Age Won't Slow Me Down! Games Who Aged Gracefully

Sadly, these days, game designers think that graphics makes the game and that gameplay doesn't matter anymore. Yes, today games look good but they do not play good. However, I remember a time where video games looked and played well. They were beautiful in terms of gameplay and graphics. You needed both or nobody would play it. Ying needed his Yang. Graphics need her Gameplay.

Now, there are many games that over the years they've just have aged gracefully and even today, they are fresh. What games you think that have aged both graphically and gameplay wise with grace.

My List:

Gran Turismo 2 (Playstation 1)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG1R_...=related&pos=1





Gran Turismo 2 plays and looks like an early PS2 game, man! I remember when I first saw the opening scene of this game (along with the beautiful song 'My Favorite Game') and seeing the graphics and I'm thinking to myself "This can not be a PSX game! It looks too good!" This is like the only GT game I will ever play because I am just shock at how it aged over the years.




The greatest Sonic game of all time (besides Sonic CD). If you wanna play a real Sonic game, then look no further than Sonic 3 and Knuckles. I have play this game many times and I never get bored with it.

I first played this game 16 years after it's original release, and yet I still think that it is perfection in gaming.

Sonic 3 (& Knuckles) is not only the greatest Sonic game of all time, but one of the greatest overall videogames of all time.

Super Mario World is the most obvious choice. While more recent platformers (Super Mario Galaxy) may have overtaken it in terms of level design quality, it will remain a fun title for ages to come.

2D is immortal.

Perfect Dark.

Arguably the best FPS ever made in it's time, no history-the FPS I've ever played. Graphics are still pretty decent, but frame rate suffers. Heck the N64 was barely able to run the thing, Goldeneye 007 pushed the N64 to it's limits already. But this can easily be overlooked for the excellent level designs, unforgettable moments, weapons, multiplayer, and characters. The second best game I have ever played only behind Ocarina:








The storyline is one of a kind-or at least I enjoyed it. Basically, a future mega corporation called Datadyne is working with an evil alien race called the skedar to use an alien megaweapon in the bottom of the pacific to destroy their nemesis race, the Maians and unknowingly to Datadyne, plan to test it on Earth, which will destroy it.
The Maians, the friendlier and good race, are sided with the Carrington Institute, who rival Datadyne. You are Joanna Dark as you eventually unravel the plot and stop it. You ultimately end up in the Skedar homeworld and take out their leader.

In the end and in irony, it is aliens with technology light-years ahead of humanity that calls upon them to help fight the skedar and prevail.

^ Back in the day when FPS campaigns were longer than 5 hours. Oh those were good times.

Originally Posted by Jeff

^ Back in the day when FPS campaigns were longer than 5 hours. Oh those were good times.

Agreed. With Halo ODST costing $60, I'm defiantly getting Perfect Dark arcade first. I'll never forget the Area 51 mission and the seamless transition of how you somehow end up in between an alien war, then the subtle ending that you'd think would be disappointing, but there wasn't really anymore to tell. Alien weapons that made you think, "OH SNAP! How did aliens do that!?". Classic.

I think Goldeneye for the 64 will always be a really good challenge no matter how old it gets.



I remember playing it when I was younger, and I found it really difficult. I play it now, and I still find it difficult, but it's a fun challenge. I epsecially think that the multiplayer mode for the game is awesome no matter how old it gets. The music is so intense. =-=

Resident Evil 2. The cutscenes that involve talking are a bit bad, but other than that it's aged very well. I didn't play it until a year ago, and I thought it looked fine.

Another is Final Fantasy VIII.

I'd say Final Fantasy VI has aged rather well. Woolsey's translation still holds up today as gold, which I can't say the same for the poor translation FFIV got, and to a lesser extent VII. The 16-bit sprites were amazing for their time, and they still look just as gorgeous as they did back then. The enemy designs also look awesome, thanks to Yo****aka Amano's great art design. They're well detailed and pleasing to look at. And the characters in this game just have so much personality, and you genuinely like them or sometimes feel for them.

Final Fantasy VI, the best Final Fantasy game and possibly the best game of all time.

Pretty much any SNES/N64 Nintendo platformer or adventure title. Even Gameboy games like the original Pokemon series, Link's Awakening, Super Mario Land 2, and Wario Land hold of extremely well even today.

The NES games don't all hold up. The NES Zeldas, Metroid, and Kid Icarus are pretty terrible since they are so dated, but the Super Mario games and Kirby games are as fun as ever.

I would like to say Perfect Dark since that game is still ahead of its time with all its content (which was all high-quality), but the frame-rate drops way too much. This can kill the multiplayer. But this game is great--one of my favorite games o all time, in fact. I'm still mind-blown at all the multi-player modes (co-op, counter-op, all the death matches, etc.) and just how customizable it was (you even could choose your own soundtrack!). Then there is the single-player which is long, exciting, and far better than the crap in FPSs now.

If Perfect Dark were to re-release running at 60fps and online multiplayer, it would be hands-down the greatest first-person shooter ever. Oh, wait! That's going to happen on the XBLA this winter! Yeehaaawwww!

Originally Posted by Citizen Snips

Finally somebody appreciates this game. A masterpiece. The campaign was actually decent. The multiplayer was fantasic, and it still looks good.
Great weapons.
This game is constantly overshadowed by GoldenEye. It's pretty much GoldenEye 2.0, improving on absolutley everything.
Perfect Dark, i only have this to say. Best. Shooter. Ever. I salute you.

Originally Posted by Azzy

I think Goldeneye for the 64 will always be a really good challenge no matter how old it gets.



I remember playing it when I was younger, and I found it really difficult. I play it now, and I still find it difficult, but it's a fun challenge. I epsecially think that the multiplayer mode for the game is awesome no matter how old it gets. The music is so intense. =-=

This is my favorite game. Goldeneye is AMAZING! It's the one game that no matter how much I play it or how long time goes by, it will always be the funnest game I'll ever play. No modern game on Wii or any other console has ever made me feel that way.

One can never have a purely objective opinion about this game. Not 7 years ago, not today. Before it was released, I thought the artstyle was kiddie and Link looked ridiculous with the floppy hair. Then I played it in motion, and, well . . . as the saying goes, "Beauty oft wins over the coldhearted."



Lighthearted, bright yet solemn, and focused on high adventure, this game is in stark contrast to today's gaming landscape of the gritty, realistic and over-the-top spawn of RE4, GoW and Halo. As one jaded by that landscape, the Wind Waker is an even greater treat than ever before.



A living, breathing, playable cartoon. Thanks to the unique artstyle and great execution, it still holds up remarkably well today.

^I agree WW is still fun. However, I think we are talking about games more than just 5 or 6 years old.
Anyway, for my list

• Any 2D Mario game
  
• Tetris: It so simple that its practically timeless. Tetris on the 360 is still basically the same as Tetris on the NES was. No change is needed to make it appeal to younger gamers.
  
• Pong: Same as the above. Its so simple anyone from any generation can have fun playing it.
  
• Super Metroid: 16 years after its release and its still one of the best 2D games ever made.
  
• Basically any Final Fantasy game: if you can look past the limited graphics of the <insert system here> , you'll find all any RPG fan needs
  
• Chrono Trigger Without a doubt the second best RPG of the 16 bit era (lagging slightly behind FFVI). However, Chrono Trigger has aged much better imo.
  
• OOT and MM Both of these have definantly held up much better (at least in my opinion) than the NES zelda and Alttp. I suspect WW and TP will hold upo just as well.
  
• F-Zero X While the original F-Zero does show a bit of age, F-Zero X is still a blast to play a deacade after it release.
  
• StarFox and Starfox 64: As long as your not a graphics whore, you'll have a blast playing these.

I think Goldeneye for the 64 will always be a really good challenge no matter how old it gets.

I respectfully disagree. Having now played dual analogue FPS, its really, really anoying to have to go back to holding down the R button to aim and not being able to aim and walk at the same time. Goldeneye is still fun to play occasionally, but not as fun as it was when I actually liked the controls. Perfect Dark has aged a bit better, since it has a much better story and weapons set.

Originally Posted by SheikahSage

[*]Basically any Final Fantasy game: if you can look past the limited graphics of the <insert system here> , you'll find all any RPG fan needs

Well, graphics are the biggest factor in poorly aged games. Final Fantasy VII aged terribly.

Pretty much every good N64 game aged pretty well that I can think of.

Nevermind my last post if anyone saw it.

I loved Perfect Dark too, almost equally. The weapons were really fun.

Originally Posted by Jeff

2D is immortal.

Dammit you stole my answer!
Also:

Honorable mentions go to LoZ, Secret of Mana, Super Mario Kart (SNES), and the original Castlevania

Originally Posted by Snow_Storm

Ying needed his Yang.

Yin not Ying.
And Yin is feminine, Yang is masculine.
Sorry, I just had to point that out dear ^^

Anyway, I'd have to agree with Jeff about Castlevania. Castlevania = Awesome.
Also, I think Golden Eye is overrated. Don't get me wrong, I like it. But I always preferred 007: The World Is Not Enough.
Other games that I think have aged gracefully are Yoshi's Island, Quake 2, Unreal Tournament and the original Top Gear(love the music in that one ^^).
No matter how much I've played these games and no matter how much time goes by, they never get old for me.
But then again, there are a lot of games that never get old for me.

Another one being ALttP =D

Brought many of what today's RTSs have. This game never gets old. Graphics is last whats on your mind when playing a good match. Another thing that seems to make this game immortal is the constant incredible user-created scenarios online. It's super low system requirements lets anyone with a computer today be able to play this jewel.



Starcraft seemed to do everything right for the RTS, it balanced units, numerous special abilities, endless strategies, very competitive, doing all of this while best of all: Keeping it simple. Anyone can play starcraft. Of course level of skill varies. I'm only expecting the best from Starcraft 2.





So far, the best example I can give to a perfectly well aged game...with online multiplayer still very active since 1998, think about it, 1998.