What oldschool game are you playing?

[freeflow^]

I know we all have nostaglic urges to play or replay games from old consoles, so which one are you currently playing, and how does it stack up to when you first played it?

Right now I'm currently replaying Chrono Trigger, and man this game has aged better than any RPG I can think of. The characters and battle system have gotten me hooked, again. It had been quite a few years since I had last played it, and it's been great to go through all of the trials and tribulations of trying to save the world from Lavos. I like how Square utilized a story that's serious and intense, yet full of comedic moments. They just don't make em like this one anymore. While replaying this game I caught myself constantly thinking, yeah this how you make a great RPG. Everything is so well balanced - the items, money, weapons, exp you receive - thoughtout. The music is so beautifully epic aswell. The only game that I think does a better job is FFVII.

ps: I feel sad for Glen once again :(

[Priest4hire]

I'm not currently playing an old school game. However, the last old school game I played was a real old school example: Phantasie. This game is kind of interesting because it's the very first RPG, that I'm aware of, to feature a combat system in which the player characters and monsters face off from opposite sides of the screen. It also features a very distinct town, dungeon, town, dungeon game flow which should be familiar to anyone who has played older JRPGs. This is curious because Ultima was always less structured than that and Wizardry only had one town.

I had originally put most of this up to coincidence but more recently learned that in addition to the three games in the series I knew there was a forth game that was Japanese only. Thus it must have been known in Japan and could well have been a prime influence in JRPG design. At any rate I intend to do a writeup on the game should the blog idea come to fruition.

[Raidou]

Currently replaying YS in PSP :-)

[Blackdragon]

Pac Man on the PSP Namco Museum. That's about all I'll probably even play that's old school. I downloaded Suikoden onto my PSP but I lost interest as soon as I started playing it.

[Ges]

I love how my idea of old school is maybe Secret of Mana or Phantasy Star II or something, and Priest just throws out these games I've never even heard of.

:B

[WOTON]

I'm playing the Star Ocean 1 remake for the PSP. It's sort of a old school game just redone with better graphics and improved battle system.

[moogle]

I love how my idea of old school is maybe Secret of Mana or Phantasy Star II or something, and Priest just throws out these games I've never even heard of.

:B
I've been playing SoM recently. It sucks this time through though, because I have no one to play with. The AI is so bad.

[Trillian]

I usually have an old school game on the go, but right now I've got none. I just finished FFIV and have since been playing all new games.

[freeflow^]

I'm not currently playing an old school game. However, the last old school game I played was a real old school example: Phantasie. This game is kind of interesting because it's the very first RPG, that I'm aware of, to feature a combat system in which the player characters and monsters face off from opposite sides of the screen. It also features a very distinct town, dungeon, town, dungeon game flow which should be familiar to anyone who has played older JRPGs. This is curious because Ultima was always less structured than that and Wizardry only had one town.

I had originally put most of this up to coincidence but more recently learned that in addition to the three games in the series I knew there was a forth game that was Japanese only. Thus it must have been known in Japan and could well have been a prime influence in JRPG design. At any rate I intend to do a writeup on the game should the blog idea come to fruition.

I take it you're playing this game on emulation? What was it originally released on? It sounds like something I'd like to try out. I love playing oldschool games that were/are groundbreaking.

[Phakiel]

I kinda started Zelda Occarina of Time but the ro...cartridge for some reason doesnt appear to have the info to get into Dodongo's Cavern early on the game. I have read at least 5 guides and they all talk about something that should be there and it isnt. I have tried every possible thing to get into the cavern and move on, but cant. Its the Master Quest version, do I have to do something special? Is there a song I have to play?

[Priest4hire]

I take it you're playing this game on emulation? What was it originally released on? It sounds like something I'd like to try out. I love playing oldschool games that were/are groundbreaking.

I played the Atari ST version and although I own real copies of the game for that computer, I find it's much easier to emulate than deal with ancient floppies and systems. It was originally created for the Apple II and ported to the Atari 800, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST and IBM PC.

If you really want to take this old game for a spin there's a few things you'll want to keep in mind. A copy of the manual is a must. Not only is the story in the manual but spells are listed only by number when you acquire them even though the Atari ST version has the names in a list when you cast them. And although this may sound sacrilegious, I would recommend busting out a hex editor in order to spare your sanity during character creation. Otherwise you'll be rolling up characters until your computer commits suicide from the boredom. If you want a beast race in your party it's 10 times worse.

Actually, if you haven't played it I would suggest Ultima IV on the Sega Master System instead. It's one of the most important CRPGs ever created and certainly has influenced just about all RPGs since. Of the various ports, the SMS version is the easiest to get into for a modern gamer and it's not butchered like the NES version. On the whole it would be an easier to game to get running. You will want copies of the manuals and map and keeping notes is a good idea. The SMS version minimizes the need for notes but a few are still handy.

I still intend to do an article on Phantasie, and then I'll go into depth regarding its gameplay and substance. Perhaps you might wait until then to get a better sense of what it's really like.

[freeflow^]

So it's almost similar to D&D in that respect. Sounds pretty time consuming, which may not be on my plate for a while, since school's starting. I look forward to the article though.

Ultima has always been a franchise that I would like to try out more thoroughly too.

[Luisfe]

Discworld and Discworld 2: Mortality Bites are the older games I am currently playing. If it counts, Baldur's Gate 1 (well, it is 11 years old, though not exactly as "old school" as some other titles)

[Trillian]

Discworld and Discworld 2: Mortality Bites are the older games I am currently playing. If it counts, Baldur's Gate 1 (well, it is 11 years old, though not exactly as "old school" as some other titles)
Are the Discworld games actually good? I've read so many of the books but have been hesitant to even look at the games because games based on other things have a knack for being absolutely terrible.

[Luisfe]

They are pretty good adventure games, but they are VERY high in the "What the hell were the developers thinking with this puzzle" factor. Some fit the setting well, others, not really all that much. I would say they are worth playing, and that they are funny, but they definitely do require a guide.


Edit: Due to the very nonsensical nature of the games, without a guide they are amongst the hardest adventures.

[freeflow^]

I'm going through Final Fantasy Tactics (psx) again, and I absolutely love this SRPG. I never get sick of starting a new game, which is rare for me. This time through I decided to only use custom characters, since Agrias, Beowulf, and Orlandu get pretty beastly during the end of the game. The first time I beat FFT was soley because I had Orlandu in my party. The rest of my party got demolished.

It's going well so far, Velius was a bitch, and Elmdor and the Assassins are pretty difficult too, but besides that I haven't had any problems. I like how you don't need to constantly level up your characters throughout the game. You can basically run through the story battles, do a little game exploiting at the end of the battle, then move to the next.

I guess I'm considering games that are 10 years + oldschool...

[TheBlatantKatana]

Not exactly oldschool, but I usually get a craving for FF IX in the fall, once the temp starts getting cooler. Been playing that a bit. THe story's great at the beginning, good at the middle, and completely eats itself at the end. So I rarely play all the way through it.

Earthbound's been calling me. Guess I should dust off the ol SNES and give it a play. It was my first RPG, and I still conseder it one of the best. Probably the reason why I never sold my SNES. That and I don't really part with things easily.

Still have the Saturn Valley music stuck in my head...

[Sibek]

Not exactly old school, but I just finished a playthrough of Persona 4, though I haven't had access to TV for months so I've been using PCSX2 to play PS2 games. I'm doing a replay of Suikoden 3 at the moment and probably go off and start Persona 2 Innocent Sin after that.

I've also been playing Freedom Force and Jedi Outcast (not a RPG) off Steam. Freedom Force has always been a good game (still have CD but still bought the Steam version) and time has treated it well. Jedi Outcast, however, is a bad game by today's standards.

[Sanjuro]

Being snowed in for the last 3 days has allowed me to replay through final fantasy 6. damn has that game aged well!

[Sushi_b]

I love how my idea of old school is maybe Secret of Mana or Phantasy Star II or something, and Priest just throws out these games I've never even heard of.

:B
Well it's not like Phantasy Star II is a spring chicken. We are talking about a game that is over 20 years old now.

There are so many to choose from but I was delving into Wild ARMs on the PSN for a little while but I stopped playing that because of DS games. I think CT on the DS was the last RPG I've really finished that's more then 5 years old.

[Bob14]

I started on Grandia a few weeks ago on my psp. Playing it on and off when I have time, but it's great so far.

[superfly2000]

Neverwinter Nights 1!

Also got my own server to go with that :-)

[Strobe Diablos]

I've been cracking out pretty hard to Secret of Evermore the past few weeks. My dog is a robot! I actually forgot how geekchic this game is, what with references to old B-movies(The Slob, anyone?) all over the place.

[Kadmus]

I've been playing through the old NES games. Its brought back a lot of memories from my childhood. Its also reminded me of how hard these games are. I remember wanting to pull my hair out back then and it still feels the same way.

To be specific, I've been playing Battletoads. This game is just completely over the top. Maybe this time I can beat the game...

[Ges]

Well, it ain't old school, really, but .hack//Mutation. Good lord do the graphics suck ass now, but the game itself is still pretty neat.

I guess I can throw the first Parasite Eve in there, too.

[Luisfe]

Fallout 2. It counts, right?
Damn it's not THAT old!
I recvently found out that a restoration patch similar to KOTOR2's patch was released. Just as quoted in The Sopranos: "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in"

Also, it rocks. Get it on gog. Now.
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/fallout_2

[LagDragon]

That was originally a Godfather quote, you know?

I just started replaying Chrono Cross recently. My girlfriend's gone for two weeks and it's been at least a couple years since I've played either Chrono game. Strangely enough, I enjoy Cross the more time goes on. I appreciate it more for what it was and try not to focus on what it wasn't.

[Phakiel]

That was originally a Godfather quote, you know?



The Godfather Part III to be more precise. Pacino overacting.

As for old games, fuck you I just got Marvel vs Capcom 3!

[Luisfe]

Yes, that is why I said "As it was quoted in the Sopranos."
As in, they referenced the movie. Several times. In any case, MVC3 is fun yes.

Also: Not playing any old games at the moment :(

[Priest4hire]

I just started playing Challenge of the Five Realms. I'd played it a very long time ago and on a whim figured I should crack it open again. I've only just started it, but so far it has a decent setup:

You're crown prince <insert name here>. The projection of an evil snake-like wizard has just killed your father and given you an ultimatum: You are to bring your crown to him in 100 days or a curse he has cast on the land with do nasty things. Then some prick whacks you on the head, steals the crown and runs off to an ambitious duke who happens to dislike you and have eyes on the throne. Since every knight conveniently fled, it's time to sally forth by yourself to gather party members and put things right.

Way back in '92, the game features banter among party members and cutscenes. It uses the questionnaire method of character creation, and it's a pretty solid example. Graphics are rather meh, even for the time and combat is somewhat annoying. Not terrible, but lacking in feedback. And it comes on 10 floppy disks. Damn, CD sure was a blessing.

[scorpion]

well I'm playing catslevania: symphony of the night again. it's a great game it's to bad I didn't play this more when I still played ps2 because this si a really great game, better then I remember.

[Phakiel]

I just found out Grandia and Wild Arms are on PSN. If we dont get the whole old game group play rolling I think I may buy Wild Arms.

[moogle]

Thanks for reminding me that I need to beat Wild Arms too. The game was great, I don't know why I never finished it.