I was literally going to say crystal sage before I read your full post. I’ve never once gotten through a DS3 run without dying several times to him, and I’ve probably played a dozen or more times. Even with the throwing knives cheese.
I HATE playing mobile games but my wife got me hooked on Dawncaster. It’s a roguelike deck builder. I think it’s like $4-5 and no micro transactions but there are expansion packs to add new zones and enemies. I’ve since picked them all up. It’s regularly updated with free content packs and balance changes. The devs are very responsive with the community.
If you have any interest at all in Souls-likes and want to see where the genre really started, consider Blade of Darkness. An updated version is available on GOG with modern resolution support and slightly improved controls (still clunky as hell in comparison to newer games, though).
Metal Gear Solid is one of my favorite games of all time, followed closely by 2 and 3. It really is an incredibly timeless piece of art in my opinion, just filled to the brim with incredible moments.
Sons of Liberty was my first experience of the MGS series and I really enjoyed it. Absolutely off the wall parody of military games in the absolute best way.
I’m def missing some here. I would argue not all of these have necessarily stood the test of time if we look at it from a modern sensibility lens. Particularly resident evil 1-3 and silent hill 1 can be a bit difficult to play if you can’t get used to tank controls. And Myst can be a bit esoteric, especially the older versions.
Besides that though I really do think these have all stood the test of time. I would like to particularly shout out the original re4. Despite having a recent remake that I adore potentially more than the original, the original is still so good even to this day. It is wild to me how well it still feels to play
No it’s not rewritten. Mainly I just think the pre rendered picture movement of the original can be harder to explore and piece things together than the fully 3d environment of the remakes.
As for Zork, I only played a very small amount for a school assignment lol. I considered it esoteric in a way I feel all text adventures are, but I really don’t have enough experience to say.
Is there any merit to getting a hold of mother 1 and playing that before earthbound/mother 2 and mother 3?
I hadn’t even heard of this one somehow, lol. I’ll check it out.
Ugh, super mario world is sadly one of the ones whose platforming I can’t stand :( It has so much going for it but I just can’t handle the floaty platforming
noted, noted, and noted.
I’ve played the first Myst game and I’m like halfish way through Riven with my sister. They’re awesome when they’re good but some of the puzzles are more frustrating than difficult (maybe it would be better if I was playing one of the more recent remakes?). One thing they’re incredible for is atmosphere, I struggle to think of any game that feels this way.
I played resident evil 4 back in the day and it was okay but I think that this style of game just isn’t my cup of tea (even if we ignore awful tank controls and shit from the earlier titles).
someone else recommended kirby’s adventure, so I guess I’ll add these two to the backlog too!
I look at silent hill and I’m in love with the atmosphere, I have been for ages and I’ve tried to stay spoiler free in case I one day play them. Are they more combat focused or is it closer to being a puzzle game almost? I could see myself really enjoying them if most encounters are mostly a case of figuring out how to progress past/through some group of enemies or something, rather than just scavenging enough ammunition to keep up with being forced to pew pew some baddies.
You could play mother 1 for sure if it interests you, although it’s aged the worst out of the 3 in my opinion.
Sad about Mario world :( I find it to be one of the least floaty Mario games, partially due to a mechanic in the game that isn’t present on many others where the speed of your fall is controlled by holding the jump button (many games have variable height by holding the jump button, but few have it so the speed of the fall down is controllable)
As for silent hill I’d argue that they could be seen as more puzzley. There are bosses and enemies of course, but it’s not usually a constant enemy fest. In silent hill 2 (and maybe 3 I can’t quite remember) there are separate combat and puzzle difficulty settings, so you can set easy combat and hard puzzles. Of the original silent hills id recommend silent hill 2 the most. You don’t need to play any others to get it, it’s a self contained story.
If it has aged poorly and isn’t really necessary to enjoy the others, I’ll give it a miss.
As far as I’m aware, slowfall by holding the jump button is present as far back as SMB1 on the NES (although almost imperceptibly). SMW is definitely waaaaay better than SMB1, lost levels and doki doki panic/SMB2 but it’s still not responsive enough for my modern sensibilities :( As I say, it has so much going for it but the character controller at the core of all the gameplay I just can’t get along with :/
Neat, nice to hear that it’s not reeeeaally combat focused. I’m down for combat but from a game like that it’s just not what I’m there for.
I’ve just noticed, is your display picture Hornet holding a trans flag? That’s awesome
Finished The Darkness, and still didn't find all the collectibles. But I did get a bunch of other achievements, so it wasn't a loss as far as that goes. I am a little sad that this game has multiplayer achievements though, because since this game is so old (and really didn't need multiplayer to begin with), there's no one available online. Multiplayer achievements in a primarily single player game are the bane of my existence.
I've also already played through The Darkness 2. It's crazy how the vibe is so different than the first one. The first game had a really gritty feel, meanwhile this one has a polished and "clean" feel to it, probably due to having different developers and art styles. I love them both, they are special in their own ways. While I do miss the "open" world and side quests of the first Darkness, I do love this game. It's so fun, and so is the extra content Vendettas. It's like extra story without taking away from the story, if that makes sense? Like you don't need Vendettas, but the extra bits are still fun to have.
Now I'm attempting Monstrum for the first time. I was a little wary at first because it seemed to start out boring since I was just walking around, but once I ran into the monsters it got a lot more interesting. I'm not sure I'll actually get all the way through it, but it's a fun little ride while I decide on what my next game is going to be.
For how little cultural impact The Darkness had in the long term, I remember it being very hotly anticipated before release. I think I made myself believe I liked it more than I actually did, but it was a really ambitious and interesting title all the same.
For sure, I can see how it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. There are a couple insensitive moments, and sometimes the game mechanics involving the Darkness itself are a bit of a pain, but I think the overall story and some of the settings (especially the whiplash you get about halfway through) are really compelling.
Of all the games I played on Android I think Monument Valley was the only native mobile game that I really enjoyed. I also played Stardew Valley on mobile, that worked quite well.
I’ve never had so much fun staring at the screen for minutes on end without doing anything. Calculating my next move. Great game, but definitely not one you can just play mindlessly.
I know you want to avoid Final Fantasy style games, but both Chrono Trigger and FF Tactics Advance are unique takes on JRPGs (you’re open to Earthbound, after all). They are also timeless, IMO, and stand up against modern titles.
Kirby’s Adventure is great all around. Has saves, interesting gameplay, tight controls, excellent music, secondary secret objectives, and it’s just goddamn adorable. It’s also better than Kirby Superstar, IMO, but do try both.
I tried a kirby game at some point and I found myself annoyed with the platforming, but it might have been a bad choice of title. I’ll give adventure a go!
someone else mentioned FFT, is there a reason to go for FFTA in particular?
chrono trigger is highly regarded, i may give it a go. maybe it’ll be a good primer before I ever play Sea of Stars.
TMNT3: Manhattan Project was a fucking JAM i played the ever loving shit out of that when I was younger. Thanks for the nostalgia hit.
Battletoads I’ll have to check out, it’s another one of those that has been on my radar but I just never tried for some reason.
I have never even remotely heard of Little Nemo: Dreammaster, I’ll have a look!
Someone else recommended mega man, so I’m definitely gonna have to check this out
SM64, what a gem. Despite the janky collision and truly awful camera it really is a classic for a reason
Kirby’s Adventure just feels the best to control. I don’t like the way they changed how powers work in Superstar, and I think the variety, controls, and level design aren’t as good. Sometimes, more isn’t always better.
FFTA is the best in the series, but it’s also the most unique story. FFT is still the usual “fantasy” universe you’re familiar with, but there’s an interesting element of isekai in FFTA.
Battletoads is hard, but not impossible. Everyone remembers the third level with the bikes being a pita, but I did it as a kid. Tip: towards the end, there’s a part where walls will come at you faster and faster, but if you try to stick to the middle and move just enough out of the way, you can weave back and forth. Don’t overcorrect; light touch. If you get really good, there’s even a secret in that part that lets you skip several levels. Look for a sparkle!
Little Nemo is based on a comic, and it’s a really unique puzzle/action platformer. I haven’t played anything quite like it, but it was one of the first NES games I owned.
Mega Man 2 unequivocally has some of the best chiptunes in any game. There’s a reason there’s so many remixes on OC Remix just from that game.
Starfox 64 is the original SNES Starfox but with better graphics, gameplay, and story. There’s also multiple endings…
Someone else mentioned that they liked the GBA remake of Adventure more - would you say it’s worth going that route or sticking to the OG?
I suppose I’ll have a look at FFT and FFTA both and see what’s up.
Ah I remember how painfully unforgiving those old side scrolling games could be, I’ll find my way through battletoads :D
Definitely excited to try Little Nemo, it’s one of the few recommendations people have posted that I genuinely just have never heard of
Man I have always enjoyed when I heard Mega Man soundtrack pop up in other places, the tunes are sublime. Just never played the actual games the music is from lol.
Looking forward to Starfox 64 it sounds like a good one!
The GBA port is…okay. It has some of the “improvements” that the SNES got, and the balance just feels off, to me. I would say that it still controls better than the SNES version, however.
Give them all a try, though. Maybe the NES version will feel lacking to you and you’ll love the SNES ones!
You have tons of great game suggestions here so i’m not gonna suggest another game. I’m just going to recommend RetroAchievements as a way to add a little meta-progression fun to your retro journey, if you aren’t using them already. They integrate into various popular emulators (RetroArch especially), and it’s fun to be playing Super Mario World and get a little extra recognition for beating a boss.
I am very prone to completionism so I have intentionally avoided RetroAchievements as I didn’t want to get bogged down chasing them :P But I do very much appreciate the extra recco!!
extremely fair! I just broke a 2-month fever with Pokemon Pinball bc I became obsessed with getting the “beaten” marker on RA. I think I was still having fun up to the end? but not totally clear. So I get it. lol
Not really, when you don’t buy games when they come out. A lot of mine are freebies, and I never buy anything that isn’t a deep discount (especially from AAA studios), which means “new” for me is often several years old already.
Do note that in your post you mentioned things that have aged well, and while I think it’s fine, they can feel a bit clunky, especially in comparison to some of the games heavily influenced by them (e.g. Dishonored, among others).
Edit: I’m mostly referring to direct melee combat here, and not the rest of the game. Truth is, you probably won’t find yourself using it much against humans, but the sword can feel a bit dated against some of the nonhuman creatures. And now that I think about it, Dishonored’s swordplay isn’t exactly super fluid either unless you’re countering and parrying.
You might want to add some mods just to touch some things up.
Also, while the second game is my favourite, don’t sleep on the third, especially if you like horror because one of the later levels is fucking incredible. I say all of this as someone who ordinarily hates supernatural-type horror.
And the third game also expands on the lore, which I like.
All of them are available on GOG and Steam.
Similar to Thief, the original Deus Ex is a great game which might also show its age a bit, but I think stands the test of time for the most part.
I’ll look into mods, thank you for the recommendation :)
I do love having GOG versions available.
I remember playing the original Deus Ex and I think my mum forced me to stop playing because it was too violent or some such nonsense (this being the same mother that had me playing Oddworld while I sat on her lap at the ripe old age of like 5. A game that routinely features people and monsters being blown/crushed/ground/shot/shredded/chewed to giblets). I may have to look this up again.
The main patch you’ll want is TFix/T2Fix, posted on TTLG Forums. I think it comes prepatched from GOG, on Steam you’ll have to patch it yourself.
@comicallycluttered what do you mean by very clunky? I don’t think they are at all. Except maybe the default control scheme which is pretty bad today, but you can rebind everything (or use my bind file, works for both games)
No prob. The first game actually has some fantastic mods and also a ton of incredibly well-crafted fan-made levels.
You might want a few tiny mods for Deus Ex as well, though it doesn’t really require much.
Kind of funny that it was “too violent” because you can go through most of the game without even killing anyone. It’s my preferred playstyle, just sleep darts and stealth stuff.
Actually, you’ll have a bit of a rough time if you go in guns ablaze. A lot of people used to shooters end up being obliterated on the first level when they initially play it, which is what happened to me when I first played it on release. Came back to it years later after I’d discovered Thief and suddenly felt right at home.
Edit: Oh, and it’s also available on GOG. Most of the earlier immersive sims (Thief, Deus Ex, System Shock, Ultima, Arx Fatalis, etc.) are.
And yeah, like I was quite young so the idea of having weapons and not using them probably went a bit over my head at the time so it ended up being violent. I was also coming off of the back of games like Duke Nukem 3d and DOOM (which I somehow was not discouraged from playing - go figure)
If I weren’t currently at work and would have time to think about the answer, I could probably come up with more titles, but those are the top 2 that come to mind, if I ignore cRPGs (at least that’s how I read your “avoiding final fantasy-esque” requirement):
Settlers 2: It’s new enough to still look decent by today’s standards, and has amazing game design. Available at GoG.
Star Control 2: One of the best early open world games. The graphics have definitely aged by today’s standard, but the humour hasn’t. Or maybe it has, but just a bit. Available for free and open source.
My relationship with cRPGs is weird. I adore disco elysium and citizen sleeper, two of my favourite games. I enjoyed the first ~30 hours of Divinity Original Sin 2 before I just got uber fatigued on how much the game got in the way of the characters for me. Final Fantasy (style) games i just get so exhausted by all the faffing around with party composition and stats and junctions and equipment and skills and whatever the fuck else. What I live for in my tabletop experiences is high storytelling and roleplay, where I can do a little fooling around with fun combat builds and whatnot without getting too bogged down, and my videogaming preferences mirror that.
I guess what I’m saying is that a crpg with a greater focus on the RP and less on the G really fits my tastes, so earthbound is a natural fit.
Settlers and star control both look somewhat neat! I’ll have a look, many thanks.
Older JRPGs in particular are definitely a bit of an acquired taste. There are a lot of games that I love dearly but have a hard time recommending to anyone who didn't grow up on that style of game.
That said, Chrono Trigger is the one that really stands the test of time and I think is the best entry point into the classics. Or just try some more modern games, the genre has evolved considerably.
Earthbound is probably the one I'd put next after CT, but it's a bit of a slow burn that's honestly carried by its writing. Mother 3 raises the bar considerably, but you gotta play EB before M3.
Yeah, I’ve had such a love/hate experience with JRPGs. When the game gets out of the way and lets me just explore the world and its characters I fall in love. And then the gameplay comes back and I have to get out my spreadsheets and shit and I just fall asleep. CT comes highly recommended so I’m looking forward to giving that a go alongside EB and M3. I have Sea of Stars on my backlog which is apparently a spiritual successor to CT so that’ll probably follow along nicely.
Mega Man X on the SNES is an amazing trilogy and still holds up. Moving on, X4 and X5 are great to play as well, X6 and beyond can be avoided.
Mega Man Legends 1 and 2 (PSX) are interesting games, a mix of action platforming and light RPG elements, but I have deep nostalgia and still enjoy the games, so you may find them very archaic. Playing the first game, the first thing you should do is change controls so turning around is left/right and L1/R1 strafe.
If you haven’t tried them yet, Donkey Kong Country 1, 2 and 3 are well worth playing, but the games can be unforgiving, especially in later levels. While there’s no coyote time, doing a forward attack off a ledge will allow you to jump once anytime during the fall. It’s very clearly a deliberate feature, as some level skips can only be accessed with that trick.
Castlevania Symphony of the Night on the PSX, if you haven’t played yet, you definitely should. This motherfucker stood the test of time with gold marks.
I know you asked to avoid final fantasy-esque titles, but Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX) is worth checking out. If the battle system, or the party management/job system, don’t pique your interest (things that you should get a feel within the first 20-30 minutes), then it’s not for you, no problem.
Tekken 3 on the PSX is probably the best 3D fighting game on the console. Graphically ancient by today’s standards, but it still has its charm. Later games got better with more characters and everything, but that game has the normal arcade mode, a “volley” mode and a beat-em’ up mode.
Bomberman games are their own category. The SNES ones are some of the best, but playing them all in sequence will get really tiresome, as the formula doesn’t change. Bomberman World on PSX can be completely avoided, it sucks.
I’ve been hesitant of the mega man games for some reason, I’ll check em out!
DKC I have never tried, but it sounds like there could be some fun movement
I definitely need to try castlevania sotn - thanks for the reminder
FFT I’ll give a go just because your other recommendations have been on point :P
Tekken 3 (and Tekken Tag Tournament) was fucking awesome, loved playing that. I spent so much of my pocket money on tekken games at the arcade growing up.
I have played some of the bombermans(bombermen?), it’s a neat concept but it gets stale very fast for me.
I’ve been hesitant of the mega man games for some reason, I’ll check em out!
I can understand that hesitancy for the NES games. If you never played anything like them, they can feel unfair or too hard. A lot of people love Mega Man 2, but my personal favorite of the NES era is 6, which could be a decent entry point if you ever decide to venture that way. X improves everything and the first is my personal favorite as well (it easily has the best music of the 3, too).
It took me a number of attempts before FFTA grew on me. I’m not too fond of race-locked classes there, or the judges, but the progression felt fun.
Worth noting: Ogre Battle (Tactics Ogre) was released for SNES (then re-released more than Skyrim) and is basically FFT’s father. FFTA’s sprites come straight from TO.
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Aktywne