Good picks but I’d take the PC version of San Andreas for the mods. Mario 64 also runs on PC nowadays much smoother than the original version thanks to decompilation
SNES - Act Raiser - It's quite literally a mix of RTS and 2d action platforming. You build and manage your villiage while protecting it from monsters. Highly recommend!
N64 - Kirby 64 - Kirby is a game series that lets you eat enemies and gain their power. This one lets you combine powers! You can make fun combos, like rock + fire to make yourself a volcano, or electricity + bombs to make yourself into fireworks. Really fun and easygoing game! Worth playing through at least once.
PS2 - Parappa the Rapper 2 - A fun and weird game, Parappa 2 is a rhythm game where you have to repeat the raps your opponent dishes out using the face and L&R buttons. The setting and story make this game more than worth it, as you'll be saving the town against shrink rays, a mad hairstylist, and a noodle-hungry maniac. It's another fairly short game, you can beat it in two sittings if you're good. There's also a fun vs multiplayer mode.
You don’t have to limit yourself to old games if you don’t want to. If you’re into Pokemon there are some pretty good Romhacks out there. I liked Unbound a lot and I’m playing Liquid Crystal at the moment.
I remember trying to get these to work a while back and failing...
I wonder how they are working now. Might give it a shot later. Thanks for reminding me of these gems.
There was the original Clock Tower game for SNES that had a patched version available somewhere to translate the text to English. No clue where I found it, but that game was great.
Gran Turismo 4, the PS2 ace combat games (4, 5 and Zero), Def Jam: FFNY, Klonoa 2, FFX International, Scarface, and MOH frontline are a bunch of PS2 games I’ve completed and recommend
I really liked GTA Vice City Stories, Daxter, Burnout Legends, God of War — Ghost of Sparta and Flatout: Head On. All of those are for PSP, PPSSPP is a really good emulator for the console and its saves are cross-platform.
This is a bit of an outlier because it's actually on PS3, but it's a lightweight game so emulation isn't too taxing. I went back and played Tokyo Jungle. Such a wild game and with nothing I've found that compares to this day. You play as animals in a Tokyo that has been reclaimed by nature, you hunt for food, grow stronger and find mates, and try to survive against predators. I love it