These wow moments don't necessarily mean the games listed have the best graphics or gameplay of the generation to me. Just that I was wowed the most at the time. (edited formatting)
Gen 4:
Graphics: SNES - Donkey Kong Country
PC - Doom
Arcade - Mortal Kombat
Gameplay: SNES - Street Fighter II combo system
Gen 5:
Graphics: PS1 - Tekken 3
N64 - Super Mario 64
Arcade - Time Crisis 2
Gameplay: PS1 - Ape Escape control scheme (though Klonoa: Door to Phantomile is a close second just for the ending)
N64 - Super Mario 64 platforming
Gen 6:
Graphics: PS2 - Ico
Gamecube - Tie between Super Mario Sunshine (water effects still look great) and LoZ: The Wind Waker
Xbox - Dead or Alive 3 ("physics")
PC - Half Life 2 (didn't play until a generation later, but saw gameplay during the generation and was floored)
Gameplay: PS2 - Three way tie between submarine level of MGS2, battle with The Boss in MGS3, and beating Dynamis/gaining entry to Sky in FFXI...uh, and I keep thinking of more wow moments. Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, God of War. PS2 had too many to choose a favorite. And all these games had wow moments in graphics, too!
Gamecube - All of Metroid Prime
Xbox - Playing Halo 2 online against friends
Gen 7:
Graphics: PS3 - MGS4
X360 - Gears of War
Wii - Super Mario Galaxy
PC - Crysis (again, didn't play, but just saw footage)
Gameplay: PS3 - Ellie vs David in The Last of Us
X360 - First puzzle with both portals in Portal on The Orange Box
Gen 8:
Graphics: PS4 - Infamous: Second Son
PC - Metro Exodus (again, didn't play, but just saw footage)
Gameplay: PS4 - All of Bloodborne (and the art direction still blows me away despite the graphics not being the greatest)
Last edited by danasider - on 23 March 2019
