| Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil |
released July 2001, purchased July 2001
My first PS2 happy mascot platformer (if you don't count Cookie and Cream.) I was a big fan of the first Klonoa game on the PS1... and both of these titles still pop up on Overlooked Gems lists whenever a magazine editor has a page to fill. So it's become a bit of a cliche to even mention the Klonoa series, although it's nowhere near the lip service that follows another game on today's entry.
The thing about the Klonoa games - and I'm just talking the core 2.5D titles, not the GBA games or that Klonoa Volleyball stuff - is that they are really, really good. The worlds are bright and impressive, the bosses measure up to anything found in Mario64 or Sonic Adventure, the timed puzzles require thought and skill.
So why don't you see much of Klonoa? Despite his own dedication to quality, he's just another unlicensed platformer buried in an avalanche of platformers, licensed and unlicensed. It's a good thing they got this game out the door so fast in the PS2 lifecycle, because within another year he would have been personally choked to death by SpongeBob, Crash Bandicoot, and Ty the Tasmanian Tiger.
Memory Score: it goes without saying that he's much more popular in Japan
| Resident Evil Code: Veronica X |
released August 2001, purchased August 2001
I had a serious case of Dreamcast Envy for this one. In fact, I think I only managed to avoid buying a Dreamcast by convincing myself that Code: Veronica was a sidestory and not a true chapter in the Resident Evil saga. And I guess it was, technically... but what's the difference?
So I was all hyped up when they released a PS2 port. They added an X to the title to show you how serious they were about the project.
But here's the truth: I couldn't finish it. I couldn't get past the boss fight against the tyrant dude on the airplane. You're supposed to get him to fall out of the back of the hatch by gradually shoving him towards the end of the plane, but I just couldn't do it... even after trying about a million times.
Code: Veronica was the beginning of the end of the franchise as we knew it. What happened to Resident Evil between 2001 and 2004 was criminal. Although, as we'll see once we hit 2003, I can be more generous than most...
Memory Score: this was the game where I discovered gamefaqs.com
| NHL 2002 |
released September 2001, purchased September 2001
Here ya go, folks. The only sport you're going to see on this entire list.
I like video game hockey because it's fast and it's accessible. I don't need to know plays; there's nothing to stop the action. Anything overly simmy - like changing lines - can be automated. The only "sports" component I need to remember are the various penalties... which, as my college friends can tell you, took some time.
This being my first next-gen hockey experience, I even put an honest effort towards playing a full season. (On my PS1 hockey games, I only ever did multiplayer exhibition matches.) I think I got about nine games in and then had the game simulate the rest of the season.
Memory Score: only bought for when friends are over
| Ico |
released September 2001, purchased September 2001
I don't quite remember how it happened, but this became Rhonda's game. I only touched the controller for a little bit at the beginning and a little bit at the end. For once, I was the spectator.
Ico is definitely oversold today. It's a great game, yes. It looked great, it played great. It turned a video game into an emotional experience simply by removing all the traditional video game junk... the meters and clocks and hearts and spoonfed Saturday Morning plots. But did we really need 4+ years afterward of reviewers going on and on about how this game is High Art?
Ico was our bid for legitimacy. Ico was the game that was going to take video games out of the basement and into the museum.
So when nobody bought the damn game, it was like a paradoxical punch in the stomach. The reviewers had to make their calls louder, which only further fragmented the audience (ICO RULEZ! ICO SUX!) and didn't help sales in the slightest. And today, Roger Ebert still says games are not art. Hell, Kojima says games are not art. The needle has barely budged.
Regardless, we really enjoyed Ico. Rhonda had no trouble alternating between fending off the shadow demons and leading Yorda through complicated puzzle rooms. That hand-holding thing just makes the game.
And I love the Save Couch.
Memory Score: I keep saying someday I'LL play this one
Next week: the PS2 celebrates its first year with three games that CHANGED MY LIFE. Plus, Mr. Mosquito.
