Rate the Game: Week 118

[M-A-G]

Good morning, one and all. I don't know about you but it's hot as fuck over here. Need a way to cool down? Well, I can't help you. What I can do is welcome you to this week's edition of Rate the Game. I can also present to you how last week's Kirby's Adventure on the NES fared on our cool-as-fuck leaderboard! A major fixture of Nintendo's line-up of memorable and beloved characters surely would have a game that would join the ranks of Super Mario World and Ocarina of Time, no? What does the leaderboard have to say about this matter?

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

<option>1. Super Mario World (4.81)
<option>2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (4.8)</option>
<option>3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (4.8)</option>
<option>4. Hitman: Codename 47 (4.75)</option>
<option>5. Mass Effect (4.75)</option>
<option>6. Goldeneye 007 (4.72)</option>
<option>7. Super Mario Bros. 3 (4.7)</option>
<option>8. Silent Hill 2 (4.66)</option>
<option>9. Portal (4.5)</option>
<option>10. Red Dead Redemption (4.5)</option>
<option>11. Chrono Trigger (4.5)</option>
<option>12. Final Fantasy 3 (4.5)</option>
<option>13. Silent Hill 3 (4.5)</option>
<option>14. Mega Man 2 (4.44)</option>
<option>15. Donkey Kong Country (4.44)</option>
<option>16. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (4.44)</option>
<option>17. Super Mario Bros. (4.41)</option>
<option>18. God of War (4.4)</option>
<option>19. Mega Man X (4.36)</option>
<option>20. Metal Gear Solid (4.33)</option>
<option>21. BioShock (4.33)</option>
<option>22. Perfect Dark (4.3)</option>
<option>23. Shadow of the Colossus (4.28)</option>
<option>24. The Last of Us (4.28)</option>
<option>25. Super Street Fighter 2 (4.15)</option>
<option>26. Sonic the Hedgehog (4.14)</option>
<option>27. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (4.125)</option>
<option>28. Super Mario 64 (4.07)</option>
<option>29. Grand Theft Auto 3 (4.06)</option>
<option>30. The Legend of Zelda (4.06)</option>
<option>31. NBA Jam (4.05)</option>
<option>32. Super Mario Kart (4.0)</option>
<option>33. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (4.0)</option>
<option>34. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (4.0)</option>
<option>35. Super Smash Bros. (4.0)</option>
<option>36. Super Metroid (4.0)</option>
<option>37. The Simpsons (4.0)</option>
<option>38. Resident Evil 4 (4.0)</option>
<option>39. EarthBound (4.0)</option>
<option>40. Fallout 3 (4.0)</option>
<option>41. Mirror's Edge (4.0)</option>
<option>42. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (4.0)</option>
<option>43. Donkey Kong Country 2 (4.0)</option>
<option>44. Banjo-Kazooie (4.0)</option>
<option>45. Final Fantasy 7 (3.94)</option>
<option>46. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (3.92)</option>
<option>47. Mega Man (3.89)</option>
<option>48. Castlevania (3.86)</option>
<option>49. Contra (3.86)</option>
<option>50. Devil May Cry (3.86)</option>
<option>51. Half-Life 2 (3.85)</option>
<option>52. Half-Life (3.83)
<option>53. Infamous (3.83)</option>
<option>54. SimCity 2000 (3.8)</option>
<option>55. Final Fight (3.8)</option>
<option>56. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (3.77)</option>
<option>57. Batman: Arkham Asylum (3.76)</option>
<option>58. Double Dragon (3.75)</option>
<option>59. Max Payne (3.75)</option>
<option>60. Tetris (3.69)</option>
<option>61. Mortal Kombat 2 (3.67)</option>
<option>62. Alan Wake (3.66)</option>
<option>63. Diablo (3.66)</option>
<option>64. F.E.A.R. (3.66)</option>
<option>65. Mortal Kombat (3.65)</option>
<option>66. Doom (3.625)</option>
<option>67. StarFox (3.61)</option>
<option>68. Resident Evil (3.58)</option>
<option>69. Kirby's Adventure (3.57)</option>
<option>70. Ninja Gaiden (3.5)</option>
<option>71. Burnout Paradise (3.5)</option>
<option>72. Dark Souls (3.5)</option>
<option>73. Shinobi (3.5)</option>
<option>74. Dead Space (3.4)</option>
<option>75. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (3.39)</option>
<option>76. Resident Evil: Nemesis (3.38)</option>
<option>77. Crash Bandicoot (3.33)</option>
<option>78. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (3.33)</option>
<option>79. Wolfenstein 3D (3.33)</option>
<option>80. Dead Island (3.33)</option>
<option>81. Left 4 Dead (3.33)</option>
<option>82. Condemned: Criminal Origins (3.33)</option>
<option>83. Gears of War (3.27)</option>
<option>84. Borderlands (3.22)</option>
<option>85. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (3.22)</option>
<option>86. Duke Nukem 3D (3.2)</option>
<option>87. Darkstalkers (3.2)</option>
<option>88. Quake (3.2)</option>
<option>89. SoulCalibur (3.16)</option>
<option>90. Pac-Man (3.125)</option>
<option>91. Killer Instinct (3.11)</option>
<option>92. Virtua Fighter (3.09)</option>
<option>93. Rock Band (3.09)</option>
<option>94. Earthworm Jim (3.0)</option>
<option>95. Metroid (3.0)</option>
<option>96. Time Crisis (3.0)</option>
<option>97. Tekken (3.0)</option>
<option>98. Halo 2 (3.0)</option>
<option>99. The Secret of Monkey Island (3.0)</option>
<option>100. Shenmue (3.0)</option>
<option>101. Guitar Hero (2.875)</option>
<option>102. Streets of Rage (2.84)</option>
<option>103. Altered Beast (2.8)</option>
<option>104. Bayonetta (2.75)</option>
<option>105. Assassin's Creed (2.71)</option>
<option>106. Gauntlet (2.71)</option>
<option>107. Dead Rising (2/71)</option>
<option>108. Saints Row (2.66)</option>
<option>109. The Sims (2.6)</option>
<option>110. Silent Hill (2.6)</option>
<option>111. Tomb Raider (2.55)</option>
<option>112. Halo: Combat Evolved (2.5)</option>
<option>113. Twisted Metal (2.42)</option
<option>114. Crackdown (2.42)</option>
<option>115. Golden Axe (2.33)</option>
<option>116. Gran Turismo (2.3)</option>
<option>117. Ghosts n' Goblins (2.14)</option>
</select>


Well, our favorite pink blob of cute might have some game but unfortunately not enough game to be part of the top of the list. Kirby's Adventure lands in the quagmire that is the middle of the pack with an OK-ish overall score of 3.57. Sucking and blowing can only get you so far, I suppose.

Speaking of length, we're not that far away from the final game in this party. Week 118 must have something good in store for us. I'm not basing that on anything, mind you. Let's take another step closer to the end and pull another game from the bowl.

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/doOJ3Gud0nuCQgobuW" width="480" height="222" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/doOJ3Gud0nuCQgobuW">via GIPHY</a></p>


Ta-da! I alluded to this one a while back and it's finally come around. This week we take a look at one of the bigger follow-ups to an arcade classic, Gauntlet Legends. Actually, the original Gauntlet isn't sitting too pretty on our leaderboard, but maybe this one has what it takes to be a top title? What say you? We've got seven more of these babies in the tank so let's do this. Until next week!

[Lock Jaw]

Didn't we do a Gauntlet game

Did I play that one or this one

I don't know

[drave]

Eh, it gets a 3 because N64 nostalgia I think.....




I remember it being a slog that more or less looked the same. However, it was a really good console ARPG at the time, and was fun for a bit.


I remember playing the various classes, and think they could change equipment//appearance?? Good stuff.

[Big Vic]

Didn't like it as much as gauntlet 2, so I rank it low.

[M-A-G]

Didn't we do a Gauntlet game

Did I play that one or this one

I don't know

We're talking about this one.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41geFjF7TlL.jpg

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0561/3177/products/GauntletLegendsNintendo64-GandorionGames_b4c31957-47ec-48cc-a8e2-8449a3ed9bc8.jpg?v=1621959604

https://gamefabrique.com/storage/screenshots/dreamcast/gauntlet-legends-05.png

[Destor]

I really loved this game at the time. It doesnt hold up though...ill balance my taste with objectivity and give it. 3

[ClockShot]

Nope. Never played.

Hell, I don't think all my friends who got their hands on an N64 at the time had this game.

[M-A-G]

LOL, why did I only grab images of the Nintendo 64 version? This was arcade first and then it got ported over to the N64 and the PlayStation. Sadly, the PlayStation version didn't give you the full 4-player experience.

[M-A-G]

Oh, wait, that last pic is from the Dreamcast version, which I'm sure is probably the best way to go outside of the arcade version.

[DAMN iNATOR]

5. By far my favorite entry in the series.

[Lock Jaw]

Nice.... loved playing this one with my brothers.... hacking and slashing monsters all day..... Give it a 4...

[M-A-G]

Pfft, if only I could play something like this with my siblings.

I've told this story before but I'll regale you all with it again in case someone's hearing it for the first time. My experience with this game other than the tons of ads for it in my GamePro magazines was first year in college. My roommate had played it in the arcades if I recall and he decided, for whatever fucking reason, to track it down and play it on his PlayStation. He managed to find it and rent it on a Friday and he asked me to be his wingman and we basically marathoned the fuck out of that sucker that whole weekend. We did the hunt for the rune stones and everything. I was the Valkyrie and he was the Archer and, no shock, he did way better than I. I had never done a gaming session like that up to that point, but, hey, that's the brilliance of college. Nothing like lack of adult supervision to get away with shit you never would have before.

[Fignuts]

Played it once in the arcade. Not enough to rate it.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Pfft, if only I could play something like this with my siblings.

I've told this story before but I'll regale you all with it again in case someone's hearing it for the first time. My experience with this game other than the tons of ads for it in my GamePro magazines was first year in college. My roommate had played it in the arcades if I recall and he decided, for whatever fucking reason, to track it down and play it on his PlayStation. He managed to find it and rent it on a Friday and he asked me to be his wingman and we basically marathoned the fuck out of that sucker that whole weekend. We did the hunt for the rune stones and everything. I was the Valkyrie and he was the Archer and, no shock, he did way better than I. I had never done a gaming session like that up to that point, but, hey, that's the brilliance of college. Nothing like lack of adult supervision to get away with shit you never would have before.

Yeah, the story was what drew me in too. Chasing down all the main 12 runestones and then needing a 13th one to either battle or defeat Skorne. I remember it as the only beatable arcade game that I ever cared enough to actually sink time and money into doing so. If I hadn’t signed up for the US Army fresh out of high school in the summer of ’99 (I was focusing all my senior year on just passing all my classes and uncharacteristically devoted next to no time on video games for about 9½-10 months so I would be sure to graduate HS), I might’ve well gotten a copy of it on N⁶⁴ and played the fuck out of it all over again.

[poopfromweiner dude]

how come Halo 2 scored so low

I thought people like that game

genetically engineered super soldiers right

[M-A-G]

how come Halo 2 scored so low

I thought people like that game

genetically engineered super soldiers right

I think the consensus is that the series didn't really start kicking ass until Halo 3 and Halo: Reach.

[Destor]

Nah Halo 2 is one of if not the most beloved shooters of all time its just TPWW isnt big on shooters

[M-A-G]

Like I said, ads all over the place.

https://i.imgur.com/ZfxCpBX.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1Jx1QF9.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Vd9Zzvu.jpg

I wonder if anyone still has those miniatures from that giveaway advertised in that last pic.