Top 10 Video Games That Aged Badly
It's time to take off those rose tinted glasses and be honest. Join http://www.watchmojo.com as we countdown our picks for the Top 10 Video Game that have aged badly.
For this list, we're looking at games that aren't necessarily bad. Many of these see frequent enjoyment today, but over time have fallen far behind standards in graphics, design, controls or gameplay. The games were considering for this list had to be well received at their release, so games that were broken, buggy or just not fun to begin with don't qualify.
Special Thanks to our user "ShaneO77" for suggesting this topic on our website WatchMojo.comsuggest.
Top 10 Games that Aged Badly
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It’s time to take off those rose tinted glasses and be honest. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 video games that aged badly. For this list, we’re looking at games that aren’t necessarily bad. Many of these see frequent enjoyment today, but over time have fallen far behind standards in graphics, design, controls or gameplay. The games were considering for this list had to be well received at their release, so games that were broken, buggy or just not fun to begin with don’t qualify.
#10: “Mortal Kombat” (1992)
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The most infamous aspect of this fighting franchise is it’s hyper violent fatalities. However, some of you may remember that in the first entry, actually pulling one off was far more frustrating than fun. The controls are clunky and cumbersome, and the fighting system that leads up to these gory finales is far too simple, with fighters having only two or three special moves and no combos. It’s also worth noting that the digitized sprites weren’t even that good back when the game was originally released, so stretching them into HD does them no favors.
#9: “Metroid” (1986)
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Metroid was a huge innovator in game design, with multiple abilities to unlock and an open map to explore, but some design choices are incredibly frustrating in hindsight. First, the game has no map, so you would have to either remember the layout or stop to plot it out on paper yourself. If you were lucky enough to have the 29th issue of Nintendo power, that would work too, but if you didn’t you can totally forget about Google, it’s 1986 after all. Even if you were to try again today, there’s still no getting around the archaic password system. Upon death, you are given a 24 character password to enter when restarting to maintain progress. Internal Saves? Like I said, bro, it’s 1986, fo-getta-bout-it.
#8: “Silent Hill” (1999)
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This landmark survival horror game for PlayStation One taught us just how scary a video game could be. However, actually playing through can feel like a chore. The are the discouragingly ambiguous puzzles. Combat, though obviously to be avoided most of the time, is very clunky and imprecise. Just moving around can be difficult, and when on the run from some monstrosity, it could lead to death. Lastly there’s the fog. Initially added to mask the technological limitations of the system, the series is now sort ‘a stuck with it since it’s become a staple of the franchise.
#7: “Star Fox” (1992)
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One of the earliest examples of 3D home console games, and first by Nintendo to use make use of polygons, Star Fox was a much-hyped title. While novel at the time, looking back incredibly bland levels and slide show frame rate. The 3D models are nothing more than colored blocks, and the game lacks the targeting reticle that would be used in later entries in the series. On the whole, this feels like the prototype for what would become the much better realized Star Fox 64, which has aged surprisingly well in comparison, especially for a 64 game.
#6: “Virtua Fighter” (1993)
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The very first 3D arena fighter, this game is victim to the rapid improvement in polygonal modeling. The blocky characters are lacking in detail, and the arenas are effectively just large squares stuck in the middle of various locales. The fighting itself is really stiff and lacking the finesse that 2D fighters of the same time were already perfecting. Combos are short and don’t chain together, so there aren’t many options besides a quick string of punches and single kicks. Thankfully, like Mortal Kombat, this series became much better with new iterations.
#5: “Final Fantasy VII” (1997)
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This one will hurt some feelings, but hey, it’s not number 1. While FFVII remains one of the greatest JRPGs of all time, it is just. So. Ugly. The out-of-battle characters models are awful, blocky things with faces, which is baffling considering how the game uses much better models in battle. Prendered backgrounds also have a tendency to show a game’s age, and when played back on a larger screen, look very, very blurry. This muddled art style is actually the result of a conflict at Squaresoft between those who wanted a newer, more realistic style and those who wanted to maintain the look of the previous 6 games. No wonder fans want it remade…but what to change?
#4: “Tomb Raider” (1996)
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Yet another early game that fails to hold up as well as its successors, Lara Croft’s first adventure was decidedly low on action and high on puzzles. Though not a bad thing in and of itself, the action that is there is so mind-numbingly easy that it’s difficult to forgive. When approached by an enemy, Lara immediately locks on with her guns, all you have to do is hold down the shoot button until everything dies. Mix that in with bad camera transitions, no analog stick support and some spotty prompt detection and you have a game that could be so much better. Thankfully, those who pick up Tomb Raider Anniversary won’t see the majority of these problems.
#3: “Resident Evil” (1996)
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Oh, there early days of voice acting. The infamous “master of unlocking” and “Jill Sandwich” lines have spawned countless jokes and parodies. These hilariously awful performances conflict with the horror the game is attempting to convey. And though the tank-like controls definitely increase tension when playing, they also feel awkward and unnatural. Plus, the presence of two vastly superior remakes gives us no reason to revisit the original.
#2: “Grand Theft Auto III” (2001)
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As the first GTA to step away from the top-down perspective, players felt much more connected to the mayhem they were causing. However, with this closer look comes new problems. The most noticeable is how bland the textures are. You’ll spend a lot of time looking at the lifeless gray of the roads and buildings, and as you’re cruising along you’ll also notice that there’s no map, although a physical one was included in the box. The best you’ll in game is the mini map showing only the immediate area. Although Vice City certainly didn’t age beautifully either, it definitely benefitted from a stronger art direction. Before we reveal our contentious top pick, here are some honorable mentions. “Crash Bandicoot” “Team Fortress Classic” “Turok 2: Seeds of Evil” “Thief: The Dark Project”
#1: “GoldenEye 007” (1997)
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This much beloved shooter for the N64 has no doubt been the life of many parties, but has nostalgia clouded our vision to the numerous issues plaguing it? First, the characters are lazily animated and oddly proportioned. Next, this is a shooter that pre-dates dual analog controls, and while it definitely controlled better than say…Turok, having to stop moving to aim precisely is borderline blasphemy for a multiplayer FPS. Then there’s the multiplayer maps, literally copy pasted from the single player? Organic feel my eye, these layouts make no sense and you know it. Do you agree with our list? What games do you think really show their age? For more interesting top 10’s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com
