the SNES had with slight enhancements would have made a large difference.
Also for those thinking that the Dreamcast Controller is actually good, I have to ask you why, I have seen you guys speak of how you think its great, but most games on the DC have some annoying problems because of it, camera being the second biggest issue.Lordofinternet
The Dreamcast controller was very progressive for its time, though it may not have aged all that well today. What made the DC controller stand out at the time was its innovation. It was the first game controller with analogue shoulder buttons, which has since been imitated by nearly every controller since. It was also the first game controller with a screen on it, anticipating the Wii U by well over a decade. The DC controller layout itself also became the basis for the Xbox controllers. In other words, the DC controller was a pretty important evolution of game controller design.
The DC controller's only real flaw was the lack of a second analog stick, but you have to keep in mind that the FPS genre wasn't all that popular on consoles at the time, and the only ones that were popular (GoldenEye and Perfect Dark) could be played with a single analog stick. A second analog stick wasn't all that necessary at the time, so it wasn't a deal-breaker at all for most gamers back then.
I sometimes wonder about why Dragon Quest is completely ignored outside Japan and in certain parts of japan. It's basically first person final fantasy with more elements and Final Fantasy rakes in the dough. Could it be outside japan DQ1-4 were getting stable attention because it didn't become heavily anime based? Ok that might make sense in game, but then why did Square skip out on certain FF and DQ games 3rd and 4th gen? Heck they released Chrono Trigger, which had less of a chance then a FF or DQ game at that time of hitting big. I wonder what the excuse was?Lordofinternet
There were other key differences between FF and DQ. One such difference was the interface: In DQ, you always had to bring up a menu to talk to people or examine for items, whereas in FF it was more user-friendly, with just a single button that does everything. But the big differences mainly started to appear with FF IV: The presentation in FF began looking more colourful, the battles started becoming Active Time-Based, the protagonist no longer remained silent but freely spoke his mind, and the plot in general became thick with melodrama and lots of dialogues.
Still, it's unfortunate DQ V wasn't released in North America, because that was arguably the best one in the series. Its narrative and characterization, while not as melodramatic or plot-heavy as the FF games, was a lot more interesting than any FF game of that era, and even rivals FF VI in my opinion. DQ V also introduced the monster-capturing mechanic that would later gain popularity in the late 90s. I can only assume that it's because the first four DQ games weren't all that successful in NA that Enix decided not to localize DQ V, a pretty big missed opportunity.
I realized that for people who wanted a Mvs.C 3 and a Megaman legends 3 did not see the obvious downfall that would come from that. Megaman Legends 2 was terrible, and a lot of elements from Mvs.C1 were removed in Marvel Vs.C2. Not to mention virtually known of the console ports had good fluid controls on it.
I wonder how far the Neogeo would have went if it was cheaper. The intial cost kinda made sense for games and the hardware but they kept it consistent for around 10 years or so and at the 5 year point it just never made sense why they were still throwing that system and its games for the insane prices. Makes even less sense when you consider the price of NeoGeo CD which ran comparable hardware, with CD audio, yet the original system still costs an arm and a leg.
I don't get how anyone thinks Resident Evil is even a horror game and why they complain about Resi 5 and 6 when many people favorite game in the series was 4, which pretty much went into TPS mode in the first place, and even farther from a horror game than 1, 2, and 3. I personally think Silent hill, Deadly Prem, Fatal Frame, etc. are all closer to horror games, with Silent Hill actually being closest.Lordofinternet
The thing about RE4 is that it struck a balance between TPS action and survival horror, without swinging too much in either direction. But more importantly, it was just a pretty damn fine action-adventure game, regardless of the genre it belongs to. It's the kind of game that all kinds of gamers could enjoy playing, regardless of whether they belong to the action or horror camp. The same cannot be said for RE5, which is pretty much just an all-out TPS action game, with hardly anything in it for horror fans. As for RE6, I still haven't played it yet, so I have no idea about that one.
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