While the video game industry seems completely focused on graphics as the way to draw in players these days, a lot of classic games are still excellent—despite their often pronounced lack of graphic fidelity.
There is a reason why nintendo has ported Super Mario 64 to almost every console they have released, despite the game originally coming out in 1996.
The graphics may seem more than a little wonky these days, but the game play is solid, even 20+ years later.
Reddit user cartstanza asked:
"What pre-2000 video game will always be a banger?"
Roller Coaster Tycoon
" Rollercoaster Tycoon 🎢"
"O how the theme park manager that wanted to kill and or trap guests till death came came out in all of us!"
Command And Conquer Red Alert
"Command and Conquer Red Alert."
"Granted it's a slightly modded version I play still, but damn does it hold up nicely with a tight little community."
"The soundtrack was the best."
"Insufficient Funds"
"I didn't know a single word of English when I started playing this game and LOVED how that sentence sounded... until I realized I couldn't build anything else lol"
Age Of Empires 2
"Age of empires 2"
"The intro music with the chess game is now in my head"
"Just the entire OST is fire"
"It's got a robust community even in 2021. I will binge-watch matches on Youtube. It's crazy how skilled the really good players are to be able to plan and execute so quickly"
SimCity 2000
"SimCity 2000. The music and sound effects still pop up in my head sometimes."
"Reticulating splines."
"YOU CAN'T CUT BACK ON FUNDING! YOU WILL REGRET THIS!"
"Take it easy, Reggie, they're just roads- oh I see..."
Super Mario 64
"Super Mario 64."
"Wahoo! Waha!"
"I've put a lot of hours into that since I got it Xmas'98. Helluva lot of fun."
Heroes of Might and Magic III
"Heroes of Might and Magic III"
-joltsiboltsi
"Dude i looked so long for this reply, it is just such a great game and it is as old as i am and i grew up with it i love it so much."
"Fell down a rabbit hole on HOMM on Friday, actually. It was so well done, used to play multiplayer with my friends and family."
"Brilliantly done, great story, great expansions, etc. Reading up the wiki on the history, the changes with 3DO (before they went bankrupt), and so on was pretty wild."
Donkey Kong Country
"Definitely Donkey Kong Country"
"Also Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's King Quest"
"DKC 2 has one of the best soundtracks of anything, to this day. Just remarkable. Honestly made the game for me."
"Couldn't agree more, it just….hits me in a way nothing else has. I listened to it on the way to my wedding last year, I'll never forget"
Unreal Tournament
"Unreal Tournament is the best game nobody talks about anymore. It's a go**amn crime that Epic just abandoned it."
"I used to play UT every day for years. Just one of the best gaming experiences for me."
"It is a shame that Epic abandoned it."
"I was spending hours jumping between buildings (morpheus map) with my rocket launcher. Loved this game. (*Similarly loved Quake 3 at the time)."
"To refresh memories, a sample of someone's gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IP909D0mlE
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
"Zelda OOT."
"It was that long ago? You mean I've been hating the Water Temple since last century?"
"Came here to say this. Ocarina is infinitely replayable."
"Maybe I'm just a freak, but I've always enjoyed Majora's Mask more than OOT. MM just feels like a more complete and vibrant world. OOT is relatively unpopulated and lonely when I've replayed it recently."
"Both are fantastic though."
"To me, OOT and MM are two sides of the same coin. I always put them together as one video game. They're so beautiful."
Half-Life
"Half-life"
"It really is great to play, even after all these years."
"I remember playing it countless times back in the day - and I replayed it again last year. Still great."
"There was some real feeling of 'homeliness' playing through it, for some reason the Hazard Course more than other bits."
"I find the same with Deus Ex too, with Liberty Island and UNATCO headquarters - almost like a home away from home."
"It's undoubtedly pure nostalgia, but I love them both."
"If you haven't played Black Mesa, you should pick it up. I believe it's on Steam now."
"Well worth it if you loved the original."
Just because a game is old doesn't mean it isn't still awesome.
If a friend recomme ds an older game, give it a try—you just might find a hidden gem you love.
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