"Classic" Catch Up

[gallo_pinto]

I was looking through old threads and I stumbled over this one. I really like this thread and I wanted to bump it back up to see how people have done on their "Classic Catch Up." Have any of you all made any progress over the last year or so?

Love the idea of "Classic" Catch Up and like everyone else, I've got my own list I'm trying to work through. I didn't get a Nintendo console until the N64, so most of the classic games I'm trying to catch up on are NES and SNES.

Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels - I'm on World 4, using save states liberally. Really difficult.
Super Mario Bros 2 - Downloaded on 3DS, but haven't started.
Metroid - Haven't touched.
Metroid 2 - Haven't touched
Super Mario World - Haven't touched
Super Metroid - Haven't touched
Persona 1, Persona 2 IS+EP - Downloaded on Vita, but haven't started
Metal Gear Solid Series - Going to play through most of it on Vita, then switch to PS3
Okami - I got to the halfway point on Wii, want to play it all the way through on PS3

I was without a current-gen (or even previous-gen) console for the majority of 2016, so I managed to play a lot of old games.

From this list, I was able to knock off:
Super Mario Bro: The Lost Levels - Too hard to be fun for me, but I finished it with save states
Super Mario Bros 2 - Liked it, but didn't love it
Metroid - Didn't enjoy at all. I felt about Metroid what most of the C+R team felt about Zelda II
Metroid 2 - Enjoyed this one A LOT more. Surprisingly fun. Would love to give AM2R a shot when I have the time
Super Mario World - This 100% deserves the decades of accolades. Really great, even in 2016.
Metal Gear Solid Series - I got through MG 1+2 and MGS 1, 2+3. I plan to finish MGS4 and PW this year. It's been fun going through the series, but I haven't connected to it the way I think I might have if I'd played it at the time. Looking forward to catching up.

I'll definitely play Super Metroid and Okami this year and I hope to play the early Persona games soonish.

How are the rest of you going with this?

[Combine Hunter]

Actually completed Advance Wars, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Deus Ex and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past since I last posted on this thread.

[Alex79]

Nope. Still haven't played Chrono Trigger past the first couple of hours. Managed to get Snatcher done last year though which has been on my 'must play' list for many years. I'm about 25% through Policenauts too, so really want to get that done this year.

[Todinho]

Well I knocked the Final Fantasies and Grim Fandago out,still a bunch of others to go.

[Feirsteax]

Love this idea, definitely necessary for me!

Will make a list of games on my pile of shame later when I get home from work

[Suits]

Ah, good thread this and is actually in line with what I'm this year anyway.

I'm trying to get through a classic game a fortnight up until the Switch is announced, or as I find time actually.

There's too many classic's I never actually got through.

All are Super Nintendo games.

1- Donkey Kong Country - Done
2 - Super Metroid - In progress
3 - ............


I'm not going to try and predict what I'm going to play next, as generally I'll see what I fancy once I finish one. I don't really want to overplay a genre or anything but I do have a personal hit list I want to get through.

[MagicianArcana]

I actually haven't made much progress at all on any of the games I mentioned when this thread was first created.

I made a little bit of progress on Tales of Destiny, but I don't think I touched any of the other games that have been on my backlog for years. Lately most of my time spent gaming has been occupied by Overwatch and few other recent releases. And after Tales of Berseria and Persona 5 come out, it's gonna be harder for me to wanna go back.

But I hope I can make time for at least Baten Kaitos sometime this year. Of all the games on my backlog, that one piques my interest the most right now.

[KSubzero1000]

But I hope I can make time for at least Baten Kaitos sometime this year. Of all the games on my backlog, that one piques my interest the most right now.

Great idea! The game has its fair share of flaws and oddities, but it's still a fantastic and very special experience that I'd recommend to any fan of the genre.

[Jobobonobo]

Oh I can think of a fair few classics that I have never touched but would love to if I got the time.

Katamari Damacy - The original never got released in Europe, which always irritated me! We Love Katamari is one of my favourite PS2 titles and I would love to go back to where it all started.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time - This was meant to be a great little platformer with cool time mechanics that I somehow missed on. Another thing that appeals me to it is that it does not have the contrived "edgy" aesthetic of the two sequels that followed it, just good sword and jump gameplay.

Beyond Good and Evil - I have heard so much about this cult classic and I do love Michel Ancel's Rayman games so cannot believe I never picked this up.

Grim Fandango - This I will definitely try out this year to play along with the C and R episode. Will be my first ever point and click so will be interesting to see if it will get me into the genre or not.

Metroid Zero Mission: I hear this remake of the NES original is better in every single way and I have loved the few Metroid titles I have played so would be eager to try this out one day.

Sly Cooper 2 and 3: Loved the first one, never got to play the sequels. Have heard plenty of good things about them.

Jak 2 and 3: Again, I was a big fan of the first one but I am unsure if I would get on with the dark and moody tone of the sequels. If they get the atmosphere just right I could see myself digging these. I actually had the Jak collection on PS3 but never got around to playing it and had to give my PS3 away when I moved so will be a long time if ever to get another chance to try these out.

That is all I can think of, bound to be a lot more that I just cannot remember at the moment.

[MagicianArcana]

But I hope I can make time for at least Baten Kaitos sometime this year. Of all the games on my backlog, that one piques my interest the most right now.

Great idea! The game has its fair share of flaws and oddities, but it's still a fantastic and very special experience that I'd recommend to any fan of the genre.

Yeah there's something special about that game. I played it for a couple hours at least, and the pre-rendered environments are really pretty and the music is really nice. And even though I don't typically like games with card-based battle systems, I enjoyed the combat.

Sly Cooper 2 and 3: Loved the first one, never got to play the sequels. Have heard plenty of good things about them.

Jak 2 and 3: Again, I was a big fan of the first one but I am unsure if I would get on with the dark and moody tone of the sequels. If they get the atmosphere just right I could see myself digging these. I actually had the Jak collection on PS3 but never got around to playing it and had to give my PS3 away when I moved so will be a long time if ever to get another chance to try these out.

Those games were huge parts of my childhood! I find it interesting how in both series, the 2nd and 3rd games feel so different from the first. Sly sort of becomes an open-world stealth game, and Jak becomes a grittier game with guns. (Not too gritty though. It keeps its sense of humor.) But if you enjoyed the originals, I think you'll enjoy the sequels.
Also I think Jak X Combat Racing is worth checking out if you're into kart racing games.

[DomsBeard]

Persona 4 Golden.

Stuck on a boss early on (Yosuke) I think which is a bird in a cage.

GTA V.

Bought it at release but stopped playing at the same point as before as Trevor just irritates me.

Persona 4 I sold along with my Vita 18 months ago and I still have not touched GTA V since!

[eastmcduck]

Love the idea of "Classic" Catch Up and like everyone else, I've got my own list I'm trying to work through. I didn't get a Nintendo console until the N64, so most of the classic games I'm trying to catch up on are NES and SNES.

Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels - I'm on World 4, using save states liberally. Really difficult.
Super Mario Bros 2 - Downloaded on 3DS, but haven't started.
Metroid - Haven't touched.
Metroid 2 - Haven't touched
Super Mario World - Haven't touched
Super Metroid - Haven't touched
Persona 1, Persona 2 IS+EP - Downloaded on Vita, but haven't started
Metal Gear Solid Series - Going to play through most of it on Vita, then switch to PS3
Okami - I got to the halfway point on Wii, want to play it all the way through on PS3

This is my kind of list right here. I would love to experience all of these games again as if it were my first time playing them. These are some of my top all time favorites, minus the Persona games which I have never played. I was probably 9 or so when my brother and I got an SNES Super Set for Christmas, which came with Super Mario World. Took us years to finally discover and beat everything. Now I can 96 the whole thing in a few hours. It's definitely my all time favorite Mario game. Could be a lot of nostalgia talking, but I think that's only partly true. The Super Nintendo era was a particularly special time in my personal gaming history, but the games do mostly seem to have a timeless design to them. If you compare Super Metroid to say Axiom Verge without knowing anything about them, you might have a hard time deciding which is the older of the two games. Btw, if/when you finish up Super Mario World, I highly recommend following it up with SMW2: Yoshi's Island if you've never played that one either.

[Jobobonobo]

Those games were huge parts of my childhood! I find it interesting how in both series, the 2nd and 3rd games feel so different from the first. Sly sort of becomes an open-world stealth game, and Jak becomes a grittier game with guns. (Not too gritty though. It keeps its sense of humor.) But if you enjoyed the originals, I think you'll enjoy the sequels.
Also I think Jak X Combat Racing is worth checking out if you're into kart racing games.

I did not realise Sly Cooper changed in focus in the sequels as well but since I enjoyed the stealth sections in the first one I would love the chance to get into 2 and 3 at some point. I am relieved that the Jak sequels are not all grit and angst, makes me more open to trying them out. I was afraid it would be like the ridiculous and overbearing Shadow the Hedgehog in the way they would attempt to be "mature". Cute, carefree platformers trying to be gritty seemed to be a mild trend in the PS2 era, glad the genre is not in that phase anymore. Forgot there was even a Jak racer, sounds intriguing!

[gallo_pinto]

This is my kind of list right here. I would love to experience all of these games again as if it were my first time playing them. These are some of my top all time favorites, minus the Persona games which I have never played. I was probably 9 or so when my brother and I got an SNES Super Set for Christmas, which came with Super Mario World. Took us years to finally discover and beat everything. Now I can 96 the whole thing in a few hours. It's definitely my all time favorite Mario game. Could be a lot of nostalgia talking, but I think that's only partly true. The Super Nintendo era was a particularly special time in my personal gaming history, but the games do mostly seem to have a timeless design to them. If you compare Super Metroid to say Axiom Verge without knowing anything about them, you might have a hard time deciding which is the older of the two games. Btw, if/when you finish up Super Mario World, I highly recommend following it up with SMW2: Yoshi's Island if you've never played that one either.

I'm with you on Super Mario World and SNES games in general. It's the only Nintendo console I've never owned, so I played a lot of them way after the fact. It's really impressive how well a lot of those games hold up (Super Metroid is this year's goal).

I played SMW2 after World and while I didn't enjoy the gameplay as much, I thought the art style was stunning. One of my favorite looking games I've played in a long time, including modern games.

[MagicianArcana]

Cute, carefree platformers trying to be gritty seemed to be a mild trend in the PS2 era, glad the genre is not in that phase anymore.

I forgot about that trend! Yeah I feel the same. I don't want to get your hopes up too much though because I'm sure opinions vary. Although I'm also pretty sure the game didn't over-do it like Shadow the Hedgehog. I feel Jak 2 and 3 took their stories more seriously than the first, and I appreciated that. But overall I still liked the attitude the first game had the most. I wonder though how my opinion would change if I were to go back and play those games from start to finish. It's been a while I admit.

[Jobobonobo]

I forgot about that trend! Yeah I feel the same. I don't want to get your hopes up too much though because I'm sure opinions vary. Although I'm also pretty sure the game didn't over-do it like Shadow the Hedgehog. I feel Jak 2 and 3 took their stories more seriously than the first, and I appreciated that. But overall I still liked the attitude the first game had the most. I wonder though how my opinion would change if I were to go back and play those games from start to finish. It's been a while I admit.

I am perfectly fine with the Jak games having more involved stories as long as they capture some of the laidback charm of the first one. The PS2 trend of gritty platformers seemed to be a reaction to the genre being seen as too "kiddy" and tried to be an attempt to show that they can be at the big boy table alongside Halo and GTA. Which can lead to pretty silly results when your series revolves around anthropomorphic woodland creatures fighting a mad scientist. Platformers do not need to be all sunshine and happiness (Inside and Limbo certainly prove darker themes can fit in perfectly in the genre) but if it is a series that starts out cute and happy, to then make it dark and moody can create a bit of tonal whiplash if not done well to put it mildly. Shadow the Hedgehog in particular always seemed to reek of insecurity and desperation to me, "Nun-uh, we can be all mature and stuff as well, my game has guns and swearing in it!". Came off as very try hard.

Oh, just remembered two other classics that I need to try! Castlevania Symphony of the Night and Undertale.

[Alex79]

Just started Grim Fandango. Guess that counts as a 'classic catch-up'!

[eastmcduck]

I'm with you on Super Mario World and SNES games in general. It's the only Nintendo console I've never owned, so I played a lot of them way after the fact. It's really impressive how well a lot of those games hold up (Super Metroid is this year's goal).

I played SMW2 after World and while I didn't enjoy the gameplay as much, I thought the art style was stunning. One of my favorite looking games I've played in a long time, including modern games.

I think that's why SNES continues to be my favorite system, besides the nostalgia factor. A large majority of the games hold up really nicely. I pretty much have the same feelings toward SMW2. Didn't care for the gameplay as much, mostly because of the crying baby Mario, but I loved the art style and at the time a lot of the in-game mechanics were kind of groundbreaking. I'm kinda with you on the Metroid games as well. Didn't enjoy the original, but I thought the sequel on GB was a pretty good experience. I'm definitely wanting to give AM2R a go sometime. Super Metroid is nothing short of a masterpiece in my opinion. You can tell they finally had things figured out with that one. Probably one of the most memorable SNES games I've ever played.


I could probably fill a book with all the stuff I would like to go back and play or finish, but I'll stick to some of my top 8 bit and 16 bit stuff for now. I can emulate all of this stuff, but part of the experience for me is hunting down original cartridges (ideally with the original box and manual) so I can play on original hardware.

NES - StarTropics & Zoda's Revenge - Played part of the first one, never touched the sequel.
NES - Zelda II - Started playing numerous time, but get frustrated and turn it off.
NES/SNES - Final Fantasy series - Never played any of them. First FF I played was VII on the PSX.
NES/SNES/GBA - Mother/Earthbound series - Never played.
SNES/SFC - Secret of Mana/Seiken Densetsu series - Never played.
SNES - Donkey Kong Country series - Have played all of them plenty of times but have never completed any of them.

[Alex79]

It always bugged me a bit they called Yoshi's Island 'Super Mario World 2'. It wasn't anything like the Mario series up to that point really, and they should have let it stand on its own feet.

[ratsoalbion]

As we discussed on that podcast, the Super Mario World 2 suffix was only used outside of Japan, as a marketing aid. So arguably it's not a canonical 'core' Super Mario game at all. Whereas offically Super Mario World is Super Mario Bros. 4.