411 Games Top 5 12.24.09: Week 43 - Our Favorite Gift Memories

Posted by Todd Vote on 12.24.2009

This week the games staff gets in the Holiday spirit to share with you our most memorable gaming related gifts. Hear about when Adam Larck got his Sega Saturn, or maybe when Lee Price finally secured that Dreamcast. It's all inside.

Alright kids, welcome back to a Holiday edition of The Top 5. But first things first, let's get into some feedback.


Comment Time with Toddo!

No love for Blades of Steel on the NES?
Posted By: Cory (Guest) on December 16, 2009 at 11:36 PM

Good call, I can't believe the original Hockey slugfest was left off of my list. Well played Cory.

Not a single mention of Sub Zero from Mortal Kombat?
EPIC FAIL!
Posted By: natedoggcata (Guest) on December 17, 2009 at 12:37 AM

Not really. But thanks for pointing out a great icy character. The article was about Icy levels, not ice oriented characters. Looking back, I maybe should have opened it up to include ice oriented characters, but I didn't so no FAIL here.

Damn, no mention for MGS?

tsk tsk
Posted By: Empire411 (Registered) on December 17, 2009 at 12:47 AM

I did mention it in the closing of last week's edition. It didn't make my list because I am not a fan of MGS, and that's just the way it is, but I can't be responsible for what the other writers have on their lists.

Not one mention of Shadow Moses. I'm amazed you consider yourself gamers. Sigh.
Posted By: Bimmy (Guest) on December 17, 2009 at 05:00 AM

Really? Do we have to go over this again? The lists are our favorites. There is no fail in any of the lists. I've said time and time again that things will be left off, and others will not. Just because it is your favorite doesn't mean it has to be mine, or even on my radar.

no ice climbers? epic failz!
Posted By: Joe (Guest) on December 17, 2009 at 04:09 AM

No love for Ice Climber? I shed an 8 bit tear.
Posted By: AVD (Guest) on December 17, 2009 at 05:02 AM

I didn't mean to make you cry AVD, but while the name Ice Climbers is ringing a bell, I cannot for the life of me remember it.

So if you "get why people like RPGs" maybe you get why people get so pissed when writers on this site bash them?

We have had VERY FEW good RPGs this generation, and yet everyone keeps saying they've been done to death (because of how overexposed they were LAST generation).

Perhaps the powers that be should try putting 1 pro-RPG column on this site (would it take THAT much effort to do that? I doubt it), at least then we could get our fix and all us RPG fans could get our RPG news in one place instead of flooding B3yond the Report's comment section with "We need to know more about FFXIII".

We're an underrepresented fan base (this generation), and we don't really care to take crap from FPS lovers on top of it.
Posted By: Guest#4705 (Guest) on December 17, 2009 at 10:46 AM

@ Guest#4705

Seriously dude, take a chill pill my friend. There are RPG lovers on this site, hell if you look at my list I have a town from Tales of Symphonia listed.

The problem with your suggestion of an RPG specific column is that it is a little bit too much of a niche genre in this day and age, perhaps seen as outdated in some respects. If this was 5 or 10 years ago then an RPG column would be perfect due to the amount of quality titles about, but like you say yourself there aren't that many great RPGs about these days, especially not JRPGs.

As for the RPG "hate" on the site. Seriously dude take Toddo's comments with a pinch of salt, its only opinion at the end of the day.
Posted By: Lee Price (Registered) on December 17, 2009 at 04:11 PM

Look 4705, I understand the love for RPG's, but that doesn't mean I have to understand how so many people can get pissed off about one guy not liking them. The things I say are to be taken with a grain of salt, if I found an RPG that could hold my attention for 100+ hours, I would be in heaven, and would have no problem admitting that I was wrong about the genre. My hatred of said RPG's has never influenced the content of this column one bit. In fact, of you look here, you will see an entire edition of the Top 5 dedicated to the genre, including a list from me of the ones I have played and gotten some joy out of.

If my feelings on RPG's are really that big of a problem, I will tone it back a bit. I'm not here to piss you guys off, I am here to have a little fun and provide you guys with what I hope is a fun read each week. Take care of yourself 4705, and enjoy your RPG's, even though you might be the only person playing them. (Okay, last shot, I promise.) Lastly, if people aren't talking shit about FPS titles, there is a problem. I like them, but they are about as 1 dimensional as they come, so feel free to flip me shit about anything that I enjoy gaming wise, it's not a problem.

LISTS!!

Good list all around, but here are some that I personally loved.
- Ice Dungeons in Legend of Zelda Games, especially Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess. Always fun and challenging dungeons.
- Gorilla Glacier from Donkey Kong Country and K8 from DKC3. Riding in a toboggan and jumping on lemguins never gets old.
- Ice Levels in Mega Man Games, especially the bosses. Ice Man? Chill Penguin?
Posted By: Who Needs Personality? (Registered) on December 17, 2009 at 02:43 PM

World 6 in Mario 3, World 4 in Mario 2
Posted By: dogpound7382 (Guest) on December 17, 2009 at 12:05 PM

Castle Crashers- Snow levels
Cool Borders 2 - Trick park
Mega Man 1 - Ice man level
Posted By: DH (Guest) on December 17, 2009 at 10:47 AM

HM-Alaska MGS(yeah you did forget)
5. Tibet- Uncharted 2
4. Hoth- Star Wars(Bring down those AT-AT's)
3. Cool Cool Mountain-Super Mario 64
2. Ice Temple-Various Zelda games
1. Kamui/Wep'keer-Okami(this game is just plain beautiful)
Posted By: Ben Jamin' (Guest) on December 17, 2009 at 10:04 AM

Honourable Mention: Clayfighter's Bad Mr. Frosty made Snowmen cool again...
5. Secret of Mana - Square at its height on the SNES has a demented stage later in the game in which you save Santa Claus...
4. Super Mario Bros 3 - Yeah, MB2 first introduced the required snow stage, but Mario 3 made it fun.
3. TMNT2 - A cold stroll in the park.
2. Earthbound - Having walked through simple city scapes, the sudden switch to Winter is a drastic change, but playful music make it one of the more pleasant scenes in the game.
1. SNOW Brothers - Capcom's finest hour
Posted By: Bill21GigaWatts (Guest) on December 17, 2009 at 12:44 AM

1.Alaska-MGS(so awesome you revisit it in 4)
2.Tibet-Uncharted 2
3.Modern Warfare 2
4.Polar-Crash Team Racing
5.Lost Planet
Posted By: The Genocide (Guest) on December 17, 2009 at 12:15 AM

Interesting theme. You guys should do fire and water based levels lists at some poiont too.
Anyways, just had to do my personal list, most of which were not mentioned by you guys.
Honorable mention:
Donkey Kong Ice Caverns (Man what great music there too!)

5) Golden Eye (Surface levels)
4) Any ice world in Mario (especially the icy caverns in World)
3) Secret of Mana santa claus sequence
2) Blades of Steel (why not? you did have ssx on your list)
1) Metal Gear Solid
Posted By: AG Awesome (Registered) on December 17, 2009 at 07:00 AM

Thanks AG, and also thanks for the future subject ideas. Those are always appreciated. What do you say we get on with the show.


This column is approved by Christina Hendricks


Welcome one and all to a Holiday Top 5. This week, the games staff and friends will bring to you our most memorable gaming gifts. Now the lists can include gifts you have given or received all year round, not just the holiday season. So sit back, grab some eggnog, and reminisce with us. We hope you enjoy our lists and that they bring up some fond memories of your own to share with us in the comments section. Enjoy

Up first once again is the first of three now regular fixtures for the Top 5 Adam Larck, the contract is in the mail Adam.

Adam LarckHONORABLE MENTIONS

Final Fantasy VII/Final Fantasy VIII -I put these together because they were both great RPG gifts that ended up taking six months of my life away after getting each one.

5.Sega Saturn - While the Saturn may have proved the loser in the race against the PlayStation and Nintendo 64, I still had a great time with it. I got Sonic Jam with it and ended up getting a substantial amount of games eventually to play on it as well. I had a lot of fun with this system for the short time it was still in production before the Dreamcast took over.

4.Rock Band - I originally just wanted this game for something different from Guitar Hero. However, this ended up being used a lot not only by me, but my friends and family as well. It still gets a lot of use today whenever I'm in the mood for a bit of plastic guitar playing.



3.PlayStation 2 - This present ended up being my most played system for quite a while. While the original games I got were an interested variety (FantaVision, Oni, etc.), it became my main system for RPGs quickly. I still go back and try some RPGs I never picked up at the time when I feel like it.

2.Super Nintendo - The second console I owned, the Super NES was a lot of fun to play throughout the years. Whether it was jumping around in Mario or watching the hours fly by in Earthbound, I always had something to play. I just recent got this system and my No. 1 pick back from family members and have been putting some time in on Super Mario World and Kirby All Stars. It's been a lot of fun.

1.Nintendo - My first console ever came with two games. The Mario/Duck Hunt compilation and Tetris, which would go on to become one of my most played games ever. It was also the system that my family would like to play with me. We would always try to top each other in Tetris or go through Mario. This is still my favorite gift ever and I'm glad I finally got it back in my possession.

Up next we have the second man who has agreed to become a regular fixture here in the Top 5, well officially, he's always participated, Lee Price. Check out Lee's latest Retronomicon for a bit of that old Genesis classic Comix Zone.

Lee PriceHONORABLE MENTIONS

The Gamecube - Resident Evil Remake. That is all. I swear I creamed myself for that.

5.The PS2 - This was a gift from me rather than for. My buddy's long lasting and loyal PS2 finally conked out and died on him last year. He'd had the thing since release and we were amazed that it had lasted so long. Hell he got through three 360's before his release day PS2 died. So I figured I'd get him a slimline to replace his beloved console. Granted the only thing he plays on it is Yakuza 2 and a couple of other late release PS2 games. But its the thought that counts right?

4.The SEGA Dreamcast - My SEGA fanboyism may be apparent to anybody here once they read the rest of my top 5. The Dreamcast was the first time I was truly blown away by a console. I was at an age where I could actually appreciate the advances in technology from 32 Bit to 128 Bit. Let me just say I almost soiled myself seeing Sonic Advance in action for the first time. Ah 3D Sonic, you promised so much in those early days.



3.The SEGA Saturn - Outside of the Megadrive, I have never wanted a console so much as this. It wasn't until much later that I came to release how truly stupendous the Saturn was, but as a kid I couldn't help but be disappointed seeing as I had no way of knowing that Panzer Dragoon was the superior game to Actua Club Soccer. Still opening this was a happy Christmas during a tumultuous time.

2.The SEGA Megadrive - This was one of the few Christmases where I got what I always wanted. I imagine my reaction to opening this was something akin to the N64 Kid, and I couldn't wait to bust out Sonic 2, Robocod or the Mega Games Collection 2. You couldn't drag me off this thing for love nor money when I first got it, so much so that my parents got me a little TV all to myself just so I'd stop bugging them to let me play. I proceeded to wreck said TV by leaving a game of Sonic on pause for about 6 hours with the screen still on, but still. I love the Megadrive.

1.The Atari 2600 - This isn't even close to being my favorite console of all time. Hell I had plenty of better consoles in subsequent years. However at the age of 5 or 6 I began begging my parents for a Megadrive for Christmas after playing one at a friend's house. This is what I got. And I strangely wasn't disappointed. Instead I played this bad boy until the cable literally gave way. It helped me convince mummy and daddy that this whole gaming thing wasn't a fad so they got me the Megadrive the next year. I owe my massive gaming addiction to this little console.

Here we go with our final permanent fixture. In case you haven't figured it out by now, Drew, along with Adam and Lee have agreed to be permanent Top 5 guys so we never again have to worry about having a lack of lists, well provided they do not have more pressing matters to attend to anyways. For that I thank you all. I greatly appreciate you guys becoming part of the crew.

Drew RobbinsHONORABLE MENTIONS

Gameboy Advance - Looking back on the Gameboy Advance I'm not overly fond on the game experiences I had with it, but thinking about the Christmas when I unwrapped it always brings a smile to my face. Of course, it also makes my eyes hurt, because I also recall the excessive straining I had to do just to see the game on screen.

Mario Party - The Mario Party name has been tainted over the years, and for the most part everyone seems to hate it. I am not one of these people, because there is no party like a Mario Party. So many memories made with this one - and they continue to be made, yeah, I'm still playing the old N64 Mario Party games. Because I'm cool like that.

5.Banjo-Kazooie - One thing that has never changed about me and my gaming tastes is that I'm stubborn and usually don't stray too far from my comfort zone. I'm very fine with playing the same games in the same franchise for years, but sometimes a random gift given will suddenly expand my horizons. Banjo-Kazooie was a surprise gift, and a great gift as well. It opened my eyes to the joys that can be had in 3D platformers, and also taught me a very valuable lesson: nobody likes Bottles the Mole.



4.Rock Band 2 - A fairly recent entry, but as stated last week I have no qualms with putting such things on my list. Let's be clear, I'm talking about the Wii version of Rock Band 2. When I received the original Rock Band, it was in the dark period where my 360 was dead and the PS3 had yet to appear in my house. Never would I have expected to still be not only playing Rock Band 2, but actively following it each week in excitement for the new downloadable songs on offer. Outside of WoW, which I refuse to count, this is the game I've easily spent the most money on. And it was worth every penny.

3.Elite Beat Agents - The Christmas of 2006 was, for me, focused on one thing. Opening up a brand new Nintendo Wii so I could hack and slash through the latest Zelda. What I didn't quite expect was that the Wii wasn't even my favorite gift that holiday season. That honor belonged to a little game known as Elite Beat Agents. Like a lot of games/systems I'm going to list, Elite Beat Agents is still a game that I play to this day. I'm prepping for a road trip this week, and even after three years of completing it, I still plan on playing EBA for the duration of the trip. EBA also holds the honor of being the only rhythm game to induce manly tears, trust me, just play through the game's Christmas level. If you aren't crying by the end you have no soul.

2.Kirby Superstar - I'd be remiss to leave out a game that had such a hold over my early years. Living in the middle of Nowhere, Arkansas at the time, I was constantly participating in a Little League baseball program. After every game, my father would take me to some worn down old rental hut (which I recently found out is now just a tanning salon - how tragic) and pick out an SNES or Genesis game. More often than not, I'd leave with the same one, Kirby Superstar on the Super Nintendo. Unfortunately, this was the middle of nowhere, and I could very rarely find the game for sale in a store. My waiting came to an end that Christmas when I got my gift from, *ahem* Santa Claus, and found Kirby. I'm sure that Derek has a different version of this story, but I think the result of this gift was me running and jumping around the living room as if I had just won the world title.

1.Nintendo Gamecube - This isn't a Christmas gift, but I'm pretty sure this list is just about any gift, and no gift represents my later childhood years like the Gamecube. These days I don't hold up a fanboy flag, but in olden times I was a diehard Cube defender. And why not? It was my first system that I could call my own, and I still maintain that it kicked ass. Just last week, in a tragic occurrence, I was forced to throw away my little Gamecube. Several years I had spent with that machine, it was there for me during my pitiful adolescence and the horrors of middle school, and now it is just in the garbage. Good night, sweet prince.

Of course having regular contributors is not to say that all are not welcome, the Top 5 will still allow any and all who are interested to participate on any given week, so here we have Armando Rodriguez coming at you with his favorite gifting memories.

Armando Rodriguez

5.UMK3/NBA Live 97 - Around the time these games came out things where pretty rough around my house and my parents told me to ask for only one game. I told them to get me either of these two and I was pleasantly surprised when they got me both (and X-Men, but that gamed sucked!). I was already in love with Mortal Kombat 3, so getting Ultimate for the Genesis was amazing. This is the game that originated the "Super Sunday" tradition that lasted over 7 years, up until the first Smackdown game for PS2, in which a bunch of my friends would come over at noon and stay until my mom kicked them out. This was back when Live was still a good game, the best in the market at the time. The first thing I did was change "Shooting Guard #23" into Michael Jordan and dominate!

4.Shining Force - You knew it was coming! To be honest, I did not want this game. I asked for Sonic 3 and Streets of Rage 3 (and got them both) but my dad was a big RPG fan and decided to toss this one in for good measure, so he would have something to play too. As it turns out, it was me who became addicted to this strategy RPG, beating it a dozen times or so and challenging myself to beat it again with a different group of characters.



3.Nintendo 64 - I was a big wrestling fan at the time, so instead of getting it with Mario 64 I got it with WCW vs nWo World Tour....and Turok, but that game sucked too. Still, jumping from the 16-bit Genesis to the 64-bit N64 was amazing for me at the time, I remember staring at the wrestling matches on-screen and thinking "Shit, I am really playing this stuff!". For some reason Scott Hall was the first guy I used, although it would be Glacier of all people who would become my favorite character.

2.Sega Genesis - I got this a few years after it was released, so I got the cool "square-shaped" model and not the big one. My dad was kind enough to get me 5 games to start with: Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Golden Axe 2, Streets of Rage 2 and Lightning Force (some sort of space shooter). Not a bad collection to start with! Obviously the more "mature" looking beat-em-ups got my attention first, but I soon realized the awesomeness of Sonic and converted into a big fan.

1.Sega Master System - Just like sex, you never forget your first time. I had asked for a NES, but my dad got this used from a friend of his for a cheaper price. The good thing is that it came with about 14 games, most of them really good. From memory I remember Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Hang-On/Safari Hunt combo cartridge (complete with light gun!), Astro Warrior, Penguin Land, Zillion, Global Defense, Double Dragon and Shinobi among others. I was 6 at the time and they had to forcefully drag me from the TV at night. I played for 14 hours straight!

Todd Vote

5.Giving an Xbox to me cousin - I remember this well, the kid was over to my house a couple times a week, at the time I had all three systems of the generation, the PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube, my cousin had none. Christmas that year had come with a price drop on the Xbox, so myself and a couple other family members chipped in and purchased the machine for him. I'll never forget the look on his face when he opened the box. It was a great memory and one that still brings a smile to my face.

4.NFL 2K5 - I don't think I would have ever known the awesome that is NFL 2K5 if it had not been given to me as a Christmas present. I asked for Madden, and got this because it was about $30 cheaper. I was not upset by the decision in the least, as it is still one of the best Football games made for the PS2.

3..The Trifecta - Not one gift so much as a series of gifts. I had gotten a PS2 from my father for my birthday, and that same year for Christmas I received the Xbox from my mother. Imagine my surprise when the next year for Christmas I was given the Gamecube along with RE4 for Christmas...

2.My First Nintendo - For months my older brother and I had been begging anybody that would listen for the Nintendo Entertainment System. We had to get our hands on that little plumber dude. So my parents decided to get one for us to share. With the way my brother and I used to fight, they had to see this as a mistake, but they did it anyway. Several broken controllers later, and my brother had thankfully moved on from the video game craze.



1.Mortal Kombat & The Genesis - Two Christmases!! A little history first. My parents divorced when I was very young, so as long as I can remember, we would spend Christmas Eve with my Dad, and then Christmas Day would be spent with my Mom's side of the family. Was never a big deal, just something we were used to. Now that we are caught up, it's no secret that I love me some Mortal Kombat. So when the decision was made to bring it to the home consoles, my decision on which home console I wanted was made simultaneously with the announcement of blood in the Genesis version. I started telling both parents that I wanted this new game machine, and the Mortal Kombat game. It's the only thing I would ask for, as a way to ensure it's purchase.

Here comes Christmas Eve, and we are sitting at my Fathers house preparing to open our gifts. The last gift handed to me was a rectangular box shaped oddly enough like a video game. Sure enough the old man had come through, and I had me my copy of Mortal Kombat for the Sega Genesis. But it was my last present, where was the Genesis? My Father, sensing my disappointment stated that he could not afford the machine, but thought it would be better for me if I only had to rent the machine, and not the game as well. WTF, pops, WTF?!

The next morning we are at my mothers house, and I told her the nasty thing my dad had done to me. I was bummed. the game cost like $3 to rent, while the machine was closer to two weeks allowance. Then it happened. The Mom unit came through big time. Apparently Mom & Dad had been collaborating on this gift set and thought it would be funny if I had to wait a day for the Machine to play my new game on. Looking back it was a great Christmas, and probably my best gaming related gift memory.


Bonus Video:
The 12 Days of Video Game Christmas:



Well, thats it for us this week. We hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane that we ventured upon this week. I know I did. It was nice to look back on the fond memories of my childhood and whatnot to think about the things that really matter. No I'm not talking about the actual giving and receiving of gifts, I am of course talking about enjoying those gifts with the friends and family that you love and care for.

We hope you will take a few moments to let us know about some of your fondest holiday gift memories below. From all of us at the Top 5, and 411mania.com we wish you and yours a very happy holiday season, no matter what your celebration is.

Next week, to close things out on 2009 I think we will be looking at our favorite games of the year. That should give us plenty to talk about. We'll see you in seven.

Join my squad:
My Brutes. It's a fun website where you can create a brute to fight every day. Check it out, become a pupil of Lord Smashimus, click here to create your own brute to take into battle.


Happy Holidays!!