The Residents: Freak Show (1994)
Genres:Adventure
Themes:Comedy, Horror
Story:Freak Show is an animated CD-ROM created by the rock band The Residents, with animation design by Jim Ludtke.
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In the mid-1990s The Residents put out a trilogy of multimedia titles, and though their releases were close enough together that they were probably all in development at the same time, they do appear to build upon each other. Gingerbread Man was more of an interactive toy with some random elements, Freak Show provided several characters to explore though without an overarching plot, and Bad Day on the Midway gave a non-linear plot that tied together character stories and randomized events. Having all three titles available would serve to illustrate how fast technology and ideas were moving during this time.
Though a lot of CD-ROM titles were of the "click around and explore" variety, Freak Show took that idea a step further. On the surface you are in a circus tent and watching the freak show acts and viewing encyclopedia-type entries about famous performers, but if you find the flap in the tent and pass through it you get to search their trailers and learn something of their personal lives. Recommended for fans of Katherine Dunn's novel Geek Love.
Chrono CrossCHRONO CROSS, the sequel to the SNES favorite CHRONO TRIGGER, is one of the most ambitious role-playing games ever made. There are over 40 playable characters, each with their back-story, special moves, abilities, and weapons. The story spans two discs and follows the story of Serge, a young man who is able to cross dimensions. Suddenly he is pulled between worlds, trying to figure out his own past at the same time. The graphics are bright and beautiful, utilizing the PlayStation's capabilities to the fullest. The polygonal character models are huge and detailed, and the pre-rendered backgrounds are immaculately detailed. The music is composed and arranged by Yasunori Mitsuda, and features very realistic-sounding synthesizers. The battle system revolves around Elements, which are used to grant magical powers, as well as to summon huge monsters. For anyone that wanted to see the story of CHRONO TRIGGER continue, this is your chance.Open world Fantasy
CaracolinoCaracolino is an educational adventure game where our hero Caracolino decides to save the planet from the clutches of Dr. Cubix, otherwise, everything will turn into geometric figures. Can you imagine a square bird or a round elephant? Only you can help Caracolino take on the dreaded Dr. Cubix! So, shall we go?Action Educational Kids
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of TimeThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the fifth main installment of The Legend of Zelda series and the first to be released for the Nintendo 64. It was one of the most highly anticipated games of its age, and is listed among the greatest video games ever created by numerous websites and magazines. The gameplay of Ocarina of Time was revolutionary for its time, it has arguably made more of an impact on later games in the series than any of its predecessors even though they had the same cores of exploration, dungeons, puzzles and item usage. Among the gameplay mechanics, one of the most noteworthy is the time-traveling system. The game begins with the player controlling the child Link, but later on an adult Link becomes a playable character as well and each of them has certain unique abilities. Ocarina of Time also introduces the use of music to solve puzzles: as new songs are learned, they can be used to solve puzzles, gain access to new areas and warp to different locations. Dungeon exploration is somewhat more puzzle-oriented than in earlier games but they are not too complex.Open world Action Fantasy Sandbox
Final Fantasy VIIIFinal Fantasy VIII is the eighth main installment in the Final Fantasy series. The gameplay makes a departure from many series standards. While it still uses the Active Time Battle system, it deviates from the series' traditional means of boosting a character's power via leveling, although levels are not completely abandoned as they were in Final Fantasy II. In addition, it does not have a Magic Point-based system for spell-casting. Instead, magic is collected, drawn, and created from items, and is used to power up the characters via the junction system.Open world Fantasy Science fiction
Brain Dead 13In Braindead 13, the player takes on the role of a young computer expert who one day is called to fix a computer at some scary castle and in no time flat, finds himself in trouble.
It is up to the player to use the complex moves of an interactive movie to escape from the castle. This animated adventure is basically based on the player's judgment on which direction you think the character might go, and if the player guesses wrong, death.Action Comedy Horror
Fray in Magical AdventureFray in Magical Adventure, also known as just Fray (フレイ) and Fray-Xak Epilogue (Gai-den), is a 1990 spin-off "gaiden" (sidestory) game in a role-playing video game series Xak developed and published by the Japanese software developer MicroCabin. Even though it is directly connected to the more serious Xak storyline, Fray has a less serious tone and light-hearted comedic approach to telling the story. It was originally released for the MSX2 and was later ported to several different systems, among them MSX turbo R, PC-9801, PC Engine (as Fray CD), and Game Gear.
Fray is a simple action RPG. The game proceeds by the player's character Fray fighting through a preset overhead view map shooting opposing monsters, jumping over obstacles, and locating powerups and Gold, the game's currency, along the way. At the end of each stage the player will fight a boss and enter a town or safe haven where the player can purchase new equipment, hit points and the option to save their progress. Fray advances in power through the items that she can equip such as different rods and shields. Battles are in real-time as Fray walks around on automatic vertically scrolling game map as well as the monster characters. She has an attack and defense rating, and can switch between different projectile weapon styles as well as use special attacks and healing itemsAction Fantasy Educational
The Tomb Raider TrilogyA HD re-release of Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld on the PS3.Action Fantasy Historical
Valkyrie ProfileValkyrie Profile is a role-playing video game developed by tri-Ace and published by Enix (now Square Enix) for the PlayStation. It was released on December 22, 1999 in Japan and on August 29, 2000 in North America. An enhanced port of the game was later released for the PlayStation Portable under the name Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth on March 2, 2006 in Japan, July 18, 2006 in North America, and April 27, 2007 in Europe.Fantasy
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur MachtXenosaga: Episode I - Der Wille zur Macht, the first chapter of a trilogy, is a Japanese-style sci-fi role-playing game, sharing many common themes and gameplay elements with Xenogears.
The battle system is not unlike the one used in Xenogears (combo attacks, AP and EP gauges, etc.), but random encounters are eliminated. Instead, the enemies are now visible and battles can be avoided. During combat the few upcoming ally and enemy turns are shown onscreen, allowing the player to make strategic decisions based on who will act next. A rolling slot moves with each turn as well, conferring a bonus such as added damage or bonus XP for any action on that turn. If the enemy would be in position to take an advantage then the player can expend a character's "boost" gauge to cut in and act next, although enemies can boost as well, and enemy boosts always over-ride player boosts.
Each character has a unique tree of Ether spells they can learn by spending Ether points earned in battle, with lower spells requiring spells above them to be purchased first. After a spell is purchased, so long is it does not require a unique talent of that character, the spell can also be purchased and learned by any other character that can afford double its normal cost. The Anti-Gnosis Weapon Systems can be equipped with different weapons and accessories and can be used in combat provided that a character has enough AP on that turn to board their AGWS.Fantasy Science fiction
Final Fantasy XIV: Collector's EditionFinal Fantasy XIV is, like its predecessor Final Fantasy XI, an Online MMORPG. The player creates a character of one of the 5 species (Hyur, Miqo'te, Elezen, Lalafell and Roegadyn) to explore the World of Eorzea.
Players who got the Collector's Edition on its release date can not only enjoy the game a week before the regular release, but get a few bonuses too:
A behind-the-scenes DVD, a travel journal, a security token, in game items, a buddy pass code + a "Right of Passage" voucher.New Action Fantasy