General Retro Thread

[Eel Snave]

I tried looking to see if there was a general retro thread and didn't find anything. Maybe I'm blind, who knows?

I'm finding that I much prefer games from 15-20 years ago and further back the older I get. It almost feels like modern games are just trotting out the same few tropes over and over again, so I'm safely retreating into the retro-verse. We Love Katamari has been a recent standout for me. Anyone else got something they've been playing/re-playing?

[Daehawk]

Welcome to my world. Actually I love new games and great graphics but old games hold a place in my heart that cant be equaled. I look back with my rose colored glasses and smile and reminisce. Lots sucked then too but since I usually knew better than to buy those my recollections of my collection are good. I still have all mine but maybe 3 - 5 I lost or got rid of. I think of replaying old games all the time. Then either I dont, they wont work, or I cant redo all that fun because they are old and look it.

[LordMortis]

I come back to Star Wars Rebellion every few years. I use the GOG version but I still have the book and reference material to go with the CD that doesn't work on modern machines as is.

I also go back to HoMMIII every few years. Also replaced by GOG.

I replayed Imperialism 2.... also replaced on GOG not that long ago.

Aside from that it's been a while since I touched any of the more classic games in my libraries. It's not unlikely that when the whim strikes me my next install will be some classic game or another unless one of the current round of city builders goes on sale and holds up with reviews that make me want to tool around with it.

[hitbyambulance]

i go back further than most, as i like a lot of 70s and 80s games. e.g. finally got a copy of Superman for the Atari 2600 for $5 from a local 'old' game store. it's actually one of the more interesting games for the system, i think.

[Jaymann]

I'm with you mate! I went back and played Legend of Grimrock while waiting for Octopath Traveler II. It's not that old (8 years since I last played!) but it is based on retro concepts.

I also went back to HOMM III for some scenarios.

[dbt1949]

I still like to play the original Imperialism some times. The original Xcom 1,2,3. Just picked up Emperor of the Fading sun. Bunch of builder games from the early 2000s. I think I still have all my manuals since 1994.
I don't play these all the time but every once in a while.

[gilraen]

I spent hours and hours in the mid-90s playing Dungeons of the Unforgiven.



Played it the other day in a "browser" version (I haven't had a working DOS emulator since early days of Win 7). Still friggin' hard.

[TheMix]

190 hours in Master of Magic Classic... Nope. No idea what you mean...

[Isgrimnur]

If you want a retro turn-based WWII tank simulator, Armoured Commander is free. There is a sequel out for $11.99.

[Blackhawk]

I have actually been poking around at Soldier of Fortune as a time-killer, and I play a fair number of older games (I go back to one of Deus Ex, System Shock 2, or Thief 1/2 every year or two.) I've also been toying with the idea of a new Morrowind playthrough, but I haven't had the oomph to start learning what's happened in mods over the past... holy crap, it's been 15 years since my newest screenshot was taken.

It's a different market now, and monetization is different. Studios are larger now. And that means that they're less willing to take chance (fewer games have mechanics that break away from the proven earners), there's more of a push to save money on production (thus the everlasting timestomper that is open worlds with collectibles, something that can extend gameplay with minimal investment), and there is more of a hard push toward genres and styles that can support microtransactions (thus everything being multiplayer or having unlockables.)

It's not entirely the industry's fault - it's what they've had to do to stay profitable when games have barely increased in price. In fact, if you factor in inflation, games have steadily become cheaper (even with the new price point of $70.) If we're not willing to pay them the $90+ per game that inflation says we should be paying, then we're forcing them to find somewhere else to make their money. I'm ok with that, but it has made modern games a little tedious sometimes (even the ones I really enjoy.)

[wonderpug]

I come back to Star Wars Rebellion every few years. I use the GOG version but I still have the book and reference material to go with the CD that doesn't work on modern machines as is.

Do you play out the space battles or just sim them when you play?

[dbt1949]

If you want a retro turn-based WWII tank simulator, Armoured Commander is free. There is a sequel out for $11.99.

I have the sequel for a couple of years now and it's well worth the price. The graphics are pretty primitive but lots of fun.

[Zenn7]

Have been playing Star Fleet Command 2: Orion Pirates for the last couple months (finally took a break a couple days ago to play Creeper World 4). Found the latest patch for it with my original disk.

Bought/played SFC1 (Klingon campaign) when it came out on GOG.

I own several other older games (including Imperialism 2, love that one) that I keep thinking I might go back and play some of them, but in the last few years, I tend not to get more than 30-60 minutes of game time most days. Hard to get heavily into a good strategy game in that short of time, so I often go for simpler things with shorter maps/quick missions (things like Battletech, SFC, tower defense games...).

[LordMortis]

I come back to Star Wars Rebellion every few years. I use the GOG version but I still have the book and reference material to go with the CD that doesn't work on modern machines as is.

Do you play out the space battles or just sim them when you play?

I play them out but they don't work well. I had to put additional patching on them. I haven't played since swapping out my machine in December, so I can't tell you what the file was.

[wonderpug]

I remember not being thrilled with the space battles even when the game was new, but I loved the rest of the game. You’re making me get tempted to dust it off and try it again.

[LordMortis]

I remember not being thrilled with the space battles even when the game was new, but I loved the rest of the game. You’re making me get tempted to dust it off and try it again.

When I played the space battles I mostly watched them but I liked watch/playing. Something felt right about watching the enemy fighters disappear and talking out capital ships before they had a chance to flee.

There is patches you definitely need to make it work on 7 and most especially 10. The graphics don't work without basic patches and are glitchy without I want to say some sort of DX emulator.

Edit, though I see on my GOG page that "updates are waiting for me" so maybe GOG patched the game better than the last time I played a few years ago.

[gbasden]

It's not entirely the industry's fault - it's what they've had to do to stay profitable when games have barely increased in price. In fact, if you factor in inflation, games have steadily become cheaper (even with the new price point of $70.) If we're not willing to pay them the $90+ per game that inflation says we should be paying, then we're forcing them to find somewhere else to make their money. I'm ok with that, but it has made modern games a little tedious sometimes (even the ones I really enjoy.)

I was paying $49 for games in 1986 when I got my first IBM XT. With inflation, that's closer to $140 now. Games are crazy cheap.

[Eel Snave]

So I'm going waaaay back in the vault here, but I've been playing Wario Land II for the Game Boy, and it's incredibly annoying. I can't put my finger on why, but I think it's because you don't die, you just have to backtrack through stuff sometimes and it makes you want to tear out your hair.

[Kasey Chang]

Games are crazy cheap, and production cost have gone through the roof. Modern AAA games have a crew that rivals movie credit, esp.. when you have separate credits for publisher vs developer. Then add in QC crew, additional help from other studios, and tons of alpha testers.

"Back in the days", games are created by a couple guys, one primary, couple to help with art and music, a couple to craft UI, and so on. Nowadays, you need a couple people just to mod online lobby, never mind the game itself.

[Jeff V]

My 9 year old son loves old games -- Pac Man, Sonic, Mario to name a few. He's been into Pac Man since he was 3, last year a coffee table book on Pac Man came out, a few pages are dedicated to the original artist who lives near by and is an acquaintance. He's agreed to sign a copy of the book in exchange for a beer...now I just have to get the book.

[Jeff V]

Games are crazy cheap, and production cost have gone through the roof. Modern AAA games have a crew that rivals movie credit, esp.. when you have separate credits for publisher vs developer. Then add in QC crew, additional help from other studios, and tons of alpha testers.

"Back in the days", games are created by a couple guys, one primary, couple to help with art and music, a couple to craft UI, and so on. Nowadays, you need a couple people just to mod online lobby, never mind the game itself.

Or just one guy, as was the case with the late John Tiller.

[Eel Snave]

I don't know if Super Famicom games are just plain cheaper than their SNES counterparts, but I just found a complete copy of Seiken Densetsu 3 (Trials of Mana) at a con for $30.

[raydude]

If you want a retro turn-based WWII tank simulator, Armoured Commander is free. There is a sequel out for $11.99.

I have the sequel for a couple of years now and it's well worth the price. The graphics are pretty primitive but lots of fun.

Same. It's essentially the board game Patton's Best but in computer game form.

[hitbyambulance]

I don't know if Super Famicom games are just plain cheaper than their SNES counterparts, but I just found a complete copy of Seiken Densetsu 3 (Trials of Mana) at a con for $30.

actually, they are. i built up my NES library for relatively cheap by purchasing Famicom games from Japan on eBay. one example: Clu Clu Land was going for around $29 for the American NES version, and a whole $2 (plus $1 shipping) for the Japanese Famicom version. you just need an adapter to switch the end pins and it works fine - bonus is that the cartridges are colorful and usually have much better label art. also fun is that many games still have all (or mostly) English text. the ones that are all Japanese tend to go for much, much cheaper in the states - this is especially true for RPGs and other text-heavy titles. i think i got the first three Wizardry! games for $6 total, and i believe there's an option in the menu to switch to English text...

[Eel Snave]

I don't know if Super Famicom games are just plain cheaper than their SNES counterparts, but I just found a complete copy of Seiken Densetsu 3 (Trials of Mana) at a con for $30.

actually, they are. i built up my NES library for relatively cheap by purchasing Famicom games from Japan on eBay. one example: Clu Clu Land was going for around $29 for the American NES version, and a whole $2 (plus $1 shipping) for the Japanese Famicom version. you just need an adapter to switch the end pins and it works fine - bonus is that the cartridges are colorful and usually have much better label art. also fun is that many games still have all (or mostly) English text. the ones that are all Japanese tend to go for much, much cheaper in the states - this is especially true for RPGs and other text-heavy titles. i think i got the first three Wizardry! games for $6 total, and i believe there's an option in the menu to switch to English text...

Holy wow! Well now I know.

[dbt1949]

Just finished watch some guy play (open)TFTD. He played it on superhuman and lost all four games. He blamed it on the program but as far as I could see 1/4 of his clicks were misclicks. I watched him make mistake after mistake after mistake. He had a good broadcast voice or I wouldn't have watched the whole thing. He did it on Ironman too. He just refused to believe any of it was his fault. Never saw anybody so dependent of grenades. I would never try it on superhuman or Ironman. Veteran is as high as I would go. I have beaten it on lesser levels and had a blast. I might just try it again.

It amazes me how many youtubers feel the need to play games on the most difficult level. As well as how many have never played a game they started on youtube.

[hitbyambulance]

Holy wow! Well now I know.

i'm still missing a few games that i want, like the 'actual' Super Mario Bros 2, since it tends to be very expensive (never having been released in the US), and Metroid, since it was only available on 3 1/2 floppy for the Famicom disk drive (as was The Legend of Zelda, but i happened upon a US copy of that).

[Daehawk]

Holy wow! Well now I know.

i'm still missing a few games that i want, like the 'actual' Super Mario Bros 2, since it tends to be very expensive (never having been released in the US), and Metroid, since it was only available on 3 1/2 floppy for the Famicom disk drive (as was The Legend of Zelda, but i happened upon a US copy of that).

Am I missing something about your SMB2 post because SMB2 came out in north america is 1988. I remember renting it to play. Is there another version?

[Isgrimnur]

[Daehawk]

Might be interesting for collectors. Should we start a thread for gaming related videos?

[hitbyambulance]

Am I missing something about your SMB2 post because SMB2 came out in north america is 1988. I remember renting it to play. Is there another version?

full story is here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mar ... conception

this was actually released in Japan as "Super Mario USA"

[Blackhawk]

Holy wow! Well now I know.

i'm still missing a few games that i want, like the 'actual' Super Mario Bros 2, since it tends to be very expensive (never having been released in the US), and Metroid, since it was only available on 3 1/2 floppy for the Famicom disk drive (as was The Legend of Zelda, but i happened upon a US copy of that).

Am I missing something about your SMB2 post because SMB2 came out in north america is 1988. I remember renting it to play. Is there another version?

The closest thing in the US was, I believe, the Lost Levels compilation on the SNES.

[Daehawk]

hitbyambulance.....Hey thats interesting. Never heard of this before. Back then I was all into consoles and video games. Thought I knew all the stories and stuff. But this doesn't register in my memories a bit. Neat to finally hear about it. thanks.