Ahead of it's time

[Pighardia]

hi everyone,

I was talking to a guy who works in a 2nd hand games shop the other day, and we started talking about which games have really been leaps forward.

it got me thining as to which games people not just enjoyed, but found were a step up from what they had played before (if you know what i mean)

Example- I would have to say Final Fantasy 7 (obvious choice i know)
Way ahead of it's time imo, i was about 13 when it came out so i was the right age for it, but it was so far ahead technically, to everything i had played before.
(remember that scene where Cloud rides the bike down the stairs)
FF7 is a game that i would consider to be "ahead of it's time".

also, around the same time, Metal Gear Solid was the first game i played which didn't have FMV cutscenes, which made the game much more immersive. (tried playing Alan Wake and the graphical difference between gamepay and cutscenes i found very jarring)


What games would you feel the same about?

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

First one that springs to mind is Shenmue.

I REALLY hope they re-release it on XBL/PSN, it doesn't even had to be an HD remake, just the original is fine. Metal Gear Solid was pretty damn awesome at the time as well, the enemies following your footprints and noticing your breath in the cold air, the epic cut scenes, the conversations over the codec, it was just a masterpiece and way ahead of what else was around on console at the time in my opinion.

 

[Pighardia]

i have FF7+8 and Metal Gear Solid on my PSP. (only reason to own one)
might play metal gear again. I remember people going nuts about the graphics in it!!!

 

[ak22]

First one that springs to mind is Shenmue.

I REALLY hope they re-release it on XBL/PSN, it doesn't even had to be an HD remake, just the original is fine. Metal Gear Solid was pretty damn awesome at the time as well, the enemies following your footprints and noticing your breath in the cold air, the epic cut scenes, the conversations over the codec, it was just a masterpiece and way ahead of what else was around on console at the time in my opinion.

+1 Shenmue was amazing game! The interactive cut scenes, the mini games etc I do hope they put them on PSN and make 3rd one Rio has to get his revenge on Dan Li!


+1 again for MGS

Also say Mario 64 pretty much paved the way for 3D platforming.

 

[iamtheoneneo]

shenmue
msr

basically pretty much all the key dc titles really!

 

[d_brennen]

shenmue
msr

basically pretty much all the key dc titles really!

Played MSR recently on the nullDC emu, still a great game. Handling holds up with a 360 pad and the graphics are still nice. Tried to play Shenmue as well but I decided that it was best left as a warm fuzzy memory. Sigh, the DC era was where it was at for me gaming wise.

Shenmue +2 - I need closure!
MSR
Soul Calibur - Best fighter ever, imo. The other format versions don't come close
Code Veronica (later released on PS2 i know)
Sonic Adventure + 2 (I like it anyway )
Crazy Taxi - Short and shallow but I got it free

Dreamcast was ahead of its time

 

[dave_beast]

Agree about the Dreamcast, still play mine most weekends. Quake 3 arena when it was online was awesome.

Soul Calibur bets fighting game ever, even better than early Tekken's.

Dead or Alive for lady lump graphics

MSR was ahead of it's time, as was Jet Set Radio.

 

[Pighardia]

Soul Calibur - Best fighter ever, imo. The other format versions don't come close


Dreamcast was ahead of its time

Soul Calibur definitely. Was a class above other fighters around at the time imo. Tekken and street fighter might have gotten more attention, but SC beat the mboth by a mile.
Has there really been 10 years worth of improvement over it now?

 

[Pighardia]

Also say Mario 64 pretty much paved the way for 3D platforming.

Right. Was very impressive at the time, and still holds up now. My sister plays it on her DS.
in platforming terms. Definitely a before/after game

 

[d_brennen]

Soul Calibur definitely. Was a class above other fighters around at the time imo. Tekken and street fighter might have gotten more attention, but SC beat the mboth by a mile.
Has there really been 10 years worth of improvement over it now?

No. Play it today and it is still as fast and as fresh. A whole decade and some

 

[Pighardia]

Another game worth mentioning, although much more modern, is Bioshock.

Not ahead of it's time, but the first of this generation games that i played. bought it with my xbox and it blew me away.,

In terms of story and atmosphere, it was streets ahead of anything i had played before( and the sound is amazing)

 

[wizzard]

Also say Mario 64 pretty much paved the way for 3D platforming.

another for me would be gran turismo. the level of physics in that game at the time was amazing.

a lot of these "ahead of its time" games came about as programmers for each platform really opened up the potential of the consoles they were on. as an example 4 player deathmatch on goldeneye down to the fact you could plug 4 controllers in. amazing that a console could process in 3d 4 lots of input and display it all on the one screen.

 

[Pighardia]

yeah, Goldeneye deathmatch was a wow moment. remember going round mates house to play that. Wasn't really anything like it before (in my experience anyway)
Timesplitters was another game which got multiplayer modes right pretty early on.

 

[Lobovski]

I found gta3 did it for me..the whole living breathing city seemed like witchcraft

 

[Zefan]

I found gta3 did it for me..the whole living breathing city seemed like witchcraft

Seconded.

I also agree with Timesplitters, the multiplayer and the challenge levels were absolutley spot on! Not to mention the level editor which - although basic - I loved!

 

[Nismo]

I'd argue the PSOne as a whole was ahead of it's time when it came out, the leap from SNES/Mega Drive to playing Wipeout, Tekken or Ridge Racer on your home TV was enormous.

Mario 64 also set new boundaries.

 

[Pighardia]

Come to think of it. If they released Mario 64 tomorrow, nobody would complain about it!
it would still get great reviews.
i suppose that is exactly the meaning of 'ahead of it's time'

 

[Fr0dders]

I'd argue the PSOne as a whole was ahead of it's time when it came out, the leap from SNES/Mega Drive to playing Wipeout, Tekken or Ridge Racer on your home TV was enormous.

Mario 64 also set new boundaries.

Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo were some of the Key PS ONE titles imo. Remembered by all those who had a mis spent youth playing them, and still active series now. Speaks for itself.

 

[Dyson]

I found gta3 did it for me..the whole living breathing city seemed like witchcraft

Thirded! Shocked it took to post 14 to get a mention. I still play it today, although if I'm honest I play Vice City much more. VC may not have been the ground breaking title that GTA3 was, but it's the bigger classic.

Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo were some of the Key PS ONE titles imo. Remembered by all those who had a mis spent youth playing them, and still active series now. Speaks for itself.

Remembered by those who were too old to get away with calling a mis-spent youth as well

 

[Streeteh]

Obvious choice is Crysis, from a technical standpoint it really should have been released now, not in 2007!

In terms of gameplay/story/whatever I'm gonna be slightly different and say Final Fantasy 6 on the SNES. Now, in terms of gameplay it was very similar to 7, it had turn based combat, a huge open world map, a deep storyline, loads of deep and interesting characters, missable characters, the list goes on.

It was ahead of its time because gaming was still very much in its infancy when it came out. It was still widely regarded as a hobby for children, so few were mature enough to appreciate how wonderful a game it really is.