My Favourite Retro Games!

 

For those of you who know me (or have read my other post about FFXV) then it might be obvious that I’m a huge fan of video games, and also a fan of writing lists about my favourite things or people, especially on this blog. So, I thought I’d combine both today, but rather than focusing on newer games I want to write about more retro games, ones I grew up with and turned me into the gamer I am today, and wish I could still play (if only I wasn’t too lazy to set up my PS2 again).

The majority of these games are either from the 90′s or early 2000′s, which is how you know they’ll be amazing, whether it be the graphics or music or just randomness of the game. Some of them were released before I was born (in ‘95) but having an older brother meant I had the chance to play them when I knew what video games were. (although saying that I did put a mars bar in our megadrive so maybe not).

Super Mario 64 – N64 (1996):

The first retro game that I absolutely love is Super Mario 64. The N64 was an amazing gaming system and this was one of the best games for it, in my opinion. Everything from the music, to jumping into paintings and watching Mario fall asleep if you left the controller for too long. It’s such an iconic game and every time I talk about video games this is one of the first I mention, and in fact I keep looking into buying an N64 just to play this again, and to finally beat it because I don’t think I had a chance. In fact I don’t think I ever got past the penguin level, it was a nightmare. Other than that though, it is literally one of the best retro games and if you’ve never played it the least you can do is watch the game play online so you see how good it actually is!

Sonic the Hedgehog – Megadrive (1991):

Obviously I couldn’t do a post like this without mentioning Sonic the Hedgehog for the Megadrive. I know a few versions of this were released (Sonic & Knuckles etc) but I’m talking about the original. It’s one of the first games I actually remember playing (probably before the mars bar incident) and I’m sure a lot of people my age or older played as well. Looking at it now it was such a simple game because all you had to do was move Sonic and that was it, but recently I had a chance to play it again at Megabytes in Glasgow and it is still as fun as I remember. Although saying that, I do get flashbacks of never being able to beat Doctor Eggman and saving the cute animals, shame on me! That’s not to say I still don’t love it though, the music is fantastic and who doesn’t love the ‘SEGAAAAAAA’ before the game even started? It’s not a Sonic game without that, and in case you didn’t have a chance to play it, it’s available on iPhones and stuff, the original that is, so you can experience the fun yourself.

Pokemon Yellow & Rayman Advance – Gameboy/Gameboy Advance (2000/1):

  

When I think back at gaming systems I had, I always remember having a gameboy and gameboy advance, and that’s where Pokemon Yellow and Rayman come in. The Gameboy is another thing I always question buying when I think of games, sure my Xbox One is fun and stuff but I miss being able to play black and white, pixel style Pokemon with the originals and the best starter Pokemon ever. (Charmander 4eva) Without this game (and of course the show) I definitely wouldn’t have been such a Pokemon fan, but thankfully I was and I made sure to make it obvious with all the Pokemon stuff I had, especially my light up shoes. (Gaming definitely made me a 90′s fashion icon, obviously) Rayman was one of those games I remember having, and spending ages playing the same levels constantly because I was terrible at it, but it’s still one of my favourites. To this day I literally have no idea what the story is or was, or who or what Rayman is, but it was something I found myself playing for hours on end and I wish I still had it now because I imagine I’d be a lot better at it now, or probably worse knowing me.

Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot – PS1 (1996/1998):

 

Arguably the BEST games for the Playstation that have ever been released, am I biased? Probably. Am I right though? Most definitely. These two games are absolutely iconic when it comes to the Playstation and are two of my favourite games. I know I said I basically grew up playing Mario and Sonic, but compared to them, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro are definitely better, or at least that’s what I remember. I never actually completed Spyro because to be fair I was about 6 when I had it and had no idea what I was doing, but I know there were gems, eggs and you got to play a dragon, what more would you want? Crash Bandicoot, I think everyone knows, is an amazing game. Sure, it just involves collecting boxes and running away from stuff etc. but its so much fun, especially all the spin offs of the game, which I also had, and still do to this day! In fact, I love these two games so much that when I heard they were being remastered for PS4 not only was I devastated but I’ve actually been questioning whether or not a PS4 is a good investment just to play these games, or maybe I should just get the PS2 out again and play the old versions for the nostalgia. (Oh and don’t forget when Crash and Spyro became a crossover game, which I had as well!)

Looney Tunes Back in Action – PS2 (2003):

Probably one of the more difficult games I’ve ever played, but again super fun and one of my favourites. I’ve been a Looney Tunes fan since I was a kid, and still am. (the old versions of it anyways) so when the film came out I was super excited, it’s honestly one of the strangest but best films I’ve watched and I’d definitely recommend it because it shouldn’t work but it does, plus it has all the characters in it. The game of the film was released soon after, I think and in fact I don’t even remember asking for it, but knowing me I probably annoyed my dad until he got me it, and he even had a chance to help me get past the levels I was stuck on. I’ve never actually finished the game, I got to the last level, got stuck and left it because seven and eight year old me had no patience for games that were difficult (I’m still the same now, let’s be real!). However, I did go back and do my favourite missions and even tried to play the game from the beginning again, the best bit is still at the casino though with the rollercoaster, and because I get to play as Bugs Bunny who was my favourite (Sorry Daffy!) I feel like the game was way better than expected, looking back at it now anyways, and the more I write about the more I actually want to go play it! 

There you go, my favourite ‘retro’ games. I realise they might not be as retro as games brought out in the 80’s or whenever but I’m only 21 so they’re retro to me! And like I said, I might have to go hunt out my old gaming systems to play them again, maybe next time I write a post it’ll be about how I finally completed the games I gave up on when I was younger, who knows!