Retro Games that feel massive

[Eduardo2010]

What games would you point to that feel like:

- open worlds
- free roam
- tons of secrets
- living, breathing places
- open ended gameplay

Preferably still "playable" today, ie enough quality of life etc. so that a gamer without nostalgia for the title could enjoy playing through it

Thanks

 

[Deleted member 913503]

Oracle Zeldas, though they aren't open ended or open world, they are still pretty HUGE.

 

[zombie100379]

gta , gta london 1969 , gta2

 

[Ikagura]

Deus Ex?

There are also the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series since the 90's.

 

[Eduardo2010]

Oracle Zeldas, though they aren't open ended or open world, they are still pretty HUGE.

What games specifically? Thanks

Post automatically merged: Apr 19, 2026

Deus Ex?

There are also the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series since the 90's.

Yes Deus Ex is the type of thing I'm thinking of. But preferably older and easier to emulate

Post automatically merged: Apr 19, 2026

Deus Ex?

There are also the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series since the 90's.

Never managed to click with Fallout

Post automatically merged: Apr 19, 2026

What games specifically? Thanks

Post automatically merged: Apr 19, 2026

Yes Deus Ex is the type of thing I'm thinking of. But preferably older and easier to emulate

Post automatically merged: Apr 19, 2026

Never managed to click with Fallout. Is it worth putting time in to?

Post automatically merged: Apr 19, 2026

gta , gta london 1969 , gta2

Would you say comparable to GTA3 but just 2d graphics??

 

[zombie100379]

Would you say comparable to GTA3 but just 2d graphics??

perhaps , but if they were converted to 3d they may be too big

 

[Ikagura]

That's a bit hard to answer because those factors are more often present in modern games since the seventh generation.

Ocarina of Time can technically be called Open World but from today's point of view it may not be so...

 

[Ezri_Muldoon]

Ecco the Dolphin & it's sequel Time of Tides both feel limitless.
The explorative game design and hidden triggers instils a feeling of the world being larger than it is.

Shenmue has a similar feeling due to its scripted schedules for NPC's, if you get past Ryo arbitrarily deciding he won't go past invisible checkpoints without completing objectives the world feels alive.
You can chose to do nothing and the world persists around you.

Ultima 7 The Black Gate is one massive open world, with ALL dungeons scaled to the environment.
When you enter a underground dungeon, above it is a area of equal size in the overworld.
Every NPC has similar scripted schedules to Shenmue too. Heck all the in game stores close at night.

Ultima Underworld 2: Labyrinth of Worlds has a similar feel but in 3D. Castle Britannia reacts to both your actions and changes as the games story as it unfolds.
You can kill story essential NPC's and soft lock the game at multiple points. It's clear that you merely exist within Britannia and the various other realms you visit.

 

[Zerohour2k12]

Soul Reaver, Avalanche's Mad Max, and Prototype 2

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Daggerfall, Deus Ex, Fallout...

 

[Rocket2049]

one the MOST MASSIVE SIZED WORLD IN A GAME PERIOD, is Elder scrolls daggerfall
its somewhere like 350,000 square miles,
to compare, skyrim is 45 square miles,GTA5 is 140 square miles
a good HUGE PART of the game is randomly generated so most of the stuff is not pre-made maps
and a lot of fast travel options of course cause no one sane is running around all that MANUALLY
check this video at 18 seconds "this island is bigger than all of skyrim"

 

[Vexicrypt]

Mizzurna Falls was very impressive to me. It felt like proto Deadly Premonition in many ways, but 12 years earlier and on PS1. All the townsfolk follow a schedule behind the scenes, so the town feels real and alive despite all technical limitations. You can drive around in your Beetle, talking to people, gathering information and nobody is holding your hand. It actually feels like you are investigating the mystery and getting to know all the shady stuff that's been going on in this town.

I've never played it before so I had no nostalgia for it and still had a good time overall. The ingame timer is very strict but I think someone made a hack that slows it down to a comfortable pace, so its worth trying. If nothing else, its a cool piece of videogame history.

 

[sambair]

Specifically the Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask sounds like it would qualify. Pretty easy to emulate, and also there's the 2Ship2Harkinian fan made PC port that supports mods and has a lot of optional quality of life tweaks.

 

[Deleted member 913503]

What games specifically? Thanks

Post automatically merged: Apr 19, 2026

Yes Deus Ex is the type of thing I'm thinking of. But preferably older and easier to emulate

Post automatically merged: Apr 19, 2026

Never managed to click with Fallout

Post automatically merged: Apr 19, 2026

Post automatically merged: Apr 19, 2026

Would you say comparable to GTA3 but just 2d graphics??

there's only 2. Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages.

 

[Ikagura]

there's only 2. Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages.

Link's Awakening and Minish Cap are also nice.

 

[Eduardo2010]

That's a bit hard to answer because those factors are more often present in modern games since the seventh generation.

Ocarina of Time can technically be called Open World but from today's point of view it may not be so...

Thanks, that's why I asked the question

WHen I was very young Monkey Island felt like a 'real world' to me. So did FFVII when I was in my teens. Just wondering what hidden and lesser known stuff is out there.

Post automatically merged: Apr 19, 2026

Ecco the Dolphin & it's sequel Time of Tides both feel limitless.
The explorative game design and hidden triggers instils a feeling of the world being larger than it is.

Shenmue has a similar feeling due to its scripted schedules for NPC's, if you get past Ryo arbitrarily deciding he won't go past invisible checkpoints without completing objectives the world feels alive.
You can chose to do nothing and the world persists around you.

Ultima 7 The Black Gate is one massive open world, with ALL dungeons scaled to the environment.
When you enter a underground dungeon, above it is a area of equal size in the overworld.
Every NPC has similar scripted schedules to Shenmue too. Heck all the in game stores close at night.

Ultima Underworld 2: Labyrinth of Worlds has a similar feel but in 3D. Castle Britannia reacts to both your actions and changes as the games story as it unfolds.
You can kill story essential NPC's and soft lock the game at multiple points. It's clear that you merely exist within Britannia and the various other realms you visit.

I have played shenmue. Does not feel large to me. Felt like an overblown visual novel. I enjoyed it though.

Post automatically merged: Apr 19, 2026

one the MOST MASSIVE SIZED WORLD IN A GAME PERIOD, is Elder scrolls daggerfall
its somewhere like 350,000 square miles,
to compare, skyrim is 45 square miles,GTA5 is 140 square miles
a good HUGE PART of the game is randomly generated so most of the stuff is not pre-made maps
and a lot of fast travel options of course cause no one sane is running around all that MANUALLY
check this video at 18 seconds "this island is bigger than all of skyrim"

This looks super cool

 

[random0nonsense]

Dragon Quest VIII was the first game I played where I felt like the character was to scale in a massive world. I feel like almost any retro RPG would suit the criteria, though. The original Zelda was mind blowing as a child.

 

[Graw]

Trying not to repeat ones that have already been mentioned but I remember Banjo Tooie and Donkey Kong 64 feeling pretty huge at the time. Body Harvest for the N64 had big free roaming areas that felt big to roam around in but it's not really a true open world game. It was made by the same people that eventually made GTA. I also remember Megaman Legends(I played the n64 version) being a big free roaming kind of game.

Romancing SaGa 3 for the snes(there's a modern localized remaster), is an open world jrpg that plays a little bit like a jrpg that's been chopped up into pieces and scattered and you just kind of pick up the pieces in any order. You unlock new places on the world map by talking to NPCs or by travelling there by ship from the different towns. There's a ton of quests and hidden stuff that can be done in mostly any order and a bunch of party members you can recruit.

There's also Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song which is a remake of the first snes Romancing SaGa that came out originally on ps2 but also has a modern remaster available. It's similar to RS3 in that it's an open world jrpg with a world map that's opened up by talking to NPCs or travelling by ship but it plays out totally differently thanks to the event rank system. As you play through the game your event rank increases which opens new quests or makes some other quests unavailable and changes NPC dialog giving the world a sense of progression outside of whatever you're doing. Choices you make will affect how different events play out in the world. The game really manages to capture the feeling of being an adventurer existing in a world making your own stories and adventures.

 

[Kovlak]

Final Fantasy XII felt like a living breeding world. Today it feels a little less so because of the frequent loading. But it's still breathtaking, and with a massive amount of content.

 

[stealthRUSH stealthRUSH]

Star Control II スター・コントロールII

 

[FlyingToaster]

The Gen 2 pokemon games felt huge in a way that no other game in the series managed to replicate. Of course they're linear at first but open up eventually.

 

[DAME NINGEN]

Arcanum, especially with the Multiverse Version mod
Bully, especially since it seems to somehow fit whenever anyone asks for game recommendations
Fallout 2 full conversion mods, Nevada and Sonora
Jak (& Daxter) series, especially 2 and 3
Metal Max/Saga series, especially Metal Saga, with it feeling the least like a post apocalyptic shithole and most like a lived in world that actually is going somewhere
Steambot Chronicles, especially after you reach the third town and are relieved of your band duties
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, especially with the Unofficial Patch mod

An honorable mention to Fallout (the main series), Dragon Quest VIII and Final Fantasy XII, wanted to include them but they were already mentioned. I remember missing the location you get a cat steed in Dragon Quest VIII, only to stumble upon it long after I should've stumbled upon it initially, and after that steed would've actually been useful. If that doesn't varrant a recommendation for how big a game can feel, I don't know what is.

And not an old game per se but still feeling retro and otherwise fitting the bill, Crystal Project. Played through it semi recently and had an absolute blast. If you'd like an old Final Fantasy style game that's also a completely open world 2.5-3D (varies by location) platformer with a mostly vestigial plot, give it a try.

 

[Eduardo2010]

thanks for all the recommendations everyone - i really appreciate it - hope others find this thread useful too.

 

[Dr.Kisaragi Dr.Kisaragi]

I don't if this helps

Steambot Chronicles
Radiata Stories

 

[shaggi]

Most of old RPG games feels to meet those requirements. Especially cRPG games like Final Fantasy or Breath of Fire.