By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Gaming Discussion - 20th century games that have aged the best

Ka-pi96 on 19 April 2023

Final Fantasy 8 & Super Mario 64.

Possibly the Tomb Raider games too. Just replayed the original and started on 2 and I definitely prefer them to the newer TR games. The graphics aren't great, but then people still like Minecraft and stuff, but the gameplay definitely holds up. Wish I could replay the Resident Evil games too. They need a re-release! I bet I'd still enjoy them more than the remakes.



Around the Network
Shadow1980 on 19 April 2023

Pretty much all the good ones from the arcades, NES, Genesis, & SNES. Most sprite-based graphics at least as advanced as early 80s arcade games hold up extremely well. The gameplay on those older games is still fun, too. Whenever we do our all-time Top 50 games each year here at VGC, my list has twenty games from the 8-bit & 16-bit generations, and 19 of those are in the Top 30. Super Mario Bros. 3 is still my favorite game of all time, and the rest of my Top 10 is rounded out with six other 20th century titles: A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Final Fantasy IV, Super Mario World, Mega Man 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Now, Gen 5 games haven't held up well at all for the most part. Honestly, even back then when those games were new I though most of them looked rough, esp. on the PS1. Terrible model quality & textures were rampant, frame rates were almost always clunky, and most devs couldn't seem to figure out how to make compelling gameplay experiences that utilized the third dimension. So many game series that tried to switch to 3D failed to do so. Nintendo and Rare seemed to be the most adept at making good 3D gameplay experiences. Visually, only the most cartoon-y games still hold up. My Top 50 list has only four N64 games (Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64, & Perfect Dark) and a single PS1 game (Final Fantasy VII). I was generally not too keen on the switch to 3D and felt it was a very rough transition, and I don't think 3D games really hit their stride until Gen 7. I've long felt that the industry shouldn't have been so quick to abandon 2D sprite-based graphics, as the few that still made such games showed it was still viable. Capcom in particular showed that with the PS1 Mega Man games and especially Street Fighter 3 (the latter not getting a console port until the Dreamcast).



Visit http://shadowofthevoid.wordpress.com

In accordance to the VGC forum rules, §8.5, I hereby exercise my right to demand to be left alone regarding the subject of the effects of the pandemic on video game sales (i.e., "COVID bump").

CaptainExplosion on 19 April 2023

The original Killer Instinct still looks good, sounds good and plays good. ^^



ArtX on 19 April 2023

River Raid, Astro Warrior. Old shmups aged a bit but they are still good.



mrstickball on 19 April 2023
Jumpin said:

There are a few games I’d like to mention. No particular order. Also, by Japanese release dates, as many of these came out after January 1 2001 in most countries.

1. Xenogears for me. That game remains my favourite game in existence.
2. Super Mario Bros 3 may have graphical glitches, but it’s SO much fun. I prefer the shorter snappier and creative level design to other platformers. I also love the art style.
3. SimTower, SimCity, SimEarth, SimCity 2000 - I still really enjoy these games; and I love having SimEarth on in the background with parameters I set, and watching the world advance.
4. Donkey Kong Country trilogy - to me, this is peak 16-bit platforming design.
5. Sonic 1 and 2 - I love speeding through these games, while Sonic 1 is a little on the easy side, I still enjoy the crap out of it. Sonic 2 nailed the speedy levels and the difficulty combo.
6. Chrono Trigger SNES - my favourite version of one of my favourite RPGs of all time. Unfortunately, stuck on Wii for me, I hope Square does a pixel remaster of this. It’s noteworthy that this game was ported to the DS in 2008 at near full price and sold around 800,000.
7. FF4, 6, 7, and 8 are among my favourite RPGs of all time, and represent the Golden Age of the franchise. Each new Final Fantasy game felt cutting edge and advancing the genre. I’ll be playing all three of them this Spring, starting this week, all on Nintendo Switch. FF8’s once obscure game mechanics, like skill equipping (junctioning), crafting magic, items, cards, and weapons, are now common place in RPGs. I don’t think you can go wrong with any FF game, but the NES trilogy might be a bit primitive, although, I really enjoy FF1, but I’m wondering if it’s a bit too obscure for this list? I’ll soon be giving 2, 3, and 5 another chance, and maybe I’ll update this list!
8. Soul Blazer, Illusion of Time, and Terranigma - this trilogy of action adventure games is phenomenal, and I hope to see the ActRaiser treatment done in the future.
9. Suikoden 1 and 2 - I’m looking forward to playing these ones remastered on Switch. Among my favourite RPGs of all time, and still unique in their feeling.
10. Dragon Quest 3, 4, and 5 - although, I’ve only ever played the DS remake of 5, as they have yet to release the original Westside. Dragon Quest 1 and 2 are special to me too, but I understand they may be a bit primitive for most people… even in their time, as RPGs advanced VERY quickly in the 80s to early 90s.
11. Metroid 1 and Zelda 1 - Metroid, despite the repetitive design, this game remains one of the most intense gameplay experiences of all time. If you die, or are severely damaged, that is extreme punishment: you have to grind to get back to health. The only experience like it is the original Legend of Zelda, which is why I pair them. But Metroid 1 beats it, and any survival and horror game in terms of tension that will cause me to sweat at times. It, along with Zelda 1, are the two oldest open world games I’ve ever played - while primitive, the idea of having wide access to the world out of the gate and progressing by exploring that world, is a gameplay style I’ve loved ever since. Breath of the Wild is the first true successor to this concept—as right from Zelda 2 and Metroid 2, Nintendo abandoned the open world concept and shifted toward linear progression in those franchises. These aren’t for everyone, but they ages very well for me.
12. Link to the Past - this is the best paced of the linear progression games - I think Breath of the Wild finally nailed this as well after (IMO, Zelda games continuously failed miserably in pacing).
13. FF Tactics, Ogre Battle, Ogre Battle 64, and Tactics Ogre - this is mostly about the story, which is really well done in all these games, but all of them suffer from crazy difficulty spikes at time, and there are huge opportunities for you to run into a dead end because of a progression error you’ve been making for the past 10-15 hours. But if you’ve played them before, most certainly!
14. Fire Emblem 4: Genealogy of the Holy War - one of the best Fire Emblem games of all time, and the game that made me fall in love with the franchise, still not released officially Westside but was still quite big in niche fandoms in the 90s.
15. Earthbound/Mother 2 - while it’s a bit satirical on RPG mechanics and story stuff, it transcends this and comes into its own spirit. It also possesses some really creative and mechanics that are ahead of its time, and I play this one regularly. In fact, I broke a gaming fast (this year) with this game.

16. Kirby Superstar - Of all the Kirby games, this one felt most ahead of its time—from the DS/Wii era. This game (like  Chrono Trigger) was ported to DS in 2008 and sold for around full price and sold over 3 million additional copies.

I’m missing a bunch (no way I’m not). I really liked the arcade classics example above, for example. I don’t have the same attachment to those.

I’ll probably add to the list, later.

This is definitely the best and most proper list I think. 



Back from the dead, I'm afraid.

Around the Network
CaptainExplosion on 19 April 2023

It may not be anything special graphically now, but F-Zero X aged much better than it's predecessor by sounding and playing a lot better than the original. Helps that it way more cars on screen at once AND multiplayer! ^^



curl-6 on 23 April 2023

Lots of great calls here!
For me, the best examples are ones that marry smooth and straightforward gameplay with nice pixel art, such as Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island.
From the 3D realm of things, Doom and F-Zero X are still a blast to this day thanks to their arcadey simplicity.



Oneeee-Chan!!! on 23 April 2023

It would be arcade games such as CPS1 CPS2 Neo-Geo, etc., not classic consoles.

MARS Matrix is a game from 2000, but it is a really good shooter.

Unfortunately, nobody remembers it now, neither in Japan nor abroad !

Last edited by Oneeee-Chan!!! - on 23 April 2023

drbunnig on 23 April 2023
Ka-pi96 said:

Possibly the Tomb Raider games too. Just replayed the original and started on 2 and I definitely prefer them to the newer TR games. The graphics aren't great, but then people still like Minecraft and stuff, but the gameplay definitely holds up.

I'd definitely agree with this, but the controls and mechanics of these games are ingrained in my memory, so I'm not sure how objective I can be. A lot of people dislike the way it handles, and the grid based level design. Once you get used to how it all works, it's a breeze to play, but if I was playing for the first time today, I'm not sure how pleasant an experience it would be.



last.fm

VAMatt on 23 April 2023

Games from the 16-bit era and earlier tend to hold up. After that, when we started moving into 3D, the games are often damn near unplayable. The clunky cameras, and otherwise awkward controls drive me crazy.