Retro Games that feel massive

[Fietto!]

The first Legend of Zelda felt not only extremely large, but also alive due to the density of its secrets. It's a neat moment, first realizing that the entire LoZ map is included in Zelda II. Makes the scale of the sequel feel like it's on a different level.

View attachment 181853

Not to mention the sequel having a lot of surprises that overwhelm you the first time.
& how often you rethink your approaches with palaces.

It's like, puzzles mixed with action. With really cool ass moments like sailing to a whole other island like it's some new country. So yeah, the scale is way too large than I expected compared to 1.

 

[snes9x]

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.

Yeah Mizzurna is neat, has a heavy Twin Peaks vibe though I doubt it ever gets as wild. In terms of realism it's almost like a PS1 Shenmue. I've only played an hour of it, iirc I was supposed to drive to someone's house but couldn't find it for the life of me which is not an ideal situation when you're being timed. Definitely a GameFAQs-pulled-up-in-the-background kinda game. I need to give that mod a try.

 

[Mileena]

GTA, Ocarina of Time and Sonic and Knuckles immediately come to mind.

 

[Ikagura]

GTA, Ocarina of Time and Sonic and Knuckles immediately come to mind.

Sonic & Knuckles felt massive and I liked the transitions between Zones. Even Mania didn't feel as compelling with those sadly.

S3&K and Adventure felt like adventures but that feeling faded a bit afterwards (maybe except Unleashed but then again you basically travel around the world).

 

[Yousef Yousef]

GTA, Ocarina of Time and Sonic and Knuckles immediately come to mind.

Agreed on GTA.

 

[ibbie]

Think people beat me to the punch here, but games that feel massive to me in that regards will have to be Earthbound and Mother 3, Fallout 1 & 2, Mario RPG, and Sam & Max: Hit the Road.

 

[Badseed Badseed]

Raiders of the Lost Ark on the Atari 2600

Felt massive (all 13 screens lol) back in 1982. Probably the first open world RPG ever. First to use
two joysticks, at least. So, just try to go ahead lie to me and tell me you were able to finish this beast of a game without divine intervention.