One game to represent one games platform

[Obiwanshinobi]

I suppose the topic has been brought up many times, but here it comes again. If you wanted to demonstrate what particular console, computer etc. is largely about in your opinion using just one game, which title would you choose? Not an easy choice for systems like PC (or even PS2) with their vast libraries perhaps, easier done with underdog machines: I'd go for Super Monkey Ball on GameCube and Virtua Tennis on DC. As for Wii, my most sincere pick would be Ghost Squad, but there are people who don't feel like doing violence in games, so maybe Kororinpa as it's like Wii in a nutshell.
Actually, World of Goo is a pretty strong contender for representing PC gaming. (The Typing of the Dead takes a bit of literacy to be appreciated, so it's not that universally accessible.)

I'm thinking of situation like facing the population you can't assume anything about (not even their familiarity with the concept of a video game).

[BIL]

I consider Daimakaimura the quintessential Mega Drive game. Astonishingly complete translation of a hulking 1988 JAMMA behemoth to tiny 1989 cartridge, and an eternal reserve of unfiltered arcade savagery. "Professional" mode is no mere puffery - it'll belt asses off the machine like it's being paid. Might not be as gorgeous as the arcade version but it's every bit as lethal, something that made a hell of an impression at the time and still commands my respect now. Even having the 99% perfect PS1 port I'd never part with the MD version - it'd be like taking a hatchet to a beloved console's portfolio. Also, no load times on MD is a distinct convenience.

[copy-paster]

gameboy tetris

[BIL]

^ yes. I don't have enough of a connection to any console but the NES and MD for very meaningful answers, but GB Tetris is most definitely what I was thinking.

Soul Calibur (DC) was a watershed. Can't recall many home ports so flat-out obliterating arcade boards on both technical and content levels prior to that.

I'm not going to pretend my defining NES experience wasn't SMB+Duck Hunt. Contra, Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden quickly arrived to seal my doom proper, but hardcore killin' action always felt more like boutique material on NES. (still does actually)

[broken harbour]

While its impossible to have a single game tell you everything you ever wanted to know about a console...You could argue that the Halo:CE represents the original Xbox pretty well.

[trap15]

I consider Daimakaimura the quintessential Mega Drive game.

I think I'd say Alien Soldier or maybe Gunstar Heroes represents MD in my mind, personally. Or Bare Knuckle II?

[Strikers1945guy]

If I was trying to just appeal to the masses a game that was universally loved during its release and afterwards for specific consoles? Hard because what I would out in would differ from what probably should be put in

PS2 - I think it would be safe to say Final Fantasy X.. for me personally I would probably say Shadow of the Colossus

[BIL]

I think I'd say Alien Soldier or maybe Gunstar Heroes represents MD in my mind, personally. Or Bare Knuckle II?

Alien Soldier's my pick for the latter years, most definitely. Its early days counterpart would be The Super Shinobi... bravura action originals inextricably tied to the machine. I'm just really fond of the MD's alter ego as a mini arcade format, something Dai showcases to formidable, sometimes alarming effect:

It also has a cheat mode where you can slow down the game, play it in Japanese, make Arthur invulnerable (you will be amazed at how difficult the game is even then), or select which level to begin at. Given that the game is essentially impossible without these cheats, this is easily the best version of the game and arguably the best platformer on the console.

^__^

[Ex_Mosquito]

Hmmm mine would have to be Super Shinobi on the Japanese Megadrive. It was at a time when grey import gaming was just getting started in the UK and the magazines (C&VG / The Complete Guide To Consoles) at the time were teasing us with crisp close-up arcade quality RGB scanlined CRT images of graphics we'd never seen in the home before from the exotic console of far east. .. A magical time for an 11 year old indeed.

[Xyga]

Absolutely impossible topic, three games maybe, but just one ?

NES- Super Mario Bros. 3
PCE - Bomberman 93
MS - Phantasy Star
MD - Bare Knuckle II
SNES - Zelda III
NG - Mark of the Wolves
N64 - Goldeneye
SAT - your favourite arcade port
PS1 - Tomb Raider
DC - Soul Calibur
PS2 - Final Fantasy X

...whatever, I'll stop here because it doesn't make enough sense.

[BIL]

SAT - your favourite arcade port

Ultime deathmatch between Hyper Duel and Sega LARRY

Yeah I'm done. Any further elaboration and I'll start railing on Sonic and his boring as fuck MD games. DONT HATE ME NOOBS :O I APPRECIATE THE CASH HE MADE TO FUND THE GOOD STUFF LIKE EX-RANZA & EL VIENTO ;3

"But he action so fast blast processing lololol" <-- STFU NOOBS (・｀W´・)

Spoiler

[Strikers1945guy]

It just sucks the more I think about it. All the answers I could give would be thinking about the general opinion. Like PSX = FFVII. For me though all the answers would be different. Not that I would pick something horribly obscure for each platform but my answers would never fit the standard mold like N64 = Ocarina of Time.

Im sure people will disagree but heres a few I would say

GameBoy - Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow
NES - Super Mario Bros 3
Atari - Space Invaders
PSX - Tactics Ogre or Metal Gear Solid
N64 - Goldeneye /or/ Majoras Mask.
SNES - Donkey Kong Country 2
PS2 - Shadow of the Colossus
Dreamcast - Soul Calibur
GameCube - Resident Evil 4 (back when it was an exclusive)
Xbox - Halo (unfortunately)
Xbox 360 / PS3 - Cod 4 - No way to deny this imo, Call of Duty 4 was the last of the great single player FPS single player modes, and the game that made the franchise super famous for its multiplayer.
Wii - Super Mario Galaxy
Wii U - Super Mario Maker

[CIT]

Famicom - Super Mario Bros. 3
Master System - Phantasy Star
PC Engine - Akumajo Dracula X: Chi No Rondo
Mega Drive - The Super Shinobi II
Super Famicom - Chrono Trigger
PlayStation - Metal Gear Solid
Saturn - Radiant Silvergun
N64 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Dreamcast - Soul Calibur
PlayStation 2 - Shadow of the Colossus
Xbox - Ninja Gaiden Black
GameCube - Resident Evil 4
360 - Bayonetta
PlayStation 3 - Demon's Souls
Wii - Super Mario Galaxy

[BIL]

Concurred with RSG for Saturn - certainly from my non-importing Westerner perspective during the late 90s/early 00s. Japan exclusive, late release, arcade perfect+, STG, Treasure/Sakimoto, pricey and (supposedly) elusive: the poster child for Saturn goodies cruelly denied Western release. I still can't look at the cover art without instantly recalling all the late-90s import gaming articles it headlined.

[Kino]

.

[null1024]

If I had to really give something that really represented what I thought each system was about...
NES: probably Mega Man 2.
SNES: Super Mario World.
Genesis: tossup between either Gunstar Heroes or S3&K -- both games represent the better side of the Genesis visually and aurally, and both are pretty much the two things I think of primarily when I think of the machine.
Saturn: Guardian Heroes, but this one is kind of hard.
Neo: KOF '98.
PS1: tempted to say FF7, even though I want to say Wipeout XL.
N64: Banjo Kazooie, easily.
Dreamcast: Sonic Adventure. Solid visual showpiece for the system, tried to showcase all the things you could do on the machine. Alternatively, Jet Set Radio, with standout graphics and emphasizing the relatively quirky nature of the DC library. Personally, I want to put Crazy Taxi, which is a shining example of the machine's balls-on arcade goodness along with being quirky and pretty decent looking.
PS2: GTA Vice City. Full stop.

this is a hard-to-answer thread, most of these are kind of semi-arbitrarily assigned

DONT HATE ME NOOBS :O I APPRECIATE THE CASH HE MADE TO FUND THE GOOD STUFF LIKE EX-RANZA & EL VIENTO ;3

"But he action so fast blast processing lololol" <-- STFU NOOBS (・｀W´・)

Nah, no reason to hate. Really, I wish the OG 3 Sonic games on the Genesis had a fucking built-in time attack mode so badly. The stages are designed around that much more than being played straight through, since the Sonic games are overall pretty damn easy to clear, barring the absolute last boss or two.

[BIL]

Pffft, you ain't no gatdamn noob null. They're out there watching us. I know it. I feel their scrubby, falsificare-happy vibes radiating across the ether.

PS1 iconography could go to either MGS1, RE2 or FFVII for me. I'm fond of the first two and have absolutely nil interest in the last, but all three were big swingin' dicks of SONY DO WHAT NINTENDONT (AND SEGA DONT EITHER). RE2 N64 and DC's receptions ("wtf how it real" and "who curr its 2000 pfff OLD LOL," respectively) were telling. Tomb Raider's enormously significant for sure but I'm sleepy and topic is fuzzy, baw.

Personally I'd choose Ridge Racer, somewhat the Soul Calibur of that machine. Not a launch-window arcade killer but a big jump towards that. Recently picked up a Japanese copy because it felt bizarrely wrong having Revolution, Rage Racer and R4 but not the machine's original killer app. Still plays great with a Negcon too, even compared to R4's Turbo disc.

[iconoclast]

Yeah, I'm not sure I understand. What each console means to me is probably a bit different from what game best represents it. For example, something like Gears of War or CoD4 would probably be the 360's defining game, but I don't really care about either of them. I love the console for its incredible library of Japanese action games first and foremost (in a broad sense, since I'm including STGs, fighting games, TPS etc). So I'll just go with whatever comes to mind first.

PS1 - Metal Gear Solid
PS2 - God Hand
PS3 - Demon's Souls, or maybe the Yakuza series since the PS3 is basically my Yakuza box.
PS4 - Earth Defense Force 4.1

Xbox - MechAssault. Of course Halo is synonymous with Xbox, but MA is the first online game that I got super into.
Xbox 360 - Ninja Gaiden II. It's pretty much everything that I love about video games in one package.
Xbone - Halo TMCC, because just like the console, the game was a trainwreck at first.

NES - Super Mario Bros 3
SNES - Super Street Fighter II
N64 - WWF No Mercy, or any AKI wrestling game. N64 was all about local multiplayer to me (and Mario 64).
Gamecube - Paper Mario TTYD. Super Monkey Ball was the first GC game that I really enjoyed, but Paper Mario left the biggest impression. Maybe because Nintendo's made nothing but bad sequels since then?
Wii - No More Heroes
Wii U - Bayonetta 2. I knew I had to get this system as soon as this game was announced.

Genesis - Streets of Rage 2? This is a tough one, but it's a cool action game with a Genesis-as-fuck soundtrack. Good enough.
Saturn - Fire Pro Wrestling S. IMO Virtua Fighter 2 is a no brainer as the populist choice, I just loved Fire Pro more.
Dreamcast - Jet Set Radio

TG16 - Bomberman
NG - Samurai Shodown II

Gameboy - Pokemon Blue
Gameboy Color - Pokemon TCG
Gameboy Advance - WarioWare
DS - Ouendan
3DS - Monster Hunter

PSP - Lumines
Vita - Persona 4

[BIL]

N64 - WWF No Mercy, or any AKI wrestling game. N64 was all about local multiplayer to me (and Mario 64).

The AKI quartet and their raucously treacherous yet crisply technical 4P action were a huuuge part of my N64 gaming too... really takes me back. Some bitter middle school rivalries sprang up around those games, only Goldeneye could come close. WM2000 was my group's favourite - depressingly fugly compared to the vibrant Revenge, but the various rebalancings made its action way more gratifying (and where it wasn't to our liking we just used CAW - also, custom WCW and ECW wrestlers all over the damn shop). We loved how you actually had to soften up an opponent before landing power moves, and how those moves now did real, match-ending damage.

No Mercy's Running grapples were a hugely needed mixup, though. We quickly figured out the first three games' running attacks were totally useless against a blocking opponent. A well-timed cheap shot could solve this, of course. Thinking about it now, they really play like classic Technos brawlers, specifically the FC-exclusive Nekketsus. Want to bodyslam someone? You've gotta slap the shit out of them first! Think you've got a nice clean shot? Make sure you don't get your arm wrenched off by a counter. You think you're safe on the ground? Oh you poor bastard.

This topic makes me want to fire up a few old favourites. ^__^

[BrianC]

GameCube - Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Atari 2600 - Millipede
Colecovision - Frenzy
NES - Super Mario Bros
Gameboy - Tetris
Intellivision - Burgertime
Atari 7800 - Ballblazer
Game Gear - GG Shinobi
SMS - Alex Kidd in Miracle World
SNES - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
GBA - Fire Emblem
Genesis - Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sega CD - Sonic CD
Saturn - Nights
NeoGeo - Metal Slug
Dreamcast - Jet Set Radio
DS - Mario Kart DS
PS1 - Metal Gear Solid
N64 - Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
GBC - Wario Land 3
Wii - Super Mario Galaxy
WiiU - Super Mario 3D World

[Obiwanshinobi]

I was thinking of like those folks satellite spotted somewhere in rainforest some time ago, who might have never had any contact with civilisation. If you were to visit them, it would make a bit of sense to bring some artefact of civilisation along. In this particular case a GBA (SP) with Panel de Pon/Tetris Attack would possibly be optimal, but that is just one example. Could as well be extraterrestial species on another planet. Thinking in terms of the gaming's "lowest common denominator" here, so to speak. How would you demonstrate a machine designed to be played with?

[BIL]

It doesn't get any more primal or immediate than a rousing credit of Boong-Ga Boong-Ga. ;3

[Obiwanshinobi]

Now we're talking!

[MR_Soren]

I'm using kind of a weird mix between what I liked and what I feel fits the mood of the console:

Atari 2600: Space Invaders
NES: Super Mario Bros. 3
Genesis/MD: Gunstar Heroes
SNES: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Neo Geo: Samurai Showdown II
PlayStation: Final Fantasy VII
Dreamcast: Ikaruga
PlayStation 2: Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne *
GameCube: F-Zero GX
Xbox: Halo
Xbox 360: Bayonetta
PlayStation 3: Demon's Souls
Wii: Sin and Punishment 2
Wii U: Mario Kart 8

Gameboy: Tetris
Gameboy Advance: Fire Emblem
Nintendo DS: Etrian Odyssey
PSP: Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles **
Nintendo 3DS: Fire Emblem Fates ***

Not listing shmups on newer consoles like Xbox 360 because I think they were more of a novelty by that point. I am only listing consoles I've owned or played a fair bit, but I would probably pick Radiant Silvergun or Battle Garegga for Saturn.

* PS2 Library is so diverse that I simply went with the game I played the most.
** Because the PSP's biggest selling point seemed to be portable remakes, sequels, and spinoffs in popular franchises.
*** Probably too soon, and I struggle to be objective because I just really like Fire Emblem in general.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I'm using kind of a weird mix between what I liked and what I feel fits the mood of the console:

The only way that is I'm afraid, because videogames met in the flesh are never all about some stark concept. Hence my Gost Squad honourable mention - little as it does for a stereotypical Wii user, certain souls seemingly lost for gaming consider it the console's saving grace. This has to count for something.

[Stormwatch]

Atari 2600 - River Raid
NES - Super Mario Bros.
Master System - Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Mega Drive - The Revenge of Shinobi
Mega CD - Night Trap (because "what a system is about" doesn't have to be good)
SNES - Contra 3
Neo Geo - The King of Fighters '98
PlayStation - Crash Bandicoot
Saturn - Panzer Dragoon
Nintendo 64 - Golden Eye 007
Dreamcast - Jet Set Radio
PlayStation 2 - GTA III
Gamecube - Super Mario Sunshine
Xbox - gee, what was that FPS with a space soldier in green armor, I can't quite recall...

[BrianC]

TG-16 - Legendary Axe
SG-1000 - Monaco GP
Game.com - Indy 500 (crappy ports is what the system was about)

[davyK]

Atari 2600 - Space Invaders
NES - SMB1
SNES - Super Mario Kart
Megadrive - Desert Strike
N64 - Super Mario 64
PS1 - Wipeout
Saturn - Sega Rally
PS2 - Ico
Dreamcast - Virtua Tennis
Gamecube - Super Monkey Ball
Xbox - Halo
Wii - Wii Sports Resort

[Vexorg]

I'm not choosing these because I actually like them or because they're the best of breed, just because they seem like the most typical representation of each platform.

Atari 2600: Pitfall
NES: Super Mario Bros.
SNES: Super Metroid
Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
N64: Ocarina of Time
Saturn: Virtua Fighter
PS1: FF7
Dreamcast: Soulcalibur
PS2: Not sure, didn't play much on here
Xbox: Halo: Combat Evolved
Gamecube: Super Smash Bros. Melee
Xbox 360: Forza Motorsport 4
Wii: Super Mario Galaxy
PS3: Uncharted
PS4/XB1: I don't own either one, and don't care enough about either to bother
Wii U: Super Mario Maker
Game Boy: Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
GBA: Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green
DS: New Super Mario Bros.
3DS: Super Smash Bros.
Arcade (1970s): Pong
Arcade (1980s): Ms. Pac Man
Arcade (1990s): Rush 2049 or Daytona USA
Arcade (2000s): Dance Dance Revolution
Arcade (Modern Day): Some random ticket machine
PC (1990s): Doom
PC (2000s): Counter Strike
PC (Modern Day): League of Legends
iOS/Android: Angry Birds (there's little to no differentiation between the platforms these days when it comes to things like games.)

[BrianC]

early Atari 2600 - Combat
iOS/Android - Angry Birds
Atari 800 - Star Raiders
Colecovision - Donkey Kong
Intellivision - Tron Deadly Discs