Old Games That Hold Up Well, And Old Games That Hold Up Not So Well

[Renegade]

For whatever reason, I had an urge to play Metal Gear Solid, the PS1 version, yesterday. I completed it today and wow, that game is just as good, if not better, than it was when it first came out. The storyline connected more to me now that I'm not 9 years old, as I actually understood it. The characters are superb too. Psycho Mantis' death scene is one of the best things I've ever seen in a game.

After that little bit of nostalgia, I had a look through my old PS1 games box and loaded up WWF Attitude. I still remember the day I got that. It had been delayed and delayed and delayed, until finally it was released, and I remember playing it at my friends house for the first time after we had a sleepover. Man I loved that game. Well, I played it today and it SUCKS. At the time, the "right, left, right, down, triangle" thing to do a move didn't seem so bad. But now it's just horrible.

What old games do you think have held up well? And what ones haven't held up so well?

[Toe]

I don't think Mortal Kombat has held up well. It's really simplistic, and now the gore is really tame in it. When I played it for the first time when I was little, it kicked ass. It kicked major ass. Now it kinda sucks except for the nostalgia value.

Super Mario Bros. holds up. It is such a smooth game to play and it controls perfectly. In fact, it may be better now with the nostalgia factor and everything. To play it now is to play it just as I remember it - totally awesome. Super Mario Bros. 3 is the same way.

Edited March 26, 2008 by Toe

[Gongsun Zan]

I replayed Ocarina of Time a few months back, and it's still as awesome as ever. There's something magical about the game that even Twilight Princess couldn't quite capture.

[Toe]

I replayed Ocarina of Time a few months back, and it's still as awesome as ever. There's something magical about the game that even Twilight Princess couldn't quite capture.

There are probably a ton of Nintendo games that are still as fun to play now as they were back when they were released. Nintendo just makes awesome, timeless games.

[Momo]

Pokemon Blue/Red/Gold/Silver. Awesome games.

Even more awesome is FFIX. Story and gameplay holds up so well, and even the FMV's hold up. Nothing better.

[Plubby]

Rainbow Six and sequels hasn't held up at all for me. When I first played (with auto aim) it was the hardest thing ever. Now it's just "use. gun. on man." to quote Yahtzee. Yay for turning off auto-aim!

The AOE series has and I expect will continue to stand the test of time.

[Toa]

Most old platformers that were fun back in the day are still fairly entertaining now, I'd say. Super Mario Bros. 3 was the first game I ever played, and every time I pick it up, it still has a magical feel about it that, to me, transcends mere nostalgia. It exudes greatness. >_> Most fighting games have aged horribly, though. I can't think of a single pre-Tekken 2 fighter that I'd be able to pick up and not end up disappointed by.

I just played Final Fight a couple of days ago, and that one is, unfortunately, a good five or ten years past its expiration date. Goldeneye doesn't really feel like it used to, either, but it's not yet completely obsolete. It is getting there, though.

Edited March 26, 2008 by Toa

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

For me Cannon Fodder has held up really well as has Sensible Soccer. Just goes to show that true class is permanent.

[Scott McFly]

Bought Doom on Xbox Live Arcade since it had a price drop and I still think it's one of the best games ever made. The music is awesome, the enemies are iconic, the levels are memorable and the gameplay is fun. Going through it on Ultra-Violence for the first time ever and despite the difficulty I'm enjoying every minute.

[Cactus Drags]

Sonic 1. Oh yes.

Also, NHLPA '93 on the Megadrive is maybe the funnest hockey game ever.

The Urban/Desert/Jungle Strike series is still pretty fun too, despite the graphics being poop.

And Micro Machines Turbo Tournament '96 is timeless.

[Darloboy]

For me Cannon Fodder has held up really well as has Sensible Soccer. Just goes to show that true class is permanent.

Agreed with both of these, I still play Sensi on Xbox Live Arcade and it's still as great as ever.

[Gazz]

NBA Jam.

Still waaaayyy more fun than any other basketball game ever made.

[New Damage]

Sonic 1. Oh yes.

Also, NHLPA '93 on the Megadrive is maybe the funnest hockey game ever.

The Urban/Desert/Jungle Strike series is still pretty fun too, despite the graphics being poop.

And Micro Machines Turbo Tournament '96 is timeless.

I just got my Mega Drive down from the attic, and that is one of the games I have. I'm playing Sonic 2 right now, on the Hill Top Zone. A decade on, and dying has ben so fun. And just listen to the music on the Chemical Zone .

[KevinStorm]

The original Pirates! for the NES is the single most replayable game I've ever played. If I still had my NES, I'd still play it. But I just play it on my computer instead. The XBox remake was garbage compared to it.

The AOE series has and I expect will continue to stand the test of time.

I've never understood the appeal of Age of Empires. I've always found them really boring and just..bad. The campaign missions last way too long. I never thought they did a good job explaining mission goals. And if you play just a custom battle against the computer, all you have to do is build 6 of the basic unit and attack. Game over. Every time.

[Plubby]

That sounds flat-out wrong. Unless of course you're talking about strictly the original. six of the "basic unit" in AOK (what's the basic unit btw? this isnt c&c) sounds like a good way to waste several hundred resources.

[Fanku Kaibutsu]

I played Final Fight again a couple years ago, and thought it still held up pretty well. Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries was and remains the best mech combat game ever. Most of the NES/SNES platform games are still fun, particularly Super Mario World and Link to the Past.

In my opinion, most PS1 games looked god-awful, even most of the better looking ones, when compared to the n64 or PC graphics. Now they look even worse.

[zero]

NBA Jam.

Still waaaayyy more fun than any other basketball game ever made.

Gotta disagree there; NBA Street took the Jam formula and perfected it.

[Scott McFly]

For me Cannon Fodder has held up really well as has Sensible Soccer. Just goes to show that true class is permanent.

Agreed with both of these, I still play Sensi on Xbox Live Arcade and it's still as great as ever.

Indeed, Sensi rocks. If it was trying to be real and lifelike then it wouldn't have lasted this long, but since it's essentially football vs pinball there's still nothing like it around, so that's why people still go back to it I reckon.

[Sousa]

NBA Jam.

Still waaaayyy more fun than any other basketball game ever made.

Gotta disagree there; NBA Street took the Jam formula and perfected it.

That may be, but can you enter codes in NBA Street that let you play as Bill Clinton?

[lanky316]

An obvious one but Championship Manager for aging well... Principally because it's barely changed since dot to the present day. Of course, people will always play the more recent incarnation but you could always go back to an older version and slip straight into it without any problems. Same for the Civ games, you can go back to the early ones and graphical progress means squat, they have the same core and all can still be played to death. We'll go for the latest incarnation but you can go back and still have a bally good time.

Those that haven't aged well... Hard to think of anything in my collection, a lot of the ones I think of were pretty crap to begin with but got a few hours because they were there. A few of the earlier 3D graphic based games to me, the graphics didn't age well and colision detection was shite. That said you still get that plenty in lesser games now...