Starwars: Racer Revenge was by far my favorite racing game. Not to be confused with the much more popular N64 game “Episode 1 Racer” - the PS2 version was kind of an unofficial sequel that made a lot of improvements. Most notably the physics: the PS2 version actually feels like a pod being pulled by two separate engines, vs the N64 kinda felt like you were driving a car that just looked like a podracer. The physics especially shine if you play in 1st person and set the controls so the L joystick controls the left engine and R joystick controls the right - i.e. to turn left, you don’t just push the sticks to the left, you pull the left stick back and push the right stick forward so the right engine accelerates faster and the difference makes you turn. It’s super satisfying, if a bit more difficult.

Full disclosure: relying on my memory from shortly after its release in 2002, so I honestly have no idea if it’s actually as good as I remember, or if I’m just wearing the nostalgia goggles. Grain of salt.

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.

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.

Gameplay is always king.

Graphics can contribute a lot - some games are fucking gorgeous, and I’ll stop and appreciate good scenery in digital environment the same as IRL.

But jaw-droppingly incredible graphics can never compensate for bad or even mediocre gameplay.

And shit graphics will never kill a game with good gameplay. Done right, shit graphics can even be charming in a nostalgic kind of way.

“Dreamcast” is probably the single best gaming console name of all time, too.