Games you thought were awesome until you went and replayed them years later [Archive]

Galbalan

08-06-2011, 04:24 PM

Two games in particular stick out in my mind as having been mind-blowingly great (at the time) and then I realized what steaming piles they were after going back to them. Both are PS1 games.

Final Fantasy VIII: At the time, I was totally enamored with Squaresoft and FFVII had been, like, SOOOO awesome. While FFVII is still (to me) a solidly made game with a number of flaws, it was when I tried to replay FFVIII several years later that I realized it truly was an awful game and never deserved the praise it got. I know it's the most popular FF to hate on, but everything about it was so poorly designed that the trainwreck nature of it is all the more painful.

Vagrant Story: Worst. Action. RPG. Battle. System. Ever.

Granted, even at the time I didn't really "get into it" because I tried hard, even using the strategy guide to work my way through, and I lost interest...booting it up years later, I realized it wasn't just me. It truly was an awful POS.

And what are yours?

kupomogli

08-06-2011, 04:35 PM

Dragon Warrior. All throughout 8bit and 16 bit consoles I went back to it frequently and praised it as being a great game. At the time there wasn't too much overshadowing it, but it was clearly the worst of them. As soon as the PSX came out, great RPG after great RPG, a lot of others like Dragon Warrior 3, Final Fantasy, even Phantasy Star(though not so much,) still hold up in comparison to newer RPGs. But going back to the original Dragon Warrior. It's like. Man. This game is fucking terrible. I like the graphics, the classic Dragon Warrior monster designs, the music, even the world layout, but the grindfest in a specific few locations and the poor gameplay was just too much. I still get fanboyish over the underworld on Dragon Warrior 3 since it's the world of the original Dragon Warrior, but Dragon Warrior 3 is enjoyable to play. Even Dragon Warrior GBC isn't any fun and you get twice the amount of Gold and EXP.

Emperor Megas

08-06-2011, 04:48 PM

I can't think of any honestly. When everyone was being blown away by 3D gaming, I was one of the few people who thought that those early 32-bit polygon graphics were HORRIBLE, and that a game really had to be great to overshadow how terrible they looked. I never got suckered into garbage hype games that were 'the future!' either, like SEGA CD's awful FMV games.

If I liked a game back in the day, chances are I'll still enjoy it just as much today. And if I come across a game that I've never played before, but it's dated, I'll still enjoy it if it was something that I would have when it released.

heybtbm

08-06-2011, 04:54 PM

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (N64 - 1996)

Then:
Powerful new system, epic soundtrack, unbelievable graphics and varied gameplay. The first level (Snowspeeder vs. AT-AT's (http://youtu.be/FgcJgbFY71c)) was a window into the future of 3D (everyone was done with 2D by then). Goodbye SNES!

Now:
An unplayable, glitchy, cheap, blurry mess with terrible controls and one of the worst 3D camera's of all time.

portnoyd

08-06-2011, 05:19 PM

Robodemons.

Nothing else more to say, just let that sink in.

Edmond Dantes

08-06-2011, 05:42 PM

I kinda hate myself for saying this, but:

Romance of the Three Kingdoms - NES
Back then: Epic strategy game full of depth, strategy and layers of management, which actually rewarded you for being intelligent and not just buffing up your army. Note that I first played it in 1998 and it was nowhere near being the first strategy game I ever played.

Now: A sluggish game where you sit around doing nothing until either you decide to attack somebody or they attack you, and then the battles consist of "spend half the time limit walking to where the enemy is and the other half having a war of attrition--or setting everything on fire until you can grab their rice/castles." (This being said, I would imagine it would be an awesome multiplayer game if you could dig up eight friends who had a lot of patience).

It doesn't help that I've read the actual novel since then (FWIW, best novel ever) and the game does a poor job of replicating any part of it.

Colorado Rockies

08-06-2011, 06:42 PM

Spyro the Dragon, Medievil, Resident Evil 2.
Mainly a lot of games from the 32 bit era. That generation has held up the worst imo. The graphics have aged horribly, the camera angles are awful etc.

Dangerboy

08-06-2011, 07:58 PM

Mainly a lot of games from the 32 bit era. This generation has held up the worst imo. The graphics have aged horribly, the camera angles are awful etc.

Such is the problem with the ushering in of a new visual standard. The 3DO is even worse in some regards. But then 3D has and always will have this problem. Go play Uncharted 2 and Final Fantasy XIII on a PS3, and then go back and play Resistance 1 and Lair - you begin to see just how truly non-next-gen those games were.

As for actual game play, FF8 was *never* good. I've noticed I've fallen out of good graces with anything linear - where I used to play games like TMNT, Streets of Rage, Final Fight, etc like they were the only game on Earth, now I can't even make it half a stage before turning it off. This goes for current gen too - I fell asleep in the first hour of FFXIII, and truth be told, if Uncharted didn't have the story / acting it did, I'd have never made it through.

Also, some classics I just can't do anymore - Anything Breakout / Arkanoid style, or games that are "for points" no longer amuse me. Fallout and Mass Effect have ruined me -
I must have moral choices, amazing soundtracks and the chance to change everything I did and then change it again.

Such is the hobby.

Edmond Dantes

08-06-2011, 08:34 PM

Baloo

08-06-2011, 08:50 PM

It may just be your tastes changed.

I know it happened to me. I used to prefer slow paced, "intellect" games--Strategy, RPGs (leaning more towards Western in my younger days), simulations etc. Nowadays I like fast-paced platformers, fghting games and shoot-em-ups and usually can't get into slower games unless there's something really compelling about them, or they have some sentimental value.

Same. Before I could play through relatively long games, now I simply want to play fast-paced arcade games "for points" and pinball for the most part these days. RPGs, MMOs and FPSs just put me to sleep. But Ms. Pac-Man I could play until the cows come home. Years ago I loved games like Super Mario 64, when I got my Wii I tried to play through Super Mario Galaxy and was bored to tears.

Although I did manage to get really into Panzer Dragoon Saga a few months ago and enjoyed it a great deal. Played through the whole game in a week, although the game was only 12 hours, which is short for an RPG.

Aussie2B

08-06-2011, 09:06 PM

None, to be honest. I've never really been a sucker for hype or excited over the "newness" of games. I look at a brand new release no different than an old game that's new to me. Like take my SNES purchase for example. It was the first system that truly belonged to me, and rather than get all excited about the "latest and greatest" games I would have access to, the first game I got was Super Mario All-Stars. I was more concerned with reacquiring and playing the old Mario games that I loved.

That's not to say that I didn't play the heck out of some games that I wouldn't have much interest in playing now, but that was due to the small number of games I had as a kid. I was fully aware deep down that I didn't think the games were so hot, but it was better than playing nothing or having to replay my other games even more than I already was doing. A perfect example of that would be Tetris 2 on SNES, bleh.

BetaWolf47

08-06-2011, 09:28 PM

There are a couple of N64 games that come to mind. I'll mention Cruis'n World. Back then, I could play for hours a day, working to unlock the ultimate car in the game. It was... decent for its time. Now, looking back, it has that cheesy win screen with the trophy girl, and the female announcer, and is just a boring game.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game is another one. I used to love any beat-em-up back then. I rented TMNT2 more times than I can remember though. Never really got past the 4th stage back then though. Now, when I go back, it's incredibly lame compared to even other NES beat-em-up. Not to mention Shredder being one of the most broken end bosses of all time.

Flam

08-06-2011, 09:39 PM

not that I've played them recently but I'm sure Spy Hunter and Rampage would be pretty boring. I also bought NARC (which was one of my favs) and I don't like it either.

calgon

08-06-2011, 09:42 PM

Good topic.

Mortal Kombat 1-3. The look, the control and gameplay are pure trash to me now.

7th lutz

08-06-2011, 10:49 PM

Double Dragon for the Atari 7800. It is now a mediocre game for me.

Multiple things happens that caused my feeling of Double Dragon for the Atari 7800 to change.

When I got Double Dragon for the Atari 7800, I never played the arcade version of Double Dragon. That meant I didn't realize the 7800 version of Double Dragon was missing stuff like moves or some weapons such as a whip, dynamite, and the ability to throw drums as examples.

Double Dragon was one of the first games I got for the Atari 7800 in late December 1989. That meant I really didn't what the 7800 was capable of since I didn't have Commando, or Midnight Mutants over 18 years after getting Double Dragon for the Atari 7800.

The other thing that made me changed my opinion was the fact I only owned an Atari 2600 Jr. and recently got an Atari 7800 at the time. That meant I didn't have nothing to compare other versions of Double Dragon at the time in terms of game systems.

SpaceHarrier

08-06-2011, 11:07 PM

Super Mario Sunshine
Playing it again (after the superb Super Mario Galaxy).. now I so clearly see its flaws and repetition.

Strider (arcade)
Loved this when I only had a couple quarters left, back when I was young. Now -- the control just feels clunky, the animation framey. Getting knocked around by just about everything doesn't help either. Admittedly, I don't have much skill at the game, but I no longer even have the patience to play much into it. I still like the graphics, though.

btw, I still like FFVIII after all these years

j_factor

08-06-2011, 11:20 PM

I can't think of any games that did this for me.

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (N64 - 1996)

Then:
Powerful new system, epic soundtrack, unbelievable graphics and varied gameplay. The first level (Snowspeeder vs. AT-AT's (http://youtu.be/FgcJgbFY71c)) was a window into the future of 3D (everyone was done with 2D by then). Goodbye SNES!

Now:
An unplayable, glitchy, cheap, blurry mess with terrible controls and one of the worst 3D camera's of all time.

I played that game in 1996, and your "now" is pretty much exactly what I thought of it "then". I really hated that game.

retroman

08-07-2011, 12:37 AM

Clash At Demonhead for the NES...i use to love this game, and now its like what the hell was i thinking

APE992

08-07-2011, 12:43 AM

Virtually every NES game I played back in the day. Most of them have graphics AND sound that didn't age well (Zelda is a notable exception IMO with Metal Gear being an example of crap) as well as a console that is a royal PITA to keep functional.

Edmond Dantes

08-07-2011, 01:15 AM

A few others:

Prince of Persia - I owned the PC and Sega CD versions
THEN: Hey, this is a pretty engrossing little puzzle-platformer game! OMG I beat it? I want more! Hey, there's a PC compilation of both games for a low price! Yay now I get to play POP2! (note: I never beat POP2)

NOW: Wow, so you spend an hour mostly doing the same sort of scrambling around and running but not-too-fast-or-you'll-die and fighting guards who never change their strategy throughout the game. What was fun about this, again?

Silent Hill (first one, I borrowed from a friend
THEN: Whoa hey, this is actually kind of creepy. Fog, dark rusty world, what the hell is even going on here? Oh god I don't think I wanna know...

NOW: Okay you stupid demon nurse quit trying to stab me I'm trying to solve a bleepin' puzzle!

Half-Life (first one, non-Source version)
THEN: Oh my goodness wow, this is one hell of an engrossing game. I love the atmosphere of Black Mesa, the story, the setting, the--did that man just get pulled through a vent? Oh wow, things are stepping up! Come on Freeman, you've got to survive! Wow, I actually like this alien world!

NOW: Is this a first-person shooter or a first-person walk through empty hallways? This place is kind of boring, and there's nothing to do here! Are there even any secret areas or something that I can find? Oh gee, another telegraphed set-piece. What happened to the days of Doom when you just fought hordes of monsters? Now that was a game!

----

On a more positive note, has anyone ever had a time where the exact opposite of this topic's title happened (IE "games you thought were utter garbage until you replayed them years later")?

I have:

Dragon Warrior - NES, and keep in mind I first played it on an emulator.
AT FIRST: Man, RPGs were pretty freaking primitive on the NES! One dude, not many options, and all you did was grind? Hell, this is miles behind Ultima IV!, much less anything on the SNES! Screw this, I'm gonna go back to playing Xenogears.

BUT LATER: You know what, I'm bored, I feel like something old-school... eh, why not. I'll give my character a stupid name and just faff about for a bit... oh man, I just got so served by that ghost! Good thing I keep all my EXP... hmm... might check up on these rumors... wonder what's in that cave... (hours later) wait, am I actually playing freaking Dragon Warrior and enjoying it?

System Shock
AT FIRST: Wait, how is this shitty game a classic? The controls are so unwieldy and unintuitive! This game is unplayable. Screw it.

BUT LATER: Oh hey, this thing is pretty interesting... wait, did SHODAN just spring a trap on me? Holy shit, I love getting my butt kicked! This is creepier than all four Clock Towers combined! How the hell did this game sit unplayed in my library for so long?

Kitsune Sniper

08-07-2011, 01:25 AM

TMNT 2. It was fun but my being a fan of the turtles made me see the game with rose tinted glasses. The hit detection is crap - you can't hit an enemy quickly two times, they'll always punch you before you can do that. I basically beat the game by jumping and dropkicking everyone.

Drixxel

08-07-2011, 02:17 AM

Games you thought were awesome until you went and replayed them years later...

...and discovered they were awesome?

While I can't think of a game that fits this topic exactly (the superficial ages, big whoop), there have been games that I've replayed years later after reading or hearing something about them that suggested there was something terrible or bluntly shit about them. You know, when somebody's complaining about some supposed awful game (or portion thereof) and you think to yourself, "Really? Bullshit." and play the game again to verify?

Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures

It's not one of the leading popular ones to bash, but I (and I'm sure anyone that's looked into the game) have encountered some negative opinions about this game. There really can't be criticism for it, though - it's so weird and plays so unconventionally that I have a hard time humouring the idea that there's anything wrong with it. Sure, while it's not "perfect", it's just so weird that you can't really judge it against any leading genre representative. Kind of a point 'n click, kind of a platformer, kind of a personalized 'The Sims'-type sim game, kind of a classics compilation..

WelcomeToTheNextLevel

08-07-2011, 03:25 AM

Driv3r... I thought it was awesome, despite its mediocre reviews, until GTA IV came out... now Driv3r seems like crap. The gameplay is unrealistic compared to GTA IV (or any GTA for that matter) the damage modeling hasn't aged well, and to be quite honest it's quite glitchy.

Neopets: The Darkest Faerie - this one's obvious, I was 12 then and 18 now... 18 year olds don't generally enjoy Neopets. Add to that graphics that can't hold a candle to the Jak series (especially Jak and Daxter The Precursor Legacy), worlds best described as "simple", and gameplay that only a Neopets fan can enjoy, and you have a recipe for a mediocre game that is regarded as great for a short time. Want a good PS2 RPG? Ask Jak... he has the answer.

Sim City Societies - I don't ever know why I loved this one, it was very simple, and I was feeling lazy and didn't want to design a proper region and build cities from scratch. Once I got off my butt, I realized Sim City 4 (or Sim City for SNES) was the way to go.

Crash Bash - As an 8 year old, this one was fun. Now it's too limited in options for me. I prefer to sink my teeth into Warped.

Yes, I know my youth shows...

Edmond Dantes

08-07-2011, 03:26 AM

...I actually have a CIB of Pac-Man 2. It is one of my favorite games of all time. OF ALL TIME!!!

I've never, ever 100%ed it though.

On the topic of "criticized games that actually aren't bad," Metal Gear Solid 2. I loved Raiden, I loved the perspective flip of getting to see Snake from the viewpoint of a rookie, I loved the swimming and the escort mission (a part I thought I was going to hate), I loved the way the story went completely insane. I just loved that game to pieces. And I don't regret it.

AceAerosmith

08-07-2011, 05:00 AM

Anything on the Atari 2600.

I had a ColecoVision with the 2600 adapter when I was younger. And as I lost interest in gaming, I sold the whole shitload to my sister for $50. (She promptly lost track of all of it when she moved to TN.)

When I got older, I tried to get a lot of it back thru eBay and other shops. Once I had all I wanted, I found the games weren't as good as I remember them. (Demon Attack was still the bomb though.) So, all that shit sat in a box until I sold it all again.

After all that shit was sold, a few years later, I bought the Atari Anthology for PS2 which had all the 2600 versions with some of the arcade/remakes. It was still shit to me. I just couldn't get into it at all. Still can't. Yeah, they're vintage but they're also dull.

I used to play Asteroids on the 2600 for hours. Now, I can't go near it. Boring.

theclaw

08-07-2011, 11:11 AM

In my younger days I tried more for western-made strategy/sim type games. Sim City 2000 and Civilization 1 were awesome. Even if I never bothered to learn the higher difficulty levels or advanced features. I'd surely also dabbled in Lords of the Realm 2, Transport Tycoon Deluxe, Risk (C64), Colonization, Sim City SNES... Now I'm just apathetic. Probably wouldn't be that difficult to get back into some titles if I cared to.

RPG_Fanatic

08-07-2011, 12:20 PM

Mortal Kombat 1 & 2 back in the day I don't know how much I spent at the local 7/11 but it was a shit load. Now I try and play them and they just suck ASS!!! Guess it must have been the blood and guts.

CYRiX

08-07-2011, 12:47 PM

Glossed over the thread and didn't see anyone mention Goldeneye for N64. I think that game might have the biggest difference in how it was looked at then versus today.

Galbalan

08-07-2011, 01:18 PM

You know, it's funny how people thought Rare's N64 games were the shit back in the day (Banjo-Kazooie, DK64, etc.) and then later on realized they were just Mario 64 clones with more of an emphasis on collect-a-thon hoarding.

Also: a couple people have mentioned how the older Mortal Kombat games weren't really that great when you go back to them. I think that while the gameplay is pretty bad compared to other fighting games, there's still a bizarre charm to the old MKs. For some reason, I enjoy them in spite of their overall mediocrity, or perhaps because of it.

PentiumMMX

08-07-2011, 01:22 PM

Lego Island (PC)

As a kid, I played this game to death; I did pretty much everything you could possibly do short of stop the Brickster from destroying the island (Something I've never manged to pull off), and enjoyed it. Now, I can't get over the fact that the island feels pretty empty; it seems big, but there just isn't much to do at all

Nightowljrm

08-07-2011, 01:44 PM

Castlevania 64. I always loved Castlevania and when this game came out, I thought it was so deep and so atmospheric. I mean, let's be honest, the gardener pouring blood out of a watering can was pretty epic and took the haunted Castlevania vibe up a few notches. (In fact, I wish they went more in the creepy, dark, gothic vibe and vastly improved Castlevania 64 instead of either Metroidvania or God of Castlevania). But anyway, I thought the game was so cool and so amazing. Playing it now, I understand why I died so much... clunky controls, stiff turns, bad camera angles (which is a staple in early 3D, but still worth mentioning), and at some points (carrying the bomb) just frustrating gameplay. I bet if you put Castlevania in the hands of Retro Studios (responsible for Metriod Prime series and Donkey Kong Country Returns), the series would be in proper 3D... But that's a rant for another day. So... yeah, Castlevania 64 for me.

Steven

08-08-2011, 05:25 AM

http://www.rvgfanatic.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_259601/fightingmastersbox.jpghttp://www.rvgfanatic.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_259601/GenesisFM.jpg

I *adored* this game when I first rented it in '92/'93. Replayed it 5 years ago and wow... not very good to say the least, lol.

Ah, the bliss of being 8 or 9 and not knowing any better...

Mr Smith

08-08-2011, 05:45 AM

Sonic Adventure, not so much the game, but the cut scenes that last for about six-weeks each.

jonebone

08-08-2011, 08:10 AM

Mortal Kombat 1. I tried replaying it maybe a year ago and boy was it bad. It gave me about 5 minutes of entertainment and then it has been shelved forever since.

Graham Mitchell

08-08-2011, 08:35 AM

BetaWolf47

08-08-2011, 09:56 AM

Half-Life (first one, non-Source version)
THEN: Oh my goodness wow, this is one hell of an engrossing game. I love the atmosphere of Black Mesa, the story, the setting, the--did that man just get pulled through a vent? Oh wow, things are stepping up! Come on Freeman, you've got to survive! Wow, I actually like this alien world!

NOW: Is this a first-person shooter or a first-person walk through empty hallways? This place is kind of boring, and there's nothing to do here! Are there even any secret areas or something that I can find? Oh gee, another telegraphed set-piece. What happened to the days of Doom when you just fought hordes of monsters? Now that was a game!

Oh man, don't mention Half-Life to me. I'll never understand the acclaim it's received. I played it for about 10 hours and encountered a total of three gamebreaking glitches. These were moments I had to end my game and reload another checkpoint to be able to continue. I just got stuck and couldn't do anything.

BobaFettHotep

08-08-2011, 11:47 AM

for me its bart vs the space mutants i loved that game as a kid but i played it a few months ago and god its terrible some of the worst controls ever

Emperor Megas

08-08-2011, 11:50 AM

Oh man, don't mention Half-Life to me. I'll never understand the acclaim it's received. I played it for about 10 hours and encountered a total of three gamebreaking glitches. These were moments I had to end my game and reload another checkpoint to be able to continue. I just got stuck and couldn't do anything.I feel same way. And here I thought I had done something wrong when I couldn't advance in the game, I think I was glitching out. I never understood what all of the hype was about either.

thom_m

08-08-2011, 03:49 PM

Snoopy and the Red Baron for the 2600. I loved it back then, and could play for hours without dying - in fact, I wouldn't die if I didn't want to. Now I think it gets boring after some time.

Edmond Dantes

08-08-2011, 05:29 PM

To be fair, Half-Life really DOES become a "what the hell am I supposed to do now?" kind of game at times. It might not have been glitching necessarily... just you missed some detail or overlooked something because the environments are too good and cause things that should stand out to blend in.

I wound up having to download the latest patch, to be honest.

08-09-2011, 07:31 AM

I *adored* this game when I first rented it in '92/'93. Replayed it 5 years ago and wow... not very good to say the least, lol.

Ah, the bliss of being 8 or 9 and not knowing any better...

Like you, I rented it at the time and thought it was fantastic. I remember seeing the digitized lion statue on the one background and being blown away at them using that technique.

Now, meh. It's not horrible by any means but it's just extremely, extremely shallow. But, it has some interesting character designs to balance out the lame ones, and the music still rocks.

Compute

08-09-2011, 09:15 AM

It's posts like this where I realize I've forgotten the names of so many games, but here it goes..

Days of Thunder for NES -- This game started a years-long obsession about racing games where you had to pit. Picked it up a few years ago for a song and found out why it's so cheap. Even for a NES racing game this sucks.

Mario is Missing -- For some reason I loved this shitpile as well. They did a nice job with the graphics, looked like a SNES game. Of course they were able to get away with that since the gameplay doesn't really exist.

Bubsy -- Still not sure what I ever saw in this . . .

Tiny Toon Adventures -- My sister and I loved this because of the franchise. It's halfway decent for a licensed platformer, but time has not been good to it.

Congo Bongo (TI99) -- An uncle had a TI99 with this game. We played it all the time. I think what ruined me on this game was when I found out there was an arcade version FAR better. Sigh.

Triple Play '96/NBA Live '96 -- These two are grouped together because I liked them for the same reasons: Customizable players and teams, and the animation was oustanding for 16bit. In baseball you could dive and slide and run into other players and get them injured. And you could changed the team names to things like "Butthole." I'm sure I pissed off at least a few future-renters. Still, these games don't hold up. I think it's just because I suck at them.

Tomb Raider -- Recently picked this up for the Saturn, this game sucks. I can see what made it great, but it's just not satisfying anymore.

OldSkoolBrian

08-09-2011, 10:12 AM

When I was younger I thought MYST for the Saturn was an awesome game. Now I can't stand even looking at it on my shelf.

nebrazca78

08-09-2011, 11:10 AM

Altered Beast. I wasn't infatuated with it like a lot of people were, but I did get roped in with the presentation and the whole "WISE FWOM YO GWAVE" thing. Plus, it was the only Genesis game I had when I got the system.

I played it a couple years ago on the Genesis collection for the 360. What a piece of shit. It's not even playable. It's so cheap that it's impossible to develop any kind of technique to keep you from getting whacked repeatedly. It's such a turd in terms of gameplay, and it's just shocking that it got ported to EVERYTHING!

Yeah.

The Genesis version of Golden Axe is something I loved back in the 90's. Now I find it so obnoxiously frustrating I can't take it after a couple minutes. If an enemy gets a few swipes in, you're dead. It's so unfair. The arcade version is probably just as bad, but at least it's more colorful and sounds better.

This was kind of the reverse for me. I never got in to this game when I was a kid but gave it another chance recently. Once you learn the right way to play it's actually rather easy but a lot of fun. You have to do a lot of jump-kicks and vertical dodging. They made these techniques a lot harder to pull off in Golden Axe II but you can play co-op which is excellent. Still haven't played Golden Axe III but it's on my list.

Personally I was astounded to find that Mario Kart for SNES is not as much fun as I remembered. I pulled out the old SNES for the first time in years about 6 months ago. Not only was SMK on the boring side but the other 4 or 5 SNES games I had were not doing it for me either and I ended up selling the SNES.

Conversely a few friends and I recently played Mario Kart 64 for the first time in years as well. Fortunately it's still as fun as it ever was and so is Excitebike 64. We also played Goldeneye which I still think is great but does show its age. There are so many great FPS games out there these days it can't really hold up. Everything is so blurry it's amazing that we used to drool over these graphics.

Additionally I completely agree with previous posters on Mortal Kombat 1 - 3. The bad ass graphics and animations are really all there is to this game. It is so much more simplistic than Street Fighter II it's not even funny. While I prefer Street Fighter Alpha 3, the original SFII is a deep game that's still fun to play. Also Fighting Masters was always pretty bad but something about it did used to be fun.

On the whole though, I think most games from the 8-bit and 16-bit age hold up well. For one thing, they offer the type of gameplay that is minimally supported these days. Most of the games from the 32-bit era in the 3D genre have been redone and done better, whether it be a remake or just a similar game. Not so much for 2D games except maybe some shmups, but there aren't that many of these any more.

.

RASK1904

08-09-2011, 12:54 PM

This happened with me on Nes M.U.S.C.L.E. LOL! When I was a kid I liked it alot. Played it all the time. Recently I wanted it for quite some time and found it like 4 months ago. What a piece of garbage that game is. Played it all of 30 seconds. Horrible!

kainemaxwell

08-09-2011, 04:56 PM

for me its bart vs the space mutants i loved that game as a kid but i played it a few months ago and god its terrible some of the worst controls ever

Amen. Same with all the Nes Simpsons titles.

SpaceFlea

08-09-2011, 07:41 PM

Cyborg Justice

It was one of my go-to rentals when I was a kid. I loved how customizable the characters were; and that the game was both a beat 'em up and a fighter all in one.

But the game is absolutely terrible. It's a swift kick in the nostalgic nuts.

spongerob

08-09-2011, 09:06 PM

Gaming like some films, rely on the times and the era it was created. Some things age well, some do not. That said, I'd nominate...

Driver for PSX. I loved this game. I played the life out of it. I have two full memory cards worth of amazingly awesome car chase scenes. But having gone back 6-10 years later, it's really shown it's age. The driving mechanics and physics I thought were great, feel clunky compared to GTA, Burnout and other car games. But man, the cops in that game never get old. They'll drive through hell to get to you, and the glitches where they fly 100 feet in the air are still funny.

NHL on SNES/Gen. People have hated me for this but maaaan are these horrible. In fact, any classic sports game is pretty dull now.

Bart vs the space mutants. What a hunk of garbage. It was moderately playable as a kid but now, it's just flat out awful.

I can't think of any more at the moment.

Zoe F

08-09-2011, 09:44 PM

I completely support the previous mentions in this topic of Bubsy, Mortal Kombat, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2. I have to disagree on Tiny Toon Adventures though. I loved that game as a child, and I think it's still quite good even now.

So far uniquely to me, I must mention Shaq Fu. Yes, I'm talking about that Shaq Fu. I never thought that it was one of best games available, but it seemed to be a decent enough fighter when I was young. It wasn't until I got older and played it again that I realized it really was just about as awful as a game can get.

Secondly, Sonic Blast Man on SNES. Sonic Blast Man is really, really, really slow. Making things worse is that Blast Man's attacks have a very limited range, and the music is not something you'd want to listen to for six or seven minutes at a time. I still love Taito, but the game is just bad.

Finally, this pick may irritate some people, but the NES' Metroid has not held up well at all. All of the 2D Metroid titles that followed were huge improvements, and Metroid: Zero Mission's retcon has made the first game completely irrelevant even for those who are determined to experience the whole story. it was a fine game in its time, but it's no longer enjoyable to play.

spongerob

08-09-2011, 09:48 PM

^I agree with MK. I never got into them much, I just sorta played them because my friends loved them. I found them as stiff as a board with no difference in characters. They were a shallow gimmick with no depth. I loved Street Fighter as a kid, and I still do now.

Scissors

08-09-2011, 10:29 PM

Zing

08-09-2011, 10:38 PM

NES' Metroid has not held up well at all. it was a fine game in its time, but it's no longer enjoyable to play.

Crazy. I just played through Metroid again a few months ago and it was amazing. I followed it up with Metroid II (via a Super Game Boy) and quit about 90% of the way through. I then gave Super Metroid another try after not playing it since its original release, and I gave up about an hour in. For me, it just paled compared to the original. The first game was so thematic and absorbing. Super Metroid just felt like any other game.

Hell, after playing Metroid Fusion, Super Metroid just felt like a "Metroid Fusion clone". :D

Zing

08-09-2011, 10:39 PM

I remember really enjoying the arcade version of Yi Ar Kung Fu.

I have to agree with this one. I loved the arcade game when I was young. I played it using MAME a while ago and it's so clunky.

NE146

08-09-2011, 11:42 PM

Hard to say.. if I liked a game back in the day, then I probably still like it now keeping in mind that they are products of their day and have the inherent limitations.

I guess Dragon Force on the Sega Saturn might count as one. I was so blown away with this game at the time and couldn't get enough.. but now I have a hard time playing through it since it's such a time hog. I also have a huge crush on the Shining Force games but each time I try to get into it now, I just don't have the heart for it. It just seems a lot more tedious than before for some reason. :)

Dragon Warrior.... going back to the original Dragon Warrior. It's like. Man. This game is fucking terrible.

Honestly after SMS Phantasy Star blew our minds, that was my opinion of the Dragon Warrior 1 even when it first came out. It was such a "downgrade' even in 1989. Didn't stop me from playing it though LOL

Altered Beast. I played it a couple years ago on the Genesis collection for the 360. What a piece of shit. It's not even playable. It's so cheap that it's impossible to develop any kind of technique to keep you from getting whacked repeatedly.

Oh come on that's not true. The game is easily masterable if you have the inclination to do so (as many did in it's heyday). Matter o' fact it's weakness then was it was such a short game. But yes, I agree it hasn't aged well. :p

The Genesis version of Golden Axe is something I loved back in the 90's. Now I find it so obnoxiously frustrating I can't take it after a couple minutes. If an enemy gets a few swipes in, you're dead. It's so unfair. I think you just need to watch someone play it :p Going up & down to dodge works wonders.

dap9984

08-10-2011, 12:04 AM

Duck Hunt. Played the crap out of that game as a kid. Now I can barely stand to shoot 10 ducks to move to the next stage.

Steven

08-10-2011, 03:21 AM

I guess Dragon Force on the Sega Saturn might count as one. I was so blown away with this game at the time and couldn't get enough.. but now I have a hard time playing through it since it's such a time hog.

One of the best play-on words I ever seen was back in the day when newsgroup posters were calling Dragon Force "Drag-On Force"

Brilliant :p

Edmond Dantes

08-10-2011, 05:11 AM

Steven

08-10-2011, 05:54 AM

When I was a kid, I used to be effing obsessed with Bubsy and Aero the Acro-Bat.

Now, unlike most people I don't think these games are "terrible" nowadays. Actually, I think they're both still pretty playable and Aero is actually kind of fun. But I also wonder what about them drove me to be so obsessed, because fun as they are they're really just kinda-average platformers.

Maybe you just liked rooting for the underdog titles, and in that vain, overhyped average titles to be something more. I know I did that sometimes, as was evident with....

http://www.rvgfanatic.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_1536178/RanmaBlast2.JPG

http://www.rvgfanatic.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_1536178/RanmaBlast4.JPG

Talk about a game that I really liked back in the day, only to find there's not much to like really at all.

EDIT: Ironically, I just clicked on your blog Edmond and found that Ranma 1/2 is your #1 favorite anime, lol. Also, wow, Devil Hunter! I wrote a small bit on DH on my website... it was my first anime ever and I remember as a 10 year old watching it with my best bud Nelson and our other buddies... what chaos erupted from Nelly's room that afternoon due to all the nudity of Devil Hunter. Ah, good innocent times :p

Astrosmash

08-11-2011, 12:12 AM

j_factor

08-11-2011, 01:01 AM

Finally, this pick may irritate some people, but the NES' Metroid has not held up well at all. All of the 2D Metroid titles that followed were huge improvements, and Metroid: Zero Mission's retcon has made the first game completely irrelevant even for those who are determined to experience the whole story. it was a fine game in its time, but it's no longer enjoyable to play.

I'm not old enough to have played it in 1987, but I could never get into the original Metroid at all. And I liked Super Metroid a lot. Metroid just feels kind of clunky and awkward. I think there's a lot of NES games and other games from that era (and some games from other eras too, but not as much) that have this barrier to entry. Once you overcome the barrier -- when you are able to "get into" the game and get used to its flaws/idiosyncrasies -- there's a great game under there. A significant number of people can appreciate the game and enjoy it for what it is. But for a lot of people it'll be, play it for 7 minutes, it sucks, turn it off. I suspect that many of the posts in this thread, and many "this game didn't age well" type statements in general, are reflective of a person's reduced patience for this sort of thing.

allyourblood

08-11-2011, 01:53 AM

I remember really enjoying the arcade version of Yi Ar Kung Fu. I bought Konami Arcade Classics on PlayStation as soon as it came out just to play it again. At the time, I was disappointed it wasn't as good as I remembered, but still enjoyed it. Now, I really don't care for it and can't figure out why I liked it in the first place. I still find myself playing it every now and then though.

Yup, I'm the same way. I used to play the tar out of Yi Ar Kung Fu in the arcade. I got pretty darn good at it after a while. When I was a kid, I didn't have a lot of disposable money, and therefore, never really had a lot of quarters with which to get good at arcade games -- no money, no practice. For some reason, YAKF was one of the few games I picked up on quickly, and rather liked.

For a few years, I couldn't even remember the name when I'd think back about it. About 10 years ago, I played it in some fashion (MAME? I don't remember), and thought it was horrible. The moves, which I thought were so advanced at the time, seemed ridiculous and unnecessary. Movement was slow, the sprites were small, it all seemed really lame. Oddly enough, a few years later, I picked up a GBA game compilation cartridge that has this title on there. I played it for quite a while before I got bored of it. Every once in a while, I want to see and hear YAKF again, so I'll break out the ol' GBA and give it a go for a few rounds.

Beyond that, at the moment, there's only one game I can think of that fits the title of the thread: Sword of Sodan. My cousin and I rented this game from Blockbuster not long after I received my Genesis. It must have been that interminable childhood gaming spirit (from the 80s and 90s, anyway) that kept us at it, because we played that game for days, and finally -- I kid you not -- completed it.

When I began collecting games, I hunted high and low for this game locally, and finally picked up a complete copy. I was very excited, and couldn't wait to get home to play it. When I did, I was confused by a couple things: one, I couldn't understand why the game seemed so difficult; we would handily speed through the first few levels, and I now found myself struggling on the first one. Second, I didn't remember the animations being so stiff and awkward.

The only reason I knew for sure it was the same game I played as a kid was that the sound was just as I remembered it -- despite the annoying vocal snippets, I still like the ambiance effects quite a bit. Evoking those weird environmental sounds from an FM synth is no easy task, and they still sound pretty cool today.

About once a year, I throw this game in my Genesis and play it for about 10 minutes before getting angry and promptly placing it back in its box. Other games that share a similar fate include Robocop and 720 for the NES; bleh.

spongerob

08-11-2011, 03:09 AM

First thought: Myst.

When it came out I remember being blown away by how it pulled you in and made it seem like you were alone in a mysterious world, left alone to solve each obscure puzzle and figure out just what was going on.

Looking at it today, I still admire the art direction and can see where my previous impressions came from - but to actually play it now, clicking through (mostly) still images gives the gameplay the distinct feel of playing a game in PowerPoint, a feeling I don't get even from other point-and-click adventures.

You'd think now would be the perfect time, hardware wise, to reboot that series. We have the graphical capability to render those worlds in 3D. The pointing and clicking at the time had a certain charm to it, but really was only there because allowing someone to wander around in those worlds would expose it for what it was.

I'd actually really like to play a modern Myst game where I'm free to wander the world, eerily alone. That's what I always loved about those games. I loved the worlds you were pulled into.

j_factor

08-11-2011, 03:17 AM

You'd think now would be the perfect time, hardware wise, to reboot that series. We have the graphical capability to render those worlds in 3D. The pointing and clicking at the time had a certain charm to it, but really was only there because allowing someone to wander around in those worlds would expose it for what it was.

I'd actually really like to play a modern Myst game where I'm free to wander the world, eerily alone. That's what I always loved about those games. I loved the worlds you were pulled into.

The most recent Myst game came out in 2005 and is fully 3D/realtime.

CelticJobber

08-11-2011, 04:00 AM

90% of the PSOne and N64 games I've replayed in recent years have aged horribly and are almost unplayable.

But on the other hand, I can still go back to NES and SNES (and to a lesser extent Sega Genesis) games and I still like them as much as when I was a kid.

Edmond Dantes

08-11-2011, 04:01 AM

Maybe you just liked rooting for the underdog titles, and in that vain, overhyped average titles to be something more.

A friend of mine tells me I have a habit of doing that, so you may be onto something.

EDIT: Ironically, I just clicked on your blog Edmond and found that Ranma 1/2 is your #1 favorite anime,

Yup, and I have a CIB of that game, too.

It's not awful, and back in the day I liked that the special moves weren't terribly complicated to pull off--many of them were just a matter of holding a direction and pressing B, like a Smash Bros game. There were also some good musics to be had there.

It's biggest problem was just how unbalanced it was. There was really no reason to play as anyone except Ranma and Shampoo, and at least half the characters on the roster weren't really even playable. And seriously, why the heck is Gosunkugi of all people a playable character? When I first played it I had no idea who he was (because I didn't read the manga at the time--in the manga he shows up early, but in the anime he's not there until season six).

And of course, the title, Hard Battle is confusing, because it makes you think it's based specifically on the third season of the anime (it's not, and this is actually a localization issue).

The sad thing is that we never got the third Ranma 1/2 SFC game, which I recall playing on an emulator once and thinking it was a huge improvement--not the least of which because it had all the characters who were inexplicably missing from Hard Battle (Kuno, for example).

YoshiM

08-11-2011, 10:01 AM

Didn't think I could come up with any but as I took the rose colored glasses off and thought a bit, I do recall some titles that fit this query:

Metal Gear (NES): THEN-thought it was a tough unique game that had me play for hours on a rental. Even called Nintendo's 800 number hint line on finding the truck to get me to the next area (and asked what the heck the cigarettes did).

NOW-a boring game with shoddy collision detection and cheap game play.

Cool Spot (SNES/GEN): THEN-a challenging platformer with awesome graphics that appealed to everyone.

NOW-Why did I like this game? Enemies are very very cheap, with your little Spot getting nailed by projectiles from out of nowhere and falling onto creatures climbing on whatever rope/nail/wire you happened to be on because you can't SEE them until its too late.

Super Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (SNES): THEN-tough as nails platformer that I played to the end with many a controller throwing moment but I kept coming back for more and cheered quietly in the wee hours when I beat it.

NOW-I must have either been a masochist or had way more patience back then. I cannot stand how this game plays as it's so totally cheap (I'm seeing a theme here) and the controls aren't all that grand. Luke must have been using the Force to create an astro-glide like barrier in my ass because I kept getting shafted by a lightsaber repeatedly. I liked this game?!

spongerob

08-11-2011, 04:06 PM

The most recent Myst game came out in 2005 and is fully 3D/realtime.

I'll be more specific: I want it be good lol. I don't want any digital character model bs.

Nophix

08-11-2011, 09:55 PM

Rocket Ranger and Go Joe, both for Nest. Not sure why I played them so much.

spongerob

08-11-2011, 09:58 PM

The 1 2 P

08-11-2011, 10:04 PM

Anything on the Atari 2600 and 7800. Back then I thought every single game on them was cool because I was a kid and didn't know any better. But today they are ugly graphics having, horrible to control fun-lacking messes. But I pretty much figured this out once the Nes came out. From that gen on the Atari games just seemed to get worse and worse.

Nirvana

08-12-2011, 01:48 AM

I loved Addams Family: Fester's Quest when I was little, but to be honest, it just isn't that great of a game. It may be one of the better Addams Family games just because of the line they had isn't the greatest, but man...I played it a couple months ago while going through some older games with my friends, and it just seemed so dull, while every other game I loved still gave me the same feelings while playing.

treismac

08-12-2011, 02:45 AM

I recently played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: the Arcade Game for the NES for the first time in years (at least 15 as best I can reckon). Perhaps, in days gone by, my enjoyment of this game was fueled by my love of TMNT, or it might well have been the case that the monotony was dulled with a second player to share the experience with, but there is no pleasure to be found in playing the game in 2011. None. It is just endless foot soldier after foot soldier testing my will power to play through the entire game in order to justify the $8 I spent on ebay to buy the game again. Without hyperbole I can confidently say that this is THE least fun NES game that I have played since I picked up collecting NES games about a year ago. At least Dr. Jekyl and My. Hyde was so poorly conceived and badly programmed and that it was a novelty to play for an hour or so.

I do, however, want to repurchase the SNES Turtles in Time and try that one again. I am fairly certain that TMNT game WAS actually fun and would still be sorta fun to play today.

Steven

08-12-2011, 04:12 AM

I've also gotta nominate Saturday Night Slam Masters. I was obsessed with this game as a kid. It blended every cool part of Street Fighter I enjoyed, into a wrestling game. The characters actually entertained me, when most stuff at that age I was just kinda "meh" to. The moves, the entrances, it was awesome.

I went back a few months ago to play it again, and man is it clunky. It's still pretty fun but I was sorely disappointed. Funny what time will do, huh?

I see where you're coming from. Myself, I still like Slam Masters today, however, you definitely have to put it in its context. It's still fun with 4 players, although there are better multi-player games out there. You just have to remind yourself with SNSM, there just isn't a whole lotta technique or strategy to it...

I do, however, want to repurchase the SNES Turtles in Time and try that one again. I am fairly certain that TMNT game WAS actually fun and would still be sorta fun to play today.

My cousins and I played Turtles in Time last Christmas together. It was still a blast! I'll never tire of the throwing the foot soldier into the screen move. Still cool today :)