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In a decade where most successful video games were one hit wonders, Super Mario Bros. 3, along other NES classics like Dragon Quest 3, showcased the artistic and financial potential of video game sequels. The Super Mario franchise sold a lot of NES units and it was certain that Nintendo was going to use its mascot to promote its next hardware, so it was only natural that other companies in the hardware market, such as Hudson and Sega, wanted to have their own Mario. Unfortunately for Nintendo's competitors they stumbled into a pretty big problem: making a video game franchise from scratch has its growing pains, especially when you want to compete against elaborate sequels like SMB3 or SMW.
Many of these "Mario killers", like Alex Kidd, didn't pose a threat to Nintendo's mascot, but everything changed when Sonic hit the scene in 1991. Unlike Hudson, Sega wanted to challenge Mario face-to-face by making an ambitious platformer with the best graphics available, and the result was... well, let's say that Sonic 1 is more comparable in quality to the first SMB rather than its contemporaries, SMB3 and World. It's no secret that the first Sonic game, at least the one on the Mega Drive / Genesis, has a bit of an identity crisis mainly because the developers didn't know how to design levels that made correct use of Sonic's abilities. Despite the shortcomings of his first game, Sonic managed to find a big audience which prompted Sega to release a sequel ASAP. Sonic 2 fixed a lot of the problems of the first game and made the franchise a worthy rival for Mario, however future platforming franchises had to pass through the same rituals as Sonic.
While it's true that some platforming franchises like Banjo-Kazooie started with a bang, many of these had humble debuts which are overshadowed by the quality of its successors. This thread will be about five of these cases: Sonic 1, the first Donkey Kong Country, the original Crash Bandicoot as well as the original Spyro the Dragon, and last but not least 1985's Super Mario Bros:
Super Mario Bros. (1985):
The first SMB game has a very solid level design that has aged gracefully, but despite this achievement the 1985 game usually ranks low within the Mario fanbase. SMB1 was probably phenomenal back in the day, but a lot of stuff, like the physics, haven't stood very well the test of time. The game has 32 levels, which is not necessarily a bad thing except when you realize that you cannot remember more than two of those; the levels and worlds are just pretty unremarkable, specially compared to 3.
Sonic the Hedgehog (1991):
Unless you are a huge Sonic fan or a game historian, the 16-bit version of Sonic 1 is really not worth playing after Green Hill Zone. There is some salvageable stuff post-GHZ like the music in Starlight Zone, but the level design just feels very amateurish compared to the sequels.
Donkey Kong Country (1994):
The original DKC launched in the same year as Sonic 3 & Knuckles and it managed to eclipse such classic in great part to its graphics. It's disingenuous to say that people only liked DKC for its graphics, yet the game still is pretty barebones in many aspects, most notably the boss battles. The title character sucks compared to Diddy, and while this is not a big deal in most games, DKC punishes you in ridiculous ways for using the best character. Like many games with pre-rendered sprites, DKC has plenty of weird collisions which is a pretty big problem in a platformer. The camera can also be pretty bad in some parts, like in that green water level at the end of the game.
Crash Bandicoot (1996):
If 2D platformers were amphibians and your average 3D platformer was a modern mammal, Crash Bandicoot would be like a marsupial: a weird creature that portrays a future that never was. Whereas the vast majority of 3D platformers took inspiration from Super Mario 64's revolutionary camera, Crash Bandicoot took a very different approach and it's this very approach why the series has plenty of critics, with some arguing that Naughty Dog's "Ass Sonic" formula is fundamentally bad. I personally believe there is a place for Crash-inspired platformers in the current day, but I understand why some people don't want to touch these games, because oh boy the first Crash Bandicoot game really leaves a bad impression.
Unlike Sonic 1 which is a relatively easy game, Crash 1 can be pretty brutal at times because of its depth perception issues. Even the remake couldn't fix all of this because that level design is just not compatible with 2D displays.
Spyro the Dragon (1998):
3D gaming wasn't in its infancy when Spyro made its debut, and although the first game is pretty strong in areas like graphics and game-feel, Spyro 1 feels like an early PSX title in many ways.
There is something liminal about the original Spyro the Dragon, perhaps it's the vast emptiness, or the fact that there is only one female character in its somewhat populated world, or maybe its pointless and weird design choices; the game feels like it lacks something very important. It's true that Spyro 1 contains some neat puzzles and challenges, like the turbo-charge treetop level, however around 80% of the game borders on walking simulator territory. The bosses in the game are perhaps even more meh than the ones in DKC1. The music is mostly unmemorable and doesn't have the punch of Spyro 2 and 3. That being said, I'll have to praise the voice acting and script for effectively reaching so bad it's good levels.
Which of these five games do you think is still worth playing today, if any? Which one is your favorite?
Many of these "Mario killers", like Alex Kidd, didn't pose a threat to Nintendo's mascot, but everything changed when Sonic hit the scene in 1991. Unlike Hudson, Sega wanted to challenge Mario face-to-face by making an ambitious platformer with the best graphics available, and the result was... well, let's say that Sonic 1 is more comparable in quality to the first SMB rather than its contemporaries, SMB3 and World. It's no secret that the first Sonic game, at least the one on the Mega Drive / Genesis, has a bit of an identity crisis mainly because the developers didn't know how to design levels that made correct use of Sonic's abilities. Despite the shortcomings of his first game, Sonic managed to find a big audience which prompted Sega to release a sequel ASAP. Sonic 2 fixed a lot of the problems of the first game and made the franchise a worthy rival for Mario, however future platforming franchises had to pass through the same rituals as Sonic.
While it's true that some platforming franchises like Banjo-Kazooie started with a bang, many of these had humble debuts which are overshadowed by the quality of its successors. This thread will be about five of these cases: Sonic 1, the first Donkey Kong Country, the original Crash Bandicoot as well as the original Spyro the Dragon, and last but not least 1985's Super Mario Bros:
Super Mario Bros. (1985):
The first SMB game has a very solid level design that has aged gracefully, but despite this achievement the 1985 game usually ranks low within the Mario fanbase. SMB1 was probably phenomenal back in the day, but a lot of stuff, like the physics, haven't stood very well the test of time. The game has 32 levels, which is not necessarily a bad thing except when you realize that you cannot remember more than two of those; the levels and worlds are just pretty unremarkable, specially compared to 3.
Sonic the Hedgehog (1991):
Unless you are a huge Sonic fan or a game historian, the 16-bit version of Sonic 1 is really not worth playing after Green Hill Zone. There is some salvageable stuff post-GHZ like the music in Starlight Zone, but the level design just feels very amateurish compared to the sequels.
Donkey Kong Country (1994):
The original DKC launched in the same year as Sonic 3 & Knuckles and it managed to eclipse such classic in great part to its graphics. It's disingenuous to say that people only liked DKC for its graphics, yet the game still is pretty barebones in many aspects, most notably the boss battles. The title character sucks compared to Diddy, and while this is not a big deal in most games, DKC punishes you in ridiculous ways for using the best character. Like many games with pre-rendered sprites, DKC has plenty of weird collisions which is a pretty big problem in a platformer. The camera can also be pretty bad in some parts, like in that green water level at the end of the game.
Crash Bandicoot (1996):
If 2D platformers were amphibians and your average 3D platformer was a modern mammal, Crash Bandicoot would be like a marsupial: a weird creature that portrays a future that never was. Whereas the vast majority of 3D platformers took inspiration from Super Mario 64's revolutionary camera, Crash Bandicoot took a very different approach and it's this very approach why the series has plenty of critics, with some arguing that Naughty Dog's "Ass Sonic" formula is fundamentally bad. I personally believe there is a place for Crash-inspired platformers in the current day, but I understand why some people don't want to touch these games, because oh boy the first Crash Bandicoot game really leaves a bad impression.
Unlike Sonic 1 which is a relatively easy game, Crash 1 can be pretty brutal at times because of its depth perception issues. Even the remake couldn't fix all of this because that level design is just not compatible with 2D displays.
Spyro the Dragon (1998):
3D gaming wasn't in its infancy when Spyro made its debut, and although the first game is pretty strong in areas like graphics and game-feel, Spyro 1 feels like an early PSX title in many ways.
There is something liminal about the original Spyro the Dragon, perhaps it's the vast emptiness, or the fact that there is only one female character in its somewhat populated world, or maybe its pointless and weird design choices; the game feels like it lacks something very important. It's true that Spyro 1 contains some neat puzzles and challenges, like the turbo-charge treetop level, however around 80% of the game borders on walking simulator territory. The bosses in the game are perhaps even more meh than the ones in DKC1. The music is mostly unmemorable and doesn't have the punch of Spyro 2 and 3. That being said, I'll have to praise the voice acting and script for effectively reaching so bad it's good levels.
Which of these five games do you think is still worth playing today, if any? Which one is your favorite?
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