I am quite jealous of all you who’ve had the joy of playing through this one on a native console. I remember a friend of mine having it, but he felt like the Saturn was a bit weak as a console experience, so he sold his console and games for a PlayStation and loved it. Fine for him, but I remember his library and, man, I got to try this game just once on native hardware. Given the library he had and his interests, I’m not surprised he sold his, and I didn’t know better in the 90’s, but, man, it took less than ten years to get nostalgic quick for that one day of gaming where I tried all his games out quick before he sold it. The ways I’ve tried to play Saga since… have not been right.
@Poodlestargenerica I agree. The game looks great and I’d like to support it, but that promo art has me second guessing it. I’d love to see Maniac Mansion inspired games become “a thing” though.
It’s a fair choice, honestly. It all boils down to who did the poll and there’s no reason to be upset about it. At least two dozen games have been considered the greatest game of all time somewhere.
@Andee Wattam is absolutely one of my favorite games. I’ll never delete it off my PS5. It’s one of those games I can trust both of my kids with too. My two year old daughter can play it. There’s so few games that are just so available for everyone. I did try to find a Wattam t-shirt at one point, but had no luck, unfortunately! To A T is in my top 10 most anticipated games this year for sure!
@Damo I know this, but I just… can’t believe it! Lol. Nuts and Bolts deserves better than this. I was surprised by the positivity towards Jet Force Gemini as well. I get the nostalgia for it, but it’s aged like milk.
Man, you guys are haters on that Beetlejuice game. I always enjoyed that one and felt like it had some unique mechanics, even if it was unfairly difficult and janky at times.
It’s also sort of blasphemy to see Nuts and Bolts so low in the list. Below Kameo and Grabbed by Ghoulies? Below Perfect Dark Zero!? Insane. Nuts and Bolts wasn’t what people wanted, but it was solid for what it was. Surprised to see such a positive reaction to Sea of Thieves too.
@Poodlestargenerica @Hikingguy Surely, if Xbox leaves the console space, I feel Steam may be waiting for that moment to jump in. If anyone can fill the spot that Xbox has, it’s Steam.
I do wish Xbox would really capitalize on Halo and Fable, if they’re continuing on. I do feel like Xbox has unique ideas from time to time, but, despite their wealth as a platform, everything simply feels AA from them when they’re at their best.
@Poodlestargenerica You could be right. The amount of remakes and remasters and sequels this generation has been a little much. I do miss a PlayStation that took risks and had more fun. I honestly wish Xbox was a stronger platform simply to combat a lazy PlayStation. Competition IS needed in the console space. If Xbox is phasing out, Stadia failed, and Nintendo being a different planet, you’ve got to wonder if there’s anyone else that would attempt to jump into the home console space. Maybe Steam? Apple?
It would be a real shame if Xbox is abandoning the console platform. Sony needs competition. Even if Nintendo is beating them in many fronts, we’ve hit a point where Nintendo (from the Wii era onward) exists off in its own world, more or less, and isn’t directly competing against Sony. Xbox is good for Sony, in that a strong rival pushes PlayStation to do better. I expect a lazier, remake happy PlayStation if Xbox drops out.
@Poodlestargenerica Oh, yes, I totally understand that. Rare DID have a really big hit area, but so did other developers in a similar timeframe that remained consistent. I definitely feel Rare’s zenith period was linked to Nintendo’s influence. Their arcade and NES input was all over the place in terms of quality, but you could tell they had ideas percolating even if the games didn’t always hit the mark and that coalesced into the SNES and N64 era, but, after that… I just feel Rare hasn’t ever come close to getting back to that stride. Their tenure on Xbox has been baffling to me. Ghoulies and Kameo were unfortunately generic follow-ups that are all the more bewildering when compared to their previous titles. Then you have the mess of a Perfect Dark sequel. Viva Piñata, while it’s not a game for me, was an obvious choice to search for an Xbox mascot, but that series went as quickly as it came. Nuts and Bolts and Killer Instinct are practically the only hits in my eyes since Rare’s left Nintendo. The Yooka Laylee games both show that better games could have been made from the Rare team though.
Beetlejuice is severely underrated, but seriously Donkey Kong Country 2 is their zenith. Few games hit close to that mark.
Sorry to say, but Rare as a developer has been wildly inconsistent in quality for their entire tenure in the gaming industry. I know it’s a hot take, but really, without their stretch of games from DKC through the first Perfect Dark, I don’t feel like Rare would be beloved. Their best games were made in like a five year boom and they’ve been chucking 6/10s more consistently before and after that than anything else.
I hate to say it, but the DS is one of the most overrated consoles ever released, in my opinion. The catalog as thick as it is just didn’t have the same tier of quality of other Nintendo consoles. That may just have been me, but that was an era where I had drifted from Nintendo because things just weren’t clicking for me.
I’m not sure if my uncle had an Amiga or what, but I know I’ve played roughly half of these games at one point long, long ago. PC gaming felt so different to console gaming in those days. I sort of wish we’d get some modern ports for some of these titles.
I really wish they would’ve gotten the all clear about this. I wonder why Bethesda wasn’t pleased with New Vegas. Seems sort of odd, given what a great job they did with it, especially with the time crunch.
If Kojima continued with Konami and the Metal Gear series in an alternate universe, you’ve got to wonder if Kojima would’ve brought Hayter back to reprise his role if Solid Snake was used again. Did Kojima ever say anything to contradict that he was using Keifer because he’s a different character than the Snake we previously knew? A fake voice for a fake Snake and all that, you know?
@stinkyx Unfortunately, I agree that I fear Virtua Fighter would get swallowed up in Tekken’s shadow. Virtua Fighter is a complicated game, but it isn’t flashy in the sense that many other fighters are with blood or explosions. It relies directly on gameplay as its selling point. And, yes, the “pureness” makes engagement a real challenge in a more active age. I could see a new title reviewing well for fighting game purists, but not having nearly the level of engagement of SF, MK, or Tekken. Oddly enough too, I don’t feel like VF embraces “realness” like, say, the UFC titles you’d mentioned. VF is in a world of “pure gaming,” which was more of a thing years ago, but is very much out of vogue now. It’s a series where I want it to return, but I can’t even fathom how they’d do it to cater to modern audiences beyond a niche of highly passionate vintage gamers that have been screaming for fighting games to cease their more exploitative aspects.
Its distinct lack of “special moves” is one of the things that makes Virtua Fighter distinctly special. There’s a certain fluidity and looseness to the fighting and movement that is unique in comparison to Tekken, which I feel is its closest analogue. If Sega focuses on that, I’m interested. I’m sure the challenge that they have with it though is that Virtua Fighter is a purer experience as a game than Street Fighter, Tekken, etc have become, and, by that, I mean, I’m sure that Virtua Fighter’s biggest hurdle is in how to adapt it to the age of GAAS, continuous monetization, and microtransactions. That, I’m sure, is the dramatic Sega is thinking of.
Nuts and Bolts didn’t sell as well because it was on the wrong platform (as it had a Nintendo Legacy and Xbox has always sort of had trouble generating a family mascot to link to their console successfully) and a total shake up sequel of a classic after a generation’s separation between games. It’s a solid game, if not a classic, but the cards were stacked against it before it even had a chance. If it re-released on Switch, you’ve got to wonder how it would be perceived now.
Man, I had a bunch of these action figures as a kid and loved the DTV “movie.” It was rudimentary 3D in an era before people were doing that. The Reboot era, you could say. Ah, youth!
@belmont Honestly, it sort of ruined the game for me. I have no problem with difficulty, but these bosses all felt incredibly cheap. The balance between the difficulty of the bosses and the levels felt totally out of whack to me. It’s like Azrest took notes on what Sonic does right for level design and what Sonic does wrong for boss fights. If the bosses were cut (and multiplayer, because, let’s face it, even if that’s what they sold the game on it, it’s a mess), Superstars would probably an 8/10, bordering into 9 territory, but as it is, Superstars is maybe a 6.
They’re resurrecting it for some of those boss fights. Sonic Superstars has some incredibly cheap ones that break the fun factor of the honestly solidly designed levels of the game. I scream when I get to them too, usually.
Ground Zeroes is painfully underrated in this list. To put Survive over it is an insult, even if I liked Survive. MGSV deserves better too. Go down the rabbit hole. The game is deeper when you dive down it.
Glad MGS2 has its rightful place at #1. Also, love MGS3, but it’s definitely third place… if you’re not an MGSV person. It’s fourth for me, but I’m a ruse cruiser.
Kid Dracula! Yes! 10/10 game for me! Really happy this got one got mentioned. Might be my favorite GB title.
Also, to this day, I’m still impressed with what Nintendo and Rare made happen with Donkey Kong Land. With such a limited toolkit, they really pushed the visuals that were possible on the console. It’s not perfect, but it is absolutely as incredible today as it was years ago.
Xbox was such a unique console. It felt like the heir apparent to Sega, but with a decidedly PC twist to its flavor. It’s perhaps the most Western feeling console of all time as well. Morrowind, Fable, and Halo impressed me in a way few games did in those days. OG Xbox did indeed feel more powerful than PS2 and GameCube.
Crazy the 360 is 18 years old now. I do disagree with the list. I mean, Reach over Halo 3? No Mass Effect? Portal 2? Fallout? Alan Wake? Child of Eden? Toss a coin to your Witcher, for heaven’s sakes! I’m just being nitpicky though. Thanks for acknowledging LA Noire.
The 360 was such a great system of a strange time where it seemed like Xbox was ready to pull ahead of PlayStation and Nintendo for a brief moment. It delivered a diverse catalog full of AAA hits, indie darlings, and unique titles that made it stand out from PlayStation’s combination of JRPGs, sometimes weirdness, and embryonic vision of cinematic gaming. The competition was so good with the big three then and all three had distinct gaming ecosystems. It’s sort of a shame that, in certain respects, that competition has evolved to a less direct path.
Comments 153
Re: PS1 Classics Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain And Soul Reaver Come To Evercade
Wow. That’s incredible. Big win for Evercade to get these titles on lock before PlayStation or Switch.
Re: Jada Toys' Mega Man Series Adds Gemini Laser Mega Man, Proto Man, & Snake Man
Oh, man, those are cool. I’m not usually an “I want toys” adult, but these are really cool!
Re: Old Enough To Remember The Original Game Boy? Then Think About Screening For Cancer, Says Charity
Ah, yes, in America, where I went to the doctor yesterday, and my follow up appointment is scheduled a year in advance.
Re: "The Game That Surpassed Super Mario" Is Available In The West For The First Time
Played this one for the first time yesterday and it’s certainly kusoge.
Re: We Never Got A Panzer Dragoon Saturn Console, But This Is The Next Best Thing
I am quite jealous of all you who’ve had the joy of playing through this one on a native console. I remember a friend of mine having it, but he felt like the Saturn was a bit weak as a console experience, so he sold his console and games for a PlayStation and loved it. Fine for him, but I remember his library and, man, I got to try this game just once on native hardware. Given the library he had and his interests, I’m not surprised he sold his, and I didn’t know better in the 90’s, but, man, it took less than ten years to get nostalgic quick for that one day of gaming where I tried all his games out quick before he sold it. The ways I’ve tried to play Saga since… have not been right.
Re: Monkey Island Creator Ron Gilbert Is Working On A Zelda-Style RPG Adventure
GotY contender incoming!
Re: Cronela's Mansion Is A Maniac Mansion Style Point 'N Click Coming To Retro Machines
@Poodlestargenerica I agree. The game looks great and I’d like to support it, but that promo art has me second guessing it. I’d love to see Maniac Mansion inspired games become “a thing” though.
Re: Game Informer Readers Label Ocarina Of Time "The Greatest Game Of All Time"
It’s a fair choice, honestly. It all boils down to who did the poll and there’s no reason to be upset about it. At least two dozen games have been considered the greatest game of all time somewhere.
Re: Anniversary: Katamari Damacy Turns 20 Today (No Pun Intended)
@Andee Wattam is absolutely one of my favorite games. I’ll never delete it off my PS5. It’s one of those games I can trust both of my kids with too. My two year old daughter can play it. There’s so few games that are just so available for everyone. I did try to find a Wattam t-shirt at one point, but had no luck, unfortunately! To A T is in my top 10 most anticipated games this year for sure!
Re: Anniversary: Katamari Damacy Turns 20 Today (No Pun Intended)
Praise be to Keita Takahashi! The man’s a genius. Katamari is one of the best franchises of all time and I appreciate everything he’s ever made.
Re: This Castlevania Homage Stars Legendary Dracula Bela Lugosi
Adding this to my Switch wishlist perhaps! Looks awesome!
Re: Mandalorian, Thor And Cowboy Bebop Writer Behind Upcoming Live-Action Pac-Man Movie
Sounds like I have no interest in this movie then
Re: Best Handheld Consoles Of All Time, Ranked By You
The Switch deserves that top spot!
Re: Best Resident Evil Games, Ranked By You
1. RE7
2. RE8
3. REmake 2
4. REmake 4
5. REmake 3
6. RE: Code Veronica
7. RE2
8. RE4
9. REmake 1
10. RE3
That’s my top 10. What can I say? I like the FPS RE more and I prefer the more cinematic remakes to the originals. God bless Resident Evil
Re: Namco's Tank Battalion Rolls Onto Switch & PS4 This Week
Oh yes, one of my favorites! Day 1! Best title on this line-up since Mappy perhaps.
Re: Best Rare Games, Ranked By You
@Damo I know this, but I just… can’t believe it! Lol. Nuts and Bolts deserves better than this. I was surprised by the positivity towards Jet Force Gemini as well. I get the nostalgia for it, but it’s aged like milk.
Re: Best Rare Games, Ranked By You
Man, you guys are haters on that Beetlejuice game. I always enjoyed that one and felt like it had some unique mechanics, even if it was unfairly difficult and janky at times.
It’s also sort of blasphemy to see Nuts and Bolts so low in the list. Below Kameo and Grabbed by Ghoulies? Below Perfect Dark Zero!? Insane. Nuts and Bolts wasn’t what people wanted, but it was solid for what it was. Surprised to see such a positive reaction to Sea of Thieves too.
Re: To Make Sense Of Xbox Multiplatform Rumours, We Need Only Look To The Past
@Poodlestargenerica @Hikingguy Surely, if Xbox leaves the console space, I feel Steam may be waiting for that moment to jump in. If anyone can fill the spot that Xbox has, it’s Steam.
I do wish Xbox would really capitalize on Halo and Fable, if they’re continuing on. I do feel like Xbox has unique ideas from time to time, but, despite their wealth as a platform, everything simply feels AA from them when they’re at their best.
Re: To Make Sense Of Xbox Multiplatform Rumours, We Need Only Look To The Past
@Poodlestargenerica You could be right. The amount of remakes and remasters and sequels this generation has been a little much. I do miss a PlayStation that took risks and had more fun. I honestly wish Xbox was a stronger platform simply to combat a lazy PlayStation. Competition IS needed in the console space. If Xbox is phasing out, Stadia failed, and Nintendo being a different planet, you’ve got to wonder if there’s anyone else that would attempt to jump into the home console space. Maybe Steam? Apple?
Re: To Make Sense Of Xbox Multiplatform Rumours, We Need Only Look To The Past
It would be a real shame if Xbox is abandoning the console platform. Sony needs competition. Even if Nintendo is beating them in many fronts, we’ve hit a point where Nintendo (from the Wii era onward) exists off in its own world, more or less, and isn’t directly competing against Sony. Xbox is good for Sony, in that a strong rival pushes PlayStation to do better. I expect a lazier, remake happy PlayStation if Xbox drops out.
Re: Poll: What Is Rare's Best Game?
@Poodlestargenerica Oh, yes, I totally understand that. Rare DID have a really big hit area, but so did other developers in a similar timeframe that remained consistent. I definitely feel Rare’s zenith period was linked to Nintendo’s influence. Their arcade and NES input was all over the place in terms of quality, but you could tell they had ideas percolating even if the games didn’t always hit the mark and that coalesced into the SNES and N64 era, but, after that… I just feel Rare hasn’t ever come close to getting back to that stride. Their tenure on Xbox has been baffling to me. Ghoulies and Kameo were unfortunately generic follow-ups that are all the more bewildering when compared to their previous titles. Then you have the mess of a Perfect Dark sequel. Viva Piñata, while it’s not a game for me, was an obvious choice to search for an Xbox mascot, but that series went as quickly as it came. Nuts and Bolts and Killer Instinct are practically the only hits in my eyes since Rare’s left Nintendo. The Yooka Laylee games both show that better games could have been made from the Rare team though.
Re: Poll: What Is Rare's Best Game?
Beetlejuice is severely underrated, but seriously Donkey Kong Country 2 is their zenith. Few games hit close to that mark.
Sorry to say, but Rare as a developer has been wildly inconsistent in quality for their entire tenure in the gaming industry. I know it’s a hot take, but really, without their stretch of games from DKC through the first Perfect Dark, I don’t feel like Rare would be beloved. Their best games were made in like a five year boom and they’ve been chucking 6/10s more consistently before and after that than anything else.
Re: Best Ghostbusters Games Of All Time
New Ghostbusters II should be at the top of this list! C’mon!
Re: Best Nintendo DS Games Of All Time
No Pokémon Black or White 1 or 2!? For shame!
I hate to say it, but the DS is one of the most overrated consoles ever released, in my opinion. The catalog as thick as it is just didn’t have the same tier of quality of other Nintendo consoles. That may just have been me, but that was an era where I had drifted from Nintendo because things just weren’t clicking for me.
Re: Gaming's Best 'Leftfield' Control Interfaces, Ranked
No Nintendo Labo? If you want to talk weird…
Re: Best Amiga Games Of All Time
I’m not sure if my uncle had an Amiga or what, but I know I’ve played roughly half of these games at one point long, long ago. PC gaming felt so different to console gaming in those days. I sort of wish we’d get some modern ports for some of these titles.
Re: Obsidian Wanted To Create A Fallout: New Vegas-Style Elder Scrolls Spin-Off
I really wish they would’ve gotten the all clear about this. I wonder why Bethesda wasn’t pleased with New Vegas. Seems sort of odd, given what a great job they did with it, especially with the time crunch.
Re: "This Game's Pretty Fun" - Snake's OG Voice Actor Has Finally Played Metal Gear Solid V
If Kojima continued with Konami and the Metal Gear series in an alternate universe, you’ve got to wonder if Kojima would’ve brought Hayter back to reprise his role if Solid Snake was used again. Did Kojima ever say anything to contradict that he was using Keifer because he’s a different character than the Snake we previously knew? A fake voice for a fake Snake and all that, you know?
Re: Sega Is "Evaluating" A New Virtua Fighter
@stinkyx Unfortunately, I agree that I fear Virtua Fighter would get swallowed up in Tekken’s shadow. Virtua Fighter is a complicated game, but it isn’t flashy in the sense that many other fighters are with blood or explosions. It relies directly on gameplay as its selling point. And, yes, the “pureness” makes engagement a real challenge in a more active age. I could see a new title reviewing well for fighting game purists, but not having nearly the level of engagement of SF, MK, or Tekken. Oddly enough too, I don’t feel like VF embraces “realness” like, say, the UFC titles you’d mentioned. VF is in a world of “pure gaming,” which was more of a thing years ago, but is very much out of vogue now. It’s a series where I want it to return, but I can’t even fathom how they’d do it to cater to modern audiences beyond a niche of highly passionate vintage gamers that have been screaming for fighting games to cease their more exploitative aspects.
Re: Sega Is "Evaluating" A New Virtua Fighter
Its distinct lack of “special moves” is one of the things that makes Virtua Fighter distinctly special. There’s a certain fluidity and looseness to the fighting and movement that is unique in comparison to Tekken, which I feel is its closest analogue. If Sega focuses on that, I’m interested. I’m sure the challenge that they have with it though is that Virtua Fighter is a purer experience as a game than Street Fighter, Tekken, etc have become, and, by that, I mean, I’m sure that Virtua Fighter’s biggest hurdle is in how to adapt it to the age of GAAS, continuous monetization, and microtransactions. That, I’m sure, is the dramatic Sega is thinking of.
Re: Remembering Bushi Seiryuuden, Pokémon Creator Game Freak's Japan-Only SNES RPG
I’ve never heard of this one and now I really want to try it out!
Re: Best Wii Games Of All Time
Love seeing Muramasa in this list!
Re: Anniversary: Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Is 15 Today
Nuts and Bolts didn’t sell as well because it was on the wrong platform (as it had a Nintendo Legacy and Xbox has always sort of had trouble generating a family mascot to link to their console successfully) and a total shake up sequel of a classic after a generation’s separation between games. It’s a solid game, if not a classic, but the cards were stacked against it before it even had a chance. If it re-released on Switch, you’ve got to wonder how it would be perceived now.
Re: Dev Shares Footage Of Unreleased 'The Incredible Crash Dummies' Game For SNES
Slick and Spin get the job done!
Man, I had a bunch of these action figures as a kid and loved the DTV “movie.” It was rudimentary 3D in an era before people were doing that. The Reboot era, you could say. Ah, youth!
Re: Best GTA Games - Every Grand Theft Auto Game Ranked
I really wonder how a new GTA will hold up in the modern era. Jeez, does GTA feel like a relic these days
Re: Sega Resurrects The Iconic "Sega Scream" For Sonic Superstars
@belmont Honestly, it sort of ruined the game for me. I have no problem with difficulty, but these bosses all felt incredibly cheap. The balance between the difficulty of the bosses and the levels felt totally out of whack to me. It’s like Azrest took notes on what Sonic does right for level design and what Sonic does wrong for boss fights. If the bosses were cut (and multiplayer, because, let’s face it, even if that’s what they sold the game on it, it’s a mess), Superstars would probably an 8/10, bordering into 9 territory, but as it is, Superstars is maybe a 6.
Re: Sega Resurrects The Iconic "Sega Scream" For Sonic Superstars
They’re resurrecting it for some of those boss fights. Sonic Superstars has some incredibly cheap ones that break the fun factor of the honestly solidly designed levels of the game. I scream when I get to them too, usually.
Re: Random: New Game Boy Color Game Turns Frasier Into A Turn-Based RPG
There have been so many great Frasier game ideas. I want this and that beat ‘em up. If the timelines were altered, let them have Frasier video games!
Re: Super Mario Bros. (1993) Is Getting A New Worldwide Release In 4K
I’d rather have it on a streaming service to watch on the cheap
Re: Best GameCube Games Of All Time
How I dream and wish for Chibi Robo and Doshiin The Giant to come to Switch…
Re: Best Gundam Games Of All Time
SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays? The best Gundam game didn’t even make the list… 😢
Re: Best GBA Games Of All Time
Megaman Zero though…
Metroid Fusion and Aria of Sorrow are peak gaming
Re: Peter Molyneux Expresses "Regret" For Hyping His Games, But Feels He Was Just Doing His Job
I miss Molyneux honestly. He overpromised, sure, but he did make some really solid games as well.
Re: Best Metal Gear Games - Every Metal Gear Game, Ranked
@-wc- Twin Snakes is so much better than it’s reputation suggests! Wish more people weren’t so quick to write it off!
Re: Best Metal Gear Games - Every Metal Gear Game, Ranked
Ground Zeroes is painfully underrated in this list. To put Survive over it is an insult, even if I liked Survive. MGSV deserves better too. Go down the rabbit hole. The game is deeper when you dive down it.
Glad MGS2 has its rightful place at #1. Also, love MGS3, but it’s definitely third place… if you’re not an MGSV person. It’s fourth for me, but I’m a ruse cruiser.
Re: Best Game Boy Games Of All Time
Kid Dracula! Yes! 10/10 game for me! Really happy this got one got mentioned. Might be my favorite GB title.
Also, to this day, I’m still impressed with what Nintendo and Rare made happen with Donkey Kong Land. With such a limited toolkit, they really pushed the visuals that were possible on the console. It’s not perfect, but it is absolutely as incredible today as it was years ago.
Re: Best Original Xbox Games Of All Time
Xbox was such a unique console. It felt like the heir apparent to Sega, but with a decidedly PC twist to its flavor. It’s perhaps the most Western feeling console of all time as well. Morrowind, Fable, and Halo impressed me in a way few games did in those days. OG Xbox did indeed feel more powerful than PS2 and GameCube.
Re: Pixelthesia: Why We See Things In Video Games
This article may be the magnum opus of Hookshot Media articles. Fantastic read! Thank you so much for writing it.
Re: Best SNES RPGs Of All Time
Always happy to see Evermore mentioned! Excellent list of games!
Re: Best Xbox 360 Games Of All Time
Crazy the 360 is 18 years old now. I do disagree with the list. I mean, Reach over Halo 3? No Mass Effect? Portal 2? Fallout? Alan Wake? Child of Eden? Toss a coin to your Witcher, for heaven’s sakes! I’m just being nitpicky though. Thanks for acknowledging LA Noire.
The 360 was such a great system of a strange time where it seemed like Xbox was ready to pull ahead of PlayStation and Nintendo for a brief moment. It delivered a diverse catalog full of AAA hits, indie darlings, and unique titles that made it stand out from PlayStation’s combination of JRPGs, sometimes weirdness, and embryonic vision of cinematic gaming. The competition was so good with the big three then and all three had distinct gaming ecosystems. It’s sort of a shame that, in certain respects, that competition has evolved to a less direct path.