When old games ARE just as good as you remember

[cavalier973]

So, having posted on the thread that describes games that were once super awesome, but are now kind of "meh", I thought it would be interesting if anyone had a game they played years ago, found a way to play it again, and discovered it was still just as awesome.

My first pick would be "The Oregon Trail". I just played it recently, straight through several times, trying different strategies. I found it to be as entertaining and immersive as when I played it as a youngling. It was even better, in fact, because I didn't have the minutes-long wait times to get the game going.

[Togath]

Not sure if it counts as old, But I recently started Dragonquest 8 up again, and enjoyed it at least as much as I used to.
A bit more even, since I'm more prone to strategy nowadays.

[Tebryn]

I never really got why Oregon Trail was ever considered fun. It was always a distraction from computer class for me growing up. Starcraft is still a game I play though, the nostalgia filter hasn't shown the game worse than I remember.

[Cespenar]

Master of Magic. It's still one of the best games in the genre, in my opinion.

Also, FFT. I played it like a year ago, and it was pretty good.

[cavalier973]

I never really got why Oregon Trail was ever considered fun. It was always a distraction from computer class for me growing up. Starcraft is still a game I play though, the nostalgia filter hasn't shown the game worse than I remember.

We had it on our home computer, so I could play it for hours at a time.

It's a resource management game, and not just with material goods, but with time, as well. One of your party gets bit by a snake; do you take the time to rest up, so that she has a better chance to recover, or do you press on, before you run out of food?

[Tebryn]

The re-mastered version of FFT was great, I've logged at least 100 hours into it. Still as awesome as I remember it. I'm really trying to think of old games I've played that haven't lived up to their memory and coming up blank.

[Ashtagon]

I recently managed to get Alpha Centauri working again on my PC. I am now in my happy place again.

[Castaras]

Might and Magic. 7 and 8 are my favourites, and they still hold up after all these years.

Need to play 8 again... make a vampire... :smallamused:

[Aotrs Commander]

Actually, I have been playing FAR more old games than new ones over the past year or three.

Partly from the fact that the RTS genera is mostly dead apart from the rear-guard action from SC2 (which is nice and all, but I miss being able to base-build/turtle on really long missions)... And RTS now have the heavy multiplayer bias that I've never been interested in.

Alpha Centauri, Phaoroah, Zeus, Emperor; last year and the year before almost the entire C&C series, Torment, Baldur's 2, IWD2; Earth 2140... Depending on your criteon for "old" Anno 1404 may marginally qualify.

Heck, I even had a stab at X-Com (the original), something I'd never played until recently.

And currently the only games on my horizon are newer forms of old favourites (Project:Eternity, Tides of whatdamacallit, War for the Overworld, Squadron 42... Arguably Pokemon...)

[Psyren]

HoMM III! When I was younger I used to always get cornered by the computer and have to use the cheat codes to win (Oh, you took my undefended home castle? Let's see what these 25 Archangels I "found" have to say about that!) and I had a blast. Now that I'm older and I actually understand the strategy aspect of it better, I enjoy it even more.

...I think I'll boot it up again right now :smallsmile: Thanks GoG!

[Spuddles]

I discovered HoMM3 about 4 years ago. So good!

[Eldan]

I'll second Alpha Centauri.

[DigoDragon]

I somehow stumbled upon my rom for Secret of Mana. Good memories on this one and... yeah, it still is fun. I like these kinds of RPGs.

I wonder if there's a graphics modding program for this?


MegaMan 2 seems to still pump my adrenaline, despite a few frustrating sections. I've played 1 thru 6, but #2 feels like the most balanced and interesting one in the series. #3 came a close second.

[Gamerlord]

Yeah, I'm going to jump on the Heroes of Might and Magic III bandwagon. It's still probably one of the best turn-based strategy games out there. :smallbiggrin:
EDIT: Oh, and while we're at it, Age of Wonders Shadow Magic has stood the test of time pretty well.

[OrcusMcP]

Beat-em-ups. Oh, so satisfying.

Especially the old TMNT, X-Men, and Simpsons ones.

[Name_Here]

Castles 2 siege and Conquest.

Just an awesome game top to bottom from the economy aspects to the strategy and balancing Papal approval with your need to expand.

One of me and my friends favorite memories was getting ex-communicated which drops morale and makes your troops nearly worthless and still being able to expand greatly before being welcomed back into the Catholic fold.

[Grif]

HoMM III! When I was younger I used to always get cornered by the computer and have to use the cheat codes to win (Oh, you took my undefended home castle? Let's see what these 25 Archangels I "found" have to say about that!) and I had a blast. Now that I'm older and I actually understand the strategy aspect of it better, I enjoy it even more.

...I think I'll boot it up again right now :smallsmile: Thanks GoG!

I second/third/fourth any and all HoMM III suggestions.

[AngryHobbit]

I started playing Diablo II again. Cant stop. :smalleek: Shock/Frost Zealot (for SP, I never played on Battle.net with Paladin) and Windy Druid FTW!!! :smallbiggrin:

[Androgeus]

How old is old? I mean I still enjoy playing a bit of Morrowind here and there, but that's only like 11 years old.

[AngryHobbit]

11 years ago I was 8, so that's old for me.

[Starwulf]

I played through Dragon Quest IV a while back, the DS version that adds the 6th chapter, was every bit as fun as I remembered, probably more-so. Same with the original Final Fantasy ^^

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Man, now I wanna play Oregon Trail again...

[Hunter Noventa]

I was recently reminded that Xenogears is fifteen years old. That still remains one of my favorite games and I'll even play through it every couple of years.

[jaybird]

Mechwarrior 4, Tiberian Sun, Red Alert 2.

[Squark]

Doesn't really count as "As good as I remember," being as I was too young to have played it when it came out, and my first encounter with the game at the age of ~10 left a bad taste in my mouth due to my struggles with navigation, but Star Wars: Tie Fighter was a blast when I tried it again a few years ago, this time with a bit more experience on my shoulders and an actual Joystick.

[Aotrs Commander]

Doesn't really count as "As good as I remember," being as I was too young to have played it when it came out, and my first encounter with the game at the age of ~10 left a bad taste in my mouth due to my struggles with navigation, but Star Wars: Tie Fighter was a blast when I tried it again a few years ago, this time with a bit more experience on my shoulders and an actual Joystick.

TIE Fighter, along with Dungeon Keeper 1 and Torment, rank as my top favoruite games ever.

TIE was freakin' fantastic.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Starcraft
Final Fantasy VI
Crash Team Racing (just something innately enjoyable about this game)
Myst and Riven

Many of the Megaman & Super Metroid games.

[Macros]

I'll nominate Baldur's Gate II. Twelve years later, and it still remains my favourite game. The mods helped to keep the interest alive, though.

[Tavar]

Age of Empires II(with expansions) and Masters of Orion 2 are still some of my favorite games.

[Morph Bark]

Chess.


...whaaatt, it is a game!

Video game-wise though, I've played a lot of the Mega Man games (1, X1, Z1-4, ZX1-2, BN1-6 all versions, SF1-3 all versions). Aside from those, it's just re-mastered editions, even for all the Pokemon and Final Fantasy titles.

...this reminds me I never got further than Death Mountain in Ocarina of Time. Maybe I should...?

Oh, and Empire Earth. BEST RTS I'VE EVER PLAYED. I loved how I could go from 500,000 BC up to 2300 AD, often quickly outpacing my neighbours. :smallbiggrin:

Also, Age of Mythology. Because RTS + myth = awesomeness.

[PhallicWarrior]

KotOR II. No matter how many times I go back through that game, it still remains as vibrant and interesting as the first time. A full decade and a console generation later, no game has the kind of quality dialogue and story it does. (Ending aside, which I actually didn't mind anyway.)

[KillianHawkeye]

Age of Empires II(with expansions) and Masters of Orion 3 are still some of my favorite games.

Holy heck, somebody besides me that actually liked MoO 3?

[Aotrs Commander]

Holy heck, somebody besides me that actually liked MoO 3?

I did too, actually.

Though I never played any of the prior games, so presumably I don't know what I was missing or something.

[Tavar]

Holy heck, somebody besides me that actually liked MoO 3?

Opps, that was a typo. MoO 3 can go die in a fire.

[Morbis Meh]

For me:
Diablo II: I still keep coming back!
Xenogears: I just love Citan and playing in mechs is rather fun!
FFT: Nothing beats immortal female ninja assassin monks
Suikoden II: LONG LIVE LUCA BLIGHT!

[INoKnowNames]

I enjoy playing old video games. Back before the turn of the year, Paper Mario 64, Custom Robo Battle Revolution, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Heroes, Haunting Ground, Ikaruga... lotsa old games that are still good from way back when...

Though now, I should probably focus on RPGS, since there are a lot of old ones that don't require cat-like reflexes...

[nhbdy]

For me:
FFT: Nothing beats immortal female ninja assassin monks


I love FFT as well... but it had some serious balance issues once you understood the mechanics (hell you could break it even without understanding) and if you want the above statement to be false (not that rampaging with female ninja monks isn't fun) then I recommend looking into this: http://www.insanedifficulty.com/idwiki/index.php/Final_Fantasy_Tactics_1.3

[KillianHawkeye]

Opps, that was a typo. MoO 3 can go die in a fire.

Dammit! :smallsigh:

[Tylorious]

I played battletoads double dragon for SNES a few days ago, and it was just as joyous as ever. And i didn't even have to use the Konami code to get through it this time. oh and TMNT Turtles in time will always be a fun ride for me, as well as Kirby Superstar.

[Tylorious]

Oh and don't forget Mario Paint.

[CoffeeIncluded]

I had a sudden urge to replay Majora's Mask during winter break. I was not disappointed.

[Eldariel]

I'll be repeating a lot, but...
Megaman 1-4
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy X
Grim Fandango
Monkey Islands
Alpha Centauri
Civilization 4
Starcraft: Brood War
TIE Fighter
X-Wing: Alliance
Half-Life
Baldur's Gate Trilogy
Fallout & Fallout 2
Transport Tycoon
Close Combat 2
Jagged Alliance 2
SWAT 4
Master of Orion II
Super Street Fighter II Turbo ("HD Remix" is fine too)
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Super Metroid
Freespace 2
I-War
Heroes of Might and Magic 2 & 3
Seiken Densetsu 3

Master of Magic/Shogun: Total War/etc. all would make it to the list if they didn't lack that one key feature I want in a long-lasting TBS: proper campaign multiplayer (and AI).

[Eldest]

Echoing everyone who said Alpha Centauri (the only game I have a CD for. So worth keeping track of it.), HoMM 3, and KOTOR/KOTOR 2.

[Teln]

The first game I ever bought for the Wii Virtual Console was LoZ:Majora's Mask. It has aged like the finest of wines.

[Kairaven]

I would just like to add Star Control 2 to this list, I don't think that ever gets old for me.

[factotum]

I completed System Shock 2 again a couple of weeks ago, and I'm replaying GTA: San Andreas right now. Both of them have stood the test of time, IMHO. I still occasionally fire up Heroes of Might and Magic III and IV, too!

[bobthe6th]

Master of Magic. It's still one of the best games in the genre, in my opinion.

Yep, I only discovered it like 1-2 years ago... and it was and is the best thing. Armies of halflings roflstomping everything... and I mean everything. So much bonus stacking. Still wish someone would figure a way to add multiplayer... Or fix the massive balance issues(like really, halflings are stupid good. Like better then trolls good).

I have to say NWN... I played a little bit like 10ish years ago? now I have played through the first and third campaign(the third a couple times), and have moved on to FMC.

[Tvtyrant]

The original 8 Megaman games (Megaman 1-6, Megaman X, and Megaman 7.) I played a lot of them on the NES and SNES, and then again on the game cube.

I still play them, although I need to find an adapter for my SNES.

[Logic]

Civilization 2
Alpha Centauri (am I thirding, fourthing, or fifthing this?)
Final Fantasy Tactics
Baldur's Gate (1 & 2)
C&C Red Alert 2
C&C Tiberian Sun
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Dark Queen of Krynn (DOS-era D&D, if anyone is wondering, but also the third of a trilogy, and I never had the chance to play the prior two.)

[Siosilvar]

I'm going to have to sixth-ish the HoMM3, MoO2, Baldur's Gate series, and Diablo series. Also Warcraft III custom maps, if that game counts as old enough yet (surely a decade is enough, right?).

[Krazzman]

I have a huge...attention problem when it comes to games.

I "love" the Legend of Zelda. I have played nearly every LoZ up till Wind Waker... but only finished 2... yeah I am that pathetic.

Had A link to the Past for my Super Nintendo. I got to the Sand Temple... I believe.
Links Awakening... got 2 Instruments. Oracle of Ages: Completed. Oracle of Seasons: last temple or so, got the Flying Cape thing and then had to go to somewhere... lost interest and my game cartidge. The Minish Cap: Completed. Four Swords Edition of a link to the past: maybe 90% complete, lost interest.
Ocarina of Time (GC version): finished the first temple, Wind Waker: missed something and thus lost interest, sold gamecube. Tried out Twilight Princess: lost interest due to not having a wii for myself. Skyward Sword: haven't played in over a month due to time managment problems and having to play other games first.

I would love to play the Gameboy games again... to try them out. Links Awakening, Oracle of Seasons, A Link to the Past... I know they are good games but I don't want to emulate them and I don't want to spend too much money on some old games. If I could play on my PSVita I would be overjoyed. And I "have to" finish: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Okami(Although that is not sure) , Legend of Grimrock, Painkiller (and the other parts of the series) and Skyward Sword. As well as having Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Assassins Creed (the PSVita one) and Silent Hill (the PSVita one) + maybe trying to finish Orcs Must Die 2 finally.

But other games I tried out "recently" that were fun: Final Fantasy 7 and 8. The only parts of the series I really played (mostly due to not having the game) and of course 10. Legend of Dragoon... thinking of buying the PSVita version or playing the emulated version on my PC... tough decisions...

[Thiyr]

Starcraft
Final Fantasy VI
Crash Team Racing (just something innately enjoyable about this game)
Myst and Riven

Many of the Megaman & Super Metroid games.

Man, I remember being so frustrated when my disk for CTR stopped working....heck, I'm still kinda pissed off. I remember having a blast with that.

Also, perpetual reaffirmation of HoMM3, though I was always sad 'cause games either got amazingly one-sided or were huge slogs where you couldn't make progress. And 'cause the grails were always in the same spots, so you rarely needed to get the grail map if you remembered where it was.

I usually have a good time those times where I start going back and playing DDR Max/Max2. The gameplay never changed with the times, but the old songs just had a better feel to them most of the time. (Though there are times where I hear something on the radio, start almost seeing the patterns for it, and wish I could convert the song into a stepchart)

Just found my old empty case for warcraft III, which I'mma count as an old game. Gonna give it another playthrough soon, could be fun.

You Don't Know Jack is an entertaining game to play with people. I remember failing at it as a child, and then failing just as badly when my brother invited me over and we played a round or two. Different iteration, but same game, so it counts for me.

Played through Deus Ex was a tad _easier_ than I remember, but remained solid, and its story was solid enough that I felt vindicated when using it as my counterexample to the "Halo was the first FPS with a solid story" argument I used to hear every so often.

Mario's Picross was about as fun as I remember as well. That is to say, not amazingly so, but it was a decent timesink, and required at least a little bit of thinking. It improved slightly, but mostly because I got more patience.

Edit: Speaking of old games but not making judgement, I pulled out my case for the original Diablo and am having a chuckle at the selling points they gave. "up to 4 PLAYERS!" "Spine-chilling SVGA graphics!" oooo, ahhhh

[Corlindale]

Might & Magic VII certainly stands out. I love that game SO much and I can still have a lot of fun trying out new party compositions, even if I know most of the game like the back of my hand and even have a specific order I tend to do everything in.

[GungHo]

Ultima IV - VI

and, yeah, Alpha Centauri is still great. The interface is still good for what it needs to be and the atmosphere is fantastic.

[Seerow]

Kirby Air Ride

[cavalier973]

Baldur's Gate is fun. I played through the game and blogged about it (http://balanpshaw.wordpress.com/2012/03/).
Baldur's Gate 2 is superior in every way, and yet I've never finished the second game, while I've completed BG 1 several times.

I still play Icewind Dale. Some of the best music of any game, ever.

[Remmirath]

It might be more efficient for me to compile a list of old games that aren't just as good as I remember them. Typically the ones that were my favourites are still my favourites, and the ones I wasn't so fond of long ago I'm still not so fond of. Apparently my opinions on things don't change all that much over the years.

Still, those that are just as good as I remember include: Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II, Icewind Dale, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale II, Morrowind, Lemmings, Lemmings 2, Unreal Tournament 2004, Knights of the Old Republic, Knights of the Old Republic II, Neverwinter Nights, Lemmings 3d, Rogue and some Rogue-likes, various Zork games, Arcanum, Myst, Riven, Populous: The Beginning, Temple of Elemental Evil, all the Commander Keen games, Duke Nukem, Duke Nukem II, Hocus Pocus, Crystal Caves, Koules, Wacky Wheels and Mystic Towers.

Those that actually seem less enjoyable than I remember them include: LexiCross (kind of boring concept and goes too fast for the eye to follow on modern computers), Monster Bash (I only played it briefly when I was very young, and somehow my memory assumed it would be as good as some of the games in the above list), Word Rescue (ridiculously easy and a little too cheesy), and Math Rescue (same but less).

Looking back, almost all of what are still my favourite and most played games are somewhere in that list. I never really stopped playing most of the games in the first list. I use to make sure that my computer would still run them all easily every time I upgraded, but at some point that became infeasible and since then some of them don't work as well with emulators as others, but most of them I still play pretty regularly.


Edit: Speaking of old games but not making judgement, I pulled out my case for the original Diablo and am having a chuckle at the selling points they gave. "up to 4 PLAYERS!" "Spine-chilling SVGA graphics!" oooo, ahhhh

Yeah, those and requirements can be rather funny in retrospect. I'm remembering right now how the multiplayer on Wacky Wheels only went up to 9600 baud, or how Zork: Grand Inquisitor's "insane disk space" option is barely over 100 megabytes.

[AgentPaper]

A lot of older RPGs fit this to a T. Basically all of Final Fantasy up to 9 is just as fun as when I first played them, though to be fair I didn't play most of them just as they came out. Chrono Trigger, Skies of Arcadia, Suikoden 1 & 2 (haven't gotten to playing the rest yet), Breath of Fire II...really you could go on and on.

Outside of RPGs, I've also come back time and time again to Pharaoh & Cleopatra, and Zeus & Poseidon. I wouldn't want to play these games a whole lot, but sometimes I just want to build a nice city, feed the people, trade, produce, and build pyramids. I spent a lot of time with these games in my childhood, and every time I've revisited them, I've re-learned what made me love them.

[Corvus]

Master of Orion 2, Alpha Centauri, Morrowind, Emperor of the Fading Suns (despite the bugs).

Most of my favourite games are older games - if you ask me the gaming industry has been going donwhill for a while. They still put out the odd good game, but more and more it is dross.

[Winter_Wolf]

:smallbiggrin: I'm glad someone made this thread.

I still love:
Wizardry 8. It's aged remarkably well and the story is still engaging (despite having virtually memorized everything to the point of being able to "play" through it in my head).
Alpha Centauri/Alien Crossfire. Though to be honest, I've been playing it since 1999 more or less constantly (at least once a month) so not sure if it's "as good as I remembered" or "just plain awesomesauce."
NWN 1
The first Phantasy Star (SMS, not Generation 1 for PS2). And 2, and 4. At least Phantasy Star 3 didn't seem worse than I remembered (but then again I didn't think it was the best o' the bunch to begin with!)
Shining Force 1 and 2. I've been jonesing for some Shining the Holy Ark, but I lost my CD of it (and don't have a Sega Saturn in any case).

Need for Speed Underground 2. Most Wanted (the first iteration, not the latest) was novel, but I got tired of the cop cars real fast. Undercover was a miserable disaster (but pretty). NFSU2 was for me the peak of the franchise. And it's still fun (when it works).

[Abemad]

Hmm, I still finde myself playing X-COM 1 and 2 (with xcomutil mod), master of orion 2 (with the VDC mod to spice things up), Heroes 2 (with a balance mod) and Tiberium Dawn (the best in the series)... Old FPS games are rather easy with some form of mouselook mod (makes strafing sooo much easier), but they are still great (Heretic 1 and 2 are great, as is Quake 1)

[Thiyr]

Oh yea, can't believe I forgot this. Played through Tron 2.0 again. Still quite good.

[Geno9999]

Mega Man X. That game is amazing.

Some other classics:

Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
Super Metroid
Super Castlevania IV
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Super Mario RPG

and probably lots more than I can remember atm.

[warty goblin]

Occasionally I'll still fire up the old Impressions city builders. Since I've been playing them off and on since they came out, there isn't much challenge left, but they really hold up. Not only do they hold up, I'm pretty sure there's nothing else since that really approaches them when it comes to quality.

[Razanir]

Civ 3
Zelda
Link to the Past
Ocarina of Time

[Hiro Protagonest]

Am I the only dedicated FPS fan here? All of the Tom Clancy stuff before Ubisoft started taking an interest in the actual game design! There are mechanics in there that still aren't used today, like partial opening of doors.

Granted, I'm getting all of my information secondhand from listening to SideStrafe until I get the chance to buy it tomorrow, but still.

And yeah, pretty much any game from that guy who made Age of Empires. Age of Empires, Empire Earth, and Empires: Dawn of the Modern World (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-JT99ICIR8).

[warty goblin]

Am I the only dedicated FPS fan here? All of the Tom Clancy stuff before Ubisoft started taking an interest in the actual game design! There are mechanics in there that still aren't used today, like partial opening of doors.

I used to play a lot of shooters. Somewhere around shooting the ten millionth Nazi-terrorist-Russian-mutant-zombie-alien in the face though, they got kinda old*. That and Spec Ops: The Line effectively recoded shooting pixel dudes in the head from 'fun' to 'probably horrible' for me. I'll still play a shooter every now and again, but they've got to bring something beyond a cool new gun or slightly tweaked mechanics to the table.


Granted, I'm getting all of my information secondhand from listening to SideStrafe until I get the chance to buy it tomorrow, but still.

There's something just a little odd about evangalizing a game a person hasn't even played, no?


*To be fair, this happens for me with other genres as well, albeit on a temporary basis. I suspect I probably won't ever return to FPSs in a big way.

[The Dark Fiddler]

I'm kind of disappointed that nobody has mentioned Spyro the Dragon. Is it not old enough for you people?

I recently went back and decided that, dammit, I WILL 100% Ripto's Rage! I will get into the secret part of Dragon Shores and get that mysterious goody! And do you know what? I stopped caring about the 100% at some point, I was just having fun. Damn, that game was good. The controls are a bit iffy anymore, but it is still fun.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Most of my favourite games are older games - if you ask me the gaming industry has been going donwhill for a while. They still put out the odd good game, but more and more it is dross.

Nah, it's just that in the old days, there weren't mediocre games using the same big hit formula and IP and hype buildup and consistently selling millions of copies. There also wasn't really any attempt to make gaming more mainstream by intentionally making it easier. So when there was a bad game, it didn't sell well.

In addition, if you're trying to find old games to play, it's far easier to find the ones people liked. GOG gets new games by occasionally looking at the community wishlist.

[warty goblin]

Nah, it's just that in the old days, there weren't mediocre games using the same big hit formula and IP and hype buildup and consistently selling millions of copies. There also wasn't really any attempt to make gaming more mainstream by intentionally making it easier. So when there was a bad game, it didn't sell well.

Leaving aside the delightfully subjective elitism of labeling 'big hit formula' games mediocre, which exact old days are we talking about here? Because I've been playing games for longer than I care to really contemplate, and insofar as I can tell, the amount of complete rubbish is fairly constant. Even on GoG, which is definitely skimming from the top of the quality distribution, a reasonable proportion of the games are really quite mediocre. I mean I like Lords of Magic OK, because I played it back in the stone ages, but I would hardly call it a masterpiece, or unmatched in the modern period. Warlock: Master of the Arcane walks all over it, and that came out last year.


In addition, if you're trying to find old games to play, it's far easier to find the ones people liked. GOG gets new games by occasionally looking at the community wishlist.
This is a case where response bias really is the better explanation. We remember the brilliant things, and the occasional epic turds, but most of the actually average stuff gets forgotten.

[Teln]

Am I the only dedicated FPS fan here? All of the Tom Clancy stuff before Ubisoft started taking an interest in the actual game design! There are mechanics in there that still aren't used today, like partial opening of doors.

The Half-Life series is utterly fantastic, but I didn't list them because I was too young to play M-rated games when they first came out. In order for them to be as good as I remember, I'd first have to remember them from way back when!

[Negativethac0]

I've been disappointed by a lot of old games, sadly. To the degree that I consider simply to stop playing any more.

However, classics that did hold up (interestingly, lots of adventure games)

Monkey Island 3
Sam and Max hit the road
Day of the Tentacle
The Legend of Kyrandia 3 (the second one, somehow too)
Quest for Glory 4: Shadows of Darkness
Thief 2: The Metal Age
Diablo 2
Half Life (Although it DOES get loads better with Black Mesa)
Edit: X-Com 1+2

[Geno9999]

The Half-Life series is utterly fantastic, but I didn't list them because I was too young to play M-rated games when they first came out. In order for them to be as good as I remember, I'd first have to remember them from way back when!

I almost didn't include Castlevania IV or Super Metroid for not owning them when I was a kid, only playing them somewhat recently.

Another classic I forgot to mention, (that I did play as a kid,) Commander Keen 4 & 5.

somewhat different topic, just how old does a game have to be? Like, pre-2000s?

[Psyren]

The Half-Life series is utterly fantastic, but I didn't list them because I was too young to play M-rated games when they first came out. In order for them to be as good as I remember, I'd first have to remember them from way back when!

Pfft! My brother and I played Mortal Kombat and Leisure Suit Larry when we were kids.

The only game I regret playing young was Shadowgate, that gave me nightmares...

[DigoDragon]

Though I never played any of the prior games, so presumably I don't know what I was missing or something.

I used to play MoO2 a lot. One of the first 4X style games I played. I'm not sure what #3 had, but I fondly remember fighting space dragons around black holes and blowing up planets with the Stellar Converter.



Mega Man X. That game is amazing.

It was a great successor to the original. I remember the music being one of the best parts of that game.

[Jonzac]

Dark age of camelot

Falcon 4.0--still the best jet simulation out there, especially with the allied force rerelease and all the fan mods for it

Rowan's Battle of Britian--the new BoB Wings of Victory is a formal release of all the mod base, nothing like a 1000 planes in the air bombers straggling with engine damage. And a dynamic campaign. The best WW2 flight sim as far as I am concerned.

[tigerusthegreat]

Ogre Battle 64 is still a favorite

[cavalier973]

For those who are curious about earlier games of a roleplaying nature, if you haven't been reading the CRPG Addict (http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/), I urge you to do so.

He's up to game 96; the game to which he has given the highest rating (so far) is Ultima V.

There's also his adventure gaming (http://advgamer.blogspot.com/) buddy.

[Lady Tialait]

Me and my brother recently broke out my dad's old Atari, and played some pong. That was the most fun we have ever had playing pong. Drunk Pong is best pong.

[Acanous]

Sonic the Hedgehog 3. And Knuckles.

Really? Really nobody here mentions Sonic? Come on, the old games are the BEST games.

[shadow_archmagi]

Space Quest. A lot of people railed on it for requiring moon logic to solve half the puzzles, but there's something delightfully whimsical about moon logic.

[KillingAScarab]

Sonic the Hedgehog 3. And Knuckles.

Really? Really nobody here mentions Sonic? Come on, the old games are the BEST games.I just found a copy of Sonic Mega Collection Plus. Strangely, I'm in North America, but it was the European release. Unfortunately, that particular collection never got enough attention for GameFAQs to have any info on how to unlock Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. I know it is on there, I just can't get to it yet. At least I'm enjoying the background music on Flying Battery Zone.

Someone else mentioned Mega Man 2. While my favorite of the NES releases was Mega Man 3, I can definitely give them that one. MM2 had the hardest NES Wily Castle stage; you will need to navigate a series of blind pitfalls, infinite enemy generators around platforms on tracks over deadly spikes, and then you fight the most challenging enemy yet: a room. So satisfying when you beat that stage, but so frustrating up until that point. Then you go fight Quick Man and Air Man (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjLouGft9kY), argh!

[angrymudcrab]

Civ3 is one of the best games I've ever played. I got it for a birthday present as a kid, bought all the expansion packs, and I am still capable of wasting days on it. I don't really play the default game anymore. One nice thing about the game is that it is very friendly to modding and has a number of very excellent(imho) mods. My favourite mods are Rhye's of Civilization (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=111977), TAM (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=23420), Pentagenesis (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=102263), and Warhammer (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=197452).

[Gnoman]

I just found a copy of Sonic Mega Collection Plus. Strangely, I'm in North America, but it was the European release. Unfortunately, that particular collection never got enough attention for GameFAQs to have any info on how to unlock Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. I know it is on there, I just can't get to it yet. At least I'm enjoying the background music on Flying Battery Zone.

Someone else mentioned Mega Man 2. While my favorite of the NES releases was Mega Man 3, I can definitely give them that one. MM2 had the hardest NES Wily Castle stage; you will need to navigate a series of blind pitfalls, infinite enemy generators around platforms on tracks over deadly spikes, and then you fight the most challenging enemy yet: a room. So satisfying when you beat that stage, but so frustrating up until that point. Then you go fight Quick Man and Air Man (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjLouGft9kY), argh!

Air man is ludicrously easy. A single hit with the leaf shield will destroy him, and Mega Man bosses like to jump on you.

[Eldariel]

Pfft! My brother and I played Mortal Kombat and Leisure Suit Larry when we were kids.

The only game I regret playing young was Shadowgate, that gave me nightmares...

Doom at the age of 8 and Duke Nukem 3D 3 years later too, right? No wonder our generation is so twistedawesome!


Air man is ludicrously easy. A single hit with the leaf shield will destroy him, and Mega Man bosses like to jump on you.

Two hits on the "Difficult" (original) difficulty. But yeah. The trick is beating him with Megabuster without getting hit. Which, granted, takes luck in addition to skill. Just running at him and shooting works with Megabuster if you don't care about hits tho. But that's not stylish.

[Gnoman]

That's fair. Self-imposed challenges are something I rarely think of, since I rarely bother with them.

[Douglas]

I would just like to add Star Control 2 to this list, I don't think that ever gets old for me.
Now available as a free open source project that's updated to be compatible with modern operating systems.

Way back in the day, in the time of PC speakers and "music" composed of a crude series of beeps, Star Control 2 made me aware that it actually was technically possible to get genuine music out of a PC speaker. The sound track drew me in providing an auditory atmosphere that nothing else contemporary with it could.

Years later, the story, writing, gameplay, plot, etc. are all still fantastic.

[TamerBill]

I just found a copy of Sonic Mega Collection Plus. Strangely, I'm in North America, but it was the European release. Unfortunately, that particular collection never got enough attention for GameFAQs to have any info on how to unlock Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. I know it is on there, I just can't get to it yet. At least I'm enjoying the background music on Flying Battery Zone.

You have to play Sonic 3 twenty times and Sonic & Knuckles twenty times. You can just keep loading the game and quitting out if you want to game the system.

[ngilop]

this is gonna be a long list LOL and assuming the title is inferring just eletronic platform games.

Bard's tale I-III ( love them!)

Diablo 2

Age of EMpires/mythology ( want the expasnin for AoM soo bad)

Impossibel creatures ( serisoly this is the greatest game of all time!!!!)

Total Annhilation: kingdoms (just recently beat the game after trying to beat the last level for. like.. 15 years... maybe i should have justs used easy mode..?)

age of wonders ( seems to be a theme of Age of X games here...)

Elder scrolls 3 (morrowind that is)

if i coudl find my orignal packaging for Kings of Kohan id love to play that but .. no CD key makes me sad.. I just rmember me being like this ' OMG YES YESYESY when i played the game.

Dynsaty warrior 1-5 (6 ruined that crap by giving Taishi Ci a spear...)

[Androgeus]

Age of EMpires/mythology ( want the expasnin for AoM soo bad)

I'll send you my expansion disk if you send me the disk for the base game :smalltongue: (I've lost my AoM disk :smallannoyed:)

[Neon Knight]

The entire Age of Empires series, from I to III are excellent RTS games that I play to this day. Age of Mythology is extremely nifty too, but my favorite was probably Rise of Nations. The spin-off Rise of Legends was a little less good, but still interesting.

[Raimun]

Minesweeper and Tetris are always fun. They're super old.

Many SNES games can also stand the test of time.

[Lost Demiurge]

The first XCom was ALWAYS awesome. The newer one has eclipsed that though. It's hard as hell to go back to the clunky interface.

Master. Of. Magic! Often imitated, never supplanted!

Star Control II is a classic, of course...

Agree that HoMM3 is still lovely...

Ultima 6! Can't forget Ultima 6!

Dragon Quest V is beautiful. IV's decent too, though for some reason I'm having trouble making it through the game boy remake. So GRINDY!

Ultima IV for the NES always floated my boat, for whatever reason.

Planescape Torment is up there, too!

Ooh, ooh, can't forget Master of Orion II!

And FFVI is still good to take off the shelf every now and then...

Wait! Wait! CHRONO TRIGGER. So MUCH AWESOME!

Deus Ex I is still fun, even today.

Oh yeah... The Monkey Island games, I-III.

And the Day of the Tentacle, if you can track it down.

If they count, there's also the Disgaea games, and the various spinoffs...

Oh, wait! Quest for Glory I-IV! Even though they were buggy as hell (and still are), they were fun.

[AdmiralCheez]

The first two Paper Mario games are still among my all-time favorites. I started re-playing the original a few weeks ago, and aside from the first hour or so being rather slow without all the goodies, it's still a great story.

[FleshrakerAbuse]

Since I'm pretty young but have tried out some pretty old games, old games are always as good as I remember-because I play only those, all the time.

Final Fantasy Tactics, for its complex plotline and job system.
Final Fantasy 6, for its characterization and music.
Chrono Trigger, because of its epic storyline and time traveling.
Zelda. Because Zelda.

[Balain]

here are the ld games I have been playing right now and still love(some of these go back like 30 years)
C64:
Jumpman, M.U.L.E., Mail Order Monsters, Ghostbusters (activision)

Amiga:
Wings, Defender of the crown, Rocket Ranger, Shadow of the beast 1 -3, Barbarian, Aunt Arctic Adventure

PC:
Heroes of Might and Magic 1 -4, Enemy Unknown(xcom), Darklands, Might and Magic 4 - 7, Ultima 1 - 7 part 2 ( When I re- play the Ultimas I play 8 and 9 cause I love the series so much even though they are subpar to the others), TIE Fighter, X-wing, Wing Commander Privateer

[ObadiahtheSlim]

Lords of Magic and Lords of the Realm 2 are still fun to go back and play from time to time. Lords of Magic however has aged worse, IMHO.

[Amidus Drexel]

The first Phantasy Star (SMS, not Generation 1 for PS2). And 2, and 4. At least Phantasy Star 3 didn't seem worse than I remembered (but then again I didn't think it was the best o' the bunch to begin with!)

Yes! Those 4 are the best RPGs I've ever played. (yeah, even III. It might be the worst of the series, but it's still a great game)


Sonic the Hedgehog 3. And Knuckles.

Really? Really nobody here mentions Sonic? Come on, the old games are the BEST games.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was better, but those are pretty good too.

Most of mine have already been said... Hrm...

Gunstar Heroes
SEGA's D&D game... what was that called again?
Mortal Kombat - I'd like it even better if I could remember the moves...
Tanks (the atari version)
Duck Hunt
Doom
Sonic CD

[Remmirath]

Having been playing it again lately after not doing so for many years, I can say that Koules is definitely just as fun as I remember it being.


Pfft! My brother and I played Mortal Kombat and Leisure Suit Larry when we were kids.

The only game I regret playing young was Shadowgate, that gave me nightmares...

The only game that ever gave me nightmares, for whatever reason, was Monster Bash. I played it when I was four or so, and I had already played Duke Nukem by that point, which had not given me any problems, so I'm not sure exactly why it did. It was only a few years later that I played Doom and Quake (Quake had come out recently when I first played it, Doom hadn't) and those never bothered me. Somewhat odd.


Sonic the Hedgehog 3. And Knuckles.

Really? Really nobody here mentions Sonic? Come on, the old games are the BEST games.

I like the old Sonic games, particularly Sonic & Knuckles, but I didn't mention them because I didn't play them until relatively recently -- I think it was only six years or so ago that I happened upon an emulator for them and got them. So, they are old, but to me it's almost as if they weren't.

Edit: Actually, eight years. Time flies, I suppose. Considering some of what's being set out as old games here, then, that would make them count even if they had been new when I played them.

[Winter_Wolf]

SEGA's D&D game... what was that called again?

If you're talking about the one on the Genesis, I'm pretty sure it's called Warriors of the Eternal Sun. The one set in Hollow World, yes? I still recall that there was a place in the game that you could very easily grind XP and get gold/items to sell for gold and eventually get some hardcore gear, well at least relative to what you were "supposed" to be able to afford. Which I did, and might have made most of the game really easy. I recall beating the game mostly on luck and with only one living character for about halfway through the last dungeon.

[Amidus Drexel]

If you're talking about the one on the Genesis, I'm pretty sure it's called Warriors of the Eternal Sun. The one set in Hollow World, yes? I still recall that there was a place in the game that you could very easily grind XP and get gold/items to sell for gold and eventually get some hardcore gear, well at least relative to what you were "supposed" to be able to afford. Which I did, and might have made most of the game really easy. I recall beating the game mostly on luck and with only one living character for about halfway through the last dungeon.

Yeah, that's the one! There was this hidden dungeon with a dragon, and you blinded it so it wouldn't attack you, and then beat the crap out of it. Over and over again. I didn't find it the first time I played the game, actually.

[dps]

Hm. Most of my favorite games are at least 5 years old:

Master of Magic

Master of Orion 1 and 2

Heroes of Might and Magic 2-4

Daggerfall

Crusader Kings 1

Europa Universalis 3

Colonization

Civilization 2

Alpha Centauri

[Temotei]

Super Mario 64 was my favorite game growing up. I played through it recently and it's still one of my favorites.

Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door is just...so good. GOSH. This game will never age. The original is great, too, but I just prefer this one in pretty much every regard.

Final Fantasy VII I actually find more fun now than I used to.

Final Fantasy X I still love.

Halo: Combat Evolved will always be fun for me, if only for an hour or two of playing a couple of levels.

Also, the Wind Waker. It's definitely my favorite Zelda game. The only part that gets old is finding the triforce shards.

[BWR]

Planescape: Torment and the original X-COM.
I can still waste many many hours on them.

[Psyren]

The only game that ever gave me nightmares, for whatever reason, was Monster Bash. I played it when I was four or so, and I had already played Duke Nukem by that point, which had not given me any problems, so I'm not sure exactly why it did. It was only a few years later that I played Doom and Quake (Quake had come out recently when I first played it, Doom hadn't) and those never bothered me. Somewhat odd.

You mean the old Apogee game, right? Wow, I had totally forgotten that!

That one never scared me though, my brother and I laughed too much at the goofy look on the kid's face.

Dangerous Dave was much scarier (and very gory.)

[Xeratos]

Ok, hell of a long list, but I really like old games. I almost never play new games anymore. I keep trying, but I never like them.

Nintendo:
Megaman 2
Legend of Zelda
Crystalis
Adventure of Lolo 1 and 2
Mario Bros. 3
Contra
Kirby's Adventure

Super Nintendo:
Megaman X, X2
Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
Super Mario RPG
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy 2, 3 (originally labeled 4 and 6)
Earthbound
Super Metroid
Secret of Mana
Sky Blazer
Breath of Fire 2
Illusion of Gaia

PS1:
Breath of Fire 3
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Megaman X4
Parasite Eve
I really want to say FF7, as it's one of my favorites, but I honestly can't deal with the lego block graphics on an HD television. Every time I try to play it again, I barely make it out of the first reactor.

N64:
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

PS2:
Kingdom Hearts 1
Devil May Cry 3

Gamecube:
Metroid Prime
Mario Kart Double Dash


Whew, I think that's enough. I laughingly notice that as the systems get newer and newer, the list gets smaller and smaller. I find myself playing handhelds more often, mostly because the games are closer in style to the old games I actually liked.

[Sylthia]

I'll cut off "Old" as before 2000.

NES: Super Mario Bros 3, The Legend of Zelda

SNES: Super Mario World, TLoZ:ALttP, Super Mario RPG, FFVI, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Donkey Kong Country Trilogy, Kirby Superstar

N64: Mario Kart 64, Perfect Dark (I like it better than GoldenEye), Banjo Kazooie and Tooie, Bomberman 64 (any Bomberman really, but this was the first one I owned and didn't just borrow from my cousin.), TLoZ:TOoT and MM

PC: I didn't PC game much back then, but Baldur's Gate 1&2 are still as fun now as they were back then.

I'm sure I forgot some.

[TheEmerged]

So my recent retro kick has taken me through a lot of the games I played in the 80's and 90's. Some have aged better than others, of course. One I'm playing through right now is Sentinel Worlds 1: Future Magic (there was no Sentinel Worlds 2, just so you know).

I'm not saying it's perfect - the "on foot" part of the game is much more minimalist than it felt when I played it back then. But one thing I didn't appreciate back then but is noticeable now is how well the game pushes you forward. The game is well into Act 3 before you lose the sense that "I can beat the previous content without issue, but the current content is a threat!" Yes, there are noticeable Skinner Boxes in the content but they did a decent job giving you choices. "Do I make money with the boring but easy\profitable method, or do I take the dangerous method that increases my expenses but also adds experience points?"