Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram

E.G.B.L.Ver.3.70

One on one mech combat? In three dimensions? Like Zone of the Enders, but years earlier? And I'm only hearing about this game now because... because it's called Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram. Of course it is.

Virtual-On OT is an arcade game sequel that stars stylish mechs battling it out in a bright and colourful world whose sole purpose seems to be to facilitate the battling of stylish mechs. Arenas are boxy and arguably featureless, serving as interesting backdrops to the explosive light show that takes place upon them - giant mechs launching missiles, firing lasers, slashing energy swords and spraying big pink hearts at each other. It's weird, in places.

But how was I ever going to know that until I played it?

Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now

Rated T for Teen?

Vehicular combat is not a new concept in gaming, and I know that because Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now has the name of a sequel of some sort...

I haven't seen much of the Carmageddon series. I know it exists and I know it's not Twisted Metal, but that's about it. The idea didn't grab my attention - not because I'm a prude that demands pedestrians to be replaced by zombies or aliens, but just because I was into games that made more sense, I suppose, in the late 1990s.

Obviously, as soon as I wrote that, Crash Bandicoot popped into my head, so not all the games I played were sensible. Anyway, the point is, I haven't played Carmageddon II until now, so let's plough on in.

Dance Dance Revolution

Also, please be careful not to inconvenience the neighbourhood.

Source // TV Tropes

There have been two musical rhythm games on this 1001 list that I can recall: PaRappa the Rapper and Beatmania. They were both... lacking... shall we say... but only one of them came from the minds behind the monster that is Dance Dance Revolution.

Arcades are more than familiar with strange gaming concepts, and this one makes use of the fact that arcades are often dark and noisy by blaring out bright colours and loud music from the screen and having players hammer away at inputs with their feet, as though players find themselves in a happening club on a Friday night. I think. I'm not a clubber.

I'm not a dancer. I'm boogie-er. I bop. You can find me bopping. A nice catchy song comes into my ears, I'll bop, but dance? Nah. Not happening.

So how the hell am I going to fare with DDR?

1080° Snowboarding

You can neither pizza nor french fry here...

One of my earliest PlayStation memories was of a demo disc that contained one of the Cool Boarders games, I forget which one exactly. Snow itself was a rarity in my life, and snowboarding was, therefore, an impossibility, save for its digital incarnations.

For me, after Cool Boarders was a chunk of nothing before SSX arrived on the PlayStation 2, but in the wider world, the other console that was the Nintendo 64 had its own snowboarding title, and it was probably a fair bit better, as we'll soon find out after playing some 1080° Snowboarding.

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri

The future of mankind?

Civilization... but in space.

I don't 'like' but don't 'don't like' Civilization. I like space. Does that mean Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is finally the 4X title that I can sink my teeth into, allowing me to soar through the skies like a SpaceX rocket? Or will my time be more like a flat-earther in a steamship?

The last, best hope for mankind has gotten all 'human-y' and have fallen out with each other, their colony ship exploding and sending the survivors to seven separate parts of the Planet, which is a bit of a weird way to explain how there are seven factions vying for control over an alien planet, but that's what we've got to work with, so run with it.

Oh, also, the Planet is alive and teeming with alien natives. Got that? Good.

Burning Rangers

Say 'Hello' to Big Landman.

Source // Wikipedia

If you weren't already aware, the Sonic Team development team developed Sonic The Hedgehog, which has taken them on quite the rollercoaster, it has to be said. What you may not be aware of is that they also make games that don't feature any blue mammals, and Burning Rangers is one such title.

I had no idea of Burning Rangers' existence, mostly owing to the fact that it was exclusive to the Sega Saturn, and came out when the console had already been stomped by the Sony PlayStation. It was a title that simply didn't set the world on fire, despite being a game where the world is literally on fire, and you are a futuristic firefighter with a water pistol. Kinda.

It's definitely not what I was expecting...

Source // noidentity/GameFAQs

Banjo-Kazooie

Huh whuauh huhwhuah wuh...

There are quite a few games that I haven't played before owing to the fact that I never owned the hardware they were on back in the day, or in any days since, really. Once you buy into one system, you stick with it. The PlayStation was my first console, the PlayStation 2 my second, the PlayStation 3 my third... It wasn't until only a few years ago, with the intent of going through this 1001 list that I even gave a look into buying the likes of an Xbox 360, or N64.

So, it's 2018, and I've had my N64 for some months now, and one of the boxless, manual-less cartridges I have available to play is Banjo-Kazooie, a third-person platformer heavily inspired by Super Mario 64 - and why not?

Taking control of a banjo playing bear and his sarcastic feathered friend, you must rescue your sister from the witch Gruntilda, obtaining more collectables than you can even conceive of along the way.

Let's see what I remember from however many playthroughs and speedruns I've seen down the years...