What retro games exceeded your expectations?

[RedNin3]

The true form of Ace Combat 3. One of my favorite games from PSX wasn't even in its complete state. When I finally played the translated version of the Japanese release it all made so much sense and clicked instantly in my head even 2 decades after playing AC3 for the first time back in '00.

 

[Yousef]

Shadow the hedgehog

 

[Dyne]

Man the US internet learning that Super Mario Bros 2 is an enhanced version of Doki Doki Panic was the most obnoxious thing to ever happen to the Mario fandom. Can't go two steps without some moron going "um ackthually it's not a Mario game". Completely ignoring that: A, it was made from a scraped Mario prototype, B, a ton of the characters and mechanics from it continue on to future Mario games, and C, was fucking awesome.

People were so obsessed with whether it was originally a Mario game or not, that they completely ignored the game.

THANK YOU.

 

[AkiraSO4]

If it counts, Doom 3.

I had a fun time playing it, even though I had zero expectations for it. The Hell stages in this game look really good. RoE was fun for what it was, too.

 

[RedNin3]

If it counts, Doom 3.

I had a fun time playing it, even though I had zero expectations for it. The Hell stages in this game look really good. RoE was fun for what it was, too.

The DOOM Marine is such a beast. Being the most human-ish one of all DOOM games MCs and still kicking demon ass left, right, up and down.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Action 52

Being able to fit so many crap in a single cartridg and it not exploding is not a easy feat

 

[Haganeren]

Recently for me it was Alone in the Dark 2 from 1993
I wanted to play it as part of a review i'm writing on the whole series and i remember it was my least favorite one of the original trilogy when i was a child... Mainly because of the very difficult action beginning especially if you play on an old computer where it struggle to have a decent framerate. So yeah, i was a bit curious of it since it was the one i knew the least ( i nearly finished Alone 1 and 3 when i was a kid ) but didn't had much hope for it.

... And strangely enough, it clicked with me this time ! I understand a LOT of its flaws ( no more lovecraft atmosphere, obscure puzzles, fights that you don't understand if you have to take or resolve a puzzle, tank control with strange hit detection sometime, being stun locked... ) but i also really like how he tries to be a movie with different style... An action beginning, a middle that feel like infiltration, a puzzle oriented twist and of course a great finale.... I even found the OST quite good and the 2D backgrounds are full of details and have tons of charms compared to 2D CGI rendered background ( still loves those of course... ) that would become really prevalent 3 years later. To be honest, i also find the style of animation of those chunks of polygones they call a character charming but i think it's something that you think only if you grew up with it.

So yeah, i found the game way deeper that i thought so it was a pleasant surprise ! On the contrary Alone in the Dark 3 felt less interesting than when i was a child unfortunately... And the first one will of course still be the best but everyone know that.

 

[ShanaFlameHaze]

For me it was Summon Night: Swordcraft Story for GBA.

I didn't expect it to become one of my favorites, if not my favorite GBA game so quickly. I love the companion mechanic, you can press Select at any time to talk to them.

Post automatically merged: Mar 16, 2025

Two of my fav games that I legit didn't expect that much but were such an experience for me.
View attachment 22147View attachment 22146

Trails in the Sky! I absolutely loved that game. I played it on my PSP years ago. Such a great story.

 

[CargoRoms]

Bully.
Despite not enjoying open world games anymore. Bully is what R* can do, if they scale down their world, and put some limitation, with a more focused design.

Easily, my favorite Rockstar game! Even after playing GTAs and RDR.

 

[Graves Ruinwalker]

For me it was last time Fatal Frame/Project Zero 2: Directors Cut .
I had it years on my shelf and didnt played much because i never had any interest in the game for while but last year i finally played it through . While it wasnt very scary , it was extremly fun , the story had me constantly thinking if this whole scenario was real or the MC just trippin balls and the sheer amount of content and endings i can unlock just let me stunned of admirations towards the game . Even bought the first game and beat it ( still prefer the second one ) .

That was an actual complete game and a great one at that .

There maybe more games that not only exceeded my expactations but even made me realised that we missed instant classics that we should telling high praises . But i stay with this one an gonna bring some other games into it on later times .

 

[Skeleben]

I don't think anything will quite capture that childlike excitement I felt at like age 8, when I realized that after beating all the Johto gym leaders and the Elite Four in Pokemon Gold and Silver, you could go and explore all of Kanto. I think at that age, I was programmed to see the end credits and believe that the game was finished, so it was the gift that kept on giving. Very good memories.

(For context I was playing Soul Silver cuz I'm a bit younger than other users here, but I'm sure the feeling also applies to the original versions.)

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Both Shantae and Wendy: Every Witch Way on GBC.

The animation on both is just stunning, and the games themselves are really quite fun.

 

[Hourai]

Most recently, Shin Megami Tensei I. The game was *really* well written, and it does everything that SMT4 does, but better. The alignment shifts feel natural, Law and Chaos Hero are your friends, and are still your friends even if you aren't the same alignment (CH in particular gets pretty crushed if you aren't Chaos at the end), and the writing as a whole is a lot more interesting. The gameplay kinda suffers from '90s Atlus gameplay, but playing on the PSX version and using the right bullets and Mahazio and setting things on auto battle takes care of that until you get Estoma. Also, drop a lot of level up points in Luck, for basically guaranteed ambushes.

I'll avoid talking about what happens in the story for anyone who hasn't played it and wants to, but it was pretty damn good. If you get stuck, just talk to the NPCs instead of using a wallthrough. They'll point you in the right direction.

 

[Antilocal123]

Shark Tales Advance.

 

[rugal]

sonic adventure dx for gamecube
did like that you could play as so many characters
its fun that you can play as a robot build by robotnik

breath of fire 3 and 4
the storie is great the gameplay is fun

legend of heroes tears of vermillion
legend of heroes 2 prophecy of the moonlight witch
legend of heroes 3 song of the ocean

i first thought this is going to be a hell playing through the 3 worst game of legend of heroes series
but i did find them really fun and the storie was not the best but it was not bad
those 3 games was really fun to play

 

[Leon]

sonic adventure dx for gamecube
did like that you could play as so many characters
its fun that you can play as a robot build by robotnik

breath of fire 3 and 4
the storie is great the gameplay is fun

legend of heroes tears of vermillion
legend of heroes 2 prophecy of the moonlight witch
legend of heroes 3 song of the ocean

i first thought this is going to be a hell playing through the 3 worst game of legend of heroes series
but i did find them really fun and the storie was not the best but it was not bad
those 3 games was really fun to play

The gagharv trilogy isn't the worst in the series, it's just the psp ports are, story wise they are considered better than 1 and 2, and some consider them better than the trails games.

 

[SpikeSlania]

My first console was the NES and I thought I ended up growing out of the 8bit genre minus a few games. Don't even ask me to play a 2nd generation system. I thought I was done with the 3rd generation as well until I found out about the Sega Master System. It blew me away with what could be done on 8bit hardware with games like Phantasy Star. From me saying f Final Fantasy 1 and 2 I will never beat a 8bit JRPG to me sitting down and playing through Phantasy Star from start to end. For another game lets jump up to the 4th Generation though technically it first came out on the 3rd. When I first saw Ys and it's bump combat, I thought it was stupid since it reminded me of old bump rpgs that came on Nokia phones that were lame. But then something clicked when I actually sat down and played Ys on the Turbografx CD, between the music and visuals even though the overworld looked like it was done in MS Paint, it all just clicked to me. The bump combat became addicting and started my descent into Falcom games. Never did finish Ys which I should do sometime, think I'm done with the Legend of Heroes games for now. But yeah, the music in Ys might be my favorite video game soundtrack from the 4th generation of consoles.

 

[Elwiwi]

Dragon quest 1 one of my favorite games of 2022( I think that was the year I played it )

 

[NotGodlike]

Drake of the 99 Dragons. I thought it would be trash, but it turned out to be an alright game, just being quite janky and cringe at times

 

[Sheepy765]

The Capcom vs SNK games on Dreamcast blew me out of the water, the presentation, soundtracks, ability to view characters’ movesets, in-depth mechanics with ratios and grooves, all were just. *chef’s kiss*

 

[Kremiso]

Shining Force Neo
a lot of bad reviews out there, i know it is changed a lot from what it was, embracing some Diablo like mechanics combined with A LOT of grinding, but i'm just loving it

the story is pure crap, exploration and battles are fabulous imo

 

[Hourai]

Shin Megami Tensei I. Given how atlus was kind ass in the '90s, I figured it'd be subpar at best. No, it was actually really good! I found myself surprised at how ahead of later entries it was in a lot of aspects. Also, people apparently say that you need a guide to know where to go. You do not. Just talk to the NPCs and you'll have all the information you need. No guide necessary.

Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere JPN is also a great one, being among my favourite PSX games.

King's Field 1 is...an interesting game, to be sure. But it was a pretty enjoyable dungeon crawler, once you get used to it.

I doubt anyone needs to tell anyone this, but Symphony of the Night is incredible. Especially its Saturn port.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Impressed the Hack And Sash formula we know today comes from the humble PSX

 

[solidbatman]

Shadow of Memories (or Shadow of Destiny depending on region) for PS2 was one. Went in low expectations, left with a really fun time traveling murder mystery experience. Its over 20 years old so I am counting it retro. (my existence is retro anyway).

Going farther back, Yumimi Mix Remix for the Saturn. This one was a ton of silly goofy fun. I streamed it for some friends and we all had plenty of laughs over how just bonkers it is. its like a fully animated visual novel/choose your own adventure type game. unicorns are stupid man

 

[DjQuick2008]