Rate the Game: Week 84

[M-A-G]

Well, last week's Rate the Game was...well...um...I mean, I don't want to use the word "disaster" or anything but sadly Shinobi wasn't as popular among the TPWW Universe as I might have believed. I'm kind of wondering why I even bothered adding it to the pile. I guess ninjas were all the rage back then. I mean, you had Ninja Gaiden. The Ninja Turtles. Strider. That counts, right? Well regardless let's see where the poor sap ends up on the list. Let's take a gander...

<select><option selected="">Rate the Game Results

<option>1. (TIE) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (4.8)</option>
<option>3. Hitman: Codename 47 (4.75)</option>
<option>4. Super Mario Bros. 3 (4.7)</option>
<option>5. (3-WAY TIE)Chrono Trigger, Portal, Red Dead Redemption (4.5)</option>
<option>8. (TIE) Mega Man 2, Donkey Kong Country (4.44)</option>
<option>10. Super Mario Bros. (4.41)</option>
<option>11. God of War (4.4)</option>
<option>12. (TIE) Metal Gear Solid, BioShock (4.33)</option>
<option>14. Perfect Dark (4.3)</option>
<option>15. (TIE) Shadow of the Colossus, The Last of Us (4.28)</option>
<option>17. Super Street Fighter 2 (4.15)</option>
<option>18. Sonic the Hedgehog (4.14)</option>
<option>19. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (4.125)</option>
<option>20. Super Mario 64 (4.07)</option>
<option>21. (TIE) Grand Theft Auto 3, The Legend of Zelda (4.06)</option>
<option>23. NBA Jam (4.05)</option>
<option>24. (7-WAY TIE) Super Mario Kart, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Super Metroid, The Simpsons, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Donkey Kong Country 2, Resident Evil 4 (4.0)</option>
<option>31. Final Fantasy 7 (3.94)</option>
<option>32. Mega Man (3.89)</option>
<option>33. (3-WAY TIE) Contra, Castlevania, Devil May Cry (3.86)</option>
<option>36. Half-Life 2 (3.85)</option>
<option>37. Half-Life (3.83)</option>
<option>38. SimCity 2000 (3.8)</option>
<option>39. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (3.77)</option>
<option>40. Batman: Arkham Asylum (3.76)</option>
<option>41. (TIE) Double Dragon, Max Payne (3.75)</option>
<option>43. Tetris (3.69)</option>
<option>44. Mortal Kombat 2 (3.67)</option>
<option>45. (TIE) Diablo, F.E.A.R. (3.66)</option>
<option>47. Mortal Kombat (3.65)</option>
<option>48. Doom (3.625)</option>
<option>49. StarFox (3.61)</option>
<option>50. Resident Evil (3.58)</option>
<option>51. (TIE) Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi (3.5)</option>
<option>53. Dead Space (3.4)</option>
<option>54. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (3.39)</option>
<option>55. Resident Evil: Nemesis (3.38)</option>
<option>56. (4-WAY TIE) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Condemned: Criminal Origins, Crash Bandicoot, Wolfenstein 3D (3.33)</option>
<option>60. Gears of War (3.27)</option>
<option>61. (TIE) Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Borderlands (3.22)</option>
<option>63. (TIE) Quake, Duke Nukem 3D (3.2)</option>
<option>65. Pac-Man (3.125)</option>
<option>66. Killer Instinct (3.11)</option>
<option>67. (TIE) Virtua Fighter, Rock Band (3.09)</option>
<option>69. (4-WAY TIE) Time Crisis, Tekken, Earthworm Jim, Metroid (3.0)</option>
<option>73. Guitar Hero (2.875)</option>
<option>74. Streets of Rage (2.84)</option>
<option>75. Altered Beast (2.8)</option>
<option>76. Dead Rising (2.71) </option>
<option>77. (TIE) Silent Hill, The Sims (2.6)</option>
<option>79. Tomb Raider (2.55)</option>
<option>80. Halo: Combat Evolved (2.5)</option>
<option>81. Twisted Metal (2.42)</option>
<option>82. Gran Turismo (2.3)</option>
<option>83. Ghosts n' Goblins (2.14)</option>
</select>

Well it's almost fitting that Shinobi ends up sharing the same spot as Ninja Gaiden. Both have their fare share of frustrations and what not. Plus they're ninjas. That goes without saying. Anyways, let's move away from last week's showing and take a peek at what this week has in store for us. Hopefully it'll be a title with a bit more recognition among the good people of TPWW. Show us what we're dealing with this week, bowl....

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/AI8H1rSc1IsgjkGBcY" width="480" height="269" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/AI8H1rSc1IsgjkGBcY">via GIPHY</a></p>

Ta-da! Oh, sure, NOW the bowl wants to give us something horror-related. This would have been perfect about 3 weeks ago. :roll: Anyways, we're bringing Capcom back to the forefront as we take a look at the monster fighting game, literally, Darkstalkers! It's a franchise that often gets overlooked in comparison to something like Street Fighter but maybe there's enough love for it here to land it in a good spot on the board. Or maybe it deserves to be forgotten and cast down into the pit at the bottom of the list? What do you think? How does this game fare with you all? Rate and discuss and share and have a good one. Until next week!

[Lock Jaw]

Never played it.

[Fignuts]

4

Excellent fighting game. Sprite work looked amazing at the time.

[ClockShot]

Remember the cartoon more than the video game.

[Sepholio]

Never played this one either. womp.

[M-A-G]

Never played it.

Surprising no one.

[M-A-G]

Remember the cartoon more than the video game.

If you're talking about the American cartoon, yes, it's certainly memorable...for the wrong reasons. :|

[ClockShot]

If you're talking about the American cartoon, yes, it's certainly memorable...for the wrong reasons. :|

Yep.

[M-A-G]

The American Street Fighter series also suffered a similar, if not worse, fate. I honestly don't get the need to change up the lore and characters so drastically just for the sake of airing it to an American audiences.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Never even heard of it, let alone playing it.

And while we're on the topic of bad fighting game media, how about those Mortal Kombat movies of the '90s, huh?!

[M-A-G]

Well, I'll one-up you by tying that into the previous point on cartoons: how about Defenders of the Realm? :nono:

[M-A-G]

Just a smidge of a taste of the game if you're curious...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/64OpH0kuF8I" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[M-A-G]

I remember stumbling across this game the same way I usually stumbled upon them: at a random H-E-B when I was in school during an out-of-town trip. I remember being wowed by the animation and the concept was cool. It seems kind of a no-brainer idea in retrospect. Like different monsters fighting it out; d'uh. Jonathan Talbain and Felicia were my go-to's. It always seemed like the black sheep of the Capcom franchises. Street Figher and Mega Man and Resident Evil always were in that top-tier of recognized and beloved series but this one kind of fell by the wayside. Only 3 games is kind of a rip. I don't think I ever encountered the third title in any arcade.

[Sepholio]

Only reason I even know Darkstalkers exists is because of the weird fascination people had with pictures of Morrigan in the "early" days of the internet. "Why do people keep posting pictures of this weird bat chic with huge anime boobs?" "Oh, she's from some niche fighting game, whatever."

[M-A-G]

LOL, that bit about the anime boobs kind of answers your own question. Also, I like to believe Felicia helped with the spawning and nurturing of furries.

[Sepholio]

Well, yeah. In hindsight.

[M-A-G]

Dear fucking Lzzy, who animated this shit?

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KiHRLUIZzs4" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Sepholio]

LMAO wtf did he just say ALL HAIL THE EMPERIAL PUDDING THERE ARE LIZARDS IN MY BUTT before flying away into the sky?

[M-A-G]

I mean, it's no "Have some...corn flakes" but, seriously, where the fuck do they get their drugs?

[M-A-G]

My mom also hated it when she found strange catwomen in my room. I guess it was a thing moms weren't into at the time.

[M-A-G]

Hi, Felicia!

https://i.imgur.com/3PX75zK.jpg

[M-A-G]

Anyways, I'm going with a 3 here after much deliberation. I mean, I enjoyed it but it's missing that certain something that would make it one of the greatest. It had a lot of neat innovations like air blocking and an EX-style system. I don't know; maybe the story wasn't much of a hook or whatever. It's doesn't completely bore as it's entertaining to watch and the music is catchy. I guess it'll always be in the shadow of other Capcom franchises.