Problems with many old games when you’re no more used to them:
- there’s actually very little to do, or what you have to do isn’t particularly creative and/or it’s very repetitive. I’ve always had trouble enjoying 16-bit platformers that I didn’t play at the time because, compared to the best ones, most of them feel like blatant copycats with poor design and no inspiration.
- it isn’t always clear what to do. Reading the manual was essential for most games.
- they’re unforgiving, requiring a degree of precision many modern games (even Souls) don’t. There’s barely a margin for error.
- no free camera. Getting back to Ocarina of Time (even the 3DS version) or GC Metroid Prime always requires a period of adjustment. The need for camera movement becomes almost physical when you’re used to it.
Many good old games can still be good if you’re willing to take some time to adjust. Like I said, replaying the old Tomb Raider games isn’t that bad when the worst thing about the PS versions - loading times - is cancelled thanks to modern hardware. There’s some amazing level design to be found there, still today. But games like, say, Pandemonium!, I find completely unplayable today. God knows I’ve tried, that was the type of game I’d fawn over back then.
And then, well, some games are rendered so utterly obsolete by their sequels, going back to them feels like a waste of time. Going back to a quite recent game like Mario Kart 7 after MK8 was shocking to me. The game isn’t old by any means, but it felt like utter dogshit after the glory that is 8.
