Ranking the best vintage video games (25 years or older)
If you think a game should be higher or lower in ranking, then upvote or downvote it. If you don't see a game on the list that you think should be on the list then create a top level reply with the name and system.
Marathon.
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike - Arcade
A timeless masterpiece of 2D fighting with beautiful sprite work and a banger soundtrack. Other fighting games come and go, but we still play this one online and in tournaments 25 years later.
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (PS1)
So many games that I even upvoted that are still absolutely amazing haven't really aged perfectly control- or gameplay-wise, but Oddworld could be released today and it would still be perfect.
Galaga
Half-Life
My thought when reading the title of the thread was "If Half-Life fits the bill, it's half life."
Revolutionary game.
Bloody hell, I didn't realize it's that old. I played it in high school, feels like yesterday.
Chrono Trigger - SNES, 1995
I hear people say all the time that it is perfect. It definitely has imperfections.
However while I will insist on it being imperfect it has still been my number one favorite game for at least two decades.
It is easily the closest to perfect I think you could possibly ask for with the hardware limitations and the fact that teams don't have magical infinite time or budgets. Anyone with even a slight interest in RPGs should play it.
Plus it gave us the musical career of Yasunori Mitsuda
The SNES library of RPGs will always be peak gaming. Chrono Trigger & Earthbound fight for the top spot for me, #3 depends on the day.
PS1's rpg library is nothing to scoff at, either. Square's golden years (3 mainline final fantasy, tactics, Chrono Cross, Parasite Eve and more), Suikoden, Persona, Breath of Fire 3, Valkyrie Profile.
Best JRPG of all time and I’ll die on that hill 🤣
I never played it, what are everyone's thoughts on the 2018 pc version? Some reviews don't like the port?
Super Mario Bros 3 - NES
Doom
Day of the Tentacle - PC
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
There are better Zelda games. ALTTP is clever, for sure, but the path through the game has too many obtuse moments. I don't know how I would have gotten through it the first time without Nintendo Power magazine. I liked Link's Awakening and Link Between Worlds more, though without Link to the Past, we wouldn't have those games.
Now, the Super Metroid and A Link to the Past Randomizer is an incredible achievement and a must-play for people who have finished both original games.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Nintendo 64
Starcraft
This game started esports.
I would argue Quake or Street Fighter 2 holds that distinction, but it's close.
(tell me you didn't just hear that sound in your head)
I am very sad that I've scrolled several pages and haven't seen the obvious one (though I could just be blind):
Deus Ex.
Edit: or perhaps it's because Deus Ex is from 2000 and I don't know if it counts yet. Maybe I'll wait 'til next year!
June 22nd
Freelancer, PC
A great pick, but it's not 25yo yet, tho
Perfect Dark, N64
Super Mario World. The perfect platformer.
SMB3 & Kirby's Adventure both deserve to share that title.
It just barely makes the cut off since it came out in 99, but Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is my favorite strategy game of all time. It even managed to get a Linux port and you can get it on GOG. I was excited when Civ: Beyond Earth was announced that it would be a true successor, but sadly it wasn't even close.
Bubble Bobble, Arcade, 1986
Great, now I'll have the music from this game stuck in my head all day
Castlevania Symphony of the Night - PlayStation
How do I upvote twice?
Use an alt account, but this would technically count as vote manipulation.
Metal Slug
Super Metroid - SNES
Metroid 2 - Return of Samus for Gameboy too. I loved it.
Thief (1998)
Street fighter 2 - hyper fighting edition (arcade).
Played this every day after school for years as did a huge portion of my school.
Unreal Tournament
SkiFree (PC)
Check out Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders for modern SkiFree vibes!
This game occupied a big chunk of my early years. Fear the yeti!
I think it's still fun today. Maybe only for a few minutes, but it never fails to entertain me.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Edit: nevermind, this was already posted. I literally did a search on the page first and it didn't match for some reason.
I noticed that problem on mobile, it doesn't load all of the comments i don't think.
Goldeneye - N64
Boooo! The World Is Not Enough was superior in every way. Fully-voiced dialog and a working physics engine, on the freaking Nintendo 64! No Oddjob bullshit in multiplayer, either.
Never understood why everyone sleeps on TWINE and praises GoldenEye. Every single time. Y'all missed out on a really good sequel.
Edit: sigh* See what I mean? Why does everyone hate this game!?
Final Fantasy 7 - PlayStation
Tetris - Gameboy
Pokémon Crystal is just shy of your 25 year threshold depending on what month it was released (it came out in 2000 in Japan), so I'll say Pokémon Yellow or Pokémon Gold and Silver. We can sit here and nitpick about which is the best, but Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal were all amazing.
I'd lean in favor of Gen 2 being better, but it's definitely a tough call whether the original or the first refinement is better.
Diablo (1996?)
I missed System Shock 1 and 2 on release (I was 1 and 6 years old, respectively) but I've recently been playing the SS1 remake and, holy shit, this is an incredible game.
I think the original is held back by its UI but the actual game itself, which the remake pretty much preserves almost one to one, is incredibly solid even by modern standards. I've been super hooked on it and it's opened my eyes to an entire lineage of games that I've not paid attention to - System Shock 2, Deus Ex, and Prey are the big three that I have my eye on when I finish with SS1 Remake.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Mega Drive
My first game ever.. good times
Metal Great Solid
Final fantasy 3/6 - SNES
The best Final Fantasy
On the SNES, or counting only mainline titles, yes. Overall, tactics is the best FF
The Legend of Zelda - NES
The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening
Found you. Adding a picture
Warcraft 2
Quake 2, PC
I liked quake 2, but 1 and 3 were better
Super Mario Bros. - NES
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - N64, 2000
If made today this could be "premium" DLC but it was an amazing product given the constraints of a 15 month development window and a need to use existing assets and engine features as much as possible.
Spyro (series) Playstation 1998-2000
Master of Orion - MS DOS, Mac OS
STRAIGHT UP I was so happy when iOS allowed emulators and allowed me set up retroarch to run that game via dosbox with touch to tap.
Fuck all streaming gaming I just want a touch based port of that first game to use like the local crossword.
Wipeout 2097 (Wipeout XL), PSX, 1996
Tetris - Game Boy
This was already posted 3 hours before you.
No hard drop. :(
The Game Boy was instrumental in game history and this was one of the first and most played games on the system.
I'd say the bigger problem is the bugged randomizer. Doesn't deal pieces evenly.
Dune 2, PC
never got to play this, but I have been playing Dune: Spice Wars which has been pretty fun. Might not be that similar but Dune universe is excellent for these type of games for sure.
Genre creating and still embedded firmly in the cranium!
Dance Dance Revolution.
(Do you feel old now?)
Baldur's Gate, both 1 & 2 on PC (I prefer #1). I had to actively consider whether it had been at least 25 years it came out and...I feel super old now 😅.
I'm curious, why do you prefer the first one over the second? Baldur's Gate didn't focus on NPC characterization until 2 (I can't imagine playing without the banter!), and I always found low level 2e to be a nightmare due to low health pools and lack of class features. The sequel starts you out at the beginning of the level range where you can actually do stuff without being overpowered.
I prefer the first game as you're exploring a wild and hostile world while trying your best to survive and discover what's actually going on. You have no idea why assassins keep coming for you, what's going on with the iron crisis, or how it could possibly relate to you...but for some reason, you are tangled in a messy web of intrigue, politics, and danger.
You're right...you are SO underpowered and helpless in the first game. Getting to any town is such a relief. But this makes adventuring so very worth it and so rewarding. I feel like the first game is brutally realistic, whereas the second is more fantastical. I love the cool gear and interactions of BG2, but the first one just feels so urgent and pressing to me.
The EE versions really changed the game...so many improvements without needing mods. However, the modding community is amazing as well. NPC banter packs, item packs, new quests, etc...there are so many options to modernize the game!
Damn, yeah, now I feel old. I remember that was the first time my brother and I came to a formal agreement on sharing the computer so we could each play.
Warcraft 2 best Warcraft hands down
Duke Nukem 3D, PC
X-COM: UFO Defense
Zork