Over-Rated
- Squaresoft: Sure they make some classic RPGs, but you know a company is over-rated when somebody will buy a game published by them (Bouncer was not developed by Square) just because they see the familiar logo. Although their recent Final Fantasy IX was quite impressive, it still doesn\'t compete on the same level as their earlier works. Whenever Square EA strays from the RPG genre, we get stuck with such titles as Chocobo Dungeon and Chocobo Racing. The truth is, that if Squaresoft could develop a revolutionary title that incorporated a new system/genre, then I wouldn\'t put them in this list. I am in no way saying that Squaresoft makes bad games, just that some gamers think a little too highly of them.
- EA: I can play NHL 94\' and have the same gaming experience I get with NHL 99\'. That\'s the simple truth. I see no point in buying the "update" to each EA Sports game each year, when they are all very similar. Unless your an avid sports fan who likes to have their teams and players updated, then there\'s no point. Also, Electronic Arts thinks too highly of themselves and I find them, at times, very ****y. Sure they publish some top-notch titles at times, but they don\'t usually develop those great titles. Some fun gaming, but a bit of repetitivness on their part.
Under-Rated
- Treasure: The name says almost everything. This developer makes some great shooter games that can\'t be missed. Their latest release, Sin and Punishment for the N64, was unfortunately not released in North America, but it got great reviews from Famitsu. This little "treasure" of a developer does not get enough credit here in North America.
- Enix: Let me start off by saying, that when I mention Enix, I am saying that they are under-rated outside of Japan. The Dragon Warrior/Quest series never really took off here, despite Nintendo\'s constant deals and coverage in their magazine, Nintendo Power. In fact, back when the first game came out in North America, Nintendo actually gave out a free copy of Dragon Warrior to people who subscribed to their magazine that year. A great promotion that eventually lead to the release of the next three in the series. Since then, nothing has hapenned. Thankfully, in 2000, partly due to the success of Dragon Warrior Monsters, Enix of America re-opened its offices. You can now find the Dragon Warrior I & II re-make for Game Boy Color. DWIII is also being re-released this summer. Among other games, is also the extremely under-rated Terranigma.
- Sega: Nobody at my school has heard of Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, or Phantasy Star, excluding a few hardcore gamers. Although this is partly Sega\'s fault for having no advertisement on television, it is rather sad to see such classics being unheard of. Sega, during the 2000 year, has made some truly innovative titles that have been dismissed as... Well, no one\'s heard of them. The thing that really annoys me, is that some say "Sega games suck" and yet when the Sega games for PS2, Gamecube, and X-Box are released, I\'m sure many will be loving them.
Others
The following is just comments developed from other posts and what I think of certain developers.
Firstly, HAL Laboratories, an internal studio of Nintendo, has been releasing lots of crap lately. The N64 Pokemon titles and Mario Party sequels in particular. The truth is that the first Mario Party was very original (and garnered some copies like Crash Bash and Sonic Shuffle), but there was no need for two sequels only months later. And they could have at least made an entertaining experience for the N64 Pokemon titles. Maybe a 3D RPG or something. Hopefully we\'ll see one for Gamecube that can actually be played. HAL has also made the Earthbound series though, but cancelled Mother 3, which is rumoured to be on the "waiting" list for Gamecube.
Nintendo (as a whole) is neither under-rated or over-rated in my books. The Legend of Zelda series for the N64 was a great transition from 2D to 3D, and I had a great time with both Ocarina of Time and Majora\'s Mask. Also, Super Mario 64 was anything but exceptional. And for those who think Nintendo doesn\'t make sports games, they actually do. Although they haven\'t made many, here\'s a few: 1080 Snowboarding, Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr., and Waverace.
Konami makes some great games, but aren\'t under-rated. Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania, and Goemon have all been solid releases and have been entertaining. Some new franchises would be welcome, and some great hits like Symphony of the Night should be re-visited.
SCEA or Sony... I\'m very dissapointed with what they\'ve offered so far. In terms of publishing, they\'ve released some good stuff, but in terms of developing... well. Legend of Dragoon was average in my books, as was Fantavision (which isn\'t as bad as everyone thinks it is). There\'s some promising titles coming out, but there\'s no guarantee they\'ll be good. The reviews for the highly-anticipated Dark Cloud were mediocre from Famitsu. We\'ll see as the year rolls by.
Rare\'s been getting lazy recently. They released top quality games at the beginning-to-middle of the N64s lifetime, but have now been bringing out sequels. There\'s no doubt that the sequels are amazing and greater (in some respects) to the originals, but we need some new gameplay experiences. Blast Corps, Banjo-Kazooie, Goldeneye, and... I guess, Killer Instinct Gold (although the SNES KI was a little better) have had great runs... now give us something else!
Capcom, Capcom, Capcom. Which also translates into Vs. Vs. Vs. You\'d think that Mega Man would be tired of fighting both Marvel and SNK by now, let alone his own adventures. And the zombies need to lie in their grave for a little longer before being re-visited for the eventual Resident Evil 7. They\'re all still great games, but something new has to come out. Once again, neither over-rated nor under-rated.
I\'d love to have time to talk about Namco, Acclaim, Game Arts, and the rest, but this is enough.
