Classic video games can provide a sort of window into the past. Modern games are complex, since they’re built on so many years of innovation and new mechanics. All of those innovations and new mechanics had to start somewhere, and these games provide a few examples of games that, while old, are still enjoyable for modern players.
R.C. Pro AM
I’ve heard criticisms of modern racing games like those from the Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo series from friends and relatives – They’re too complex, and they’re so realistic that they’re unforgiving. I personally tried recent racing games and had the same issues. This isn’t to say there are no modern games that are simple and fun, yet challenging – I recommend the TrackMania series to fill that void – but my favorite racing game of all time comes all the way from the Nintendo Entertainment System. R.C. Pro-Am, a game with many similarities to later games like Mario Kart, cuts through all of the realism and complexity that turns some players away from modern games. R.C. Pro-Am is fast, frantic, and tough, and very little more or less. This is the type of game that holds a player for a long period of time and only gets more intense, exactly what should be desired out of a racing game. Just watch out for the orange car, it'll get you.
World Championship Soccer
The modern FIFA and Pro Evolution soccer games are tactically excellent, and like the racing games mentioned beforehand, they’re the closest any games have ever been to the real thing. Sometimes I don’t want that, though, and World Championship Soccer is exactly what I want at those times. World Championship Soccer makes no pretense of being realistic – no fouls are called, there’s no concept of offside or foul play, no real players, and tactics begin and end with passing towards the goal and shooting. Yet, still, this game is just as fast-paced and intense as a great game of soccer can be. Like so many classic sports games, such as Ice Hockey and Tecmo Super Bowl on the NES, this game boils the sport down to the bare essentials that make it fun, and that’s what keeps it fun even 27 years later.
Super Mario Bros. 2
This isn’t a hidden gems by any means, but as far as the biggest series on the NES goes, it’s the one that’s sort of lost in the shuffle, between the ground-breaking original and the technological marvel that is the third game. Mario 2 isn’t similar in objective or story to the original or it’s sequel, so it was overlooked for years. I’ve come back around to Mario 2 – It doesn’t follow the same rules as the other Mario games, and the mechanics around uprooting vegetables to use as projectiles really isn’t repeated anywhere else. For anyone who grew up playing platformers yet neglected the black sheep of the Mario series, Mario 2 shows a window into the era, when platform games were in their infancy, and new ideas that never quite caught on in the future still had a chance. Mario 2 wasn’t quite the innovator that its predecessors were, but It’s a classic and fun to play still.
