RETRO GAMERS: Stop Here!

[Magellan]

I'm not playing through any retro games at the moment, but last year I did hook up my SNES and play Super Castlevania IV.

It was one of my favorite games when I was a kid and I think it still holds up great. The music and sound effects are awesome (I just love the SNES sound chip), and I think the game still looks good too. I think that most of the 2d 16-bit era games have aged very gracefully graphics wise, much more so than some of the early 3d systems.

16 bit games have aged well because they actually look like something. Good God PS1 games look horrible. It's like some kind of weird abstract interpretation of what they are supposed to be. Sometimes I really dont think the world was ready for fully polygonal gaming until about the Dreamcasts time.

 

[Brandonv]

I'm not playing through any retro games at the moment, but last year I did hook up my SNES and play Super Castlevania IV.

It was one of my favorite games when I was a kid and I think it still holds up great. The music and sound effects are awesome (I just love the SNES sound chip), and I think the game still looks good too. I think that most of the 2d 16-bit era games have aged very gracefully graphics wise, much more so than some of the early 3d systems.

16 bit games have aged well because they actually look like something. Good God PS1 games look horrible. It's like some kind of weird abstract interpretation of what they are supposed to be. Sometimes I really dont think the world was ready for fully polygonal gaming until about the Dreamcasts time.

I tend to think of the PS1, N64, and Saturn as being the Atari 2600 of 3d games. The 2600 had the bare minimum of 2d graphics, and it was likewise with the 3d graphics of the 32-bit era.

 

[Kemaiku]

Got a working CPC464 emulator and played a couple of games I haven't been able to for over 15 years, feels pretty weird, and having lots of control-config problems but still.

And firing up Kega for the first time in a while to play some old Genesis/Game Gear games.

 

[CaptJimboJones]

Not sure they're old enough to be considered truly "retro," but I recently picked up several of the collections of Star Wars PC games that are out there - I spend about $40 total for Battlefront 1&2, Republic Commando, Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy, Starfighter and Empire at War. Not if only I could find the time to play ...

 

[Lowdarzz]

Master of Orion II on the pc.

Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis. I still remember the chose your level code. Up, Down, Left, Right, A+Start.

 

[Kirkman1987]

Went back and played Golgo 13 :Top Secret Mission for the NES after finally checking out the new anime series (Which I highly suggest watching, it's on netflix streaming).

Still a decent little game. The side scrolling stuff is still a little awkward, but the game has enough innovative things for the time that I can forgive it's flaws. The 3D maze and the sniping sections are pretty unique. Of course as a kid the main thing I loved about this game was the high level of sex and violence. I'm always suprised Nintendo of America allowed this one to come over without serious cuts to content. Also, I remember no one knowing what the hell Golgo 13 was. I figured the game was all there was.

 

[Itisnotlogical]

^^

I never got to the maze or the sniper parts, because I was so used to characters running all the time that Golgo seemed like a turtle.

 

[God Magnus]

A few games that have rattled around my brain lately:

"Blade Runner" (PC)
I played this game to death when I first got it. I loved how it drew you into the Blade Runner universe in a way that I didn't think was possible at the time. I still have the discs, but if you try to run it on an XP system the timing is all off, I can't even imagine how bad it would be on a Windows 7 machine.

"Moonwalker" (Arcade)
I loved this game. MJ as a robot? The dancing bits? All super fun.

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (Arcade)
This was the machine where four players could team up, each being a different turtle. I have many many fond memories of teaming up with friends and/or strangers to form the turtle gang and the animations looked like they came right out of the animated show. Pure awesomeness!

"Mechwarior 2" (PC)
Another game I played religiously for months on end. By today's standards the graphics are fairly primitive, but man it was fun "piloting" Mechs, building different Mech configurations and so on. One of my favorite strategies was picking a medium or light Mech and making it fast as possible and giving it like one large laser and one small one so I could run circles around Mechs and blast them before they knew what hit'em!

"Tron 2.0" (PC)
In many ways, I think Tron 2.0 managed to embrace certain concepts that "Tron Legacy" did not even try to touch. One of my favorite parts was the board where you travel to the Internet, which was partly represented by SPAM and junk mail ads appearing on screen everywhere at random times. It even had a board where you went back to the "old" Grid. Lots of fun.

I'm sure others will come to mind in time.

 

[iBender]

I baught a SNES on eBay for £16.50 (and 4 games, never really played them.) with one controller (not original) and a working power pack, a new (2nd) controller for £1.20 and a copy of Sim City for £3.40, all on a Nostalgic Gamer Kick I had one time.

 

[Sparky]

I still have a fully functioning Sega Master System with the original controllers that have the cord coming out of the side of the controller and not the top. It still has a working light phaser and 3D glasses. All with the original packaging. Busting out some Maze Hunter 3D or Missile Defense 3D is awesome.

 

[CaptainStoner]

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.
One of the best games ever.

Planescape: Torment.

^ Those two are on my list of great games I never had any time, or a machine, for.

I've started playing The Bard's Tale (1985) because most people within walking radius of my apartment complex aren't all that enthused about playing Dungeons and Dragons with me (also because I don't own any of the three books, or miniatures, or grid paper, or character sheets for D&D). At 26 years old, I would have to say that it's pretty retro...

That is sufficiently retro. It's too bad D&D has waned into such a niche hobby now, I have the same problem finding gamers.

A few games that have rattled around my brain lately:

"Mechwarior 2" (PC)
Another game I played religiously for months on end. By today's standards the graphics are fairly primitive, but man it was fun "piloting" Mechs, building different Mech configurations and so on. One of my favorite strategies was picking a medium or light Mech and making it fast as possible and giving it like one large laser and one small one so I could run circles around Mechs and blast them before they knew what hit'em!

Mechwarrior was the shit. I remember playing "Crescent Hawk's Inception" before the first "Mechwarrior" came out. Landing a Phoenix Hawk right on the head of a Battlemaster...good stuff.

Lately I've had some interest in adventure games like the earlier Sierra titles, but haven't played them.

 

[iBender]

I still have a fully functioning Sega Master System with the original controllers that have the cord coming out of the side of the controller and not the top. It still has a working light phaser and 3D glasses. All with the original packaging. Busting out some Maze Hunter 3D or Missile Defense 3D is awesome.

Wonder Boy III the Dragon's Trap was awesome.
I am tempted.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SEGA-MASTER-S...K_Controllers_Attachments&hash=item3a65d91d3e
This is just like the one my family had when I was a lad.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vXdznM0KNI[/yt]
Music...

 

[Davros]

What is more retro than the official war game of the US Bicentennial?
http://boardgamegeek.com/image/3341/wooden-ships-iron-men

 

[Sean Aaron]

I picked up an Atari Jaguar and Tempest 2000 a few months ago. Been over a decade since I had one. I had built my own custom rotary controller for it, but now you can buy them built from a Jaguar gamepad, so I did that. Don't play it much, but it brings back fond memories since it was the first console I owned since my 2600 when I originally owned one. I even had one of the few working JagCD units and built an arcade joystick for it so I could play Defender 2000's (rubbish) original mode with the proper button layout.

 

[spaceballone]

Phantasy Star for the Sega Master system

 

[PurpleLady]

Retro or otherwise, not sure, but D2 LOD or classic still rocks in my book.

 

[Kelthaz]

I'm playing through Castlevania: Bloodlines for the Genesis. One of the only Castlevanias I haven't beaten and I intend to change that. I made it to level 3 before getting a game over -- progress!