Games you wished you had experienced when they were new?

Just curious if there are any games you've played years after their original release and enjoyed- but it made you wish you had played them before. Before they were considered throwbacks or retro. This could be because of a cultural buzz around them 'back in the day' or because of dated gameplay mechanics or graphics. Maybe you wished you had played them earlier just because you feel annoyed you missed out on such an awesome game to begin with. 

Doom / Wolfenstein 3D

Vagrant Story. Supposed a very well acclaimed RPG for the ps1 though it's far too dated for me to get much enjoyment out of it =/

I would like to say Final Fantasy VII. I don't know whether or not I would have liked it and I'll never know now because I simply can't get past the horrible graphics. Yes, I know graphics 'don't matter' but those lego figures really make me disconnect with the seriousness of the plot. I can't associate the lego people of the gameplay graphics with the normal looking people of the pre-rendered cutscenes and artwork. If I played it back then I probably would have never had an issue. 
 
I can see why they want that game remade...

There are a lot of PS1 games that I wouldn't mind getting into, but holy crap do old 3D graphics age terribly.

Some older games like Saint's Row 2 or Turok, always fun to play a bit of failed multiplayer with random people instead of die hard no lifers who have insane ranks in games nobody even remembers :P
 
And Mass Effect, I picked it up for 20 euro's, dunno when, maybe 2 years ago something, and after finishing it I felt so bad I didn't pay the full the 60 so I bought the classic edition later, the ME1 Collectors Edition and the pc version, just to give em what they deserve. <3

Borderlands? Saint's Row 2 and Turok? Those are retro and throwbacks now?

" Borderlands. I just kept putting it off and off and when I finally got around to it I realized i'd been missing one of the best games of this generation. "

Hmmm.  I think I would say Stunts and Wing Commander for PC.  I didn't have an IBM PC at all until 1993.

Half-Life 2 hands fucking down and not down the pants

" Half-Life 2 hands fucking down and not down the pants "

" @Ahmad_Metallic said:

" Half-Life 2 hands fucking down and not down the pants "

I remember staying up all night waiting for its release so that I could play it before going to school. Most hyped I have ever been for a game.  "

I would've liked to have experienced the arcade scene. MK or street fighter would be bananas.

EVE

Hmm.
 
Probably the Ultima Series.  I started playing games around the Wolfenstein 3D and Doom era.  Hell I don't even know if those games had already been out by then.  But I never got to play them.  That and probably the Lucas Arts puzzle games.  Really all the ones I have played just piss me off.  Great story and they are hilarious but it just ends up being a pixel hunt kind of thing.  I.E.  Full Throttle and Day of the Tentacle.  Maybe I would have more appreciation for them if I had played them back then.

Half-Life 2. Didn't play it until last year.

" Doom / Wolfenstein 3D "

Ocarina of Time.
 
I've actually still have never played it even though I was heavily into N64 when it came out.

Half-Life 1 and Baldur's Gate II. I played Baldur's Gate II into the ground. And still do play it, but that was at least five years after it had come out. I can't imagine how awesome that game would have felt, were I to play it from day 1.

Deus Ex, I'm sure back in 2000 it was the shit!! But now it's just okay, I think most people that praise Deus Ex are doing it mainly off nostalgia factor.

Deus Ex, definitely.  I absolutely love that game, and I only played it for the first time last week.  I can't imagine how I would have felt if I had played it when it had just gotten released.

Ocarina of Time.
 
Wind Waker and Twilight Princess make the game look like a joke, but it's annoying how everyone seems to remember how incredible Ocarina of Time was.

There's a turn based game called Kingdom of Loathing which is kinda indie but really really really fun.  Unfortunately, as with all turn based games, all newcomers are at such huge disadvantages they will never catch up (in this case, rare items that are very powerful are now extremely hard to get).  If only I had started when it was released...

" Deus Ex, definitely.  I absolutely love that game, and I only played it for the first time last week.  I can't imagine how I would have felt if I had played it when it had just gotten released. "

" I would like to say Final Fantasy VII. I don't know whether or not I would have liked it and I'll never know now because I simply can't get past the horrible graphics. Yes, I know graphics 'don't matter' but those lego figures really make me disconnect with the seriousness of the plot. I can't associate the lego people of the gameplay graphics with the normal looking people of the pre-rendered cutscenes and artwork. If I played it back then I probably would have never had an issue.  I can see why they want that game remade... "

" There are a lot of PS1 games that I wouldn't mind getting into, but holy crap do old 3D graphics age terribly. "

" Half-Life 1 and Baldur's Gate II. I played Baldur's Gate II into the ground. And still do play it, but that was at least five years after it had come out. I can't imagine how awesome that game would have felt, were I to play it from day 1. "

" @wolf_blitzer85 said:

" There are a lot of PS1 games that I wouldn't mind getting into, but holy crap do old 3D graphics age terribly. "

Yep. I would have loved to play the first Silent Hill game when it came out. Now it looks like Legos. So much for fear... :( "

Man, I've experience pretty much every worthwhile game when it was new since the first Metroid over 20 years ago. 
 
Going back further than that, I guess Pac-Man.

" @Jeust said:

" @wolf_blitzer85 said:

" There are a lot of PS1 games that I wouldn't mind getting into, but holy crap do old 3D graphics age terribly. "

Yep. I would have loved to play the first Silent Hill game when it came out. Now it looks like Legos. So much for fear... :( "

It was great. It is the only "horror game" I've ever played that scared me when I wasn't playing too. Stepping on metal grating, that clank-clank noise, scared me for months afterward. Still kind of freaks me out. "

I guess HL2 because I didn't play it till late 2008 and it's pretty much the most overrated game ever.

You want to experience APB while it's new, don't miss your chance!

The first quake and techmo bowl

" @Ragdrazi said:

" @Jeust said:

" @wolf_blitzer85 said:

" There are a lot of PS1 games that I wouldn't mind getting into, but holy crap do old 3D graphics age terribly. "

Yep. I would have loved to play the first Silent Hill game when it came out. Now it looks like Legos. So much for fear... :( "

It was great. It is the only "horror game" I've ever played that scared me when I wasn't playing too. Stepping on metal grating, that clank-clank noise, scared me for months afterward. Still kind of freaks me out. "

I hope you can understand how much i hate you right now.   I'm joking, although i'll never feel that way about the game. :( "

" @Jeust said:

" @Ragdrazi said:

" @Jeust said:

" @wolf_blitzer85 said:

" There are a lot of PS1 games that I wouldn't mind getting into, but holy crap do old 3D graphics age terribly. "

Yep. I would have loved to play the first Silent Hill game when it came out. Now it looks like Legos. So much for fear... :( "

It was great. It is the only "horror game" I've ever played that scared me when I wasn't playing too. Stepping on metal grating, that clank-clank noise, scared me for months afterward. Still kind of freaks me out. "

I hope you can understand how much i hate you right now.   I'm joking, although i'll never feel that way about the game. :( "

I drink in your hate. Umm, it is delicious. "

The first Fable.  My understanding is that, even when it was new, it was a bit of a disappointment, but when I played it for the first time years after its release, I thought it was complete and utter shit. 
That didn't stop my enjoyment of the sequel, but it certainly has colored my impressions of the series as one that is terribly inconsistent.

Final Fantasy VI. I ended up playing the PS1 port and GBA port. Never played it on the SNES though. :(

" The first Fable.  My understanding is that, even when it was new, it was a bit of a disappointment, but when I played it for the first time years after its release, I thought it was complete and utter shit. That didn't stop my enjoyment of the sequel, but it certainly has colored my impressions of the series as one that is terribly inconsistent. "

" @ImperiousRix said:

" The first Fable.  My understanding is that, even when it was new, it was a bit of a disappointment, but when I played it for the first time years after its release, I thought it was complete and utter shit. That didn't stop my enjoyment of the sequel, but it certainly has colored my impressions of the series as one that is terribly inconsistent. "

Played it new and thought it was complete and utter shit. I remember everyone I talked to going on and on about how great it was though. Just wanted to slap them. I haven't picked up Fable 2 because of my experiences with it. Maybe I should give it a try. "

I wish I could have experienced the Metal Gear Solid saga back when they came out. I've spent my summer playing all 4 core titles, and they're some of the best I've ever played, but I regret not playing them back then when I had a chance to experience them first.

" @Jeust:  I suppose Fable is just one of those games.  I just kinda assumed you needed to play it at release because I found the presentation and mechanics pretty archaic by the time I had played it.  And I played Symphony of the Night following Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin, and still hold it in the same regard if not in HIGHER regard than those two games.  I think it holds up phenomenally today. "

I have to agree with everyone who said Deus Ex. I first played it a few years ago and It would be nice to have experienced it when it looked good and whatnot. Besides that, I'm going to have to say half life and FF7 although I probably would not have liked the game back then. It would be nice to know what that game was all about back when it wasn't a horrible piece of crap judt to understand why some people are all over that game. Also, it doesn't count but KOTOR. I've played the crap out of that game, and I love it to death. I know every decision and option and thing about that game. If I could wipe every time that i have played that game from my mind and go back into the past as my current self I feel that I would love that game so much more. I want a KOTOR 3 Bioware.