New development: I now have a second part-time job, this time teaching at an actual school. Middle school, to be exact. And so I won't have nearly the same amount of time that I've previously had both for gaming and for writing blog posts and generally spending time here on Gamespot. I just want you all to know this so you don't go and think something bad's happened to me.
I haven't decided yet if this means that I'll be revising my format for these posts; maybe I'll just start writing less and not including links. But regardless, on with the show.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOMINEES
- Super Smash Bros. (N64)
- Donkey Kong 64 (N64)
- Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage (PS1)
- Ape Escape (PS1)
- Final Fantasy VIII (PS1)
And the winner is...
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
1999 Game of the Year - Ape Escape
I remember the reason why my brother and I chose to buy this game: the monkeys. Growing up, Dom was always super into monkeys. My whole extended family knew it. And so that alone made this game appeal to us. It certainly helped that the game was getting rave previews, looked like a heck of a lot of fun, and really showcased the capabilities of the then-"brand spanking new" Dual Shock controller. Not to mention, the game featured stellar level design, a soundtrack that was well-suited to the gameplay and overall mood of the game, intuitive and easy-to-learn controls, and more innovation than a single barrel of monkeys could ever hold (pun totally intended).
Perhaps the greatest part of this game was how immersed you could get in the game's worlds. The music had a lot to do with it, but more than that, the game had a real potential to become addicting. As the Gamespot review mentions, "'one more monkey' will quickly become 'one more level'". I definitely remember that happening to me. I also remember the difficulty ramping up nicely as I progressed through the game. Much like other collect-a-thon type games of the time such as Super Mario 64 and Diddy Kong Racing, I found myself bouncing back and forth between worlds as I got really stuck in certain places while wanting to keep whittling away at the objectives I'd yet to accomplish.
It's a shame that there has yet to be an Ape Escape game to top this one and the franchise has seemingly turned more towards minigame collections than platforming games, but this first one in the series still stands today as an excellent 3D platformer, one full of variety that always has something new in store for the player and that keeps the player wanting to play just a little bit more.
Runner-up - Final Fantasy VIII
I have yet to beat this game, but I'll be damned if I don't love it. I used to hate it - or at least I grew to hate it - after an eighth grade me determined he couldn't really make sense of the Junction system and the story was not moving quickly enough and wasn't interesting enough thus far to warrant continued play. It wasn't until 2006 that I picked up the game again as a sophomore in college and gave the game a real solid shot.
Like the recent FFXIII, FFVIII doesn't have MP (Magic Points) for spellcasting, nor does it have spells or summons in the typical sense. Spells are "drawn" from enemies during battle and can actually be "Junctioned" to characters to augment their stats and resistances. There is a compromise to be made between using magic and not using magic so that your stats don't go down, but there is fun to be had in mixing and matching...and giving your characters over 7000 health before the end of the first disc. Summons, or Guardian Forces (GFs, for short) in this case, can each be equipped onto any character and accumulate Compatibility as they remain with each character. Compared to FFVII, I feel like FFVIII has a much more diverse and exciting cast of summons, and the various abilities they each can learn (yes, the summons learn abilities themselves!) come in real handy, depending on different circumstances. For example, adding new junctionable stats for a character or new commands for a character to use in battle (e.g. Leviathan's Recover ability grants the equipped-to character access to a battle command that instantly cures the selected character of any status ailment and restores their HP to full).
Much like FFXIII, I feel FFVIII was largely misunderstood because many people didn't understand what to do with the lack of MP and a battle system that was so subtly complex. Also, again, the story didn't really click with many either. It must be a "III" syndrome or something. All I know is that as an older individual, I enjoyed the game a heck of a lot more than I ever did as a kid. Furthermore, the game still stands today as a graphically impressive entry in the vast library of PS1 RPGs.
Runner-up - Spyro 2
I don't really know what to say about this game, to be honest. There isn't a PS1 Spyro game that I don't like, though I definitely love this one the most. There's just so much more atmosphere and detail in this game's worlds, not to mention that this was the first Spryo game to allow Spyro the ability to climb and swim and have other powers, too. One aspect of the Spyro games that I really enjoy is the exploration; the levels always encourage that the player explore every square foot. I know for a fact that it was the moment when I found some really secret spots in the Autumn hub world that I truly fell in love with the game. The game is just great, through and through. It did for the Spyro series what DKC2 did for Donkey Kong Country.
Previous entries: 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998