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Discussion Games that have stood the test of time

Timppis

Timppis

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Video gaming history is full of games that were absolute gems when they were released.

Many of these games still after years or even decades can be played and considered great games. Even if their graphics, framerate or mechanics are outdated they still have something that stands the test of time. Some games still manage to pull off all of these aspects.

What are your favourite old games, that could still today be released and be considered great?

Mine are coincidentally my favourite games of all time too.

Star Control 2. The Melee and story modes both still outshine a lot of modern space rpg's. Exploration, basebuilding, time-based narrative, graphics. It could be released today as an indie game and it would be 90+ metacritic game.

Quest for Glory series. Even comparing these games to each other does disservice to the series as a whole. First ones were vga-graphics parser games and the later ones one of the first click'n'point adventures. Why they still rise above others from that time is the rpg-elements, humor, story and continuity.

Other than those two I will simply list few others that are not the usual suspects like SMB3. If possible try to do the same. We all know that Chrono Trigger is still great and we all know that Super Mario 64 is still rubbish.

Fantasy General: Theme and mechanics still work fantastically
Steel Panthers: Same as Fantasy General. Just strong enough game mechanics carry this one for a long time.
Final Fantasy VII-X: They redefined JRPG as it is.
 
You make a great example with FF VII-X, (and VI!) these are great stories with universal themes and relatable scenarios that will still resonate with players 5 years from now, and the RPG elements haven't really aged in my opinion.
 
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A lot of 80s shooters are still great. Scramble, Galaga, Phoenix are fun to play.

The Mario games speak for themselves.

I also think side-scrolling 2D brawlers have aged well. Golden Axe, Final Fight, Streets of Rage 2 and The Punisher still play fantastically. Shinobi is high on my list of Switch games by time played.

Wave Race 64 has aged superbly in both graphics and gameplay departments.
 
Roger Rabbit said:
A lot of 80s shooters are still great. Scramble, Galaga, Phoenix are fun to play.

The Mario games speak for themselves.

I also think side-scrolling 2D brawlers have aged well. Golden Axe, Final Fight, Streets of Rage 2 and The Punisher still play fantastically. Shinobi is high on my list of Switch games by time played.

Wave Race 64 has aged superbly in both graphics and gameplay departments.
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Wave Race is one of the few N64 games that really has managed to stay great.
 
Mario 64 and Ocarina.

More than any other games of that generation, they set the template for how third person games play to this day.

Games still use the independent camera system and analogue movement controls that Mario 64 pioneered.

Games still use the Z-targeting system that Ocarina created (often not even as well as Ocarina).

Where other long running franchises play nothing like their N64 or PS1 incarnations today, Mario 64 and Ocarina set the standard so high they not only inform the design of their subsequent franchise entries, they inform the design of completely unrelated games released in the 2020's.
 
Yoshi's Island. Its platforming is still tight, the controls haven't aged, the bright colour palette still pops and it is still cute as hell.
 
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for NES, 30+ Years and it still demolish me like when I was 4
 
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Chrono Trigger still holds up beautifully. The pixel art is still gorgeous, the gameplay is still fun, and the music is still perfection.

Rez is still a timeless classic.
 
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Quest For Glory was obviously my first thought after seeing your avatar.

Might and Magic though is another. The graphics and QoL of some of the older games have aged horribly but the gameplay, especially the progression systems are still some of the best ever seen in any RPG series.
 
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Kanhir said:
Yoshi's Island. Its platforming is still tight, the controls haven't aged, the bright colour palette still pops and it is still cute as hell.
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Yoshi's Island definitely fits this.


Skittzo said:
Quest For Glory was obviously my first thought after seeing your avatar.

Might and Magic though is another. The graphics and QoL of some of the older games have aged horribly but the gameplay, especially the progression systems are still some of the best ever seen in went RPG series.
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Might and Magic is definitely still worth playing today. Also reminded me of Warlords 2, which is a bit simplistic today, but still nonetheless amazing pbm or hotseat game.
 
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Timppis said:
Wave Race is one of the few N64 games that really has managed to stay great.
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Colorful, simple graphics get old way better than complex, textured graphics. Games like little big adventure, Super Mario 64 or Pilotwings and proof of that
 
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I recently started playing Wario Land II and I have to say it still feels great, it did a lot of things right at that time!
 
Outside of some moon logic I think most point and clicks hold up pretty well today - most people would probably think of Lucasarts and Sierra in that realm but one that really sticks in my mind is the first Broken Sword. Sure it has the goat puzzle but outside of that it comes across as a very welcoming, colourful game with a serious edge and interesting story which works just as well now as it did in the mid-90s
 
A controversial pick perhaps, but Final Fantasy XII holds up nicely in my opinion. Ivalice is gorgeous, the story was captivating and felt fresh at the time and the gameplay very likely inspired future titles like Xenoblade, plus it still has one of the best AI systems in any video game in my book.
 
Kingdom Hearts 2 is still one of the best games gameplay and action wise. And the graphics aged pretty well. The remasters look stunning. Another contender would be Zelda Wind Waker those cell shaded graphocs aged like fine wine and the gameplay is still pretty darn great.
 
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Mega Man X is a near-perfect game in its simplicity. Fun gameplay loop, great bosses, lovely pixel art, tight controls. Doesn't try to do too much and excels in what it offers.
 
My avatar.

Panzer Dragoon

All the 90's early 00' arcade shooters and beat'em ups (Console versions too)

Megaman and Megaman-type of games.
 
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doodlewhizz said:
Outside of some moon logic I think most point and clicks hold up pretty well today - most people would probably think of Lucasarts and Sierra in that realm but one that really sticks in my mind is the first Broken Sword. Sure it has the goat puzzle but outside of that it comes across as a very welcoming, colourful game with a serious edge and interesting story which works just as well now as it did in the mid-90s
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I loved Broken Sword back in the day but haven't played it again. What's the puzzle that you refer to?
 
Super Smash Bros Melee. Even after 21 years, the game hasn't been surpassed by any other platform fighter in regards to gameplay.

Ultimate is by far the best designed, most balanced, with the best presentation, incredible roster, but the moment to moment gameplay just isn't as fun.
 
I love playing old games, and I do think a lot of them hold up fairly well even by today's standards. Here are some that come to mind-- I'll do one for each older console I love with some honorable mentions, and I'll include up through PS1/64/Saturn since generations after that are typically regarded more favorably by modern audiences in general.

NES-- Super Mario Bros. 3. I think more than any other NES game, you can pick up SMB3 and it plays well by today's standards. It's not quite as stiff feeling as SMB1 and the level design is getting much closer to what essentially became the standard for Mario games.

(honorable mentions, Mega Man 2, The Legend of Zelda)

Genesis-- Monster World IV. I love the Wonder Boy series and this isn't even my favorite one, but I do think it's aged the most gracefully out of the older series. It's much snappier than MWIII, significantly easier and only has one area I would consider kinda BS. Otherwise I feel it's a very solid game today.

(honorable mentions, Sonic 3&Knuckles, Castlevania Bloodlines)


SNES-- honestly I think a very significant portion of the SNES library holds up by today's standards. But if I had to choose one, it would be Link to the Past. I think it's a fantastic Zelda game that set a gold standard for the series, and it holds up in just about every way.

(honorable mentions, Chrono Trigger, Yoshi's Island)

GameBoy/Color-- Link's Awakening!!! LADX is my favorite game of all time and I thought the remake was just as wondrous as the original. Some portions of the game, I consider perfect. What a wonderful adventure.

(honorable mentions, Pokemon Crystal, Wario Land)

N64-- I would talk about OoT here, but I've mentioned Zelda a lot in this post already, so instead I'll give this one to F-Zero X. I think it's a fantastic racing game and imo it's one of the best looking games of this era-- it's smooth as heck.

(honorable mentions-- of course, SM64 and OoT)

Sega Saturn-- I have to give this category to two games-- NiGHTS into Dreams and Radiant Silvergun. Both are absolute delights to play on Saturn-- technically impressive for the time, beautiful to behold and they have very fun gameplay with high skill ceilings.

(honorable mentions-- the entire Panzer Dragoon series. 1 has the best music, 2 has the best shmup gameplay, and Saga is just an experience.)

PS1-- I'm playing through Symphony of the Night rn and think it's brilliant... So it's my pick here.

(honorable mentions-- FFVII and Spyro the Dragon)


oh also, I never owned a Turbo Grafx/CD but I played Rondo of Blood earlier this year and thought it was fantastic.
 
It is surprisingly just as tense and exciting to play a match of Bushido Blade today, as it was all those years ago. It definitely looks like a PS1 game, but the simple yet effective game design shines through.
 
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A sightly obscure pick, but Paradroid on the Commodore 64 comes to mind, with its tense, lonely atmosphere, set on a spaceship overrun by mutineering robots.

Also Impossible Mission on the Commodore 64 - "Another visitor... Stay a while... Stay FOREVER!"

I feel both of these still hold up brilliantly today and are really playable.
 
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From the top of my head from stuff from the GCN era and older, that are without a doubt still perfectly playable:
  • Super Mario Bros 3
  • Mega Man 2 and 3
  • Mario World
  • Zelda ALttP
  • All GameBoy Zeldas
  • Super Metroid
  • Paper Mario 1&2
  • Zelda OoT & MM
  • Metroid Prime Games
  • Wind Waker
  • Mario Power Tennis
  • F-Zero GX
  • Pokémon since 2nd Gen (1st Gen is just slooooow)
  • Golden Sun Games
  • Minish Cap
  • Mario & Luigi
 
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Almost 25 years later and it's still the best game of it's genre. An absolute masterpiece.
 
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I think most of the great SNES games still hold up very well and are fun to play today. Excellent pixel art graphics still look good and age much better than old 3D, and the gameplay in a lot of cases tended to be refinements of what companies were doing on the NES and benefitting from lessons learned there. The only thing they lack compared to modern games is QoL stuff.

I think a lot of the great GBA games still hold up for the same reason too, especially removed from the original hardware's terrible backlight.

If I had to pick one though, I would agree with Yoshi's Island. Personally this is Nintendo at the top of their 2D game, and it doesn't surprise me at all that a lot of the guys who worked on this went on to become some of their best directors.
 
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