I've been playing some retro games recently (PS1 and prior) and I've been discovering a lot of games that I never thought I would enjoy. Particularly 90s arcade shmups and arcade style sports games.

What are some of your favorite retro games that you always find yourself coming back to?

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[–] Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world 17 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Earthbound, gotta play that at least once in your life.

Chrono trigger, still one of the greatest games of all time.

Final Fantasy 6(US 3) there is debate, but widely regarded as the best one overall still. 7 is the other strongest contender, but if you are gonna play that one, don't play the retro one, as one of the very first polygonal games, it's hard to look at now.

Zelda (3), a link to the past.

There are certainly more, but those'll last you a few months.

Edit: Suppose I can't really get by without saying Rock n' Roll Racing.

[–] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 3 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Chrono Trigger is one of the greatest games ever made.

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[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Huh......Despite being true, I've never heard anyone refer to LoZ:LttP as "Zelda 3".

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[–] refurbishedrefurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Chrono Trigger (Probably the best JRPG ever made, or even the best game ever made)

Terranigma (Very philisophical action RPG that also happens to be a lot of fun)

Silent Hill (The vibes alone make this one, but it also has a great story)

DOOM (This one should be obvious)

Majora's Mask (An emotional powerhouse of a game)

Tetris

Also pick any mainline console Mario game that came out between 1985 and 1996 (not including The Lost Levels, but including US SMB 2)

Super Mario Land 2

Pokemon 2nd gen

All GOAT, but all for different reasons.

[–] JRaccoon@discuss.tchncs.de 12 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

The original Super Mario Bros. and SMB 3. The first console I got to play as a child was the NES at my grandparents' house. Every couple of years I get a nostalgic craving and it’s usually those two games I return to. Also, there are many great rom hacks available if getting bored of the originals.

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Smb3 is definitely my favorite classic mario, it's simple and fun, smw seems much more complicated tbh.

Still haven't beat it though.

[–] umean2me@lemmy.today 4 points 2 weeks ago

That's awesome! I was born after the NES era, so I'm just now going back and checking out more 8-bit and 16-bit era games. I did of course play Super Mario Bros. and SMB 3 on my 3ds though, the platforming on SMB3 is still solid today.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

.......can't help but notice you didn't mention everyones favorite turnip throwing mario game!

[–] simple@lemm.ee 11 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It inspired and perfected a genre of games. It holds up incredibly well.

[–] EvilBit@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It’s hilarious and incredible how we still haven’t made a Metroidvania game that solidly and undeniably bests the game that added the -vania in the first place.

[–] skulblaka@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Hollow Knight gives a pretty fucking solid try, to be fair. But yeah, I do agree.

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[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 10 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I just started my nostalgia hunt lately, and firstly it's Digimon World after watching some content about it. It's still hold up quite well tbh, even though it does show its age with its system.

[–] Aielman15@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (4 children)

I replay it every other year. It was one of my first games ever, started playing it when I was 5 or so and kept grinding on the same save file for more than 10 years.

For those interested, the Maeson patch fixes all the bugs that afflicted the game on release and adds a lot of QoL improvements, including persistent music across screens (in the original game, the music resets every time you change screen), diversified evolution lines, and rebalanced progression.
I replayed it last summer with the Maeson patch and it was very enjoyable while still keeping the "core" experience intact.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 2 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Damn, I'll have to give that a try. I've tried to get back into DW via emulation and man, the game is ruthless! The enemies you fight on the first screen (after beating Agumon) will wipe you if don't bother training at least one entire day first.

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

My Leomon lose to a caterpillar haha

I think the dev intended you to avoid most fight, but it's kinda lame since a lot of time enemy will just place right beside you when you enter the area and then rush toward you, and since fighting is not rewarding it's kinda pointless.

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[–] Aielman15@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

It may be surprising, but most of the difficulty of the game comes from it being very cryptic. Once you understand the underlying mechanics, the game is not hard. You are thrown into a completely foreign world and are asked to just figure it out; and most people go in expecting Pokémon mechanics, which doesn't help at all.

What it's worth remembering when playing it, is that the game encourages you to fail and try again. Your Digimon dies of old age and reverts to an egg every few in-game days anyways, and while it's technically possible to complete the game with your starter Digimon, new players will probably repeat the cycle a few times at minimum.
It can be off putting at first, but it does provide the advantage that it doesn't matter how many mistakes you make, you can just retry next time, and you actually have it easier each time, because you keep all your items and progression, some of the Digimon's stats, and of course the knowledge you've gathered up to that point.

The Maeson patch doesn't fundamentally change any of that, but it does remove some of the bloat. Just a few of my favourite changes:

Battling against wild Digimon is a waste of time in the original game, but with the patch is a perfectly viable way to farm money and learn new techs.
Exploring in the original has you filling your bag with mushrooms, but the patch allows you to find actual useful items that will help you raise your current or next Digimon.
Made a few mistakes on the way, and now you're stuck with a Numemon, Sukamon, or another Digimon you don't like? Just buy a Reset Radish to revert to an egg and try again (younger me would've loved that item).
Removed "trap" options, such as providing a fix to the "bonus try" in the gym and making evolution items useful, thus encouraging the player to try out things instead of punishing them for doing so.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Battling against wild Digimon is a waste of time in the original game

And required for certain evolutions. Not fun times heh

Made a few mistakes on the way, and now you’re stuck with a Numemon, Sukamon, or another Digimon you don’t like? Just buy a Reset Radish to revert to an egg and try again (younger me would’ve loved that item).

Back in my PSX days, I would "save up" the poop so that my 'mon would evolve straight from a baby into Sukamon on the first missed potty. Since that evolution halved all stats, and a baby's stats were super low, it was easily a net positive as training a champion had much larger gains than a baby.

providing a fix to the “bonus try” in the gym

So now it's possible to actually hit all marks? Because I couldn't get it with fucking save states.

[–] Aielman15@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

it was easily a net positive as training a champion had much larger gains than a baby.

As long as you don't do it for the first few generations! All training stations get silently upgraded if you train a Baby I or Baby II digimon there a few times each.

So now it's possible to actually hit all marks? Because I couldn't get it with fucking save states.

Yeah. In the original game, the slots are rigged so that you have a set chance to either hit three symbols in a row (40%) or three jackpots (10%), and if the guaranteed chance doesn't trigger, you automatically fail.

With the Maeson patch, you still have the rigged chances to win, but you can also attempt to win the minigame manually if the rigged chance doesn't trigger. Imo it's a bit too good (I liked it better the way the Randomizer handled it, by removing the rigged chances altogether and only allowing the player to win the minigame manually), but it's still an improvement on the original.

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[–] umean2me@lemmy.today 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

When I was a kid I didn't have my own memory card so I just played the first 2 hours of Digimon World every few days or so LOL. Good game.

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 weeks ago

Definitely worth trying it now with emulator, savestate and speeding up helps with a lot of tedious stuff and risk-taking, i emulate it with my phone and it sure helps that i don't have to stick to the front of my pc to play it. I love the mystery the world bring, and it encourage you to explore. Difficulty is wonky though.

[–] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 9 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

It's not strictly a 90s schmup but I got the original XIII (2003) on sale on GOG last month and played through it. I never played it back then and always thought it looked cool. It's a shame it wasn't a big success, the art direction and concept of playing in the panels of a comic strip was really cool and still holds up. I love the typed out sound effects like TAP TAP TAP on footsteps and BOOOM on explosions. So I guess that's my retro recommendation.

Next for me will be No One Lives Forever, which I also missed back in the day but heard was amazing. It's been unavailable to purchase for decades but I just recently found out the game is made available to download for free by some fans.

I guess I'm on a bit of an old school spy game kick lately.

[–] theskyisfalling@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 weeks ago

XIII was (and still is) a fucking awesome game. Such a breath of fresh air back then trying something entirely new in terms of art direction on an FPS and nailing it!

[–] vorpuni@jlai.lu 5 points 2 weeks ago

The split screen multiplayer in XIII on consoles was a lot of fun.

[–] theskyisfalling@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 2 weeks ago

In no particular order:

Sonic Spinball

Micro Machines 2 Turbo Tournament

Toejam and Earl

General Chaos

Recently I have had an urge to play Hogs of War on PS1 too.

[–] Diddlydee@feddit.uk 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Shinobi, Gunstar Heroes, Splatterhouse 3.

[–] EvilBit@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Gunstar fucking Heroes. You’re a gentleperson and a scholar.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 5 points 2 weeks ago

I think that Tetris is probably the oldest game that I'll play some implementation of occasionally. I don't know if I'd call it my favorite, but it's aged very gracefully over the decades.

[–] CatZoomies@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age.

[–] jroid8@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Super Mario War and Pocket Tanks

In Iran we always pirate games (except PlayStation games) because US sanctions has banned trades with Iran. Back when I was a kid instead of buying CDs with one game I bought packages which had 100 smaller games and I didn't buy often because I couldn't buy games on my own. There are some famous ones among these 600 games (I bought 6 CDs over the years) like peggle, plants vs zombies, chicken invaders, and some others. Despite having fun with many more games, these are the ones I remember the most. Despite not getting a lot of chances to play computer games with others these games where the most fun to play with others

[–] umean2me@lemmy.today 2 points 2 weeks ago

That's an awesome story (not the trade ban part but that you made the most of the situation)! Those games are always the best, the memories always matter most.

[–] Valmond@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

Grandia 2 is a magnificent game IMO.

[–] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 4 points 2 weeks ago

Bc they’re fun and easy to jump into,

Double Dragon II: The Revenge

Super Dodgeball

If you’re looking to spend time/have a complete experience:

Chrono Trigger

Super Mario 64

Final Fantasy VII

[–] setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Fallout 1, which I've probably replayed about ten times more than the second game. It's concise, with this depressing and dark world that gives a feeling never fully replicated in sequels.

Lords Of The Realm 2, a great little strategy game with an effortlessly charming aesthetic.

Civil War Generals 2, when I feel like really grinding out a strategy game. It has the bright colors and charming graphics which create a clear and readable battlefield that can be brutally difficult as units get ground down into ragged bands.

[–] HubertManne@moist.catsweat.com 4 points 2 weeks ago

genesis shadow run. used the shadowrun rules at the time and really alllowed amazing build options for something from so long ago. that and being able to hire runners for your team was really need. only limitation was you had to be human but some people made rom hacks that let you choose race and usually included some bug fixes to.

[–] 0x01@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Final fantasy tactics Dragon quest monsters

[–] Sylence@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago

Hell yeah DQM! I imagine an alternate universe where that game took off instead of pokemon. So much fun and I still play it (and the sequels) regularly.

[–] Strider@thelemmy.club 2 points 2 weeks ago

I've had a Gameboy for most of my life so I'm a sucker for portables. Donkey Kong, Oracle of Seasons, Pokemon Crystal, and Super Mario Land 2 all get replayed with some regularity. For GBA the Golden Sun games are still in my top ten favorites to this day, and the SNES ports like Link to the Past and Super Mario World were great to have in my pocket.

[–] Couldbealeotard@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Flashback

I played it on the SNES. It's a sci-fi platformer that I felt shared themes with movies like Total Recall, They Live, Blade Runner, Running Man.

You start as Conrad, who has crash landed on Titan, being chased by mysterious bad guys, and with no memory of why. All you have is a gun, and a video recording of yourself telling you where to go for the next clue.

[–] Sepix@feddit.org 2 points 2 weeks ago

I'm going through the N64 catalogue on the Switch and really enjoyed finally finishing the 3D Zeldas and, of course, Banjo Kazooie. The second part is on my list next, followed by the big Zelda title on the SNES. Looking forward to playing those :)

[–] Tekkip20@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

The first Klonoa game on PS1. Always gave me nostalgia that one and Spyro 1 as well, truly nostalgic games of that era

[–] Yokozuna@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Legend of dragoon always holds a special place in my heart.

[–] circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 2 weeks ago

Super Contra for NES (sometimes just called Super C). Stupid shoot em up action done to perfection.

Metal Slug games are great in emulation; similar to above.

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 2 points 2 weeks ago

Gunstar Heroes

[–] Katana314@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

One retro game that I think hasn't really been well-imitated since is called The Last Express. You're on the last major express train through Europe before World War I.

What sets it apart is both a very vivid art style using rotoscoping of live actors, as well as a real-time gameplay system wherein the NPCs of the train can constantly move around, scoot past you in the car hallways, or even seek you out during certain key events.

[–] AceFuzzLord@lemm.ee 2 points 2 weeks ago

I don't ever really go back to retro games much anymore, but I recently did come back to Devil Dice/XI (in Japan) and I just really like the arcade like mode where dice keep spawning until the board fills up and you lose. Pretty much the only mode I play since the AI cheat, I swear.

[–] swordgeek@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

I don't go back to it (Win 3.1 games are a PITA to get running), but I really wish someone would remake Millennium Auction. It was a very clever version of the old board game Masterpiece.

[–] HollowNaught@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Metroid zero mission

Played it on my gameboy micro, what an experience

[–] ViscloReader@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Super metroid

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