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You might recall laszlow's post from a couple months back, in which we, the gamers, were invited to vote upon which games should be included in their retrospective. Time has flown, and now the results have been made public - well, people who voted got the results an hour ago, but now they're actually public.

So, how did your favorite games do? If you're thinking specifically of Square Enix games, they did pretty okay. For the PlayStation, three of the four games came from the old Squaresoft: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Einhander. Beyond that, though, not so hot; Final Fantasy lost to Zelda, Chrono Trigger also lost to Zelda, and Actraiser whiffed against the first Sim City on SNES.

I think a fair number of the results were pretty predictable, but that's probably because a lot of the games are either truly impressive, had lax competition in their categories, or both. I happily greeted the news that Bioshock and Portal both got in, personally, and was quite amused to see Minecraft topple the Starcraft II juggernaut. To form your own opinions, just hit the source link below.

Source: Smithsonian Institute

Actraiser is awesome and I'm glad whenever it gets love. And that goes double for Minecraft. Link to the Past beating Chrono Trigger and Earthbound is a tough break, but Link to the Past was an incredible game too, so I'm not that heartbroken. The way they categorise these games is a little odd to me though.

I like their choice of image for FFVII.

I think the results are pretty good, actually.

The most hilarious choices came from the corporate realization that for some consoles, certain categories are sorely underrepresented (In PS3's case, perhaps all categories...): Brutal Legends, LOTR: Battle for Middle-Earth 2, Worms Armegeddon and Star Fox Assault clearly won by "Um... I guess these are the best" credentials. Like lasz said before, though, the categories were pretty poorly defined all around.

Some series got a little too much credit. The Panzer Dragoon series is pretty cult, and although they are good games, it's hard to make a case for them in an "evolution of gaming" and "societal impact" sort of display. But I guess the SEGA Saturn didn't have much to offer to begin with. I could've done without a second Fallout game and Metal Gear Solid 2 doesn't really deserve to share shelf space with it's older brother. Maybe just one SimCity, too.

I thought it was interesting that Metroid only got recognized in its FPS form. You would think that somewhere along the line it could've usurped Mario/Zelda just for the sake of variety. And yes, all of the Mario/Zelda games chosen were deserving... but really? That many? Same sentiment goes to Sonic's only appearance in Adventure form.

But some of the picks were really refreshing. Earthworm Jim comes to mind. I don't feel like MineCraft is that much of a surprise. Minecraft is pretty impressive as an internet phenomenon and Starcraft II is substantially less amazing/important than its predecessor.

As far as Square Enix goes, I'd say that the only really deserving title is FFVII. Nothing else is really all that impactful. It's nice to see FFT make a case for itself (because it really is an awesome game) but I still own a copy of Einhander and it is indeed largely forgettable. And Chrono Trigger is, in most technical considerations, just an extension of Final Fantasy. The only possible snuff here is Final Fantasy 1. Maybe.

Honestly, the biggest snuff for me was clearly World of Warcraft; it's just way too iconic for a certain era of gaming to be left out/beaten by vote. But they remedied that by giving it a free-pass at the end.

I should definitely try to see the exhibit this summer!

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I find your lack of faith disturbing...

Sorry I'm a little late to the party here - been traveling and such.

Of course I have minor, insignificant qualms about what made it and what didn't. I'm annoyed at the selection of games for Sega Saturn (because everyone with good sense knows that the best Saturn game is Radiant Silvergun), I'm near-ENRAGED at the lack of arcade game presence preventing the inclusion of Street Fighter II, and I still question their category selection and distribution. But I'm picking nits. My positive reaction from this exhibit's existence outweighs my negative reactions to some of the placement and voting.

And speaking of the voting, I still think it was a good decision on the Smithsonian's part. Yes, it's a popularity contest that did not necessarily create the best possible selection of games for the exhibit. But it certainly drew attention to the exhibit and got gamers on the internet talking about it. Well-played, Smithsonian.

And I'm also gladdened by the five bonus unvoted playable games added to the exhibit. Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., Monkey Island, Myst, and WoW are above criticism for their inclusion. Two of the most iconic games of the 1980s, two of the most legendary PC adventure games from the genre's heyday, and (IMO) the most successful and influential video game of the modern age. And all five are playable. Zero complaints here.

As someone who lives quite close DC, I will definitely go and see it once it's out there. CoN field trip?

I think there was no surprise involving Final Fantasy 7 making it on there. If it hadn't, then I would've gone mad.

Quote (Cactuar1 @ 16th May 2011 00:52)

I think there was no surprise involving Final Fantasy 7 making it on there. If it hadn't, then I would've gone mad.

Honestly it would've been strange if it didn't. It's one of the most famous games of all time.

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Praise Be To Helix!

Quote (BlitzSage @ 16th May 2011 11:43)

Honestly it would've been strange if it didn't. It's one of the most fanboy-crazed games of all time.

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I fear my heart and fear my soul
Life goes on, it surely will,
Without me and I wonder:
Will I ever see light again?

Life goes on...

Quote (Sherick @ 20th May 2011 01:18)

Quote (BlitzSage @ 16th May 2011 11:43)

Honestly it would've been strange if it didn't. It's one of the most fanboy-crazed games of all time.

I don't really appreciate my quote being changed without any acknowledgement of the edit. By the way, name a game that doesn't have a crazed fanbase. That's how the industry (entertainment, not just video game) works. The basis of marketing is to make a passionate fanbase. It's not good enough, for instance, that [insert artist/game/etc.] has quality. It has to be defended.

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Praise Be To Helix!

I was saddened by the lack of Metroid other than the slack fps versions.

As far as WoW being the most influential, I would have to rack that up to Everquest. If its wasnt for the outstanding player core of Everquest, WoW would have never made it off the drawing board as an MMO.

Final Fantasy 1 did deserve a spot as did Dragon Warrior (didnt even get nominated but Shadowgate did). Probably should have been in a different class though. Hard to argue the success of Zelda and Im not shocked it beat 1.

And VII only has a fanboy base because the game is that good.

This post has been edited by Aeris-Logan on 20th May 2011 20:34

Quote (BlitzSage @ 20th May 2011 15:15)

Quote (Sherick @ 20th May 2011 01:18)

Quote (BlitzSage @ 16th May 2011 11:43)

Honestly it would've been strange if it didn't. It's one of the most fanboy-crazed games of all time.

I don't really appreciate my quote being changed without any acknowledgement of the edit. By the way, name a game that doesn't have a crazed fanbase. That's how the industry (entertainment, not just video game) works. The basis of marketing is to make a passionate fanbase. It's not good enough, for instance, that [insert artist/game/etc.] has quality. It has to be defended.

Jesus, grow some skin.

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I fear my heart and fear my soul
Life goes on, it surely will,
Without me and I wonder:
Will I ever see light again?

Life goes on...

I wasn't surprised by the results, but I had been holding out that Earthbound would somehow win against Link to the Past and Chrono Trigger. I know, it was a long shot ><

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kame, tortue, tortuga, schildkröte, tartaruga, turtle

"Arthur Dent?"
"Yes."
"Arthur Philip Dent?"
"Yes."
"You're a total knee biter."

Quote (Sherick @ 20th May 2011 17:17)

Quote (BlitzSage @ 20th May 2011 15:15)

Quote (Sherick @ 20th May 2011 01:18)

Quote (BlitzSage @ 16th May 2011 11:43)

Honestly it would've been strange if it didn't. It's one of the most fanboy-crazed games of all time.

I don't really appreciate my quote being changed without any acknowledgement of the edit. By the way, name a game that doesn't have a crazed fanbase. That's how the industry (entertainment, not just video game) works. The basis of marketing is to make a passionate fanbase. It's not good enough, for instance, that [insert artist/game/etc.] has quality. It has to be defended.

Jesus, grow some skin.

Learn how to edit, and stop all this idiocy about FFVII fanboys. It's all just stupid.

Moderator Edit

Drop it. Now. Both of you. I'm not going to waste my time policing this. -R51

This post has been edited by Rangers51 on 25th May 2011 16:38

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Praise Be To Helix!

Great list, overall.

Though I am a bit bugged by the overrepresentation of Zelda games. Chrono Trigger is a far more significant game than Zelda LTTP in my opinion.

I am annoyed that some games didn't make the cut, but at least we got FF Tactics in there.

I am also amused by the choice of FFVII image. ("You should know this already!")

Quote

I'm near-ENRAGED at the lack of arcade game presence preventing the inclusion of Street Fighter II

Hm, you're very right. They completely forgot about arcade games. Street Fighter II, Soul Calibur, Daytona USA, Gauntlet Legends, and Dance Dance Revolution? What about those games?

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