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Great games that just don't hold up anymore
- Thread starter Psxdad
- Start date
MidnightScott
Banned
Crash Bandicoot
I downloaded it on PSN for my PS3 and it absolutely looks horrible on my TV. I don't remember it looking so bad back then but jeez, it's just awful.
I downloaded it on PSN for my PS3 and it absolutely looks horrible on my TV. I don't remember it looking so bad back then but jeez, it's just awful.
Also, since they have both come up on the last page:
I played both Half Life 1 and Resident Evil 4 for the first time ever in the past year. RE4 is now one of my favorite games of all time, and HL1 was a very enjoyable experience. They have their flaws, but they are both very fun games to play, even judging against more modern games.
I played both Half Life 1 and Resident Evil 4 for the first time ever in the past year. RE4 is now one of my favorite games of all time, and HL1 was a very enjoyable experience. They have their flaws, but they are both very fun games to play, even judging against more modern games.
AKingNamedPaul
I am Homie
Kittonwy did actually, but we kind of worked that out. He just doesn't enjoy it anymore.shintoki said:
Sir Ilpalazzo
Member
GatorBait said:
I think those two still hold up well against their successors. Only Silent Hill 2 surpassed the original in quality, and DMC1 still has the best enemy design in the series.
T
thepotatoman
Unconfirmed Member
I loved the likes of Doom and Duke Nukem 3d and have nostagia of playing them and talking with my friends in the school yard about how damned awesome those games were but really at this point pretty much every FPS game before the Half Life and Halo revolutions (1997ish) are impossible to play. The Marathon series being the one exception I know of since it actually has good story, writing, and atmosphere that i think stand the test of time and even then you have to use a mouse look mod.
I'm undecided about early JRPGs like final fantasy and dragons quest. On one hand they force your imagination and creativity more then most other games to this day, but on the other hand they can be so frustrating and boring to slog through.
I think early Sierra point and click adventure games and the like have actually gotten better now that you can actually look up the answers to the stupid impossible to solve puzzles using the internet.
I'm undecided about early JRPGs like final fantasy and dragons quest. On one hand they force your imagination and creativity more then most other games to this day, but on the other hand they can be so frustrating and boring to slog through.
I think early Sierra point and click adventure games and the like have actually gotten better now that you can actually look up the answers to the stupid impossible to solve puzzles using the internet.
BladeoftheImmortal
Member
ZealousD said:
I'd agree with you, but only because of the camera control. It's really hard to go back to C-Button camera controls after using two analog sticks for so long. And the DS version does not correct this
. Other than that, the level design is still amazing.MrPing1000
Member
Metalmurphy said:
I really don't understand this.
Hell if a 2d game was good then it's good now and a lot of the best early 3d games hold up well too.
Deus Ex and the Thief games are still amazing (if u play thief1 do ensure u update the graphcs with thief 2 assets though).
The first game to come to mind was Metroid, and that sentiment has been echoed several times in this very thread. Even then, I quickly realized that even this game holds up well. Seriously, the atmosphere and sound is still amazing, the controls are second only to Super Metroid as far as how Samus moves (although are inferior in the lack of crouching, and aiming downwards/diagonally), and the level design is still groundbreaking.
It isn't the games fault that I lose patience with farming power-ups every time I die. Yes, it is a poor gameplay mechanic, but it hardly makes the game unplayable. To be completely accurate, it makes the game require a higher level of skill to be beatable. Even then, the atmosphere of the game is so engrossing that I find it a joy to play even as it kicks my ass.
It isn't the games fault that I lose patience with farming power-ups every time I die. Yes, it is a poor gameplay mechanic, but it hardly makes the game unplayable. To be completely accurate, it makes the game require a higher level of skill to be beatable. Even then, the atmosphere of the game is so engrossing that I find it a joy to play even as it kicks my ass.
Night_Trekker
Member
Once again: a truly great game is a great game forever. Games don't change. Players do. Approach a classic title without irrational demands and unreasonable expectations and you can enjoy older games too!
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
Night_Trekker said:
This shit times a thousand.
I've replayed many of my favorite games from the past that I loved and were critically acclaimed...they were still fantastic.
I've played many of the highly praised games for the first time ever this generation. I'd say about 95% of them lived up or surpassed the hype.
I've played many of the cult classics and lost gems this generation for the first time...loved them (yay Pulseman!).
And looking at the Virtual Console press and fan reaction it seems that everyone else agrees.
I hate to say it but if a game isn't good today it most likely never was.
There are also two very important points people have to think about for these types of discussions:
I really don't like being "that guy" but looking at the average age of GAF posters (18 to 28) I assume that most people here were either really young and/or didn't develop quality tastes for games yet. Of course most games won't age well if you were at an age where you judged games based on whether or not you were played as your favorite cartoon character or not or how "extreme" and "cool" it was.
The other point is that just because you don't like a certain play style doesn't mean that others don't. A prime example is pre-1994 JRPG's. I can't stand them. The level design is horrid. The gameplay is boring. The maps are far too bland and confusing. And I just find them to be horrible. But guess what? Plenty of people not only like these games but prefer them? I can't figure out why. I got Dragon Quest IV for the DS, played it, and hated it. I thought it was shit. Yet GAF adored it. Just because I dislike a game style and find it to be "dated" doesn't mean others think that way as well nor does it mean that they should think that way.
fizzelopeguss
Banned
luka said:
This thread needs to be closed otherwise i'm going to snap and actually start hunting people down. There will be murder, there will be blood.
King Chozo
Banned
I second this, seriously, some of you guys are ridiculous. Super Mario Bros 1 unplayable? Why, have you had your hands chopped off? Half Life 1? Why, because the graphics are outdated? Be serious now people. Super Mario RPG? How does it not hold up? Just because there have been more made that are better doesn't mean it doesn't hold up.fizzelopeguss said:
One that comes to mind for me is Metroid for NES. The 30 energy after death and password system along with how slow and clunky the controls are, and the lack of map; it doesn't hold up to the test of time. Has nothing to do with newer version being better or the graphics. The mechanics are just done with.
storafötter
Member
CadetMahoney said:
I disagree, I played it again over the psn. It is over quite quick but I could enjoyed myself still compared to other brawlers.
Street Fighter 2 I agree on when it is not including turbo. Most games I have mastered from the past don't hold up anymore.
Bam Bam Baklava
Member
Spyro and Crash Bandicoot seem like they were made for a specific time and specific technology which no longer exist.
Rodney McKay
Member
I feel like video game quality is skewed by nostalgia more than most forms of entertainment.
I like to look at Final Fantasy as an example of this. I think the first FF I played was probably 7, or at least it's the one I have the fondest memories of.
For years I had heard people talking about how much better FF6 was to FF7 and when I finally got a chance to play it, I was underwhelmed. I mean really? I'm suppose to be intimidated by that tiny goofy-looking clown sprite?
Of course, when people who had never played FF7 before play it now they can't get into it in the same ways I couldn't get into FF6. Who's this dinky little LEGO dude? THAT'S the main bad guy?!
I think that the only games that do stand the test of time are those that transcend the technological constraints of their time to still be enjoyable to someone in the current day.
A lot of fantastic games don't do this, and even though they may have been important to furthering video games as a whole, they don't hold up well to new gamers anymore.
I respect games like Doom, Half-Life 1, Deus Ex. But when I play these games nowadays, they don't play as well many modern games and they make my eyeballs want to bleed.
However I can still enjoy Tetris
I like to look at Final Fantasy as an example of this. I think the first FF I played was probably 7, or at least it's the one I have the fondest memories of.
For years I had heard people talking about how much better FF6 was to FF7 and when I finally got a chance to play it, I was underwhelmed. I mean really? I'm suppose to be intimidated by that tiny goofy-looking clown sprite?
Of course, when people who had never played FF7 before play it now they can't get into it in the same ways I couldn't get into FF6. Who's this dinky little LEGO dude? THAT'S the main bad guy?!
I think that the only games that do stand the test of time are those that transcend the technological constraints of their time to still be enjoyable to someone in the current day.
A lot of fantastic games don't do this, and even though they may have been important to furthering video games as a whole, they don't hold up well to new gamers anymore.
I respect games like Doom, Half-Life 1, Deus Ex. But when I play these games nowadays, they don't play as well many modern games and they make my eyeballs want to bleed.
However I can still enjoy Tetris
Rodney McKay
Member
Rubius said:
Please God, do not let modern gamers think that Little Big Planet has better Jump control than Super Mario Bros. D:
lightless_shado said:
Last time I tried to replay that game...yeah...
Xenogears did not age well at all,on the contrary.It's a mediocre at best game with ambitious and pretentious ideas.
Not to mention I had forgotten just how slow the game actually is ( and the loading...).Fallout 1 & 2 for me as well (bought the Fallout trilogy).God,so slow and atrocious lack of polish.It's no wonder that cprg were super hardcore back in the days. :lol
I can understand Street fighter 2 if we are talking about the vanilla version. :lol It's completely unplayable at this point (slowest fighting game ever,no option to select the same character,ludicrous damage from most attack,etc).Super turbo has been able to stand the test of time so let's no even go there.
Virtual fighter 1 and Tekken 1: slow,clumsy and U-G-L-Y as sin.
Honestly: just about 99% of the great games of the past are outdated.
Huh. And here I am, with the original Super Mario Bros still being my favourite Mario game after all those years. And I even didn't play them much back when they were new, it was only during the last ten years or so that I got to know Mario games better.
And to be honest, Resident Evil's controls were horrible back then, so I can't see how something that was bad from the start could hold up well. I remember being really annoyed at the illogical solution of tank controls in any game. That didn't mean I couldn't enjoy the games though, because the rest of the game was good. And still is. So, it kinda still holds up.
In short, all great games have flaws. If the flaws are overwhelming today, it's not a good game to start with. If the graphics were acceptable back then, they are acceptable today. If a game has bad gameplay and fantastic graphics for its time, and because of that you found it great, then you were simply blinded by the graphics and not seeing what it really was. A bad game.
If you can't play these great games for yesteryears, it's only your own fault, not the games. It's not the games that have become worse, it's you that have become spoilt (not in a good way) and blinded by modern gaming.
And to be honest, Resident Evil's controls were horrible back then, so I can't see how something that was bad from the start could hold up well. I remember being really annoyed at the illogical solution of tank controls in any game. That didn't mean I couldn't enjoy the games though, because the rest of the game was good. And still is. So, it kinda still holds up.
In short, all great games have flaws. If the flaws are overwhelming today, it's not a good game to start with. If the graphics were acceptable back then, they are acceptable today. If a game has bad gameplay and fantastic graphics for its time, and because of that you found it great, then you were simply blinded by the graphics and not seeing what it really was. A bad game.
If you can't play these great games for yesteryears, it's only your own fault, not the games. It's not the games that have become worse, it's you that have become spoilt (not in a good way) and blinded by modern gaming.
Big Icarus
Member
There's so much wrong in this thread it's almost mind blowing.
IMO a real contender for this would be Castlevania 2. It was an inovative direction for the series at the time, but now grinding for currency again and again because the cartridge couldn't save the amount that you had collected previously has made it pretty unbearable to play since the advent of saving your game.
IMO a real contender for this would be Castlevania 2. It was an inovative direction for the series at the time, but now grinding for currency again and again because the cartridge couldn't save the amount that you had collected previously has made it pretty unbearable to play since the advent of saving your game.
Mars said:
I don't think anyone was talking about ST. :lol SF II is often ranked in the top 5 of the greatest game of all time,but it's mostly for being the game that launched a genre and revived the arcade scene.In term of pure gameplay,SF II is truly outdated (vanilla version if you will).
Crayon
Member
DeBurgo said:
Well I do know. Some people in here can't tell the difference between quality and popularity or graphics and game play or their ass and a hole in the ground. Nothing happened to super mario 64 to make it less playable. It's been surpassed by more recent games, no shit. For fucks sake just use some reason.
Melchiah
Member
Night_Trekker said:
No. I liked the C64/Amiga/Master System/Megadrive/NES/SNES games when I didn't know any better. Now, after playing games, that are actually entertaining and fun to play, instead of being frustratingly hard and demanding pinpoint accuracy and timing, I'd never ever go back.
G-Fex said:
PS/N64 are to 3D games what the Atari was to 2D games. They were both learning periods and the systems didn't really have enough processing power to live up to 2D's or 3D's potential. Atari games don't really hold up for the most part either.
Also, Goldeneye is absolutely horrendous now.
Melchiah said:
These games weren't good to begin with - like you said, you didn't know any better. Unless you're talking about the actual great C64/Amiga/Master System/Megadrive/NES/SNES games. Then you're just being ignorant.
examples:
Jumpan and Loderunner (C64). are still great games.
Alien Breed, Cannon Fodder and Sensible World of Soccer (Amiga) are still great games.
Sonic and Streets of Rage (Megadrive) are still great games.
Super Mario Bros. and Zelda (NES) are still great games.
Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger (SNES) are still great games.
Melchiah
Member
StarEye said:
Yes, I'm talking about all of them. Every last one of them is anything but a joy to play nowadays, be it because of frustrating difficulty or old and tiresome gameplay mechanics.
And how dare you call me ignorant. I've been playing games since C64 days, since 1984. How long have you?
Melchiah
Member
StarEye said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64
StarEye said:
And I cant believe you played the "ignorant" card, when my opinion didn't match yours.
Fancy that.Crayon said:
Why are you bringing reason and rationality into this? They're entertainment. The way they amuse people is pretty subjective! You need to chill.
Because I mean as much as there are games that age badly another situation contrary to that is true: People often find games with redeeming qualities that weren't widely appreciated during the time they were released. This simplistic "bad game is bad, good game is good... FOREVER" attitude is pretty depressing, and not really accurate, nor does it really account for a diversity of opinion... unless you're strictly talking about your own opinion, which is fine, but you don't seem to be taking that position.
Though, yeah, I agree with you as far as the second sentence goes, but this is GAF :lol
@Melchiah
Er, I know when the C64 was released. I stated how long I have been playing games. C64 was still alive and kicking in '87. I think I played games before that as well though, but since I was 10 years old in '87, my memory is slightly more fuzzy.
I didn't call you ignorant because you were of a different opinion. I called you ignorant because you basically said the games that you loved back then now magically have become bad, when in reality if they were great back then, they are great now. If they weren't all that great, there's still a chance you enjoyed them back then. Nothing to be ashamed about, I loved a lot of games back then that I can't enjoy now, becuase frankly, they weren't really good back then either. I just didn't... know any better, as you would put it.
Er, I know when the C64 was released. I stated how long I have been playing games. C64 was still alive and kicking in '87. I think I played games before that as well though, but since I was 10 years old in '87, my memory is slightly more fuzzy.
I didn't call you ignorant because you were of a different opinion. I called you ignorant because you basically said the games that you loved back then now magically have become bad, when in reality if they were great back then, they are great now. If they weren't all that great, there's still a chance you enjoyed them back then. Nothing to be ashamed about, I loved a lot of games back then that I can't enjoy now, becuase frankly, they weren't really good back then either. I just didn't... know any better, as you would put it.
Melchiah
Member
StarEye said:
My bad. I thought you meant it was released then. =)
The games I used to like when I was younger haven't magically turned to shit, but compared to the more recent games they're pretty much unplayable to me. Isn't the title of this thread "Great games that just don't hold up anymore"? I play to to be entertained, not to be frustrated. It speaks volumes, that I don't remember any game of pre-PS1 era, that I would have completed. That's one of the reasons, which made me lose my interest towards gaming during/after the Amiga era, and it wasn't revived until the PS1 came along with its more entertaining (ie. not as frustratingly difficult) and mature (when it came to subjects and their execution) games.
I haven't tried any racing games of old (Racing Destruction Set, Stunt Car Racer...) in years, so maybe they'd still be playable gameplaywise?
There wasn't really a big gap between the Amiga and the PS1. One of the best Amiga games ever (Sensible World of Soccer) was released in '96, and the whole of the series started out as late as '94. Isn't that a year before the PS1 was released?
But to be fair, what you're saying is that you can't enjoy old games anymore. Not that they're bad nowadays. Your tastes have changed, and that's normal. Some people don't mind outdated graphics and gameplay styles. Other people do. They're not worse games, just because something new or different has come along.
But to be fair, what you're saying is that you can't enjoy old games anymore. Not that they're bad nowadays. Your tastes have changed, and that's normal. Some people don't mind outdated graphics and gameplay styles. Other people do. They're not worse games, just because something new or different has come along.
Melchiah
Member
StarEye said:
I dunno. I don't really play sports games.
StarEye said:
It's not as much about the outdated graphics as it's about the outdated gameplay mechanics and frustating difficulty. Plus, for example, many of the old horror games (which is my favorite genre) were either platformers or beat'em ups, or both, and their way of story telling was quite awful. It was the first Resident Evil which brought me back to gaming in 1998.
The Shadow
Member
Night_Trekker said:
Yeah....no. Games evolve over time, eliminating what doesn't work and sticking with what does. Look at classic jrpgs versus new ones. Blind random battles are almost unheard of now. Why? Because they sucked.
I'm afraid I can not agree with your hippie peace loving principle. It's simply not realistic.
cyberheater
PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 Xbone PS4 PS4
DonMigs85 said:
I played this on my US N64 the other day and I forgot how bad the framerates are on this game. I mean really really bad. It wouldn't surprise me if it dips down to the single digits in some places but at the time it seemed fantastic. Amazing what we put up with.