watch now! detail...
it blows my mind how many advantages you have these days if you want to make video games. free programs like unity and blender lower the cost of entry significantly, and with tons of communities like deviantart and kongregate, you have plenty of opportunities to refine your ideas and skills before you enter the big leagues. this inevitably leads to some...less than successful attempts, but all the greenlight simulators in the world aren't enough to counteract the good this environment does. as far as i'm concerned, more people getting involved in this industry is always a positive thing, especially considering some of those people aren't content to play with their own toys. some of those people have ambitions bigger than their employment level would normally allow.
and some of those people have realized that if the big guys aren't willing to give us the types of experiences we want to play, we can just make them ourselves. fan games are a wonderful thing, born out of love and driven by an intense desire to fill in the voids that major developers leave in their catalogs. they're incredible games made by incredibly passionate people, and despite what any lawyers may try to tell you, our community is better for their existence. so what defines a fan game? well, to me, it means any game that 1: features characters and worlds that the creators do not and never had the legal rights to use for profit. this is why you won't see gems like one night at flumpty's,
because while the gameplay is clearly inspired by something else, all the characters are totally original. it's also why you won't see mighty no. 9 or bloodstained ritual of the night, because those guys got to work on this stuff officially. and 2: they have to be playable now. this led to a lot of really tough cuts, like epic paper mario, pokemon sage, mother 4, megaman x corrupted, and crash wrath of the crystals, but i stuck to my guns on this point because the purpose of this list was so you could experience for yourself how far we've come. so you could click the links i've provided in the description and play all of these awesome games for free right now.
and about this being a list: truth be told, there is no proper way to rank these things. in fact, trying to say one fan game is somehow more worthy of your time than another when they're all born from the same place of adoration feels kinda tacky. these are just my personal favorites, and if i missed anything you think was worth talking about, please tell everybody about it in the comments. who knows? if i get enough suggestions, maybe i'll make a sequel to this list someday. but for now, here is team pizza's top 8 fan games. are you really surprised? i mean, i did promise this at the end of my last list.
but here's the crazy thing: upon further research, psycho waluigi, the game i was so sure was a shoe-in for this, almost didn't make the cut. that's just how many amazing fan games are out there. it was such a hard choice between this and super mario bros crossover; a massive endeavor by the team at exploding rabbit to condense an entire era of nostalgia into one game. but then i started to analyze what each title brought to the table, and things started to become more clear. one game is essentially a remake. a remake of one of the most important games of all time, for sure, but still something you've played before. the other provides a completely new experience,
polished and refined with modern design sensibilities built on the foundation the previous game set. one lets you play around in that old game with characters that weren't there before. however, they all function exactly the way they did in their own universes, and because this universe isn't designed around them, the potential for the novelty to wear off is only made up for by the sheer number of options presented to you. psycho waluigi is a completely new gameplay experience, with mechanics, ideas, and levels only made possible by a brand new setting. and they're all polished and realized to a near professional level. the thing is, super mario bros crossover is a fantastic game and an absolutely gleeful trip down memory lane,
but it's ultimately a retreading of old ground. psycho waluigi is not only its own thing, but it's a thing that works, and that's what gives it the edge for me. it's unique, it's polished, it's funny, and it's the reason i won't have to eat my words for another week. it's mario with a twist, which is what wario and waluigi were designed as characters to be, making this quite possibly the truest interactive experience to the character ever. and that's what projects like this are all about. a lot of people are very excited for the upcoming pokken tournament, and i totally understand why. it's a novel concept, and a fresh take on a franchise that (in my opinion) needed one for quite some time. but unlike most people, i'm not falling head over heels for it.
mostly because i knew we already had something like this. pokemon type wild is a 2d fighting game featuring several characters from the franchise, such as blaziken, lucario, gardevoir, snorlax...the list goes on. it was also hand-drawn by one of the artists who worked on the anime, and i know that sounds like it breaks one of my rules, but i'm letting it slide because from an artistic standpoint, cartoons are not the same as video games. so the fact that it ended up becoming such a damn good game despite that dissonance in field experience is a huge accomplishment. how do i know it's good? well, this is gonna sound a bit egotistical at first, but...it's because *i* like it.
look, i'm just gonna come out and say this: out of all the genres out there, fighting games are the ones i actively try to avoid the most. i just do not understand how i'm supposed to play them, and the only game that's tried to explain it to me was skullgirls. i get very frustrated with these things very quickly, so the fact that type wild managed to avoid that threshold speaks volumes. to be specific, it was during my lopunny playthrough that i finally started to get it: how i needed to own my space, and adjust my strategy based on where my opponent was relative to me. to judge what they would try to do based on how far or near they were and react accordingly.
to manage my special meter and burn it exactly when i needed to. and that's when i started to have fun. that's when it felt like i fully understood the rules, and just had to play by them to win like in any other game. it was an experience where i could actually enjoy myself, rather than feel like i was thrown to the lions and just had to figure out that there was a spear nearby. and you know what the crazy part is? this game isn't even complete. what i'm showing you is the latest build: version 0.53, which was posted to the official site a couple years ago. it's unfortunately looking like the project will never get finished, but at least fans translated what we got into english, and you could probably tell by now, but what we got was very, very impressive.
every single character is a unique challenge in their own right, not only to control, but also to fight. you have to employ completely different strategies and approaches to take them down. there are tons of stages out there referencing even the obscure games like pokemon colosseum. and with all this love behind it, it leaves you wondering: if this was only half the intended result, what would the final version have looked like? we may never know. think of the fan games you'd like to be made. all of the characters you'd like to see go on their own little journeys again. just...blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.
now i'm willing to bet not a single one of you said "abobo". who's abobo? he's this guy. from double dragon. yup, not even the main playable characters. just the first boss. you'd think a character with no established history would be the worst basis to make a fan game off of, but if psycho waluigi is anything to go by, that couldn't be farther from the truth. if anything, it has the potential to make the resulting game even better, because you can take it in any direction you like. and that's exactly what the guys at the pox box, i-mockery, and pesto force did when they created abobo's big adventure.
this isn't just a parody of classic video games; it's a tribute to the entire 8-bit era. it's the story of one very strong and very angry man's journey through the world of the nes as he tries to rescue his son. along the way, he'll beat up barrels, drop into a dungeon, projectile vomit fish at a shark, and maybe even get lucky on the side. but no matter what happens, one constant remains: abobo smash. every possible reference that could have been made is made in this game. every. single. one.
to the point where if you played it as a kid, it's probably represented in abobo's big adventure in some way. and you get to destroy it all. whether you're blasting away at dino-walkers in a megaman stage or blowing people up with a lemming gun in contra, the jokes here fly by so fast, you might not even catch them the first time around. and because you get to actively be a part of them, they land every single time. kirby is finally represented as the monster everybody knows him to be as one of the bosses. the duck hunt dog gets shot in the face. you end off a wrestling match by summoning the legends themselves,
watching them obliterate your opponent with their signature moves, and then meteor-slamming him yourself into the center of the ring. it's just that kind of game. there are tons of secrets and unlockable extras, you can input the konami code to gain 30 extra lives, and if you donate to their site, you can play the sequel, which features aboboy as he rampages through a theme park. and that game's amazing, too! nothing out there claiming to be an old-school homage to video games does it quite as well as this does, so if you have any love for that period of video game history, you owe it to yourself to give this one a go. let's get something straight: i would never make the claim that barkley shut up and jam gaiden is the greatest basketball game ever made.
that title is, and always will be held by nba jam. it is, however, the greatest game about basketball ever made. as in, someone with even a passing interest in the sport will look at this and gain a deeper appreciation for just how awesome and ridiculous the culture around the sport is. and if you're already a big fan, you're in for a real treat. but all this is to be expected from any game that thinks a title like that is a good idea. you know what i didn't expect from it, though? for it to be an actually decent rpg. every character in your group starts with multiple different basic attacks they can use in battle. each of these attacks has an action command that will make it more powerful if you succeed,
and some attacks even have multiple different action commands, giving it new properties depending on which variant you decide to use. special attacks are expensive, but the damage they do and the flashiness of their animations when you use them are incredibly satisfying. and you will use them, because at long last, someone has given us a game that's smart enough to actually sell you ethers! finally! and yes, of course i'm gonna talk about the ridiculous story. about a dystopian future where basketball has been banned, and charles barkley must use his skills to defeat the evil terrorist organization bloodmoses.
i think what's so incredible about this story is that it plays everything very straight-faced, but the premise itself is so ridiculous to begin with that the characters acting so nonchalant about it all just makes it funnier. and the situations they set up for you to encounter on this journey...oh my god. i don't want to spoil any of them because of how good they are... ...but i need to give an example for you to truly understand... *conflicted hesitation* screw it! i'm putting the panic button in the corner! if you don't want to hear any plot details, click it now to skip ahead in the video.
5, 4, skip a few, 1! go! let me tell you about the first major boss fight in this game. in one corner, we have your party: charles barkley, the octoroon great-grandson of lebron james, and a cyber dwarf who has basketball material grafted onto his skin. your opponents are michael jordan, who is dressed like michael jackson, and cyborg vince carter, and i finished them off using the forbidden holy slam i learned earlier from the ghost of dikembe mutombo. and need i remind you: this was the first hour of gameplay! chrono trigger? final fantasy 6? planescape torment?
clown shoes. this right here? this is the greatest rpg ever made. and it's getting a sequel. sadly, no medium is perfect, and especially without the right to use these ips legally, the fan game scene isn't without its heartbreaks and share of unfortunate stories. the aliens-themed conversion of quake, fighting is magic, and basically anything even resembling a chrono trigger remake have all gotten shot down by dmca claims. now, given their recent behavior on youtube, you'd think one company that would be a major stickler about this is nintendo. and they were for a while.
but in-between the creator's program and losing super mario 64 hd, one game managed to survive the nonsense. and surprisingly, it's based on their most beloved franchises of all. two years of work, this one. what started as a 3-man project has since become what is widely considered one of the best smash bros clones ever made. dreams came true in crusade. final smashes are now baked into the characters as super moves, instead of revolving around an item.
ridley, weegee, crash bandicoot, and goku are all playable now, with movesets that are both true to their legacy and also a blast to use. new stages like the distortion world are tons of fun, sometimes presenting gameplay challenges and ideas that even the main series has never tried before. and for those of you asking: yes. you can finally. play. as geno. even small touches like the return of board the platforms shows a great deal of love from this team,
not just towards their own game, but for every game in this series, and it shines through clear as day. look, just get past the art for a second, okay? you're simply doing yourself a disservice if you haven't at least tried crusade. what else is there to say about a fan game so good, it had its own dedicated tournament at apex this year? not a whole lot. now we're getting serious. these next three are fan games that are so amazing, they actually could be released as full products. ...even if the company behind the ip doesn't want to admit it. the team behind streets of rage remake also got hit by a dmca claim,
but the problem sega faced with that was that the game was already done. it's out there. it's in people's hands. and i guarantee you it's more phenomenal than anything the brain trust behind sonic boom is ever going to with the franchise. there are hours of content in this beat 'em up. unique content, too! not just the replay value. depending on what route you decide to take through the story, you could be playing through any combination of stages from streets of rage 1, 2, 3, and even some originals thrown in for good measure. the gameplay is a combination of all the best mechanics from throughout the series. combos, dodging, team attacks, and special moves are all here.
you even get access to your old friends in the police force so you can rain down destruction on your hapless foes. stages have unique hazards and enemies that require totally different approaches to conquer. there are six different playable characters that all handle differently with even more unlockable ones waiting in the wings. the soundtrack is done street fighter 2 hd style, with remastered tracks from throughout the series, and each one gets you majorly pumped up to punch some faces in. there's the occasional driving stage just to provide a change of pace, tons of weapons and items to play around with, and even your use of those is modified by which character is wielding them.
i just...holy cow... there is so much to this thing. this is the most fun i've had with a beat 'em up since double dragon neon, since scott pilgrim vs the world! it is something else playing through this game, especially if you bring a friend. so get your best buddies together, and prepare for one of the greatest bonding experiences you've ever had! ...until you start punching each other. some people absolutely despise the idea of remasters and remakes. believe me, with some companies giving that treatment to games that aren't even half a decade old, i totally understand why.
but sometimes, this practice serves a genuinely good purpose. there are some older games that were strong in ambition, but lacking in capability. take metroid 2, for example. it's a good game, but a flawed game; held back more by the hardware it was placed on than anything else. i don't know: you give this thing a fresh coat of colors, pull back the camera a bit, flesh out some of the levels, and add a few more of samus' classic powerups, and you'd have a solid metroid game. nintendo did not realize this. fans, however, did. this is another metroid 2 remake
(no, seriously: that's the actual name), and it did all these things and more. ladies and gentlemen of the internet, i mean no hyperbole when i say that this is the textbook example of how to do a remake right. you take everything that was good about the original idea, realize the ambition of what it was trying to do, and then make it even better by taking full advantage of over a decade of advancements in technology and game design. you make the music more atmospheric and chilling, you give the powerups more punch, you expand the levels with new areas and new enemy types that force you to rethink how to use your abilities,
and you make the controls quick, smooth, and responsive. you add in more bosses, more secrets, more beautifully rendered environments, and sprite work that would make alvin earthworm jealous. am2r is the the johnny cash's hurt of video games. it is the definitive version of metroid 2 return of samus, to the point where i'd only reccomend going back to the original so you can appreciate how much better the remake is. doctorm64, i tip my hat to you. i don't care if nintendo never acknowledges your hard work; as far as we at team pizza are concerned, you did them a favor by making this.
but this is something merely equal to anything the official crew could have built. what if i told you there was a fan game out there that was so good, it actually surpasses the company's current work? so... this is sonic: after the sequel... and... ... ...look at it. no, really! just look at it!
i could write up a couple paragraphs of me ranting on why this game existing is a good thing, but i'm also pretty sure i could just play clips of it with this kickass electronic in the background, and you'd get the idea just fine. sonic generations is still the best game in the series since 3, but if we're considering after the sequel vs anything else released in the past decade, that is a serious toss-up. constantly giving the player new mechanics to toy with is a core tenant of platformer design these days, and i know i've brought that up as a positive in many other entries on this list, but it's never been truer than here. every level is an adventure.
entire games have been designed around less innovation than there is in one stage of after the sequel. yet somehow, every single new mechanic still encourages the speed and careful platforming that made the series great in the first place. it's not just about putting a loop-de-loop here or there and calling it a day. it's not just about cool little touches like splats the bunny that only diehard fans will appreciate. it's about both celebrating and respecting a character's legacy, while also building upon it in ways that make perfect sense. it's about making sonic relevant again, and all it took was really solid gameplay. big surprise, right?
and that music, though. apparently this game was made by one programmer and six musicians, and judging by the quality of this ost, i'd believe it. the fact that it's all electronic and rock based even gives it that same feel as a genesis sound card, so find a playlist of it, put it on repeat, and prepare to dance all afternoon. but let's get real for a second: you know what's one of the best things about fan games? working within someone else's boundaries and subsequently figuring out how to surpass them is a huge learning experience, and some people have used that experience as a launching point for their own professional careers.
such as...lake fepard, the guys behind after the sequel. they're currently working on a game called "spark the electric jester" which just got done with a successful kickstarter campaign, got greenlit within days, and so far looks right up the alley of anybody who loved their previous work with sonic. you see what i mean by my original quote of "we're a better place with more people"? this is why. without sonic, we never would have had spark. without xcom, we never would have gotten xenonauts. good art inspires the next generation of artists, and once you're confident enough to stop tracing,
it's time to start making some masterpieces of your own. well, that certainly was a countdown. kinda like that other one i did about the top 3 games where waluigi actually matters. but you wouldn't be interested in that, right? just like you wouldn't be interested in our gameplay channel, where we're playing through another metroid 2 remake. if you like the sound of my voice (for some reason), why not check out my discussion series fnu rants, where we talk about everything from the importance of giving feedback to just what the hell is wrong with sonic these days.
you can follow me on facebook and twitter by clicking the links in the description, or you could choose to be my fan by subscribing so that you get a countdown like this one every single weekend! (at least that's the working theory, anyway...) until then, i'm whatthefnu. later, everybody!
