Are they the ‘epics’ of their time, or some things that are less well known?
I still love all of the 90s FPS games like Doom and Quake.
Half-Life 1 was the peak of this genre for me
Half-Life 1 (and expansions)
SimCity 3000, SimCity 4
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
Deus Ex
Zoo Tycoon
Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for Sail
Morrowind
Industry Giant 2
Fallout 1/2
Arcanum
SimTower
I still play through The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past at least a couple times a year though it’s usually with the randomizer these days. It is objectively the best video game ever made, which helps.
What do you think of the other Zeldas in the same style, like Link’s Awakening, the Oracle games or Minnish Cap?
All good to great games that build on the foundation set by ALttP. I’d gladly play any of them if you put it in front of me but nostalgia demands that I push the one I played when I was like 9 years old or whatever.
Half-Life 1
One mod specifically (Sven-Coop). Been playing almost daily since 1999.
I still fire up Duke 3d and Quake mods from time to time as well. There are lifetimes of user-made content in some of these older games.
Tales of Maj’Eyal; all the old scumm games, daggerfall, toejam & earl.
Major mix of eras and platforms, but here is my list.
AoE2
NFSU2
Halo MCC
Sim City 2000
Streets of Sim City
Roller Coaster Tycoon
Mario Kart 64
Perfect Dark
Goldeneye
Battlefield 3
Super Mario Bros Deluxe
Mario 64
Overwatch
Half Life 2 +eps
Gary’s Mod
Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour
Fallout New Vegas
I forgot simcity 2000 - that is one hell of a classic! hl2 is good until you get to the part where you have to set the turrets up and you just die and die and die. I got it when it was free on the steam weekender a few months back but totally forgot about that part. I’ve just given up now as the fun has gone from it.
Here goes:
pc:
- duke nukem 3d pc version
- blood
- redneck rampage (so funny!)
- cannon fodder
- day of the tentacle
megadrive:
- streets of rage 2
- road rash 2
- ea hockey 2
What’s special about EA hockey 2?
The Pokemon games on all of Nintendo’s handheld consoles emulate really cleanly on a smartphone.
I’m a sucker for the Gen 1 nostalgia every now and then.
Final Fantasy 6 but, back in my day, it was called Final Fantasy 3.
I sunk hours into NetHack, and I still occasionally dive into the dungeons. I also have a NES emulator on my phone, but it’s just not the same. I’ll play Zelda or Metroid for the nostalgia, but it’s not the same as sitting on the couch with friends.
not the same as sitting on the couch with friends.
That’s the biggie that the young kids of today just will never experience!
Super Nintendo:
- Megaman X. I was never a fan of classic Megaman, but the faster, more action-oriented sequel/spinoff X series rates amongst my favorites. It has tight controls, good music, varied stages, and memorable bosses and combat encounters. I must have beaten the first game dozens of times over the years.
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. It and Link’s Awakening on the Game Boy were so close to perfect that decades later they’re still the basis of comparison for any new 2D Zelda-like.
PC:
- Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn. it was the game that introduced Bioware’s trademark party banter and focus on interesting and likeable characters. The systems are a little rough but it still mostly holds up. Though it’s been a while since my last playthrough, and I usually stop once I hit the Underdark and the open world structure constricts for a few hours.
If I could I’d still be playing wow but it’s just not the same without the plentiful free time for it.
Private servers with boosted rates can scratch that itch while severely reducing the grind. Every couple years I’ll poke my head into one, level to endgame in like a week, do some raids, do some PVP, then completely forget it exists. Couple years later, rinse and repeat.
I tried retail again last year in a similar way, they’ve actually built so much mechanics now to catch up. But it still felt like a massive task to catch up to actual active players. Private server is a good shout, I’ll take a look next time I get the itch.
Removed by mod
I didn’t have video games in my youth, so I’m just catching up now.
I still find Civil War Generals 2 to be a really fun and challenging game. The visuals are still perfectly readable and charming.
