Technical Acheivement
Shenmue for Saturn or Crazy Taxi for Dreamcast/arcade.
We don\'t really know how Shenmue for Saturn would\'ve turned out, since it was very far from completion. But if the small view into Ryo\'s world at the completion of Shenmue II was any indication. AM2 would\'ve been pushing Saturn to it\'s breaking point, and Saturn was much better than it was EVER made out to be.
Crazy Taxi was one of the first truly free-roaming games. A HUGE world compared to what had been seen for years in games. Sure there was some slowdown when the action got frantic, but the game was seamless, and fun to boot.
Best Story
Shenmue I and II
RPGs are regurgitated. Story\'s are hackneyed, thrown together, recycled, and done all over again, ad infinitiam, ad nauseam.
With Shenmue. Your interest is piqued within the first 5 minutes. What significance does the mirror play? Who do Hazuki-san kill in the past? Who is Lan-Di? While the first half of the game may drag on, the second half is no slouch. Slowly, you begin learning clues about Lan-Di, Charlie, and Chinese black marketers. The Story is told with some pretty terrible dialog and just plain bad voice actors, yet, the story works so well. Many things that make NO sense in the first game, fall right into place while playing, and later completing the second. Shenmue II leaves you stranded, alone, and poor in a completely new place. While I won\'t go into depth about Kowloon and Guilin\'s stories so as not to spoil anything, I will say that Discs 3 and 4 have some of the best \'Story\' in games, ever.
If you don\'t agree, you can go slog through another Final Fantasy game. FOREVER!
Best Character Design
Capcom, specifically the Street Fighter Series
Sure Final Fantasys, Phantasy Star Online, etc. have all had great character design. Nothing meets the overall quality of a great SF character.
From the odd (Birdie, Necro), to the forever copied (Ryu), Capcom has truly created the most memorable looking character designs in the SF series.
Most Sought After Import
Ever? Shenmue II without a doubt. highest imported game of all time. It will never be one for the ages ever, though. Since it is getting it\'s stateside release. I think the prize of most sought after import will forever rest on Radiant Silvergun for Saturn. The years have proved hard for some of the[/b] imports. DBZ:Shinbutohden, Dracula X (PC-E), etc. Used to pull in much higher than 100 dollars, easily falling into the 150 range, but both and others have fallen much further down. RS is still one of the those games that shooter aficianados scream for. And why not, I prize my copy as one of my best.
Greatest Franchise
Street FIghter
No game series, nor individual game, has had me play longer than the Street Fighter series. Literally THOUSANDS of hours have gone into playing these games. I have played 3rd Strike enough to make even the most hard-nosed Everquest addict cry themselves to sleep. Most perfect games ever.
Best Game Design
a really tough one.
Shinobi for GG 2: The Silent Fury, Sreet Fighter III: 3rd Strike, or Virtua FIghter (all).
I have my reasons. All should be pretty obvious if you have played any of them and like well made games.
Most Important Company
You\'ve got to be kidding me. Sega has so much influence on this industry it isn\'t even funny. Ever since 1989 on the homefront and basically FOREVER in the arcade scene, their technological and gameplay acheivements FAR outweigh any company. Nintendo had alot of influence pre-1990. Since then. They have done much less.
Screw your \'one per category thing. :P
Eric Jacob
