Games that were worth the money and more.

[Cheebs]

Games I've played 'til the pad was worn thin:

TECMO SUPER BOWL!!!!
SNK Baseball Stars (NES)
Any and all Beatmania IIDX
Any and all DDR
SNES SFII and SFIITurbo
The original (non-super) Mario Bros (two player specifically)
NES Battletoads
Dragon Force
Resident Evil 4 GC

[rickrock87]

IIDX was a ridiculous timesink for me in the past, and worth the money.

I have to agree about the IIDX thing. I ended up spending $150 dollars on the controller after shipping and $80 dollars on 7th style when it came out, but those 300+ hours of fun were worth every penny.

[Tragic]

Power Stone
Soul Calibur 1 and 2
Mario Kart 64
Tony Hawk 2
Mario 64
Goldeneye
Super Smash Bros Meele

[Anthony]

I guess the only game that would fall into this catagory (suprise suprise), is guilty gear. And I really don`t think thats the credentials of the game at all, I just sorta fell into the community and they kept me playing the game, the game didn`t really keep me talking to the community. After seeing tekken ted and crew hanging out at annapolis when t5 came out, I have no doubt I could have been just as addicted to that as I was to guilty gear.

[George]

I guess the only game that would fall into this catagory (suprise suprise), is guilty gear. And I really don`t think thats the credentials of the game at all, I just sorta fell into the community and they kept me playing the game, the game didn`t really keep me talking to the community. After seeing tekken ted and crew hanging out at annapolis when t5 came out, I have no doubt I could have been just as addicted to that as I was to guilty gear.

GG was my fighter of choice for a while, I got it for the PS2 and my brother and I played incessantly. I haven't played as much of it in the arcade, but it's still a solid, fun fighter that I still go back to. I'd like it if they just moved on to X3, though.

[Anthony]

go play some slash, its really fantastic. Once you start playing in the fighting game scene, revisions to a game to improve balance and gameplay can oft be much more important than moving on to the next game.

[blueskied]

Obviously to list all the games worth their price "and more" would take too long, so here's the games that standout in my mind (off the top of my head):

Seiken Densetsu 3 (SuperFami). Got this for christmas 1995 (my mom paid $140 for it, but that was the retail cost at US import shops at the time) and played it for a good year. I think I finished it about 6 or 7 times, at least once with each main character. Brilliant game.

Mortal Kombat I, II and III. Especially I and II. Played the hell out of them in the arcades as well as the SNES ports. Good times. I still pop in the Xbox revs once in awhile for some nostalgic fun.

Ikaruga. Played this over 500 hours and I still play it today.

Of course Street Fighter 2 and SF2T (SNES) got hundreds of hours of play from me back in the day. I also played the hell out of SSF2T (3DO) for over 2 years.

ESPGaluda, DDPOJ, Ibara, Homura, Border down, Batsugun, Battle Garegga, Harmful Park, Under Defeat, and Zero Gunner 2 are all shmups that are well worth more than their price of admission. I have RSG and it's pretty good, but personally I wouldn't pay over $125 for it.

As for RPGs, Final Fantasy VI, FFXII, KOTOR, Secret of Mana, Lunar (Sega CD), Lunar 2 (Saturn), Star Control 2 (3DO), Grandia (Saturn), Skies of Arcadia, DQVIII, DQV(PS2), DQIV(PSX), Tengai Makyou IV (Saturn), and Popolocrois I and II (PSX) are all worth more than their original price to me.

As someone else mentioned, all the Sakura Taisen games are worth it. I particularly like #1 (the PS2 remake) and #3 (DC), but I had fun with #2,4 and 5 as well. Galaxy Angel (JP Xbox) is another game in this genre which is well worth it. The Pia Carrot games are also very good.

Games I enjoyed for many hours on the NES that I would quantify as being worth far more than what I paid new included Duck Tales, Strider, Baseball Stars, Nobunaga's Ambition, Castlevania 2, Double Dragon, Ninja Gaiden, Stinger, Blaster Master, Batman, Tennis, TMNT, Zelda 2, and all the Super Marios. Memories...

[Kaneda]

Bought SotN for $18 about 8 years ago because I heard it was good. I was only into 3d stuff at the time but this game changed my life. I still play it frequently to relive those golden memories.

Oddly, FFVIII. It's a pretty bad game: junky story, corny writing, plot holes, really easy...but I still have too many good memories to not love it. The pacing, music, and side quests really clicked with me and make it a more memorable JRPG than just about any other. I'll never play it again, but I've probably gone through it getting everything (all the cards and magazines and crap) probably 5 times.

DDP series. It made shooters for me back in the day and I still play each installment regularly. The DOJ PS2 port is priceless, there's limitless gaming there.

Pokemon Puzzle League. Hundreds of hours of late-night marathons, still the best game in the genre and my favorite version of Panel de Pon.

[Kev]

These are the games I come back to time and time again every year. These are games I actually own(ed), as well as have emulated. Most of them I've sold and repurchased a few times, so the stories are about the first time I bought them.


Super Metroid (SNES) - First time I bought this, it was at GameTrader in Orlando used and complete for $25. I still play this game every year and complete it.

Secret of Mana (SNES) - When this game first started fetching Grants and above for loose carts on Ebay and most used game stores, I found this in KMart's used section for $20.00 loose. KMarts used NES and 16-Bit section in the late '90s was awesome, because you could usually find great stuff on the cheap.

Axelay (SNES) - I got this at the local Movie Gallery for eight bucks used and boxed. Eight bucks bought what would become my favorite shooter.

Contra 3 (SNES) - Got this used in '95 for thirty, and it's by far the best Contra in the series. The GBA version is a complete bastardization, I think.

Street Figher Alpha 2 (Saturn) - Got this for five pounds online, and it's my favorite Street Fighter game.

Darius Gaiden (Saturn) - Got this for two pounds from the same guy who sold me SFA2, and this game practically stays in my Saturn, and is my second favorite shooter.

Gunstar Heroes (Genesis) - Got this for twelve bucks new at the EB at Orlando Fashion Square back in '99 (still had the Fruit Roll-Up). I played Co-op with this game more than any other I can begin to recall.

Phantasy Star 4 (Genesis) - Twenty bucks used back in '98, and it's my favorite traditional RPG.

Contra (NES) - Two bucks at a flea market in St. Cloud, and I still play it today, even though I prefer Contra III.

Ninja Gaiden 2 (NES) - My favorite Ninja Gaiden, my Mom bought it for me new at Toys 'R' Us back in the early ninties, I think it was not quite fifty then.

Soul Calibur (Dreamcast) - Eight bucks used at the same Movie Gallery on the same day I bought Axelay. It had the manual, no box, though. I ran one off the internet.

Capcom Vs. SNK (Dreamcast) - Mom got it as a birthday present for me for forty new, and despite being unbalanced and more of a Street Fighter Vs. King of Fighters, it's the fighting game I've spent the absolute most time with.

Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast) - The first 3D platformer I truly enjoyed, and the only one I actually still play and have fun with.

Symphony of the Night (PSone) - Got the GH version new for $20.00 at EB. This is by far my favorite PS game, and one of the few I still play regularly.

Metal Slug X (PSone) - I found the load times decent, the action was fast, and it was a proper Metal Slug game that I could afford and not have to mod my PS or get a converter for. I paid $40.00 for it new at GameStop.

Maximo (PS2) - This is the game that made me want a PS2. For a team that supposedly ruined Final Fight, they sure know how to make a great G'n'G clone. Ten bucks used at GameStop.

Rygar (PS2) - This is the only 3D remake I like better than the original. $15.00 used at GameStop.

Mario Kart DS (DS) - This is the first Mario Kart I liked enough to buy, and it still spends the most time in my DS. Got it when it came out at Wal-Mart for $35.

Advance Wars (GBA) - Got it for Christmas a few years back, folks probably paid $30.00 for it. I never thought I'd love a strategy game as much as I do this. I could never get into Final Fantasy Tactics, and haven't played Military Madness... but the only GBA game I've spent more time with was...

Harmony of Dissonance (GBA) - The music wasn't as good, the game was easier and more floaty, and the lack of breakable wall secret areas pissed me off something terrible... but despite that, I ended up liking this game better than Circle of the Moon.

Links Awakening - (GB) I got this as a Player's Choice game back in '96 while at summer camp. While not the best in terms of gameplay, this is my favorite Zelda game. I actually prefer the original version over the prettier DX version, due to the dialog being funnier. Both are wonderful, though.

Metroid 2 (GB) - This is my favorite Game Boy game (that's including GBC and GBA), and possibly my favorite portable game ever. I got this in second grade, my Mom got it 'cause it looked cool, I didn't ask for it. This game scared the hell out of me when I was a little kid, and I loved it. I still enjoy this game, and think it's the second best Metroid, behind Super.

[Bacon McShig]

-Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past- The first game I recall reeeeally anticipating, and saving up months of allowance for. Me and my mom went to TRU after school the day it came out, and I was beaming... well, as the universe's wicked sense of humor would have it, report cards came in the mail the very same day, and my grades were not good. My dad had gotten home while we were out and was the first to see it, and when we got there he was fuming. He snatched Zelda and locked it in the file cabinet. Oh, how I cried.

Luckily, however, my mom is awesome and would let me play it for an hour or so on the nights my dad worked late. By the time he finally gave it to me, I'd almost beaten it. But once I was done, I started up a new game in order to enjoy a less fragmented playthrough.

The others:
-Super Metroid: The funny thing is, I don't ever remember buying this or getting it as a gift, although I was looking forward to it... I probably begged my mom to go half & half on the cost in an act of desperation after hearing how astoundingly long the waiting list for it was at the local video store.

-Castlevania: SOTN: I had gotten a PS1 pretty much specifically to play FFVII with the exclusion of all else, but luckily my dad bought a few mags to see what had reviewed well and got this for me. A bit of redemption for the afforementioned Zelda incident, I'd say.

-Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo: I had rented this to take on a marching band trip to Panama City... it resulted in my room being everyone's favorite destination aside from the beach. I took it back and looked for a copy to buy, but didn't find one for YEARS.

-Um Jammer Lammy: I rented and played through Parappa but it was a bit too short to warrant a purchase. Gave Lammy a chance and found it to be much more complete and enjoyable.

-Tetris Attack: Didn't really get into it when I rented it when it was fairly new, but bought a used copy for $10 from GS years later... Amazing 2P game.

-Phantasy Star Online: No good to me anymore, but my first real online gaming experience kept me hooked for 100+ hours.

-Crazy Taxi: Pretty much THE go-to game when I want something fun and arcadey. And I often do.

-Street Fighter III: Third Strike: I didn't really follow SF3 that much and was kind of lukewarm on this purchase at first. Luckily, I had a friend who was very enthusiastic when he saw I had it, we had a marathon night of it and I learned that there is no finer fighter.

-Worms World Party: A favorite for drunken get-togethers.

-Space Channel 5 CE: Man, I've played through SC5pt2 about 50 times. Just puts a huge cheesy grin on my face. Played the first on DC a lot as well, but pt2 demolishes it.

-Advance Wars 1&2: Oh my yes. I'd say I put 200+ hrs into these, easy.

-Halo 1&2: Spent many hours playing co-op Halo 1 with my old roommate. Have spent many times more playing Halo 2 online with my current one. Confidentially, he kind of holds back my rankings, but I don't really care, we have a blast and that's good enough for me.

-Metroid Prime: No story to tell here, just an amazing game.

-Resident Evil 4: The main game is fantastic enough, then you get Mercenaries which is less icing on the cake, but rather another layer entirely.

-Guitar Hero: The sequel(s) can't get here soon enough, I've played this one to exhaustion.