As we find ourselves in a world where games produced by big-name studios approach prices of $80, gaming is becoming more and more of a luxury. You'll need a good PC or a $400 system to even play in the first place. I find myself having more and more of a cynical disposition towards AAA productions as I get older.
Yet I've been having a lot of fun with video games as of late. However, those are not games that cost me a significant monetary sum. The games I've enjoyed most as of late have been free fangames of excellent quality. I'd like to share some of my findings here, so more people can enjoy the wonderful world of high quality (and free) fangames as I have been doing.
I'll continue to update this page as I find and play more games that fit this category.
Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers
I should probably preface this with the fact that this game has swiftly become one of my all-time favorites ever. I may gush a little.
This is the best kart racing game. The sequel to SRB2Kart (an already amazing racer) and a mod of a mod of a mod of DOOM, this free piece of software somehow completely blows the ever-popular Mario Kart series completely out of the water. A Sonic-themed kart racer with compelling mechanics that encourage risk and reward skill with a massive base-game roster and track list, each of them a celebration of all things Sonic and SEGA!
The amount of unlockable content and hidden secrets blew my mind. I spent a great deal of my time unlocking everything over the timespan of months (there's that much), and I can easily say this was one of the best and most fun experiences I've ever had with a video game.
On top of all this? It's fully moddable. Is there a racer you'd like to play as in the game? You can add them! This is what elevated Ring Racers beyond a regular video game to me; I can make whatever I like for it! I really like doing sprite art, so this game rewards my artistic talents and invites me to create art! You can find my mods here!
As such, the game is ever expanding, new racers and tracks being created every day. I often come back to this game to explore what people have created since I last played it. This community effort aspect is that makes Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers something truly special.
The only negative I can say about it is that it may be a little tricky to get into at first. You can't go into it expecting to play like Mario Kart and perform well, but once it clicks and you're deliberately sliptiding or going from 8th to 1st using the Garden Top you feel like a god amongst men.
It's been over a decade since CAPCOM has largely abandoned the once-popular Mega Man series, as it simply does not do Street Fighter or Monster Hunter numbers. Yet a dedicated fanbase remains, eager for more of the Blue Bombers exploits. So they just did it themselves.
MaGMML stands for Make a Good Mega Man Level and is a series of fangames featuring user-submitted levels that were then judged, ordered and compiled into a proper Mega Man title, along with developer-created levels to round out an entire (massive) game. There are three entries in this series, as well as a few spin-off titles, as of writing this article. In short, there's a lot.
Once more a fangame is able to do what a large company cannot; provide a game filled to the brim with high-quality content as a result of a community coming together. Sure, some of the lower-ranked levels arn't very good, but I'm still glad they're there. Excluding them would be against this spirit of competition and community. Plus, all of this stuff is free. If there were a new official Mega Man title, it'd likely be lacking in terms of content, while still having a price tag of at least $40.
Like Ring Racers, the games are equipped to allow you to mod in characters. You cannot add levels, but the whole series is about user-submitted levels, so that'd be a bit redundant. Either way, I've made a few character mods myself and greatly enjoy myself making them. There's something special about being able to customize your experience to such a degree.
While technically not a fangame per se, Pokémon Quarantine Crystal is a romhack of Pokémon Crystal that gives the base game such a great overhaul, it might as well be a whole new game. With Game Freak unable to make a good Pokémon game in recent memory, Quarantine Crystal recaptures the adventurous spirit of the Pokémon titles of yesteryear.
Quarantine Crystal features no conventional Pokémon, but rather has it's own set of unique, original creatures. Frankly, I like them more than the real Pokémon! Modern Pokémon in particular are designed to be turned into toys very easily, while Quarantinemon (that's what I'm gonna call 'em) are more in line with very early Pokémon designs, as well as commonly being based on very outlandish concepts (quite literally in many cases, there are a lot of space themes).
As mentioned above, while you're still traveling through Johto and Kanto on this adventure, each area has been greatly overhauled and many new areas have been added. Going through the game as a veteran to the series, you'll find many surprises along the way. Which is by design, it's very difficult to find information on Quarantine Crystal online, because the devs want this game to feel like playing a Pokémon game for the first time.
As such, I'd advise you play this game as blind as you can, as my greatest joy here was encountered new, never-before-seen creatures for the first time. I ended up raising around 20 Quarantinemon, as I simply couldn't settle for a mere 6! There were just SO many great designs!
This hack truly is what an oldschool fan of Pokémon would desire. There's loads of new creatures, new areas, lots to explore and even some secrets that feel like they sprang right from the mouth of a kid you'd meet at the playground. Once more, a great game worth your time that you don't pay a dime for.
