Classics

When you have been a gamer as long as I have, there are a lot of things that are going to go right by you. One of these many reasons might be due to time, money or genre. Which is why whenever I see videos about the greatest video games of all time, I've heard about a lot of them and not played a lot of them. This is why this year I thought I would add a bit of spice to my video gaming habits this year, to make some great games I've heard about, something that has been committed to my playing experience. While also changing some of my future gaming decisions. 

How am I deciding what is a classic? Well that was hard for me to really decide. Now things like the Xbox 360, is 20 years old so by that definition it is retro (sorry, just how time works). I would say things like that. However, I decided to be a little more loose for my definition of the word. I went to any thing that was before 2015 I am counting as classic, and to make it simple anything that is over 10 years old is classic. Sure that doesn’t sound old in reality. However, it was a clear cut off point between now and then. I didn’t want to say anything before the PS5, as many games are still PS4 games. This seemed like a smart option.

The main reason for the way has been mainly due to me thinking about a lot of the games I had played in youth. Whether that was through demos, renting or borrowing. A lot of them I saw friends play, or heard people talk about. While also due to me having a lot of games I got in adulthood that I have never played when I was younger, due to me thinking as a child, it would be hard and or scary. Which I think now I think due to my neurodivergence, I properly felt more overwhelmed. When I took a look at the completion times of some of these games, they aren’t long at all. 

For the last 5 years now I have been playing 12 games a year. This has helped me to play the numerous games I have owned over the years, but I noticed something, I was not playing games from the past. I was taking up one of those 12 slots to play something that was very old, and could be done in one or a few sittings. For 2025 I decided to change that up, and add 12 modern games and 12 classics games. This would help me really scratch that feeling that maybe, I have been missing out all this time, something great. While also making sure I know the money I spent on my collection, was being put to good use. 

The way I play a lot of these games are remake and re-release collections. I know there is massive discourse about some versions not being better than others. Whereas I don't personally care, so long as I get to play a playable version of the game. With some it's due to me having online services like Nintendo Switch Online, and Playstation Plus. Which really helped me pick where I could pick some of the titles I wanted to play this year. 

What have I played this year? Well I started with some truly classic games I never sat down and completed. I can finally say I have now finished all 3 Mario games on the NES. Sure I played the Super Mario Advanced version, but it to me still counts. It was a good, and nice way to kick off my adventure. Then I played Sonic CD, from the Sonic Origins collection, which was fine. The reason why it was fine, it was more like Sonic 1 than 2, which I knew going in, but it still wasn’t as great as people had made it out to be. Then I found out I played it, with the boring soundtrack. So yeah, that didn’t really help its cause. 

I also decided to drop into Tekken 7 for reasons. As 7 has a story mode, and as that is so simple, and not really a story mode, but I played it, and it was fine. Which makes me glad I’m a Mortal Kombat fan, as there has been a story for over 20 years, which actually tells a story and has you learning moves of the characters. 

As I say those are the small games, let's go to some of the big hitters.

I have finally played Metal Gear Solid. Of course, I know all the twists and know most of the story, but that didn’t stop it being any less enjoyable. One of the ways I can sum up the game is a series of boss fights with a lot of cut scenes. I don’t mean that in a negative way at all. It’s just how it felt to me, I did a little bit of game, talking, game, talking, boss and then the same again. It helped me feel invested in what was going on. I did enjoy it, and it has made me put MGS2 on the list if I do this again next year. 

One game that is as bad as they say is Tomb Raider 3. As last year I played by 1 and 2 and completed those without problem. TR2 more so, as I had done it not too long ago, but I've only played the OG once, and found my way through just fine. TR3 however, is just a game where they just went longer means better right? And I feel like that evident in the fact that some levels are just boss battles, and some levels keep going after you’ve finished what seems like the main objective of the level. Then the final boss took so many tries to do it, it wasn’t serious. Now I truly understand why some people hate or love the game. I’m very much in the former. 

Similarly, Spyro the Dragon was an interesting game to play. As I felt bored by the first world and half by how easy it was, and providing no challenge whatsoever. Sure I know “kids game” but still i enjoyed it as it progressed as finding things got harder, but the bosses didn’t. I like to think of it as a Crash, Tomb Raider thing, the sequels did things better. 

At time of writing I just finished the original Halo, which I’ve had around me since the OG Xbox, and the game I got with my Xbox One, but played for a bit and said i’ll come back this, and I never did. I did enjoy it, especially when it turned into Resident Evil half trough, and what the Halo actually is, is something that was a surprising twist and hadn’t been spoiled in over 20 years of consuming gaming media. But boy, is Master Chief slow, no run button and also the Warthog drives like crap. 

Editor FabEs here! Since writing this I have added Alan Wake to my list of classics, which was good and surprising. I should have played when it came out. While also just editing this I finished Perfect Dark, which was bizarre if not taking a lot longer than it should have to finish. Truly is GoldenEye, but weird. 

All in all, this experience has been ridiculously taxing. As I said I am doing 12 modern and 12 classic, and foolishly I did a lot of the smaller games earlier in the way to make headway. So when you have something like 8 hours of MGS with 17 hours of Spiderman 2, that is a lot of time. While TR3 is 20 by itself and it defo took more than that. The silver lining being it hasn’t dulled my love for video games; it actually inspired me to try again next year. Seeing if I can manage more games, and cross more the classics off the list. I bring it up being taxing because on my class list I still have GT5. As I thought I'd do it this year, since you know six was to come out this year. I'm thankful for that being pushed back. Seeing as that is 32 hours, and I've got another game to pair up with it, and nothing under 15 hours by the way. It is going to be a lot, but I think once it's done I will be happier for it. 

When I think about doing it next year, do I just want to do the sequels? No, beside MGS I’m happy to give everything a year to breathe, but that being said, titles like Perfect Dark have had the next game cancelled so, I guess there’s no rush. While Bayonetta 2 has its next game firmly sitting in the modern side, so I will follow that up. However, I do want to try some I’ve never done, either that is looking at my PS2 collection. Or looking at some of the best rated games on the PS1, Megadrive and others, to see what I can find. Or hell, even games that are just re-realised like Tomba! That’s a deep cut. While there are some like Pokemon Red, I'd love to do it, as I needed to complete it by myself. 

All in all I have loved expanding my gaming experience from the past. I know a lot of people keep saying there aren't any good games now. Which of course I know is crap, but at the same time you could just go back and play things for the past that either missed or slept on. Which is why I would recommend anyone who has that one game they have thought about since they saw it in a magazine, website or shop. See where you can find it, play it and see if it lives up to what you expected, or can you see how gaming has changed for the best or worse? For me these games are definitely classics.