Besties Battle Bracket: Best Launch Games
Added 2024-09-30 16:00:00 +0000 UTC
Last month, we selected the best video game consoles. In a twist, we excluded games excluded from the debate. This month, we recorded our first sequel episode, choosing the best collection of launch games.
Is Dreamcast still the best? Can a console win this title without featuring a Mario or Zelda game? What the hell is Tommy Lasorda Baseball?
Rubric:
Which had the better "star" game
Which had the better overall launch slate
Which console’s library lived up to the promise of the launch more over time?
Honorable Mentions:
Sega Mega CD : INXS: Make My Video, Night Trap, Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective, Sewer Shark
Turbo Graphix: Keith Courage in Alpha Zones, Legendary Axe, R-Type
Sega Saturn: Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA, Panzer Dragoon, Clockwork Knight
Xbox Series X/S
Wii U: Darksiders 2, Little Inferno, New Super Mario Bros U, Nintendoland, Rabbids Land, ZombiU
Round 1 matchups:
[CONSOLE (NUMBER OF LAUNCH GAMES): STANDOUT LAUNCH GAMES]
NES (17): Duck Hunt, Excite Bike, Super Mario Bros. Golf, Kung Fu
PS1 (12): NBA Jam TE, Rayman, Battle Arena Toshiden, Ridge Racer, Street Fighter the Movie
Genesis (6): Altered Beast, Space Harrier 2, Super Thunder Blade, Tommy Lasorda Baseball
Super NES (5): F-Zero, Gradius 3, Pilot Wings, SimCity, Super Mario World
N64 (2): Super Mario 64, Pilotwings 64
Dreamcast (19): Sonic Adventure, House of the Dead 2, Hydro Thunder, Mortal Kombat Gold, NFL2K, NFL Blitz 2000, Power Stone, Ready to Rumble Boxing, Soulcalibur
PS2 (29): Armored Core 2, Dynasty Warriors 2, Fantavision, Madden NFL 2001, Midnight Club, NFL 2001, Read 2 Rumble Boxing 2, Ridge Racer 5, Silent Scope, Smugglers Run, SSX, Street Fighter EX3, Tekken Tag Tournament, Timesplitters, Unreal Tournament
Xbox (22): Dead or Alive 3, Fuzion Frenzy, Halo Combat Evolved, Oddworld Munch's Oddysee, Project Gotham Racing, Shrek
Gamecube (12): Crazy Taxi, Luigi's Mansion, Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2, Super Monkey Ball, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Tony Hawk 3
Wii (21): Excite Truck, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Red Steel, Wii Sports
Xbox 360 (18): Call of Duty 2, Condemned Criminal Origins, GUN, Kameo Elements of Power, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Perfect Dark Zero, Peter Jackson's King Kong: The official game of the movie, Quake 4, Ridge Racer 6
PS3 (14): Call of Duty 3, Need for Speed Carbon, Resistance Fall of Man, Ridge Racer 7, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom
Nintendo Switch (10): 1-2-Switch, Breath of the Wild, Shovel Knight Treasure Trove, Snipperclips
Xbox One (22): AC4: Black Flag, Lococycle, Dead Rising 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, Zoo Tycoon
PS4 (24): Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty Ghosts, Flower, Killzone Shadow Fall, Knack, Resogun, Sound Shapes, The Playroom, Warframe
PlayStation 5 (27): Astro's Playroom, AC: Valhalla, COD: Black Ops Cold War, Demon's Souls remake, Spider-Man Miles Morales, Spiderman Remastered, Sackboy A Big Adventure, Watch Dogs Legion
