 Hi there, I thought it'd be a neat idea to take a look at what games should be considered as gateway games for certain genres, and by that I mean if you're totally new to a genre like shoot-'em-ups or strategy RPGs or fighting games, then these are the games you should start with. Some genres like platformers or run-and-gun games for example are generally very accessible, and even if for whatever reason platformers aren't accessible for you, then you just play Super Mario World, that's just common sense. I'll start with shoot-'em-ups because that seems like it's the most niche genre. It's always had kind of a cult audience, and plus these games are just hard to play. Like for example if you're not used to shoot-'em-ups, and you start with something like R-Type 3 or UN Squadron, both great games by the way, you're gonna have a bad time because they're just way too effing hard for a newcomer to the genre. There are a couple different directions you can go here depending on what you want to get out of playing a shoot-'em-up. If you want to be overpowered with a lot of weapon upgrades and be able to dash around the screen and destroy everything, then I would suggest Gradius 3 or the Perotius games with the difficulty set on easy. That swings the balance of speed between your ship and enemy ships more in the player's favor, and it makes it easier to progress further. Also you can get a couple different defense shields early on, and those obviously go a long way in, getting further in the game and defeating bosses especially. If you'd rather play a much better shoot-'em-up where you're not as overpowered but still very accessible, then Axelay is what you're looking for. It's great looking, well balanced, and not too hard while still presenting a challenge, and man, some of these bosses are just monstrous. I will say the first level takes some getting used to, as your ship kinda gets pulled to the sides of the screen, almost as if it's getting pulled into the planet's atmosphere below. So you have to adjust for that, but yeah, Axelay is one of the best shoot-'em-ups for good reason, and if you're new to the genre, you couldn't pick a better place to start. If you want a little bit of an easier game, I would go with Phalanx. It's not nearly as good as Axelay, but the difficulty isn't brutal, and it's still a pretty good game for newcomers. For classic one-on-one fighting games, Street Fighter 2 Turbo and Super Street Fighter 2 might seem like obvious answers, but if you're new to classic fighting games, it's more of a suggestion to stay away from other games, even Killer Instinct and Mortal Kombat 2 and 3. Don't misunderstand me, Killer Instinct is fantastic, but it's geared toward people that are already well skilled in fighting games, and even then it takes a long time to pick up a lot of the combos, don't get me started on the Killer and Ultra Combos. Point is, it takes a lot of practice to get good at Killer Instinct, so it's not the best for newcomers. For the Mortal Kombat series, well, those games are, uh, just not very good. I mean, the second and third games in particular, after the first couple fights, it's like the difficulty suddenly gets switched from normal to, you will never win another fight in this game the rest of your life. It's freaking absurd. Street Fighter 2 Turbo and Super Street Fighter, comparatively, are much more balanced, with a more gradual and forgiving learning curve, not to mention all the other stuff that they nailed perfectly, like smooth gameplay and stunning pixel art. If you ever wanted to get into wrestling games, your best bet is Saturday Night Slam Masters. It's an arcade style game from Capcom that's easy to pick up and play, button mash, and learn various moves as you go, and even better, it supports up to four players. For baseball, I always mention Ken Gravey Jr. presents Major League Baseball, but I want to also mention Super Baseball 2020 and Dynamic Stadium for Super Famicom. Super Baseball 2020 has a futuristic motif with a lot less foul territory, so the games move along quickly without a lot of downtime. Dynamic Stadium is a well-made, no-frills game that's very easy for anyone to get into, it's one of my personal favorites that I've discovered recently. For basketball, the obvious answer is NBA Jam, but don't forget about NBA Hangtime, which actually is an updated version of NBA Jam from Midway, featuring a number of additions, like creating your own player and double dunks. For hockey, the obvious answer is the NHL series, but, well, yeah, stick with that. Same with football for Tecmo Super Bowl, those are two of the best sports games series ever made and for good reason. Even if you don't like hockey or football, you can get into those games. Moving on, a question I see asked frequently on Reddit is, what classic JRPG should I play first? The answer to that depends on how familiar you are to role-playing games. If you're brand new to the genre entirely, you gotta go with Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. It's a game that's laid out with the specific purpose of getting people of all ages into role-playing games and to teach you how to manage HP, MP, spells, equipment, random battles, and all that good stuff. Now, if you're already way past that, and you just want to get into a classic JRPG, then the obvious answer is Chrono Trigger. Just because it's such a well-told story, and there's little to no grinding at all, you just jump right in, get absorbed in the story, and enjoy the ride. I'll also mention another game that I think would be noob-friendly, Super Mario RPG Legend of the Seven Stars, and not just because it's Mario, it's just a very streamlined game that still manages to fit in some nuances. So there's a good balance between accessibility and sophistication, where newer players might get overwhelmed with the options that Final Fantasy VI has, or just get weirded out by Earthbound. Super Mario RPG keeps it barebones while telling a funny story, and rewarding the player who has an eye for detail. Strategy or tactical role-playing games are much trickier to get into, and the Super Nintendo just doesn't have very many good options for newcomers. There's over a dozen games made by the developer, Koei. Everything from Nobunaga's Ambition to Romance of the Three Kingdoms to Uncharted Waters to Liberty or Death. These games take a loooong time just to figure out what you're supposed to do, and the games don't exactly hold your hand. Even stuff like Ogre Battle or Bahamut Lagoon, while very good games, can't really be recommended if you don't know what you're getting yourself into. So for an introductory strategy role-playing game, you gotta go to the Sega Genesis, and the Shining Force series, particularly Shining Force 2. This was the game that inspired this video. It does a remarkable job of helping the player learn through the gameplay instead of long-winded exposition. It gradually introduces more and more aspects the further you progress into the game, and the balance of the learning curve here is perfect, and besides all that, it's just a really good game. If you insist on sticking with Super Nintendo for a strategy RPG, then I recommend Treasure Hunter G. It was only released in Japan, so it requires an English patch, but it's pretty good. No, it's not exactly heavy on the strategic or tactical elements, but it takes things at a slower pace while staying in that realm. But seriously, if you ever wanted to get into strategy or tactical games, the Shining Force series is the way to go. I can't stress that enough. Anyway, that's all for now. Thanks for watching, and have a great rest of your day.