Unskippable games for each of the Retro consoles

[v1rus]

So folks, what would you say? Whats the MUST PLAY for each of the older console systems? NES, SNES, Genesis, Amiga... Heck, even PSX is prolly retro as hell by now.

 

[v1rus]

cmon Zed Duke of Banville , you were always the harbinger of Incline

 

[Ash]

Only gonna attempt to recommend one game per platform to save yuge lists. No ports either of course.

NES: Super Mario Bros 3 (best 2D platformer of all time).
SNES: Donkey Kong Country 2 (this one isn't far behind. Starts off feeling all gay and racist lol monkeys on a pirate ship (I'm fucking around, not racist at all) but gets a lot better).
Genesis: ehhh...lots of good games but nothing I'd consider must-play. I loved this system as a kid and the games are great but there is nothing that will blow you away. If you're really into retro regardless then I'll go with Streets of Rage 1 (beat em up).
N64: Toss up between Turok1/2, Doom 64 (FPS) or Duke Nukem: Zero Hour (TPS). Each are equally gud. Ignore the entire rest of the library. Collectathons galore, inferior versions of PC or PSX games, and not a lot else.
PSX: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (the OG metroidvania ARPG) or Final Fantasy VII (I dgaf, love this game and you should too).
MS-DOS: Doom or Quake (FPS. but of course!)
Windows 95/98/XP: Deus Ex or System Shock 2 (ARPG. but of course!)
Gameboy: James Bond 007 (for real. Really cool action-adventure game).
Gameboy Color: Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (solid action-adventure, made 98% of the gameboy library look like total shit by comparison).
Gameboy Advance: Golden Sun 2 (JRPG) or Advance Wars (fast paced Turn-based Strategy)
Nintendo DS (may as well throw this in since the majority of the games are retro in design): Castlevania: PoR or OoE.

Played the crap out of all the above systems. Didn't play much Dreamcast, Amiga, Commodore 64, Sega Saturn etc to have a valid answer. A little of each.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

cmon Zed Duke of Banville , you were always the harbinger of Incline

You triggered me by referring to the Commodore Amiga as a console.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

cmon Zed Duke of Banville, you were always the harbinger of Incline

Dunno whether I qualify as a harbinger of Incline as well, but I gave the same rating because of that Amiga-bit, plus the fact that you're asking a question you should have the age to answer yourself.

Anyhoo, my experiences with the consoles is limited, and Ash has done a good job of naming some 'first-stop' titles, but I can add a few:

SNES: Super Mario World <- The only game which can challenge (or surpass) Super Mario Bros 3.
SNES: Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past. <- Possibly Zelda's finest hour, though Link's Awakening mentioned above (that I've yet to play) might be better.
PC Engine/Turbografx: Splatterhouse. <- An excellent port of an eerie and graphic beat-em'up, though purists might prefer the arcade version.
PC Engine/Turbografx: Parasol Stars. <- Part of the Bubble Bubble-series of platformers, this one was originally released on the PC Engine and saw limited release on other systems.

 

[Ash]

SNES: Super Mario World <- The only game which can challenge (or surpass) Super Mario Bros 3.

SMW is a dumbed down SMB3. Removed overworld complexity and puzzle elements. Removed various powers. Removed inventory. Shorter game. Less clever level design. Added overly cutesy art style and ice skate physics (on non-ice levels) on top. Grossly overrated. For reference: replayed both in 2020.

Possibly Zelda's finest hour, though Link's Awakening mentioned above (that I've yet to play) might be better.

It is...though this one may be more subjective, certainly harder to argue than the last. If you ever return to your gaming youth give it a try.

 

[Falksi]

Some good recommendations above, but I'm not sure where Ash is coming from regards "Genesis nothing that will blow you away". It you're into 20-60 minute arcade hits it's THE machine to go to. Hell IMO it's got the best JRPG of the era in Shining Force 2, still better than most RPGs today.

I'd say:

SNES

• Super Mario World
• Zelda: A Link To The Past
• Super Metroid
• Actraiser
• F-Zero
• Contra 3
• Sunset Riders

MEGADRIVE

• Streets of Rage 1-3
• Shining Force 2
• Afterburner
• Thunderforce 3
• The Revenge of Shinobi
• Golden Axe
• Desert Strike & Jungle Strike

SMS

• Wonderboy 3 - The Dragons Trap (although the reboot is brilliant and probably the best way to play it too)

PSX

• Final Fantasy 7
• Castlevania - Symphony of The Night
• Metal Gear Solid
• Loads of people say Suikoden 2, but I've never played it

But there's a TON of other "brilliant if it's to your taste" games on the 16-bit systems too.

If you get on with the recommendations in this thread and want some more give them a whirl. Because, despite them not being "masterpieces" as such like I'd guess most would consider the Star Wars OT, games like Atomic Runner, The Legend of The Mystical Ninja, Vandal Hearts, Dinosaurs for Hire, Biometal, Batman, Smash TV etc. are still very much worth playing and would give you a thrive-fix like a mint Arnie film would.

 

[Ash]

MEGADRIVE

• The Revenge of Shinobi

Tell me sweet little lies. Tell me you completed this hardcore as fuck game. Go on. Do it.

Loads of people say Suikoden 2, but I've never played it

I absolutely do not recommend it. Gameplay is very barebones and worse, completely undemanding. I may not be much a fan of P&C adventure games for their minimalist gameplay but they at least prompted you to think and problem solve. Suikoden 2 is just shit, doesn't engage the player at all. Should just be a visual novel instead of wasting people's time. I too heard how amazing it supposedly is, had to try it. It was storyfag/low standards fag lies.

 

[Falksi]

MEGADRIVE

• The Revenge of Shinobi

Tell me sweet little lies. Tell me you completed this hardcore as fuck game. Go on. Do it.

No lies mate My first ever game for the system. That intro just blew me fucking away. It was a real defining moment for me as a kid. Finished it a thousand times over, but admittedly as a kid I used to use that infinite Shuriken trick too.

At my dad's house I think I've still got the map I drew for that annoying as fuck maze level. Was stuck on that for ages, mapped it out, sussed it, finished the game, and then about a week later one of the computer/console mags (can't remember which but it would have likely been Mean Machines or C&VG) published an issue with a map guide in it for that level the bastards

Let's get that groove on .........

 

[Bester]

_Genesis_

Alladin
Lion King
If I had to recommend just two games, that'd be it.
It's easy to beat (using save/load) and has absolutely wonderful graphics, gameplay, sound and nostalgia if you watched those cartoons as a kid.

Mortal Kombat 3
You can enjoy it for a while, you don't have to master it. Just play it as long as you like. It's better than modern MKs by a parsec.

Golden Axe II
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Contra Hard Corps
Something to try in co-op, preferably. Very preferably.

Some of these games have unbelievable, astonishing graphics. Try them all, even if only for a couple minutes. You know how it is with Genesis games, it takes a second to launch and you're already playing.
I could name more, obviously. Genesis is my favorite console, it has a ton of absolute hits. But this is my personal favorites list.

Edit: throw in Earthworm Jim in there.

 

[Quigs]

PC/GEN : Starflight. The genesis version has a lot more polish and is generally more playable without sacrificing much. A sequel exists on the PC, it's a bit rough around the edges but it's a great play.

DS : Hotel Dusk. It's not for everyone, so it's tough to call it 'unskippable', but if you're one of my people, it's an experience.

 

[DraQ]

The joke is on OP: consoles are inherently skippable.

Spoiler

Also the likes of 'miggy and C64 are not consoles.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

Jaguar: Tempest 2000, Alien vs Predator, Wolfenstein 3D, Battlesphere Gold, Ultra Vortek, Rayman (not really liking the geam but Jaguar port is the only one with 65.000 colors!)

3DO: Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo (best music of any ports), Wolfenstein 3D (smiliar to Jaguar, superior to PC), Space Hulk: VOTBA, Doom (gameplay wise is not very good but music - WTF!), Guardian War



Saturn: NiGHTS Into Dreams, Last Bronx, Fighting Vipers, Fighters Megamix, Virtua Fighter 1+Remix+2+Kids, Burning Rangers, Resident Evil (exclusive content), Guardian Heroes

 

[v1rus]

You triggered me by referring to the Commodore Amiga as a console.

The truth is, I now nothing of Amiga, not only was I born past its time, I dont believe it was ever imported here. And here, I was extremely confused why Wikipedia doesnt list it in either third/fourth/whatever generation of consoles. Well, learn something new everyday.

cmon Zed Duke of Banville, you were always the harbinger of Incline

Dunno whether I qualify as a harbinger of Incline as well, but I gave the same rating because of that Amiga-bit, plus the fact that you're asking a question you should have the age to answer yourself.

Ofc bro

But yeah, know nothing of Amiga, dont think I've ever seen one.

 

[Vlajdermen]

 

[Derringer]

MEGADRIVE

• The Revenge of Shinobi

Tell me sweet little lies. Tell me you completed this hardcore as fuck game. Go on. Do it.

The kabuki maze at the end of the game is terrible, it's hard trying to complete it without cheating (or abusing save states).

 

[Falksi]

MEGADRIVE

• The Revenge of Shinobi

Tell me sweet little lies. Tell me you completed this hardcore as fuck game. Go on. Do it.

The kabuki maze at the end of the game is terrible, it's hard trying to complete it without cheating (or abusing save states).

At first maybe, but once you have it down it's a piece of piss tbh. There's a really quick route through it. Took me a significant time to find that as a kid, but I treated like an RPG and got to mapping.

You forget how good you were on games in your youth. It still makes me laugh now when I see folk abusing save states to master games though. It works of course, but it doesn't half kill the fun by relieving all the tension. I get it for when people have finished the game several times on the harder difficulties, so they can refine and master the game fully. But those which use it as a crutch from the off are just jewing themselves out of fun IMO.

 

[Konjad]

Just skip them all.

 

[Lady Error]

NES: Super Mario 3

SNES: Probotector / Contra 3

DS: Dark Spire (Wizardy-like blobber)

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

A few unskippable arcade games (almost all of which were ported to other systems, though always with some degree of alteration; * indicates an Amiga port is available):

Pac-Man (1980)
Marble Madness* (1984)
Gauntlet / Gauntlet II* (1985 / 1986)
Bubble Bobble* (1986)
Magic Sword (1990)
Street Fighter II* (1991)
Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder (1992)
Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (1993)
Dungeons & Dragons: Shadows over Mystara (1996)

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

The problem with a good chunk of what I consider to be some systems classics is that they've been ported a lot, even in-generation. Like Lemmings is an Amiga classic, but I've only played DOS/Windows ports of it. And my opinion of what are Genesis/MD classics consists of Sega Smash Pack and a PC port of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Or Elite, probably one of the most influential BBC Micro titles, but you should probably play one of its ports instead. But to be honest, most of those mini-console things that were popular a few years ago aren't that far off. Yeah, sure, people are always going to say some game that's on there is crap and some game that isn't on there should have been, but they do provide a good grasp on what the system's best titles were, along with a few duds.

 

[Falksi]

I'm replaying Castlevania Bloodlines on the Megadrive again and the more I play the more it endears itself to me.

"Unskippable"? Probably not, but it's level design and enemy patterns are incredible. Something which I didn't appreciate when I last played it because the jarring character design distracted me from it.

I'd add that to the list to if you're a Castlevania fan.

 

[Morenatsu.]

N64: Toss up between Turok1/2, Doom 64 (FPS) or Duke Nukem: Zero Hour (TPS). Each are equally gud. Ignore the entire rest of the library. Collectathons galore, inferior versions of PC or PSX games, and not a lot else.

What an incredibly lame opinion. Perfect Dark was the obvious choice. Also Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, duh.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

For pre-2000's consoles, I am mostly a Nintendo guy


You don't need to bother with the NES, as most of it's best games later got remastered and remade for either the SNES or the GBA
The first 3 Castlevania games didn't however get any re-releases, and the same goes for the first 2 Zelda games
These last 2 titles are interesting to play nowadays as from all the future 3D titles, they ressemble BotW the most


The SNES was a great console and it's library is gargantuan
Seriously it's difficult to do a "must play" list with it as there's just too much ground too cover
I think the best would be for you to ask by genre

With that said I would say my favourites are: Super Metroid, Super Mario World (best in of the 2D titles), Tactics Ogre: LUCT, A Link to the Past, Street Figther Alpha 2 (best in the franchise),

I once played a super obscure jRPG that actually tried to be like the PC wRPG's of the time (with the PC even needing rope to climb down cliffs), but I can't remember the name now...


N64 is an unfortunate console for Nintendo
Despite being a powerful piece of hardware when you compare to it's competitors and even arcades of the time, they really fucked it up not only with that controller but most importantly with the decision to stick with cartridges
Holy shit they lost so many 3rd party developers because of those damn cartriges
It's the only reason someone can make the debatable argument that the PS1 perhaps won that generation

Anyway
Also has a big library, even if not as extense as the SNES
From what I've played, I really liked: Doom 64, Tactics Ogre Person of Lordly Caliber, Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, F-Zero X
Oh and there's also Majora's Mask wich is the best game of that entire console generation and you can't prove me wrong

 

[Morenatsu.]

N64 is an unfortunate console for Nintendo
Despite being a powerful piece of hardware when you compare to it's competitors and even arcades of the time, they really fucked it up not only with that controller but most importantly with the decision to stick with cartridges
Holy shit they lost so many 3rd party developers because of those damn cartriges
It's the only reason someone can make the debatable argument that the PS1 perhaps won that generation

Is this some kind of Nintentard cope? I love the N64, but the PS1 obviously won, and not just because of cartridges. It was easier to develop for and didn't have a blur-filter on top of a blur-filter.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

I mean if you're talking about console units sold, then it was the Gameboy that won the 5th generation
But I was talking more about the quality of library, and specially it's impact on the industry at large

And in those regards, while PS1 library has a higher variety it doesn't quite compare to N64 in terms of influence

Right from the get go, the N64 launch title - Super Mario 64 - pretty much defined what that 5th generation was going to be all about, and way too many other series tried to follow suit to just too fail (Sonic lost his success just because of this)
And while MM is IMO better in every regard, the truth is Ocarina of Time is still one of the most important videogames of released before the year 2000, it defined the course of both it's company and countless other gaming titles, only a handful of other games can boast to have similar significance

For the PS1, the only game you can say to have been almost as important as one of those titles, is MGS1