The Best B-Games

[Jason Tandro]

Yep, here we go with another one of my patented lists. This one is a list of your favorite guilty pleasure B-Games.

For the sake of this list, here's a few guidelines:
1. We all know what B-Games are. Nothing which belongs to a major franchise, like, but not limited to, Mario, Zelda, Sonic, Final Fantasy, Halo, etc, unless you can genuinely argue that they don't have a wide following.
2. Since everybody here's list should naturally include the Soul Blazer Trilogy, no need to bother listing them.
3. Also try to avoid B-Games that have a cult following on the internet nowadays such as the Philips CD-i games and Conker's Bad Fur Day.

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These aren't in order, by any means, but these are my top 10 favorite B-Games.


1. Ehrgeiz (PSOne)- A stylistic three-in-one game, which had an arcade fighter, single-player RPG and party games all thrown into one. Yes I know it has Final Fantasy characters thrown in, but it certainly didn't blow the lid off the bucket on sales. It counts.

2. Threads of Fate (PSOne)- I've already mentioned how awesome this underrated Square gem is. Why haven't you bought a copy yet???

3. Lawnmower Man (SNES)- This SNES game is one of my oldest childhood memories of playing with a SNES. Based on a movie I'd never seen, what kept me playing was the kick-ass music and awesome virtual reality segments. If you haven't played this game yet, download a ROM and check it out. It's amazing. But, of course, be sure to only use the ROM as a 48-hour trial. (wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more, say no more).

4. Digimon World (PSOne)- I don't think this technically counts a B-Game either, but it's awesome. There's so much to do and the environments are so fun to explore it's just amazing. Total escapism, but it's fun as hell, and there's an added "Sim City" aspect as you watch your town grow and see the payoff of your hard work.

5. Extermination (PS2)- This game I can pop-in and play... about an hour at a time. Honestly this is a great game, but it is hard to sit down and beast through it. If the controls were ironed out and the combat wasn't so restrictive it'd be higher on this list. It's got an incredible atmosphere and was the first truly scary game I ever played.

6. Fellowship of the Rings (PS2)- Okay, okay, let me explain. The first part of the game is really fun. Exploring the Shire (which by the way has the most relaxing music I've ever heard in a game and I WILL pay a very large sum of gems to the person who can get it for me in an mp3) is so much fun and there's a natural charm about that part of the game. The later stages do get pretty ridiculous, but it's still fairly fun.

7. Dokapon Kingdom (PS2)- Oh my god, so much win. Who would have thought we'd see an RPG that's a PARTY GAME? So amazing.

8. Dark Cloud (PS2)- This was one of my first PS2 games and it combines everything you love about RPGs. Free-exploration dungeons, decent combat, lots of ways to customize your characters and a town creation mechanic that I sorely miss. Also has an amazing soundtrack (again, as I've already mentioned).

9. Pirates (NES)- Now I bet none of ya'll have ever played this one. This is a good old NES game and it stands as one of my favorite NES games of all time. For an NES game it's amazingly detailed and gives you the freedom of being a true pirate. Plundering cities, ship-to-ship battles, sword fights, missions for royalty, courtship, trading, treasure hunting, and a surprisingly in depth story. You need to try this one out!

10. Vexx (PS2, Gamecube)- And this is actually what should be at the top of the list. Sadly, only one of these games was ever made, but it features surreal environments, day-to-night transition which you can actually control, amazingly fun mini-games and of course the big selling point with Jason Tandro, a kick-ass soundtrack. Pop this sucker in your PS2 or Gamecube and let me know when you've stopped playing so that I know you haven't starved to death.


And finally some honorable mentions, disqualified from the list for belonging to a franchise:

Dynasty Warriors 3- The best strategy-beat-em-up I've ever played, bar none.

Klonoa 2- Holy shit this game is fun. 2.5-D Platforming, cool music and decent storyline.

Star Ocean: The Second Story- Best Star Ocean ever made.

Wild Arms III- One of my favorite RPGs ever! Amazing concept. RPG meets western!

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy- Probably the best free-roaming platformer for the PS2. Too bad the later games ruined the feel.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha Versus the Soulless Army- Damn that's a long title, but the game is awesome. As my old friend Arkansas said: "It's like Pokemon... with demons!"

True Crime: Streets of LA- Pretty fun sandbox game, but you're a cop!

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger- Really fun, but it is a legit franchise, so it's out.

SSX Tricky- The only snowboarding game I can play.

NCAA '08- The only football game I can play.

[SoulBlazerFan]

1. The Guardian Legend, NES: This is one of my all time favorite games. My father picked it up for me on a whim, knowing my love of classic games, and it ended up being awesome. Its got the distinction of being one of the earliest cross-genre games, as, not only was it a futuristic top-down Zelda-esque game, but also included a shoot-em up flight game.

It's actually a sequel to a game called Guardic, which was never released in America. If you've never played it, I highly suggest it.

2. Chiller, NES: This is probably one of the coolest light gun games I ever bought for that system... which, of course, I can't play. The game was designed before the Tengen code days, so newer model systems locked out unlicensed games, such as this one.

The game has a horror-vibe, obviously, and is loads more fun than Duck Hunt. The game doesn't end, even; they screw with your head that, upon completing the last level, the game begins again, albeit harder, and will continue on this path until you die. What game screws with people more than that?

3. Swords and Serpents, NES: This game is a dungeon crawler, done in the first-person perspective. You have a team of four people, one controlling the group, which is represented on the right side of the screen as an arrow. You traverse level and after level, searching for artifacts that will help you destroy the evil dragon-boss.

Largely, the game is filled with riddles, puzzles, and the aptly named "Zoom Tubes," which could take you into new, uncharted territory, or send you packing back to earlier stages in the game.

I love the puzzle aspect, as it makes you think. For instance, one says "The Sword is at the tip of the sword." Which doesn't make sense, until you reach a map that is designed to look like a sword.

The party management isn't too deep, so there's not too much micro-managing needed in that regard. The game is largely repetitive, but given the nature of games during the time, it's too be expected.

4. Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Genesis And SNES: This game has received a rather large cult following, and I'm adding it, even against Jason's wishes, because I have what could be both awesome and depressing news about it, depending on how it develops.

As, apparently, the most requested game for Virtual Console even before the Wii was released, ZAMN was given a new lease on life. Before that, you were forced to play the heavily edited SNES or the more gory Genesis version.

The game is very tongue-in-cheek, with various references to 50's horror movies; such levels as "Mars Needs Cheerleaders" comes to mind. I spent many hours trying to beat this game (And trying to find a rocket launcher random spawn in the first level, so as to unlock the secret level- and just never did :/)

More on the line of Jason's post, though, a sequel was produced a year later, called Ghoul Patrol, which wasn't nearly as fun or thought out, and franchise stopped there. I didn't even know this was a sequel to ZAMN until I accidentally played a ROM of it a few years ago; but boring level design and lackluster attention to detail make this game suffer. (They don't even bother to include any level titles; one of the main things from the previous game)

I read a few minutes ago to refresh myself on some of the finer details of the game, that they are planning a Hollywood adaptation of ZAMN. I don't know whether to cheer in glee or cry, as another Hollywood know it all takes a shot at a beloved franchise... but we'll see I guess.

[Jason Tandro]

Zombies Ate My Neighbors!!! How could I forget about that one. That game kicked so much ass!

[EverPhoenix]

would Grandia II and Lufia II count? not many people seem to know them, but they are both amazing RPGs

[SoulBlazerFan]

Zombies Ate My Neighbors!!! How could I forget about that one. That game kicked so much ass!

If they made a remake of that game I would die a happy man.

[Freedan]

I suppose Okami would count. It's certainly not a B in quality, but its sales were horrible. To me, it's the best game no one played.

[tay120n64]

Retro Game Challenge.

Why did none of you play this? I'm never going to get to play the second one because the first one sold so horribly. Curse you all!

Seriously, if you own a DS, BUY THIS GAME. It's Video Game fanservice at its finest, and it is FANTASTIC. It's in the TOP 5 DS games, imo.

[inferiare]

I'd say Ar tonelico, but it's got its following and it's in a series (trilogy). Fantastic series though.

I'll go ahead and say Mana-Khemia though. The first is amazing, the second was ehhhh but it was all right in story, battle system was FUN. It's technically an off-shoot of the Atelier games, but it's its own contained story and not "make this for a customer" that all but the Atelier Iris games were. They're both for the ps2 and I'm pretty sure they're available on NISA's webstore still, or as a used game.

I'll think of more later, I have a ton of games at home.