Falling in Love with a Classic/Retro Game you have NO Nostalgia for.

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Checking... nope, SMT Nocturne was in 2003, so only 13 years.

Probably Ninja Gaiden, as in playing the original NES games on the Wii. I never did beat the first one due to a certain glitch magnifying the difficulty of the final level to over 50 times anything else in the game, but I liked the freaky artwork for the demons and their eldritch lairs (huge beating hearts on the walls, pentagrams...), and the way they balanced the game around the fact that you had a katana that could one-shot anything except bosses. It makes perfect runs of stages look incredible, like the player truly is the unstoppable assassin of legend.

Of course when you screw up, it gets frustrating fast. I was disappointed to see the path the modern NG games went down and hope to someday see a new iteration that focuses entirely on ludicrous challenge, making Ryu feel skilled and powerful despite it, and making the demons look as disturbing as possible as well as being more common after the first few stages. Kind of like this:

Spoiler: Oh, you think THAT is hard? I'm just the tutorial level!

 

[Amigastar]

Doom (Brutal Doom actually)
Dragon Quest (became a massive Fan after playing DQ7 on 3DS.)
Civ Series

 

[Frankster]

I didn't start having a personal computer until my early 20s, so there's actually quite a lot of classic retro games i only finally got to play with the advent of gog, some of which have become big favorites of mine.


Wizardry 7/8: Heard tons about this series, finally got around to playing it just last year and whilst wizardry 1-6 was just too archaic for me, 7/8 hit that sweet spot and whilst i didn't finish the game (i had no idea how to D: kinda got lost, i just don't know how to play rpgs without being handheld anymore it seems), i very much enjoyed my time with it and it's always been in the back of my mind to go back to it, maybe armed with a decent noob FAQ to help me guide through the game.

Jagged Alliance 2: This game is the sex. I got nothing more to add beyond that xD
Ok fine i'll add, for me it's pretty much 80s action hero squad: the rpg. Between the varied mercs and open campaign map, there's a lot of variables at work that makes each playthrough something unique.

Silent Storm: kinda like jagged alliance 2, except set during ww2ish and you can play as the german sides, also has mechas but they are kinda the worst thing about the game imo. Still, a squad rpg involving the axis forces as protagonists is so rare it automatically makes it into my favorites for that alone.

Stronghold 2/Crusader: Loved building castles and forts with lego as a kid. This game is pretty much just exactly that.

Sid Meiers Alpha Centauri: One of the first gog games i ever bought and still one of my all time favorite games because of the heavy atmosphere, the writing and sequences that gives so much life and gravitas to everything (something modern civ games fail atrociously at, in civ 6 we might have animations for wonders being built but it still doesn't hold a candle to the wonders in Alpha Centauri which half the time makes you feel guilty or genuinely evil for building), factions felt like they were believable entities and their leaders were memorable due to their beliefs and words rather then just relying on super stylized art style.. Eugh kinda get sidetracked.
Didn't mean for this to be one big dig at civ 6, but typing about Alpha Centauri made me realize how i truly believe it is the peak of the civ formula and everything from civ5-6 onwards is more about replicating a board game experience really then it is about simulating growing a civilization with its hopes and dreams and ideals... Case in point, do people even read the names of policies or do they just glance at the bonuses and pick what makes sense for game situation? A policy they will of course replace for free when they get their next culture tech.
Also the sensation of being on a genuinely alien planet which you can piss off if you're not careful..Lovely!
TLDR Best civ type game for me.

Masters of Orion 2:
The quintessential space 4X and i understand why, just in time to be completely underwhelmed by the recent remake. Though i hear it got quite a few updates so i'll have to check up on that.

King of Dragons Pass:
One of my votes for best game ever made. Just wow. Why this game didn't spawn a new genre full of copy cat clones is beyond me.
The fact that graphics rely on hand drawn art for the most part adds to its timeless quality too.


Vampire bloodlines: the Masquerade
I dunno why this didn't get a sequel :/ Lame ending imo, but game was good otherwise and remains my entrypoint into this setting.

Age of wonders: shadow magic
Normally not too big into heroes of might and magic type games, but this one won me over for w/e reason.

 

[Weaver]

For me it would be the original X-Com (the DOS one from the 90s). I think I first played it in 2006 or 2007 but I was totally hooked, what a good game.

 

[SmallHatLogan]

I've got heaps. I never owned an NES or SNES but I love the Mario, Zelda, and Metroid games. Final Fantasy V, VI, and Chrono Trigger too.

Also some of the early Castlevania games. Particularly Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the night.

I played Fallout 1 and 2 after playing 3 and New Vegas. 1 was okay but 2 was great.