Worthy Retro 2 – – Gamereactor

Here is the first part of this article.

Modified Beast (Mega Drive / 1989)
If you ever owned a Mega Drive in the past, chances are you played Altered Beast because it came with the console for a long time. However. while it may have been an impressive arcade experience in 1988, the following year’s Mega Drive version felt more like a tired relic at the time. Rigid controls, repetitive gameplay and graphics that never quite did the console justice resulted in a game that quickly became more frustrating than entertaining. Sure, it was an early title and “Rise from your grave!” has cult status, but frankly, there are much better action games on the platform, and had this not come to the console, we would never be talking about it today.

Battle Arena Toshinden (PlayStation / 1995)
When Battle Arena Toshinden was released, it was hailed as the next big thing in the fighting genre, probably largely due to its cool fighters and spectacular graphics. But in retrospect, it’s hard to understand why. Even then, game controls were incredibly random, battles clunky and balance non-existent, with some characters feeling almost unplayable. Compared to contemporaries Virtua Fighter or Tekken, it lacked both depth and fluidity, and the only thing that really impressed was the ability to move in 3D – a gimmick that quickly lost its luster. Toshinden was never a great game, but for a long time it lived on hype and starving PlayStation gamers who wanted something to show off.

Final Fantasy VIII (PlayStation / 1999)
Final Fantasy VIII may have been a technical achievement when it was released, offering something very different from the clunky characters of Final Fantasy VII, but behind that dazzling surface was a role-playing game with unbalanced gameplay and a plot that derailed – big time. The Draw system turned battles into a tedious grindfest and feels completely unbearable today, the Junction mechanics completely destroyed the game, and Squall is one of the series’ most charmless protagonists. Sure, the interludes impressed and the soundtrack is undeniably fantastic, but as a whole, in retrospect, it feels more like an experiment than a worthy sequel to Final Fantasy VII, and it’s easy to see why Square Enix doesn’t seem interested in doing anything new with it.

Ice climber (NES / 1986)
Ice Climber may be an NES classic and, like Altered Beast, it came with the console, but the truth is that it was never very good, even when it was released. For lack of anything else, me and my brothers played this over and over, but honestly…. Even then, the controls were inaccurate, the jumps terrible, the collisions frustrating and the set-up monotonous. Popo and Nana certainly deserve their cult status gained thanks to Super Smash Bros, but their original game is and was more of a tedious ordeal than a timeless gem. There’s a good reason why Nintendo never returned to the concept.

Ghosts ‘n Goblins (NES / 1989)
Ghosts ‘n Goblins has a reputation as an immortal classic, but the truth is that it was mostly brutally difficult in an unfair way, especially on the NES whose hardware couldn’t quite handle the game. Clumsy game controls, enemies appearing out of nowhere, a hero so bounced on a hit that he often ended up in death, and a hopeless weapon system meant that frustration often outweighed fun. Moreover, the fact that the game requires you to pass it twice to get the “real” ending feels more like a cruel joke than a clever design. Sure, it has its charm and iconic music, but in all honesty, it was more pain than joy we endured because the game was expensive and there wasn’t much else.

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (Nintendo 64 / 1997)
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was an early 3D shooter that appealed with its unique premise and technological innovations, as well as the ability to shoot dinosaurs with the pig-powered Nintendo 64, but nonetheless the game was far from a gem. Driving Turok felt like driving a truck, the enemies were mostly annoying and only visible when they were on your toes because the Nintendo 64’s infamous fog meant visibility was only a few feet. It may have technically impressed us at launch, but even then we should have seen it through and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter doesn’t deserve to be called a timeless classic. It’s just nostalgia fooling us all.

Twisted Metal (PlayStation / 1995)
Twisted Metal may have been a new and exciting idea at the time, and my brothers and I certainly spent a lot of time on it. But even then, it was hard to shake off the feeling that it was actually a better idea than a game and far from the revolutionary experience that many wanted it to sound like. None of the vehicles had the feel of a vehicle, the tracks were consistently boring, and the game suffered from serious balancing errors where certain characters – such as Warthog and Sweet Tooth – were totally superior and made the whole experience unfair. Moreover, the campaign was bland and the split screen in this game did more damage than in contemporary titles like Goldeneye 007. It just wasn’t as good as we remember and the concept was way ahead of its time. Today, I think Twisted Metal would have a future.