YeulEmeralda
Member
Baldur's Gate 2. I mean if Disco can win the graphics are still acceptable.
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Retro games that would still be GOTY contenders even today (without a "was revolutionary for its time" caveat)I be
- Thread starter jigglet
- Start date
DukeNukem00
Banned
There are games that are the apex of their style at release, but then somehow nobody builts and improves over it. Maybe they take bits and pieces as inspiration, but thats it. Raven Shield from 2003 and Swat 4 from 2005 are the benchmark tactical games. All the Rainbow Six games after got more and more neutered and striped of features to apeal to everyone.
Stalker from 2007, 2008 and 2009 are so unique in the medium that literally zero games are like them. Call of Prypiat from 2009 is quite simply the best FPS and the best example of an open space design. Quite literally, EVERY aspect you see people complain today about open worlds is resolved in Stalker. EVERYTHING.
Supreme Commander from 2007 is the final form of real time strategy. Its the peak. Apex. Every other RTS game just pales so much in comparison, because they dont have even a fragment of its scope and features. 15 year old game thats the best game in the medium from its genre.
Half Life 1 was so sublime, so masteful that pretty much no story driven FPS has surpassed it in the following years since release. The entire industry shifted the way it was making games after HL released and set the benchmark for how games should be. But they didnt have the complete package to move past it and exceed it. I could maybe name you a handfull of fps games today that can stand with HL from 1998, but i cant name you one that destroys it and is above in every way. That game doesnt exist
Guilty_AI
Member
Yes and no. The map has a lot of wilderness with nothing really in it, and you'll be mostly fast traveling from interest point to interest point.
However there are thousands of these interest points (Towns, dungeons, etc), and theres quite a bit going on in them. You can spend hours and hours on end in dungeons alone.
If you plan to play it though, i do recommend going with Daggerfall Unity and checking out some mods that can help enhance the experience.
The scale is not just about the map. The quests, dungeons, systems all have an amount and depth to them i don't see in modern games very often.
I was given a simple quest to deliver a painting to X residence in a rather large town. Naturally there was no waypoint or GPS showing me where it was, so i had to go around asking random people where X residence was located. A lot of them refused to give me directions, made fun of me or gave vague instructions until finally some woman gave me the exact location.
Sounds so simple and yet it gave that dumb squared city with samey buildings and sprites walking around more depth than 80% of modern game cities.
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GymWolf
Member
Yeah, that one could pass for a modern 2d platform with 95\100 scores.
Bragr
Banned
You can program a word editor with more complexity than that today though. The reason why modern games don't feature stuff like that is that it takes 6 months to make, while back then, it took 2 days because the games were so simple.
Although, I can admit that most modern game cities are fluff.
NeoIkaruGAF
Gold Member
Metroid Prime. If there’s anything that did the same things better, I don’t know it.
Rykan
Member
With all due respect, but you've named a bunch of games that weren't really considered GOTY material at the time of their release, let alone now. They were unique, sure. But they hardly have the polish that we expect of games today.
Same with HL1. Not going to take away anything from the game because it was amazing for its time, but I've found that most FPS have long surpassed it in terms of gameplay alone. It had a nice focus on story that was new at the time, but I hard disagree that it's anything even noteworthy when compared to todays games.
Arcadialane
Member
Aladdin for snes. Still one of the only older games I can go back to. Would be a indie darling on steam, or rank up for with the latest Mario release.
DukeNukem00
Banned
You may disagree, but games were compared against HL even five years or so later. I know i read a NOLF 2 review saying how its the best scripted fps since Half Life. I dont care how those games were received by the mainstream press. The same press we mock todat constantly for what innept they are. These titles are not game of the year because someone sayd so at the time. Its because i played them and i know. Most people would have their braines explode by playing Supreme Commander, which is exactly what happened. I lost count how many thought its too hard. If you go too extreme with the hardcore factor you will alienate a lot of players who seek out automated experiences.
worldwithpyramids
Member
Tetris
I mean, this question is paradoxical to begin with.
I mean, this question is paradoxical to begin with.
Dontkidyourselfjimmy
Member
Doom
MasterDerico
Member
Streets of Rage 2
Guardian Heroes
Mortal Kombat 2
Tekken 3
Soul Calibur
...etc
Those are "surface" games, but there's a lots of underground games that would be my goty, like Panzer Bandit, Adventures of Little Ralph, Urban Reign, GW endless duel, Advanced VG 2, etc...
Guardian Heroes
Mortal Kombat 2
Tekken 3
Soul Calibur
...etc
Those are "surface" games, but there's a lots of underground games that would be my goty, like Panzer Bandit, Adventures of Little Ralph, Urban Reign, GW endless duel, Advanced VG 2, etc...
TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
If Disco Elysium could win, I guess Planescape: Torment could win too.
Duchess
Member
EDGE sometimes does a retro review, where they award said old game a score.
Way back in 2002, they reviewed Exile and gave it 10/10. I agree 100%.
en.wikipedia.org
Edit: for those unfamiliar with EDGE, a 10/10 score is a rare thing, indeed (23 games, over its near 30 year publication history).
Way back in 2002, they reviewed Exile and gave it 10/10. I agree 100%.
Exile (1988 video game) - Wikipedia
Edit: for those unfamiliar with EDGE, a 10/10 score is a rare thing, indeed (23 games, over its near 30 year publication history).
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Daneel Elijah
Gold Member
Same but the megadrive version!
EverydayBeast
thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Ocarina of time it has a legacy and destroys todays games.
jufonuk
not tag worthy
jufonuk
not tag worthy
Ghost of Caelid
Banned
Shadow of the colossus easily...people would call it a botw clone done right.
Halo CE
Splinter Cell chaos theory
Halo CE
Splinter Cell chaos theory
baphomet
Member
Literally nothing.
People are blinded by nostalgia.
Currently playing back through a bunch of PS2 games and not only do they look quite bad, but the controls are almost uniformly terrible. Even games that I used to think controlled really well, some are near unplayable.
Just an example, Black looks like a PSP game and is barely controllable.
People are blinded by nostalgia.
Currently playing back through a bunch of PS2 games and not only do they look quite bad, but the controls are almost uniformly terrible. Even games that I used to think controlled really well, some are near unplayable.
Just an example, Black looks like a PSP game and is barely controllable.
thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Gold Member
Welp, I'm playing Shining Force III right now and would consider that a GOTY contender if it were a new game on something like Switch, maybe with graphics closer to some of the Square remasters or that diorama-like visual style Nintendo did for one of their Zelda games (it was either on 3DS or the Switch).
Some other games I'd personally consider GOTY material: Parasite Eve, Phantasy Star IV, Outrun 2 Coast 2 Coast, Chrono Trigger, Tekken 3 (PS1 version), Tekken 5: DR, System Shock 2, Silent Hill 2, RE4, Resident Evil, Mario Galaxy, Gran Turismo 3 & 4, Metal Slug, Dodonpachi, Alien Soldier.
I don't think it's nostalgia for a lot of games, just more the fact a lot of people accustomed to modern game design trends can't easily adjust their mindset for older types of game design.
But also, certain types of older games age less gracefully than others; old-school JRPGs and SRPGs for example haven't really aged, but older realistic sports game definitely have. Others like shmups reached their design zenith decades ago so it's very hard to say shmups from say the mid-late '90s onward have "aged poorly", objectively speaking.
Some other games I'd personally consider GOTY material: Parasite Eve, Phantasy Star IV, Outrun 2 Coast 2 Coast, Chrono Trigger, Tekken 3 (PS1 version), Tekken 5: DR, System Shock 2, Silent Hill 2, RE4, Resident Evil, Mario Galaxy, Gran Turismo 3 & 4, Metal Slug, Dodonpachi, Alien Soldier.
I don't think it's nostalgia for a lot of games, just more the fact a lot of people accustomed to modern game design trends can't easily adjust their mindset for older types of game design.
But also, certain types of older games age less gracefully than others; old-school JRPGs and SRPGs for example haven't really aged, but older realistic sports game definitely have. Others like shmups reached their design zenith decades ago so it's very hard to say shmups from say the mid-late '90s onward have "aged poorly", objectively speaking.
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Astral Dog
Member
Super Mario 64 DS is rad and still a super fun platformer(thats the version im more familiar with) a lot of extras compared to the original 64
Super Mario Bros 3 All Stars would be trashed by gamers today because its not open world
Super Mario Bros 3 All Stars would be trashed by gamers today because its not open world
Imru’ al-Qays
Member
Chrono Trigger still holds up extremely well
Captain Toad
Banned
Probably nothing exactly like they were. But, with a few tweaks, quality of life improvements, etc, a couple could.
Even then, it's difficult to imagine. Link to the Past is still fantastic. But, since then we've had countless clones. If LTTP released today and those game still existed, then IT would be seen as the clone and even if people agreed it did things better, I don't see it winning GOTY awards.
Even then, it's difficult to imagine. Link to the Past is still fantastic. But, since then we've had countless clones. If LTTP released today and those game still existed, then IT would be seen as the clone and even if people agreed it did things better, I don't see it winning GOTY awards.
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OmegaSpirit32X
Member
Neh, a lot of PS2 games don't really look that bad because that's the best they could do at the time, and I think Low Poly graphics have charm.
What games did you play anyways? Games that were bad even at the time?
Also SNES and Genesis games for example aged perfectly and would still be considered great even today. Games like Super Mario World or Sonic 3 & Knuckles for example, or Yoshi's Island and Dynamite Headdy.
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OmegaSpirit32X
Member
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario World
Kirby's Adventure
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Yoshi's Island
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
EarthBound
Anything by Treasure (Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Headdy, Alien Soldier)
Super Mario 64
Super Mario World
Kirby's Adventure
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Yoshi's Island
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
EarthBound
Anything by Treasure (Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Headdy, Alien Soldier)
Super Mario 64
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Fuz
Banned
lol
InfiniteCombo
Banned
I love all of those games, I really do. But... Streets of Rage can't possibly be a GotY contender today. The problem is that the beat em up genre is way too narrow; the gameplay loop gets repetitive very quickly.
And, again, this is coming from someone who's a big fan of beat em ups!!
InfiniteCombo
Banned
To me personally, Resident Evil 4 is the greatest video game of all time.
But people would complain about "tank controls" and "no strafing" etc.
I Master l
Banned
I Played Max Payne 1-2 for the first time last month and i think they still holds up
Andodalf
Banned
Tetris effect legit won some smaller GOTY noms
baphomet
Member
Well I've got hundreds of PS2 games so I've played them all more or less. By all means name one you think holds up visually today and I'll try and pull some shots directly from it.
Just as an example Devil May Cry 3 neither looks as good as people remember, or controls as good.
We get games like Cyber Shadow that, if they had released back in 1989, would be considered one of the best games of all time. But today they're just an average indie game. If Super Mario World released today under a different name it would be lucky to even have a thread on here.
synchronicity
Member
It depends on who's doing the judging of "GOTY".
If modern media, then none.
If hardcore gamers, then plenty are deserving of being in that conversation.
If modern media, then none.
If hardcore gamers, then plenty are deserving of being in that conversation.
Who are you DSP top ranking evo champ?
killatopak
Member
Diablo 2
sncvsrtoip
Member
2d games age better, castelvenia symphony of the night, street fighter alpha 2, maybe baldurs gate 2
Belthazar
Member
I think with those games being released today no other games would've been able to take those characteristics and refine them, so it's the only way any retro game would be able to be in the GOTY conversation today would be if any evolution brought and games inspired by them wouldn't be considered.