If you've been gaming for decades, there are two truths you've probably come to accept. The first is that the industry has come a very long way indeed over the last 30 years or so. The second is that nostalgia is one of the strongest forces on Earth when it comes to gamers. We all have our favorite classics, and maybe we make a point of regularly replaying them. Without that strong emotional connection to these titles, though, and depending on their age, in a lot of cases we have to admit that aging hasn't been kind to them.
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Some titles' genre conventions have changed entirely since their initial releases. Others were launched in the early days of 3D gaming, resembling little more than a mass of polygons today (and perhaps with wildly misbehaving cameras to boot). Every one of the below games is a masterpiece and a genre classic, but they are also rather difficult to return to in their original forms.
6 Resident Evil
"There Are Terrible Demons. OUCH!"
Of course, the original Resident Evil launched in 1996, so to compare it to the survival horror standards of today (or indeed to its own remake) would be utterly unfair. There's a reason the game is still so respected and considered so influential all these years later, and there probably isn't a survival horror game that has released since that doesn't owe a debt of gratitude to it. All the same, though, returning to it today can be incredibly jarring.
1996 3D is very messy to look at today, and the pre-rendered background create something of a disjoint. It's also extremely cumbersome to move around the Spencer Mansion and other environments, thanks to the controls requiring you to effectively rotate on the spot to change direction, which is about as awkward as aiming weapons. The voice-acting, too, is legendary in the most hilarious way. The original game's 2002 remake didn't right some of these wrongs, unlike the remake of the other classic titles in the original trilogy (with regards to controls).
5 Tomb Raider III: Adventures Of Lara Croft
Lara Croft, Meet Spikes
The earlier Tomb Raider titles were some of the most ambitious games of the mid-to-late 1990s. At the time, there wasn't much quite like their vast 3D stages packed with enemies, secrets, and puzzles. There was a real feeling of an unfolding adventure throughout, and (for the time) the games looked phenomenal to boot. Just as with Resident Evil, though, the controls were a considerable hurdle to enjoyment.
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These titles were all about elaborate platforming sequences, which charged Lara with performing gymnastic moves to reach platforms, swing from objects, and leap from the very edges of a ledge. To do so, some very awkward maneuvering was called for, and the levels are ripe with pitfalls, spike traps, rolling boulders, and every imaginable hazard besides. Tomb Raider III increased the scope of the series again by sending Lara to a variety of locations around the planet in pursuit of special relics. This required new abilities from our heroine, including steering a kayak. This is difficult enough for beginners in real life, and the famously finnicky controls of the game made many players dread the Madubu Gorge level.
4 Prince Of Persia
A Legendary Beginning
In much later entries, the Prince of Persia series would embrace supernatural feats in its athletic prowess. By the time of 2003's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, our hero's wall-running abilities were legendary, and he'd ping himself deftly around rooms full of vicious whirring traps like they were nothing. The series began in 1989, and in the first game, the foundations of this were already firmly in place thanks to the revolutionary use of rotoscoping. To wit, the prince's movements looked so realistic because they were adapted from real-world footage of somebody performing those very same actions. Creator Jordan Mechner explained in an episode of Ars Technica's War Stories:
"Using one of the early VHS cameras, I videotaped my brother running and jumping and doing all those things in the parking lot across the street from our high school."
The first game is still an absolute classic and a technological triumph, but it's (as is to be expected) extremely limited compared to more recent series entries. Across its dozen levels, that gray brickwork is rarely swapped out, and the brutality of the wide array of hazards (a real problem in the decades before the Dagger of Time) meant lots of frustration and trial and error. Character animation is beyond reproach here, but the controls are a different matter entirely.
3 Final Fantasy 7
A Stunning Diamond, Rough Around The Edges
More and more classic games from our childhoods are being remade or remastered. What does this mean for the beloved original versions, though? Well, that depends on the individual player. For some, a visual and control overhaul is such an upgrade that the original title is now surplus to requirements, while nostalgic fans might always prefer to go old school or consider a remake strictly a companion piece. When you see a remake of a classic title you've never played before, it can be very difficult to go back after experiencing the newer take on it. For a game like Final Fantasy 7, this makes perfect sense.
There's no questioning the 1997 game's impact on the Final Fantasy series, or the wider JRPG genre. Equally, though, curious gamers taking a look for the first time will quickly notice that, even in its remastered form, it's extremely ugly today. Place it next to the first two installments of the remake, and it's a night and day difference. As revered as it is, the PS1 original has decades of JRPG development to compete with, and its celebrated mechanics are quite simplistic and rather clunky now. There are some who will absolutely refuse to play a turn-based RPG, particularly an ancient one. Classics from a beloved series, all the same.
2 The Legend Of Zelda
It's Dangerous To Go Alone... Because You'll Get Lost In About Three Seconds
Once again, you can't callously compare 1986's The Legend of Zelda with 2023's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. They're creations from vastly different times, for vastly different hardware. However, there will always be those who fall in love with a series' latest entry and want to go all the way back to its roots to see how it all began. Doing so might prove quite the surprise.
Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild, as the latest mainline titles, have generous logs, helpful maps and tutorial guidance to help players find their bearings and keep moving towards their goals. They don't hold the player's hand throughout, but there's a good balance of freedom to explore a vast world and subtle map markers and such for orientation. The first game in the series, however, arrived at a time when such things were essentially non-existent. If it wasn't in the instruction manual, you didn't know it. Some might even miss the cave on the first screen and wonder where the heck their sword is. It's that same 'exploring Hyrule' feeling, but in a very loose and vague sense.
1 Grim Fandango
A Quirky Classic Of A Point And Click
1998's Grim Fandango is one of the greatest and most memorable point and click titles ever. As is to be expected of a game themed around the Mexican day of the dead, almost every scene is bursting with vibrant personality (think something like Guacamelee). The intrigue and drama of the plot, which concerns four Days of the Dead in the life of travel agent Manny Calavera, is what most players will remember. It's a game with a unique style and charm, and those who are interested in these themes will be hooked from the opening scene. There's no telling, however, how far they might get beyond that.
Point and click games, notoriously, can be quite inaccessible. Often, there are very specific ways to solve problems and progress. For example, it can be very difficult to tell which item which character wants to be given (for example). This can result in a fruitless search around a given area for a use for several odd things in your inventory. Grim Fandango can be guilty of this (how would we ever know where to find the cat racing puzzle numbers), particularly so considering that the original version didn't bother to 'highlight' certain items as the remastered version does. It's essential to pay attention to dialogue, lest you miss something. A wonderful and endlessly inventive experience, but one that may require a walkthrough. Some titles have a similar feeling, but none quite hit the same notes.
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