Games that aged badly

[SimuLord]

Final Fantasy 7 has aged horribly. Great game...in 1997. Not so much now. The 16-bit games held up a LOT better (FF6 is STILL the best console game ever made, and I don't even like JRPGs anymore.)

The older Koei games serve as proof that once upon a time, strategy on consoles just wasn't a smart idea (playing Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV again on the SNES was a stark reminder of just how much that series really did need a graphical upgrade or three!) Surprisingly, the games that held up well were more economic in nature---Aerobiz and Uncharted Waters (and their sequels) are still fun in 2009.

Also, any Total War game older than Rome---the quantum leap forward that series took in 2004 means you simply can't go back to the older ones!

 

[Woem]

Not to bait the flames, but I must say Final Fantasy VII. It had a poor translation, good graphics then but distracting now, lower quality music(Not the songs themselves, but the actual sound) and a few glitchy bits. It's still a good enough game, and great at the time. But the 2D ones, at least 5 and 6 have aged a bit better.

This and Goldeneye, the controls are quite shitty now.

I totally agree about FFVII and goldeneye. Also, gauntlet for N64/GCN.

Not everyone agrees: http://www.cracked.com/funny-1749-goldeneye-007

 

[yourbeliefs]

I played Eternal Darkness about 1 year ago for the first time, and while it was a great game that everyone with a Wii and a GC controller should play, its mechanics and mind-fuckery don't really stand up well. The graphics haven't aged well which hurts the immersion a little, and it doesn't help that the sanity system, while good in theory, is almost made moot by having the ability to cast a spell and regain it almost on demand. The Silent Hill games and Condemned series have aged a bit better in my opinion. The voice acting and story are still sound, but I don't think people would be throwing down the high scores now on a replay that they did when it first came out..

 

[Boneasse]

The original Alone in the Dark.

At the time I was scared shitless, when playing them. Now the graphics are absolutely horrible and it's so slowpaced you die of boredom before you get started.. At least that's how it is for me.

 

[Lemon Of Life]

The original COD. I remember the graphics as amazingly detailed and realistic. But nay. The campaign is still awesome. Especially the crossing of the Volga in Stalingrad. That was jaw-dropping.

 

[Redem]

Not everyone agrees: http://www.cracked.com/funny-1749-goldeneye-007

The timing of all this amuse me, espicially considering Goldeneye probably the most quoted in this thread

 

[Space Spoons]

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior. In its day, it was the end-all-be-all of fighting games, and arguably one of the most successful arcade games since Pac-Man. Since then, it's kind of fallen from grace.

Sure, it's recognized as the great grandpappy of fighting games as we know them... But it's still slow, unbalanced and riddled with gamebreaking glitches. These days, it's pretty common to point at SFII: The World Warrior and say "Oh yeah, that's the one that started it all", but almost no one actually plays it anymore, and there's a very good reason for that.

 

[FROGGEman2]

Diddy Kong Racing. I remembered it as being awesome, but when I played it... it was shit.

So, so shit.

 

[Redem]

Played the old Sim City 2000, I don't know for you but I still can't built anything interesting

 

[T3h Merc]

Oblivion if not on the PC. All those little bugs and strange occurances you didn't mind at the time you now see and it's HORRIBLE. They mechanics feel broken and MAges are overpowered.

 

[Terramax]

Silent Hill 3

Lies! Dirty, stinking lies!

Yeah, seriously, how has this game aged? It still looks and plays good now, right?

For me, well, most 3D games on the Sega Saturn and Playstation look too dated. One game that really stands out though is Panzer Dragoon Saga for the Saturn. I played it again about 3 years back and the draw distance was terrible, and the gameplay was limiting (few places to go or interact with). The soundtrack still rocked though.

 

[Flour]

Basically every 3D game that aimed for realism hasn't aged well.

Visually pleasing games(most N64/PS platformers, almost every 2d/sprite based game)still look great(well, acceptable) while games like Morrowind, Goldeneye and Half Life all look horrible simply because what used to be a face is now a blurred mess on a paper glued to a square.

 

[GeneralGrant]

I bought Diablo II and one of the older Resident Evil games two years ago. They both were horrible.

But yeah, pretty much any old 3D game title is a joke now, unless it was done in a cartoony way.

 

[GaaraSr]

I still play old nintendo games by emulator on my PC. I find that regardless of the graphics, most games I enjoyed were about the story. Therefore, graphics are really meaningless in that context. I could understand if it was straight action BASED on graphics, but otherwise, a game is a game, some are just simpler.

As for FF7 aging bad, the pictures might have, but the concept, story, etc. are STILL going strong.