Games that aren't as good as you remember

[The Damned]

Good. Nostalgia is a crutch that people hobble along on instead of walking upright towards finding new things.

[Zipp]

I wouldn't say there's that many games that haven't held up for me... some of the early Castlevanias aren't near as good as I think we all thought they were.

Mostly, there's a lot of games I simply played too many times for them to now hold the same interest, such as Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and Soul Blazer.

I'm replaying FF7 off the PSN, and that one still works, though.

[Salluz]

Mostly, there's a lot of games I simply played too many times for them to now hold the same interest, such as Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and Soul Blazer.

Chrono Trigger still hasn't lost me.

[PROTO·DOME]

Good. Nostalgia is a crutch that people hobble along on instead of walking upright towards finding new things.

Don't say such things! You'll put Nintendo out of business!

[Salluz]

Good. Nostalgia is a crutch that people hobble along on instead of walking upright towards finding new things.

Man, I am all for new stuff! Any suggestions?

[The Damned]

A zero-gravity FPS, where you jump/push off from surfaces, flying in a straight line with near-accurate physics. Recoil can and does affect your path a bit, and explosions will send you flying across the environment. There is no up or down, only the plane you are currently orientated to. Make it a mining facility, and everything is all mine-ish. That does not include excessive use of brown, because that is lazy design.

To prevent easy kills, there will be no sniper weapon. In fact, weapons will be basic and limited. Basic melee weapon, basic short range weapon, basic long range weapon, and a basic explosive weapon. I'm thinking some sort of mining ax with a rope on it, so you can use it to pull yourself towards surfaces (possible use: wrap it part way around an object, and then pull yourself in. Once you get to the object, your momentum will will make you continue forward, but the rope will make you turn in the other direction). The short range will be a small flare gun modified to shoot rivets. The long range will be a hand-made laser rifle, but it will only shoot a single beam once every five seconds. You can see the beam as it's firing, giving away your position. The bomb will have two modes: timed throw, and remote detonation, with a two second warning.

The idea is that with limited control over your movement, and weapons that require some consideration before use, you will have to either be really fucking sneaky or really quick on your feet.

How's that?

[relyanCe]

Super Mario RPG is kinda wearing on me as I'm playing through it again, unfortunately. Although it could also be due to the fact that I power leveled on the Dry Bones on the ship so now my characters are around level 20 and I just beat Johnny.

otherwise known as "How to make Super Mario RPG reeeeeeeeeeeally boring 101"

[prophetik music]

kotor and halo 1 come to mind. halo 1 was such a grind in the library, i hate that section.

[Maco70]

Golden Axe and any other beat-em-up.

I am sure there are others I will think of.

[entropicdecay]

I'm starting to think that I conditioned myself to forget the storyline of Perfect Dark.

No matter what the logical side of my brain tells me, I still refuse to dispute the logic of the PD storyline. And I suppose the less I think about it, the better.

Phantasmagoria isn't as scary as it used to be. I remember the baby picture scaring me out of the room when I was younger, but now, I just laugh.

Oh god, I used to love me some terrible games. Gex 64 and Gex 3 (Oh my god, I'm a wisecrackin' gecko! HOW COOL IS THAT!), Mario Is Missing! (A Mario game? Where you play as LUIGI? COUNT ME IN!), Glover (I'm a cute li'l glove with a face)...

I used to beg my dad to let me rent Mario is Missing when I was 5. I was so elated when I made my way through San Francisco and restored all the landmarks... and then Luigi took a bus to Alcatraz. I think that began my questioning of the game.

My dad also got Mario's Time Machine deluxe in some software package. We installed it on the family computer and for years I would smash at the keyboard trying to make mario jump. Since the software package had no instructions, I never, ever figured out how to jump. No matter how many different keys I'd smash NOTHING worked. Some day I'll unearth that damn CD and finally jump on a koopa.

"The koopa is carrying an artifact. You can get it back by jumping on him."

Someday, disembodied voice. Someday.

[friendlyHunter]

Oh god, I used to love me some terrible games. Gex 64 and Gex 3 (Oh my god, I'm a wisecrackin' gecko! HOW COOL IS THAT!)

If it's the Geico gecko... very cool.

I used to beg my dad to let me rent Mario is Missing when I was 5. I was so elated when I made my way through San Francisco and restored all the landmarks... and then Luigi took a bus to Alcatraz. I think that began my questioning of the game.

Lol, a bus. At least it wasn't the PC version, was it?? If Phantasmagoria was scary, the Weegee stare would've given you nightmares!

For me, the only game I can really put on the list is Metroid II. I first played it long after the Gameboy Advance was out, and I enjoyed the atmosphere and exploration, and it was actually kind of creepy to play in the dark. It seemed odd to me that it was always called "the worst Metroid game". But having after beating the original Metroid, I decided to play through Metroid 2 again recently..... When you're not fighting metroids, that is some SLOW and often tedious gameplay. It's even worse than the Metroid Prime games. Especially the Spider Ball, ugh. Sure, the game included the first appearance of several staple re-occurring items, but compared to the first Metroid it just seems so tiny and slow and... forgiving.

And the award for the game that's BETTER than I remember goes to:

Super Smash Bros. on the N64. FUN FUN FUN and hilarious multiplayer, especially with items! The items and stages in Melee and Brawl do not compare, not even close.

[Edit]

Ah yes, how could I forget, one of my first PC games ever: Commander Keen. Has not stood the test of time in my opinion.

[The Vagrance]

Oh man, I forgot to mention the fact that all of my friends and I have been playing Mario Tennis for the N64 like madmen, that game is so unbelievably good. We've even come up with team names for whenever we partner up (Me as Paratrooper and one of my friends as DK is known as "The Mario Tennis Challenge" because we have yet to lose). I highly recommend picking it up if anyone ever gets the chance.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

Final Fantasy VII is damned hard for me to go through now. I think it's a combination of me having played it so many times 10 years ago, the excessively boring materia system(Crisis Core got it right IMO) and the graphics. Honestly, I think most of the success of FFVII has to do with it having been at the right place at the right time more than anything else.

Also Donkey Kong 64, Goldeneye, Quest 64, Final Fantasy I-III, Wario Land 2, Megaman.EXE 1, and Bubsy.

Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia are still somewhat OK... ish...

[lazygecko]

All of the old Mortal Kombats. Awful controls and relies almost completely on cheap special moves.

[Abadoss]

I have to agree that Mega Man has great replay value. So do the first three Monkey Island games. Personally, I actually enjoy replaying Super Mario World. Granted, I space out my playings.

As for those that don't: Mortal Kombat (any of them, really {edit} Crap, ninja posted...); Tomb Raider (again, any); 1080; etc.

[Tex]

Eternal Champions. Crud gameplay and game modes; pathetic graphics, sounds sucked. Much worse than Mortal Kombat.

[Vyse of Arcadia]

Bubsy.

Oh god, that was a horrible game. I recall the physics being weird, like there were forces being applied to Bubsy that just weren't there. Also it was a load of crap in its entirety.

And I can't believe I ever found those annoying voices funny. But I have to admit a couple of the death animations still make me chuckle.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

every game that isn't mischief makers

I LOVED that game. Definitely among my all-time favorite games.

Also I find it funny that so many people are saying FF7 wasn't as good as they remembered. I thought the game sucked the first time I played it, and every now and then I go back and give it a try to see if there's something I missed about it. And every single time, I discover that it still sucks.

I've been going through all my old games over the past few months, and I have yet to find one that really jumps out as being worse than I remember it; but I've run into a couple that I originally didn't like and now do, DKC3 being the biggest one.

[Level 99]

Max Payne was, and still is, one of my favorite games. The story, the action, the narrative (all the voices), everything is just as classic and fun as it was the first time I beat it. But other games of that time, like Grand Theft Auto 3, just aren't as fun anymore. I think the Grand Theft Auto series, besides the top-down ones, was played to death by this point.

Also, Megaman X is still a blast, but then again, most megaman games hold their water for a long time. However, Megaman Legends, which (and hold your tongues, people) I loved when it came out, is just irritating and annoying now.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

A zero-gravity FPS, where you jump/push off from surfaces, flying in a straight line with near-accurate physics. Recoil can and does affect your path a bit, and explosions will send you flying across the environment. There is no up or down, only the plane you are currently orientated to. Make it a mining facility, and everything is all mine-ish. That does not include excessive use of brown, because that is lazy design.

To prevent easy kills, there will be no sniper weapon. In fact, weapons will be basic and limited. Basic melee weapon, basic short range weapon, basic long range weapon, and a basic explosive weapon. I'm thinking some sort of mining ax with a rope on it, so you can use it to pull yourself towards surfaces (possible use: wrap it part way around an object, and then pull yourself in. Once you get to the object, your momentum will will make you continue forward, but the rope will make you turn in the other direction). The short range will be a small flare gun modified to shoot rivets. The long range will be a hand-made laser rifle, but it will only shoot a single beam once every five seconds. You can see the beam as it's firing, giving away your position. The bomb will have two modes: timed throw, and remote detonation, with a two second warning.

The idea is that with limited control over your movement, and weapons that require some consideration before use, you will have to either be really fucking sneaky or really quick on your feet.

How's that?

That sounds fucking awesome.

[RedTigrr]

A zero-gravity FPS, where you jump/push off from surfaces, flying in a straight line with near-accurate physics. Recoil can and does affect your path a bit, and explosions will send you flying across the environment. There is no up or down, only the plane you are currently orientated to. Make it a mining facility, and everything is all mine-ish. That does not include excessive use of brown, because that is lazy design.

To prevent easy kills, there will be no sniper weapon. In fact, weapons will be basic and limited. Basic melee weapon, basic short range weapon, basic long range weapon, and a basic explosive weapon. I'm thinking some sort of mining ax with a rope on it, so you can use it to pull yourself towards surfaces (possible use: wrap it part way around an object, and then pull yourself in. Once you get to the object, your momentum will will make you continue forward, but the rope will make you turn in the other direction). The short range will be a small flare gun modified to shoot rivets. The long range will be a hand-made laser rifle, but it will only shoot a single beam once every five seconds. You can see the beam as it's firing, giving away your position. The bomb will have two modes: timed throw, and remote detonation, with a two second warning.

The idea is that with limited control over your movement, and weapons that require some consideration before use, you will have to either be really fucking sneaky or really quick on your feet.

How's that?

I could play that almost forever.....

[The Damned]

OK, now to just get a bunch of high-level programmers to make it for me.

[Tables]

Another game I remember being much better was Donkey Kong 64. I loved it to bits when I was a kid, but going back I never realized how tedious it was going through each level 5 times. Blargh

[DarkeSword]

Final Fantasy VII is damned hard for me to go through now. I think it's a combination of me having played it so many times 10 years ago, the excessively boring materia system(Crisis Core got it right IMO) and the graphics. Honestly, I think most of the success of FFVII has to do with it having been at the right place at the right time more than anything else

Final Fantasy 7 has not aged well at at all.

[Azuth]

Gauntlet. I remember playing this game for hours, and yet when I fire it up now I'm bored within minutes.

Shadowgate. Every so often I get the urge to play this game. Then five minutes in, I realize all I really wanted was to listen to the soundtrack.

Altered Beast. Man this game is bad. It was cool as hell back in the day though with co-op.

Any older Dragon Warrior. I can't believe I had the patience to play through these.

Iron Sword. I can barely even control the character properly, let alone try to play the game. Guess it just shows how much my gaming skills have deteriorated.