1995 vs 1986

Ulti's Analysis
Our first match of the contest was also the biggest blowout of the contest, so this is where the annual list of biggest blowouts will go. We also got a few clues about this contest that would have been great to know ahead of time. For the first time ever, our match pictures would scroll and be multi-game pictures with a sprite up top, which is a fantastic idea but was wasted on a contest like this. We also didn't get to picsmith until round 3, and every picture from round 1 got reused. Lastly, and somehow I didn't even notice this until the contest began, but only American releases for games were considered. This turned a disjointed contest into something pretty arbitrary. The Legend of Zelda came out in 1986, but by the standards of this contest it's a 1987 game.

We also figured out that vote totals would be very, very, very low. Depressingly low, even. It's sad to think how even bad matches used to get 130,000 votes, and now we sit here not even getting 17,000 in an opening match. I know people don't care about arbitrary things like years, but still.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/968-west-division-round-1-mega-man-vs-ms-pac-man http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/986-west-division-round-2-mega-man-vs-serious-sam http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/1305-north-division-round-1-link-vs-aiai http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/1606-division-8-round-1-the-legend-of-zelda-vs-adventure http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/1733-20xx-division-round-1-solid-snake-vs-tanner http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/2433-mushroom-division-round-1-super-mario-bros-vs-madden-nfl http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/4085-east-division-round-1-smash-bros-melee-vs-guitar-hero-ii http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/4510-north-division-round-1-mario-vs-bowser-jim-vs-queen-slug-for http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/4526-south-division-round-1-link-vs-ganondorf-arthas-vs-illidan http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/6083-best-game-ever-day-9-zelda-ocarina-of-time-vs-hearthstone http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/6091-best-game-ever-day-11-zelda-a-link-to-the-past-vs-cave-story https://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/6083-best-game-ever-day-9-zelda-ocarina-of-time-vs-hearthstone

The only game from 1986 I can really comment on is Bubble Bobble, which is better than about 80% of games you could name in this bracket. I maintain the actual years should have been used over the American releases, but hey. Not that 1986 deserved to win this, but go play Bubble Bobble if you haven't.

1995 is a different animal entirely. Video games helped get me through a very rough childhood (and beyond), and 1995 just has so many games that I'm in love with. My favorite might honestly be Yoshi's Island, which is the most unique game in the entire Mario series. I fell in love with that game when hanging out with cousins as a kid, and learning how to get a 100 in every level is one of my proudest gaming accomplishments. I loved the game enough to actually write a guide for it on this site: https://www.gamefaqs.com/snes/588740-super-mario-world-2-yoshis-island/faqs/54572

EarthBound is another game I just adore. After years of Lucid Faia asking me to play that game, I finally took the plunge. And maaaaaaaan was I not disappointed at all. There is an indescribable charm about that game, and while it's known for quirky humor it gets deathly serious and exceptionally emotional later on. The final sequence of that game is something that rivals any other game ever made, and it's why my 500th post of choice was "Play EarthBound" for years and years. The gameplay is top notch, too. To date, it's one of the only RPGs I've played where you automatically win if the enemies are too weak. Heroes of Might and Magic sort of does this, but you only get half the experience. EarthBound just lets you have all of it. Too good.

Earthworm Jim 2 is one of those rare sequels where I was massively hyped, and wasn't disappointed at all. I'm still old enough to remember renting video games from independent movies stores and Blockbuster, and I would rent that game every week until finally beating it. As good as 1 was, 2 was better in every way and there aren't many sequels you can say that about. That series is the perfect mix of humor, 2D platforming, gameplay, and shoot-em-up. Blending genres that well is often a complete disaster (Knights in the Nightmare), but when it works well, it's magic.

I couldn't believe Lunar 2 came out in 1995 when researching this, but.... yeah. Wow. 1 is definitely the better game, but 2 is still really damn good. Naming the main character "Hiro" is lame as anything and the voice acting is atrocious, but the plot and gameplay are top notch. There's just something special about RPG systems that go beyond attack-attack-attack-cure. My best friend actually owned both of these for the Playstation 1 unopened, and cracked them just to let me play them even knowing how much they were worth. I have the best friends on earth, and for that reason Lunars 1 and 2 are very sentimental for me. Then Dragon's Song happened and it became a huge meme in our little circle.

It's difficult to comment in various similar games in massive series like Street Fighter, Mega Man, Mortal Kombat, or Kirby, but I've played most of those games to come out in 1995. Loved them all. A random underrated standout that people here might not have played is Vectorman, which is a really neat platforming shooter for the Sega Genesis. You play as a futuristic green robot and shoot things, which is way more fun than it sounds. You get upgrades, shoot stuff, and you 2D platform. It's basically a more serious Earthworm Jim, but with robots. Play it.

Last but not least is Chrono Trigger. Man. I actually remember when this game came out as a kid and cost 80 dollars, which was insane for a Super Nintendo game and I said fuck that. It's actually part of the reason I went with Sega as a kid. I saw the prices of some of the games and went with the cheaper option. It wasn't until adulthood where I realized the SNES was the far better system. Then eventually the Summer 2002 Contest happened and I'm like, okay who the hell is this guy? So I played Chrono Trigger, but the Playstation 1 version. It was INCREDIBLE, and I didn't even notice lag. Eventually I played the other versions, and ultimately the DS port. Chrono Trigger deserves all of the hype it gets, and to this day I still love Magus. I'd say more, but everything good that can be said about that game has already been said.

The best review you'll read of it was written by this guy: http://socksmakepeoplesexy.net/index.php?a=trigger