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"Triple A"

Question that I’ve posed myself is what is classed as a triple A title? Simple answers will be fired at me, from a Nintendo point of view Triple A titles include Mario, Starfox Adventures, Zelda, Metroid and Eternal Darkness. But several confusions can occur as regards what IS a triple A title, do separate consoles class different things as Triple A and can our personal preferences determine a Triple A title.

Now the launch of the Nintendo Gamecube isn’t too far away and looking at the launch line up I can’t say that I’m not impressed. But many have pointed out that launch game, Luigi’s Mansion, is far from the triple A title that we come to expect from a Nintendo launch game (like lets say Mario 64 on the good old N64). But as far as I’m concerned the launch is littered with Triple A titles. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle is one of these, so is Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3, but when I say these games I get laughed at claiming that these games aren’t triple A titles. Another game, which appears not on day one but certainly during the launch period is Super Smash Brothers: Melee, but again people say this is not a Triple A title. So now I get confused and ask, “what the hell is a Triple A title??”

My quest to find out what defines a Triple A title has taken me to the dead but not forgotten SEGA Dreamcast. This system was filled with class games such as Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventures and Jet Set Radio. A system that had its fair share of amazing triple A games. Phantasy Star Online Version 2 is a prime example of a triple A Dreamcast game, the game really has shown what a console game can do with the Internet! SEGA RPG’s do normally turn out to be spectacular take the critically acclaimed Skies of Arcadia for example, one of the Dreamcast’s best Triple A titles. Now here is where a problem arises - the above Triple A titles have appeared or will appear on other systems. Crazy Taxi has got released on all formats, but why was it a Triple A title on the Dreamcast but a simply good game on other systems? Well the fact that a sequel has since appeared on the Dreamcast makes Crazy Taxi seem very much outdated but what about the others? Sonic has always been a Triple A, first rate SEGA game, it has been the game that SEGA use to show of their wares on more than one occasion. So why is it then that the awesome Sonic Adventure 2 on the Dreamcast is no more than a good game on the Gamecube? Sonic Adventure 2: Battle is an upgraded Dreamcast game but a damn good one, but that is all it is, what has caused this game to get demoted? Phantasy Star Online version 2 is about to get a release on all formats (looking at how its updated I think it should be called Phantasy Star Online version 3) but although it has generated some excitement it isn’t looking at being a Triple A title on the Gamecube, on the Playstation 2 or the X-box but it was on the Dreamcast… why? Skies of Arcadia is now going multi-format, one of the best RPG’s of all time but again this won’t get the prestigious triple A rating.

So the mystery deepens, and so my quest continues. The next part takes me to Sony’s Playstation 2 one of the most successful consoles of all time (except maybe Gameboy) and so I look why. And it isn’t hard to work that one out, the end of last year saw a wealth of triple A titles hit shores worldwide. Triple A Playstation titles seem to include Tony Hawks series, Tomb Raider series, Tekken Series, Final Fantasy series, Metal Gear Solid series and Grand Theft Auto series (I would of added Resident Evil to that list once upon a time). Now Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3 is a huge game, it deserved Gamespots game of the year award beating competition from Metal Gear Solid 2 and Grand Theft Auto 3, but the game is a multi-format game with both Gamecube and X-box versions - but on these systems it isn’t a Triple A title and why is that? I could say that what Playstation fans class as Triple A and what Nintendo fans class as Triple A are different, but I’m not here to make cheap digs at the opposition I’m here to find out what a Triple A title is and I am not going to lie. Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3 is a Triple A title on the Playstation 2, but the Gamecube is a different console and the Tony Hawks series although popular, is no where near as popular as its Playstation counterpart. And for Christ’s sake how can you call a port a Triple A title? Sonic Adventure 2, yeah good but it’s a port, so is Crazy Taxi as is Tony Hawks 3. Imagine if Nintendo went around parading Tony Hawks 3 as one of the “BIG” Gamecube launch titles, a game that has been around for over 6 months on the Playstation 2 that would be quite frankly embarrassing. Which is why when the X-box make a big deal out of GTA3 and Metal Gear Solid 2 I feel like laughing, you call yourself the greatest console on the market but your best games are games that came out on the Playstation 2 6 months before?

So why isn’t Super Smash Brothers Melee classed as a Triple A title? The game will be one of my most favourite games of all time and Famitsu magazine awarded it 37/40 which is about 93%. Does personal preference not influence what is classed as a Triple A title? Super Smash Brothers is one of my favorite N64 games, beating Triple A Playstation 2 title Tekken into a cocked hat but Melee isn’t one. A game that has so many options that you would be playing it for years to come, a multiplayer game so addictive that your friends will be around everyday and it looks sooo good. And as I’ve already pointed out a high scoring game as well, so what did the game not have that lets say Mario and Zelda does? One of the things I noticed is lack of hype, it is very good game and it sold very well, the first Gamecube million seller but compare the hype Luigi’s Mansion got compared with Smash Brothers, it pales in comparison. And again I get back to what the Gamecube is, look at virtually all of the Triple A games DUE out this year, they are adventure games something Smash Brothers is not. But Resident Evil doesn’t fit in with the Gamecube image, in fact less than Smash Brothers. But do you class Resident Evil as a Triple A title, a game that got 39/40 from Famitsu, about 98% higher than what Zelda was scored. It is topping the Game charts, millions are buying Gamecube’s simply for this game but do you guys class it as Triple A? Back to Smash Brothers though the simple system although effective and original isn’t spectacular or clever and it didn’t require any huge teams to work with it in order to get over any complicated hurdles, the game although packed with options is very simple and very similar to the N64 version… does this prevent it getting the prestigious Triple A rating?

What I have deduced from my quest is that how good a game is doesn’t honestly matter originality, how the game is made, the look and the ideas, that is what makes it a Triple A title. Animal Forest + is a brilliantly huge game, amazingly original and complicated with the in built clock (Famitsu scored it 37/40) but it has graphics borrowed from the N64 version, does this stop it being Triple A game. If a game is a port then it can’t be called a Triple A title on the system it was ported on to and no matter how much you like the game, if it doesn’t obey the above rules then it isn’t a triple A title… What a load of crap! Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3 is a port ok, but it was the game of last year, it is brilliant, it is fun, it is good looking and so therefore it is a Triple A title port or no port. Grand Theft Auto 3, one of the best games of all time can’t be classed as AAA on the X-box because it was on the Playstation 2 first, now that is just rubbish. Super Smash Brothers melee, yes it is similar to the first game, but this one has an adventure mode, tones more characters, more spectacular arenas, tones of extra Gameplay options and for major Smash Brothers fans a Triple A title, it has sold over 1 million copies it got 37/40 a brilliant score and it is absolutely amazing… this is a Triple A title. Why isn’t Sonic Adventure 2: Battle a Triple A title? Simple, the Dreamcast is not up to par with the Gamecube, a Triple A title on the Dreamcast but the Dreamcast is old now and so Sonic Adventure 2 really isn’t that good, a Sonic Adventure 3 maybe but not an enhanced Dreamcast port. Triple A titles, are the biggest, most enjoyable, best looking games in the world and weather it is a port or relatively unpopular title like Jet Set Radio it doesn’t stop it being as good as it is. So the Gamecube launch may not have games people call Triple A it does have titles that are Triple A standard, like Tony Hawks 3. And so in conclusion a Triple A title is a damn good game.

Here’s to the future.

Dringo.

Or†ega wrote:
> Personally, I had better multiplayer fun with Mario tennis than smash
> brothers...

Wrestlemania 2000, Goldeneye,Perfect dark and even Micro Machines
> got more 4 player action than smash brothers. We gave it a good go...we really
> did...but we found it to invlove no skill at all.

Didn't quite go far enough...

Don't quite blame you. I took me three months of solid play to realise Smash Brother's depth.

It's a style that's not been done before.

Someone who'd never played first person shooters would probably see Goldeneye for the skilless trigger happy - simply run for the Golden Gun/ Moonraker laser/ RCP 90 and let the auto aim do the rest...

It would only be after a lot of practice that they'd get the hang of the controls and be strafing, positioning, aiming and leaning like a pro.

You never know how much control you've developed on a game until you see a newbie play it for the first time...

They find it difficult to turn a corner...

Ortega better go now as that comment made me mad, and strafex is right the impact a game made doesn't make it an AAA title. Mario made a larger impact but Smash Brothers was just as fun in fact probably more so... therefore AAA it is a list of the worlds top games!

And i am talking about a personal AAA game, the world doesnt have to agree it is an AAA title but that individual can see it as groundbreaking and brilliant as possible and to that individual it can be AAA best not go there...

Smash Brothers can be identified along side Jet Set Radio, Jet Set Radio has influenced the gaming industry so much that we haven't begun to realize it yet, but it did not sell well, a title that will make as much an influence as Mario entered the world with a pop rather than a bang. Smash brothers isn't just mario and co. in a beat 'em up, the system is different to any other game, you don't have a health bar, the weaker you are the easier it is for you to be knocked off... Smash Brothers is one of the worlds greatest beat 'em ups, Nintendo were just scared that people wouldn't like to see Mario thump Pikachu.

Personally, I had better multiplayer fun with Mario tennis than smash brothers...

Wrestlemania 2000, Goldeneye,Perfect dark and even Micro Machines got more 4 player action than smash brothers. We gave it a good go...we really did...but we found it to invlove no skill at all. Hear nothing much has changed gameplay wise for the sequel...

Alright Mr Sonic Rav, the ONLY reason that Melee might not be a AAA title is because it doesn't advance from the original Smash Brothers.

The original Smash Brothers was AAA.
You clearly haven't played it properly or deeply enough to realise it, but it's not simply another fun little simplistic outing where Mario and "the gang" try their hand at tennis or golf.

You say that it didn't change the industry like Mario and Zelda, but that's more down to the fact that it wasn't RECOGNISED as an AAA title, simply because Nintendo refused to hype it last time round.

Anyone who's played it deeply will know that it's a true AAA title, even if it is pretty much only in the multiplayer department.

First of, it takes an old genre and more or less re did it from ground up.

Gone are learning combinations of button presses and slow battles of timing and memory.

This game is purely down to on the mark spontaneous skills.
The moves a easily accessable to even a novice player.
The aim of the game is simple. Instead of the "done to death" K.O. system, the character gets hit further as their damage rating increases. The aim is to hit them out of the arena.

Like all the other Mario spin-offs (although this isn't any more Mario's game than anyone else's - more like a Nintendo all stars games), this game is instantly accessable.
Unlike Mario's other outings, there's a lot of scope and depth to master.

Although a novice could pull off a strong move with relative ease, only an expert would be able to pull it off in the move effective way and have a good chance of hitting their opponent.

Instead of simply reading a moves list like other beat 'em ups and simply pulling of the appropiate list of button presses at the appropiate time to do the "ultimate" combo, Smash Brothers sees you dart around around the arena, concentrating on out-doing your opponent in every way from manauvering, positioning, to making use of items and using your fast thinking skills and wits rather than simply beating your opponent at pressing the buttons in the right order.

Because it's a 2D game, people don't instantly recognise what a master piece it is. Likewise, only the most hardcore Sega fans recognise NiGHT's as anything other as a weird title from yesteryear.

I'm sure it's a great game but I'm only taking your word from it, seeing as you've played it to death and know the game inside out.

Likewise, you should take my word about Smash Brothers.

You won't see it's greatness the first time you play, nor will you the second.

But as you get to grips with the controls and start learning to play skillfully rather than semi-button bashing, you start to realise how special the game is.

In multiplayer, it's probably even better than Goldeneye!

Doesn't timing play a part in all this?

(Simpler argument:

Would you say that Smash Brothers is as important to the gaming industry as Mario 64. Sure, both may be equally as fun etc, but SB will NEVER have anything like the impact of Mario.

Hence the point of an AAA list is to pick out those few, very RARE games (pun not intended!) that really do make the difference. Not simply the best games on a console- some consoles may not have any AAA games- I struggle to think of any on the Saturn)

Dringo, maybe you didn't understand the use of the word "objective". This is what AAA games are. A person's personal favourite games are a "SUBJECTIVE" list.

So, for example, I believe Sega NiGHTS! is the greatest game EVER! (really). It's original, and pure fantasy. So to me (subjectively) it is on my FAVOURITE game list.

It is not, however, on the AAA list. This list is an OBJECTIVE list that has to be undisputed- that's the whole point of having it!

Likewise Smash Bros is on your Favourite list because you think it's fantastic. It does not, however, deserve to be classed as an AAA game because it will never have the effect of Mario64, or Goldeneye or any of the other games I've mentioned.

But answer this...

WHAT IS THE POINT IN HAVING A LIST OF AAA GAMES if it is just the list of a person's favourite games? It does completely defy the point of having a list of AAA games that, undisputedly, have had massive reprocussions for the industry.

Are you suggesting that we should have an AAA list that would differ from one person to another, and then ALSO have a list of revolutionary games? Surely that's just the same as having a list of AAA games and a person's personal favourite list? What the hell is the point in doing otherwise?

Sonic

An AAA title is the best game on the system it is very very very simple why can't you get it...

Jet Set Radio is an AAA title, yes because it has redefined how companies think about games... i will write a large post on cel shading another day and why its the graphics of this generation...

Mario is an AAA title, but so is SMASH BROTHERS!!!!!!!!! I will not differ, i was not elected to watch the worlds greatest multiplayer game suffer and die as you discuss its title in a comitee. Smash Brothers, is brilliant in every single way, an AAA title is given to special games, the worlds greatest games, the greatest games EVER! And my friend Super Smash Brothers is one of them and so therefore it can be branded AAA. And an AAA title can be personal as well, why can't it? Why can't a game that has had a massive effect on a single person be their AAA title...

Meka, that's exactly my point! An AAA game is not just one that's really fun.

Mario 64 is an AAA game because it's revolutionary- in control, gameplay and 3D camera.

Banjo-Kazookie is reall fun, but not AAA because all it is is a Mario clone. It hasn't had ANYWHERE near the effect of Mario!

I don't know of anyone that has played Mario 64, and not enjoyed it, the same cannot be said for similar 3D platformers like Banjo Kazooie.

By the way, from reading the impressions of Eternal Darkness, I'd say it has the potential to be a AAA title. But we'll see if it's everything it promises to be at release.