Poll: What's your favorite FMV game?

[BlowMyCartridge]

FMV fans unite!

[Joe Redifer]

I would vote for Road Avenger.

[Zebbe]

Me too, but the problem is that it is the only FMV game I've ever played, together with Time Gal. I will buy Night Trap some day.

[playgen]

Road Avenger here too, the fact its based in a car elevates above the others for me.

[Zebbe]

Maybe a moderator can add Road Avenger as an option?

[playgen]

And Time Gal, thats definitly one of the better ones.

[lordofduct]

I would vote for Road Avenger.
Same here!


and come on... Dragon's Lair isn't on here? The game that started the FMV genre way back in 83?

Or is the poster not considering them as they were animations instead of live action? I could understand this...

but yeah, there's a lot more (even live action ones)
Dragon's Lair
Time Gal
Road Avenger
Fahrenheit
The Animals
Bug Blasters
Cadillacs & Dinosaurs
Cobra Command
Crime Patrol

... just to list a few

[BlowMyCartridge]

Did Crime Patrol get released to Sega CD? I want it, but I don't want to have to buy a 3DO.

My bad, I totally forgot about Road Avenger. Timegal, ehhh. I'm not an anime/manga fanboy so maybe the charm of that game is lost on me? I've only played it once.

[BlowMyCartridge]

Yeah, I wasn't really thinking about cartoons, but i suppose they are FMVs.

[cj iwakura]

Much as I love Night Trap, Road Avenger's the best.

Double Switch would probably be second, because it's a lot more challenging(re: randomized) than Night Trap.

Corpse Killer would probably be fourth(after Night Trap), just for comedy value. Hilarious cutscenes.

Also, poll lacks Wirehead. :P Then again, it probably hasn't aged well. But it had its moments.

And yeah, Crime Patrol was released for Sega CD... the awesome sequel(Drug Wars), unfortunately, wasn't.

[BlowMyCartridge]

How difficult do you think it would be for me to acquire Crime Patrol for the Sega CD?

Double Switch, in my opinion, is far superior to Night Trap. Two words: Corey Haim.

[cj iwakura]

Not hard at all. I got a DVD of Crime Patrol 2 for $5 at an EB a few years ago.
(Controls suck, but it's still the game.)

And gameplay wise, Double Switch is amazing. Night Trap still wins for comedy, though.


...I'd much rather stay here and enjoy our new guests

[BlowMyCartridge]

My only complaint about Double Switch is that it is HARD! My god, the learning curve is steep on that one. Which I guess is good because it gives it more replayability than a lot of other FMV games. Also, I find trapping the criminals on Double Switch a lot more satisfying than the Augers in Night Trap.

[tomaitheous]

I'll echo Road Avenger too.

[0x15e]

Of what's on the list, I'd say Double Switch. I've always preferred it to Night Trap ... which reminds me I need to track down a copy for my Saturn.

But seriously. Road Avenger. This thread is 5 hours old. Why has this insane oversight not been addressed?

[BlowMyCartridge]

What is the appeal of Road Avenger? I never got into it.

[Joe Redifer]

I was thinking about adding Road Avenger to the poll, but then I'd have to add a TON of games that are also missing and I don't think I can remember them all. If someone can put up a list before more people vote, I'll add them.

[lordofduct]

I was thinking about adding Road Avenger to the poll, but then I'd have to add a TON of games that are also missing and I don't think I can remember them all. If someone can put up a list before more people vote, I'll add them.

Sega-16 has them all listed in the Sega CD master list... well most of them at least. Just go through it and ctrl+F "FMV".

[Joe Redifer]

OK many, many games have been added. If you cannot vote, that's because you voted in the previous poll. Just post what you voted for and I will add your vote.

Some of the games in the master list have their genre wrong (Revengers of Vengeance and Racing Aces being listed as FMV, for example), so I may have passed a title that was listed as Action RPG when it should have been FMV. If there is a game on there which is not an FMV game, let me know. I do not consider Jurassic Park CD an FMV game even though it has FMV elements.

[j_factor]

I voted for Time Gal, but I also liked Mansion of Hidden Souls and Night Trap. Sewer Shark, Double Switch, and Road Avenger were also decent. I also like Dragon's Lair and Space Ace, but not on Sega CD.

[cj iwakura]

What is the appeal of Road Avenger? I never got into it.

It's Dragon's Lair in a sports car, long story short.

Intense, and fun. Good music, too.

[Iron Lizard]

I had fun with Time gal especially after i learned by accident if I paused the game and hit C it would skip to the nent level.

[0x15e]

I'd actually completely forgotten about Tomcat Alley. Although it's probably technically superior to Road Avenger, I think it says something that I'd completely forgotten about it. Especially since I actually own Tomcat Alley and not Road Avenger.

I also hadn't really considered Mansion of Hidden Souls to be an FMV game. I guess it is, since everything that happens is FMV, but at least there's some semblance of a game going there, rather than some half-ass choose-your-own-adventure movie thing.

So anyway, I'm sticking with my original vote for Road Avenger. It's just about the only one that actually sticks in my mind as an FMV game I'd like to play again any time soon.

[cj iwakura]

Mansion of Hidden Souls is more like Myst than anything, so I guess that depends on whether you consider that an FMV game.

Great game, even if it can be finished in like an hour and a half.

[Captain Jack]

For me it's Nite Trap. It reminds me of the kind of movies shown on MST3K so I heckle it and my own performance as I play. That and it's so cheesy that its just awesome.

[Dirt Ball Gamer]

Night trap, road avenger, sewer shark, actually I like a lot of fmv games, but the very best with a bullet is Masked Rider Kamen Zo! I cannot play this with a straight face its impossible! Hilarious shit. The japanese man, gotta love em! I actually really want to move to japan, I can't stand the US anymore. Them-"America Buddy, Love it, or git Out!!" - me, "Uhhm.. Ok."

[cj iwakura]

At least they didn't use footage from the Saban US version of Masked Rider Z.

[Fonzie]

Road avenger is surely the strongest FMV, the one that define the segacd in 20 seconds ^^.

I had lot of fun with Masked Rider, enjoyable story, and nice "à la" road avenger gameplay, similar to shenmue's QTE at some points.

And Bug blaster is also damn good... Especially because the game is easy (compared to other FMVs like TomcatAlley), so it gets fun gameplay-wise, and there is a strange goofy humor all along the game.

[108 Stars]

Road Avenger is crap, just as all other FMV-"games" I ever played are.

[lordofduct]

ROAD AVENGER FTW!

[Zebbe]

Road Avenger is great. At least you can get forward by using three buttons, unlike Kingdom Hearts where you only need to mash the X button repeatedly or pick one of the magic attacks which makes the game play itself.

[108 Stars]

Road Avenger is great. At least you can get forward by using three buttons, unlike Kingdom Hearts where you only need to mash the X button repeatedly or pick one of the magic attacks which makes the game play itself.

Phhw...calling Road Avenger great...haha, RA doesn´t even deserve to exist in the same dimension as KH...why don´t you play an awesome round of Dragon´s Lair? It´s about as entertainig as RA. Road Avenger as pack-in game was another reason nobody bought a Mega CD in Europe. It was torn apart by magazines, and I feel they were even being to gentle. Road Avenger is no better than Dark Castle.

[Zebbe]

Road Avenger has the most awesome sound a game can possibly have from that time. While the graphics are grainy, the anime design is great and has a sweet retro-feel to it. As it actually FEELS like you are driving the car when you play the game, it totally makes up for the gameplay. The only meaning with KH is to get 13-year-olds who likes Disney to join the million fanbase of Final Fantasy. Square Enix just can't get enough of whoring out that franchise.

[108 Stars]

Okay, so I am a 13-year old kid. At least KH has gameplay and an entertaining story (even YOU said it was fun). NOTHING makes up for lousy (or non-existent) gameplay in a videogame. If Anime and cool music is what you want, buy a few DVDs and listen to your favourite band; you don´t need a GAME for that!

[Zebbe]

No, KH has no gameplay. Only special attacks that take forever to end or buttonmashing. DVDs and music can't make it feel like I'm driving a car. Road Avenger can!

[108 Stars]

No, KH has no gameplay. Only special attacks that take forever to end or buttonmashing. DVDs and music can't make it feel like I'm driving a car. Road Avenger can!

Now you´re being really ridiculous. If you just button-mash, you cannot beat KH. That´s a lie. The battle system is pretty simplistic, but what do you have against it? You like Light Crusader too, and that one needs exactly the same button-smashing like KH.
If Road Avenger makes you feel like driving a car you should never get a driver´s license.
The only persons who like RA you find on a Sega retro forum; it wasn´t even popular enough to spawn a sequel. But I guess all the reviewers and customers back in the day were just stupid and RA is a great game after all.

[Zebbe]

In KH the character moves by himself with the X-button; in Light Crusader he doesn't. I already have a driver's license.

[108 Stars]

And? In KH you at least have to watch your HP yourself; in Light Crusader the game takes good care of you.

I can´t understand one bit how you can defend such a bad game just because of graphics and sound. How can you just ignore the gameplay? Saying you feel like driving a car is shit. You just feel like watching an old Anime VHS. I think FMV-crap like Road Avenger doesn´t even deserve bein called games. Praise it as you will, but history has punished the Mega CD for this software garbage, and the genre is finally dead. Because it was so great I guess.

[Zebbe]

In KH, Donald or Goofy takes care of you. Plus there is this "at least 1 HP after attack insurance". In LC, you have to aim yourself, in KH, Sora is homing when using his keyblade.

I can agree with FMV being generally crap, even after playing only two games of the genre. But I still think one single game of it is fun. That is very reasonable to me. FMV games are very limited, but RA made it up with what I said above, and I think that is enough for the genre.

[BlowMyCartridge]

It's Dragon's Lair in a sports car, long story short.

Intense, and fun. Good music, too.

The couple of times I played it, it felt more like a crappy episode of Speed Racer.

[lordofduct]

Ok boys and girls... was this really necessary?

How did a psuedo-RPG like Kingdom Hearts made 10 years after the SegaCD get thrown into the mix?

@Zebbe, you don't need to defend FMV titles... most people hate them, can't hide from that.

@108 Stars - dude, you don't like FMV titles. So what, a LOT of people don't. That was the point of this thread... to find the titles out there played by people who DO like FMV titles. So crap off, that horse is so dead kicking it is just futile.

to quote you:
The only persons who like RA you find on a Sega retro forum

let me ask you... do you even know where you are?





...
Oh and sorry boy's and girls. The FMV gameplay style is still alive and true. It is just masked over with 3D and more complex input commands. But the essentials of the FMV gameplay technique are still there.

God of War for instance anyone? Button combo pops up on screen, you push the innocuous button combo you are informed to push and BAM, your character does something totally irrelevant to your command. It's simon says, and the games still exist... they just lack the shitty FMV of the older titles, and a more complex user interface... and even then the arcade versions of FMV titles (which did VERY well) had really good video quality.

[cj iwakura]

Technically, Shenmue uses FMV mechanics in the QTE segments, much like Resident Evil 4.

So yeah, FMV 'gameplay' is still alive and well.

Shoot, I consider Tecmo's Deception series a spiritual successor to Night Trap and Double Switch... if only that you kill stupid intruders with elaborate killing devices(in much, much messier ways).

[j_factor]

Ok boys and girls... was this really necessary?

How did a psuedo-RPG like Kingdom Hearts made 10 years after the SegaCD get thrown into the mix?

@Zebbe, you don't need to defend FMV titles... most people hate them, can't hide from that.

@108 Stars - dude, you don't like FMV titles. So what, a LOT of people don't. That was the point of this thread... to find the titles out there played by people who DO like FMV titles. So crap off, that horse is so dead kicking it is just futile.

to quote you:

let me ask you... do you even know where you are?





...
Oh and sorry boy's and girls. The FMV gameplay style is still alive and true. It is just masked over with 3D and more complex input commands. But the essentials of the FMV gameplay technique are still there.

God of War for instance anyone? Button combo pops up on screen, you push the innocuous button combo you are informed to push and BAM, your character does something totally irrelevant to your command. It's simon says, and the games still exist... they just lack the shitty FMV of the older titles, and a more complex user interface... and even then the arcade versions of FMV titles (which did VERY well) had really good video quality.

QFT. Welcome back.

[tomaitheous]

Comparing God of War with FMV from the SegaCD? You have one distorted view of gaming. I think you're looking to hard for the resemblance. I could do the same with atari 2600 games and Genesis games.

[lordofduct]

Comparing God of War with FMV from the SegaCD? You have one distorted view of gaming. I think you're looking to hard for the resemblance. I could do the same with atari 2600 games and Genesis games.

Yeah you could... and it would work.

Hrmm, I guess you never bothered to take a look at "gameplay elements"... the guts of what makes a game fun. "God of War" utilizes the same 'simon says' gameplay mechanics that FMV games use.

Just like platformers from the Genesis utilize the same gameplay mechanics of Pitfall on the Atari. They are just beefed up a little more, and the play area is expanded a lot so it doesn't seem as repetative.


or how about the best example... GUITAR HERO. It's simon fuckin' says with music instead of video clips.

[tomaitheous]

Yeah you could... and it would work.

Hrmm, I guess you never bothered to take a look at "gameplay elements"... the guts of what makes a game fun. "God of War" utilizes the same 'simon says' gameplay mechanics that FMV games use.

Just like platformers from the Genesis utilize the same gameplay mechanics of Pitfall on the Atari. They are just beefed up a little more, and the play area is expanded a lot so it doesn't seem as repetative.

You really believe that? Wow...



or how about the best example... GUITAR HERO. It's simon fuckin' says with music instead of video clips.

No, it's not simon fuckin' says. Have you ever played simon fuckin' says?

[ary incorparated]

Yeah you could... and it would work.

Hrmm, I guess you never bothered to take a look at "gameplay elements"... the guts of what makes a game fun. "God of War" utilizes the same 'simon says' gameplay mechanics that FMV games use.

Just like platformers from the Genesis utilize the same gameplay mechanics of Pitfall on the Atari. They are just beefed up a little more, and the play area is expanded a lot so it doesn't seem as repetative.


or how about the best example... GUITAR HERO. It's simon fuckin' says with music instead of video clips.

Guitar hero is Overated hero they put a good metal song in it to make those games seem to be cool who The F....ck want warrant cherrie pie,i dont its glam all over the place we want real guitar gods like satch yngwie jason becker with the goodnes of maiden and deth.WTF they removed megadeth in 3 and why isnt there a edit function so that you can put in your own songs,is it to much to ask to not hack your ps2 to do that.The song selection in guitar hero is pretty media biased and some kids showin off like theyre playing the real thing when doing GH on expert.Put some cheap ass mechanix into it like some strings etc to make it usefull instead of ending up with a carpall tunnel and maybe a broken Toyguitar.

I Know that Godawfulwar :p also uses FMV's in the backgrounds so it matches the sega cd thing more then a atari 2600 wich couldn't do anything in video format.BTW Zebbe make that 2 i also like road adventure just because it has something that keeps you playing and at the time people where impressed by it,i love seeing the car doing stunts its just a nice game because it play's easy and that you have to memorise your moves to pass.Very underated and anyway FMV games on sega cd are underated theyre alienized like hell here i think while their not half as bad Road advenger gets the same disadvantage as a DK just Blech flat Pre render,not sega blech dont like the looks but dont know how it plays .


You really believe that? Wow...




No, it's not simon fuckin' says. Have you ever played simon fuckin' says?

well simon seems to be a pretty busy man when he's doing two things at the same time.

[lordofduct]

You really believe that? Wow...




No, it's not simon fuckin' says. Have you ever played simon fuckin' says?

Wow... you know... I just can not contest your logics there sweet heart! My friend Adny says he is suing you for copyright infringement... Adny Logic is trademarked yo' [/sarcasm]



@ary incorporated - yeah, overrated pile of dog doo it is... but an overrated pile of dog poo that flies off the shelves every new version that is released!

Reminds me of FPSs, MMOs, and well... just about every videogame I've ever played. Doesn't stop me from being in the game design field though...

[BlowMyCartridge]

Wow, the FMV thread turned into the bash-the-shit-out-of God of War thread. For the record, I also hate the game. If only it could be as good as Double Switch.

[lordofduct]

I was never bashing God of War personally... I hear lots of good things about it.

I have nothing against the style of gameplay for it... it is just a good example of it.

[tomaitheous]

I was never bashing God of War personally... I hear lots of good things about it.

I have nothing against the style of gameplay for it... it is just a good example of it.

Wait.. you haven't played through God of War? (not being an ass, just asking since you were making the comparison).

For the record (too), I liked the game up until about 2/3'rds way through. It was refreshing at the time from the mediocre games coming out with its amazing graphics, presentation, and story but the last 1/3rd was just sooo boring. I really had for force myself to finish the last part. I bought the sequel.. played about 1/8th into it and left it sit on my shelf since.

[lordofduct]

Never finished the game... I'm not a big PS2 gamer. I got say about 1/2 way in and got bored of it. I hear it was good all the way, and it flew off the shelves, so I make 1 assumption.

A lot of people MUST have loved it.

My entire comparison here is nothing to do with my enjoyment of a game, or your enjoyment of a game, or anyone single person. I am making the corrolation between the gameplay mechanics that are inherent in the game and that the game is successful.

Thusly showing signs that the 'simon says' gameplay mechanic (also inherent in FMV titles) is still alive and thriving. Just no longer in the FMV genre specifically.

wait, sorry, I should clarify what I mean by "simon says"... it is not a reference to the verbal childrens game 'simon says', but actually a connection to the game 'simon' which is named after the children's game. If you've ever searched around the internet about titles like Guitar Hero or God of War, 'simon says' is the usual name given to the patern repetition games out there like these.



...[edit]
more specifically, seperating my bias opinion of a title from the general concensus. I have yet to say what games I enjoy in this thread, if I even like FMV games... I believe the only opinion of mine I've spouted is that I like "Road Avenger".

[redrum666]

my favs
Road Avenger
Bug Blasters: The Exterminators
Cobra Command

i voted for Bug Blasters sines i didnt think it would get any love seeing as a lot of people have not played it maybe the only good game good deal games sales

i have yet to play Time Gal, Masked Rider, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Mansion of the Hidden Souls and Revenge of the Ninja i have been meaning to get them for some time now but for get to look them up on ebay

[saxman]

Of the one's I've played, it would definitely be Tomcat Alley.

[BlowMyCartridge]

Wow, really? I hated Tomcat Alley. For the "flying around and shooting stuff" genre I prefer Sewer Shark. Even Surgical Strike is better.

[Dirt Ball Gamer]

Surgical strike has some killer explosions, I love seeing those terrorist scum getting blown out of their socks, take that AL qaida!. Now if I could just figure out how to actually play the game. I love it when you die and they tell you how awefull you are and call you yellow :) Fun for 3 minutes then I get pissed and put in something else.

[BlowMyCartridge]

I can't even play that game for 3 minutes. I only put it in when I don't have any Lethal Weapon or Die Hard movies handy and I need my "mindless explosions" fix.

Does anyone else actually like Sewer Shark?

[j_factor]

I like Sewer Shark. I don't love it, but I like it.

[Sen]

I voted Night Trap, I really like the game. It was so different from the games I was used to. I played it a lot, completing it after dozens of tries.

I like sewer shark as well, completed it, but I do not think I will play it again.

[BlowMyCartridge]

If you like Night Trap, you would love Double Switch.

[cj iwakura]

Absolutely. Double Switch has twice as much traps, comedy, story, the works.

It's like they gave the Night Trap team carte blanche to be as creative as possible, and the results are beautiful.

I love the criminal with the beard's reactions to the traps. Comedy gold.

And don't forget the best FMV line ever, care of Double Switch:


You tell Luigi and Mario: their days are numbered!

[Benjamin]

I guess I should actually play that copy of Double Switch I bought for the case some years ago since I do like Night Trap. It's just while I can appreciate and moderately enjoy that kind of game design, it's not the sort of thing I actively seek and make time to play.

Anyway, I voted for Mansion of Hidden Souls. Night Trap would be my no. 2 and Road Avenger my no. 3. Still, of all those games, Hidden Souls is far more memorable and will live with me longer. It has a terrific atmosphere about it which never quite worked on the follow-up Saturn disc. Night Trap is a well implemented gimmick but still a gimmick, and Road Avenger is a theme song for Simon.

[BlowMyCartridge]

Catching bad guys on Double Switch is a thousand times more satisfying than catching augers on Night Trap. My only qualm with Double Switch is the sometimes ridiculous difficulty.

[cj iwakura]

Anyway, I voted for Mansion of Hidden Souls. Night Trap would be my no. 2 and Road Avenger my no. 3. Still, of all those games, Hidden Souls is far more memorable and will live with me longer. It has a terrific atmosphere about it which never quite worked on the follow-up Saturn disc.

Are you referring to D? I agree, but it's also a great game. Just different(and much shorter/darker.)

[Joe Redifer]

Isn't the Saturn Mansion o' Hidden Soulz the same exact game as the Sega CD one except with super clean HD video that only the Saturn can produce?

[seganutt]

i love night trap the best mega cd game.welcome to the next level!!

[j_factor]

Mansion of Hidden Souls for Saturn is completely different from (though similar to) the Sega CD game. I don't get why they did that. It wouldn't have killed them to put a "2" on the end of the Saturn title. It's purely a western thing too, as they had different titles in Japan.

[cj iwakura]

I didn't know there was a Saturn version of Mansion of Hidden Souls... color me interested.

[j_factor]

It was one of the first Saturn games ever. Available at launch, even in Japan. I think it was in development as a Sega CD game and they switched it over to Saturn.

[Joe Redifer]

I don't think it was available at launch in the US. Maybe the "relaunch".

[j_factor]

It was available at the official launch on September 2, 1995. :p

[cj iwakura]

How hard is it to find? If it's anything like the original, I bet I could figure my way through it(little to no text, almost all of it was visual-driven).

I never mind having an extra title to put my import adapter to use with.

[Joe Redifer]

It was available at the official launch on September 2, 1995. :p
Yeah, that was the "relaunch".

[j_factor]

I don't know why you're talking about your import adapter. Mansion of Hidden Souls for Saturn was released in every territory. I don't know what part of the world you're from, but the European version was titled Mystery Mansion.

In any case, both the Japanese and American releases are easy enough to find and available cheaply; not sure about the European release.


Yeah, that was the "relaunch".

I know. I like to pretend that other thing never happened.

[cj iwakura]

It even got a US release? How on earth did I miss this? I guess I've got to go hunting.

[Henry Spencer]

Road Avenger, 'cos it feels like I'm Mel Gibson from a certain apocalyptic film. Also, Dragon's Lair on the CD-i is great fun now and then.

[Dirt Ball Gamer]

Kids on site is definitly the best. No question, quality product with tite gameplay and really pushes the fmv format to the max.

[matteus]

Ground Zero Texas :)

[MN12BIRD]

I didn't have a Genesis or SegaCD during it's run (I had SNES) but I remember renting SegaCD a few times and once I rented it with Road Avenger. I hooked the SCD up to my stereo receiver and I thought the game (and music) was soooo sweet!

[Mooияakeя™]

Sherlock FTW