Video Game Rankdown Pt. 2

The King of Fighters '94


I watched Masahiro Sakurai talk about SNK and Terry Brogard for 45 minutes. That was the most interested I had ever been in King of Fighters or SNK in general. Maybe if I had been RICH as a child and my parents could afford the Neo Geo home console (which retailed for $650 just for the console) or to send me to arcades (okay you don't have to be rich to go to arcades but you do need to live in the vicinity of an arcade) then I'd have fond memories for The King of Fighters. As it so happens, I do not so at this point in the game The King of Fighters is an easy cut for me. I apologize to its fans.

Like most SNK games, The King of Fighters '94 debuted at the arcade. It's a crossover between two other SNK franchises: Fatal Fury and The Art of Fighting (and includes fighters from other SNK properties like Ikari Warriors). This is the start of a 23 game series with the 15th mainline title scheduled to come out in 2020. That's a lot. And it seems to be well-deserved. The games are polished with the same character and quality that you'd expect from an SNK game. The game features 3-on-3 fights instead of the traditional round based system of most fighting games you'd be familiar with and learning not just how to control your fighters with the four-button combo system but how to best strategize using your team (if you are losing a match you can call on a teammate to use a support attack) creates an in depth fighting experience.

The game was well-received and well-loved and now it can live on to garner more fans through Terry Brogard's inclusion in Smash.

Streets of Rage


Streets of Rage is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released for the Sega Genesis in 1991. The year I was born. As you might imagine, I was still trying to learn how to do things like sit up and hold up my own head and thus did not play Streets of Rage when it was originally released. As of 2019 I've still not played it. I feel that the beat 'em up genre is not for me and I think in a post-polygon world, while a lot of other 2D genres are seeing revivals, the beat 'em ups have not joined them. Perhaps this is due to the fact that we have the spiritual successor in the hack-n-slash (and boy do I love Hack and Slash games like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta) but I feel like Viewtiful Joe is really the last "big name" original beat 'em up title. And that's a long way of going about saying that I think Streets of Rage may gain popularity once again when the 30-year nostalgia cycle (not to be confused with the 20-year or the 10-year nostalgia cycles) comes along and revives the beat 'em up genre.

But back to Streets of Rage. The game takes place in a city that has been taken over by a crime syndicate. You play as one of three ex-police officers who is trying to bring the city back to peace and justice. As you walk across the screen enemies come in and you beat them up. If you play as two-player or choose to accept an offer later in the game you can unlock an alternate ending where instead of ridding the city of crime you become the new head of the crime syndicate.

It was generally regarded as a great game with great graphics and music for the time and one of the best Mega Drive/Genesis games in existence. It was so popular that it received two sequels with the fourth entry coming in 2020 (remember, right as that 30-year-nostalgia cycle kicks in for the 90s).

Dark Souls

 

 

 

 

I have tried Dark Souls. I am not a fan. It is an action role-playing game published from Bandai. It was released after demon Souls, and has had 2 sequels Dark Souls 2 and 3. The game is very medieval-like. You can wield swords, shields, maces and other weapons that you can acquire through the game. The player can update their stats at bonfires, and they can use them as a check point. My problem was that the game was very challenging and when you die, you lose all of your souls. I couldn't progress further, and my souls were lost. As a result, I determined the series wasn't for me. Props to anyone who can play these games and actually progress!

Devil May Cry

 

 

 

 

Gif isn't from the first game, but showcases the main character in the series.

 

This was the other game I was contemplating saving. Devil May Cry is an action-adventure/hack-n-slash that has the main character playing as Dante. The game spurred many sequels, with the most recent being Devil May Cry 5. As you play through the game, you weild Dantes sword "Rebellion", or you use his pistols "Ebony and Ivory". I only have limited experience playing this game, but what I played I enjoyed. The game was released on many playstation and Xbox consoles. It was remastered and was released on the switch. The game was heavy on combat, but I found button mashing worked decently for me.

Gears of War

 

 

 

 

 

Gears of War was the introductory game to a large series. The Gears series has now had half a dozen games between the spinoffs and the sequels. Gears of War is a shooter games. As I have made known throughout the rankdown, I don't do well with, nor actively seek out to play shooters. This one you can play solo or on a group. The game follows the Delta Squad (more specifically Marcus Fenix) as they travel Sera, looking for Emulsion? The game was released on the Xbox systems, and received an ultimate edition a couple years ago (a decade after initial release). I wish I had more to say about this game, but I don't know much about it at all. Sorry to the fans.

Left 4 Dead

 

 

 

 

I have played both Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, and I hate them. I was pressured into them by friends who like this series. Left 4 Dead is a first person shooter, where you can play solo or as a group to kill zombies. I guess in terms of shooters, it was better then others I played, as you could play the campaign with a group. This means I had fewer deaths then in PvP. The characters you can play as are Zoey, Francis, Louis and Bill. In addition to regular zombies, there were also special zombies that were infected. To this day, the Witch crying freaks me out. Knowing that it is likely moments away from pummeling you to death. Overall, its a great game for anyone who enjoys shooting up zombies.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

 

 

 

 

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is the second Metal Gear Solid game in a series spanning 10 games. The game is a stealth-action game, and was released in the playstation 2. The main character in the series is Raiden (not mortal kombat Raiden). The game takes place two years after the events of the first Metal gear Solid game ends. Raiden has several allies that you can communicate throughout the game. These include girlfriend Rosemary, his commanding officer, a Navy Seal and a cyborg ninja. The game sold an enormous 7 million copies. It received Game of the Year and it has also gained many accolades from publishers like IGN, GamePro, Famitsu and GameSpot.

Silent Hill 2

 

 

 

 

So I don't know much about the series. Its a horror game, and the goal is to live through everything that is happening. This is the second game in the series. This is considered one of if not the greatest horror game of all time. I am sure it is infinitely too scary for me to play. The main character is James Sunderland, and takes place in the same town as the first Silent Hill game. You have to travel through the town, avoiding monsters or killing them when the option was available. The game was released in Sept 2001, on the Playstation 2. With this games elimination, Silent Hill is officially out of the rankdown, Sorry Horror fans.