Best Games of All Time: Retro Bias

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CoOKieMoNSteR56

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#1 CoOKieMoNSteR56
Member since 2005 • 96 Posts

I can't stand how every list I look at respects those retro games that were unbelieveable back then, but let's be serious, they don't compare. And I know you'll say it's not fair to make that comparison but straight up, pong is not better than GTA IV no matter how long it's lived. Now don't get me wrong, some older games definitely deserve to be on here, and they are.

Here's my list (Sorry, I'm not an XBOX Guy):

1.) Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (PC)

2.) NFL Street (Ps2)

3.) Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Ps2)

4.) Socom 2: U.S. Navy Seals (Ps2)

5.) Pokemon Red/Blue (GB)

6.) Patapon (PSP)

7.) GoldenEye 007 (N64)

8.) Call of Duty: World at War (Ps3)

9.) Mario Kart (N64)

10.) Warcraft III (PC)

11.) LittleBig Planet (Ps3)

Honorable Mention: Halo (XBOX), Diablo II (PC), Banjo Kazooie (N64), Jak and Daxter (Ps2).... Let me know what you think :)

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Video_Game_King

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#2 Video_Game_King
Member since 2003 • 27545 Posts
I'll say it right now: bad list. And the games that are on these lists survive the test of time well. Sure, there are games that don't, but the good games do. Hell, my list has a lot of games that have aged well.
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Fredrick2003x

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#3 Fredrick2003x
Member since 2005 • 2056 Posts

Glad you were brave enough to list Goldeneye. Apparently some people feel that it is "unplayable by today's standards" -GameInformer.

I thing it is a great game that has held up well over time.

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UT_Wrestler

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#5 UT_Wrestler
Member since 2004 • 16426 Posts
That's like saying that Jurassic Park is better than Casablanca because it's newer and has better special effects. Newer technology doesn't change what makes a game fun, just as it doesn't change what makes a movie endearing and entertaining.
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BladesOfAthena

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#6 BladesOfAthena
Member since 2008 • 3938 Posts

That's like saying that Jurassic Park is better than Casablanca because it's newer and has better special effects. Newer technology doesn't change what makes a game fun, just as it doesn't change what makes a movie endearing and entertaining.UT_Wrestler
No but I'd argue that it does enhance the overall experience.

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Ironfungus

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#7 Ironfungus
Member since 2007 • 1123 Posts

Chrono Trigger should be on everyone's list.

But if it's not, it's okay, because it's on Gamespot's list.

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chocolate1325

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#8 chocolate1325
Member since 2006 • 33007 Posts
Super Mario Bros 3 is 2D platforming at its finest and the best game I have ever played.
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kruesader

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#9 kruesader
Member since 2006 • 6443 Posts
It's about games that stand the test of time, not what is considered good in the present.
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RK-Mara

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#10 RK-Mara
Member since 2006 • 11489 Posts
Of course a game from the 90's can't stand up to new games, at least in most cases. It's about how fantastic those games were back when they were released and how they've stood the test of time. You might like World at War now but I'm sure you'll tone will change in a decade or so.
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190586385885857957282413308806

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#11 190586385885857957282413308806
Member since 2002 • 13084 Posts
That's like saying that Jurassic Park is better than Casablanca because it's newer and has better special effects. Newer technology doesn't change what makes a game fun, just as it doesn't change what makes a movie endearing and entertaining.UT_Wrestler
I can't say that I agree with your movie analogy because movies have always been about acting and story and the advancement in technology really doesn't effect acting and only effects story in a limited way. I can still watch Casablanca today and the acting and story is still timeless, the film quality and color may not be but the rest of the movie is. You take into account videogames that started out with no story, no voice acting, midi music, no physics, 2d sprites and controllers with 3 buttons. Comparing Super Mario Brothers and Braid to one another and the only thing that SMB wins is nostalgia
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foxhound_fox

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#12 foxhound_fox
Member since 2005 • 98532 Posts

Glad you were brave enough to list Goldeneye. Apparently some people feel that it is "unplayable by today's standards" -GameInformer.

I thing it is a great game that has held up well over time.

Fredrick2003x

Sure, I remember picking up both Goldeneye and Perfect Dark about a year ago after not playing them for nearly a decade. God have they aged. 5-10 fps isn't acceptable for shooters anymore... not in the least.

And some games do "stack up" to modern games. Look at the 2D side-scrolling and WRPG genres. We haven't seen the likes of Super Metroid or Castlevania Symphony of the Night since those games were released... and the WRPG genre has regressed in quality since the late '90's.
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Zweihand

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#13 Zweihand
Member since 2008 • 608 Posts

1. Tetris

2. Pong

3. Radiant Silvergun

4. Portal

^there's my list. Tetris and Pong aren't even my favorite games; I've listed them because they're factually flawless.

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thusaha

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#14 thusaha
Member since 2007 • 14495 Posts
Half-Life.
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Rocky32189

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#15 Rocky32189
Member since 2007 • 8995 Posts
No. The classics from the 8 and 16 bit era are some of the best games of all time. Also, are you serious? NFL Street?
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m0zart

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#16 m0zart
Member since 2003 • 11580 Posts
I don't think it's a bias towards older games. Lists of this type are trying to categorize games that have been the best designed for the time in which they are made and which have had a lasting influence on games developed thereafter. It takes many years to be able to adequately make that evaluation for any given game. The most influential retro games are well known now, as we see their influence on games we play to this day. They are easier to place on lists like this because their historical significance is known.
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BaraChat

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#17 BaraChat
Member since 2008 • 3144 Posts

I understand the bias you're pointing out.

But for 10 years. I've never been so entertained and amazed by any game more than I ever was by Ocarina of Time. I'm not lying.

I know some games I thought were awesome at 8 years old are just bad when I think about it now, e.g. Cruis'n USA, or San Fran Rush, South Park or most N64 games I had.

But when I try and remember Mario 64, Super Metroid, NHL 96, Sonic the Hedgehog, Diablo II, A Link to the past, GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo guy) and such, I'm like "Wow, did I had a freaking great time..."

And that's how I "rate" a game, how much I remember my experience playing that game. And even if I did beat Fallout 3 last week, I remember a lot more scenes and images of Ocarina of Time. The game, alongside other classics, sticked in my mind until today.

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whisperingmute

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#18 whisperingmute
Member since 2006 • 1116 Posts

A lot of it is based on Nostalgia. A lot of people will say that Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the best game ever(in a lot of lists) but when's the last time they played it? They are basing the info on a past experience that is say almost 7-8 years ago give or take a few years from playing it a few times considering it came out ten years ago. To me, the best game ever is Chrono Trigger but it's been almost 7 years since the last time I played it and I would imagine if I played it now.... it would still be fun but I'll playing it for that nostalgia experience because I felt back then that it was the greatest game ever so I kind of build up this expectation and become blind to how the game is actually something I don't feel like playing. This is certianly hard to explain.

The closest experience I can desribe is that a couple of days ago I was playing Final Fantasy 7 which I consider one of the best RPGs(still like Chrono Trigger better). While yes I was having fun and that it's a great game.... I totally lost interest pretty fast. I sort of up build up this experience that this is a great game and was using my past experience that about 9 years old when I first played the game.

Hopefully someone understand what I'm saying.

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Video_Game_King

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#19 Video_Game_King
Member since 2003 • 27545 Posts
[QUOTE="Fredrick2003x"]

Glad you were brave enough to list Goldeneye. Apparently some people feel that it is "unplayable by today's standards" -GameInformer.

I thing it is a great game that has held up well over time.

foxhound_fox


Sure, I remember picking up both Goldeneye and Perfect Dark about a year ago after not playing them for nearly a decade. God have they aged. 5-10 fps isn't acceptable for shooters anymore... not in the least.

And some games do "stack up" to modern games. Look at the 2D side-scrolling and WRPG genres. We haven't seen the likes of Super Metroid or Castlevania Symphony of the Night since those games were released... and the WRPG genre has regressed in quality since the late '90's.

No, I don't think they aged too badly. If you want a game that's aged, try Final Fantasy IV or maybe a Breath of Fire games. The latter did nothing special and the former made one or two stupid choices (anybody else tear their hair out trying to get to Zeromus in one piece?).

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Evil_Saluki

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#20 Evil_Saluki
Member since 2008 • 5217 Posts

don't get me wrong

CoOKieMoNSteR56
I always try to avoid saying that, because it's like you got something to say but you back down halfway. You say old games can't compare to the new ones, but some old games can.
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Rocky32189

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#22 Rocky32189
Member since 2007 • 8995 Posts
I'm not backing down in any way I'm stating that SOME old games do stack up. I'll say it again, pong does not deliver the visuals, depth or the overall experience of GTA IV and it never has. If you disagree then you're wrong, straight up. And by the way, NFL Street is THE best sports game ever made. It's deep, fast and has smooth great gameplay. Good linemen battles, good moves and huge hits. So get off..CoOKieMoNSteR56
No one is saying that Pong is better than GTA IV. However, games like Super Mario Bros, Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid, and Ocarina of Time are better. Some old games truly are the best games of all time. I don't really understand your point. No one in their right mind lists Pong as one of the best games of all time.
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Anofalye

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#23 Anofalye
Member since 2006 • 702 Posts

For me it is:

1- The Dark Queen of Krynn (+trilogy) from SSI

2- Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (+prequels) from Black Isles

3- City of Heroes/Villains (2003 so only "recent" game)

And from there, the list may vary from 1 day to another, but these titles might get in...EverQuest, Joust, Asteroids, Gorf, Heroes of Might and Magic series, Civilization series, the Sword of Aragon, Romance of the 3 Kingdoms II, Steel Empire, Tower of Doom, Celtic Legends...

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Skylock00

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#24 Skylock00
Member since 2002 • 20069 Posts
I think one thing to keep in mind is that another factor many people try to keep in mind when making a 'greatest of all time' collection isn't even whether or not the game is still 'playable' by today's standards, but in making notes regarding influential/innovative games in the history of game development - that is to say, games that either established new standards, broke new ground, or introduced concepts never used before, but frequently used afterwards, in addition to be well made games for their times.

This is kind of why in some circles of film buffs, they'll list several old, Soviet nationalist filims as among some of the greatest of all time, because it was the efforts of those film makers to establish various new, inventive approaches to filmmaking and film editing that was the basis on which films done by western film makers would build on in various cases.

So yeah, there might be nostalgia in play, but in addition to that, there are very valid reasons why older games shouldn't be excluded from a list of the greatest games of 'all time.'
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foxhound_fox

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#25 foxhound_fox
Member since 2005 • 98532 Posts
I'm not backing down in any way I'm stating that SOME old games do stack up. I'll say it again, pong does not deliver the visuals, depth or the overall experience of GTA IV and it never has. If you disagree then you're wrong, straight up. And by the way, NFL Street is THE best sports game ever made. It's deep, fast and has smooth great gameplay. Good linemen battles, good moves and huge hits. So get off..CoOKieMoNSteR56

The only games that do stack up against modern releases are those that haven't had good entries in the genre for a decade. Like 2D platformers... been so few.

In most cases, games of yester-year are well behind modern games in terms of overall quality and complexity... which is due to insanely high production values.
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jjtiebuckle

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#26 jjtiebuckle
Member since 2008 • 1856 Posts

I can't stand how every list I look at respects those retro games that were unbelieveable back then, but let's be serious, they don't compare. And I know you'll say it's not fair to make that comparison but straight up, pong is not better than GTA IV no matter how long it's lived. Now don't get me wrong, some older games definitely deserve to be on here, and they are.

Here's my list (Sorry, I'm not an XBOX Guy):

1.) Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (PC)

2.) NFL Street (Ps2)

3.) Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Ps2)

4.) Socom 2: U.S. Navy Seals (Ps2)

5.) Pokemon Red/Blue (GB)

6.) Patapon (PSP)

7.) GoldenEye 007 (N64)

8.) Call of Duty: World at War (Ps3)

9.) Mario Kart (N64)

10.) Warcraft III (PC)

11.) LittleBig Planet (Ps3)

Honorable Mention: Halo (XBOX), Diablo II (PC), Banjo Kazooie (N64), Jak and Daxter (Ps2).... Let me know what you think :)

CoOKieMoNSteR56
Drop: Patapon, Goldeneye 007, and NFL Street Replace with: Zelda: OoT, Diablo 2, and Tetris. Beyond that, I wouldn't agree 100%, but it's close enough. I played Zelda and Goldeneye last year and 007 can't even stand. Pre-64bit era I would include Tetris, Ninja Gaiden (NES), Sonic 2 (Sega), Street Fighter 2 (multi), and Chrono Trigger (SNES). It's pointless to include current gen games because they haven't had time to live up to standards.
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CoOKieMoNSteR56

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#28 CoOKieMoNSteR56
Member since 2005 • 96 Posts
[QUOTE="CoOKieMoNSteR56"]

I can't stand how every list I look at respects those retro games that were unbelieveable back then, but let's be serious, they don't compare. And I know you'll say it's not fair to make that comparison but straight up, pong is not better than GTA IV no matter how long it's lived. Now don't get me wrong, some older games definitely deserve to be on here, and they are.

Here's my list (Sorry, I'm not an XBOX Guy):

1.) Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (PC)

2.) NFL Street (Ps2)

3.) Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Ps2)

4.) Socom 2: U.S. Navy Seals (Ps2)

5.) Pokemon Red/Blue (GB)

6.) Patapon (PSP)

7.) GoldenEye 007 (N64)

8.) Call of Duty: World at War (Ps3)

9.) Mario Kart (N64)

10.) Warcraft III (PC)

11.) LittleBig Planet (Ps3)

Honorable Mention: Halo (XBOX), Diablo II (PC), Banjo Kazooie (N64), Jak and Daxter (Ps2).... Let me know what you think :)

jjtiebuckle

Drop: Patapon, Goldeneye 007, and NFL Street Replace with: Zelda: OoT, Diablo 2, and Tetris. Beyond that, I wouldn't agree 100%, but it's close enough. I played Zelda and Goldeneye last year and 007 can't even stand. Pre-64bit era I would include Tetris, Ninja Gaiden (NES), Sonic 2 (Sega), Street Fighter 2 (multi), and Chrono Trigger (SNES). It's pointless to include current gen games because they haven't had time to live up to standards.

NEVER would I drop NFL Street. I've already said why. And are you serious about Patapon? Have you played Patapon? And GoldenEye I'll think about maybe for Diablo 2.

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doubutsuteki

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#29 doubutsuteki
Member since 2004 • 3425 Posts
Possibly the worst list I've ever seen.