In terms of fervent fan-bases, not many franchises can compete with Metal Gear Solid. Followers of Solid Snake seem to take it all very seriously - speak badly of Hideo Kojimas famed creation, and youre guaranteed to feel the full weight of an army of fanboys coming down on you. MGS has earned this level of passionate support though, and has been critically acclaimed as one of the most important and influential games of all time. Sneaky, shooty and very talky for its time, the stealth genre hadnt seen anything like this before, and gamers flocked to it in their millions. You might say that the story was rather disjointed and the cutscenes too overbearing, but that would just be silly we dont want to start a war now, do we?
12. Panzer Dragoon Saga - Sega Saturn (1998)
Even with a library of unique, delightful exclusives, the Saturn was never able to recover from its slow start against the PlayStation. There were a few games which turned up at the tail end of the Saturns life, though, that showed us that we had possibly been neglecting an amazing machine. Team Andromedas Panzer Dragoon Saga was a shimmering example of what Segas beleaguered 32-bit system was capable of. Technically Panzer Dragoon Saga pushed the console close to its limits. It was shorter than the core RPG franchise releases tended to be at the time, but it was just as compelling as the best of the genre. The depth of the dragon-based combat, the scope of the landscape to explore and the intricate tale woven throughout made this Saturn last gasp an unmissable RPG even today.
Game-obsessed since the moment I could twiddle both thumbs independently. Equally enthralled by all the genres of music that your parents warned you about.
