What is your favorite game that you played 10+ years after release?

[Mekanos]

I played Twin Snakes back in 2008 as my first Metal Gear game, having grown up exclusively on Nintendo games until college. I played it on and off and eventually finished it in 2012. I thought it was enjoyable but I wasn't as grabbed by it as I hoped. A few weeks later in 2012, I was lying in bed on a Friday night sick as dog, and thought for the heck of it I would download Metal Gear Solid to my PSP. Maybe I'll play for an hour or so and see how it's different, check it out, whatever.

I was hooked. The difference in presentation completely hooked me. The sickly green neon cyberpunk look, the simple-on-the-surface gameplay hiding a deceptively complex playground, the more grounded cutscene direction, just everything worked on this playthrough. I played the game nonstop that night and beat it in one sitting. I was blown away. To this day, I still consider it my all time favorite video game despite playing it almost 15 years after release, when it supposedly "didn't age well." It's one of those gaming experiences I'll never forget and continued to frequently replay it after the fact.

There's some other games that I could think of that fit this, but MGS1 is definitely my favorite. What about you?

 

[Vuapol]

Chrono Trigger is one of those titles that edges into the territory of what I would call 'revered' rather than just 'loved'. I wondered whether SNES nostalgia goggles had elevated what was probably a good game into the stuff of legends it's often seen as today.

The game is just as old as I am, so I played it for the first time around 2014 with absolutely no nostalgia attached.

Yeah, no. Chrono Trigger is just that good. One of the greatest games I've ever played with one of the greatest soundtracks I've ever heard.

 

[psilex]

Growing up I never had the opportunity to play Majora's Mask despite my older brother owning it. By the time I was old enough to play and understand video games, we lost the Expansion Pak necessary to play the game... because my mom threw it out while it was attached to our first broken N64. For years the gold holographic cartridge was just taunting me in our collection of games.

Fast forward to around 2011 and I finally play the game through the Wii Virtual Console. Despite having a good time completing one dungeon and collecting some masks, I dropped the game for some reason. Fast forward again to 2020 and I return to finally complete the game with 100% and it instantly became my favorite Zelda game. Majora's Mask might have what are called "sidequests" but calling them that is doing a disservice to how pivotal they are to the experience. I have never felt more compelled to interact with NPC's. I love the atmosphere. I love the way the 3 day system ties into the narrative and the residents of Termina. It's a fantastic game that in a way I am glad I experienced when I was older so I could fully appreciate what it does.

 

[Burning Justice]

Chrono Trigger for me as well. Played it for the first time in 2008 and absolutely loved it.

Super Metroid, EarthBound, and the NES Punch-Out are honorable mentions. I played all three of those for the first time in '07-'08.

 

[Jersh]

Metroid Prime. I first played through it on the Wii U. It was also my first Metroid game, and the experience was magical. I think the game resonated particularly hard with me as an introvert lol.

 

[Ozeiyo]

It has to be Final Fantasy VI, which I played a few years ago. Which is weird, since I no longer enjoy RPGs as much as I did when I was 10/12.

 

[GamerJM]

I didn't really play Ocarina of Time until 2011, though I tried to play it a couple times in the early 2000s but always got bored a dungeon or two in. I was blown away by how well thought out every aspect of the game seemed to be designed, and it still has some of the best pacing in any game I've ever played. Hyrule Field isn't too big or too small either. More games should have the exact scope of OoT.

I guess Super Mario World might actually qualify, but I technically first started playing it a few years after it came out. I don't think I ever really tried to play through the game past the first couple of worlds until like 2002 though. Still my favorite 2D platformer ever. Nothing controls as well as it.

 

[mazi]

the most recent one that comes to my mind is deadly premonition which i played in 2020 (10 years after release) and it immediately became one of my favorite games of all time. just an amazing experience from start to finish, despite some bugs and jankiness.

 

[Dardan Sandiego]

It's between Panzer Dragoon Saga and Chrono Trigger. I played both of them towards the end of high school, around 10 years after their original releases. Now they're both among my favourite games period. Stellar games that do in their limited time more than many games that are like three times as long.

 

[Irene]

It has to be Final Fantasy VI, which I played a few years ago. Which is weird, since I no longer enjoy RPGs as much as I did when I was 10/12.

Same here. Lifelong FF fan, but didn't play FFVI until 2015. Now it's one of my favorites!

 

[RenHojo23]

the most recent one that comes to my mind is deadly premonition which i played in 2020 (10 years after release) and it immediately became one of my favorite games of all time. just an amazing experience from start to finish, despite some bugs and jankiness.

Same! I knew nothing about the game, played the Origins version on Switch (in preparation of 2 which instead isn't quite as good imo) and loved it to death.

I wouldn't even say the game is "so bad it's good", the story and the humor are just very good.

 

[mazi]

Same! I knew nothing about the game, played the Origins version on Switch (in preparation of 2 which instead isn't quite as good imo) and loved it to death.

I wouldn't even say the game is "so bad it's good", the story and the humor are just very good.

agreed! i hate when people put it in the "so bad it's good" category. it's a genuinely good game with great story and characters, and the gameplay while frustrating at times is pretty fun too.

 

[bellydrum]

Xenoblade Chronicles. I bought Definitive Edition the day it came out because of how much I loved 2, and I devoured it. I ended up completing Colony 9 twice: first in New Game, and then in New Game+.

 

[BlueManifest]

I’m still completely shocked Chrono trigger hasn’t released for switch, esp after all the older games square has released for switch like secret of mana and saga, what could they possibly be waiting for

Just port the pc or phone version in a few weeks and be done with it

 

[Josh5890]

This is a really tough one since I have found myself playing a ton of classic games, especially in the past 3~5 years.

I will go with A Link to the Past. I finally got around to playing that game two years ago when it came to the Switch. The excitement from the very beginning of the story grabbed me. I am still working though the Zelda games but this feels like a top 3 Zelda game when it is all said and done.

Same here. Lifelong FF fan, but didn't play FFVI until 2015. Now it's one of my favorites!

That is actually my next Final Fantasy game to be played. I only have two mainline games to go. VI and X.

 

[TheDok]

Kid Icarus Uprising or Ghost Trick Phantom Detective.

 

[Sheldon]

It's Chrono Trigger. It'll always be Chrono Trigger.

I played it when the game first came to a platform I owned, on the DS, having heard of its reputation as the best JRPG of all time. Had I not known, I still would have felt, from the opening moments until the very end and all the way through, like I was playing one of the greatest adventures ever told. Since I did know, I got to discover the rare pleasure of hype not living up to how good the actual thing is.

 

[Johnzyboi]

Final Fantasy X. I’m surprised how well it holds up especially as the first 3d Final Fantasy.

 

[Rareware]

I just played through Eternal Darkness for the first time and it is an absolute masterpiece. I am convinced that Nintendo is sitting on an IP that has the potential to be a franchise. Their very own Resident Evil and is unique enough to stand apart from it. I get it didn’t sell very well back then, but I think if they were to remake it and release it today, it would most certainly prove to be one of their best IPs.

 

[nenned]

Chrono Trigger is one of those titles that edges into the territory of what I would call 'revered' rather than just 'loved'. I wondered whether SNES nostalgia goggles had elevated what was probably a good game into the stuff of legends it's often seen as today.

The game is just as old as I am, so I played it for the first time around 2014 with absolutely no nostalgia attached.

Yeah, no. Chrono Trigger is just that good. One of the greatest games I've ever played with one of the greatest soundtracks I've ever heard.

This was going to be my post. I didn't play the game until 15 years after its release, so no nostalgia or rose tinted glasses. The game just exceeds expectations on every level. Amazing sprite work, soaring OST, fantastic gameplay, multiple routes, multiple endings, memorable characters. This game has it all and I can't recommend it highly enough, even to non- rpg fans. It deserves to be experienced.

 

[NabiscoFelt]

Apparently I really need to finish my playthrough of Chrono Trigger.


Anyways, for me it would either be Super Metroid or Metroid Prime. I liked Prime more, but Super Metroid is probably the more impressive one since I usually have trouble going back to SNES era games

 

[z1ggy]

Ys Origin, became one of the goats for me.

 

[Deleted user]

I cant get enough of this game. That is why I was there day 1 when Skyward Sword HD came out.

 

[Anatole]

Probably Deus Ex in 2016. It took me three tries over a few years to get past the first level, but once I did, the rest completely hooked me. It’s still the GOAT immersive sim for a reason.

 

[Oolong]

Umihara Kawase and Umihara Kawase Shun.

I originally messed around with the series starting with Sayonara Umihara Kawase. I enjoyed it, but it never led me to want to go back and play the past entries. I believe it was due to me not fully understanding physics of the fishing line.

However, Umihara Kawase Fresh came out and gave me the opportunity to take time to learn and understand the physics of the game. It made want to try out the other games in the series. I ended up importing the DS port of Shun and fell in love with the series.

 

[derpysquirtle64]

A lot of them.

I think almost all my favorite games are the ones that I played 10+ years after release - Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid, Persona 3. Nier also could have been on this list but I played it for the first time a couple months before it got 10 years old.

 

[1upmuffin]

I didn't beat Paper Mario 1 until way after release, maybe when around 2015, just a guess. Anyways, fantastic games, holds up so well.

xoxo,
~muffin

 

[Brofield]

Paper Mario on Wii VC was my first experience with the game after having played TTYD multiple times, and honestly I am super excited to play it again for NSO since my first time in 2011

 

[MisterSpo]

Either Panzer Dragoon Saga, or Earthbound. I played them both in 2014 for the first time and they were amazing experiences.

 

[lightning16]

Grandia II for me. Just played it for the first time a few years ago and I loved it. Up there with the very best games of its era imo.

Cheat answers would be Pokemon Yellow and Platinum. Played them both for the first time within the past few years but I grew up on Red/Blue and played a lot of Diamond/Pearl so I'm not sure it counts. Both are fantastic, though. May just be my two favorite games in the series now.

 

[Jannyish]

I played Tales of the Abyss on the 3DS in like ... 2017...? I believe the original released in 2005 for the ps2? So yes, definitely that one.

Also, not quite ten years, more like 8, but Xenoblade Chronicles.

Obligatory "Where is my Xenoblade 3??"

 

[9-Volt]

Final Fantasy VI. Us Europeans didn't get it on SNES, we had to wait for the PS1 version.. But t was the GBA version in 2007 when I truly finished the game. Only game that deserves the title "masterpiece, imo.

 

[Lichtsang]

Seiken Densetsu / Final Fantasy Adventure / Mystic Quest, aka Mana 1; damn you, Square Enix! You and your stupid naming descisions!

One of the best GameBoy games of all time and surprisingly dark for a Mana game.

Played it in 2019 when the Collection of Mana came out.

 

[jnWake]

I've played so many games 10+ years after their original release... I'll try to list some of my favorites:

• Ace Attorney franchise: Well, technically this only applies to the first 3 games. First time I played them was around 2014-2015 on iOS and I just loved them. Eventually got a 3DS and played the other 3 games and it became one of my favorite franchises.
• Earthbound: Insert "huge Earthbound fan plays it for the first time" meme here... I played it when it released on Wii U VC and well, it's awesome.
• Fire Emblem GBA games: Always was interested in them thanks to Smash Melee but never got around to playing them until they were released on Wii U VC, which must have been around 10 years since their original releases. Since then I became a big FE fan!

There are many others like most of the Metroid franchise, Advance Wars and probably several SNES/GBA games but those 3 are my main ones.

 

[UnrulyUmbreon]

I didn't have a gaming PC, so I didn't touch Half-Life 2 until 2014. It was astounding seeing a game that was older brimming with little touches that modern games didn't have. I can't imagine how impressive that level of environment interaction was in 2004.

 

[Beard]

 

[Weebos]

I'll join the chorus of Chrono Trigger, just an incredible game that holds up incredibly well.

 

[Josh5890]

I have tried so many times to play the first game, both OG and HD versions but it never clicks for me

 

[YoboD]

Definitely Earthbound. Even so far removed from its release it still felt so fresh and interesting compared to every other JRPG I'd played, there was really nothing like it. The whole vibe ad surrealness of it just clicked with me.

 

[Ultrashroomz]

Metroid Other M

 

[Oheao]

Well most games I play are over 10 years old by now so that's a lot of them. Off the top of my head Silent Hill 1 + 2 and Metal Gear Solid 2.

 

[Fanto]

Metal Gear is probably it for me as well tbh, first played the series before MGSV came out and it's now one of my favs of all time.

More recently though, I just finally got around to playing Twilight Princess earlier this year, and that's def become one of my fav Zeldas of all time now alongside Wind Waker, loved every second of it.

 

[Marce-chan]

It wasn't just one but various games.
All of my favorite games of all time sans Persona 5 I played way more than 10 years after they released.
Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time...

 

[Terrell]

Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen

I don't feel the need to say much more than that, except... "Liberation" *muffled SNES sound chip cheering*

 

[OldSkOoL]

Warcraft 3.

Was not really a big PC gamer back in my youth as my parents didn’t have a computer and we were only allowed one consol in the house. By the time I was old enough to work I was still in consol gaming and didn’t really get into PC gaming until WoW which naturally lead me to look at the source material and I was blown away by the whole game

What an absolute blow it was to hear about the culture at that company, it’s hard to even look back at my time with both Wow, WC3 and overwatch fondly anymore