Ruined Old Games

As a birthday present for my sister I trawled through many of the old games we played on our Tatung Einstein, Master System and Amiga days and built a 'perfectly legal I'm sure' box that she could return to some of these old titles on.

In doing so I relived some happy memories that did the usual stamping on all the rose tinted glasses I had. However, with a positive mind set the process made me realise how thankful I am of some newer games that have come along and become the rose tinted glasses games for me. Good games that mean I never have to go back to some of what I thought to be smooth running, well built adventures.

For example: I put so many hours into Stunt Car Racer with my school buddies and after loading it up on my old Amiga I was sure something wasn't working properly - unfortunately evidence on YouTube made me realise the game was working fine, it was my brain that was misfiring. But then, the most recent Trackmania games more than replaced anything I could want out of replaying SCR. I can even build the old tracks, if I could be arsed.

A couple of other games, Exile (a metriodvania type spaceman thing) and Flood (a shooty platformer) were far more frustrating and clunky than old me recalled but with games like Capsized and 90% of all new releases on Steam at the moment I get those itches thoroughly scratched without having to realise how thick skinned I was when I was 12.

How about you? Any games, preferably not just a direct sequel, that have meant that you can finally throw off the shackles of that old game you are sure was much better when you played it all those years ago?

While I don't think the ratio is as quite as one to one as Stunt Car Racer and Trackmania's evolution, I can't really justify recommending Quest for Glory thanks to the Elder Scrolls games. I still love those older games, don't get me wrong, but Skyrim, Oblivion, and Morrowind ate their lunch gameplay-wise.

@sparky_buzzsaw: Exactly. I loved the Ultima games on my Amiga but with the advent of games where you get to physically guide your character through the process of exploring the world it would be hard to recommend anyone going back to them outside of curiosity purposes.

@stantongrouse: Eh I still love the Ultima games, evem if I've never been able to finish one. They're adorably weird and like impossible to figure out, but the sense of exploration is great

@belegorm: True. Not sure I ever finished one either - I remember Ultima V being something I went back to over and over. Fantastic, if a little quirky, games. I'd probably play a game like Ember now though, mainly because it's much easier to access Steam than my old Amiga. Although having looked at the Ultima codex I see that there are a surprising number of fan made similar style games (16bit aesthetic too). Might have to try those out if I can magically free up a week of spare time.

@stantongrouse: The music is great too in V and VI. I did get near the end of IV but it was particularly obtuse.

Also the fact that you could transfer your saves throughout the series is amazing for such an old series.

Clickers, idle games and free-to-play games have ruined the "skinner box"-style RPG for me, but that's a good thing. I'm glad I'm able to see those games' exploitative design for what it is. It makes me appreciate the good ones that much more.

@dukeofthebump: Haha, yeah - it's definitely better to pick the thing that's going to 'condition' you rather than discover you have been lured into it.