Shadow Broker
Banned
Oregon Trail
Floppy Disc version
Floppy Disc version
I have no clue what genre that game is.
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In your opinion, the oldest game that has yet to be outclassed in its genre?
- Thread starter The Horror the horror
- Start date
chargin' chuck
Member
Super Mario Bros. 3. Unstoppable platformer. You can get lost in there for years. I replay it every year and it never fails to impress. What a towering achievement, favorite game ever.
Kent
Member
Team-based competitive multiplayer FPS goes to Tribes 2. It's a shame what happened to the series afterward.
Tetris was my immediate thought here, but at the same time... Are we counting Tetris as its own singular thing, or are we counting subsequent re-releases of Tetris, while effectively the same game but with more features added in, as different "games?"
At the very least, as a series, Tetris is the definitive puzzle game series. But the fact that other Tetris games have been released that improve on it as separate releases kind of defeats it for the purposes of this thread.
It's one thing that's been more and more apparent in games that I enjoy: Finessed, skillful movement makes practically any game better. For the purposes of JSR/F, it's both completely justified and can be outright showy, while also being both necessary, and rewarding players for their ingenuity.
Tetris was my immediate thought here, but at the same time... Are we counting Tetris as its own singular thing, or are we counting subsequent re-releases of Tetris, while effectively the same game but with more features added in, as different "games?"
At the very least, as a series, Tetris is the definitive puzzle game series. But the fact that other Tetris games have been released that improve on it as separate releases kind of defeats it for the purposes of this thread.
I would argue that the "futuristic" designation isn't even needed for this statement to still be correct. F-Zero GX is one of those games that's so good that it's depressing for the purposes of the genre's future.
Jet Set Radio Future has over other games of that type the advantage that simply moving around is fun - it's fun to see what completely bonkers grinds, tricks and transitions you can make, while also directly impacting what you're able to actually do in the game, as it necessarily ties into the core gameplay.
It's one thing that's been more and more apparent in games that I enjoy: Finessed, skillful movement makes practically any game better. For the purposes of JSR/F, it's both completely justified and can be outright showy, while also being both necessary, and rewarding players for their ingenuity.
Bakkus
Member
That's pretty broad. Say turn-based RPG instead, then we have a more concrete metric to judge.
Preach. I was just playing it again earlier today. One of my favourites growing up and I still think it holds up great.
Sword Of Doom
Member
Whatever genre MS Pacman is. On a good cocktail table cabinet it hasn't aged one bit and is still one of the best games ever made
Probably the oldest game I can think of
Probably the oldest game I can think of
Nothing to add, BG II embodies everything that I love in d&d.
Wonko_C
Member
Agreed, but I would encompasses the whole FPS genre. shooters got worse after that. And for Single player campaigns the original Quake hasn't been topped.
Weltall Zero
Member
Star Control II, a 25 year old game, is still unmatched in its genre. Granted, its genre might as well called "Star Control"...
I think Chrono Trigger and FF6 may be unmatched as far as classic turn-based JRPGs go. Modern Persona games are kind of a different beast, with the school sim / visual novel half, and Bravely Default games are excellent but have crippling drawbacks that disqualify them from "best in genre" in my book.
I have a feeling you could ask this question 20 years from now, and FTL would still be the best in its genre.
I think Chrono Trigger and FF6 may be unmatched as far as classic turn-based JRPGs go. Modern Persona games are kind of a different beast, with the school sim / visual novel half, and Bravely Default games are excellent but have crippling drawbacks that disqualify them from "best in genre" in my book.
I have a feeling you could ask this question 20 years from now, and FTL would still be the best in its genre.
Havoc2049
Member
LukasTaves
Member
Ninja Gaiden Black
sooperkool
Member
Zvonimir Boban
Banned
psilva
Member
Word. Haven't seen that cover in years. GOAT american football game.
A link to a gamefaqs review? Is that your review? I'm not hating; just curious.
I never played that one but it's in a difficult category:
Triple Play 2001 was solid on ps1
RBI 3 on NES was good as well as Baseball Simulator 1.000
High Heat 2002 (maybe 2003?) had one of the best abilities to hit directional
MLB 2k3 was solid
The Show series has also been solid for years.
tough competition.
GOAT contender of the 3d generation for sure, but I'd still take Tecmo Super Bowl over it.
JareBear: Remastered
Banned
Red Alert and Doom pale in comparison to their counterparts today.
Your other two choices are great though
ForkNetwork
Banned
Mark of the Ninja is the pinnacle of stealth games
NinjamicWZ
Banned
Organ Trail is pretty good. Zombie wasteland take on it.
Maybe Oregon Trail is the grandfather of today's survival games.
Maybe Tokyo Jungle is an Oregon Trail game.
Alucard725
Neo Member
Damn right
Heebie Jeebies
Banned
Theme Hospital
TheSpaceBetween
Member
Dead Space has not been outdone by any action horror title.
Castlevania: Symphony of the night is still king of 2D Metroidvanias.
Half-Life 2 has still not been topped by another single player FPS game.
Metroid Prime has not been topped by a first person adventure game.
Castlevania: Symphony of the night is still king of 2D Metroidvanias.
Half-Life 2 has still not been topped by another single player FPS game.
Metroid Prime has not been topped by a first person adventure game.
Resident Evil 4. I still haven't played a better designed TPS (or game in general) since it's release. Arguably, there have been action games with better controls and mechanisms, but RE4's core gameplay is still more than serviceable even today, and ultimately just the icing on the cake. Anyone that's played RE4 knows that what really makes it so special is the pacing, and the level and encounter design, which are the best of any game I've personally ever played. I still feel that way even 12 years after it's initial release, which I think is a testament to it's overall quality.
canedaddy
Member
Riesenfass
Member
Diablo II. There have been some good recent entries, and as much as I love it D2 does have some flaws, but as an overall I'd argue this is still king of the genre.
Raging Spaniard
If they are Dutch, upright and breathing they are more racist than your favorite player
Its boring as hell
NESpowerhouse
Perhaps he's wondering why someone would shoot a man before throwing him out of a plane.
I dare you to show me a better flight combat game.
hydrophilic attack
Member
Outclassed by Tactics Ogre
Not particularly controversial, but SFIII 3rd.
I had hoped I'd have warmer feelings about USFIV at this point, but...nope, I chose and picked the best one.
Bayonetta.
Almost a decade old and has yet to be significantly improved upon in the character action genre.
Edit: I see a lot of Ninja Gaiden Black, and cannot disagree, but honestly feel like Bayo and NG are different genres. NGB is about precision and Bayo is about endorphins.
I had hoped I'd have warmer feelings about USFIV at this point, but...nope, I chose and picked the best one.
Bayonetta.
Almost a decade old and has yet to be significantly improved upon in the character action genre.
Edit: I see a lot of Ninja Gaiden Black, and cannot disagree, but honestly feel like Bayo and NG are different genres. NGB is about precision and Bayo is about endorphins.
cartman414
Member
Anyone saying Castlevania: SotN is cray cray. Not even the best Metroidvania in its own series.
Also, Super Metroid still crushes it, and it's approaching 25.
Mario 3 for platformers.
Link's Awakening IMO. But it's a matter of preference at that point.
Also, Super Metroid still crushes it, and it's approaching 25.
Mario 3 for platformers.
Link's Awakening IMO. But it's a matter of preference at that point.
Snacks the sober sea lion
Member
Thief 2. The guards are dumb, the climbing is janky, and the last level sucks, but no stealth games have come anywhere close to its level design and implementation of its mechanics. Dishonored 2 is the only game that has similarly-sized yet intricately detailed levels, but it doesn't have rope arrows, water arrows, or light/ shadow mechanics beyond a very basic level.
QuixoticNeutral
Member
I can't think of anything to top Super Metroid and Chrono Trigger here in terms of age. Among genres that haven't been discussed much here, though, these three come to mind:
- Grim Fandango (1998). Technically not a point-and-click with its original tank controls, but you know what I mean when I refer to the LucasArts-style adventure game, driven by dialogue trees and puzzle solving by way of zany, out-of-the-box item combinations. The adventure genre died with it for a while, and even when it was revived in the form of nostalgia projects and the Telltale subgenre that dropped logic puzzles in favour of branching story choices, it wasn't quite the same thing.
- Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (1999). Other 4X games since are more refined and polished (Civ IV comes to mind), addressing old genre trappings like surprise attacks and infinite city sprawl. But in terms of sheer unfettered creativity, and irrespective of setting/theme (history, fantasy, science fiction), the genre as a whole never did catch up to half the ideas in SMAC, from the versatility of its modular unit customization to the late-game terrain deformation that you could bring about through development, diplomacy, or war.
- Viewtiful Joe (2003). There is a vacuum where the side-scrolling character action brawler is supposed to be, and in VJ's absence it has gone completely unfilled. I like the sequel well enough, but the bold and more tightly tuned original stands as the first and last word on what it did. And as much as I love the Bayonetta games, there's a certain button-for-button perfectionism that comes out in the 2D format that 3D genre equivalents fall short of capturing.
- Grim Fandango (1998). Technically not a point-and-click with its original tank controls, but you know what I mean when I refer to the LucasArts-style adventure game, driven by dialogue trees and puzzle solving by way of zany, out-of-the-box item combinations. The adventure genre died with it for a while, and even when it was revived in the form of nostalgia projects and the Telltale subgenre that dropped logic puzzles in favour of branching story choices, it wasn't quite the same thing.
- Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (1999). Other 4X games since are more refined and polished (Civ IV comes to mind), addressing old genre trappings like surprise attacks and infinite city sprawl. But in terms of sheer unfettered creativity, and irrespective of setting/theme (history, fantasy, science fiction), the genre as a whole never did catch up to half the ideas in SMAC, from the versatility of its modular unit customization to the late-game terrain deformation that you could bring about through development, diplomacy, or war.
- Viewtiful Joe (2003). There is a vacuum where the side-scrolling character action brawler is supposed to be, and in VJ's absence it has gone completely unfilled. I like the sequel well enough, but the bold and more tightly tuned original stands as the first and last word on what it did. And as much as I love the Bayonetta games, there's a certain button-for-button perfectionism that comes out in the 2D format that 3D genre equivalents fall short of capturing.
The Horror the horror
Banned
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but Pong has been outclassed, sir.
Cow Mengde
Banned
Uncharted Waters New Horizons is the the best open world game/open world RPG. Everything else is poorly designed and boring.