Topic: Retro games

[Jm55]

It seems surprising that this hasn’t already been touched on but who is into retro gaming on here?

I’ve recently got quite back into it, picking up a PSone on EBay for 35 quid including 14 games, I’m looking to get an N64 sorted at some point as well. There’s some absolutely quality games to play and it takes me back to my 90s childhood.

[FiSh77]

If you've never had a console that was made/part made out of wood then you haven't lived

fucking kids these days with their PS1's and nintendos

[Macphisto80]

Given the absolute state of most games these days, I've gone back to retro games for the odd hour or two whenever I fancy it. Mostly on the PC emulated, though, not the original hardware. My two recent games currently having a blast at are Doom 64 with additional mods for visuals and such, and Half-Life 2, again with mods that improve it somewhat.

[dalarr]

I play retro PC games regularly. Champ Manager 93, Monkey Island, Starcraft, Police Quest, Jones in the Fast Lane...

[ScouserAtHeart]

The SNES Mini is very fun to play. If you can find one at an affordable price.

[naYoRHa2b]

I cant really persist with many Retro games for long. It's a nice nostalgia hit for an hour or so but If I play much longer than that I tend to get bored.

[Sangria]

Anyone heard of Lea Salonga, the singer? Singing voice behind Mulan and Jasmine (Aladdin), also originated the role of Kim (Miss Saigon), and one of the best Eponines (Les Miserables). She's an avid gamer, starting with Game & Watch, and keeping up with the latest.

HONG KONG SAR, China — “Cinderella” had an event at the APM Mall here. Liz Olin, our new hair and wigs person, noticed that I was playing with my Sony PSP (or PlayStation Portable, for all you non-gamers).

I told her which game I was playing (Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII), and as I was deep into a monster-slaying mission, in a low, threatening whisper, I uttered the words “Die, die…,” which sent her into a fit of laughter. It didn’t occur to her that I was a gamer. In truth, that doesn’t occur to a lot of other people, either.

It all started with a borrowed Nintendo Game & Watch in the early 1980s. It was a simple black-and-white screen in a dark blue plastic casing and all one had to do was catch the objects thrown in the air. The game’s speed would keep accelerating and once you hit 999 points, the game would start over from the beginning. My brother and I were able to collect quite a few of them, including Octopus and Popeye. We actually still have these pieces, but they probably don’t work anymore. I’d be surprised if, with fresh batteries, they spring back to life.

Today, video games are so much more sophisticated and layered (both in their storytelling, difficulty, graphics, and actual execution), not to mention beautiful. I mean, things have really progressed since the days of Atari’s Pong. Now, there are role-playing games, one-on-one and solo sports games, fantasies, espionage, virtual war. There are also games where you can raise a piñata from infancy to maturity, have a road race with strange characters, or head deep into the rainforest on a hunt for treasure.

Find below a list of games that I’ve really liked over the years.

1) The Tomb Raider Series

I first played a Tomb Raider game on my laptop. I was clocking in so many hours playing the game, that I actually got a really bad stiff neck. My mother took me to the hospital for an X-ray. They put a cervical collar around my neck, and I had to take a combo of painkillers and muscle relaxants to give me relief. Did I stop playing? Of course not!

The series places Lara Croft in different interesting situations — in ancient Egypt or South America. She fights bad guys with guns, knives and her smarts. Her wit is also razor-sharp, and it’s fun just listening to her talk. And oh yeah, she’s hot.

2) Super Mario Bros for the original Nintendo Entertainment Center

I’m such a fan of the original game that I even got the series’ theme song as one of my ring tones!

I played this game a lot during the original Broadway run of “Miss Saigon,” especially late at night after a show. No, the vivid, intensely colored images didn’t always help me wind down, but it was a lot of fun! It didn’t matter that I knew the ending; I just kept playing it. I’ve played a few of the other games in the series, but this one will always remain a sentimental favorite.

3) Final Fantasy X and X-2

These two games go hand in hand. Final Fantasy X got me hooked, and I spent many an early morning trying to figure out how to get certain bonuses, and how to more efficiently eradicate certain monsters — and there were a lot of monsters, many of them challenging to kill! But, it was the characters and their stories that got to me, and ultimately I enjoyed watching their interaction (including the romance of Tidus and Yuna).

Final Fantasy X-2 continues, with a few new characters and a mystery. Yuna’s former paramour seems to have resurfaced but is he truly the one who owns her heart? If you’ve played this, you know what I’m talking about. But you gotta love that she becomes something of a badass. Although she was a powerful summoner in the first game, I like that there was more to her in the second.

Might be time to start playing these games again…

4) Bioshock

“Welcome to Rapture.”

This is probably my most favorite game, ever. I played this almost every night last year while I was living in New York doing “Les Miz.” Never mind that it kept me awake at night, because of some disturbing, even violent, imagery. It was just too compelling to put down. I mean, going around an amazingly designed (art deco) city under the sea? Being able to shoot electricity, fire, and even bees from your fingertips? Watching creepy little girls suck the living essence from a corpse, accompanied by a “Big Daddy”?

It’s certainly one of the most gorgeous games I’ve ever played and there’s supposed to be a sequel coming out soon!

5) Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

This is the game currently in my hands — quite literally, since this is played on a PSP.

If anyone reading this has ever played Final Fantasy VII, then this game is for you. It takes place seven years prior to the events of FF-VII, with SOLDIER 2nd Class Zack on a mission, accompanied by Angeal, his mentor. You will meet The Turks, Sephiroth, Aerith, Yuffie. There are missions to complete, summons to defeat. Crisis Core is also surprisingly beautiful, something unexpected with a portable game.

I’ve never actually played the original FF-VII for the PlayStation 2, but friends who have tell me that it’s truly special. I don’t doubt that for one second.

6) God of War

Actually, this game came free with the unit I bought, the God of War Limited Edition PSP, which has an image of the main character Kratos on the PSP itself!

When playing the game, you’re transported to a world of the mythical Greek gods … or the movie “300.” Beautiful temples, fiery steeds blazing through the heavens … and a hero conflicted, at times good, at other times evil. It’s a compelling game to go through. It’s not very long, as it is graphic-heavy.

7) Viva Piñata

This is definitely one of the cutest games on earth. Exclusively for the Xbox 360, there is barely any violence (except when two piñatas fight one another), bloodshed (except for the candy inside each piñata when it breaks), or anger (unless territory is breached, which does happen once in a while). It’s really just about raising the cutest and most colorful piñatas. There are snakes, worms, birds of all kinds, frogs, flies, butterflies. You shelter them, feed them, send them off to parties, dress them up in costumes and create beautiful gardens.

SSX, SSX Tricky and SSX 3

I first played this game at my husband’s house when we started dating, and got hooked. It’s a classic snowboarding game with the snowboarders wearing the most flashy gear imaginable. Loud mouths, and even louder attitudes, fantastic skills and rad courses!

9) Burnout 3: Takedown

Road rage, glorified road rage. I play this game only for the pleasure of crashing someone else’s car in a safe environment. It’s my standby when I’ve just had a really bad day, and need to take it out on something without hurting anyone, except my controller and the cars on screen.

10) Ninja Gaiden

I must have played this game a million times, but I don’t tire of it. It follows Ryu Hayabusa, of the Hayabusa ninja clan, and his tireless search for the evil entities that destroyed his village and killed his clansmen. Great graphics and game play make it a favorite of mine. I just started the sequel, but haven’t been able to finish the game because I’m on tour. I’ll see how far I can go when I get back home.

[CheshireDave]

Monkey Island

Bloody loved that game and the similar Broken Sword games. Used to play loads of Heroes of Might & Magic too. Such a nerd I know! Other great older games are Sim Tower, Theme Hospital and Dungeon Keeper. Bullfrog Games and Maxis used to make some quality titles.

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

I dug out my old SNES from the attic the other week and am now actively rebuilding my collection - forget how many great games there were!

Only problem I've found by me is there are no decent shops anymore. Closest to me is Birmingham or Swindon, a good hours drive or resorting to ebay (which you can get the odd bargain, but loads are trying to get on the retro hype and rip people off!!)

The one shop I found in Swindon though has loads - NES, SNES, Master System, Mega Drive, Amiga, C64 - I could spend hours and £100's!!

Speaking of - does anyone have any old SNES games knocking around they would part with for some beer tokens?

[AndyMuller]

I dug out my old SNES from the attic the other week and am now actively rebuilding my collection - forget how many great games there were!

Only problem I've found by me is there are no decent shops anymore. Closest to me is Birmingham or Swindon, a good hours drive or resorting to ebay (which you can get the odd bargain, but loads are trying to get on the retro hype and rip people off!!)

The one shop I found in Swindon though has loads - NES, SNES, Master System, Mega Drive, Amiga, C64 - I could spend hours and £100's!!

Speaking of - does anyone have any old SNES games knocking around they would part with for some beer tokens?

Why don't you buy a Switch and you can play both NES and SNES games on there?

[dalarr]

Bloody loved that game and the similar Broken Sword games. Used to play loads of Heroes of Might & Magic too. Such a nerd I know! Other great older games are Sim Tower, Theme Hospital and Dungeon Keeper. Bullfrog Games and Maxis used to make some quality titles.

You probably know this but GOG.com have a lot of “your” titles in store. They are cheap as well. Monkey Island is my all time favorite but Broken Sword comes close. Amazing games.

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

Why don't you buy a Switch and you can play both NES and SNES games on there?

I have a switch - however not all the games I want to play are available

[has gone odd]

Ok, i have an addiction and its retro games.

Emulation is not a bad option, quality of these are improving on all time and the best of these are:

PS3 - RPCS3 - this one has grown significantly over the past year or 2 and well worth tinkering with to get the best results. Hope they manage to fix the graphics glitch in Ratchet Clank Nexus one day though.

Dreamcast - Redream - growing to be the no1 sega dreamcast emulator, apart from a few titles, the list of fully working titles is amazing and performance wise its incredible. Upscales all the visuals to, which has to be seen to be believed (actually many emulators do this).

Gamecube/Wii - Dolphin - very popular and well known, possibly the greatest emulator on earth, its feature packed and runs everything you can chuck at it.

Honourable mention goes to the Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu. Still has a way to go but the progress made in the past 6 months is staggering.

However, nothing beats the feeling of raw hardware, it is a shame the prices have ramped up considerably as time goes on, let alone the space it all takes up!

My personal favorite systems are the Amiga 1200, Spectrum plus 3 and Gameboy Advance. Have a tonne of games but starting to run out of room, particularly for the bigger box ones. If you have a large collection and want to knows its rough value you can check this website out to find out what your gear is worth.

https://www.pricecharting.com/

[gazzalfc]

Nothing beats the real thing







Easily 5 years in the making. Luckily got into it when the market was a hell of a lot cheaper than it is now.

[S]

Still play N64 regularly.

Mario Kart multiplayer hasn’t aged at all, gameplay wise. Always have a good time on that. Mario 64 is even more timeless, beautiful game. Goldeneye meanwhile has aged horribly. Can’t go back to it.

That’s about it though. I would definitely play a SNES a lot if I had one, maybe Mega Drive too. Those side scrolling games are still great fun, while the early 3D games are often frustratingly outdated.

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

You still can't beat Mario and Sonic - just turn on and go!

[I've been a good boy]

You still can't beat Mario and Sonic - just turn on and go!

Played a Sonic game the other day, can’t remember which one. Brought back amazing memories of being a kid with no worries except what would be on the school dinners menu the next day. Beats 90% of games nowadays that seem to involve wizards and dragons.

[SamAteTheRedAcid]

You still can't beat Mario and Sonic - just turn on and go!

I really value the speed from turning on the console to actually playing the game - have to say it takes far too long for most modern games to get you actually playing. Especially now I'm a boring arse grown up and time is of the essence. Reckon starting up the Switch and getting playing is less than half the time it takes on PS4. So I haven't really touched the PS4 since I got the Switch. Of course the actual older games machines back in the day were even better.

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

Granted I don't use the xbox as much as I used to, but put it on the other week to play something, spent close to an hour going through system updates, game updates, installing etc etc before i even got to the game - by which time, I got bored and turned it off.

So so refreshing to turn on a game and be playing within a minute

[ScouserAtHeart]

Granted I don't use the xbox as much as I used to, but put it on the other week to play something, spent close to an hour going through system updates, game updates, installing etc etc before i even got to the game - by which time, I got bored and turned it off.

So so refreshing to turn on a game and be playing within a minute

Yeah the updates pile up. I hadn't switched on my 360 in about 3 years. I bought it in 2010, absolutely shocked it's still running. But yeah took a good 45 mins updating

[ScottScott]

Should never have that issue with updates that update in the background. I can't remember the last time I've had to wait to play a game because of an update

Also I love retro games, have built a couple of retropi machines and use them a lot, but other than some of the classics you can't beat some of the games released nowadays

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

Should never have that issue with updates that update in the background. I can't remember the last time I've had to wait to play a game because of an update

Also I love retro games, have built a couple of retropi machines and use them a lot, but other than some of the classics you can't beat some of the games released nowadays

I'm sure I have auto updates on - yet always seem to have something. Will have to revisist.

So - finally actually got round to trying the old SNES out at the weekend, aaannndddd my TV cant pick up the signal. I'm using the multi out cable and tried plugging into the AV/component plugs on the TV and using a scart adapter, and nothing!  

Anyone got any ideas?

[S]

Played a Sonic game the other day, can’t remember which one. Brought back amazing memories of being a kid with no worries except what would be on the school dinners menu the next day. Beats 90% of games nowadays that seem to involve wizards and dragons.

I love retro games but this is just rose-tinted spectacles type stuff.

[has gone odd]

I'm sure I have auto updates on - yet always seem to have something. Will have to revisist.

So - finally actually got round to trying the old SNES out at the weekend, aaannndddd my TV cant pick up the signal. I'm using the multi out cable and tried plugging into the AV/component plugs on the TV and using a scart adapter, and nothing!  

Anyone got any ideas?

1. Your SNES is knackered, components may have caused damage, such as the caps leaking.

2. However, is most likely that your cable isn't syncing too well. You would be best getting a cable from retro gaming cables, though they are pretty expensive. May be cheaper options, best to have a SNES to SCART without using adaptors if possible.

3. Your TV is not compatible, less likely tbf.

good luck

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

1. Your SNES is knackered, components may have caused damage, such as the caps leaking.

2. However, is most likely that your cable isn't syncing too well. You would be best getting a cable from retro gaming cables, though they are pretty expensive. May be cheaper options, best to have a SNES to SCART without using adaptors if possible.

3. Your TV is not compatible, less likely tbf.

good luck

I think it's the SNES that's knackered. Tried using a new component cable, scart and RF cable with older TV's - whilst I can kinda tell the signal is there, it's just not coming throug
Hopefully off to get SNES repaired or a "new" one Saturday

[gazzalfc]

Have you got a red light when it comes on? If so that means it's getting power.

If it powers on then it wont be knackered. It will be the adaptor your using to connect to your TV. If you are using the Yellow, Red and White component cables then try plugging the yellow cable into the green composite cable (use the white and red in the white and red. That should work. SCART doesn't always work with a SNES as the RGB is a bit crap (without modding).

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

Have you got a red light when it comes on? If so that means it's getting power.

If it powers on then it wont be knackered. It will be the adaptor your using to connect to your TV. If you are using the Yellow, Red and White component cables then try plugging the yellow cable into the green composite cable (use the white and red in the white and red. That should work. SCART doesn't always work with a SNES as the RGB is a bit crap (without modding).

Red light on and definitely power. I used an RF cable yesterday plugged through the aerial - when i was manually tuning I came across a channel and when I reset the SNES/turned it off the picture on the TV went as if it had lost signal. I've tried the component cable that it came with, a new component cable and the RF cable as well as the SCART adapter. The TV's work, the SNES has power, it just doesnt seem to be getting through

[meady1981]

NES and SNES defined me as a 8-12year old. Defined a lot of my creativity and imagination that I recognise in myself as an adult. I can hear a nano second of a game sound from that period and be flooded with a warm nostalgia that transports me back to being truly happy with no cares.

Signed up to the Switch NES/SNES library recently and been trying all of them. Apart from Mario, the rest have bored the shit out of me in seconds.

[classycarra]

Full Throttle is 3 quid on Playstation store at the moment. Great fun from memory

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

Had bought Street Fighter 2 Turbo and NBA Jam off ebay only for them not to work

Spent today researching how to clean cartridge contacts and viola - they work!

[Damo58]

Not sure if it counts as retro but bought a PS2 on gumtree set to be delivered today. Quite excited for it. I hammered the PS1 and PS2 back in the day and kind of grew out of gaming around the PS3 mark so it will be nice to have some nostalgia time.

[has gone odd]

Not sure if it counts as retro but bought a PS2 on gumtree set to be delivered today. Quite excited for it. I hammered the PS1 and PS2 back in the day and kind of grew out of gaming around the PS3 mark so it will be nice to have some nostalgia time.

If you can throw an old hard drive in it (internet help required to find correct one and install but its pretty easy) then use a mcboot memory card and you're dancing. It is retro imho

[FiSh77]

If you can throw an old hard drive in it (internet help required to find correct one and install but its pretty easy) then use a mcboot memory card and you're dancing. It is retro imho

Those were the days, used to use a disc swap tool first which I made from an old credit card but eventually knackered the DVD drive so ended up using mcboot and transferred isos direct from PC using ftp, was also heavily into Pro Evo/Winning Eleven modding at the time so the ftp thing made it easy to just patch the iso then transfer to PS2 without having to burn discs

[Damo58]

Where would people recommend getting PS2 games nowadays? Cex is the best I've found so far. Can get most games for a fiver.

The PS2 got delivered with Pro Evo 5 and I've ordered Tony Hawk 3 and GTA San Andreas. Any other suggestions for an initial bundle of games to keep me busy through the rest of lockdown?

[GiorgosCarraGoonies]

Where would people recommend getting PS2 games nowadays? Cex is the best I've found so far. Can get most games for a fiver.

The PS2 got delivered with Pro Evo 5 and I've ordered Tony Hawk 3 and GTA San Andreas. Any other suggestions for an initial bundle of games to keep me busy through the rest of lockdown?

Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, GTA Vice City, Bully

Apparently God of War 1 and 2 were great but somehow I missed those, the 2018 version was my first GoW game.

[Damo58]

Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, GTA Vice City, Bully

Apparently God of War 1 and 2 were great but somehow I missed those, the 2018 version was my first GoW game.

Ordered MGS2. That and San Andreas should keep me busy for a while. Cex appears to sell games for cheaper than their postage price so I will wait until they're back open before getting the others.

Bully passed me by back in the day but looks good.

[GiorgosCarraGoonies]

Ordered MGS2. That and San Andreas should keep me busy for a while. Cex appears to sell games for cheaper than their postage price so I will wait until they're back open before getting the others.

Bully passed me by back in the day but looks good.

Nice one man.  Yeah I didn't appreciate Bully as much as others but I was quite young, it's very highly rated by a lot of reviewers.  People are clamouring for a sequel/remake.

[gazzalfc]

Where would people recommend getting PS2 games nowadays? Cex is the best I've found so far. Can get most games for a fiver.

The PS2 got delivered with Pro Evo 5 and I've ordered Tony Hawk 3 and GTA San Andreas. Any other suggestions for an initial bundle of games to keep me busy through the rest of lockdown?

CEX, Cash Converter, Cash Generator are all good. eBay isn't bad if you know what the value is (and they have proof of working)

Facebook groups, markets can unearth a bargain from time to time

[ScouserAtHeart]

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/jul/16/the-25-greatest-video-game-consoles-ranked

So much nostalgia

[dalarr]

I owned a Dreamcast back in the day. THPS 2 was brilliant as well as Soul Calibur. When they stopped making games for it I bought a PS2 and have been a Sony fanboy since.

Listing the SNES as the best console ever is ok I guess.