Okay, we need a thread for those of us who like to stick to one era and never leave it- like me. I'm just throwing this thread out there. I know there's a wide range of high-tech, fancy schmancy gaming systems with jaw-droppingly realistic graphics, the memory of a computer, and whatever else that's cool. The thing is, it's also very expensive. On a personal level, I can't fathom blowing $60 on a game that'll raise my blood pressure, only to be outdated within a year. So- aside from personal attachment to the times- I prefer my Sega Genesis. Coming soon- a Gameboy Color. So with that, I wanted to see if anyone else was keeping it old school in the gaming world- what console you'll trip (maybe with the help of substances; I'm not here to judge) down memory lane with, what games you play, what you like about them, or what makes you huff and puff about them.
Top five Sega Genesis games, no particular order. A.) The Sonic Series. I would list the order of favs as Sonic Spinball, Sonic 2, and Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine (I know it's a glorified Tetris but it was still fun, damnit!! Not to mention very two-player friendly). B.) Original Joe Mantana Football- circa 1990. Sure the NY Giants look like UCLA, The Browns suck, and there's only 16 plays on offense and defense, but it's just a blast. C.) Tommy Lasorda Baseball. From the made-up names, to the soundtrack, it's always therapeutic to throw a dip in and play a game on this (not really serious about the chewing tobacco). D.) Aaaaah! Real Monsters. Still can't beat the game- due in large part because I hardly play for more than half an hour a week. E.) Adams Family. It plays very similar to Mario- only thirty times as difficult. Haven't gone through a single level successfully.
Honorable mentions on other consoles that I don't own: Original Nintedo- Mario 3 (I think that's the one with him leaping and with a rather silly tail) and the duck hunting game where you'd shoot the clay pigeons or actual ducks. Super Nintendo- Indiana Jones. Legit! N64- Mario Cart. Game. Set. Match.
What do you remember that was awesome or still dabble into that's behind the times in the gaming world?
Politicians are puppets, y'all. Let's get Geppetto!
My brother and I grew up with an Intellivision. My dad got it for us when I was 8, the greatest Christmas gift I ever got. I still have our original console with about 50 games, so this Christmas I got one on Ebay for my brother, along with 19 games, still in their boxes. Now when I go to visit him, we can renew our ancient rivalries. lol
I also have an NES, with a few games. My wife loves Super Mario Bros. and I love Excitebike, RC Pro Am, Dragon Warrior, and Blaster Master.
I wish I still had my Genesis. My favorites were Road Rash, Starflight, Desert Strike, Xenophobe, Nobanaga's Ambition... some great games!
There are only certain games that are worth 60 bucks. The games with tons of depth, and storylines that can evolve and have different outcomes. Games like Skyrim, Fallout, Borderlands, etc. Those games tend to stay at the 50-60 dollar level even well after their release. It's all about the replay value. You can play those games, finish them, and start them over and play a completely different game.
I rarely ever pay the full 60 dollars for a game. I have a wishlist on amazon, and when a game jumps to 30-40, I'm usually all over it. I'm also forunate to have someone who works at EA that hooks me up with all the sports games. As fun as those are, they aren't worth the price tag, because they are pretty much outdated after a year, although I feel like I can play NCAA 2012 for years, because it's near perfect.
Top 5 Genesis games
1. Live '95 2. Toe Jam 'n Earl 3. NHL '94 4. Mortal Komat II 5. Golden Axe
I just started collecting retro games. I found a nes system and some old games packed away at my mom's and started collecting.
We bought our first house this past year and I converted this small storage space into a retro room. Painted it Browns colors, hooked up my retron 3 (plays nes, snes & genesis games) my dreamcast, and an xbox. Looking to add a N64 and a PS2 soon.
My soon to be brother in law and I started up a Coach K tournament on the Genesis. Retro Games are a blast.
Pong! We had the enormous console with two knobs and a switch that, get this, allowed us to play with single or double paddles!
Not only that... we had these cool static sheets with pictures of a soccer pitch or a hockey rink that stuck to the TV screen to give our games some color! Who needed EA Sports? Pffft...
[color:"white"]"Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
My brother and I grew up with an Intellivision. My dad got it for us when I was 8, the greatest Christmas gift I ever got. I still have our original console with about 50 games, so this Christmas I got one on Ebay for my brother, along with 19 games, still in their boxes. Now when I go to visit him, we can renew our ancient rivalries. lol
I also have an NES, with a few games. My wife loves Super Mario Bros. and I love Excitebike, RC Pro Am, Dragon Warrior, and Blaster Master.
I wish I still had my Genesis. My favorites were Road Rash, Starflight, Desert Strike, Xenophobe, Nobanaga's Ambition... some great games!
You sound about my age. I remember standing in the mall drooling at Intellivisions football game! Got it, still have it it, still play it! Have the talking gadget that went with it too! Great era to grow up in!
I had a lengthy replay created last night....and then the battery on my iPad crapped out just before I hit "submit". So I lost it all. Man, you all would have showered me with gifts after reading that work of art [/sarcasm].
I guess I'd start by asking if you're saying only to buy games that are at least 1 year old. That way, you'd avoid spending $60 for a game. While true, you'd also not be able to play them online....which is most of the fun nowadays. Why? Because the online community will be playing something else by then, so there won't be anyone to play (unless you're playing specific friends/family or you're not into online gaming).
As for the money concept.....all of those classic games we're listing in this thread were $50 when they were released. So, only recently did games jump from $50 to $60 for brand new releases. I circumvent this by buying off Amazon about a month or two from release. I just bought Call of Duty: Black Ops II for $39 on Dec 26th. It was $59 in November....so, I saved $20 by waiting 4-6 weeks. And I'm still playing online with tons of people. Win-win.
As for the classic games, as much as I like them, I can't go back. It's probably because of two reasons....
1. The games aren't as good as the ones out now. Sorry, they just aren't. Put NHL 2013 next to NHL '95...it's not even fair to compare. And then look at COD:BLOPS2 versus N64's Goldeneye....my goodness, I wonder how I played that for a thousand+ hours. Sure, they were great at the time...But to go back to those with what we have now, ugh....no way. 2. I've already played those games to death. Legend of Zelda was awesome. I beat it 15 times with different goals in mind (as fast as possible or getting every little diamond and trinket). No way I could do it again...because I already did.
And Sperg, NHL '95 was the Sega NHL hockey game that all other hockeys games are judged against. '94 was very good, but '95 was way better. EA ruined '96 by rebuilding the engine. (funny, I do have a Sega in my closet with only this game - I'll set it up once every 18 months and laugh....but I can't play it more than 10 minutes).
I'm not bashing on the classic's....they are "classic" and they'll stay that way forever. But I don't think they stay "usable classics like movies. Films and music last the test of times. You can go back to relive Rocky, Star Wars, Jaws or something older. But I don't think it works with video games very well.
*With all that being said, there are exceptions. 2D-sidescrollers, puzzle games (Tetris)…and some others. They just don’t make them anymore. So you can’t really say today’s version is better….they just don’t make them.
“...Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”
Talk about an expensive game. I remember seeing it priced at $84 when it came out. I was at a KBToys store in Parmatown mall....and was in awe. "That has to be the best game ever for it to be priced that high", I thought. I never bought it or played it....I didn't then or now get into RPGs. One of my friends said it was amazing at the time though.
It would be hard for me to list my favorite games of the past, because there are so many. I worked at a video game store while in college....just as 8-bit games were dying, 16-bit systems were going strong and the next generation systems were coming out (PS1, Dreamcast, N64...). Now that was a good time to be stuck at a job that forced me to know the products. I played games at work and all the time after work too (it was my job ). Which is a good reason why I didn't graduate on time.
For the last few years....I've played soccer or first person shooters. That's it. I think I'm done with football games forever, I played them way too much. I think I could get into the NBA 2K13 game...I borrowed a copy and it seemed to keep my interest. But it's hard, to play sports game right you need to really play a full game. It's hard playing a season with 6-minute quarters...your stats don't equal the rest of the league and that's half the fun.
“...Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”
I will say this, games back then were a lot harder. Physically, with hand/eye coordination. Go back and play the Mario games. You'll want to jump off a high building.
Games today are built differently. It's more about making you feel like you are watching a movie that you can shape. The geek in me loves that a lot of mainstream type games are going with the RPG factor of building your guy up.
The sports games of today are still about the hand/eye factor, but they also are made so that you can be the player, the coach, and the GM. I love that part of Madden, cutting guys, resigning guys, scouting, drafting. You can literally run a team any way you want.
I have been able to beat any game I feel like beating, but back in the day, remember Friday the 13th? That game is impossible. Has anyone ever beaten it? Jason just gets stronger and stronger until it gets to the point where you have no chance to beat him.
Also, if people really have the itch to play retro games, going the emulator route is not too bad. It's cheaper, and won't take up any space next to all your physical consoles. The controllers for the computer are dirt cheap, amazon even sells NES/SNES usb controllers.
I actually got into Super Mario World some months ago. I still found the game enjoyable. The levels look great for a 2nd gen Nintendo system, and the game wasn't super hard.
Quote: And Sperg, NHL '95 was the Sega NHL hockey game that all other hockeys games are judged against. '94 was very good, but '95 was way better.
NHL' 95 or '94, whichever, are by EA, not Sega. Also, '94 is generally considered one the the top video games of all time, not just sports games. 95 they updated the graphics, so not sure if that is what you are referring to.
Quote: So, only recently did games jump from $50 to $60 for brand new releases.
Games back in the Genesis and SNES days were actually more than $60 a lot of the time. some over $70.
Quote: 1. The games aren't as good as the ones out now. Sorry, they just aren't. Put NHL 2013 next to NHL '95...it's not even fair to compare. And then look at COD:BLOPS2 versus N64's Goldeneye....my goodness, I wonder how I played that for a thousand+ hours. Sure, they were great at the time...But to go back to those with what we have now, ugh....no way.
Obviously graphically the retro games can't compete. But when it comes to fun and challenge it's still there. Games these days don't bring the challenge they used to. At least in my experience.
If you guys are bored, and want some nostalgia and a good laugh, check out the Angry Nintendo Nerd on Youtube. He goes back and reviews old Nintendo games and shows how unmerciful they can be.
hmmm....the games I remember spending the most time playing on each system that I had owned:
Atari - Centipede NES - Tecmo Superbowl SNES - Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball PS - Tekken PS2 - NCAA Football Wii - Wii Fit Series (though Mario Baseball is catching up)
Perhaps some of my greatest memories of those old school games were the glitches that would happen. Now, they still happen with the new systems, but I just remember the old ones.
I think one of my favorites was College Football '97 for Sega Genesis. At one point during one of the games, one of the guys got stuck in dive mode. The rest of the game he essentially hovered over the field in the dive stance.
Great game, I remember one summer typing in all the names (the players were modeled after their real life counterparts but with fake names) and doing a full 162 game season.
Perhaps some of my greatest memories of those old school games were the glitches that would happen. Now, they still happen with the new systems, but I just remember the old ones.
Nothing drove a stake into your heart like the time someone would come into the room and hit the table your system was on, causing the game to shut off and the screen to blink.
At least in today's world of video games, auto-save seems to clean most of that up. Although it still sucks to have a football game freeze.
Great game, I remember one summer typing in all the names (the players were modeled after their real life counterparts but with fake names) and doing a full 162 game season.
Griffey was a classic, but I think World Series was my favorite baseball game of the old time systems. Should have found a spot for that on my list of Genesis games.
Plus you had Vin Scully calling the games. That game kinda set the bar for the way baseball games were played today.
This game was way ahead of it's time. Create teams, edit players names, improve the players attributes with wins (money from attendance), create a season with a custom schedule, track stats and the best part...the gameplay was freaking solid. It really felt like you could pitch and play defense. As if you controlled the game....like the CPU wasn't just figuring the best odds of a certain result. AND you could climb the wall to rob a homer!
And I like the simplicity of the pitching interface. Regular, curve left, curve right or a sinker. That's it.
Oh ya, and the base running was amazing.
....with all that being said, I still wouldn't be able to play it for more than a few times just for fun.
“...Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”
Here's a fun video from Bases Loaded (NES). Yup, they had players charging the mound in a game. Too bad it's not in today's versions (a parent would blame the game caused their son to hit other kids in school...and then sue).
“...Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”
Whenever I hear the opening theme to Baseball Stars, I instantly smell chicken pot pie. I remember coming home from school, heating up a pot pie, and playing that game for a little while. Like 2 hours.
World Series is a great game. So many great retro baseball games. As mentioned above, Baseball Stars could be my favorite. Play all your games against the Lovely Ladies to rack up some quick cash!
I was always a fan of side-scrolling platform games. Favorites were the Super Mario Bros./World series, the Mega Man/Mega Man X series, Meteoid, Blaster Master, Battletoads, Contra, Donkey Kong Country, stuff like that. I'm also a huge fan of all of the Super Mario Kart games. I never got into fighting games except for the Mortal Kombat series and the many variations of Street Fighter II. There was a time when I could play for a couple hours on $0.50 at the arcade on Mortal Kombat II. Sports games weren't my thing either except for NBA Jam and NBA Hangtime.
Not me. Still love 'em. Still awesome at 'em. The New Super Mario Bros. Wii that came out a couple years ago was amazing. It was like the best features of every SMB game all rolled into one.
Forgot to mention some more of my all-time favorite games...all from Capcom, all on the original NES: Duck Tales, Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers and Little Nemo the Dream Master.
I've been rocking a Duke Nukem 3D mouse pad at work for about a decade. Every few months someone will notice and we'll talk about that game for 15 minutes.
That was great stuff.
“...Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”
I never really liked that game. I tried...I tried quite a few times. Couldn't do it.
I remember working at the store while it was selling like hotcakes....and everyone would just gush over the game. I was probably the only one working at the store that didn't finish it.
“...Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”