Top Ten Cases of First Game Syndrome 

If we reach $1000 for Extra Life this year, I will make my Discord server public! Donate here: www.extra-life.org/participant/TheQuarterGuy

To quote GameChamp3000, "Metroid on the Nintendo Entertainment System was programmed with duct tape".

QG: "The list of bugs and issues in gen 1 is SO long that you could make a CinemaSins video out of it" Charriii5: "You rang?"

And to think, Final Fight was going to be a Street Fighter game called Street Fighter '89, where the series could have become a beat'em up instead of an actual fighting game. And considering that Capcom only made games like Mega Man 2 and Street Fighter II in their free time, it was time well-spent.

17:56 QG vs. The Genwunners. FIGHT! Yeah... Gen 1 needs to be seen for what it is: ANCIENT AND OBSOLETE.

One thing you forgot to mention about Sonic the Hedgehog... There were only 6 Chaos Emeralds instead of the usual 7.

Another good video, QG. You're right, despite the fact that these series didn't have the best beginnings, it's good to see how the developers have learned from their past projects and used that knowledge to create even better games. Just goes to show: mistakes are the stepping stones of success - so long as you learn from them.

"Being a Pokemon fan is suffering." Freaking MOOD!

In your effort to make a pun on Psychic and Saiyan, you said the latter word in the original Japanese pronunciation. That is hilarious. Although these early games served as important means for their respective series to walk before they run, it's fun to think of what they *could* be with the benefit of hindsight and better technology.

I remember Touhou having some first game syndrome with it being more of an Arkanoid clone compared to the later on games that are the proper bullet hell games we know today.

About #7... from what I've heard, that one actually _was_ going to be an arcade game originally. The whole points thing was a relic of that.

For the longest time, I thought that Street Fighter started with 2 for some reason. It took me until years later for me to learn about the original Street Fighter in 1987. Yeah I can see why people more remember the second game.

Gotta love the extra jokes scrolling across the device on his shirt.

You know...looking back...you're totally right about Sonic. My first Sonic game was Sonic Adventure DX, which aged about as gracefully as cheese, but it's the kind that you just can't help but look at and shrug; it's not hurting anybody and at least it's not totally repulsive. In a way, the quality of Sonic games tends to swing like the pendulum of a grandfather clock; time will tell if Frontiers winds up being one of the best in the franchise, but with Ian Flynn being a major writer for the story, there is promise. :3

I knew Ratchet and Clank would be on here. Started the series with Up Your Arsenal, still the best game IMO, so I tried the first two games. Culture shocj

Metal Gear on the MSX is definitely a contender of First Game Syndrome, having to open the menu constantly and a number of other annoyances.

A very unique and very enjoyable list.

14:35 Especially since in the last area, Tourian, the only way to kill Metroids was to freeze them with the Ice Beam before blasting them with Missiles.

Dishonorable Mention: Hyperdimension Neptunia(PS3): It's gameplay and enemies were reused from Trinity Universe, the game's frame rate moves at 10 or 15 FPS and the random encounters are terrible. Future games would improve all of that and you're better off playing the remake Rebirth 1.

I'd love to see a variation on this list: top 10 "sophomore slumps" in games.

WOW! I knew Pokemon Gen 1 & Street Fighter 1 were gonna be on here (The latter I thought would be an obvious number 1 pick for good reason) but I didn't think Gen 1 would be as high as it is cause of the flack more recent Pokemon games have gotten.

the touhou project is a series of infamous bullet hell shmups. except for touhou 1 which was a breakout/arkanoid clone of all things instead of a shmup.

Mega Man is rough, but I have a soft spot for it, as my first.

not surprised to see Gen 1 so high on the list because HO BOY has it aged like milk in a Florida heat wave with how damn broken it is

21:25 The map took up half the screen because that is where the second player screen would be in two player mode. This reduced the jarring of going from a full screen to half a screen when you had a friend over. It also served as the "rear view" in single player. Just hit "X" on the controller.

My personal five choices: Metal Gear, Super Smash Bros., Resident Evil, Grand Theft Auto, And in a kinda twisted way, Team Fortress, The original Quake mod if you can count that.

I would've put the original Puyo Puyo (or OPP) on the list. Though not as bad a case as some of these other games, the fact that you couldn't offset meant that you had no incentive to get higher than a 5 chain.

Honorable Mention to Mario Party 1 for how broken some of the minigames were and how much the N64 control stick broke enough people's hands to warrant a lawsuit and Nintendo ridding all later Mario Parties of stick spinners... until they decided to bring Tug of War back for Superstars and keep the spinning intact instead of making it a masher.

There's a handful of games that could be included: 1. Gran Turismo: Almost all the cars are Japanese, with only 9 American cars and 6 British cars in the roster, there are no Single Race events other than Spot Race, only Championships, A GT Hi-Fi mode that runs on 60 FPS, only 3 Licenses to obtain (B, A, and IA), and no World Circuits or Dirt Courses. For the Western release, the Arcade Mode has different physics from Gran Turismo Mode, and the Soundtrack is completely different. 2. Galaxian: Plays rather simply compared to its much more memorable sequel, Galaga. There's no capturing, you can only shoot one missile at a time, and there's no challenging stages. 3. Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure: Only a select number of Skylanders can actually speak, with the rest making unintelligible gibberish or noises. Level cap at 10, A great amount of Glitches compared to its sequels, No Jumping, but swimming is possible for certain Skylanders, no side mini-game like Skystones, and has the most broken balancing for PvP battles.

Although number one is well deserved, playing Mega Man 1 nearly made me quit the whole series. Glad I didn't but jeeeeez

There’s one game I can think of that has a case of first game syndrome was Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red/Blue Rescue Team. Team management was awkward, having certain HM moves to access certain dungeons, balance issue like speed buff and multi-hit moves being insanely busted, and that god awful partner AI. It’s not as crazy as the main Gen 1 games but it is sure up there. It’s a good thing we have the DX version on the Switch

I was hoping to see Disgaea 1 since it had a lot of problems, but still, great list. Some games have to start somewhere, and this is proof of it.

Megaman Battle Network 1, you had some ideas but god you can feel the dread halfway though.....

I’m calling it: Mega Man Zero 1 is gonna be on this.

i am glad i returned after these years to watch your content

Awesome list! I agree with most of the entries which genuinely improved after their rocky start. Yet despite their aging, some games like DMC 1 and Ratchet 1 have aspects that I appreciate a lot compared to other games in their series (DMC 1's slightly darker tone and unique gothic aesthetic, and Ratchet 1's story and writing). One game in particular that I feel didn't age well was the first Fire Emblem game: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light for NES. Playing this after Three Houses just makes me feel grateful for how far this series has come, but it's especially rough today. Most of the characters didn't have strong personalities like in some of the later games (Jagen and Camus are cool tho), certain classes like Knights couldn't promote, the area your units can move isn't visible and most egregiously, healers couldn't gain experience through healing! You can only level up your healers by having them be attacked by enemies and praying that they miss (good luck keeping them alive). And unlike most of the entries on this list, there isn't really a good remake besides the Japanese-exclusive Fire Emblem 3 which had a slightly improved version of FE1 (Shadow Dragon is ok but not one of the better FE games). If SD were to get an Echoes-style remake (which is unlikely considering an FE4 remake is more anticipated by fans) I think it could reimagine the story and characters like what Echoes did for Gaiden. If Gen 1 Pokémon can get two different remakes in the span of 14 years, an Echoes-style FE1 doesn't sound too impossible.

Amazing as always QG!

Adam: Being a Pokemon fan is suffering. Mega Man fans(like me): That's cute.

Huge fan of extra life. I got diagnosed with ALL at 15, so I know what it’s like going through this shit no one pre-adulthood should have to go to. I’m cancer free now, but not without my physiology getting wrecked and giving me chronic illlnesses in the process. Pediatric cancer’s a bitch, and getting out without any long lasting consitions (and that’s not including potential survivor guilt, as we see our fellow survivors fail to make it out alive). We all appreciate the support you and organizations like Extra Life give us every day.

8. The reboot thankfully fixed these issues. 7. And in Megaman Powered Up, we got 2 more robot masters to meet the 8 robot master quota. Time Man and Oil Man, on the other hand, this also meant that the weaknesses got reshuffled. 6. This is something that plagues all the Uncharted Games, as well as The Last of Us and it's sequel: Lock-on AI. Enemies can aim and shoot at your EXACT LOCATION, even though solid objects regardless of distance as if they have both Lock-on AND X-ray vision! And their aim is also REALLY STICKY, meaning trying to shake their aim is futile. And even the villains got better in later games and were more fleshed out. Take for instance Harry Flynn in Uncharted 2 or Rafe Adler and Nadine Ross in Uncharted 4.

Man, the 1st Street Fighter. I remember playing this on the 30th Anniversary Collection. I was moving my analog stick like a nutcase while mashing the punch button in the hopes of executing a Hadouken or a Shouryuken. Still can't believe I managed to beat it. 😆

Psychic types definitely were insane in gen 1. Though, I also have to give a shout out to how overpowered normal types were prior to gen 3.

When it comes down to Ratchet & Clank for me personally; I've always felt alone on this when I feel that going down the route it did in terms of Gameplay in sequels has always felt like a downgrade in a lot of ways. Like the 1st game felt more like a platformer with some puzzle like weapons combat whilst the sequels were all basically third person shooters with some platforming here and there the way I've seen it. Running in guns a blazing was clearly never the best approach to take in the 1st game thanks to the lack of strafing but it sort of played into how you'd need to strategize and think of what approach to take and what weapons to invest in and use (which also meant the bolt scarcity was less of an issue unless you wanted to invest in the RYNO) unlike in the sequels where the combat has been intensified with strafing in mind, making it less about strategy and more about gunplay. Whilst upgrading weapons does indeed sound like a great evolution to the gunplay, incentivising players to make use of all weapons without committing to any favourites, it also means there's less room to be strategic about what weapon to use at any given time, you'll just struggle a lot using the worst weapon choice for the wrong situation, just because you want to level it up at all costs, which I guess doesn't really matter much when the weapons themselves have all started to become homogenous with the new controls with one or two acceptations. Keep in mind, this ain't much of a debate as to what exactly is the better approach in Gameplay, fans have already taken a liking to how the sequels tackle this approach as shown by how far the series has gone. I do think however it is worth highlighting that because of the sequels focusing more on gunplay that we never really see the more puzzle like weapons combat of the 1st game improve or expanded upon much, I wouldn't consider it flawless, there's room for improvements but for the most part, we never really see any of it in the games that come after 1. There are a lot of games like Ratchet 2, but not a lot of games like Ratchet 1. Overall; one approach isn't necessarily worse than the other, it's basically all up to you on what way you want the series to be. On a personal note though; I genuinely wasn't really feeling it by the time Rift Apart came out. After playing it, I got the feeling that everything was streamlined and consumable. But even with how much the combat has improved, even in a few large ways, it was starting to become mind numbing after several enemy encounters, it kind of showed off how much of an interest in the Gameplay I've lost since the 1st game. Only other game I feel like I did genuinely like the combat a lot in was Gladiators but that's simply because the game was more so made with the heavy focus on combat in mind and actually opts to be honest about the Gameplay by having little to no platforming involved, in addition to a lot of tweaks that were made in that game with the combat in mind.

The aesop is that Capcom needs two tries when creating a new serie.

I’ve thought of more cases of FGS. Time Crisis: compared to the sequels, you don’t get any flashing warnings for those kill shots. Also, you actually get a game over when you run out of time in the original, whereas in later games you merely lose a life. Also, it was purely single-player which I feel was only to justify protagonist Richard Miller as a “one-man army”, whereas Time Crisis 2 onward was made to have co-op available. And then beginning in Time Crisis 3, we get multiple weapon options. Onimusha: similar case to Devil May Cry, with the fixed camera angles and everything. It wouldn’t be until Oni 2 that things would begin to really pick up. Mario Party: Oh gods above, the original Mario Party is BRUTAL. Especially with the rotation mini-games. That, and there’s all the gimmicks that wouldn’t be introduced until MP2. Spyro the Dragon: Yes, even Spyro 1 has some noticeable issues that would be addressed in sequels. Basically, a similar case to Crash Bandicoot. Persona: Oh man… the original PS1 game did NOT age well AT ALL. It had issues that were somewhat mitigated by the PSP remake. And of course we have the Persona 2 duology. And then starting with Persona 3, we’d have the traditional slice-of-life formula that the rest of the series would follow.

I don't think there's any actual crunch with Pokemon. Apparently the team's split up to have one side work on remakes, the other on mainline games, and a 3rd for DLC content. Each game also takes about 3 years of development time, interestingly enough.

Nice picks. Don’t worry no spoilers. My honourable mentions (which I am not criticising them, I like a lot, if not all, of these games) go to: Jak and Daxter (in that it was more closer to super Mario 64 than GTA with platforming) Dynasty Warriors 1 (though this is more of a mistranslation as DW 2 was supposed to be a spin-off….. the irony of that now is hilarious 😂 anyway dw1 fighter similar to Soul Calibur, DW2 strategy hack and slash) Dead or alive 1 (initially looked very similar to tekken 1 or virtua fighter, and DOA2 revving up the gameplay more like the later titles) Soul blade (it had a very weird disarming system that isn’t in any of the other games.) Trauma Centre: Under the Knife (original had a mistake counter not present in future games) Phoenix Wright: Ace attorney (compared to other games, the investigation is very barebones and, while not as bad in the original cases 1-4, the 3 day system kinda makes some cases drag on.) Saints row 1. (Lack of checkpoints in missions, main character is mostly mute and strictly male, can only save at your house, lack of fine aiming due to your character shooting Gangsta and story being more grounded like GTA instead of the wackiness of later games… though some fans prefer this)

A few predictions from me: Mega Man and/or Mega Man Zero Metroid (and how!) Shantae Mortal Kombat

More personal examples: Fire Emblem, Lego Star Wars: The Video Game (pretty much for the entire Lego series), Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, Red Dead Revolver.

One more Honorable Mention. Twisted Metal.

We don't talk about Street Fighter 1. Though to be fair, the fact it was included as a prop in IT: Chapter One is genuinely remarkable considering how the more refined 2 has vastly overshadowed it.

I just thought of one: Kirby's Dream Land 1 No copy abilities, easy bosses, and a whole long play of the game takes less than half an hour.

I’m surprised monster hunter wasn’t on here, or even in the honourable mentions, considering how big of a fan of the series you are.

7:09 I don't even blame you. I love the Mega Man franchise too. 13:26 👍 17:53 👍 19:46 The Psychic Type was UNBELIEVABLY broken.

Honorable Mentions Super Mario Kart: The tracks were simplistic, the controls pretty loose, and following 64, it was pretty confusing to see the item boxes on the floor instead of them floating around. And if I remember correctly, the item boxes didn't respawn so people falling behind would be screwed over. And the aforementioned N64 sequel fixed all that and would maintain these improvements throughout the series. But if you ask me, I think I'd be glad with an MK game that just had remakes of the N64 stages, given how I love it so much. Tony Hawk Pro Skater: It lacked the trademark moves one would commonly associate with skateboarding, including manual, as featured in later games, which also had more variety in the presentation. As innovative as it was, the wild side of skating games could be found in subsequent games. Including its remake alongside Pro Skater 2! Wasn't nearly as bad as Pro Skater 5 though. Resident Evil: "That was a close one. You were almost a Jill Sandwich!" Heh, need I say more? Then again, the voice acting is one of the more legendary parts of the first game. But you gotta admit, the atmosphere, controls, characters, and monster designs the series became known for were still to come. Kingdom Hearts: Really slow combat compared to 2 and 3. Strangely made the bosses harder than they probably would be in those games. The story hasn't aged a day, though, they've always been silly. Jet Set Radio: God, do I miss this series... I guess it kinda doesn't count since they only made two games, but it's still really worth noting. If you aren't a fan of the original's time limit, lack of control variety and lack of combat, you'll be pleased to know that Future took all that into consideration. Its world is a lot more explorable this time around, being an open world game where one can spray around at their own pace. Graffiti QTEs are replaced with swift spraying, wall riding and rail combos, and best of all, you can knock down policemen! The original game still had unique things to offer, but if you gotta pick one, I recommend Future more. Again, sad to see it die off so quick. Spyro: Like Insomniac's more modern classic, the first game was still pretty good, but it was limited in comparison. Weaker voice acting, the NPC variety was found more in the later games, and the bosses didn't even fight you. It was once you got to Avalar where things got really good. The Reignited version gave the dragons more visual personality and beautiful remakes of the realms. By the way, the Japanese version was 10 times worse, so it's even more of first game syndrome over there. God of War: People know God of War these days for the arc Kratos goes through in overcoming his past. I wouldn't blame him for wanting to forget those awkward temple puzzles and annoying final boss.

Im rewatching this and honestly im amazed kirby didnt show up

My two biggest picks that aren't on this list are Megaman Zero and the first 3D Ninja Gaiden

Gotta admit. With Stranger of Paradise now out, it's good to see Final Fantasy get a mention on this list. :)

The way I see it no matter where a franchise gets its start it's always important to know where they come from and how important of an impact they have. After all, there's always room for improvement with sequels especially the number twos for the most part.

For me, if there's one game that comes to my mind when I think first game Syndrome, it's Time Crisis 1.

Fun Fact: Before Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, there were three IPs that took advantage when creating the computer role-playing game experience when it comes to pulling cues form Dungeons & Dragons as well! You got Interplay with Bard's Tale, Sirtech with Wizardry and Origin Systems with Ultima! When Enix looked at those games, then they allowed Yuji Horii to make Dragon Quest while Squaresoft let Hironobu Sakaguchi to create Final Fantasy and save Square from going bankrupt! :D

Another big example of first game syndrome: Guilty Gear. I havent played it personally, but i have heard HORROR STORIES about Guilty Gear 1. The biggest example requires but 2 sentences. 1: When you get down to half health, you get infinite meter. 2: Destroyed moves were usable in round 1 and WON YOU THE GAME. also, they are INCREDIBLY SPAMMABLE. also do i need to mention Kliff and Justice? I don't think so.

One game series I would add to the list would be Hitman. I know most are familiar with the 2016 games, but Hitman did have 5 games beforehand, and the first one called Hitman: Codename 47 while received fine enough, did suffer from bad controls and difficulty where even its easy setting is pretty hard. Thankfully by the second game, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, the problems were more ironed out and the rest is history.

Terrible joke for the Mega Man 1 entry: makes you wonder if Proto Man was going to be the title and main character.

Wonder if MegaMan 1 will be on here?

Im working on a list of the opposite topic. Top 10 First Games and 2 of the games happened to be here including my #1. It gets me to wonder if a first game can still be great despite the syndrome. Honestly I just find a certain charm in these games despite their age.

Its a miracle how far Tekken has come since the first game was even in development, considering how it had a nightmarish cycle and how awful the game itself was from every aspect that wasn't visuals (for the time). Tekken 8 is looking pretty damn cool as well

I hope you're planning to talk about the Capcom fighting games making a return in June for your next QG at the Arcade episode.

What I Also Believe To Have First Game Syndrome Is The First Burnout Game... Because The Series Was Inspired By Other Arcade Games Like Konami's Thrill Drive, Sega's Crazy Taxi And... An Arcade Emergency Ambulance Game With I Have Seen In The Internet, SOMEHOW. The 1st Burnout Game Is Also The Most Difficult In The Series, Because Of... THE CONTROLS. They Are Very Clunky, And The 1st Burnout Game Did Have An Checkpoint Time Limit System, And How Much Damage In Cost You Did When You Crash Into Other Cars, And Because Of The 1st Burnout Game's Clunky Controls, You Will Accidently Crash... ALOT. I Have Played Burnout 3 Takedown (Which Is One Of My Favorite Racing Games Of All Time) And To See How Well And Improved The Burnout Series Had Become... I Do Think That The 1st Burnout Game Does Have Its First Game Syndrome.

Metroid is my favorite game series, and I completely agree with you on the original Metroid.

I'm not saying it should be on the list but Kid Icarus should have been mentioned.

Another example I could give is Ys 1 (and 2). Bump combat has a charm to it but the later games just feel better to play.

Ratchet & Clank 1. Not only do your weapons not upgrade at all, but your health doesn't upgrade from killing enemies either; instead you're stuck with a measly four hits or so for the entire game, making the game far more frustrating and archaic-feeling than 2 and 3.

I gotta bring up Spyro the Dragon. Graphics, while good at the time, did not age well (the water looked like toothpaste for gnorc’s sake), platforming was awkward at times, the flying in flight levels were stiff, and the boss battles were underwhelming as hell. But the gameplay was solid enough, the graphics were nice and bright, and thank you Stewart Copeland for the music.

Dishonorable Mention: Mortal Kombat 1. _Sad, but true._ 😞

4:56 Who's here after Sonic Origins? ;-D

I must admit, I was expecting Mega Man Zero 1 on this list, but I can understand why not

HyperDimension Neptunia also had a case of First game syndrome They had guns as a mechanic originally (Which also was the only way to do Element Damage ) but then not only did they not have them in Mk2 but they completely Retconned the Story of Mk1 so it's not even Canon Even the remake Rebirth;1 isn't canon

There is a game I think had this type of thing Fallout because of the Perspective used in the first game which was used in the second game too Than right when Fallout 3 was made was the time the Perspective turned to First Person and Third person over the shoulder if you wanted Way easier to look your Enemy in the eye before putting a bullet through their Wastelander Skulls haha

The PSP version of number 3 even has all of the GBA port's bonus dungeons and an exclusive boss called Chronodia

Etrian Odyssey. Even though Etrian Odyssey is my favorite video game series, the first game was REALLY rough around the edges. It was BEYOND unbalanced. The remake polished the first game a LOT, thank the Abyssal God.

Gen 1 is SOO broken some mad lass beat the whole game WITHOUT. TAKING. DAMAGE

Some sonic fan with a user name of elderin who talks about concept art for sonic games said he not only likes labryth zone but it's his favorite if you can believe that

You didn’t mention shinnies, breeding or gender of your Pokémon, which didn’t get introduced until Generation 2.

For the #2 Segment, it also didn't help that the Fighting-Type used to be on par with BUG for the worst type in Gen 1. Ice-Types were rare, Rock-Types were Tanks, Dark and Steel didn't exist yet, ergo Fighting-Types only had THREE purposes, those being HM Slavery, Pokedex fodder and Giovanni's Kangaskhan. And even then, Fighting-Types had barely any STAB besides Submission, Jump Kick and High Jump Kick (which were VERY risky moves) and sending out a Fighting-Type against a Normal-Type is pretty much pointless considering the Rock-Type takes neutral damage against Normal-Type moves and a good handful of Rock-Type Pokemon, like Golem and Rhydon, can learn the previously-mentioned Submission. Oh, and Karate Chop was a NORMAL-Type move at the time. Yeah, the Fighting-Type was done DIRTY. Also, I did a Nuzlocke on Blue a few weeks back and somehow got through with FOUR deaths, less than I would've thought. (Sorry if this comment is so long)

We've all got to start from somewhere, no one said it was going to be a graceful start though. That said, here's some honorable mentions of my own. • Kirby's Dream Land. Pretty much the most bare bones you'll get from the series as it lacks Kirby's signature copy abilities and the game is pretty much beatable in an hour. Great for when you need to use the toilet if you're tired of playing Super Mario Land for the umpteenth time. Also has a psuedo remake on 3DS via Kirby's Blowout Blast which is technically a test for how Kirby would work in 3D. • Touhou Reiiden (Wondrous Tale) ~ The Highly Responsive to Prayers. Instead of the usual bullethell gameplay we're all used to we have a Arkanoid/Breakout clone theme'd after various old Japanese mythology where a young girl named Reimu Hakurei pretty much flings a yin-yang orb like it's a toy. Also, one of the few Arkanoid/Breakout clones where you need to avoid and repel the ball *manually* or else Reimu gets crushed by her own weapon. • HyperDimension Neptunia (PS3). It's a far departure from what later entries would bring to the table and it shows. Also, for some bizarre reason you could rename each of the recruitable CPUs even though they already had pre-determined names which I'm glad was scrapped. My guess is that it was either probably a leftover from when the game wasn't going to be a parody of the console war that the devs forgot to remove or maybe it was to make the experience more memorable. Either way, like I said the idea was scrapped immediately when Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 was released. • Puyo Puyo. The original game didn't have many features that would eventually become staples of the series which meant you or your opponent just needed a good chain of Puyos and that's it. No tense back and forth hoping that your chain of Puyos is superior to your opponent's. • Mario Party. Pretty infamous for its minigames that required rotating the control stick and being slow in general. Also one of the few times where Nintendo got hit with so many lawsuits that resulted in them not only paying for the legal fees but also giving out gloves to each of the injured players. Would explain why it hasn't been re-released in any capacity until a few months ago via the Nintendo Switch Online service.

22:08 Seven foot frame, rats along his back!

Crash Bandicoot 1: N'Sane Trilogy really makes the first game feel like a relic Trails of Cold Steel 1: Falcom may not be the most graphically powerful studio, considering it's very small compared to Square Enix, Atlus and Bandai Namco, but the first Cold Steel's transition to 3D was very rough. You're stuck in a military high school, which feels more like you're playing a Persona game, you had to go back to the Old Schoolhouse to advance the story, yeah. While the stiff, puppet like animation may turn some gamers off, you can get a really interesting story and world building if you put in the time. Yakuza 1 You're better off playing Kiwami if you wanna experience the story of Yakuza 1, especially with how the dub in the first game was handled. Thankfully Judgment, 14 years later, rectified that issue Kingdom Hearts 1: Play the HD Remaster, because the PS2 has Unskippable cutscenes Spyro The Dragon: Slippery charging, and no hovering Gauntlet: Shooting your food, which you need for health, and aforementioned health depleting Prince of Persia: Sands of Time: Platforming's fun, but the combat could've been fine tuned Pokemon Gen 1 Same as Kiwami: FireRed and LeafGreen WarCraft 1: Orcs and Humans. Only 4 units at max, Your only resources were gold and lumber, and the two races played exactly the same, now WarCraft 2 gives you a total of 9 units to control at once, and you have access to oil for ships, the races still felt very samey. It wasn't until Warcraft 3 where every one of the races felt more unique and different, and you had access to two new races. Undead, and Night Elves.

Bestiary, full of beasts, so call it a Beastiary!!!

Yeah SF1 is in as I thought, and oh boi is it so high up there. Make me wonder why they don't do a remake yet, you know, finally make it GOOD?

I had a feeling it would be Street Fighter original, Max did NOT have a good time with this one

It also didn't help in Final Fantasy 1 that a lot of the buff and debuff spells just straight-up didn't work at all.

Only other game I would think that would be an honorable mention is Megaman Zero. Unlocking the different moves are a huge chore, the cyber elves destroy your rank which includes using sub tanks and that final boss’ second phase is hell incarnate. It’s still a good game but whenever I think of first game syndrome, Megaman Zero always comes to mind. Thank goddess they got better

say what you will about Labyrinth Zone QG, but I enjoy the music for it, despite how horrid the stage itself is

Fun fact: Final Fight is or at least was a sequel to Street Fighter, and was even going to be called Street Fighter '89, until they realized the game was literally nothing like Street Fighter.

To address one of the honorable mentions: Mass Effect is pretty awkward in that if you don't play it, your playthroughs of 2 and 3 will be unfinishable. You won't have saved the Rachni Queen, you won't have the option of romantically reconciling with Liara, and you'll have to put up with Wreav without Wrex to keep him in line. So as rough as Mass Effect 1 is, it's still an experience worth playing if you want a full experience as Commander Shepard despite the roving tank without a map to find important stuff. The trilogy is meant to be played in full pretty much every time so you may wish to get it in bulk, or the legendary collection or whatever it is called.

Personal honorable mention ; Yo Kai Watch 1. I dunno if I'm the only one who suffered this problem, but Yo Kai Watch 1 has a HUGE DIFFICULTY SPIKE. Unless you overlevel, Sproink's battle can be an absolute pain in the ass. Also the post game, well, ok, I'm not saying it's not massive, but in comparison to the later entries in the franchise, it's a butterfly in comparison. Noticeable, but still pretty tiny. Also unlike later entries that build up the main villain, the villain of the first game, Chairman McKraken, just shows up out of nowhere, right after defeating Dr. Maddiman. I mean I guess you could make the argument that the evil Yo Kai running amok are considered build up for McKraken, but considering they never reference him or even utter his name out loud, how the hell are you supposed to know that? It's not as bad as my younger self makes it up to be, but even after redemption via replay, it's still a bit flawed.

Honorable Mention: Spyro the Dragon 1: The Revolutionary 3D Platformer that not only had pretty good draw distance, but for introducing the mechanics of Gliding, Speeding and much more. Also making Collecting gems and collectables Seamlessly Rather than kicking you out unlike Super mario 64. While 2 and 3 did improve on not only introducing other side quests/ Missions and gameplay styles. Sometimes it can be better to start off simple.

I'd personally give an honorable mention to the Original Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga. It still holds up decently, mind you, but there were quite a few quirks that make it feel weird to play in a marathon or to revisit, like the start button swapping the bro in front, with the SELECT button being to pause. Also, the game is REALLY unbalanced, with Chopper Bros and Mush Badges insta-killing almost everything imaginable, and a few off-model sprites for mainstay characters (LOOKING AT YOU, BOWSER!) These wouldn't be as glaring though, if the Original Mario RPG and Paper Mario didn't hold up as well as later installments, but they did, which makes Superstar Saga's quirks look even MORE baffling. Thankfully, the remake fixes all of the first game syndrome of the original, which makes it the definitive version for me personally.

How come I knew Street Fighter (1) would make the top spot? Even before watching the whole video through?