Opinions blinded by nostalgia- Time to get real!

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Originally Posted by Olls

Looks decent enough, but you play as what? Indiana Jones? I've always enjoyed looking at the multiple scrolling background layers. That's one thing they've got right throughout this series. That and the music which sets the mood very well.

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Yeah, basically, you stop being mutated and go back to your human form and take the shape of err.. Indiana Jones, the first two games are unrelentlessly challenging and unrelentlessly shitty, and by the time the third one picked up it looked so aged compared to everything else of it's time, perhaps they should give it the reboot if they completely run out of ideas.

Also, Comix Zone is awful, really? :/

And Taz-Mania? Is the genesis one anything like Master System? I liked the SMS one as a little lad.

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Originally Posted by Gogogadget

Shadow of the Beast, the game was regarded as a masterpiece amongst Amiga fans for it's 16 layer parallax scrolling and high-quality sampled music, shame the gameplay is beyond awful.

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Sounds like a lot of other Psygnosis games. *runs*

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Originally Posted by ApolloBoy

Sounds like a lot of other Psygnosis games. *runs*

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You should try it anyway, the game sucks but it's very fascinating, and it's a nice showcase of the Genesis possibilities (great parallax and use of color)

B-b-b-b-b-but I LOVE Comix Zone, except when it freezes.

Also if you want a neat Psygnosis game check out Wiz 'n Liz.

Good call. Wiz 'n Liz is probably the best game they've managed to churn out for Sega's 16-bitter. It's on many a faves list.

Hey neat, I didn't think anyone cared about that game. It reminds me of Nights - running through a short, looping level picking up items to get a high score. And the potion mechanic is really deep as well.

Ready your pitchforks...

The original Sonic the Hedgehog.

It was slow, glitchy (stateside, at least), and the level design was mediocre at best. And while yes, it was a start to the series and the sequels were an improvement, in the course of less than one year, Sonic 2 fixed almost EVERY problem that the first one had.

Going back and playing it now, it's kind of a joke. Sonic 2, 3, CD, and Sonic and Knuckles have aged well, the first one is more a curiosity piece now than anything.

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Originally Posted by dmcnelly

Ready your pitchforks...

The original Sonic the Hedgehog.

It was slow, glitchy (stateside, at least), and the level design was mediocre at best. And while yes, it was a start to the series and the sequels were an improvement, in the course of less than one year, Sonic 2 fixed almost EVERY problem that the first one had.

Going back and playing it now, it's kind of a joke. Sonic 2, 3, CD, and Sonic and Knuckles have aged well, the first one is more a curiosity piece now than anything.

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Time to get real!

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I believe the OP meant for more or less objective statements to come out of this, not people's very subjective opinions. There is nothing wrong with the first Sonic game. You could argue against the lack of multiplayer or the spindash, but that's really about it.

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Originally Posted by dmcnelly

Ready your pitchforks...

The original Sonic the Hedgehog.

It was slow, glitchy (stateside, at least), and the level design was mediocre at best. And while yes, it was a start to the series and the sequels were an improvement, in the course of less than one year, Sonic 2 fixed almost EVERY problem that the first one had.

Going back and playing it now, it's kind of a joke. Sonic 2, 3, CD, and Sonic and Knuckles have aged well, the first one is more a curiosity piece now than anything.

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I agree with this. Even back when Sonic was new I preferred 2, 3, and Knuckles to the first one.

Altered Beast: Playing the game now, it really isn't very good. It's extremely straight forward, but that's pretty much what you should expect from an arcade game. In the arcades, the game was amazing when it first came out because of the "huge" sprites, animation, colors.. and being able to transform from a person into different were-animals? That was pretty awesome back then, and there's a reason it was the game that came with the original Sega Genesis.

Golden Axe: Pretty much the same as with Altered Beast. It was awesome in the arcades when it was new because there really wasn't anything like it. You got to choose the character you played, you could save magic to get the stronger spells, it had a basic storyline that told you what was going on in-between levels. The music is still pretty good, but the game is boring now. That doesn't remove it from "classic" status, though.

Toe Jam & Earl: I couldn't get into this game even when it was new. Tried again several times but I still just don't "get it."

Phantasy Star 1 (yes, I know, not Genesis, but it was mentioned): I'm still impressed with this game today. It has a very tough grind when the game first starts, and it's a huge turn off when starting a new saved game on it, but the music, the enemy animations, and the whole world that is presented is still very cool in my book. Laser swords and cat allies wielding knives/claws? There really isn't much to like about this. Yes, the genre has progressed a LOT since then, but I still really enjoy grindy JRPG's. Try playing Etrian Odyssey 3 for the DS - it's a super grindfest, and seriously has no story.. it literally tells you your only purpose is to get to the end of the game and become rich and famous - but I'm having a blast doing nothing but grinding, getting more powerful, and taking on stronger and stronger enemies.

Phantasy Star IV - I don't own this game yet, but I really want to (once I can find a complete minty copy for a decent price). I've played this for several hours and I seriously enjoy the cut scenes, the music, and the art. It's all amazing. It makes me extremely sad that there has not been another true JRPG style Phantasy Star game since this one. While they could've thrown in tons of fast moving sprites or multi-planed backgrounds, it would've looked odd. Just because you can do something like that, doesn't mean you should.

Anyhow, nostalgia does play a part in how people view games, I and I've always tried to take a step back and appreciate games for both what they were and what they are now. Some of the most epic, classic, and timeless games were derived, in some fashion, from the games that don't really hold up anymore. Even if a game's gameplay sucks, if it has some really nice feature or the soundtrack is great, I think it's still worthy of mention.

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Originally Posted by TrekkiesUnite118

I agree with this. Even back when Sonic was new I preferred 2, 3, and Knuckles to the first one.

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Maybe because they're better? That doesn't make Sonic 1 bad in any way. It's like SoR 1, flawed but great.

I think the word "flawed" is incorrect when comparing a 512KB game to titles of 2-4 times that size. I also cannot imagine how Sonic 1's level designs are bad in any way. If anything, I miss Sonic 1's subtleties in all of the later Sonic games. Only Sonic Adventure 1 comes close to the same general idea of Sonic 1's game design, even though it also includes all of the later upgrades as well.

I did think its flawed either.

Sonic CD.

Worst level-design of the Sonic games.

Nostalgia's often hard to pinpoint, but I do think this is arguably the worst 16-bit Sonic, and that its reputation is hyperbole.

Honestly was I burned out after 2 back in the day. I have trouble playing any of them even years later.