2005 - YOUR top 5 games of the year.

[Kaede]

As this has been yet another dire year for gaming in terms of new releases, what have been the top 5 games you have acquired this year? It doesn't matter how old the game is, just that you bought it/downloaded/played it for the first time this year.

1. Radiant Silvergun - Saturn

This game really is the daddy of all shooting games. Best £90 I've ever spent, been playing it for 3 months solid. Still can't 1 credit it and Stage 4 is the most insane peice of games design I've ever seen. It goes on forever with amzing boss after amazing boss.

2. Progear - MAME

A hidden MAME gem, only released 4 years ago this is easily my favourite emulated arcade shmup. Well, horizontal shmup anyway. 16m points and I'm still yet to activate the second loop.

3. Dokutsu Monogatari - PC

An amazing home brew Japanese platform game in the style of Super Metroid/Castlevania:SOTN. Incredible to think a game of this quality was programmed by one guy.

4. Street Fighter Anniversary Collection - Xbox

OK, I haven't played this as much due to RS taking up all my time and the dodgy Xbox pad, but since getting an adaptor to use my Saturn pad Street Fighter is awesome again! Street Fighter 3 seems amazing but I have no-one to test my 2 player skills against anymore so it's not been played as much as I'd like.

5. Gradius V - PS2

Again, haven't played this as much as I'd like due to me dedicating to much time trying to increase my score on Ikaruga/RS but what I have played of it indicates that it's the best game in the Gradius series by an absoloute mile. But then I am a Treasure censored.

Honourable mentions go to Wario Ware Touched on the DS for it's original, gimmicky but alas limited fun factor and R-Type Delta for having the best god damn stage 1 in an R-Type game.

[hanging]

It seems i didn't buy many games this year..

only Erik for the ST

and a few faceless PS2 games..

So Erik wins!

[Ash]

As this has been yet another dire year for gaming in terms of new releases

I don't want to start an argument but Leon S. Kennedy says you're dead wrong.

[Antiriad2097]

As this has been yet another dire year for gaming in terms of new releases

I don't want to start an argument but Leon S. Kennedy says you're dead wrong.

And the Smiths are right behind him...

[Sabreman]

Been a very good year for me, retro-wise. The new market was mostly uninspiring so in an effort to salvage my waning interest in gaming I decided to hunt down some well-regarded games I'd managed to miss out on first time round.

1/ Valkyrie Profile - Playstation

Absolutely stunning game. The best RPG I've played in years and so well designed throughout. Very different from the norm and just a joy from start to finish. I need to play through it again on hard difficulty and do all the things needed to get the full ending - which I'm more than happy to do. Incredible luck that a sequel should be coming out next year

2/ Zanac X Zanac - Playstation

Loads of fun. A bright, breezy, fast shmup with no ambitions of obscure scoring systems. A little on the easy side but still exhilarating to play.

3/ Shining Force 3 -Saturn

I'm usually pretty duff at SRPGs, but despite that I really do enjoy the genre. This one was highly entertaining and not too heavygoing at all. Lovely music and an oddly endearing clunkiness in the visuals department.

4/ Ys I+II Complete - PC

Missed out on the whole Ys thing over the years, apart from a vaguely-remembered dalliance with the Master System version as a kid. These PC remakes, fully fan translated were the most pure fun I've had with a game this year (I count them as one choice as they really are two parts of one story). Simple play mechanics married to charming visuals and a truly outstanding soundtrack.

5/ Gradius Gaiden - Playstation

It's a tough call between this and GV as to which is the pinnacle of the series. I think this just edges it thanks to it's accessibility, which is a far cry from the punishment of I-IV and the engrossing but highly demanding challenge of V. This makes me very eager indeed to sample Konami's own take on Gradius VI.

[Randall Flagg]

Syndicate - Atari Jaguar, Very good version and soooo enjoyed visiting the game again.

Tempest 2000Atari Jaguar, Amazing remake, just as enjoyable as the first time you played the original.

Harmful Park - Playstation, Quirky rare Jap only horizontal shmup. Very addictive and imaginative.

Treasure Trap - Amiga 500 (1Mb), Isometric 3d adventure, kinda like alien8 only under water in a sunken ship. Find the treasure and escape. I do kinda go on about this game but just love it. 16 Bit alien8, what could go wrong!

Burnout Revenge - Playstation2, Yep, most modern games suck but this has got me totally hooked. Also pretty addicted to PSP version.


Am currently after an atari jaguar RGB scart lead or an edge connector that fits on the jaguar AV out port so that i can make my own. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Regards

[revgiblet]

Aha, I see that two people on this board have already jumped in with Resident Evil 4 and Killer 7 references. Quite right too.

Burnout Revenge also gets a mention. These three would make my top 5 list.

In fact, there would be a worrying lack of retro titles on my list. I haven't really tried anything new this year - I've stuck to the tried and tested games, meaning that I have played them all before 2005.

As for my other two top five? Hmmmm...probably Mercenaries and Phantom Brave but those are up for debate.

Ummm...this is a retro forum isn't it?

[merman]

Soul Calibur (Dreamcast) - played it so much at retro events, had to get it!

Super Mario 64 (N64) - I'd only played it in emulation before, but the real thing is SUPERB

Metroid Fusion (GBA) - an incredible addition to the series, I actually enjoyed it more than Metroid Prime

Tony Hawk (any version) - this year I have been mostly skating. The original and sequel on Dreamcast, then 3,4, THUG and THUG2 on Gamecube.

The Simpsons Hit & Run (Gamecube) - it's the level of attention to detail and all the hidden references to the TV series that make this one so special. And you can keep going back to it to find more - fancy driving the monorail cab? Unlocking all the slot car levels? Buying all the vehicles and costumes?

[Ben]

Ok, not in any order
Killer 7
Devil may cry 3
Resident evil 4
Naruto 4 (GC)
Shining Force 3 part 2 I may have bought this at the back end of last year, but i definately played through it this summer.

Sorry mine are mostly modern, ive bought loads of retro games, but ive played (and sometimes owned) them before, which according to the rules means they're excempt

[romanista]

this year:

1. crazy taxi (dc)

2 mario kart (ds)

3) donkey konga (gc)

4) rebelstar (gba)

5) unirally (snes)

[mr.zzapback]

1: Project Gotham Racing 2 (Xbox)
2: Burnout 2 (Gamecube)
3: Mario Kart DD (Gamecube)
4: Zelda WindWaker (Gamecube)
5: Out Run 2 (Xbox)

Yeah I know...

[James A]

Resident Evil 4 (GC)
Killer 7 (GC)
Fear (PC)
Streets OF Rage3 (MD)
Golden Sun (GBA)

[Dizrythmia]

Mario Kart DS (DS)
Mario Kart DD (GCN) - I'm a HUGE Mario Kart fan
Spike McFang (SNES)
Street Fighter Alpha 2 (CPS2)
Twinbee Rainbow Bell Adventures (SNES)

[lahdbr]

Well like last year this year was alittle slow for gaming for me. I aquired literally 1000's of emulated games -> but cause of the sheer amount i dont really respect them. I only ever had one console, and thats the NES, i bought about 50 or so games for it this year and i believe it supplied me with some great gaming. And the most apreciated game i had this year is definantly #1.

1. Maniac Mansion (NES)
2. Quake IV (PC)
3. Omikron (PC
4. Conkas Bad Fur Day (n64 emu)
5. World of Warcraft (PC)

[Sureshot]

1/ Galaga (Arcade) - played an inordinate amount of this during the start of the year, particularly when I was moving to my new apartment and had no Internet connection. Faultless blasting.

2/ Punch Out!! (NES) - never really picked this one up before, as I'm not exactly huge on boxing games. However, I found that this isn't just any ordinary boxing game and instead is full of character and neat surprises.

3/ Contra III (SNES) - no-nonsense gaming. Play it for 5 minutes or 500 and you'll get something out of it. I think Maddox sums it up particularly well: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net ... ntra3_owns

4/ Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (XBOX/PS2/PC) - I'm now firmly in the group who doesn't really like the latest version of this series, despite giving it multiple chances. Last year's release has the pace and fun-factor that PES5 lacks, which I personally will take any day over some extra 'realism' (although I do love the new headers in PES5). We have this version on at work too, which makes for some pretty heated grudge matches.

5/ Buggy Boy (C64) - thanks to the RS league, which really MAKES you play some games that you'd never have given a second thought to before, I was able to discover this little gem. Despite being 'buggy' in more ways than one (rocks and plants flying into you from nowhere, anyone?), this game definitely had me striving to complete tracks into the early hours, with a can of beer in close vicinity and some screaming guitar music keeping my blood pressure far too high. Give it a go if you want some insanely frustrating but solid novelty racing.