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Ask HN: What older games are you playing through?

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Ask HN: What older games are you playing through?

#1

Post by agent008t »

Recently finished FFX and now playing through FF7 for the first time. I feel like the games from that era tend to be more engaging - they cannot rely on the graphics to sell themselves and had not yet been 'hollywood-ised', so tend to be more creative, not take themselves too seriously and are just more fun.

Plus, there is the test of time - easier to know what the gems are after some time has passed.

I find that after a few hours, you stop even noticing the older graphics.

Any older games you have recently enjoyed for the first time?

Re: Ask HN: What older games are you playing through?

#2

Post by RGamma »

Earthbound, Lost Odyssey, Chrono Trigger (SNES).

These have been on my to-play list for quite a while, but there's too little time these days... I'll probably never finish them all (TES, Gothic, FF7, Golden Sun 3 are on there as well).

There's also so many mods, ROM hacks and guides still around for older games. Trying to save some of it. Doesn't take much space after all.

Re: Ask HN: What older games are you playing through?

#5

Post by mattmanser »

Not games I have discovered recently, but these are some truly great games I come back to every 5 years or so:

Heroes of Might and Magic 3 - to me a perfect mix of exploration, building and your own power creep. I've tried some of the later iterations but they all just weren't as good

Darklands - early RPG based on 15th century HRE/Germany with a magic system based on christian saints and miracles. Made in 1992 and amazingly an open world game

FF7 - Always amazing to play again

Alpha Centauri - Not played this for a decade or so, so don't know how it's held up. I kept coming back to this game for a long while. Newer versions such as Endless Space and Stellaris are good but just don't seem to have the same wonder that this original civ in space did, but might be because I've seen it all before.

From the next 'era' of games I would say look at Bioshock 1/2/3 and Deadspace (which I think has been redone recently to rave reviews but unfortunately poor-ish sales so that's probably nixed a Deadspace 2 remake which was even better)

Re: Ask HN: What older games are you playing through?

#7

Post by galfarragem »

Colonization[0] from 1994. Nowadays I play only the open source[1] remake: Freecol[2][3].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Meier%27s_Colonization

[1] https://github.com/FreeCol/freecol

[2] https://www.freecol.org/about.html

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeCol

Re: Ask HN: What older games are you playing through?

#8

Post by mattbrewsbytes »

I was playing thru the original Zelda game on an original NES for a bit. How to do some parts of the game came back instantly but then I needed to start looking up strategies and tips, much like I did back in the day, and I haven't played it much since. Nothing is pulling me back to play it, which I find is how my brain works with most video games that have a "solved" state that I reach. Replaying to the solved state a 2nd or Nth time isn't enjoyable for me, it might be for others.

I do like the nostalgia but for me playing something new or something that is replayable, like random loot based games that pull me in, is more enjoyable.

Re: Ask HN: What older games are you playing through?

#9

Post by solardev »

cpach wrote: post #3

I feel I need to get some x86 machine up and running so I can play Portal I and II again. Easily in my top 10 of best games ever.

You can easily play them on GeForce Now, for what it's worth. It just streams to a browser window (or an app if you prefer). There's a free plan, or the higher-quality monthly plans are under $20. https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce-now/

You might also the enjoy the Talos Principle games, which are also on GFN.

And the first Dungeon Defenders game has a Portal Gun tie-in (it's tower defense, not a puzzle game, but you can make portals to send mobs into lava or whatever).

Re: Ask HN: What older games are you playing through?

#10

Post by solardev »

After the movies, I wanted to experience Dune 2 again (the pirate sites have it, along with patches to make it playable on modern OSes or Crossover). It was arguably the first mass-market real-time strategy game. There's also OpenRA for C&C, Red Alert, and Dune 2K: https://www.openra.net/

I understand Square is re-making FF7 in a multi-part release over several years (not sure why it takes so long)? https://ffvii-remake-intergrade.square-enix-games.com/en-us/ Once it's all out, I might play through that again just for nostalgia's sake (and for the soundtrack, of course! Twenty years later, I still have Aeris's Theme stuck in my head from time to time)

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