JCC Gaming [It's Joever] The JCC's Top 100 Video Games of All Time - #5-1

lol @ three Star Wars games back to back to back!

 

Those 3 games would barely make the top 100 Star Wars games lol. I exaggerate, but I'd put Dark Forces and KOTOR on the list. Rogue Squadron on GC as well. Jedi Outcast and the original Battlefront were good.

 

I love the score to this game which is simultaneously terrible and awesome. Here it is in its entirety. All two-and-a-half minutes of it.

Yay, really glad this one made the list and in the top fifty! It's just such an incredible game. Deeply moving.

And it is funny that we have 3 Star Wars games back to back.

 

I was just told that in revenue it's the biggest arcade game after Pac-man, period, when inflation is adjusted for.



45. Star Wars (1983, Atari Inc., Arcade/various consoles)
I think this made it to a Genesis add-on? In which case I think I played it both there and arcade.

44. Star Wars: X-Wing (1993, Totally Games, PC)
Own it, but haven't played it.

43. Star Wars: Rebellion (1998, Coolhand Interactive, PC)
Still one of my favorite examples of really putting the EU to use.

42. Kentucky Route Zero (2020, Cardboard Computer, PC/PS4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch)
Never heard of it

41. Final Fantasy IV (1991, Square, SNES)
Never played it

16 played, including 10 played and own, and 5 owned but haven't played.

 

I'm up to 21 played since I loved Xwing back in the day.

I have Kentucky Route Zero and keep meaning to play is, but haven't so far.

 

Star Wars: Rebellion is obscure as far as Star Wars PC games go, but it's one I always go back to.

My first Final Fantasy was X. After that, I went back and played the SNES and PSX titles. It's a testament to the skill of the creators that I was able to do that and find several of them to be superior to the PS2 games despite their inferior graphics, inferior sound, no voice acting, etc. I still really like the 16-bit art style, and it was a crime worthy of the Hague what they did to the first mobile ports.

 

Tekken 2 should get some love. Everyone says Tekken 3 is the best, but I spent months unlocking everything in T2. Plus, I like how you can smash the guy a few more times once the round has ended if you're fast enough, Ivan Drago style.. I'm not into RPGs other than Skyrim type games but the craftsmanship in the Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger games are impressive.

 

Yes, Rebellion is a great game. Star Wars games from that era are still the golden standard.

 

A lot of Kentucky Route Zero went over my head, and I don’t think I’m quite well read enough to appreciate everything that game was going for. But that doesn’t stop it from having some of the most impactful moments I’ve ever experienced in a video game before. I won’t spoil anything, but that scene in the bar… Too Late to Love You… that is an all time moment for me. One of the most brilliant culminations of sound, story, and atmosphere I’ve ever seen.

Current tally: 29/60

Current rankings:

Spoiler

Red Dead Redemption
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest
Mass Effect
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Hitman 3
Dishonored
Portal 2
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Batman: Arkham City
Halo 3
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Bloodborne
The Secret of Monkey Island
Kentucky Route Zero
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
BioShock
Hollow Knight
Ms. Pac-Man
Mass Effect 3
Diablo III
Persona 5 Royal
Elden Ring
Star Wars: Dark Forces
Assassin’s Creed II
Space Invaders
Portal
Microsoft Minesweeper
Outer Wilds

 

I suspect it would reward replays, but I haven't gone back through it yet. I felt that the stuff with Lula Chamberlain was going over my head and I felt like I didn't get what they were going for with Xanadu, the game within the game. But the emotional impact, as you say, is incredible and some of the story telling choices were just amazing. I will never forget the part of the game where you're just going through that automated phone system. And then we get the scene later with the guy listening back to the messages and I still think about that exchange at the end of it: "Were any of them important?" "Every one."

I also loved the music, particularly the old hymns scattered throughout. When Sharon is leaving Sam & Ida's and you can go get back on the boat, but then the musicians drift down the river singing I Can't Feel at Home in This World Anymore . . . I just stood at the railing and listened to the whole song.

 

Xanadu has to do with the history of computers and computer games. The very first adventure game, after all was Colossal Cave, which was based on... Mammoth Cave. The assistants all have names and personalities based upon the luminaries of interactive fiction.
One of the most important things to do in the game is to explore around the map(s) - especially to return back to the gas station in Part One, as you can't unlock the actual 'ending' without doing it. But there's a meteor crash, and a drive-in movie...
One of the best reveals:

Spoiler

The "Greek chorus" that appears throughout the game, starting with the basement of Equus Oils, appear almost ghost-like and never interact with the main characters, and in the final Interlude, they appear to be at the TV station when it's struck by lightning... but you find out in the end they are actually all alive, and what you're seeing is a reflection of them from the future, traveling the landscape.

But even more importantly:

Spoiler

There's a whole deal with the mathematician whose cousin admits that "she's always right, but often misunderstood". The entire reason she's in the mines is because she was told in the message to go where the helmets marking the tragedy were... but in Part Four, when you're sailing into the bat sanctuary, there's the actual memorial that she was referring to. Brilliant.

 

The Super Star Wars SNES games were good, if insanely hard.

 

Going back a couple of rounds.

Batman Arkham Asylum is arguably the best in the trilogy. A tight, well written Batman adventure with the classic voice cast from the animated series. Arkham City and Knight upped the scale, but I think the narrow focus of Asylum is to it's benefit.

X-Wing placing higher than TIE Fighter is an odd one to me. X-Wing's a good game, don't get me wrong, but not even in the same ballpark as TIE Fighter.

Updated rankings:

Spoiler: 28/60

1. Final Fantasy IX (74)
2. Destiny 2 (72)
3. Persona 5: Royal (63)
4. Mass Effect 3 (91)
5. Elden Ring (80)
6. Bloodborne (60)
7. Halo 3 (97)
   
8. Mass Effect (83)
   
9. Batman: Arkham Asylum (46)
   
10. Red Dead Redemption (56)
    
11. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (51)
    
12. Star Wars: TIE Fighter (64)
    
13. Uncharted 2 (81)
    
14. Arkham City (82)
    
15. Star Wars: X-Wing (44)
    
16. Half Life 2 (96)
    
17. C&C Red Alert (94)
    
18. Doom (90)
    
19. Fallout (99)
    
20. Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds (77)
    
21. World of Warcraft (79)
    
22. Outer Wilds (100)
    
23. Bioshock (69)
    
24. Minesweeper (62)
    
25. MGS2 (76)
    
26. Portal (55)
    
27. Assassin’s Creed II (87)
    
28. Dishonored (95)

 

Oddly enough, the best and worst part of the SNES Super Star Wars Games - especially Empire - are how insanely difficult they are.

 

Happy to see someone else voted for FFIV to get it on the list. Was starting to worry it wouldn't make it.

Amazing.

 

I don’t know why I’m so surprised X-Wing made the list.



@Boba_Fett_2001 you even picked a graphic with the shields adjusting between double front and double back.


A fantastic game the likes of which we’ve not seen outside of it and it’s two sequels in the 90s.

As far as I’m aware. There are other Star Wars dogfighting games but with this level of freedom. Not that are combat flight simulators.

It’s the freedom of the game that made it so fun. You can go anywhere. You never hit into a wall that bounces you back into the action.

The simulated ship had an ingenious power system that allowed you to transfer energy between the shields and canon. As the recharging energy shield was depleted by damage the system allowed the shield energy to be focused stronger front or back. The onboard R2 unit could conduct repairs automatically or to specific systems on command.

Glad this made the list!

 

The game must have had limited memory or the designers limited time/resources so they needed to pick one costume for Luke in Empire. I always liked that they went with X-Wing Pilot flight suite.

I don’t like that there were no stormtroopers in Empire. Cloud City used Snowtroopers.

 

Playing a little catch-up here ...

Played: 17/60
On the "I should probably play that" list: 10/43 (Fallout, Star Fox 64, Elden Ring, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Final Fantasy IX, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Donkey Kong Country 2, Civilization, Civilization II, Star Wars: Rebellion)

Oregon Trail
One of the games I can return to at any point in time and play again. Didn't translate all that well into a card game for table-top playing, but it's not just a fun game, it's also become a tremendous source of memes and pop culture references. And, while yes the hunting was fun, the hunting for me was only fun as a way to stretch resources and get higher scores.

Space Invaders
One of those games that cemented I was a casual video game player. I could watch others destroy level after lever, while I could complete a few. Still enjoyed it, but learned that I was simply not on the level of others who played.

Star Wars Arcade Game
I don't have much to add to this beyond what was in my comments in the post, except I did get to watch the twins play this last year on an arcade console and it made me love it even more.

Star Wars: X-Wing
I like Tie Fighter Better. Fight me, nerds.


As a side note, I have no idea how I've never played Star Wars: Rebellion.

Inty's Rankings of the Games he's played:

Spoiler

1. Star Wars Arcade Game
2. Oregon Trail
3. Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
4. The Legend of Zelda
5. Ms. Pac-Man
6. Star Wars: Tie Fighter
7. Star Wars: X-Wing
8. The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker
9. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
10. Star Wars: Dark Forces
11. Minesweeper
12 Asteroids
13. Contra
14. Space Invaders
15. Doom
16. Baseball Stars
17. Pitfall!

 

There were two versions of the Star Wars arcade game, iirc - the full cabinet were you sat in a starship cockpit, and the stand-up cabinet. They both had that flight yoke thing where you turned it like a steering wheel to move the cursor left and right, and rotated the pistol-grips back and forward to move the cursor up and down.

 

Why do you like TIE Fighter better?

 

This game was like a Star Wars version of Masters of Orion. What always stood out as weird to me about the game was the 3D star fleet battle simulator which felt like it was an entirely different and uncompleted game from then 2D map based strategy game that was 90% or more game play.

Indeed the 3D fleet battles could be skipped completed.

I did like that the same voice actor who played C-3PO on read along records and story albums released during the Original Trilogy played Threepio in this game.

Also for many years this game was a main source for Wookepeida to get visual representations of characters from. So many of the 90s EU characters and tech are in this game and they all needed a visual representation.

 

Star Wars
Yeah, that was the hands-down coolest arcade game back in the day, with the vector graphics and voice synthesizer, and an awesome Death Star explosion.

X-Wing
Already covered that in my selection of top games.

Rebellion
A mediocre game, enlivened by a genuinely interesting concept in the DLC - a "Corrupt" faction of a crime lord battling the Hutts and Thrawn, and continuing the fine LucasArts tradition of ending on a cliffhanger that is never addressed or referred to again, ever

Kentucky Route Zero
Alreayd covered that in my selection of top games

 

40. Mario Kart 64 (1997, Nintendo, N64)

8 points (3 votes)
Voter comments: I think this may be the pinnacle of Mario Kart largely because it has the best battle mode of any that I've played. Just enough complexity to be interesting but not enough to be confusing, and block fort remains such a great demonstration of effective simplicity. -Lowbacca_1977

39. Metroid Prime (2002, Retro Studios, GameCube)

8 points (3 votes)
Voter comments: Probably the best platform shooter. -Lord Vivec

Another rare first person game that I enjoyed. Those space pirates were tough but rewarding to beat them as I progressively leveled up. The different guns and visors kept the experience interesting. Also, the environment itself was beautiful. -TiniTinyTony

38. Marvel's Spider-Man (2018, Insomniac Games, PS4)

8 points (3 votes)
Voter comments: This is literally my favorite Spider-Man story and portrayal and I've seen and loved many of them. -solojones

I'll never get tired of swinging through the streets of New York. It's so much fun to play, I love the main mission, and completing side stories. -TiniTinyTony

37. Super Metroid (1994, Nintendo/Intelligent Systems, SNES)

8 points (3 votes)
Voter comments: I may have played the original Metroid and I didn't like the way it controlled and never beat it. Years later, I saw this game in a store called "Hills" and I would just watch the intro with the speed booster and I immediately wanted to play this game. The challenge of getting 100% or beating the game as quick as possible to get the best ending are experiences I will never forget. -TiniTinyTony

I would rank this higher, but I got stuck and need to try playing again. -Dagobahsystem

36. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (1987, Nintendo, NES)

8 points (3 votes)
Voter comments: It seems somewhat unfathomable that the greatest boxing video game of all time came out in 1987, and yet here we are. This is everything a video should be. Controls that are easy to pick up and start playing, but that require good mastery and an understanding of mechanics to in order to really master the game. Bosses that get progressively more difficult but - up to a certain point - are not impossible, giving you a feeling of satisfaction along the way. And, an end boss that to this day I still have never even come close to beating, giving a mythological presence to anyone who can actually prove they've beaten the game. -DarthIntegral

one of the only nes games i'm actually any good at, and still fun to this day. -tom

Never actually played this but I love watching Summoning Salt's speedruns and his video docs (not just on Punch Out but his whole channel in general).

 

The metroid prime remake for switch is a masterclass on modernization and minimalist graphical tweaking.



Gone Mobile

 

Average @TiniTinyTony explanation: peer reviewed medical journal paper

Average Lord Vivec explanation: "yep, i had fun"