Games you must play before you die.

[RH | 4,999]

On 4/29/2024 at 11:03 AM, Webhead123 said:

I unironically agree. Moreso than any other era, I think the Atari age represents an experience unique to all others. Before graphics. Before music. Before storytelling and world-building. Raw gameplay and player imagination. Games couldn't hide behind gimmicks, fancy systems or flowery writing. It was just you, a joystick and a high score.

Exactly.

Regarding your last part, though, it didn't prevent companies from trying to hide behind really great and imaginative art!

It might not have made a game good for a review, but if you have a killer box art, there was a reasonable chance you'd sell more than a few copies of your game.

Edited May 1 by RH

[Tulpa | 3,561]

4 minutes ago, RH said:

It might not have made a game good for a review, but if you have a killer box art, there was a reasonable chance you'd sell more than a few copies of your game.

 

[DefaultGen | 5,482]

19 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

 

It is bananas that people don't like collecting Atari games.

[Webhead123 | 690]

3 hours ago, RH said:

It might not have made a game good for a review, but if you have a killer box art, there was a reasonable chance you'd sell more than a few copies of your game.

Exactly right. Precisely because graphics capabilities were so limited, putting evocative art on the game's cover (and, occasionally, in the manual) was the publisher's way to spark the customer's imagination. Sure, they might just be differently-colored pixels on-screen, but with the right cover, you could convince people that those pixels were space ships or robots, or tanks, or wizards..

[Webhead123 | 690]

3 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

It is bananas that people don't like collecting Atari games.

Atari box covers were spectacular. Among the posters decorating the walls of my game room, seven of them are Atari covers.

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,021]

Agree w Mario Galaxy. I would add Zelda BOTW even with the existence of TOTK

[Reed Rothchild | 9,616]

Making this up off the top of my head:

25 games everyone needs to play:

1. Pong
2. Pac-Man
3. Tetris
4. Super Mario Bros.
5. Contra
6. Mega Man 2
7. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out
8. The Secret of Monkey Island
9. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
10. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
11. Street Fighter II
12. Super Metroid
13. Doom
14. Chrono Trigger 
15. Super Mario 64
16. Metal Gear Solid
17. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
18. Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2
19. Resident Evil Remake
20. Minecraft
21. Dark Souls
22. Portal 2
23. Grand Theft Auto V
24. Fortnight
25. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

 

Kinda ran out of spots there, but I think that gives pretty decent coverage of gaming history and notable franchises.  Maybe 3 Zelda games is overkill.

[Link | 2,760]

On 4/29/2024 at 10:29 AM, AirVillain said:

Dang... you sound like a Pac-Man master! 20k?

Hardly  

On 4/29/2024 at 10:29 AM, AirVillain said:

I certainly have never even bothered to look at any "strategy" on how to play it, so maybe a couple tips would make it less frustrating and difficult, haha.

I was looking up the book and stumbled across this quick video. No route memorization required.

 

On 4/29/2024 at 8:17 AM, Mega Tank said:

I have been able to play them at Costco whenever they sell them and the Arcade1Up machines are always too small.

Too small, and too light. I played a brief, very casual round, and the thing was rocking all over the place like it wanted to fall over. 

Edited April 30 by Link

[Link | 2,760]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Maybe 3 Zelda games is overkill.

Even I would say so.

OoT has been superseded at least twice over by now imo. It is simpler to grasp, it's a franchise basis and was more groundbreaking, so maybe it's a better representative than later games for some, but Hyrule Field is a real snooze fest.

[DefaultGen | 5,482]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Maybe 3 Zelda games is overkill.

I dunno, hot take? TLOZ is more 'must play' than OOT, BOTW, or ALTTP. Everyone is going to have their favorite childhood 3D Zelda going forward (TOTK for kids growing up right now) and TLOZ provides the most interesting historical context to both action/adventure games and the Zelda series. SMB isn't on the list because it has the best level design of any SMB.

The main reason to play OOT is to see the Best Game of All Time and be in awe at all the design problems it has that something like Dark Souls fixed, but those millennials still hold onto it as the best game ever. ALTTP is practically interchangeable with ALBW or LA as a brilliant 2D Zelda game, not that it's at all bad, I just think people overrate how much it stands out from other similarly great Zelda games. Both OOT and LTTP are in my top 10, lol.

Edited April 30 by DefaultGen

[Reed Rothchild | 9,616]

4 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

6 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Maybe 3 Zelda games is overkill.

I dunno, hot take? TLOZ is more 'must play' than OOT, BOTW, or ALTTP.

I consider the other 4 NES games I listed to be more quintessential experiences for their respective franchises than TLOZ.  Retro enthusiasts like this community aside, I feel like most people feel that way.

But it definitely could go either way.  Fuck it, the whole list could go every which way 

[Gentlegamer | 174]

King's Quest VI

[Link | 2,760]

5 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

more quintessential experiences for their respective franchises than TLOZ.

Yeah, this. Today Zelda 1 is a lot less accessible than SMB 1. It's relatively dense and cryptic. Nintendo uses unaltered graphics, sounds, and play events from the latter much more than the former, or than Metroid 1, etc. 

[Ankos | 470]

2 minutes ago, Link said:

Yeah, this. Today Zelda 1 is a lot less accessible than SMB 1. It's relatively dense and cryptic. Nintendo uses unaltered graphics, sounds, and play events from the latter much more than the former, or than Metroid 1, etc. 

Isn't that kinda the point with Zelda? I feel like with RPGs getting lost and dealing with the cryptic nonsense is part of the experience