Comment on What emulated games hold up in 2025?
cRazi_man@europe.pub 2 days ago
There’s a world of options out there and you need to be more specific with what sorts of games you enjoy. I’ve been emulating on my Switch for a while, but also recently bought a dedicated retro emulation console so I have quite a few recommendations.
For games that are literally still up to modern standards, you can go back to Wii, 3DS, PS Vita, PS3 and beyond and you’ve basically got games that will still hold up just fine.
For older games: PSP, PS2, SNES and GBA are gold mines of content.
I’ve found it difficult to get into PS1, N64 and Dreamcast gaming. This was a time when 3D graphics were just starting to be widely used and are so very dated. It’s difficult to look past the terrible graphics without nostalgia goggles. I’ve had more success in going back to SNES and Mega Drive games… At least they have great pixel graphics with suitable games (side strollers, platformers, etc).
For specific games, I find it best to go to metacritic and look at their list of all time best games, and limit by console and then work through the best every reviews. This does miss a lot of games though and if you say what sort of games you like then people can make recommendations. There are tons of hidden gems and niches… Rhythm games, block drop, quirky puzzle games, etc. E.g.:
Everybody’s Golf 6 (PS3) - excellent arcadey golf game
Mercury Meltdown (PSP) - puzzle game about manipulating mercury blobs. Great to play entirely with the Steam Deck gyroscope.
GTA China Town wars (PSP) - top down GTA game, modernised beyond the GTA2 controls
Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii) - excellent rhythm games
Super Mario 3D land (3DS) - 2.5 D Mario. Really solid platformer.
Wipeout 2048 (PS Vita) - solid combat racer
Micro machines 2 (Mega Drive) - quirky top down racer. Excellent for multiplayer.
Crazy Taxi (PS2) - taxi driving, really crazy though
jwiggler@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Thank you for the recs. Part of the reason I wasn’t more specific is because, in terms of retro games, I have no idea of what I like since I haven’t really played any. Another part is that I want to know what you, the people, think holds up in 2025. And another part, I’m trying to keep my taste open – my first exposure to video games was GameBoy games, then Halo on PC, then having an Xbox 360 and playing popular action-y games. Later I’d find a taste for action RPGs (after much picking up and putting down), and only in the last few years have I expanded that to more…traditional? slower, I guess…RPGs like BG3 and Disco Elysium…expanding to puzzle games, sidescrollers, bullethells. I know they’re a lot different but I guess my point is, at one point, I found it hard to get into them, but over time I was able to figure them out and have fun. Still have never played a JRPG, so that’s on the horizon for me. I enjoy when things “click” in my brain, and if it takes a long time, that’s okay.
Some games that I’ve loved over my 25 or so years of consciousness:
My all time fav is Outer Wilds RDR2 Disco Elysium Balatro Alan Wake 2 I’ll always have a soft spot for Halo 1-Reach Portal 1 and 2 Hades Risk of Rain 2 Doom 2016 Batman: Arkham City Dark Souls, Dark Souls 3, Sekiro Batman: Arkham City Dave the Diver Vampire Survivors INSIDE (noticing none of these are retro games so idk if this is even helpful) Kingdom Come: Deliverance Baldur’s Gate 3 Dredge was cool but I didn’t finish it Witcher 3 Baba is You Factorio was too addicting so I had to stop because it started feeling like work GTA V because I enjoyed the satire I have 2k+ hours in Rocket League since its the only game I can play while focusing on an audiobook or podcast or album.
Sounds pretentious because it is, but I like “heady” stuff, in games-terms I think that translates to things that expand my conception of what a game is and what it can do, or something that challenges me in a new way. But yeah, that’s a long winded explanation of why I wasn’t more specific regarding my taste.
cRazi_man@europe.pub 1 day ago
Here’s the current list I have that I’ve played/playing/plan to play through.
3DS: New Super Mario Bros 2, Kirby Planet Robobot, Super Mario 3D Land.
Gamecube: Legend of Zelda, The - The Wind Waker, Super Mario Sunshine
GBA: Advance Wars (1+2), Super Mario Advance 4, Kirby - Nightmare in Dream Land
Mega Drive: Earthworm Jim (1+2), Streets of Rage 2, Lost Vikings, Micro Machines 2, Sonic and knuckles, Jungle Strike
N64: Golden Eye 007, Super Mario 64
PS1: Castlevania - Symphony of the Night, Grand Theft Auto 2, Legacy of Kain - Soul Reaver, Final Fantasy 7+8+9
PS2: Crazy Taxi, GranTurismo 4, Metal Gear Solid 2+3, Okami, Ratchet & Clank - Up Your Arsenal (all the Ratchet and Clank games actually), Shadow of the Colossus, Tony Hawks Underground 2, Sly Cooper, Jak and Daxter
PS3: Everybodys Golf 6, Ratchet & Clank Future - A Crack in Time
PSP: Rock Band Unplugged, Blast Off, Disgaea - Afternoon Of Darkness, Final Fantasy Tactics - The War of the Lions, Grand Theft Auto - Chinatown Wars, Half-Minute Hero, Hotshots Tennis, LittleBigPlanet, Lumines 2, Mega Man - Powered Up, Mercury Meltdown, Patapon, PixelJunk Monsters - Deluxe, Puzzle Quest - Challenge of the Warlords, Space Invaders Extreme, Wipeout (Pulse+Pure), Daxter
SNES: Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, Tetris Attack.
PS Vita: Gravity Rush, Wipeout 2048, Geometry Wars 3
Wii: Bully, Cave Story, Donky Kong Country Returns, Geometry Wars Galaxies, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Rhythm Heaven Fever, Super Mario Galaxy (1+2), Super Paper Mario, Tetris Party Deluxe, Zack and Wiki
Arguably one of the best genres that retro games excelled at were longdrawn RPGs and I haven’t even started with those…if that’s your thing then I’ve missed off that entire genre here.