Our Top 10 list for episode three of the podcast was tied directly into our topic of peripherals and peripheral-based gaming. In trying to come up with this particular list, we wanted to hit the games that while you theoretically COULD play without their appropriate (and usually packed-in) peripheral… it would be a completely different gaming experience. These are the ones we felt shook up the gaming industry a little bit, and have either wonderfully fond memories of, or are so completely entrenched in right now that we can’t put down the damn plastic.

10: Typing of the Dead (w/ keyboard)

There’s not a whole lot to say about this game… you kill zombies by typing on a keyboard. It’s so self-aware, too, right down to the fact that the characters are walking around with backpacks attached to keyboards. It’s totally silly, totally ridiculous, and totally fun. Just try playing it without the keyboard. We dare you.

09: Rez (w/ Trance Vibrator)

While you can absolutely play this game without the vibrator, is it really the same experience? We think not. Take into consideration the fact that the recent XBLA version of the game not only supports the original PS2 vibrator through the USB ports, but they also encourage you (in the absence of said vibrator) to hook up an additional three controllers and place them on various parts of your body. You know… like your feet. And neck. Those kinds of places.

08: Beatmania/IIDX (w/ Beatmania Controller)

It’s extremely hard to deny what Beatmnia/IIDX did for not only the music genre, but peripherals in general. The game is way more difficult than the typical American fans have adjusted to over the years, but this is pretty much the grand-daddy of them all. We even got a brief American release of the series with its respective controller upgraded from the Japanese version. Japanese fans were even reverse-importing the US version just to get the slightly-better controller!

07: Wii Fit (w/ Wii Balance Board)

Another useless piece of white plastic from Nintendo post-2005? Not quite! After the disappointing Wii Zapper and Mario Kart Wheel, here comes a brand-new gaming experience basically measuring your ability to balance yourself. Who woulda thunk it would be such a nifty little piece of hardware? Snowboarding games are already in the works to play off of its popularity, and it will be interesting to see how Nintendo, themselves, decide to further support the device over the next few years.

06: Steel Batallion (w/ MONSTEROUSLY DETAILED MECH CONTROLLER)

Despite none of us ever actually playing the damn game, it’s a part of peripheral-based-gaming-lore. $200 to get a game and this kind of setup? All sorts of controllers, levers, pedals, and more? Sign me up! You can pick it up on eBay these days for under $100, but it’s not backwards-compatible with the 360, so keep that in mind.

05: Super Scope 6 / Menacer (w/ respective gun)

We placed these two at a tie since they were essentially the same thing. Long before the Wii, we were tracking pointers across the screen to blow up little moles, missiles, and more. Plop that bazooka up on your shoulder and you were good to go. Quite an evolution over ye’ olden Zapper, that’s for sure!

04: Mario Paint (w/ SNES Mouse)

Creating music, animating, drawing silly pictures, and swatting flies… the mouse was completely at home on the Super Nintendo. Who can forget re-tooling the Mario theme with the baby and the cat noises? An experience far beyond that of what was even available to consumers on the PC at the time, this game was quite a revolution.

03: Dance Dance Revolution (w/ DDR Pad)

Before we were rocking out with plastic guitars, those in-the-know were playing their music games on plastic pads in their living rooms, or possibly heading down to the arcade to stomp around on the nice metal machines! The music has always been an acquired-taste, but the series remains ever-popular due to it being so hypnotic, infecting, and ridiculously fun to play. You’ll never forget the time you had your first epiphone and figured out how to cross your legs behind yourself to hit those absurd patterns.

02: Duck Hunt (w/ Zapper)

That damn laughing dog…! All he ever does is mock you. Does he offer to help? Does he chase down the ducks that fly away? Of course not. The Zapper was one of the first peripherals that most gamers ever got a hold of, and it remains one of the most durable and accurate ones we’ve ever had the pleasure of using. Now if we could only convince Andrew that he’s not actually shooting down UFOs…

01: Guitar Hero & Onwards (w/ guitars, drums, etc.)

Konami may have been there and done that first, but it was Harmonix who came around and revolutionized the music genre. Tailoring it to a new audience and releasing amazing peripherals to completely engulf yourself in the experience with was probably the smartest thing anyone’s done in gaming for years upon years. With the recent games taking us into full-band-mode, we can only imagine what the future holds.