The 'take a step back' movement

[Squidbulb]

I've decided to go back and play some old ps2 era games (I've started with Beyond Good and Evil and Psychonauts (which as I've said many times, was bad)) though my PS2 doesn't actually work so it's mostly going to be through hd collections and download on Steam/xbox originals. Soon I'm planning on buying Prince of Persia, Silent Hill, Fahrenheit and Half-life which should be a refreshing change. I can never be bothered with gritty shooters and online multiplayer, and most 8/16-bit games just aren't to my taste.
Captcha: do it now!

 

[Lugbzurg]

"Taking a step back" in this regard has been my way of taking several steps forward. I haven't been playing a lot of modern games. The old ones have often been a lot better, more creative and harder.

 

[SageRuffin]

4 words: Sonic the fucking Hedgehog (1/2/3/& Knuckles)

Ah... life was so much simpler, say, 5-6 years ago. Now everyone's ready to call me retarded because I like Devil May Cry over Braid.

 

[SageRuffin]

Snippage.

.__.

I love you.

 

[Torrasque]

EDIT: And oh, believe me, if there was ANY WAY I could get my hands on either a Dreamcast or an SNES... hooh...

My uncle's SNES still works, but I haven't played it in ages. I saw Secret of Mana at a game traders the other day and almost jizzed. However, the price tag was $275 ;_;
I was talking to the store owner about the game, an explaining to my friends that came with me about how amazing the game is:

Me: "Think of the best RPG you have ever played"
Friend: "Ok, Fi-"
Me: "Secret of Mana is better. I don't know or care what game you had in mind, Secret of Mana is better"
Friend: "Well what abou-"
Me: "No, you don't get it. The game was made for the SNES back when they were still figuring out how to make games challenging without making them impossible, and this game is fucking amazing. You can play it a dozen times and still have new paths to take. The game makes Skyrim with all of it's 'open world-ness' look like a straight hallway"
Friend: "Wow..."

If I had a time machine, I'd go back in time and buy up all the amazing games that I didn't realize were amazing because I was a stupid kid

 

[Weaver]

I play old games all the time. My SNES, NES, Genesis and N64 are all currently hooked up to my old tube. Some of my other old stuff is sitting in a closet at the moment >.>

I have mine hooked up to my 1080p TV

It's weird seeing the pixels so clearly defined.

 

[TorqueConverter]

I've been playing a bit of Galactic Civilizations II and it's various expansions recently. It's a game from the good 'ol days when games were games, DRM was not tolerated and additional content meant content developed after release as an expansion.

Stardock is a great group of people to boot.

http://www.gamersbillofrights.com/

 

[Thatrocketeer]

I'm trying to do this right now, I'm currently playing through the original Deus Ex, with mods, and it's really fun, graphics look really outdated but the different options of doing the objectives is something that all games should at least try to implement, 'cause it's really fun to observe and figure out different things.

After this I'm going to try the isometric RPGs next, going to start with the first fallouts and then go for Arcanum next and maybe Planescape after that.

 

[SageRuffin]

Another Otogi fan? I didn't think they existed. I feel like Robinson Crusoe after he first discovered Man Friday.

Fan? I made my first (very bad) music video from that game!

Caution: contains rap music.


On a much more related note, what other game lets you take a gilded billy club and smack a giant bird through a house? Although Raikou became broken on a stick once you got either the Skylarks or the Moonlight Sword. :/

 

[omega 616]

snip

Here is the problem, in the "golden days" that you are speaking of there was no such thing as a patch or update.

Does game X have a major, almost game killing bug? Tough shit, there is nothing you can do about it.

Not to mention games in them times looked like HD lego, had memory card saves and the term "ergonomically" designed controller hadn't been invented yet ... The best N64 players had 3 hands ...

 

[SargentToughie]

Here is the problem, in the "golden days" that you are speaking of there was no such thing as a patch or update.

Does game X have a major, almost game killing bug? Tough shit, there is nothing you can do about it.

Not to mention games in them times looked like HD lego, had memory card saves and the term "ergonomically" designed controller hadn't been invented yet ... The best N64 players had 3 hands ...

Yeah, but we didn't NEED updates or patches in those days. If there was a game killing bug, that's the sort of stuff that would have gotten ironed out pre-release. Devs didn't have the opportunity to just go 'f it, we'll just patch it post release' and ship an incomplete and buggy product. They had to take more time and make sure that everything worked well.

In fact, the rushed deadlines that have come out since the advent of the constant internet connection are, I might argue, harmful to the industry as a whole.

What's wrong with bad graphics? You're honestly telling me that the merit of a game is decided by how good it looks?

What's wrong with memory card saves? I don't really see the merit in that criticism.

As for controllers? The PS3 uses almost the exact same controller as the PS2 and the PS1 before it, and those are the two easiest consoles to pick up that I'd actually be interested in replaying again.

 

[locke]

Xenogears. No way to not play it and feel like older games were better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0xGILHchUo

 

[omega 616]

that's the sort of stuff that would have gotten ironed out pre-release

Yet how many times did you run on the spot as your face grinded against a game wall? How many times during a racing game did you take a corner super close to the apex and your thinking "holy shit that so close, it was awesome!" only to lose ALL speed or spin like crazy?

I was recently playing a rather recent but still old game, need for speed underground 1 (I think it came out in 04) and I know off by heart every corner with a game wall. I can think of about 3 or 4 just of the top of my bonce.

Yeah, it seriously all balances on graphics .... That is not what I am saying. I am ok with playing old games but old games VS new games, I would rather stare at a new game.

Memory card saves are fucking awful, having 2 or 3 of these things holding next to no amount of data. If you lose one you just lost about 16 saves, not to mention how many times I got corrupted data through no fault of my own.

PS2 and 3 are quite similar but the PS1 is a very skinny controller, especially without the sticks.

 

[SargentToughie]

snip

Never played racing games, they just weren't my cup of tea back in the day. If those are serious concerns of yours then I'm sorry and I can understand why you would be frustrated, but I have no such memories.

As for memory cards? I played with memory card systems for about 8 or so years of my gaming life, and I never had any issues with them whatsoever. One memory card typically had all the memory I needed for whatever games I owned at the time, as long as I took the initiative to delete the save files to games I no longer owned/wanted to play, and I rather liked being able to take a small stick of memory over to a friend's house as opposed to an entire console if I wanted to play a game with him and have all my characters/levels/whatevers unlocked.

I don't think I ever had data corrupted, not even once.

 

[blizzaradragon]

I go back and play the three Digimon World games on the PS1 all the time, as well as Digital Card Battle. Also just recently went on a Rare binge by playing Donkey Kong Country 1-3, Donkey Kong 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Banjo-Tooie.

As for right now, my buddy got me Diablo II and it's expansion as a late birthday present for me so I'll break that out and give it a try. Otherwise I'll probably go play Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance on my Gamecube.

 

[omega 616]

snip

Never played racing games, they just weren't my cup of tea back in the day. If those are serious concerns of yours then I'm sorry and I can understand why you would be frustrated, but I have no such memories.

As for memory cards? I played with memory card systems for about 8 or so years of my gaming life, and I never had any issues with them whatsoever. One memory card typically had all the memory I needed for whatever games I owned at the time, as long as I took the initiative to delete the save files to games I no longer owned/wanted to play, and I rather liked being able to take a small stick of memory over to a friend's house as opposed to an entire console if I wanted to play a game with him and have all my characters/levels/whatevers unlocked.

I don't think I ever had data corrupted, not even once.

Ok then, what about hit detection in FPS games? A 1 CM wide post being 1 inch thick? You line up a perfect shot from cover only to find you can't hit the guy 'cos the car you are behind doesn't have windows that you can shoot through.

Speaking of which, what about in games like GTA 3 where you can do things like pop tyres and shoot through windscreens to kill the driver? I remember being in high school and being so excited for that shit, one of the features of the game listed in the magazine was "the elbows are no longer square".

Nostalgia clouds a lot of games shitty qualities.

 

[SargentToughie]

MOAR SNIPPAGE!!!

Again, I haven't run into any of these problems that you claim to have. I can understand, hell, I can even respect that you don't really want to play older games because of their flaws, but I don't really see where these problems of yours are coming from. Now, I'll be the first to say that not all the games were better 'back in the day' then they are today. I'm not saying that no good games have come out this generation.

However, the fact remains that some of the greatest games ever made, as well as the games that have formed and shaped our opinions about gaming today, came from those days. We all have memories of that one game, or those two games, that completely shaped the gamers we are today.

I'm not saying 'only play older games'. No, that's dumb and it does nothing to help the industry. However, I'm saying 'play the older games that are special to you every now and again, and remember why you love video games so much'. It beats the hell out of keeping your face in the lobster bucket of modern gaming all the time, I'll tell you that much from personal experience.

For every shitty FPS with a 1 inch thick post, there was a game like Chrono Trigger, there was a game like Megaman Legends, there was a game like Kingdom Hearts. These games are instant classics that I remember fondly years later as being some of my best experiences playing games.

If you can only see the negative parts of going back and playing some older games, then I actually feel kinda sorry for you. You're missing out on some amazing experiences.

 

[Nooners]

Nostalgia is a powerful thing.

Yes. Yes, it is. And that is why GoG is so important and so successful.

I have a Sega Genesis and N64 emulator for this exact reason. God bless old-school gaming. There may have been just as much garbage back then, but the good stuff - the stuff worth remembering - still SHINES like a beacon.

 

[SageRuffin]

I have to confess, I never got the Moonlight Sword. Could never find all the right stuff to break in that bloody level where you have to stop your ship being sunk by slime.

Releasing the spirits, right? If that's the stage I'm thinking of, Phoenix magic plus the Lotus Wing. A simple Light,Light,Light,Magic combo will fuck those little blob thingies sideways. You jump off, break shit, float back to the ship, unleash a Magic combo, lather rinse repeat.

I think you need your Magic to be level 3 or whatever the highest in that game was though. It's been a while and a half; I can't recall all the details.

Or you could take your chances with the one-hit-kill weapon, but if you catch, say, a stray floating kiss or something Raikou turns to ash. :/

Credit to FROM though, they really knew how to make a hack-and-slash with tons of replay value. Even moreso with the sequel. I don't think I've ever seen a hack-and-slash game with so many extra levels and challenges thrown in.

Most def. I had my reserves with the second game, but the other characters were actually pretty fun to use. I liked using the little girl with the scythe and the wolf guy with the twin swords (and really, who didn't like using that guy?).

 

[Strain42]

I've recently taken a step back to 2005 and busted out Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines.

After never being able to get it to run on my desktop, I tried installing it on my laptop, and I'm happy to say it's running great, and it's nice to enjoy one of my all time favorite WRPGs