Hi everyone, and welcome to another one of my Mixtapes. In case you're not sure what a Mixtape is, here's an explanation...
A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further recommendations if some of the songs aren't to your taste. Remember kids, downloading is wrong!
The Sega Mega Drive (or Genesis if you're from the US) is one of my favourite consoles. It was the first console I ever had as my own, and it holds a very strong sentimental value. Some of the music from this 32-bit era was truly tremendous. It's amazing how much power the console had at the time, in terms of producing great tunes. The 64-bit era and beyond changed music in video games forever because they could play actual genuine music, but back when the Mega Drive was around that wasn't the case.
So I wanted to showcase my favourite songs from my favourite games from this era of video gaming. If you want to see an actual list of my 50 Favourite Mega Drive Games, simply click this link here. But as for the music, here's the playlist below, with links to each individual song!
Title Theme - Street Fighter II Championship Edition
Why hello there. Yes it's been a while since I did my last listing. I felt spontaneously up for doing one the past few days and decided to just go full pelt with it. I've been doing so much DJ stuff recently that if I contemplated doing this listing then left it, it probably wouldn't have ever been done, or at least, for many years from now. So if you're wanting new freelance journalism from me rather than DJ shows, or for me to talk about video games rather than music, you're in luck! That being said I'm still doing my DJ stuff, just over this listing. See I can multitask! The next DJ show will be due up for Thursday/Friday time, so look out for that if you're interested. Anyhoo, back to the listing. As you can see by the title, this listing is going to be concentrating on my favourite villains in video game history. 50 to be exact. And I'll be covering this over a period of 50 days, one villain a day, so keep checking the site if you want to follow the countdown! The criteria for this listing is simple. The characters have to be in a video game, and be a villain, or at least, act in a villainous/anti-hero way for a good length in a game or series. And the final criteria, is that I've not included more than one villain from an individual title, but of course, if a villain is over a multitude of games in a series there will be villains that appear in the same game on this list. Also to give you the heads up is the fact that I've once done a list of Favourite Final Fantasy Characters before. And yes, there are a lot of FF characters in this list. But, hey, it's my list, and it's my favourite video game series of all time so why wouldn't there be? There's also a lot of Resident Evil characters. A final note: it's a biased list so don't get offended if certain villains aren't in the list (like Ganondorf, Big Boss and Bowser for instance, are not in this list). I either haven't played these games or am not as attached to these games or characters as most people are. So without further delay, let's start the listing! Note: There are possible spoilers in each entry so avoid them if you don't want to ruin any storylines. #50: Ogre Other Names: True Ogre, Ancient Ogre, Monstrous Ogre Debut Game and Year: Tekken 3 (1998) Famous Quote?: None Other Appearances: Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken Tag Tournament 2
That's Ogre from Tekken Tag Tournament 2 but even back in 1998 Ogre was something else. I'd never really seen a dragon-esque looking character look so amazing before, when this game came out. He's just an incredible specimen, and fighting as Ogre or True Ogre is a fun experience. Using the flame move of course is a highlight. While Ogre himself has not really had a big impact on the Tekken series as a whole, his role in Tekken 3 is great as you fight him in both forms one after another. He's not really much of a villain but more of a big bad boss that kicks arse and looks awesome. #49: Tom Nook Other Names: None Debut Game and Year: Animal Crossing (2001) Famous Quote?: "...hm?" - at the end of practically every sentence Other Appearances: Animal Crossing: Wild World, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Grrr. What a pain in the arse Tom Nook is. I suppose he's not really a villain as there aren't really any in Animal Crossing. But jeez, he's so annoying and, like I suppose, any landlord in real life, all he cares about is money, or more accurately, your money. As soon as you've paid for your house he gives you a bigger debt to pay for a bigger house. And it's just so frustrating! And he's quite arrogant as well. But, at least he helps you in the game, but it doesn't stop me calling him a villainous character, at least for Animal Crossing proportions. #48: The Tank Other Names: None Debut Game and Year: Left 4 Dead (2008) Famous Quote?: None Other Appearances: Left 4 Dead 2
Once again, not really a villain but still a badass monster that is an absolute pain to deal with in the L4D series. And also, a bad guy with an awesome battle theme. Taking on a tank is no easy feat. You and (hopefully) three of your teammates need to work together to take him down and he takes so much health before finally being taken down. You really need to experience a Tank battle to believe one. #47: Akuma
Other Names: Gouki Debut Game and Year: Super Street Fighter II Turbo (1994) Famous Quote?: "To challenge me is to respect chaos, and to respect death!" - when victorious in Street Fighter Alpha 3 Other Appearances: Street Fighter Alpha series, Street Fighter The Movie, Street Fighter EX series, Street Fighter III series, Street Fighter IV series
I don't know a single person who loves Street Fighter who doesn't love how much of an utter badass Akuma is. He's stupidly strong, stupidly evil and looks both as well. His moves are vicious and his super powers impressive. He truly is a villain that backs up his words with evil fury. He's not really a character that I like using much when playing Street Fighter, but I hate getting my arse handed back to me in pieces when getting beat by him, that's for sure. #46: Ba'Gamnan Other Names: None Debut Game and Year: Final Fantasy XII (2006) Famous Quote?: "After them!" - chasing your party down Other Appearances: Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
A personal choice, I'm more than aware, but Ba'Gamnan stands out so much as a character full of bland a set of characters as the sands you're forever venturing through in Final Fantasy 12. He's a simple yet perfectly created character; a big bully with smaller bullies who follow him through fear, he cares about very little but money and hurting people, and is a very successful and determined bounty hunter. He stalks Balthier for most of the game and comes up short in the end, however his finest moment is definitely early on in the Lhusu Mines, when he and his lackeys chase you out of the mines; it's pretty terrifying, not to mention that circular chainsaw looks pretty menacing. #45: Mr. X Other Names: None Debut Game and Year: Streets of Rage (1991) Famous Quote?: "You really want to die, don't you... I'll be happy to oblige!" - before the final battle commences Other Appearances: Streets of Rage 2, Streets of Rage 3
A very traditional 16-bit villain, but still awesome all the same, is Mr. X of the Streets of Rage series. Lurking in the shadows, referenced throughout the game, causing chaos from the outskirts, the moment you finally see Mr. X in person is great. Just sitting there, in his grand chair, bringing in more and more lackeys to kick your butt and failing, he just looks brilliant. Mr. X laughs at every opportunity whilst beating you down, using his Tommy gun for added effect, everything about Mr. X is evil and awesome. I love Mr. X; he's the epitome of what makes a 16-bit villain great. #44: The Director Other Names: Lionel Starkweather Debut Game and Year: Manhunt (2003) Famous Quote?: "You're really doing it for me! Why I ain't been this turned on since... Well, let's not go there..." - The Director "getting off" on Cash killing someone Other Appearances: None
He may look like a fat piece of trash because he is. But you don't see what he looks like for the majority of the game, otherwise he's just this creepy voice, "guiding" you on a killing spree for his sexual fantasies. The Director is one sick bastard but despite all of that, he's one hell of a villain. Like a lot of villains, the justice given in killing him is all worth it. And the death scene is pretty disgusting of course, to be expected. The Director is a great, and certainly memorable villain in video game history. #43: Tiny Tiger Other Names: Taz Tiger Debut Game and Year: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (1997) Famous Quote?: "Crash! Leave the [crystals] for Tiny, or Crash get CRUSHED!" - warning Crash about collecting more crystals in Crash Bandicoot 3 Other Appearances: Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped! Crash Team Racing, Crash Bash
I love Tiny, he's one of my favourite characters in the Crash Bandicoot series. He's a big lump of dumb muscle but says some great quotes, another being "Tiny squash too many cars!" in Crash Team Racing. His boss fights are usually fun too. He's just a great minor villain in the Crash series and is easily memorable for kids playing these games for the first time. #42: Goldman Other Names: Caleb Goldman Debut Game and Year: House of the Dead 2 (1998) Famous Quote?: "Man committed a sin; disturbing the life cycle of nature. The original sin that man is responsible to! To protect the life cycle!" - before the final battle in House of the Dead 2 Other Appearances: House of the Dead 4
Goldman is actually a decent little villain underneath the surface of hilariously bad voice acting. The House of the Dead series has some of the worst voice acting in video game history, particularly the second in the series. And Goldman is at the centre of it. The lines are absolutely butchered in bad voice acting it's truly a terribly funny sight to see. But underneath that, Goldman is a good little villain and is very similar in his long term scheme and logic behind his motivation; he wants the world cleansed of man because of the sins the human race have created. But in the end, Goldman is in this list because of the bad voice acting and how memorable he is in the second entry in the game. #41: Bryan Fury Other Names: None Debut Game and Year: Tekken 3 (1998) Famous Quote?: "Come on, scream for me! Cry out for your mommy! Do something instead of whimpering like a dog!" to Craig Marduk in Street Fighter X Tekken Other Appearances: Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken 4, Tekken 5, Tekken 6, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Street Fighter X Tekken
The reason Bryan is so far down on this list is because of the fact that there are not many villains, or rather, there are lots of villains in Tekken, take your pick. Most people in the series have a motive, not all of them evil, and Bryan is one of these people. However, I absolutely love Bryan, he's been consistently my favourite person to play as whenever I play Tekken. His moves are so brutal and he's so hard to stop once you get him kicking butt. But yeah, I can't really place him much higher in the list as he's not an "super dooper evil" guy, just a selfish, destructive robot humanoid who wants to be the strongest thing in the universe. So that's why I place him at #41 in my list of video game villains.
Hey there. Welcome to the final part in my Top 50 Favourite
Mega Drive games list. Every day for the past 50 days I’ve been revealing one
game per day, in my biased opinion, my favourite games on this absolutely
amazing console. I’ve had a blast, reminiscing over these 49 amazing games. I
hope you’ve enjoyed it too, and maybe remembered some games you may have
forgotten before, or even, found new games in this list you never heard of, and
enjoy. We’re at the end now.
Here’s quick recap of my list from #50 to #2…
#50 - Columns III – 1993 - ***1/2
#49 - World Cup Italia '90 – 1990 - ***1/2
#48 - Virtua Fighter 2 – 1996 - ***1/2
#47 - Jurassic Park – 1993 - ***3/4
#46 - Road Rash III: Tour de Force – 1995 - ***3/4
#45 - FIFA International Soccer – 1993 - ***3/4
#44 - Mega Bomberman – 1994 - ***3/4
#43 - Golden Axe III – 1993 - ***3/4
#42 - Micro Machines – 1993 - ***3/4
#41 – Columns – 1990 - ***3/4
#40 - Zombies Ate My Neighbours – 1993 - ***3/4
#39 - Sylvester and Tweety in Cagey Capers – 1993 - ***3/4
#38 – Flicky – 1991 - ***3/4
#37 - Taz in Escape From Mars – 1994 - ***3/4
#36 – Aladdin – 1993 - ***3/4
#35 - Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle – 1989 - ***3/4
#34 - Sonic 3D Blast – 1996 - ****
#33 - Streets of Rage 3 – 1994 - ****
#32 - Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II – 1992 - ****
#8 - Michael Jackson's Moonwalker – 1990 - ****3/4
#7 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – 1992 - ****3/4
#6 - Shining Force – 1992 - ****3/4
#5 - The Revenge of Shinobi – 1989 - ****3/4
#4 - Quackshot starring Donald Duck – 1991 - ****3/4
#3 - Streets of Rage 2 – 1992 - ****3/4
#2 - Sonic and Knuckles – 1994 - ****3/4
Okay then, this is it. My favourite game on the Mega Drive
is…
#1 – Gunstar Heroes
Released: 1993
Genre: Action
Rating: ****3/4 stars
Best Moment: Black’s Dice Maze. It’s just lots and lots of
fun.
Yes, my favourite Mega Drive game is Gunstar Heroes. I don’t
think any game since Gunstar Heroes has been able to compactly put so much
chaos on screen while maintaining a decent flow of entertainment. I really mean
that. This game has so much stuff going on, you shoot through hundreds and
hundreds of bad guys, but it just doesn’t get old, doesn’t get boring, and
doesn’t get stale. It’s so entertaining, and the game has a brilliant sense of
humour, awesome music and the sound quality is absolutely sublime. This game is
so exhilarating it’s incredible. It’s simply one of the most action pumped
games ever made and is a thrill to play, even 19 years later. Gunstar Heroes is
a game you simply have to experience before you die. It’s such a shame the game
isn’t acknowledged more, in comparison to other games in this list. Nothing
against those games. But Gunstar Heroes is simply one of the best games ever
made, and is my favourite game ever to be released on the Mega Drive.
Well that’s it! We’ve finished! I hope you’ve enjoyed this
list, and reminiscing over these brilliant games, games released between 1988
and 1996, the epitome of 2D gaming. I love all 50 of these games and I’m sure
there’s something in this list for everyone. If there’s any games here that
have given you some great memories, please, comment below. Is there any games
on here you’ve never played before and it being on this list made you try it?
Let me know, comment below.
If you know me personally, you know I’m a stats guy, and
here are two interesting graphs you may like.
This graph really interested me. I didn’t take into
consideration the year of each game’s release until the list was fully
complete. The year 1993 having 13 entries out of 50, that’s over a quarter of
the list, was an intriguing statistic. It makes sense though. Sonic 1 was
released in 1991, and that really set the Mega Drive off to not only compete
but to equal Nintendo at one point in the video game wars. Two years later and
game after game after game was released that were outstanding. I’m not really
surprised that most of my favourite games were released in 1993, but it’s very
interesting. If you were wondering, the earliest released game in this list is
Super Hang-On, the only game released in the year 1988, and the latest game was
Sonic 3D Blast, which was released on November 30th 1996. Nine years
of video games. Amazing.
This graph isn’t surprising at all, but it’s still cool to
see what genres were included the most. No surprise really that its action and
platformers that dominate my list. There were some awesome action games out on
the Mega Drive, and five of the 10 platformers are Sonic games. Beat ‘em ups
were high in tally inclusion as well, which isn’t surprising either as there
were some solid beat ‘em ups on the Mega Drive. I wasn’t expecting so many racing games mind, but it goes to show
that racing games were pretty good on the Mega Drive too. My favourite genre of
game is the RPG, but, as mentioned a few times, the Mega Drive really didn’t do
RPGs, hence the lack of tally in the list.
To conclude, the Mega Drive is one of the best consoles ever
made, and it’ll always have a strong place in my heart. It was my first ever
console, and it really opened my eyes to the beauty of video games. It changed
my life, quite simply. I love the Mega Drive. One day, I’d love to own all 50
of these games, preferably in Mega Drive format (bar Columns III, Golden Axe
III, Splatterhouse 3 and Gain Ground, which weren’t released on the Mega Drive
in the UK). It’s a long-term ambition, one I’ll hopefully be able to achieve
when I can afford to! Thank you so much for joining me in this countdown. I’ve
had a blast doing this list; it’s always a pleasure doing these listings. I
hope you got something out of it too. Until next time!
Here we are. The Top 10. My ten favourite Mega Drive games.
What will make the list? What classic games make the list? Are there any
surprises? Let’s find out...
#10 – World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald
Duck
Released: 1992 Genre: Platform Rating: ****1/2 stars Best Moment: Just playing two-player mode, it’s one of the
best if not THE best two-player games ever made.
As I say above, this game is just absolutely amazing in
two-player mode. It’s so much fun, you and a mate, going through this World of
Illusion. It’s a very short game, but the imagination, the jubilations, the
music, everything about this game is just so much fun. Disney is world renowned
for its amazing ability to make children’s films so great, and if there was one
game that translates the feeling of watching a Disney film into game form, this
is it. It’s that simple. This is simply one of the best kids games ever made. I
dare any one to suggest otherwise.
#9 – Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament
Released: 1994 Genre: Racing Rating: ****1/2 stars Best Moment: Climbing through the League pyramid to the top. It can be very frustrating but the payoff at the end is great when you finally get there.
My favourite racing game on the Sega Mega Drive is Micro Machines 2. It’s possibly my favourite racing game of all time to be honest. I absolutely adore this game. For me, a racing game doesn’t always have to be about it technically being great, or the graphics being smooth and realistic, a racing game has to be fun. And I don’t find that many other racing games as fun as this. The different vehicles are great, the races are crazy, the characters all have their own little quirky personalities and the music is really smooth. Micro Machines 2 is the ultimate Micro Machines game and is simply one of the best racing games ever made. I truly mean that.
#8 – Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
Released: 1990 (1991 in the UK) Genre: Beat ‘em Up Rating: ****3/4 stars Best Moment: Indisputably, making your opponents dance to death. The different dance sequences on each level are all just beautifully animated and are quite funny at times.
What? Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker at #8 in my favourite Mega Drive games list? Damn right it is. Have you played this game before? If you haven’t, you have no right to question why I rate this game so high. If you have played the game, I reckon you’d understand why. It’s an absolutely fantastic game, and yes, I do rate it at ****3/4 stars out of five. Sure, Michael Jackson ‘rescuing little children’ is questionable in 2012, but back in 1990 none of the sexual abuse allegations were in existence really. Forget that though, what you have is an absolutely brilliant Michael Jackson video game experience. Everything that was great about Michael Jackson is beautifully represented in this game. The dance moves, the ‘magic persona’, the suits, the enemies (based on the movie Moonwalker), and most importantly, the music, it's all here, and it’s so so good. You really have to play this game if you haven’t before. Check out this video below. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
#7 – Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Released: 1992 Genre: Platformer Rating: ****3/4 stars Best Moment: The special stages, Sonic 2 has the best
special stages in Sonic history.
Another Sonic game bites the dust in my list. In the main
series only Sonic and Knuckles remains. Is it in my list at all? If so, how
high? We’ll see. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is simply one of the most exhilarating
platformer experiences of all time. Sega did very little wrong with Sonic 2,
the 20 levels (in comparison to Sonic 3’s 12 levels) make this the most of any
Sonic title on the Mega Drive, and for the most part, the levels are pretty
damn sweet. The addition of Tails was quite nice, just so you had the choice of
being someone else, although playing with both Sonic and Tails one-player can
be very annoying. I really don’t know what to say about Sonic 2 because chances
are you have played it and know about how good it is anyway. Sonic 2 is simply
one of the best platformers of all time. I love it.
#6 – Shining Force
Released: 1992 (1993 in the UK)
Genre: RPG
Rating: ****3/4 stars
Best Moment: Like Shining Force II’s entry, nothing really
stands out. It’s just simply one of the best RPGs ever made.
I’ve placed the original Shining Force towards
the top of the mountain for many reasons. Firstly, it’s better than the second
game in the series, which was a brilliant game in its own right. Why? I just
love the characters more, the story is better, and, honestly, the second entry
didn’t really experiment much from the original. The original Shining Force is
simply one of those games you have to play. Really. It’s a shame the Shining
Force series never really developed much after the third game, which wasn’t
fully released in the West, a terrible terrible shame, because while the
formula has been done by other game series, Shining Force I feel did it best.
The balance and variety of the characters, the different tactical approaches
you can do in the game, a lot of it was pretty damn amazing for 1992. Final
Fantasy was lagging by this point in the RPG games, in my opinion tactically,
and that’s where Shining Force’s strongest point lies. Shining Force is a game
you simply have to play, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
#5 – The Revenge of Shinobi
Released: 1989 (1990 in the UK)
Genre: Action
Rating: ****3/4 stars
Best Moment: Going against Batman and Spiderman on Stage 6. It’s really cool, and a set of totally unexpected cameos in the game.
This entry once again is another example where nostalgia places a game higher in my list rather than a game’s technicality. The third game in the series (at #12 in this list) is a far superior game technically; it improves on the amazing blueprint in this game in nearly every way. But I just can’t place this game any lower, it feels perfectly right at #5 in my list of favourite games. Why? I can’t tell you how many hours, how many times, I have completed this game. It’s embedded as one of my favourite games of my childhood. Besides, it’s so so cool, and I can promise you, not many games were as cool back in 1989. Golden Axe was released in this same calendar year, and it’s my very strong opinion that the action available in this game is far superior to that in GA, no disrespect. So yeah, The Revenge of Shinobi, simply, is one of the best games of all time, and my fifth favourite on the Mega Drive.
#4 – Quackshot starring Donald Duck
Released: 1991 Genre: Platformer Rating: ****3/4 stars Best Moment: Getting the red plunger. Seriously. I love
firing that weapon and climbing walls. Also the Egypt level is awesome too, and
was featured in my list of favourite platformer levels ever, a list you can
read here.
I have zero shame placing a Disney game at #4 in my list of
favourite Mega Drive games. If you’ve ever played Quackshot, chances are you
understand fully its placement this high on this list. Quackshot is just one of
the best adventure platformer games ever. This game is just jam-packed full of
amazing levels, great cameos by other characters associated with Donald Duck,
and it can be a tough game to crack at times too. It’s one of my favourite ever
platformers, and in my opinion, the best game Disney have ever released. If
you’ve never played this game before, you’re missing out big time.
#3 – Streets of Rage 2
Released: 1992 (1993 in the UK)
Genre: Beat ‘em Up
Rating: ****3/4 stars
Best Moment: Taking out Abadede in the Baseball Stadium.
He’s probably the toughest boss in the game and really kicks your ass.
What do I need to say about Streets of Rage 2
that hasn’t already been said before? Seriously, I’m finding it hard to
describe anything about this game that you probably don’t already know. It’s
just the best beat ‘em up ever made. I don’t think many people would dispute
that. SoR1’s formula was absolutely fantastic, but this put all the great
things about the original game and set it all to overdrive. SoR3 took many
risks and tampered with the difficulty, so therefore opinions on the game are
mixed, but SoR2 is by far the most balanced game in the series. And it’s the
best beat ‘em up ever as I said, playing on your own or with a friend, it
doesn’t matter, this game survives the test of time ridiculously well. I play
this game frequently, and it’s 2012. Not many games released 20 years ago or
earlier are as replayable now as Streets of Rage 2. What a game.
#2 – Sonic and Knuckles
Released: 1994
Genre: Platformer
Rating: ****3/4 stars
Best Moment: I love gliding with Knuckles. Lots of fun. I
also really love Flying Battery Zone. One of the best Sonic levels ever made.
Yes it’s true. Sonic and Knuckles is my favourite Sonic
game. If I were to include Sonic 3 and Knuckles together as one whole game
however, that game would completely wipe the floor out of this list. But the
games were released separately, so I’ve covered them separately. But even
separate, Sonic and Knuckles is still my favourite Sonic game, and it’s just so
much fun. There’s so much action, the level design is top notch, the game is
decent in length, using Knuckles is really cool and the music as always is just
awesome. Sonic 3 and Knuckles to be honest would be one of the few games I’d
ever give five full stars. But as for Sonic and Knuckles on its own, it’s
absolutely brilliant, an incredible experience, and is, on its own, my second
favourite Mega Drive game.
We’re almost there. Want to know what my
favourite Mega Drive game is? I’ll reveal tomorrow!
