i think people are far too hasty to place the blame on others instead of themselves when it comes to older games.

[blossom357]

"i tried playing a well-loved game from 2001 for the first time in 2025, but i'm not nostalgic for it like everyone else, so i didn't like it." in my experience with games and books etc, the real culprit is often impatience. if something has a reputation for being One Of The Best, i tend to have this expectation it will impress me more quickly. this is a mistake. you need to meet a game where it's at, try your hardest to pretend it's a new release, to forget any praise you've heard about it. you may still end up disliking the game, and that's a valid opinion to have, but nostalgia is a lazy rebuttal, which doesn't even attempt to address why reviewers and players liked a game on release. there can't be nostalgia attached to a new release.

 

[reakain]

I do agree to a point, but I definitely don't want folks to treat it like a new release, either. One thing I've come across is that people will judge a gaming classic by what is standard for games today rather than for the era when it was made. It's a thing that happens a lot with books and movies too, where folks will go in with expectations based on modern standards.

If those non-modern aspects make it unenjoyable for them, that's fine and reasonable, but I think it's still important to keep trends of a game's era in mind when starting up a classic game. (If nothing else it's another way to help manage expectations)

 

[Miles]

When lots of people say the game is amazing, you go in with much higher expectations, meaning you're a lot more likely to be disappointed.

 

[X y b e r - S k u ll]

I think a big part of this problem as well is people refusing to see or engage with games on their own terms. I'm not sure if this kind of attitude is downstream from the homogeneous nature of a lot of modern games and people subconsciously not wanting to break away from what they see as "normal". I just think it's a really restrictive way to look at games and a way to deny yourself some genuinely great experiences.

I'll give you a personal anecdote; I used to be one of those guys who could not play classic Resident Evil games. Resident Evil 4 was the gold standard to me and I just could not do anything with games that had tank controls. It wasn't until I really sat down with Resident Evil Remake and looked at it as it's own thing, emptying my mind of any comparisons and strictly adhering to what this game was presenting me with. I ended up walking away with a brand new love and appreciation for the game and went back and played the PS1 games and Code Veronica (Though Resident Evil 4 is still my favorite one lol). I guess what I'm trying to say is; never limit yourself and go into things with an open mind.

 

[χKai]

I happen to like being that older person playing on an NES and staring intently at the TV as the zoomers and newgens watch me in confusion over what is so great about it.

 

[reakain]

I think a big part of this problem as well is people refusing to see or engage with games on their own terms. I'm not sure if this kind of attitude is downstream from the homogeneous nature of a lot of modern games and people subconsciously not wanting to break away from what they see as "normal". I just think it's a really restrictive way to look at games and a way to deny yourself some genuinely great experiences.

I'll give you a personal anecdote; I used to be one of those guys who could not play classic Resident Evil games. Resident Evil 4 was the gold standard to me and I just could not do anything with games that had tank controls. It wasn't until I really sat down with Resident Evil Remake and looked at it as it's own thing, emptying my mind of any comparisons and strictly adhering to what this game was presenting me with. I ended up walking away with a brand new love and appreciation for the game and went back and played the PS1 games and Code Veronica (Though Resident Evil 4 is still my favorite one lol). I guess what I'm trying to say is; never limit yourself and go into things with an open mind.

Oh, I like this addition a lot!

It kind of reminds me about some of the different discussions around what makes a "good" game and intentionally difficult and clunky aspects as intentional design.

Is [X] thing in this game just bad design? Is it a result of the standards or limitations of its time? Or is it an intentional choice in order to put the player into the right state of mind or thought process, nudging them towards playing the game in a particular manner?

 

[RETRO-VETRO]

When something’s hyped as “one of the best,” it’s easy to expect instant brilliance, but that expectation can actually block you from seeing what made it special in the first place. I’ve learned that older games often need a different kind of patience. They weren’t built to impress in the first five minutes, they unfold slowly, sometimes awkwardly, but with intent.

 

[Redwall Muzyczka Redwall Muzyczka Redwall Muzyczka's icon]

That's why I let the games themselves do the talking: I remember scratching my head pretty hard at games like Half-Life (which I first played in 2006) and Sonic CD (2003) because they genuinely didn't look or feel like the very best gaming had to offer, but then I allowed myself to actually play them as they were and became rapidly addicted to both.

The secret is to just enjoy the game you are playing in a vacuum -- if it's a good game, it will shine through.

 

[X y b e r - S k u ll]

Oh, I like this addition a lot!

It kind of reminds me about some of the different discussions around what makes a "good" game and intentionally difficult and clunky aspects as intentional design.

Is [X] thing in this game just bad design? Is it a result of the standards or limitations of its time? Or is it an intentional choice in order to put the player into the right state of mind or thought process, nudging them towards playing the game in a particular manner?

Exactly, it's also why it kind of frustrates me every time FromSoft would release a new Souls game and the inevitable discussion of "Why can't these games have easy modes?" always pops up. People just seem to refuse to even try and understand those games. I've always been against difficulty options in games, I much prefer when developers make a game specifically tuned a certain way, I feel that really helps to engage with them and learn from them.

Only exceptions I'll give to that rule is stuff like Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix with options like Critical Mode (Best way to play that game IMO).

 

[Heidegger22]

Really one of the best posts I've read on here, you've basically summed up the ideal attitude towards life and not just old games - let things be what they are.

 

[Boo Man]

they key to enjoyment is low expectations

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

Honestly yeah i get tank controls are tough to use but mastering them feels great i got really good with movement now in resident evil 1 i can actually hit a zombie with a knife couple times in a row! So you need patience.

This sorts of happened to me for Final Fantasy 7 i got recommended the game long time ago when i tried it i was like "ok what's so good about it?" Took me only until cosmo canyon to really start liking it.


Metal gear solid was also a pretty weird one i got in not knowing what to expect this allowed the game to surprise me i have this not expecting much or not setting anything expectations at all when playing something new i let the game do it's thing only then i judge it.


Now for Final Fantasy tactics i only knew about from here an seeing people praise the game i kinda expected it to be better but i guess strategy RPG isn't my type not a bad game just wasn't this marvelous adventure that other Final Fantasy games take you on.

Another game was chrono cross where i was expecting chrono trigger level of awesomeness i was quickly letdown but something told me to keep going honestly good for me my patience paid off the story had really unexpected twists and i had so many questions all got answered by the end and summed up the story pretty well also gameplay wise i couldn't understand the field system first even though i took the tutorial course but holy when i figured it around hour 30 was such fun to plan my opening moves then build up to that power spike the huge pool of charcters enabled so many roles like tank , support , healer , offensive caster etc.

Just be patient it's bound to pay off only time when it didn't was WarCraft 2 well until human campaign from beyond the dark portal that was honestly good.

 

[Dew Prism]

Many use the nostalgia argument as an excuse to undermine the hard work and creativity in older things, in order to create the illusion that modernity holds more value. It's a mindset of people today that the only way forward is to throw away the old. What people must understand is that there never would've been progress to begin with without a foundation. If you destroy the foundation, it all falls down.

 

[dropsmegamega]

well games should be fun, if the person is meant to have ""patience"" they could open a philosophy book instead!!!!!!!!

 

[prnzoDraGoonZweiOrta]

well games should be fun, if the person is meant to have ""patience"" they could open a philosophy book instead!!!!!!!!

so books are the only thing that's allowed to have a challenge of mental fortitude n wit? I think it's valid that games can be an interesting, engaging experience with not as much emphasis on bein a rough ride... but no real challenge in games or life in general sounds awful sad to me. I suppose you're thinkin ppl grow/evolve/improve by being on a vegetative autopilot mode? entropy n stagnation leads to inevitable ruin, brvh

it might sound like an ol'timer phrase but newer gens truly are comparitively (in statistical generality) blinded n oblivious of the true value of anything... but then again, it's up to the individual to assign whatever modicum of value or relevance to any facet of just about anything one comes across. or up to their clique-collective that they desperately grasp onto for a (typically false) sense of self-validation...

 

[zacharinolongpants]

Love this. I just made a post recently about whining about nostalgia being an unproductive word for forming an opinion. The patience aspect is a GREAT point. It can be tough to give things the time they actually take to kinda come to full form in a world with generations of media packed with hours upon hours of information demanding your attention.

 

[Matricks]

What matters to me is: did I actually pay Money/efforts and/or long Released/acquired time to get the hyped games?
Then I will play the game till end no matter how good/bad and If Not then I will play DJing through the games backlog...