Post by Mws2 on Jan 10, 2016 10:07:27 GMT
I remember standing around in a GAME shop (yes GAME is the name of the shop) in the late 90s looking at a copy of 'Gex: Enter the Gecko' and thinking to myself "Will we ever get tired of game mascots?"
At the time being only 9 or 10 I couldnt imagine people getting sick of cuddly mascots starring in their own platformers, little did I know that their days were very shortly numbered and now that kind of game is pretty much extinct. So I just wondered which ones people liked and what they thought were so cool about them? Doesnt have to necessarily be the gameplay itself you liked or one you you liked originally at the time. Heres some ones I think are cool:
Ristar
I'd never even heard of this chap until I got back into Sega two decades after he was a thing but I've grown really attached to the character for some reason. Apart from being an incredible 2 games I love the little smirk they gave him in the western version like he knows hes got a tough job to do but hes gonna bloody well do it. Also the cheeky little "hasta la vista baby" in awful digitised voice when you kill the final boss is a great moment after a very difficult fight.
Zool
Perhaps better known in Europe this guy had a brief moment of fame and was on most 16 bit platforms for a while. Hes quick like sonic but has a bit of an edge what with him being a ninja alien with weapons and can shoot magic.
Crash Bandicoot
The first game I got on the playstation so perhaps a pure nostalgia choice, looking back he was definately one of those more 'xtreme' & 'radical' shade wearing types that date really badly but at the time he was pretty hot shit. When they gave him the bazooka in 3 I pretended I hated it cause my friend had it when I didnt but really I was crazy jealous. Also anyone who played it knows Crash Team Racing was the best kart racer out there until Sega All-Stars came along. OOGA BOOGA
Opa Opa
Still no idea what the hell Opa Opa is, flying egg? An angel? His/her design has an element of joy probably due to the wings or the bright colours . I love how many cameos he makes in Sega games but its a shame he has been forgotten by all but the die hards. Same for Alex Kidd too. *spoiler* Its also sad he has to kill his evil dad at the end of Fantasy Zone.
Bomberman
Only Japan could make a game about a group of presumably children stuck in a labyrinth forced to blow each other to bits, a cutesy fun time for all the family. When I was a kid my friend and I would draw bombermans all day trying to come up with cool colour schemes and designs even if they were essentially palette swaps. Also they ride giant animals like rabbits and birds into battle to further extend the carnage and bloodshed onto innocent wildlife. I think his days of bomb chucking are over now sadly but thankfully the world was blessed with around 12,000 bomberman games and spinoffs so we should be good.
I can think of loads more from the popular likes of Spyro to the obscure Wild Woody the talking pencil but name me some of the ones you find interesting.
At the time being only 9 or 10 I couldnt imagine people getting sick of cuddly mascots starring in their own platformers, little did I know that their days were very shortly numbered and now that kind of game is pretty much extinct. So I just wondered which ones people liked and what they thought were so cool about them? Doesnt have to necessarily be the gameplay itself you liked or one you you liked originally at the time. Heres some ones I think are cool:
Ristar
I'd never even heard of this chap until I got back into Sega two decades after he was a thing but I've grown really attached to the character for some reason. Apart from being an incredible 2 games I love the little smirk they gave him in the western version like he knows hes got a tough job to do but hes gonna bloody well do it. Also the cheeky little "hasta la vista baby" in awful digitised voice when you kill the final boss is a great moment after a very difficult fight.
Zool
Perhaps better known in Europe this guy had a brief moment of fame and was on most 16 bit platforms for a while. Hes quick like sonic but has a bit of an edge what with him being a ninja alien with weapons and can shoot magic.
Crash Bandicoot
The first game I got on the playstation so perhaps a pure nostalgia choice, looking back he was definately one of those more 'xtreme' & 'radical' shade wearing types that date really badly but at the time he was pretty hot shit. When they gave him the bazooka in 3 I pretended I hated it cause my friend had it when I didnt but really I was crazy jealous. Also anyone who played it knows Crash Team Racing was the best kart racer out there until Sega All-Stars came along. OOGA BOOGA
Opa Opa
Still no idea what the hell Opa Opa is, flying egg? An angel? His/her design has an element of joy probably due to the wings or the bright colours . I love how many cameos he makes in Sega games but its a shame he has been forgotten by all but the die hards. Same for Alex Kidd too. *spoiler* Its also sad he has to kill his evil dad at the end of Fantasy Zone.
Bomberman
Only Japan could make a game about a group of presumably children stuck in a labyrinth forced to blow each other to bits, a cutesy fun time for all the family. When I was a kid my friend and I would draw bombermans all day trying to come up with cool colour schemes and designs even if they were essentially palette swaps. Also they ride giant animals like rabbits and birds into battle to further extend the carnage and bloodshed onto innocent wildlife. I think his days of bomb chucking are over now sadly but thankfully the world was blessed with around 12,000 bomberman games and spinoffs so we should be good.
I can think of loads more from the popular likes of Spyro to the obscure Wild Woody the talking pencil but name me some of the ones you find interesting.