Other people's games that inspired me to make my game, listed in a very particular order (not really, strong recency bias)
some of these i like, some of these i ABSOLUTELY LOVE, some i don't like but respect, some are bad but I have strong memories and feelings attached that I want to put into my work. all have inspired me in various ways
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megaman (megaman zero is the best!!!!! but they're all good) radiata stories alliance alive Digimon world (lol wait notepad auto corrected that to a capital D? I didn't even know notepad autocorrected, and secondly, for Digimon? hmmmmmm.... what if i say... pokemon lolol what why one but not the other, is it something in my computer hahaha idk) pokemon (sun/moon is my fave but all are fun, crystal was my childhood) ff 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, okay fine i guess 2 lost odyssey, blue dragon fantasian coe33 blue prince nintendogs fe 3h, blazing (or is it binding? the first American one), awakening, path of radiance, shadows, you know what they're all good except fates i dislike fates (and yeah the story in engage was ))))) but the gameplay was fun super robot wars xeno everything tsuri spirits dark cloud 2 !!!!!!!!! Layton, ni no k, yeah all level 5 is amaazing undertale earthbound super smash bros meeel, ult monster hunter freedom unite celeste mobile suit gundam: journey to jaburo, encounters in space, zeonic front burning rangers!!!! (i literally bawled like a baby playing this game just this year i will die on this hill) mario odyssey, 64, galaxy 2 oot,mm, botw, totk, yeah they all good soul calibur kingdom hearts all of them (even 3, yes, it's bad, but i'll be darned if i didn't cry profusely when xion and roxas came back, and Donald duck man) rebirth wachenroder super fx unit yuki pier solar CHRONO CROSS haha yeah trigger is godly too but just something about cross, man... persona 3 persona 5 i haven't played 4 yet i'm sorry but yeah it would almost certainly make the list metaphor palworld ANIMAL WELL penny's big breakaway katamari damacy to a t SONIC ADVENTURE, sonci mania, shadow generations, sonic adventure 2 battle, sonic shuffle, sonic and knuckles, THAT ONE SONIC PICO GAME, knuckles chaotix, I LOVE SONIC crisis core dissidia duodecim, I just played this on my old psp recently and man is it still fun, suprisingly held up, love it (inb4 i'm roasted for being bad at fighting games it's probably super unbalanced or broken or easy or something) super rub a dub astro bot calling all cars picross wii sports mario kart 8 deluxe (yeah it's actually great fight me) terra battle (i actually didn't play it but the art and music is really cool, so many pinterest pins from this game hahaha) dragalia lost arrowmancer (extremely influential, but not for the game itself. haunts me constantly) hoyoverse (never played but art/animation looks good) ff14 (not that into it but i get it) star wars galaxies star wars rouge squadron 1,2,3 metroid all of them OMG how did i not think of these earlier lol but especially prime castlevania aria of sorrow, symphony beyond (my brother's rpg maker game, toby fox has an interesting interview where he talks about the rawness of playing your older brother's rpg maker games and I am one of the lucky few who has done this) jedi academy (so many mods; this was my first ever exploration into programming and 3d modelling) nier (that part at the end when you have to... well...) stellar blade neopets club penguin spelunky 2 (i never played 1 but it's probaly great as well) towerfall thomas was alone the stanley parable portal tetris puyo puyo tetris puyo puyo pokemon puzzle league that one random pokemon web game for like the movie with lugia chu lip mr mosquito that one random ps1 game where you have to find the difference but it's 3d models wait lemme go check the shelf ohhh "Missland"! saw some other ps1 games with strong memories tomba, tomba 2 magical medical azure dreams brave fencer musashi jumping flash gundam battle assault (i still vibe with this, those SFX man) toy commander skies of arcadia (legends) valkyria chronicles sakura wars super monkey ball black myth wukong elden ring demon's souls bravely default triangle strategy yoshi's adventure, yoshi's island dragon quest xi legend of heroes tears of vermillion yeah the other legend of heroes are probs great, i keep hearing about them, but i haven't yet played them popolocrois, return to popolocrois story of seasons story of seasons wonderful life, friends from mineral town (back in my day we called them "harvest moon") mario party 1,2 (yeah they're all good but I have strong feelings with the first two) Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (yes i had to google the name; the stupid school theme still gets stuck in my head. It's been 20 years..........) it takes two, split fiction marvel's spider man neversoft spiderman ps1 game
ooo story time! you may note I don't have any horror games. i have had chronic nightmares since I was a child, and i learned, even as an adult, that some horror things (particularly body horror) make them worse, so i often avoid them. I actually still have nightmares about certain elements from ff7, undertale, custom robo for the gamecube, killer7, etc. Other media wise evangelion, annihilation, enigma of amigara fault, south park, etc have also set it off. It can be... somewhat hard to predict what sets it off haha, but it's mostly aversion to doctors/body related stuff (i actually faint often when i get shots. but only sometimes! i also fainted when I took the AP biology test. haha. one time I was watching an episode of "The Professionals" (a japanese documentary series) about a surgeon where they shows a live surgery and oh yeah I was down almost instantly after they were like "viewer discretion is advised". But some times I'm fine! I dissected a pig and several frogs in school! My dad is an eye doctor so i see dissected eye pictures all the time. I was really interested in that episode and was mad that i fainted. Just when i think i'm doing good, i slip - i even fainted getting my ears cleaned! This was two monts ago. I did not grow out of it). Never done the resident evils, silent hills, doki dokis (i started this back in college but had to chicken out hahaha) I'll try to think of a couple that i have played through though...... uhhh okay nothing's coming to mind, but i promise most of the time i'm fine! aaaaaaaaanyway killer7, no more heroes, grasshopper in general did they do that transformer game? hmmm looks not. There was a transformers game on playstatino plus circa 2015 - 2020 and it was pretty fun actually batman arkham series jedi survivor/fallen order star wars pit droid star wars yoda (soooo much nostalgia. Maybe it wasn't called yoda? It was like a 2d grid and you were luke on dagaboah and if i heard the sound effects i would recognize it instantly) jurrassic park snes game vectorman gunstar heroes sin and punishment, star successor yeah just all of treasure is amazing.... but especially... MISCHIEF MAKERS (shake shake shake, golly my brother and i love this game to death) civilization (i mostly played iv, but maybe the newer ones are good too?) zoo tycoon xcom: enemy unknown (okay okay i never beat it because i got busy but the people definitely ARE the aliens, right? Like they just started to get psychic powers when I stopped and i was like "Ohhhhhh there must be time travel shenanigans" Helldivers 2 baten kaitos (feeling good, giachommo?) dragon's lair amazing island animal crossing (gcn), new horizons, wild world kirby superstar, amazing mirror super mario rpg kirby air ride KID ICARUS UPRISING (i never hear people talk about this one but i loved it) Luigi's Mansion Odama Ookami Lego Star wars (it might seem obvious now but this was such a genius, god-tier idea at the time) azure striker gunvolt (i really liked ix, i still have to play ix 2!!!!!) cave story taiko drum master (did you know don-chan is in mario kart!?!?!? we just went to epic universe and at the hotel they had a namco-made arcade version of mario kart and don-chan and pac-man were playable we were like whaaaat) wario ware (i used to play the gcn "doctor" party game with my friends from elementary school and it was always a riot, so fun) bomberman (i played 64, 64 2, and hero a LOT as a kid. Apparently the second one was rareish? I loved the little weird animal friend you got!) bomberman DS (this game could be played by 8 people on one cartridge, which was god-tier for high-school band trips. so, so fun. Download play was such a great idea...) CHIBI ROBO (i actually really liked the DS walmart exclusive game too haha) La Mulana 1 & 2 (so so so good. When I first made it to eden... idk it just hit right for me) Rhythm Heaven (we still quote the wii one amongst my family. Wabadubabudubad that true? Eh.) Legend of Starfy Spectrobes (i remember seeing ads for this on the disney channel and, even being young, thiking like "lol they really think normies are gonna buy this?") Tower of Druaga Suikoden oh wait when did i start capitlizing elemental gearbolt panzer dragoon, saga shining force exa infinite space (the act 1 into act 2 hit just right for me) digimon world ds, dawn/dusk Pata pata pata pon (feeeevvveeerrrrrrr) power stone (omg i adore power stone. we still quote 2's "a good beginning, can mean a perfect ending: just go for it!") ("I don't believe it... an alien!?!?!?") phantasy star online (i didn't play at launch but got strong impressions from playing with my college roommate) jeann d'arc (not just a historical figure!) loco Roco burnout revenge middle earth shadow of mordor (the nemesis system was suuuch a fun idea) elite beat agents duolingo (yes that app, i don't actually like it too much but i respect the product for sure) ace attorney sta OBJECTION ace attorney again star fox 64, star fox... command? the ds one (it was so fun, you could choose different paths to go and they'd give you different characters to play as and different endings) elite beat agents (have had LINDA LINDA stuck in my head since 2007 (yeah the original was like 2005 but until elite beat we hadn't tried the others) scribblenauts (infinite craft before it was cool) infinite craft feel the magic XY heart XX tomato adventure frantix breath of fire III, V (i haven't played the others but i loved III and thought V was the coolest idea for a game) lumines (my dad LOVES lumines, still plays it in 2025) APE ESCAPE (turning on this game still make me teary eyed. Absolutely great) space invaders tron arcade game star wars trilogy arcade time crisis there was this one arcade game where you sat in like a chair that moved and vibrated it wasn't the POD i don't think and i distinctly remember a gold-shiny dude or a boss and it was a shmup but rendered in 3d and it was cool there's this arcade game where they take your heart rate as you play (semi-horror) and you have to stay calm that was great blanking on the name daytooooonaaaaaaaa gran turismo (idk which onei played it was a ps3 launch title i think?) F ZERO GX (probably my favorite racing game of all, and just a beloved game in all respects) valhalla knights jak and daxter (hot take: first one is best) star wars rebel assault II (something about fmv...) dark forces, dark forces 2 SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE (love this game, prince xizors palace theme is heard in this house often) novastorm pandemonium
uh oh, story time! I'm thinking of all these fun ps1 games that are influential to me. Of course no horror greats, but is there another super famous one that maybe you might think is missing? Maybe one that is an espionage spy thriller? I've never played metal gear! Or Death stranding! Or... really any kojima games. I'm sorry. i started playing metal gear solid for the ps1 with my brother. we were having a great time. it was great. BUT THEN. he played without me! "Oh, i beat it yesterday" he'd tell me at the dinner table. BEAT IT!!?!? why didn't you wait for meeeeeee anyways yeah i'll get to them. Maybe soon!
legend of dragoon (still trying to decide if i like the soundtrack haha) chocobo's dungeon 2 fft, fft advanced is actually my favorite. I will cry if you play it tales of symphonia (actually all tales games are great, can't believe i forgot about them until now. Symphonia is my first one so it will always be special. Loved playing through some of the others with my college friends) Maui Mallard in cold shadow (definitely not donald duck) The emperor's new groove (ps1) a bugs life (ps1) tarzan (ps1) seaman (i regret to inform that seaman has passed away) no man's sky call of duty modern warfare (i remember at the time the progression/rpg mechanics seemed so cool and new) gravity rush/gravity rush 2 (love these) sakuna of rice and ruin (so good) balan wonderworld soul sacrifice little big planet (here's how you look stylish and sexy) clockwork knight (sooo much nostalgia) nights into dreams, christmas nights (omg omg omg omg) rampart donkey kong country, diddy's kong quest, the... third one pilotwings 64 super star wars, super empire strikes back, super return of the jedi (loved these growing up) ACT RAISER claymates (if you start playing the intro i will likely cry immediately) indiana jones greatest adventures gauntlet legends banjo kazooie (lol how did i forget this until now? very influential) wave race 64 diddy kong racing blast corps (ohhhh man i love this one) san fransisco RUSH (it's dangerous AAAAAHHHHHH) pokemon snap glover Hey you pikachu/pokemon channel (i really like a-life in general) rayman, rayman 2 space station silicon valley (i loved this one, but havent played in like 20 years. please hold up please hold up please hold up) jet force gemini kirby 64 paper mario (please don't hate me if i say i never finished ttyd...) (first one will also make me cry) golden eye tak and the power of juju viewtiful joe (HENSHIN A GO GO BABY, JUST GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!) (also can't believe i forgot this one until now) billy hatcher pikmin mario superstar baseball/supersluggers (obviously... a bit of an inspirtation hehehe) evolution worlds custom robo (did i say this one yet? Love it) ff crystal chronicles (i thought this was really cool. Never played the wii one... maybe soon?) bomberman generation/bomberman jetters (i remember really liking one and thinking another was a bit of a lettdown... but i don't remember which haha. Still love the style of both) ddr pandora's tower (my mom got so sick of hearing Liebesträume while i was playing this game hahahaha) zack and wiki monkey island samba de amigo captain rainbow rayman raving rabbids (this was so unexpected and fun and cool when it first came out. idk if the rabbids are as popular now but man when this first hit...) octomania (tako tako, takoyaki something something poron poron poroooon) (i distinctly remember playing this and watching clannad and haruhi and realizing "welp. this is it. i'm an otaku now) cooking mama (suuuch a good idea and execution) arc rise fantasia muramasa demon blade ff 4 heroes of light (main theme is one of my faves) resonance of fate (i never got that far but the idea of gun-fu jumping crazy action was so cool) heavy rain until dawn (aha! A horror game i actually played!! ... i never beat it though.... (i got pretty far iirc, some plot twists in) steel batallion (so so so so cool; i actually got a chance to play an 8 person multiplayer at a gaming convention! So fun, even though we all had no idea how to play haha) star wars kotor (idk if it holds up but i loooved this growing up) shenmue (i never got that far, was so lost. but that's part of the appeal) sneak king (hahahahahaha) guitar hero halo (still remember when they first introduce the flood i was legitamately caught off guard) rampage (don't eat the nun! ohahhahaha) ratchet and clank (i thought the new one was pretty fun too) ffx-2 international (i actually really liked all the little stories of the fiends that you got to hear as they get "sent". Really impactful) fantavision odin sphere 13 sentinels sly cooper mister mosquito (hahaha) shadow of the colossus astro boy (ps2) MONSTER RANCHER (this was such a cool idea! I loved it can still remember, distinctly, that the rudolph the red-nosed reindeer rankin and bass dvd would unlock a black knight-like fish monster that I thought was great (i love knights, and i love fish) phantom brave klonoa finny and the seven waters spyro crash bandicoot (omg how did i forget this until now? So so so much playing crash warped) that's all for now. Will I add to this list? pare it down? add fun little unique stories for each game? Maybe! But that's enough nostalgia and inspiration... let's make something new!!!!!
--------------------- Update 7/2/2025: hundred line last defense academy (me and my brother are finishing this one up! started team kurara, now don't know how anyone is not team hiruko. Really like the endgame plot, but oh man is the tactics boring to me. wish we had the story of this game with the gameplay of fe engage) they bleed pixels super meat boy (i forgot this one earlier! These xla games were fun) bloodstained (i like the big open one ofc but i really liked the inti creates ones too! idk if there are more i played 2 i think? i really like inti creates!!!!!!) dragon marked for death (i might be alone but i totally digged the orchestral music with pixel art goin' on) gal guardians (i have not played gal gun (was too embarassed growing up, haha) but it might be fun?) mighty no 9 (i actually didn't think this was that bad at the time, but i was also in college and super busy and I LOVE MEGAMAN so i may have been blinded) mario kart world (just played it; it's fun! the characters are very very cute. i love snowman and dolphin) soma bringer (really cool idea) the dog island there's like a hello kitty game for the gamecube that i played with my sister and i liked it nightmare of druaga (actually haven't played yet, but my brother had it and i saw the box and always thought it looked so cool) okay lol looks like one of the most influential games for me i forgot about again haha this next one deserves a break
psychonauts. this game came out when i was 10, like what are the chances. i actually only watched my brother play most of it at the time but was still imprinted (buzzword i've been hearing recently but if the shoe fits). like psychonauts is so great!!!! grim fandango also great haven't actually played anything else by those guys afaik (monkey island is supposed to be good? it probably is!!!) but man those two are so cool. i will say though whatever you call that art style in that part near the beginning of grim fandango where they go to like the "real world" or the land of the living or whatever and it's like human eyes and mouths from like magazines put on top of things or whatever... i DO NOT LIKE THAT, it gives me an extremely strong repulsion response. like i know that's the point but like aaaaaa i had nightmares from that (and still do occassionally). like i remember bill wurtz did that in one of his music videos circa 2018 with like a fish saying "hi" but instead of "hi" it was "heye" which was a fish with a human eye on it. i stopped watching his channel after that; that's the last song i heard haha. and it's been like 7 years and i am still scared by that and have bad dreams about that (see earlier where i mention i have had chronic nightmares since i was a kid) ----- about 10 hours into DK Bananza and oh, banana!!!!! such a simple a concept that's so funn!!!! the tone guys break when you punch them and the eelevators give you high-fives!!!! mario kart world was also great, but this is another level; truly great imho wowowowow i can only dream my game is half as good as this -----