Games You Just Can't Play Anymore

[Classic Speedy]

We all have old games that are near and dear to our hearts, and while they may be dated in some respects, it's still a lot of fun to replay them. But then there are other games, which you used to like but due to advancements in the gaming field, make it seem downright archaic and possibly bad. Which games are like that for you?

Me, I recently replayed Need For Speed: High Stakes (Playstation version). Now I should point out that I still love NFS 3. Even though it's dated in some respects, the actual gameplay still holds up and it's an entertaining experience.

But High Stakes hasn't aged well at all. The framerate is so choppy during any opponent race that it actually hurts my eyes. The AI is cheap, being able to speed up and fly past you even though you're driving fast. And powersliding isn't nearly as intuitive as it was in NFS 3. Add all these up and it's overly difficult to win any tournaments and unlock the rest of the tracks.

Yours?

[Desensitized]

Good topic.

Mario Kart 64 is a game I cannot replay. Ever since MKDD, MKDS, and MKWii came out, I'm completely unable to touch this game. It's simply outdated in every way, and I can't escape the feeling I could be playing completely superior games from the same series instead of it.

In fact, most early PSX and N64 games have dated pretty badly. I can't play most of any of them for anything other than nostalgic reasons.

[Michael24]

Easy for me. Driver and Driver 2. When these games came out, my brother and I could sit and play them for hours and hours, literally. But in this day and age of GTA and Saints Row, they're just unplayable now. Sometime after (I think) Vice City came out, I decided to take a break from it and play some original Driver for awhile. I lasted less than ten minutes before shutting it off. I just couldn't play it anymore. The lesser graphics didn't bother me, but the controls just seemed so sluggish in comparison, and not being able to leave the vehicle and run around on foot made it less fun, too. (Even Driver 2, where you can do that, just wasn't as much fun anymore.) A shame, though. Those games used to keep us entertained for hours and we had some great times playing them.

[Mesousa]

Super Paper Mario.

I was on the final stage, and I barely had money or items, and when I died, I lost hope to complete the game, I tried starting over, but I was impatient.

I never really liked the battle system, so they should've sticked to the same formula from the first 2 games.

[Radical Raven]

I second Mario Kart 64. Soooo slow...

[TacoHunter]

The original Pokemon games. The Pokemon just look so weird looking, and all the little things they've added over the years, being able to run, new moves, stuff like that. It makes the first Pokemon games seem to slow and dated, making them just feel unplayable to me.

[Tanooki]

Smash Bros 64. Tried playing it again at a friend's a few months ago. After the greatness of Melee and the relative goodness of Brawl I just can't do SB64 anymore.

[Peter Paltridge]

To me, Wario Land games had a short replay life. After I'd completed them, they lost all appeal to me and I eventually either sold them or traded them. Today, I'm less than enthusiastic about buying another, even if I need a new Wii title this year.

[blazecat]

I can't play Glover anymore. I used to play that game all the time, now, I think: Were they high when they made this game!?

[defunctzombie]

It's not that old, but Lego Star Wars 1 is so dated compared to the new Lego games that I don't like playing it.

[AlgeaX]

We all have old games that are near and dear to our hearts, and while they may be dated in some respects, it's still a lot of fun to replay them.

I don't no why but for the past twelve years or so I haven't been able to convince any of my female friends to join me for a game of "Doctor"; and it used to be such a childhood favorite. ;)

[DarthGonzo]

It's not that old, but Lego Star Wars 1 is so dated compared to the new Lego games that I don't like playing it.

You don't need to if you buy the Complete Collection. ;)

[defunctzombie]

You don't need to if you buy the Complete Collection. ;)
...I did. :p But for a while I still played the individual ones.

[Dogasu]

I agree about Mario Kart 64 and Pokemon Red/Blue. I question how I ever had the patience to play such slow, slow games.

Another one that gets me is Sonic the Hedgehog. After being able to do that spin move from Sonic 2 onwards, not being able to do it in the first game just throws everything off.

[n1c3guy707]

Disgaea 1 for the PS2. Ever since I've played the DS version with the ability to skip animation I can no longer tolerate the PS2 version, where a combo of specials can last for over 5-10 minutes long.

[Jave]

Definitely agree on Mario Kart 64. Boy it was fun when it first came out, but it has not aged well.

[sdp]

Whats with all the Mario Kart 64 hate? Funny to me its kind of the opposite, I don't like newer MK games as much because I get a feeling of "been there done that". However I can always pop in MK64 and have a blast.

I can understand newer gamers not liking the old Pokemon games but man I love it and played so many hours of it, even if for pure nostalgia Red/Blue will never be unplayable for me.

Though I can still play them there are iplenty of games that just aren't as much fun anymore. But I can't think of a game(s) that I can't play at all. I've noticed that the two consoles that games have aged the worst IMO are the Genesis and PS1.

[SirLemming]

I prefer Super Mario Kart to Mario Kart 64. SMK isn't nearly as advanced, obviously, but it looks and plays as smooth as butter and it has lots of nostalgic charm to it. But MK64 looks a lot more sloppy these days with its outdated polygonal graphics and choppier frame rate (especially in 4-player).

[Zeonic Freak]

I prefer Super Mario Kart to Mario Kart 64. SMK isn't nearly as advanced, obviously, but it looks and plays as smooth as butter and it has lots of nostalgic charm to it. But MK64 looks a lot more sloppy these days with its outdated polygonal graphics and choppier frame rate (especially in 4-player).

I love them both, but i tend to sway to SMK more than MK64.

One game that comes to mind is Rocket Knight Adventures. I got to like lv 2, and the game froze. Havent played it since...

[Classic Speedy]

Well I was always a much bigger fan of Crash Team Racing (which still holds up quite well, BTW) than Super Mario Kart or MK64.

It seems racing games suffer quite a bit compared to other genres. Case in point: Gran Turismo. I remember marveling at the graphics back in 1998, but even two games later, it was blown out of the water. Still plays OK, but when some of the tracks from the first game are IN Gran Turismo 3 and look much better, it's hard to go back to that first game anymore.

1080 Degree Snowboarding- again, quite impressive when first released, but thanks to the likes of SSX and company, its slowdown and limited trick roster hurt it.

Then there are games which are so hard it makes me wonder how I had the endurance as a child or teen. Like Frogger (1997). Good gawd was that a frustrating game: Three lives, a zoomed in view that made it hard to see where you were going, constrictive controls... how did I have the patience to unlock every level in this thing?

[Taekmkm]

Journey to Jaburo. For my first ever Gundam, it was awesome. I unlocked everything and replayed the game and extra missions over and over.

Then years later after playing with the Vs. series, dear jeez it's so clunky and slow. And limited ammo can eat it.

[Eddy]

I have to agree with Mario Kart 64. That game has not aged well at all.

Another game that's pretty hard to go back to is the original Metroid. When compared to Super Metroid, Metroid really does feel dated.

[Desensitized]

Another game that's pretty hard to go back to is the original Metroid. When compared to Super Metroid, Metroid really does feel dated.Especially with the Zero Mission remake that fixes all the problems with the old game.

I still wish Metroid II would have gotten the same treatment. It really does deserve it.

[Marvin Tikvah]

Old fighting games really don't hold up well to me. I'd much rather play King of Fighters 2003 or Street Fighter Alpha 3 over the Fatal Fury/Art of Fighting series, or most releases of Street Fighter 2 that don't include the Turbo option.

There's also the first Pikmin title. Compared to the superior in every way Pikmin 2, the game is really short and lacking in depth.

[J!!!]

Mario Kart 64 has not aged well with me.

[Radical Raven]

Does anyone remember Threads of Fate? I played a demo of it when I was like five and loved it. The demo broke. Shops stopped selling PS1 games. I really, really, really wanted to play that game again. So, ten years later, I finally get my hands on a copy, and I pop it into my PS2 to find... a mildly entertaining game.

Ever seen that Family Guy Ep. where Jesus comes back, but he's really short? I felt like that.

(Still, I went through the same phase with Digimon World, and I loved it when I got to play it again. So it all evens out)

[Desensitized]

Does anyone remember Threads of Fate? I played a demo of it when I was like five and loved it. The demo broke. Shops stopped selling PS1 games. I really, really, really wanted to play that game again. So, ten years later, I finally get my hands on a copy, and I pop it into my PS2 to find... a mildly entertaining game.It was good, but a game that aged better than it (and was released before it) is Brave Fencer Musashi. It's pretty similar in that it's an action RPG, but it's probably the best action RPG on the system.

Also, I have to disagree with Smash Bros. If you pop it in, you'll notice it's almost a completely different game from Brawl. It's slower paced, but not too slow, and far more reliant on throws and gimping to make kills than Melee or Brawl is. It's also probably the most balanced of the series with every character having a good chance to win. Except maybe Kirby vs. Link. That would be pretty one-sided.

[blazecat]

Call me crazy, but I don't think I can play Donkey Kong Country anymore. It's just a bland sidescroller. Donkey Kong Country 2 is a lot better. IMO

[Jave]

Pokemon Red/Blue are unplayable not because of the slower pacing or inferior graphics, but because of the horrendous item system. After having items, pokeballs and berries properly separated, it's impossible to go back and play something where everything is lumped together.

[I.D.Will19??]

DBZ Budokai and, to a lesser degree, DBZ Budokai 2. I loved the games when I first got them. Even broke the first one and had to get another one. I was so intent on beating the crap outta Cell that I didn't realize how bad some of the control was (especially in the air). The fighting improved a tad in the second but not by much. I beat the first one, but I'm not exactly rushing to finish the second. I'm not even sure if I want to buy the next one.

GTA 3. After playing GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas, I'm having a hard time getting through this one. I can't shoot for ish. The driving is a step below the other two games. I'm not bothered by the graphics, though.

[Dub C]

Skies of Arcadia: My first true RPG experience. The next summer, I got Legends for the Gamecube, beat it, and played it again to following summer to get whatever sidequests I missed. But now that I've discovered Action RPGs like Tales & Star Ocean, I just have no desire to play this one ever again.

LaPucelle Tactics: I was in the middle of a high for Nippon Ichi games at the time, just beat Disgaea & liked my rental of Makai Kingdom, so I'd thought I'd like this one...but the combat was soooo slow compared to the other two. I think I only got to Chapter 4 before I moved on to some other game. Part of me wants to try and get back into it, but the thought of sitting thru that again isn't something I look forward to.

[Nel]

Definitely agree on GTA3. I replayed it to find my shooting skills were dead and spent the first few missions taking targets out with my car just because I had horrible aim. Put it down immediately, heh.

Also agree with the old Pokemon games for the item storage and the whole "Box 1 is full. Have fun catching Mewtwo some other time, loser." slap in the face it always gave me.

[Daxdiv]

Pokemon Red/Blue are unplayable not because of the slower pacing or inferior graphics, but because of the horrendous item system. After having items, pokeballs and berries properly separated, it's impossible to go back and play something where everything is lumped together.

This!!!

I can't play Red and Blue that much really. That and the fact that when you tried to catch a Pokemon back then, but ran out of room, it told you to change the box. Always happened to me on that "GOTTA HAVE" Pokemon, mostly the birds and Mewtwo. I only manage to play Yellow due to the novelty of having Pikachu following you around.

Also D/P/P new attack system has thrown me off course really, I have to be careful in my playthroughs of R/S/E/FR/LG/C/XD now because of that, especially if I want to transfer them over D/P. I'm screw myself over thinking that something like Shadow Ball is special base in Gen IV when it physical in Gen III, and I give it something like my Espeon in the GCN games.

[Zekehawk]

For me it would have to be Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 version). It's a great game but when I play the newer and more fast paced games, it's hard for me to switch speeds when I play.

[TheTerror]

We all have old games that are near and dear to our hearts, and while they may be dated in some respects, it's still a lot of fun to replay them. But then there are other games, which you used to like but due to advancements in the gaming field, make it seem downright archaic and possibly bad. Which games are like that for you?

Me, I recently replayed Need For Speed: High Stakes (Playstation version). Now I should point out that I still love NFS 3. Even though it's dated in some respects, the actual gameplay still holds up and it's an entertaining experience.

But High Stakes hasn't aged well at all. The framerate is so choppy during any opponent race that it actually hurts my eyes. The AI is cheap, being able to speed up and fly past you even though you're driving fast. And powersliding isn't nearly as intuitive as it was in NFS 3. Add all these up and it's overly difficult to win any tournaments and unlock the rest of the tracks.

Yours?

Pretty much anything on the original Gameboy, I used to love it as a kid, but these days I cant stomach the screen or the games at all, even on the GBC. Its a lost and dead artifact from my past at this point.....

Also an abundance of PS1/N64 titles are hard for me to play through now, they just didn't age as well as the 8-bit/16-bit era IMO and I was neer fully into the stuff that came out at that time anyhow.

[Mr. Pedro]

Star Fox for the SNES. Pehaps I was spoiled by it's N64 sequel, with the ships actually looking like ships as opposed to looking like...........well, they don't even look like things!

There was just a massive gap in quality and aesthetic between those two games that it's nearly impossible to go back to the original.

[Tapout]

I'll agree on games that have 50+ sequels with massive improvements.

I'm trying to think of an original game that was great for its time but just hasn't managed to hold up for some reason and am drawing a complete blank. Guess the classics are classics for a reason.

[TheTerror]

I'll agree on games that have 50+ sequels with massive improvements.

I'm trying to think of an original game that was great for its time but just hasn't managed to hold up for some reason and am drawing a complete blank. Guess the classics are classics for a reason.

Maybe a platformer or something, or an old RPG that was great back in the day but compared to the stuff going on today it does not hold up well. For me an example would be within the fighting game genre, even though I loved Tekken, todays Tekken games make the old ones look weak and unplayable with both upgraded graphics and options, but I guess thats to come to be expected with time.

[Desensitized]

8-bit platformers, action games, and beat-em-ups have aged the best from that era, because they remain the simple blasts of fun they were always meant to be. However, I don't know about you guys, but I know I can't play 8-bit RPGs. Those have dated extremely badly.

But, the 16 bit era is still good to me. I can play brand new (to me) SNES or Genesis games and they can be just as fun to me as current games can. No nostalgia there.

[SirLemming]

However, I don't know about you guys, but I know I can't play 8-bit RPGs. Those have dated extremely badly.
That is pretty tough, because RPGs are as much about the story and setting as they are about the gameplay... and when the setting is basically "here's a green blob, here's a blue blob, here are some gray bricks" and the story aspirations are somewhat dampened by the console's size and storage limitations, it can be hard to go back to that. It's made even worse by the fact that a lot of RPG sequels keep the same basic gameplay but refine a few things, while also bringing along much better graphics and deeper storylines. A lot of old non-RPG games still have value because of their simple, addictive, instantly satisfying gameplay, but it's harder to make that case for RPGs.

For me, the 16-bit era is sort of the cutoff point for when games looked and sounded good enough that they still have lots of appeal even when technology has come so much further.

[TheTerror]

8-bit platformers, action games, and beat-em-ups have aged the best from that era, because they remain the simple blasts of fun they were always meant to be. However, I don't know about you guys, but I know I can't play 8-bit RPGs. Those have dated extremely badly.

But, the 16 bit era is still good to me. I can play brand new (to me) SNES or Genesis games and they can be just as fun to me as current games can. No nostalgia there.


I actually really enjoy RPG's from both the 8-bit and 16-bit era, call me crazy but I enjoy them much better than todays RPG's.

[WolfieKiwi]

There's also the first Pikmin title. Compared to the superior in every way Pikmin 2, the game is really short and lacking in depth.

It was the desert level that took up most of my days. Once I was finished collecting all the parts there, everything else just whizzed by and before I knew it, the game was over.

Speaking of Pikmin 2, I should dig that up. 'Haven't played that in a long time.

[soundmonkey44]

Everytime I look at one of my old Mario or Pokemon GBC games I get Quesy thinking about how much TIme I wasted Trying to Beat those suckers when I could have been Wasting Time Beating Final Fantasy or Somthing else...Oh well.:p :sweat:

[Desensitized]

I actually really enjoy RPG's from both the 8-bit and 16-bit era, call me crazy but I enjoy them much better than todays RPG's.Well, I spent quite a long time with StarTropics II today (despite never really touching it as a kid), and enjoying every moment. So, I'd say there are at least a few titles that manage to escape feeling dated.

[mookie75]

I'll agree with those who have mentioned Mario Kart 64. Those karts handle like shopping carts. I suppose that might be more realistic, but it's so much more rewarding to master the art of driving in Double Dash and Mario Kart Wii.

Actually, this is one of the few things in which I rate Double Dash higher than Mario Kart Wii. If there's one thing that still annoys me on the Wii, it's that you can only really avoid the red shells if you have something to toss behind you (barring a lucky moment where you sneak around a wall or someone else gets hit instead of you). In Double Dash, I used to be pretty good at using a carefully timed mini-boost on a corner to make a red shell lose its lock and go zipping by behind me. If you can still "shake" them in such a way on the Wii it must be much harder, because I've never managed to pull it off.

Of course, the only drawback to mastering my driving skills on Double Dash was that I always got stuck being the driver while my friends got the fun of lobbing items at other karts and punching their drivers... :p

[RedNinja84]

I'll go with WWF No Mercy for the N64. Just because I unlocked all the stuff in the game and then the game erased all my memory leaving me to start over. Since then I havn't picked up.