Retro game recommendation thread

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Spindel said:

The_Liquid_Laser said:

Your tastes are not actually as niche as you think.  Original Metroid was the best selling 2D Metroid for decades until the recent release of Metroid Dread.  Also, Metroid Dread just barely outsold it will a much higher user base.

Your tastes aren't niche, but the internet perception of Metroid is screwed up.

I refer to my preferred games more in general even if original Metroid is a good example. 

I wan't hard games, games where you can get lost (like original Metroid). And where, if you don't memorize, you might have to pull out pen and paper to write down clues or the map by yourself. 

Most modern games are way to heavy with the handholding. Or they implement poor mechanics to make them "hard" (yeah Souls games are not hard because of good design but because of clunky design). 

Another prime example is Elder Scrolls, I loved Morrowind to death when it came out. Then when I finally got to play Skyrim (some 6 years after it's initial release, never played Oblivion) I was sourly disappointed. Arrows to all your missions, so you can't get lost, enemies that scale so you basically can't by misstake wonder into an area and get crushed into pulp. No real sense of progression since all enemies basically always are as easy/difficult to kill etc. 

Yeah, I agree with this, especially wanting to get lost.  I like that feeling.  It makes the game seem more challenging.  I got this feeling in NES Metroid, and I also got this feeling in early dungeon crawlers like Wizardry.  I rarely got out pen and paper, but that was just my playstyle.  It was kind of cool that a person could pick how to overcome this challenge.  Some made maps.  I just would go over the territory over and over until I memorized it.

Of course, in both games I mentioned there were pits where you could fall and then have to fight your way out (or die).  This also added to the challenge and was a unique "oh shit" moment that you just can't get today.  Like, "this game was hard enough when I could progress carefully, and now I'm in deeper than I want to be."  If you can make your way out of that situation, then you feel awesome.

Of course all of this makes me think of Elden Ring right now.  I remember tons of "hardcore gamers" complaining about how hard Demon's Souls and Dark Souls were when they were fairly new games.  Now Elden Ring is showing this type of game can be super popular.  It may be a situation of some players not really knowing what they want.  They complain about the challenge, but the truth is that tough challenges actually make a game better.  The players just need to git gud.