Rate the Game: Week 124

[M-A-G]

I love the smell of Rate the Game in the morning. Smells like last night's pizza being warmed up. Maybe you've got a different scent flowing through your home, I don't know. Maybe you've got Lavender & Vanilla or Ocean Breeze. Speaking of the ocean, we tackled Ecco the Dolphin last week. How's that for a segue way? Ecco did what he could for his first Genesis outing so now it's time to see how he stacks up to the competition. Is he destined for greatness like his blue hedgehog fellow Sega companion? The leaderboard will let us know the answer to that....

<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. Resident Evil 2 (4.14)</option>
<option>28. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (4.125)</option>
<option>29. Super Mario 64 (4.07)</option>
<option>30. Grand Theft Auto 3 (4.06)</option>
<option>31. The Legend of Zelda (4.06)</option>
<option>32. NBA Jam (4.05)</option>
<option>33. Super Mario Kart (4.0)</option>
<option>34. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (4.0)</option>
<option>35. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (4.0)</option>
<option>36. Super Smash Bros. (4.0)</option>
<option>37. Super Metroid (4.0)</option>
<option>38. The Simpsons (4.0)</option>
<option>39. Resident Evil 4 (4.0)</option>
<option>40. EarthBound (4.0)</option>
<option>41. Fallout 3 (4.0)</option>
<option>42. Mirror's Edge (4.0)</option>
<option>43. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (4.0)</option>
<option>44. Donkey Kong Country 2 (4.0)</option>
<option>45. Banjo-Kazooie (4.0)</option>
<option>46. Final Fantasy 7 (3.94)</option>
<option>47. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (3.92)</option>
<option>48. Mega Man (3.89)</option>
<option>49. Castlevania (3.86)</option>
<option>50. Contra (3.86)</option>
<option>51. Devil May Cry (3.86)</option>
<option>52. Half-Life 2 (3.85)</option>
<option>53. Half-Life (3.83)
<option>54. Infamous (3.83)</option>
<option>55. SimCity 2000 (3.8)</option>
<option>56. Final Fight (3.8)</option>
<option>57. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (3.77)</option>
<option>58. Batman: Arkham Asylum (3.76)</option>
<option>59. Double Dragon (3.75)</option>
<option>60. Max Payne (3.75)</option>
<option>61. Tetris (3.69)</option>
<option>62. Mortal Kombat 2 (3.67)</option>
<option>63. Alan Wake (3.66)</option>
<option>64. Diablo (3.66)</option>
<option>65. F.E.A.R. (3.66)</option>
<option>66. Mortal Kombat (3.65)</option>
<option>67. Doom (3.625)</option>
<option>68. StarFox (3.61)</option>
<option>69. Resident Evil (3.58)</option>
<option>70. Kirby's Adventure (3.57)</option>
<option>71. Ninja Gaiden (3.5)</option>
<option>72. Burnout Paradise (3.5)</option>
<option>73. Thief: The Dark Project (3.5)</option>
<option>74. Dark Souls (3.5)</option>
<option>75. Shinobi (3.5)</option>
<option>76. Dead Space (3.4)</option>
<option>77. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (3.39)</option>
<option>78. Resident Evil: Nemesis (3.38)</option>
<option>79. Crash Bandicoot (3.33)</option>
<option>80. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (3.33)</option>
<option>81. Wolfenstein 3D (3.33)</option>
<option>82. Dead Island (3.33)</option>
<option>83. Left 4 Dead (3.33)</option>
<option>84. Condemned: Criminal Origins (3.33)</option>
<option>85. Gauntlet Legends (3.28)
<option>86. Gears of War (3.27)</option>
<option>87. Borderlands (3.22)</option>
<option>88. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (3.22)</option>
<option>89. Duke Nukem 3D (3.2)</option>
<option>90. Darkstalkers (3.2)</option>
<option>91. Quake (3.2)</option>
<option>92. SoulCalibur (3.16)</option>
<option>93. Pac-Man (3.125)</option>
<option>94. Killer Instinct (3.11)</option>
<option>95. Virtua Fighter (3.09)</option>
<option>96. Rock Band (3.09)</option>
<option>97. Earthworm Jim (3.0)</option>
<option>98. Metroid (3.0)</option>
<option>99. Time Crisis (3.0)</option>
<option>100. Tekken (3.0)</option>
<option>101. Halo 2 (3.0)</option>
<option>102. Destiny (3.0)</option>
<option>103. The Secret of Monkey Island (3.0)</option>
<option>104. Sonic Adventure (3.0)</option>
<option>105. Shenmue (3.0)</option>
<option>106. Guitar Hero (2.875)</option>
<option>107. Ecco the Dolphin (2.85)</option>
<option>108. Streets of Rage (2.84)</option>
<option>109. Altered Beast (2.8)</option>
<option>110. Bayonetta (2.75)</option>
<option>111. Assassin's Creed (2.71)</option>
<option>112. Gauntlet (2.71)</option>
<option>113. Dead Rising (2/71)</option>
<option>114. Saints Row (2.66)</option>
<option>115. The Sims (2.6)</option>
<option>116. Silent Hill (2.6)</option>
<option>117. Tomb Raider (2.55)</option>
<option>118. Halo: Combat Evolved (2.5)</option>
<option>119. Twisted Metal (2.42)</option
<option>120. Crackdown (2.42)</option>
<option>121. Golden Axe (2.33)</option>
<option>122. Gran Turismo (2.3)</option>
<option>123. Ghosts n' Goblins (2.14)</option>
</select>

Ecco the Dolphin does, indeed, find himself accompanying Sonic but not in a great fashion as he lands on the lower end of things just like Sonic Adventure with a 2.85 average and sits among other Sega titles like Streets of Rage and Altered Beast. Some rough waters for the heroic dolphin, unfortunately.

Now we have to just keep swimming. It's Week 124 meaning we've only got 2 titles to go. How about it, bowl? You ready for another shuffling?

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/yZXRPEnUQtOOlHy2iY" width="480" height="222" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/yZXRPEnUQtOOlHy2iY">via GIPHY</a></p>

Yeah, let's shuffle all those choices nice and good. At least it's horizontal this time. So what do we got? Well, fuck me, we go three weeks in a row with the Sega route as we tackle another first here on Rate the Game. I believe this is the first Saturn-exclusive (at the time) game we've covered on this series. Fire up your dream machines and special 360 degree controller as we look at the 3D spectacle known as Nights Into Dreams. This was released right in the middle of peak Saturn performance as it fought valiantly against the PlayStation for your hard-earned dollars. How did it fare in your eyes? Was it a strong weapon in the Saturn's arsenal? Let's do that thing we do and slap this sucker with a rating. And then there was one. Until next week...the last week???

[Danny Electric]

I remember having the Christmas demo special also. Loved this game.

Wish I kept my Saturn and Panzer Dragoon Saga.

[Big Vic]

Haven’t played it.

[drave]

Eh. Flew around through circles and stuff. Felt like a weird version of PilotWings.

[Lock Jaw]

Never played it.

[M-A-G]

I remember having the Christmas demo special also. Loved this game.

Wish I kept my Saturn and Panzer Dragoon Saga.

My friend had the same sentiment about the Saturn. His family had sold it to pay for another console. Just a few years ago, though, he managed to hunt down a working model and started rebuilding his collection.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Haven't played it.

[ClockShot]

Spoiled kid my brother and I grew up with next door got a Sega Saturn and the Nights Xmas demo as Danny described. I played that. Not the real game.

[M-A-G]

What with Christmas Nights and Christmas Lemmings, I wonder if the gaming world could benefit if there were holiday themed entries in more franchises. Imagine Christmas Dead Rising or Christmas Doom.

[M-A-G]

https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/219950/capsule_616x353.jpg?t=1632736112

Considering the character is supposed to be genderless I'm a bit peeved Nights isn't a bigger icon in the LGBTQ+ arena. Or maybe they are. Anyways, I'd be open to another entry in the series.

Also, I can't believe we're just a few days from Week 125. :o

[Tom Guycott]

The entirety of my experience of NiGHTS Into Dreams is playing the demo console in Sears when they were still into selling video games (seems that was about the end of the road for them; I don't recall much from that store after the Sega Saturn era). Visually stunning for its day and it seemed like fun, but not *that* fun. Plunking down the money for a Saturn was a big ask.

[M-A-G]

Yeah, I first got a hands-on taste in a demo set-up at the mall. It was probably a Sears as I can't think of any other department stores that would've been carrying games. It was my first experience with the Saturn period as no one I knew other than my friend owned one.

I can't imagine what it was like for a Sega loyalist back in that time period. Sega was asking you to buy their CD attachment along with the 32X coming out at a time when they were loudly trumpeting the arrival and glory of the Saturn. Don't get me wrong, the Saturn looked pretty boss and Nintendo was being a cruel mistress dangling that Nintendo 64 around for what seemed like forever. Plus the Virtual Boy proved Nintendo wasn't infallible. But there was no way I was getting my parents to cough up enough to buy all of what Sega was selling. The Saturn tried but there was a lot working against it despite stuff like Daytona USA, Panzer Dragoon, and this week's game.

[Destor]

Gonna be sad to see these go

[OssMan]

would like to play it...