Ahhh, what a festive winter night this is...it's almost close to holiday season called Christmas, a special traditional day where everyone in the families and friends get together and celebrating during the night related to holiday season.
Stuff like snowing down from above the sky, building up snowman, watching flying reindeers pulling Santa's sleigh, decorating stuff like Christmas trees with tinsels and baubles, people singing Christmas songs, watching Christmas films, eating roast dinner like chickens and potatoes set on dining tables and of course everyone's favourite Father Christmas giving out gifts to everyone is what Christmas is all about.
In 7 years past since I've covered all my previous Wishlist that I might considering to get it on the day of Christmas holiday, I decided to make another Wishlist this year because it's nearly Christmas season and I need it to write down my list of most wanted Christmas gifts that I'd like to add it to my gaming collection this winter.
So without go further do, here is my 5 Christmas Wishlist of 2022.
1 - Die Hard Arcade (Saturn)
First of all, I f***ing love Die Hard because it's one of the all-time greatest action-films of the 80s.
The first film stars Bruce Willis takes the role of police detective named John McClane went on mission to save all hostages and take down the terrorist group led by Hans Gruber in Nakatomi Plaza.
The film became instant success at release and also popular cultural icon which led the creation of the film franchise has spawned with numerous of film sequels, comics, cameo appearances, and of course video games.
SEGA AM1 had created their very first 3D beat-em-up to acquire the license based on Die Hard franchise in cooperation with Fox Interactive.
It was titled as Die Hard Arcade (A.K.A Dynamite Deka in Japan) was released in 1996 for Arcade system ST-V and was later released for Saturn in 1997, as well as being re-released at Japan-only for PS2 in 2006 as part of SEGA Ages line.
I remember back then at the time when I had SEGA Saturn as a child, I've seen one of my brother's friends came to our house with a copy of Die Hard Arcade for us to try out and see how the game really plays out and oh boy is it so damn good to play it on Saturn.
I was really impressed seeing a 3D beat-em-ups plays it really well on the Saturn with 2-player co-op and has over-the-top action packed going on which is why I find the game quite fun to play making it very last Saturn game I ever played before my brother just got rid of my Saturn with the N64 console (not until I finally got Saturn back in my early age of 20s).
In around year 2000s when I first had SEGA Dreamcast at the time, my brother had bought the copy of Dynamite Cop (A.K.A Dynamite Deka 2 in Japan), a follow-up title to 1996's predecessor. It's one of the game being released on Model 2 Arcade in 1998, and later on Dreamcast in 1999 without licensing Die Hard franchise, so I've managed to enjoy the game just as much as the 1996's predecessor was on Saturn.
As I've start collecting retro gaming stuff as today, I was thinking to get a copy of Die Hard Arcade on Saturn to re-visit my childhood again to see if the game really holds up well as today standards, so the price of the game are stupendously expensive just like most Saturn games library are likely to high up prices due to rarity of the game which cost around between £80 to £150 over making it difficult for Saturn owners to pick up and play, unless the only way to pick up and play the game is to buy the cheap Japanese copy titled Dynamite Deka which cost about £50 and over, so thankfully I had Action Replay Plus software to bypass the Japanese Saturn games on my UK Saturn console which is likely that I will perhaps someday to have this added on my Saturn library.
YIPPIE KI-YAY MOTHER F***ER!!!
2 - Time Crisis 2 and 3 + G-Con 2 (PS2)
Well Well, are you feeling surprised to see a PS2 games been added on my wishlist? dun dun dun you should be because it's been 22 years since the PS2 console was released in year 2000, so after I got really pissed at SONY's decision for not including a full disk-based PS2 backwards compatibility for PS4 and PS5 console which is why I got a PS2 console last month is the only way of playing a PS2 games.
I know it's sounds kinda odd to own the console that is 22 years old which is not a bad thing because we all know PS2 is heavily regarded as one of the greatest gaming consoles of all-time and also ranked as a top 1 best-selling console of all-time with over 155 million units sold worldwide.
The system was widely known for its own killer game library including God of War, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Dexter, Sly Cooper, Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, Final Fantasy X, Metal Gear Soild 3: Snake Eater, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City that made PS2 quite famous back then.
It also has ability to play DVD films and PS1 games as backwards compatibility are also a system's main selling key-point which is why a lot of consumers went crazy to buy the system because of these features included on PS2 hardware which I now understand why the console went so popular back in 2000s.
So going back to this topic, after owning the PS2 console last month I am interested in getting the copy of Time Crisis 2 and 3 as well as the G-Con 2 which is the light gun controller for PS2 that requires to use it for light gun gameplay brings closer to arcade counterpart except the foot pedal that are used for cover system are present on arcade system, but not the home console instead you will have the button on the G-Con 2 used as the cover system which I don't really mind using it because that's Namco to you guys anyway.
Time Crisis is a light gun shooter series created by Namco (now merged as Bandai Namco Entertainment) was very known for its action packed stages and of course the cover system which allows the player to take cover to evade enemy's projectiles adds the innovation to its genres.
I really enjoyed playing Time Crisis games like the first, second and third mostly for the arcade cabinets because I like shooting down the bad guys and hiding behind the objects at the same time brings the game's fun factor makes it very addicting to play especially with 2-player co-op on both 2 and 3.
I also enjoyed playing Time Crisis: Razing Storm compilation for PS3 which includes both Razing Storm and Time Crisis 4, so I've used PS Move controller which works really well for light-gun shooters.
So I was hoping to considered getting the Time Crisis games and G-Con 2 for PS2 which is going to be one hell lot of fun to play.
3 - Guitar Hero 1 and 2 + Guitar Controller (PS2)
Guitar Hero is a video game music-rhythm franchise had started back in mid-2000s originally created by RedOctane that produced specialized video game controllers and seeking to bring in a Konami's Guitar Freaks-like game, a music-rhythm series that are highly popular in Japan at the time, into western markets.
It has been generally acclaimed reception and becoming financially success has sold more than 25 million units worldwide, earning US-$2 billion at retail, 60 million downloadable tracks have been purchased across the series as of 2010, and becoming Activision's 3rd largest game franchise in 2009.
The success of the franchise had spawned numerous of titles for various of gaming platforms, and made a significant cultural impact has helped the entertainment industries such as incorporated into music educational programs, and made several appearances in popular culture such as in TV Shows, Sports, and Films.
I had wireless guitar controller and the copy of 3 Guitar Hero games such as GHIII: Legends of Rock, GH: World Tour, and of course GH: Metallica for Nintendo Wii, so why would I wanted to get another GH games and guitar controller for PS2? maybe because there are two GH games that I've missed out despite the first title being only on PS2 platform, while the second title are also on X360 making it the 7th gen's first game in the series, but not being on the platforms like Wii and PS3 which at the time these system wasn't been released till 2006-07 which they ended up with GHIII: Legends of Rock instead.
Both the first and second game on PS2 does shares with recognisable licensed soundtracks that made the franchise so popular back in mid-2000s, so stuff from GH1 such as Motorhead - Ace of Spades, Pantera - Cowboys from Hell, Black Sabbath - Iron Man, and Megadeth - Symphony of Destruction, where as GH2 has Avenged Sevenfold - Beast and the Harlot, Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box, Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name, Lamb of God - Laid to Rest, and Alice in Chains - Them Bones.
This is the reason why I wanted to add this to my wishlist, so that I can able to start rock and roll with more songs to play on PS2.
The price of the each GH games are actually dirt cheap around between £2.50 and £5, where as the guitar controllers for PS2 should cost about between £30 and over depending on the second-hand product are good enough to purchase from online.
4 - Toy Story (Genesis/MD)
TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!!!
Yes everyone, it all started back in mid-90s when Disney PIXAR had bought their very first 3D computer-animated film ever released at worldwide, so that is Toy Story.
The animated film is all about taking place in a world where toys come to life when humans are not present, so the story focuses on a old-fashioned cowboy doll named Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) who is once Andy's long-time favourite toy until he develops his jealousy when Andy then receives a modern space cadet action-figure named Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) happens to be a new favourite toy causing the relationship between two didn't go along very well.
It received universally acclaimed reception and became a 2nd high-grossing film at the release, as the film was credited for its technical innovation of 3D animation, as well as screenplay, musical score, and voice performance. It was considered as by many to be one of the greatest animated films ever made receiving numerous of academy award.
The success of Toy Story had involved into a multimedia franchise with film sequels, toy merchandises, animated series, theme park attractions, and of course video games.
As I loved the film as a child back in mid-1990s, I first remembered when I saw the game that was on the 16-bit machines such as SEGA Genesis/MD and SNES at the Blockbuster rental store. My brother just rented the SNES copy of the game which got me excited to play a title that was based on the animated film that I much loved as a kid.
It's basically a side-scrolling platformer where you take control of Woody through several of 18 stages that encompass the entire plot of the film.
The game itself is considered to be quite difficult to play for younger target audience due to uneven difficulty may going to frustrate them depending on which levels are designed to be challenging, but although it plays really well for its simple controls, pre-rendered visuals, and soundtrack are the positive parts of the game.
I also played the Genesis/MD version which I was at my cousin's house who had their 16-bit console and has rented the copy which I considered the Genesis/MD version to be smoother compared with SNES due to better screen resolution, responsive hit collisions, and has one exclusive 3D stage that aren't present on SNES counterpart which is why I much preferred the SEGA's 16-bit version over the SNES port.
In nowadays, I'm interested in getting a Genesis/MD copy of Toy Story which cost about £7 for loose cartridge, while the fully complete boxset cost £10 or more which is not that expensive to choose which ever you preferred to pick between the cart only or full boxed game found it easier to purchase and add it to your collection.
5 - Illusion of Time (SNES)
The SNES was being very known at the time in the 90's when sharing with numerous of excellent RPGs titles that really made the Nintendo's 16-bit system quite recognisable.
Stuff like Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Romancing Saga, Breath of Fire, Lufia 2, Tactics Ogre, Fire Emblem, Front Mission, Super Mario RPG: Legend of Seven Stars, and of course The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
There are two RPGs games that I considered those as criminally underappreciated that didn't get the attention what it deserve, so stuff like Quintet's forgotten classics such as Soul Blazer and Terranigma which I previously enjoyed these full Action-RPG experience for its unique story presentation, great combat and puzzle gameplay, the exploration throughout the worlds, has rich quality soundtrack, and epic boss battles is what made me put a smile on my face for joy proving the SNES has the best library of the RPGs.
There's one of the game that I totally forgot about it which also created by a same team behind the two classics that I've mentioned above, so that is Illusion of Time (A.K.A Illusion of Gaia in US release) which is an Action-RPG that plays similar to two other Quintet's games, so I was hoping for this game plays just as good as other two that I've played quite long ago in regards of combat, exploration, and designs had to be staying on top.
The game itself are likely to get bit pricey up to £25 or more depending on whether if its loosed cart or complete boxed, so to be fully honest I rather pick something that are easy to purchase as an cheaper alternatives, but be careful for those English speakers who owns the PAL console needed to pay much close attention to the copy because there are a German-language copy are also on online store, so be sure you picked the right version of the game before making an purchase online.
Honourable Mention:
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's about time (PS4)
Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut (PS4)
Sonic Frontier (PS4)
3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
Mario Kart 64 (N64)
Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64)
Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast (PS2)
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This is Zeeshan Mirza's Blog and I'll see you next time, happy blogging and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.
