Rate the Game: ***WEEK 100 BLOWOUT SPECTACULAR EXTRAVANGANZA OF AWESOMENESS FOR COOL PEOPLE!!!***

[M-A-G]

Well, here we are. We made it here, boys and girls, whether we wanted to or not. It's taken us some time to arrive at this point. So much time that it's hard to gauge how long. :shifty: Anyways, as much as we'd all love to unload the party favors and get all wild up in this bitch, we have last week's Mass Effect to tend to before moving onto the pleasantries. A surprising number of people hadn't experienced the mass effect of...Mass Effect, but those who did gave it some high marks. What does the leaderboard have to say about all of this?

<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. (TIE) Hitman: Codename 47, Mass Effect (4.75)</option>
<option>5. Goldeneye 007 (4.72)</option>
<option>6. Super Mario Bros. 3 (4.7)</option>
<option>7. Silent Hill 2 (4.66)
<option>8. (3-WAY TIE) Chrono Trigger, Portal, Red Dead Redemption (4.5)</option>
<option>11. (TIE) Mega Man 2, Donkey Kong Country (4.44)</option>
<option>13. Super Mario Bros. (4.41)</option>
<option>14. God of War (4.4)</option>
<option>15. Mega Man X (4.36)</option>
<option>16. (TIE) Metal Gear Solid, BioShock (4.33)</option>
<option>18. Perfect Dark (4.3)</option>
<option>19. (TIE) Shadow of the Colossus, The Last of Us (4.28)</option>
<option>21. Super Street Fighter 2 (4.15)</option>
<option>22. Sonic the Hedgehog (4.14)</option>
<option>23. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (4.125)</option>
<option>24. Super Mario 64 (4.07)</option>
<option>25. (TIE) Grand Theft Auto 3, The Legend of Zelda (4.06)</option>
<option>27. NBA Jam (4.05)</option>
<option>28. (10-WAY TIE) Super Mario Kart (4.0)</option>
<option>- Sonic the Hedgehog 2</option>
<option>- Super Metroid</option>
<option>- The Simpsons</option>
<option>- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night</option>
<option>- Donkey Kong Country 2</option>
<option>- Resident Evil 4</option>
<option>- Super Smash Bros.</option>
<option>- Banjo-Kazooie</option>
<option>- EarthBound</option>
<option>38. Final Fantasy 7 (3.94)</option>
<option>39. Mega Man (3.89)</option>
<option>40. (3-WAY TIE) Contra, Castlevania, Devil May Cry (3.86)</option>
<option>43. Half-Life 2 (3.85)</option>
<option>44. Half-Life (3.83)</option>
<option>45. (TIE) SimCity 2000, Final Fight (3.8)</option>
<option>47. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (3.77)</option>
<option>48. Batman: Arkham Asylum (3.76)</option>
<option>49. (TIE) Double Dragon, Max Payne (3.75)</option>
<option>51. Tetris (3.69)</option>
<option>52. Mortal Kombat 2 (3.67)</option>
<option>53. (TIE) Diablo, F.E.A.R. (3.66)</option>
<option>55. Mortal Kombat (3.65)</option>
<option>56. Doom (3.625)</option>
<option>57. StarFox (3.61)</option>
<option>58. Resident Evil (3.58)</option>
<option>59. (TIE) Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi (3.5)</option>
<option>61. Dead Space (3.4)</option>
<option>62. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (3.39)</option>
<option>63. Resident Evil: Nemesis (3.38)</option>
<option>64. (5-WAY TIE) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Condemned: Criminal Origins, Crash Bandicoot, Wolfenstein 3D, Left 4 Dead (3.33)</option>
<option>69. Gears of War (3.27)</option>
<option>70. (TIE) Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Borderlands (3.22)</option>
<option>72. (3-WAY TIE) Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, Darkstalkers (3.2)</option>
<option>75. SoulCalibur (3.16)</option>
<option>76. Pac-Man (3.125)</option>
<option>77. Killer Instinct (3.11)</option>
<option>78. (TIE) Virtua Fighter, Rock Band (3.09)</option>
<option>80. (5-WAY TIE) Time Crisis, Tekken, Earthworm Jim, Metroid, Halo 2 (3.0)</option>
<option>85. Guitar Hero (2.875)</option>
<option>86. Streets of Rage (2.84)</option>
<option>87. Altered Beast (2.8)</option>
<option>88. Bayonetta (2.75)</option>
<option>89. (3-WAY TIE) Dead Rising, Gauntlet, Assassin's Creed (2.71) </option>
<option>92. (TIE) Silent Hill, The Sims (2.6)</option>
<option>94. Tomb Raider (2.55)</option>
<option>95. Halo: Combat Evolved (2.5)</option>
<option>96. (TIE) Twisted Metal, Crackdown (2.42)</option>
<option>98. Gran Turismo (2.3)</option>
<option>99. Ghosts n' Goblins (2.14)</option>
</select>

Well the leaderboard says I have to do a lot of editing this week, as Mass Effect earns itself a nice, fat 4.75 average and shares the number 3 spot in another tie up in the elite real estate. Commander Shepard rises to the occasion once again.

But now, the big moment. We're at quite the milestone here. It's hard to believe we kicked off this new batch just last year. Now let's see what we've got to deal with. Behold, the 100th game....

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/6AdDPXpLfOGuQj4wex" width="480" height="269" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/6AdDPXpLfOGuQj4wex">via GIPHY</a></p>

Ta-da! It's back to the Super Nintendo and back to the realm of RPGs as Nintendo and quite possibly the king of JRPGs, Square, join forces to present to us this week's game. It's Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars! You've got probably the most iconic video game character being handled by probably the most prolific of RPG developers. What was the end result? A classic? A dud? A good little way to spend a few hours? We know what to do here. For the 100th time, let's do this thing. Let's hear what you have to say and here's to the next round of games yet to come. Until next week!

[drave]

Loved it and never understood why they didn't make more. Weird memories with this one. I remember having my first ear piercing around this time, which is just a weird memory to unlock from thinking about a video game.


Loved the "2nd attack" with each character that required precise timing to hit. Reminded me somewhat of Legend of Dragoon (which also needs some modern love). Why the hell hasn't Nintendo added THIS to the online library yet?


**shakes fist in Mushroom Kingdom anger**


I don't recall finishing the game, as it was a rental, but definitely made it to the last area. I remember REAAAAAAALLY hating the boat//underwater area, but can't remember why right now.


Love it, would love MORE of it and now I'm really wondering why it never happened again :(


Now this makes me wanna dig Shadowrun out for Genesis. Finished the SNES version, but they are 1000000% different games.

[Lock Jaw]

Love this game, everything about it is perfect. The story, the humour, the graphics, the music, the gameplay, the easter eggs.... and it all still holds up.

7 stars.

[Big Vic]

I usually don't like RPGs but I enjoyed this. 3.

[ClockShot]

Never played.

[M-A-G]

Loved it and never understood why they didn't make more.

The following video can explain it better than I can but evidently there are some legal issues as far as continuing from where this game started.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/khJ8iqMWdMI" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Square and Nintendo had a bit of a falling out and the former went on to develop almost exclusively for the PlayStation. The RPG format did somewhat continue with the Paper Mario series. I remember a Super Mario RPG 2 being announced in a GamePro issue but that's all that it was at the time. I'm sure it was barely in the conceptual stages. Paper Mario even carried over the timed hit mechanic. It still is pretty sad we couldn't get another go at it especially with the horsepower of the Nintendo 64.

[Sepholio]

One of the best RPGS ever made. Have played it at least a dozen times. Easy 5.

Also Big Vic should be banned for life for giving this a 3.

[M-A-G]

It still bothers me that we don't know who it was that gave Ocarina of Time a 3. That was on track to earning a perfect 5 overall.

[Lock Jaw]

Probably also Big Vic. Definitely ban him.

[OssMan]

Square had made all the FF games on Nintendo systems at that point and this game was pretty much a merger of those two company's biggest franchises, then they moved to Playstation to produce ff7 due to the better graphics etc so they never got to make another. Paper Mario and the Mario and Luigi Superstar games are "spiritual successors" but fall way short imo

Core gameplay wise mario RPG falls a little short but nostalgia factor and music/coolness keeps it at a 5

Some older kid on my bus back in 96 kept calling this game "Super Mario Rampage" lol....

[Lock Jaw]

The Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi games I have played weren't bad or anything, but yeah... they didn't quite reach the levels of this one.

[M-A-G]

Some older kid on my bus back in 96 kept calling this game "Super Mario Rampage" lol....

I would absolutely play a game called Super Mario Rampage.

[Destor]

The Thousand Year door is among best rpgs ive ever played. leagues better than mario rpg.

[Big Vic]

Probably also Big Vic. Definitely ban him.

No no, love OoT.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Haven't played it. Sorry LJ.

[M-A-G]

It really is a boss soundtrack. The battle music for regular enemies is probably the weakest piece but almost everything else fires on all cylinders. Marrymore, Forest Maze, and the battle against Smithy are highlights.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bU8ZaJK1CF0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[M-A-G]

https://mario.wiki.gallery/images/e/ed/Mystery_SMRPG.png

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rcYwx2WeeE0/maxresdefault.jpg