What retro games exceeded your expectations?

[RebelofDaNeonGod]

Motherfuckiiiiiiiing Shadow Tower Abyss, my god, what a beautiful and magnificent game!!!! I beg everyone to play it and enjoy it, play a FromSoft game that actually has some goddamn SWAG in it!!!!

 

[depes]

Definitely DDS: Megami Tensei 2 on the famicom, top tier dungeon crawler

 

[LightningLegs]

Linda³ Again- I know it was only translated somewhat recently, but I absolutely could not put it down despite its rudimentary combat system. The Space Ark premise was intriguing right off of the bat, the characters and dialogue are charming, its open-endedness reminds me of Majora's Mask or Fallout in some ways where as time moves forward you see towns get progressively more deserted as the populace evacuates the planet. That's not even mentioning the batshit crazy creature designs or the progressively more batshit crazy and memorable plot that will stick with you for awhile. The official art for the game is very stunning. Really a one of a kind game that blew me away.

Run Saber - one of those quick and dirty arcade action games that you can finish in probably an hour. Only 5 levels but they're all pretty interesting, as is the bestiary. It's just so much fun to pilot the two main characters. Laser swords, wall jumps / climbs, ceiling climbs, slides, dive kicks and even a Samus-like Screw Attack. I've 1CC'd the game several times.

Kick Master- I loved it for many of the same reasons as Run Saber, the main character is just fun to use. I never expected such a robust moveset out of an obscure NES game. It had some pretty nice spritework from what I can recall, as well.

Arc Rise Fantasia- don't know if the Wii still counts as 'retro', but this JRPG flies under most people's radar in my experience, mostly due to its laughable dub. It's got one of the most solid combat systems out of any JRPG I've ever played and is easily one of my top 5 JRPGs of all time. The boss battles are really memorable and demand a lot out of you- since your entire party shares Action Points you have to manage your actions carefully or get stomped. I could go on and on about it. Really surprised me for what initially seems like a low-rent, turn-based Tales clone.

 

[WokiBakoki]

Earthbound: RPG hater, only wanted to play it to experience the final boss. Was already aware of most of the games jokes, twists and zany moments. So even without the surprises, I'm very impressed it kept my attention all the way through and was a satisfying playthrough.

Castlevania: Bloodlines: Only good classic vania if you ask me. No cheap bullshit. It's short but it's just all hits no misses. As Eric Lecarde it's a lot of fun. Lotta learning and practice needed but not so much it becomes an unbearable grind like most old games like it. Fair and honest ethical gaming. Go play it.

Postal: The first one. It's simple, short and easy. But for a small time project from '97, it holds up great. It's controversial legacy serves as a glimpse into what was shocking back then, and Redux's reasoning behind the changed ending being a grim display of how far we've fallen since. Such a little game making such a big check point in media history, as well as still being fun now. Now that's impressive.

 

[Your_Homie_Gale]

Earthbound: RPG hater, only wanted to play it to experience the final boss. Was already aware of most of the games jokes, twists and zany moments. So even without the surprises, I'm very impressed it kept my attention all the way through and was a satisfying playthrough.
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Castlevania: Bloodlines: Only good classic vania if you ask me. No cheap bullshit. It's short but it's just all hits no misses. As Eric Lecarde it's a lot of fun. Lotta learning and practice needed but not so much it becomes an unbearable grind like most old games like it. Fair and honest ethical gaming. Go play it.
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Postal: The first one. It's simple, short and easy. But for a small time project from '97, it holds up great. It's controversial legacy serves as a glimpse into what was shocking back then, and Redux's reasoning behind the changed ending being a grim display of how far we've fallen since. Such a little game making such a big check point in media history, as well as still being fun now. Now that's impressive.
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A Castlevania Bloodlines enjoyer I see. I like that one as well. Probably the most replayed classic Castlevania for me besides Rondo of Blood.

 

[Ogmios]

I'll being honest learning about how meticulous Super Mario Bros is from that first goomba placement down to how it's over the course of 3 days which is something they continued for awhile as like a secret stable has made me appreciate a lot more. Thanks for saving the gaming world Mario bros.

 

[rattabletapping]

I wasn't expecting much from TouhouI thought it was just another bland bullet hell game. But I was surprised by how complex the stages are and how interesting the characters are, too. I got addicted after playing Perfect Cherry Blossom. (Anyway, Mountain of Faith is fire.)

 

[Your_Homie_Gale]

I wasn't expecting much from TouhouI thought it was just another bland bullet hell game. But I was surprised by how complex the stages are and how interesting the characters are, too. I got addicted after playing Perfect Cherry Blossom. (Anyway, Mountain of Faith is fire.)

Please play Imperishable Night. That one is one of my favorites.

 

[rattabletapping]

Please play Imperishable Night. That one is one of my favorites.

Alright I'll keep that in mind

 

[Varyag]

It's hard to pick a few retro games because of how many I've played over the years, and even some that opened up whole subgenres for me, like getting into arcade shmups years after playing Touhou. Every now and then I'll play an old game, and go "holy shit I get it now" and see why it was so beloved by it's fans. Examples include how I became a diehard fan of both Doom and Quake, how I felt when I FINALLY played through the original Halo trilogy, or when I discovereed Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War. All of them became some of my favorites. Hell, I keep feeling this whenever I try a new 90's console game, and the PC Engine, PS1 and Sega Saturn retroactively became some of my favorite consoles. Shoutouts to the MASTERPIECE that is Ridge Racer Type 4.

Now, speaking of other examples. I've always been a mecha fan, particularly of the Armored Core and Front Mission series. But, I had only ever played their last PS2 installments of each. When I finally got to try the older games, I was massively surprised by how good they were, and how they didn't really feel that outdated. I played first through Armored Core 3 and onwards, but when I came back for the first PS1 trilogy I was amazed. Then I went on to play 2 and 3 again, and by the end I almost preferred the old non-analog control scheme to the "modern" one. Similarly I really enjoyed my time with Front Mission 1 Remake.

It also warms my heart to see how many people in this thread mentioned Ace Combat 3 Electrosphere. It truly was a unique masterpiece of a game that we never got in the West properly until the fan translation projects.

The Megaman X games for SNES, also SMT1 and Assault Suit Valken, and many, and i mean MANY ps1 obscure games like Armageddon, Char's Counterattack and Baroque, also on PC currently playing Planescape Torment, and oh boy just the ambient is top notch in that game!
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This meme is unfair, that's basically the entire userbase of this forum! We all love this stuff on our modern powerful computers.

Alright I'll keep that in mind

Yes you absolutely need to play more Touhous. Which reminds me, I need to both try the older games from before 6 and Windows, and the latest ones. I've barely played any of them since like Touhou 16.

 

[PhaseJump]