[Classic] Old games are great, don't forget

I think it depends on what we mean by old school. I have systems going back to the old NES sitting under my TV, and I probably play them more than my next gen stuff. I mean, when asked to give a list of my favourite games, it reads like a who's who of old consoles:

Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy III/VI
Final Fantasy II/IV
Secret of Mana
Dragon Force
Shining Force II
Suikoden I, II, V (last one not so old)
Breath of Fire I, II, V (last one not so old)
Earthbound

I'm gonna stop there, but you see my point. "Old-school" games I think have a certain charm. Even in platformers, I find the SNES to be just very entertaining. Joe and Mac, Super Adventure Island... love those games.

Now, Nall has basically said everything I think on this subject (as the boy has a tendency to do, I've noticed) and I don't have a ton more to add to it. Graphics don't automatically equal a bad game, but they seem to sometimes be more concentrated on by a developer than the story is etc... All I can say is I've been highly disappointed in the modern gen games, and have a lot more old school games I like to replay than I do newer games.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by DarkMageOzzie

Wow Denicalis. Replace Suikoden and Earthbound with Star Ocean 2 and Valkyrie Profile and that about sums up my favorites.

VP would be on my list, though I've never really liked the SO series. There'd be a bunch more on that list, too. Things like Vagrant Story, Chrono Trigger and... well, I'll get to that in response to Rotorblade.

Originally Posted by Rotorblade

I've always been fascinated in what we'll see when players list their favorite games of old, Deni. It'd be stating the obvious to say you're a fan of RPGs, but I just did it so we have that out of the way. I'm interested in what you'd say, if you had to say something in response to someone with something like a more PC oriented list of games. Or someone who did a majority of their playing in an arcade.

The things we value as players are vastly different. I see that people such as yourself value experiences crafted by scripted games with gripping stories. I grew up playing RPGs and Fighting games, and eventually I came to appreciate more of the raw game aspects. Whether the competition was going to be worth engaging, balance vs. variety, and level design.

I don't find story to be much of a factor, especially with games like Ninja Gaiden or Street Fighter. I do enjoy being engaged as a player in a variety of ways, and I think that is the greatest part of being able to look back at such a large history of games with the ability to play them to boot. While sometimes our judgment might be swayed by things we've learned to expect or have grown to dislike, it's nice to know that we can share things that other players might not have touched before. To help others understand just where it is we're coming from when we talk about games the way we do.

RPGs are my first love, no doubt at all about that. But as for someone who had a more PC based list? My list of favourite games period would include Full Throttle, Monkey Island I, II, III, and maybe even IV, Day of the Tentacle, LOOM, X-Com series, Planescape: Torment, KotOR...

And as for Arcade, I love me some fighting games, sir. I'm terrible at them. But I am mad addicted to Soul Calibur, Tekken and Street Fighter. Also if they made a new Streets of Rage, I'd probably have an orgasm on principle alone. You're right, we do value different things, but I'm willing to bet most gamers have some cross over love in there somewhere.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I liked a few games of that type, but I wouldn't put them on my favourite of all time list. However, I'm not sure if I take your meaning on that question. Have there been older games I've picked up and had them make me take a second look at a genre? Not really. Though Bioshock made me take a look at that genre anew. I'd hated it up until I played that. And then Gears of War and Bioshock made me find something fun about it. But an older game that made me rethink an entire genre? No, not really.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.