Welcome to the latest installment of Blog Banter, the monthly blogging extravaganza created by bs angel and coordinated by Game Couch. Blog Banter involves our cozy community of enthusiastic gaming bloggers, a common topic, and a week to post articles pertaining to said topic. The results are quite entertaining and can range from deep insight to ROFLMAO. Any questions about Blog Banter should be directed here. Check out other Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!
This month’s question: Are there any video games that possess a timeless appeal? Games that, despite constant advances in technology, retain a game engine or narrative that will forever be relevant. If so, why?
Some people think only the latest and greatest video games are fun to play, and it is that exact group of people that are truly missing out. A game doesn’t always have to include flashy graphics or run on the latest Unreal Engine. It doesn’t have to be a next-gen or even last-gen title. Some games have stoically stood the test of time and are just as enjoyable to play today as they were when they initially came out several years ago. Here is my list of seven games (in no particular order) that are still an absolute blast to pop in and play, despite having an almost ancient release date. Why seven you ask? I ask back, why not?
Street Fighter II, 1991
A head-to-head fighting game originally released as a coin-operated arcade game, Street Fighter II continues to see regular play despite coming out almost two decades ago. Featuring eight playable characters and numerous basic and special moves, the joystick and six attack buttons still have the power to pull you in, even today.
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, 1998
The fifth game in The Legend of Zelda series, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the best-selling game of 1998 despite having a November release date. Playing as a young and lovable Link, completing the numerous side-quests, and relearning all the familiar melodies just never seem to get old. Would it be pushing it to say it’s one of the greatest video games of all time? I think not.
Pac-Man, 1980
Pac-Man, originally released as an arcade game, is the definition of a true classic. Cited as having the highest brand awareness of any video game character (among Americans), if you didn’t grow up eating pac-dots while wandering aimlessly through a complicated maze, I don’t know what to tell you. Besides go play it. Immediately.
GoldenEye 007, 1997
One of the best-selling N64 titles of all time, GoldenEye 007 showed the first-person shooter genre the exact right way to do things. With an amazing multiplayer mode and an extensively detailed single player mode, if GoldenEye 007 was your introduction to shooters, you had the best start imaginable. Heck, you could even dual-wield in that game, and goodness knows how much we like to do that.
Super Mario Kart, 1992
Super Mario Kart, the very first video game in the popular Mario Kart series, featured exhaustingly fun gameplay both for one player and two player experiences alike. Being able to race go-karts as one of the several available Super Mario characters continues to be an indulgent treat as the original remains the best, in my opinion, out of all of the Mario Kart offerings. I can even forgive the constant split screen, it is that fun.
Tetris, 1985
Tetris, arguably one of the most influential and best video games of all time, was so well made the first time around that improving upon it is near impossible. An incredibly addictive puzzle game with equally addictive music, they continually attempt to update it when it really isn’t needed. Now available on nearly every platform in existence, the original was perfect and continues to be perfect more than 23 years after its release.
Halo: Combat Evolved, 2001
Considered to be a reliable system seller for the Xbox, Halo: Combat Evolved set the bar for later first-person shooters. Often imitated, this game provided an amazingly solid single player and multiplayer experience. If you go to a LAN where Halo is available and CE is not busted out at some point, clearly you’re doing it wrong. Pistols FTW.
Do you agree? Disagree? And are there any games you would add to this list?
Other participants! The Timeless appeal of Homeworld, Defining the Truly Classic Video Game, Lost & Found, Finding Citizen Kane, Oldies but Goodies?
Posted by Queen 0f Blades on October 23, 2008 at 3:31 am
I’m in the middle of replaying Halo right now :P
Gotta say, my timeless game is Starcraft. That game is what made me like games so much.
Posted by mendicantbias00 on October 23, 2008 at 3:59 am
Super Mario Bros. 3
and Kirby’s Dreamland Adventure
Classic!
Oh and Tron for the Atari!
Posted by EmperorDecker on October 23, 2008 at 4:15 am
Jet Set Radio Future and Joust are two games that I keep replaying, and now I can play them both on the 360 Yeah!
Posted by Scotty on October 23, 2008 at 4:41 am
Yes definitely Super Mario Bros. 3! That game was my first game and definitely my favorite for many years!
Posted by DrDoctor on October 23, 2008 at 5:26 am
I’d have to say the Original Super Mario Bros. is a classic for me. MY first game and hours of trading off with whoever had the free time to play since we never wanted to turn it off. I wonder if that was because it was so fun or because we had absolutely zero ability to return to where we were when we turned the system off… Ok probably a little of both. I still find myself busting out the ol’ NES just so I can play at least through to the first warp zone… Good picks!
ps. Goldeneye WAS my intro to shooters!!!
Posted by Skibur on October 23, 2008 at 5:30 am
Day of the Tentacle.
Just play it, it’s awesome.
Posted by PsycheDiver on October 23, 2008 at 5:59 am
Arkanoid.
Posted by StealthSpeed3 on October 23, 2008 at 6:00 am
Super Mario RPG
Mortal Kombat (1-3 or Ultimate)
Metal Slug (Virtual Console!)
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (and Yuri’s Revenge)
Chrono Trigger/Secret of Mana (i’m a fan of old-school SNES RPGs)
Call of Duty (PC, original version)
and Halo (PC)
Posted by silvercube on October 23, 2008 at 6:20 am
Welcome back to Blog Banter : )
Alicia and I missed ya a lot.
I agree with your choices, but a lot of these games have aged really bad, lol. I played a few of them recently..
I was thinking more DDR/Karaoke style. ^_^
Posted by Jillybean on October 23, 2008 at 6:35 am
Shadows of the Empire.
Broken Sword.
Pippa Funnel’s Stud Farm Adventure. (I shit you not – amazing game)
Posted by Mizzy on October 23, 2008 at 6:35 am
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! No Duck Hunt?
Posted by mendicantbias00 on October 23, 2008 at 6:54 am
@ Mizzy
I freakin hated that dog. :D
Posted by Nid on October 23, 2008 at 6:56 am
I totally agree. My only addition would be BioWare’s Knights of the Old Republic–I don’t think a year has gone by when I haven’t played through that a few times.
Posted by SHAGGYDEATH on October 23, 2008 at 7:40 am
Dont forget sonic!
Still has one of the greatest replay values!
Posted by Terry on October 23, 2008 at 7:41 am
Nice blogging/bantering! I’m always amazed by Street Fighter II’s longevity.
Posted by Trixie on October 23, 2008 at 7:48 am
I would add the Original Super Mario Bros. It’s still fun today! :)
Trixie
Posted by CrazedOne1988 on October 23, 2008 at 7:49 am
Very nice list.
I’d have to add super mario 64, That was the first 3-d game I ever played, and it’s what really got me into gaming in the first place. At that point, mario 64 was the top of the graphics ability, and the overall gameplay and graphics just blew me away.
Posted by Handmade Hero on October 23, 2008 at 7:56 am
superman on the N64; clearly the best game of all time ;)
On a more serious note though, the wario ware series will definitely be a classic game for me. stretching out an elephants trunk just never gets old! :p
me three about Duck Hunt
Posted by bs angel on October 23, 2008 at 8:46 am
Super Mario Bros was actually number eight on my list. It got cut since I wanted to do seven. Mortal Kombat was another good one StealthSpeed, definitely. And Duck Hunt frustrated the heck out of me!
Posted by the Light Show on October 23, 2008 at 9:08 am
Street Fighter II
Most definitely agree with this one. Just played it on my computer like a week or two ago, still fun as hell.
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Never played it, but I played the shit outa Zelda 2. Never beat it though…
Pac-Man
Of course we must recognize the classicness of Pac-Man. Everybody’s played it, although I can say I was never addicted.
GoldenEye 007
Yes, it’s true. This game was my Introduction to Shooters 101. But try playing it now, it kinda sucks…
Super Mario Kart
Played it, didn’t like it. But I never played it when it was hot shit. I only recently played it (like within the last couple of years)
Tetris
Spent many hours with this one while I had it on my old cell phone. Really good time waster…
Halo: Combat Evolved
Oh buddy… high school wouldn’t be the same without it. After every football game for three years, our entire team would all get together and have a huge LAN party. There were, no shit, 20 or more players every week. We always had enough Xboxes and controllers for at least one 16 player game, sometimes we’d have three games going at once. It was so incredibly badass.
But I’d also have to include:
Super Mario Bros. 3
Loved it and put many hours of my life into it like many other gamers.
Duke Nukem 3D
I take it back; this was my introduction to FPS’s. I even loved playing the originals; Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem 2. Now these games were fun as hell. Nothing’s better than a 2D dude with fifty guns and a ton of shit to shoot up.
Oregon Trail
That’s right folks, I said it. For every computer class I ever had in elementary school, Oregon Trail was always being played by me and minimized when the teacher was looking. “You have dysentery.” lol
Posted by CdawgOwnd on October 23, 2008 at 9:47 am
Pacman by Far. When i was young I would play and play and play on windows 95. It was the best game ever and it never got old because getting all four of the bad guys when they were blue was really hard to do and only happened every so often. I also loved the peach level. I HATE HATE HATED the red one. >:-O.
Posted by AT-AT on October 23, 2008 at 9:51 am
I’ve never had the chance to play many video games at all (except for the past few years), So I don’t think I could even form a top 7 list. But I would trade out Ocarina of Time for A Link to the Past.
Posted by BBJynne on October 23, 2008 at 10:23 am
why are real time strategies not considered classic?
Posted by Das Kalk on October 23, 2008 at 10:58 am
I personally cannot get enough of KOTOR I, It is so addicting and deep, and it was my first RPG ever, so it’s got a soft spot in my heart…
Posted by Queen 0f Blades on October 23, 2008 at 11:47 am
Oh my god, Das Kalk, I love you. Kotor was amazing. How could I forget that >.<
Posted by ragingterror on October 23, 2008 at 11:51 am
Played all seven… loved all seven.
Heck, you could even dual-wield in that game, and goodness knows how much we like to do that.
Especially BS Angel. ;)
Posted by e house on October 23, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I still like to play Contra and the original DOOM . . . oh, and Galaga. Sweet, sweet Galaga.
Posted by Mondo Titan on October 23, 2008 at 1:10 pm
nice choices. personally i cant stand Zelda, that little kid gives me a headache. however, you did miss a game. it goes by the title of Chrono Trigger. it was the absolute best game ever to grace the Super Nintendo. with its amazing story, multiple endings, the ability to name your characters, and a little feature called New Game+, the replayability is huge. not to mention the music was amazing, and they almost made time travel work (if you dont look to, to close). so i would replace Zelda with Chrono Trigger..
and cause i suck a fighter games, i would replace Street Fighter with Contra 3. just cause it was a great game to, and cause i can. :]
and if i ever wanted pure classicness in its essence form, i would take the rest your list (with Chrono Trigger), blend on high for 3 min, add one drop of child’s tear. presto. Essence El Classico.
Posted by rowboat 000 on October 23, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I’ll try to limit this to seven off the top of my head…
Minesweeper
Pong
Tetris
Galaga
Contra
Marble Madness
King’s Quest and Space Quest series
Posted by CrazyKinux on October 23, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Hmmmmm, a list hey? Looking back at Lou’s question now, I can see that I could have come up with a list myself. Though in all honesty, Homeworld did rise to the top for me.
But if I had to put such a list together it could look like this:
1) Homeworld – For reasons stated here.
2) Halo – Time simply stops when I play this game.
3) EVE Online – A game that evolves with time can only be called timeless!
4) Diablo II – My right forearm is bigger than my left because of this click-bonanza-of-a-game.
5) Gears of War – Who can get enough of chainsaws and big guns! Nuff said.
Glad to see you back in the Blog Banters Angel!
Cheers!
Posted by AT-AT on October 23, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Mondo Titan: I take it you haven’t played Zelda: Twilight Princess or the 2D games (other than remakes that add in the kid voice)? They are awesome (though the 2 NES titles are brutally hard).
Posted by SonofMacPhisto on October 23, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Homeworld FTW!
I agree with mendi too, Super Mario 3 was amazing.
Posted by bs angel on October 23, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Oh man, I’ve probably wasted years of my life on Minesweeper. I freakin’ love that game.
Posted by Lou Chou on October 23, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Me and about 12 of my friends used to crowd around a 14-inch television and throw ourselves into 4-player deatmatches on Golden Eye. We could hardly see a damn thing, but we still managed to kill about 3 hours each time.
Posted by Whaappened? on October 23, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Mechwarrior 2: 31st Centyry Combat was my gaming launchpad. I look back on it now, replaying it with the newfound knowlege of control maps, and realize it is why I’m fascinated by giant automations.
Posted by Viktim on October 23, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Can I get a shout-out for X-Com: UFO Defense? Anyone? Bueller? Fry?
Posted by DethPwn on October 23, 2008 at 6:51 pm
I heard sumthin about there bein a new duck hunt remake in the works for wii, utilizing the wii zapper, but that’s just rumors. Maybe…
Posted by DethPwn on October 23, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Also, Galaxia ftw
Posted by StealthSpeed3 on October 23, 2008 at 8:11 pm
time to dig out some old arcade favorites (why be limited to consoles after all?)
Mr Do
RoadBlasters
Xevious
Dig Dug
Centipede
TMNT: The Arcade Game or Turtles in Time
Killer Instinct
Area 51
and Cruisin’ USA/Daytona USA
Posted by Elvis Diaz on October 23, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Star Fox 64! Till this day I try to get medals on every level! best replay value ever! especially on Katalina when you have to destroy the alien invasion :)
Posted by Knight of Nee1 on October 24, 2008 at 5:12 am
Well, if you want to trek down memory lane…get a copy of “Atari Arcade Classics” for yer PC. Mrs. Knight has been hooked as of late on “Centipedi”; I myself have been hitting “Missle Command” pretty hard. Man, I’d be rich as hell if I had all the quarters I spent playing those classics…..$$$
Posted by CancaN05 on October 24, 2008 at 12:37 pm
no final fantasy SEVEN? lol that game is the best one ever created!!! i like how you put goldeneye in there thought ;)