Best launch game ever.....

[unbroken]

the psp launch lineup had me a little dissapointed yesterday. It got me thinking about how there hasnt been a really exciting launch games games for a long time. anyway, the point of this post was too see everyones favorite launch game of all time is. i think im gonna go with super mario world, on top of it being my favorite side scroller of all time, it was a launch game and not many launch games have made my favorites list. when i first saw pics of mario world, i was so exicted i almost shit my pants, especially when i saw the commercials, the graphics were insane. aight lets hear em

[Jibbajaba]

Super Mario World is definitely an excellent choice. I would also nominate Soul Calibur for the DC, and SSX for the PS2.

Chris

[Drexel923]

I'm gonna go with Super Mario 64. When I got home and started up the game on launch day, I was in complete awe.

[gepeto]

I'm not 100 percent sure if it was a launch game but I would have to go with colecovisions Donkey Kong because for me it was the first close to an actual arcade game total experiance. I think the only thing missing was kongs ladder climb at the beginning.

[Super Mario Fan]

I'm going to say that any Super Mario game release was a good one.

[shvnsth]

1. super mario world (snes)
2. soul calibur (dc)
3.super mario 64 (n64)/halo (xbox)

[GameNinja]

I would definately agree with Super Mario 64.

[FlufflePuff]

While I don't like it or the system, Halo on the Xbox. This game is the only reason the Xbox made it past the first year and the only reason that Xbox is #2 and not #3 or out of the race. The rest of the launch lineup for the Xbox was bad, the games they cranked out for the first 6 to 8 months were bad. To this day, I would say that Halo is only one of maybe 10 must own titles for the Xbox. That, in my definition, makes it the best and certainly most exciting launch game in recent memory.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Super Mario World
Super Mario 64
Tetris (Pratically sold the gameboy as anyone knows)

[shoes23]

Soul Caliber was an excellent choice. It showcased what next generation consoles were capable of in terms of crisp/clear graphics and when I saw the screenshots I knew that I must own a DC.

[stressboy]

My personal preference is Super Mario World for the SNES. I don't know how many hours/days I played that game, even after I beat it, I would run through it again. I thought it was that much fun. While other systems have launched with good titles, I think none compare to Super Mario World.

Sadly, I am not too familair with Super Mario 64, and I feel very.. inferior because of that.

[NESVIDIOT]

Any surprise here??
NES- SMB
SNES-SMW
N64- SM64
the 3 best launch games of ALL time

[ubersaurus]

I don't know why everyone says Mario World. After Mario 3, it was kind of disappointing..it just didn't seem as vast as that game did.

I'm gonna have to go with Super Mario Bros. on this one, though Halo on xbox is pretty damn good too. Wasn't smash bros a launch title, or did that come a few weeks later on the cube? My memory is hazy, but if it is a launch, it's definitely a top tier one.

[it290]

How about Ghouls 'n' Ghosts? I believe that was a launch title, and I'm sure it sold a lot of people on the Genesis.

[Slate]

Although it isn't my favorite...

How about grand theft auto 3?

[orangemage]

Although it isn't my favorite...

How about grand theft auto 3?

GTA3 wasn't a launch title

[buttasuperb]

SMW for sure.

SM64 is boring, imo.

[retroman]

i would have to agree with Super Mario World.

[Dimitri]

I don't know why everyone says Mario World. After Mario 3, it was kind of disappointing..it just didn't seem as vast as that game did.

I'm gonna have to go with Super Mario Bros. on this one, though Halo on xbox is pretty damn good too. Wasn't smash bros a launch title, or did that come a few weeks later on the cube? My memory is hazy, but if it is a launch, it's definitely a top tier one.
Smash Bros. came out a few months later...I distinctly remember only having Monkey Ball and Tony Hawk 3 at launch. (And Monkey Ball only because I picked it up before launch...they were out when my friend and I picked up our systems, he was pissed... :D)

I also distinctly remember picking up Smash Bros. the day it came out, too, which most certainly was not the day I got my Cube.

I'm gonna buck the trend here and vote for Sonic Adventure. Not necessarily because it's better than Mario 64 (to me, that's quite debatable!) but because nobody's voted for it yet, and probably with good reason. ;)

[unbroken]

yea its a tough choice between smw and sm64, but for some reason smw had more of an impact on me.

[Daniel Thomas]

I don't know why everyone says Mario World. After Mario 3, it was kind of disappointing..it just didn't seem as vast as that game did.

I'm gonna have to go with Super Mario Bros. on this one, though Halo on xbox is pretty damn good too. Wasn't smash bros a launch title, or did that come a few weeks later on the cube? My memory is hazy, but if it is a launch, it's definitely a top tier one.

You know, I have the opposite view. SMB3 is a classic, of course, but the levels seem a little boxed-in. I guess that comes from the last time I barreled through the game (a few years ago), where it dawned upon me how all the levels were roughly the same size. They could fit into the same-sized box.

Super Mario World felt more expansive, more open-spaced. I was one of those who barreled through the game in three days right after it came out, and I was more impressed with Sonic back then. It took me another five years before the whole genius of the game hit me.

We've been conned into the notion that we should buy a dozen games at launch, all at once. What happened to the "killer ap," the one game that made the system worth the cost and sucked up all your time? Those are the best game systems.

[unbroken]

[quote=ubersaurus]
We've been conned into the notion that we should buy a dozen games at launch, all at once. What happened to the "killer ap," the one game that made the system worth the cost and sucked up all your time? Those are the best game systems.

yes! this is exactly my thought, since the ps1, launch's have consisted of throwing out a bunch of racing and sports games for the general public, and no "killer app" for the hardcore gamers.

[Kejoriv]

SMB for NES. My thumbs still havent healed since then LOL

[davec]

Soul Caliber was an excellent choice. It showcased what next generation consoles were capable of in terms of crisp/clear graphics and when I saw the screenshots I knew that I must own a DC.



Agreed! Talk about eye popping visuals.

[LiquidPolicenaut]

I agree on some points everyone has made so far, but not all. True, there s no "killer app" for the PSP launch, but I'm really enjoying Ridge Racer and Lumines, so they will go down as good launch games for me.

I agree with Halo. I do not own, or wish to own, an Xbox, nor do I care for Halo-type games, but it was stated perfectly before how, without this title, the launch wouldn't have been the same.

As for best launch games, I, too, will agree 100% with Super Mario World and Soul Calibur. Something was just so perfect when I first played SMW back on 8/25/91 and it still holds up today, as does Soul Calibur.

[Necromutant]

SMW all the way, if anything comes close it is SMB... :D

[James]

I'm going with:

Donkey Kong (CV)
Super Mario Bros. (NES)
Tetris (GB)
Super Mario World (SNES)
Panzer Dragoon(SAT)
Super Mario 64 (N64)
Soul Calibur (DC)
Halo (Xbox)
Feel the Magic (DS)
Matal Gear Acid (PSP)
Burnout 4 (Xbox Next) 8-)

Edit: All equally good launch titles in my opinion. Any other left out systems didn't have the best launch games.

Edit Again: Woops I left out Panzer Dragoon, sorry guys. And Donkey Kong for the Colecovision I didn't know it was a luanch title.

[alexkidd2000]

haha buddy, you just listed every launch title, plus one that hasnt even come out yet!

The Best launch title in my opinion would have to be Super Mario Bros on NES. This game completely changed gaming as everyone knew it. I could list my favorite launch title for each system, but that would be for another thread now wouldnt it?

[ngt]

I am going to have to go with Halo. I know it's not old school or anything and I never really played too much of it, but as far as carrying a system through launch.....Halo did a great job.

Personally, it's soul calibur...but I have to give Halo the credit it deserves as a Top Quality Launch Game.

[€ÜRØTRŧH]

Mario 64 all the way, that game sold N64s

[briguy578]

Any surprise here??
NES- SMB
SNES-SMW
N64- SM64
the 3 best launch games of ALL time

Except Super Mario Bros. wasn't an NES launch title. I'm pretty sue it was the first game in the second wave of NES titles in early 1986 [copywrite on the game says 1985 because that's when it came out in Japan].

This is borne out by the fact that there aren't any SMB carts with the Famicom board / adaptor in them. Only the NES launch titles have that.

As for me, I would have to say Tetris for game boy. It's probably the only pack-in launch title in history that, 10 years on, is still worth over $10 bucks [or, now that I think of it, worth over $1].

[DigitalSpace]

Super Mario World on the SNES for me.

[klausien]

Beside the obvious superiority of the mario games, I put my vote in for Ridge Racer. It was the star of the PSX launch in my eyes, at least part of the the PS2 launch, and is again the star of the PSP launch. The PSP version is the absolute finest in the series.

[NESVIDIOT]

Except Super Mario Bros. wasn't an NES launch title. I'm pretty sue it was the first game in the second wave of NES titles in early 1986 [copywrite on the game says 1985 because that's when it came out in Japan].


Super Mario Bro's was a launch title for NES- it just wasn't packed in with a system until a later date

[NeoZeedeater]

The Mario games and Halo are the obvious ones but some more underrated ones are Mine Storm(Vectrex), Safari Hunt(SMS), Blazing Lazers(TG16), Alien Crush(TG16) and Panzer Dragoon(SS). I'm not 100% sure both those Turbo games were on launch day though.

[Muscelli]

Ridge Racer for PSP , ive been playing for hours... the graphics, sense of speed, and everything is just perfect

I liked sonic advanture, as well as Virtua fighter 2

[digdug]

Halo, Hands down was the most influential game I have ever played, although I think the atari games: combat, football, and pong got me into my lifelong addiction.

I HAVE NEVER liked ANY of the mario games, all seem to have the same goal no innovation whatsoever just graphical improvements.

Dig Dug

[Snapple]

Riiiight.

Anyway, my vote is for Mario 64.

[Zadoc]

Ohh... This is close between Soul Calibur 2 on the Dreamcast and Halo on the Xbox.

Overall, the Dreamcast had the best launch in history, with games like Power Stone, Sonic Adventure, NFL 2K, and SC2 all available on the first day.

Some one mentioned SSX for the PS2 as being one of the best launch titles. This guy must've gotten a PS2 at launch. It's not that SSX was a really good game, it's just that it was the PS2's only launch title that didn't completely stink.

[James]

haha buddy, you just listed every launch title, plus one that hasnt even come out yet!

The Best launch title in my opinion would have to be Super Mario Bros on NES. This game completely changed gaming as everyone knew it. I could list my favorite launch title for each system, but that would be for another thread now wouldnt it?

All the games I listed were really good, very enjoyable and revolutionary. All the other systems I left out didn't have any really good launch titles. But overall I'll have to agree with you that Super Mario Bros. was the best and most revolutionary title ever to be released at launch.

[howdoin]

TETRIS, noone can claim to have had a better launch game EVER.

[SoulBlazer]

The best launch games with systems:

Donkey Kong -- Colecovision
Super Mario Brothers -- NES
Tetris -- Game Boy
Super Mario World -- SNES
Super Mario 64 -- N64
Halo -- XBox

And I agree that while a lot of what came out with the PSP is rehashes, there are three very good original games for the system -- Luminies, Metal Gear Acid, and Untold Legends.

[Classicgamesdepot]

gotta give another shout out to SMW on snes, what an amazing game for its time.

[Bluteg]

Ohh... This is close between Soul Calibur 2 on the Dreamcast and Halo on the Xbox.

Soul Calibur 2 for Dreamcast? Where?

Someone previously mentioned how Halo changed the Xbox launch. Well the N64 launch was ENTIRELY based on Mario 64 without it you have a launch with just Pilotwings 64. Pilotwings is good, but how embaressing would that be?

[Zadoc]

Ohh... This is close between Soul Calibur 2 on the Dreamcast and Halo on the Xbox.

Soul Calibur 2 for Dreamcast? Where?

Someone previously mentioned how Halo changed the Xbox launch. Well the N64 launch was ENTIRELY based on Mario 64 without it you have a launch with just Pilotwings 64. Pilotwings is good, but how embaressing would that be?

You know what I meant. :p

[drwily008]

I don't think I remember Soul Calibur being a launch title for the Dreamcast. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but the only fighter I remember was Virtua Fighter 3 & Power Stone. Actually I'm almost positive it came out a month or two later...around the time of Resident Evil: Code Veronica.

[gepeto]

I believe Soul Calibur was a dreamcast launch title.

[aegis]

Combat for the 2600, I can't think of another launch game that I've played more. Many a day and night shooting tanks and airplanes with my friend next door. The bouncing sound the tank shot makes has to be one of the most recognized and feared sounds in console gaming.

[newby101]

I was a huge SNES fan but the N64 wouldn't have done anything with out Super Mario 64. I was managing a gaming store at the time they launced with Super Mario 64 and Pilot Wings. Wave Race came out a couple days later but they had very few games. Ridge Racer was also a big launch game because it was big arcade cross over for the PSX and showed some of the potential of the system.

[Fungus]

Just ta add a little something different to the mix, I'll throw in Tempest 2000 for the Atari Jag. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the ONLY title worth anything on that system. (well, maybe AvP was worth getting.)

[FurinkanianFrood]

I believe Soul Calibur was a dreamcast launch title.


Considering that's when I got it, yep it is. It wasn't in Japan but thats neither here nor there.

As far as SMB not being a launch title, isn't the confusion a result of the period when it was being test marketed before wider release?

Personally I would name Power Stone over Soul Calibur, just because it's more interesting. As much as I like Soul Calibur it's pretty standard and kind of shallow in terms of core gameplay. Great fun though. Showed off the console, and not many people are looking for innovation in launch titles.

Combat is a solid pick. So are Tempest 2000, Mario 64 and Tetris.

Circle of the Moon is pretty far up there I think, and GnG on Genny.

[zmweasel]

I'll be rash and nominate Lumines for the list, because I haven't been so obsessed with a puzzler since GB Tetris.

-- Z.

[James]

Just ta add a little something different to the mix, I'll throw in Tempest 2000 for the Atari Jag. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the ONLY title worth anything on that system. (well, maybe AvP was worth getting.)

What about all those good PC ports like Doom and Myst, Woflenstein, etc. the Jaguar was just like the 3DO in that respect except it had a good port of Doom.

[Fungus]

Just ta add a little something different to the mix, I'll throw in Tempest 2000 for the Atari Jag. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the ONLY title worth anything on that system. (well, maybe AvP was worth getting.)

What about all those good PC ports like Doom and Myst, Woflenstein, etc. the Jaguar was just like the 3DO in that respect except it had a good port of Doom.

Actually, now that you mention it, I remember watching the sun rise and set while playing Doom on my Jag. Only stopped to eat, and well uh, the opposite of eating. But this is beside the point of topic.

Speaking of which, Soul Calibur for the DC was such an amazing launch title that the damn game didn't drop in price for over a frikkin' year. Heck, even after Sega pulled the plug it was still retailing for 30 bucks for a while.