this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2025
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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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[–] BigBananaDealer@lemm.ee 1 points 9 hours ago

i still play backyard baseball

[–] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 1 points 10 hours ago
[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago

Oh, just these series of games. You probably never heard of them.....called The Super Mario Bros!!!!

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 2 points 16 hours ago

Gunstar Heroes

[–] ViscloReader@lemmy.world 1 points 17 hours ago

Super metroid

[–] swordgeek@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day 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.

[–] circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 day 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.

[–] HollowNaught@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Metroid zero mission

Played it on my gameboy micro, what an experience

[–] Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day 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.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

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

[–] Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world 1 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Hehe yeah, I figured with them having no context, that might make it easier to figure out which zelda it was quicker. There are a few kind of similarly named ones now if someone is coming in fresh.

[–] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Chrono Trigger is one of the greatest games ever made.

[–] skulblaka@sh.itjust.works 1 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Third for Chrono Trigger. I didn't get to play that one when I was a kid so I played it for the first time in 2020. Holy shit what a game. The original definitely still holds up today.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I played it back in the 90s when it came out. What surprised me almost immediately was the ren fair scene. I forget exactly how they worded it, but the guards had kept track of everything I did at the fair. Which was mind blowing to me in a time when all games npcs would literally unload when off screen, and reload when onscreen. Completely forgetting anything you'd previously said/done.

Then THIS game remembers what I did 30 minutes ago.

Was that still startling in 2020, or did you not even realize how mind blowing that was since you're in 2020 and not 1996?

[–] skulblaka@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 hours ago

It definitely still caught me by surprise. Not like it might have in 1996 - I just played Baldur's Gate 3 within the past year, after all - but the first time I played I definitely managed to get almost every single piece of bad evidence against me that I could rack up without even meaning to.

[–] refurbishedrefurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day 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.

[–] jroid8@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day 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 1 day 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.

[–] AceFuzzLord@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day 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.

[–] simple@lemm.ee 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day 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 1 day 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 14 hours ago (1 children)

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

[–] EvilBit@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago

Hollow Knight never did it for me for some reason. I’m sure it’s great, but I just can’t get into it. Like, at all.

[–] Katana314@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day 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.

[–] setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day 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.

[–] JRaccoon@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 1 day 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.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago

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

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day 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.

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[–] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 9 points 1 day 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.

[–] vorpuni@jlai.lu 4 points 1 day ago

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

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!

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.

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 10 points 1 day ago (3 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 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (7 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.

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

Nice, that's an interesting patch. Can it be done with existing save file?

Also does it patch the monochromon notorious item shop minigame 🙈

[–] Aielman15@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I don't know about the existing save file. It should be compatible, though. It's worth a try.

As for Monochromon, yes! It's a lot less frustrating now.

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago

Great! Gotta try it after work

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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.

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

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

[–] EvilBit@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

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

[–] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 4 points 1 day 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

[–] CatZoomies@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 5 points 1 day 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.

[–] Yokozuna@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

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

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