Remembering those "classic" video games

Espiga wrote:

I'm pretty well-versed in silly, obscure to semi-obscure retro games, so here's a few I'd suggest checking out:

The Ys series: With gameplay similar to Zelda (although with less focus on puzzles and more on combat and leveling), and starring a red-haired swordsman named Adol Christin, the Ys games have been released on a multitude of platforms. The best ones were released on TurboGrafx-CD as Ys Books I + II. Also, if you speak Japanese or have access to the translation patch floating about, there's an amazing entry in the series called Ys: The Oath in Felghana (Released for Windows PC) which is actually a complete overhaul of the third game in the series.

I love the Ys series. I have YsIV for the Turbo Duo/Grafx-CD but it's in Japanese. I have the patch that was released a few years ago but I need a CD large enough to burn the game onto. Other than that I'm waiting for a new Ys game to come out[yes I have the one on the PS2 ]

Does anyone remember the Wario Land series on Game Boy and Game Boy Colour? I used to play those games all time during my Primary school years…very fun platform games.

Also Psycho Soldier in the Arcades, which was the sequel to Athena by SNK. That was fun too and much easier than Athena was. Oh, and lets not forget Super Mario World and Super Mario Kart on SNES they were very fun classic games.

Super Mario World is STILL my favorite Mario game ever. Have that a cart which also includes Super Mario All-Stars.

Anyone else here play any of the classic Metroid games? I beat Super Metroid earlier this month.

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Other than that I'm waiting for a new Ys game to come out

Ys seven was recently released for PSP a handful of months ago. Furthermore, another Ys I+II remake, Ys I+II Chronicles, was released on PSP as well. It's based on the Windows PC version of Ys, YS Eternal, but with masterfully remixed music of CD quality, as opposed to the horrible-sounding midi synths in the original Ys Eternal. It's pretty much replaced Ys Book I+II on Turbo as the "definitive" version of Ys I+II.

Yes another reason for me to get a PSP

I guess, then, that now would be a bad time to mention that Ys seven and Ys I+II Chronicles has only been released in Japan, and Nihon Falcom has made no implication that they're going to release them in the United States.

They're great though, with rockin' soundtracks, as should be expected from any Nihon Falcom game.

More stuff to check out:

Fire Emblem: It's a lot more popular now than it used to be, but Fire Emblem is the grandpappy of the Strategy RPG. Its strongest features are its in-depth character development fueled by personal conversations that grow deeper the more you use characters in battle together, and its "permanent death" system, in which if a character dies, they're dead for good. No cloning shops or Star Atomizers for you! While at first, the fact that dead characters stay dead may seem like a flaw, I consider it a boon to the strategy RPG genre as a whole, in that it forces you to make tough decisions such as "do I start this battle over because this person died, or do I press forward without them?" It truly lets you care about the characters, and with the excellent writing and powerful emotional development of most characters throughout the series, that caring is more than just the pathetic "oh, my army isn't quite as powerful" type you'd normally get from such games.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Speaking of strategy games, this series has long been overlooked because of the sheer intellectual investment that needs to be placed into it, but once you're over that initial hump of "just what am I supposed to be doing?" you'll find a strategy game steeped in depth and history, as it's based on the Three Kingdoms era of ancient China. My personal favourite in the series is Romance of the Three Kingdoms 3: Dragon of Destiny. Although nearly every option is abbreviated thanks to space, once the function of each option is learned, it quickly becomes a fun and addictive way to waste away a night or two taking over China.

Valis series: This is a side-scrolling action game series released on Genesis, TurboGrafx, and a few other (mostly Japanese) systems. It stars a schoolgirl who obtains a legendary sword and who must then go save the world. As you can probably imagine from a game series starring a Japanese schoolgirl who kicks bum, it's filled with a lot of "fanservice" moments. Either way, it's pretty fun and the games are just long enough so that they're enjoyable without dragging on too long and making their flaws (like the occasionally iffy controls) too noticeable or unbearable.

Once again, I'm trying hard to stick to games that aren't SUPER well known (and I was pretty hesitant to put Fire Emblem up there) so if I don't mention a game or series you love, don't hate me!

The Valis games were good Valis 3 was my favourite out of them.

Espiga wrote:

Ys seven was recently released for PSP a handful of months ago. Furthermore, another Ys I+II remake, Ys I+II Chronicles, was released on PSP as well. It's based on the Windows PC version of Ys, YS Eternal, but with masterfully remixed music of CD quality, as opposed to the horrible-sounding midi synths in the original Ys Eternal. It's pretty much replaced Ys Book I+II on Turbo as the "definitive" version of Ys I+II.

I was a little skeptical of this version because I bought the DS port (Legacy of Ys) last year and did not like as much as the TG16 one. Yeah it looked better but I didn't care for the play style and the soundtrack was weak. However, I recently listened to the soundtrack for Ys Chronicles and it was amazing. It sounded as good, and for many tracks better, than the TG16 version.

I wish Ys IV would get the same treatment as I & II and get a modern re-release already

One of my favorite games back in the NES days was Swords and Serpents. You got to choose from a few classes : Warrior, Thief, Wizard and you could name each character and even import characters from other games into a new one via passwords for each character and game. It was a first person RPG and one interesting thing about combat, whatever direction you pressed on the directional pad [up, down, left, right] you attacked that body part. So if you fought a bandit with an armored torso but exposed legs then you'd want to hit down when you attacked to do more damage. It was a load of fun and I'd love to see a sequel with multiplayer options.