What are your thoughts on the best "old school" video game?

SGT Ben Keen — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 07:46:56 -0400

So the other day I went out and purchased a Nintendo NES, yep that 8 bit little grey box that was all the rage in the mid-1980s. I took it home and set it up on my tv, turned in out, blew into the cartridge and started playing Super Mario Brothers!

Well all this excitement started an interesting discussion as I posted pictures of Mario Brothers, Ice Hockey and even Double Dragon on Facebook. The question became, what is the best "old school" video game?

And since I enjoy hearing what everyone here things, I figured I would post it here. So what is your favorite pre-2000 video game? Can be from any system.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 7:47 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 07:47:30 -0400

007 or the original Mario Cart on N64.

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made Jul 27 at 2015 7:51 AM

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 07:51:15 -0400

Sorry, but I have to go waaaay back ...

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Jul 27 at 2015 7:58 AM

SCPO David Lockwood — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 07:58:05 -0400

Mario brothers without a doubt. Before you ask it doesn't matter!

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 8:12 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 08:12:52 -0400

I say any of the super mario...but the game that stuck with me over time and to this day is a hockey game called BLADES OF STEEL....me and my brother used to play that all the time just the hockey players could fight......lol

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 8:15 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 08:15:35 -0400

Asteroids:-)

Response by LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 8:31 AM

LT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 08:31:29 -0400

For me it was Super Metroid. For its time it felt so immersive with the multiple zones, gear system and story. Not to mention the music was awesome.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 8:48 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 08:48:27 -0400

Maybe not the best, but definently one that my brother and I played all the time was the original Finaly Fantasy. This and Tetris on the original NES.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 8:53 AM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 08:53:34 -0400

I grew up with an SNES and N64, so naturally my favorite game is going to be a Mario game. Which one, however, may be a little more difficult to figure out. I had Super Mario 64, Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart, some Mario music game in the SNES, and out of em all I'd have to say Super Mario 64 was my favorite. Also, Tetris. I still play Tetris today.

Response by SGT Roberto Mendoza-Diaz made Jul 27 at 2015 8:55 AM

SGT Roberto Mendoza-Diaz — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 08:55:19 -0400

The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 8:55 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 08:55:21 -0400

Megaman series had its moments.

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 9:18 AM

TSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 09:18:25 -0400

SGT Ben Keen, "blew into the cartridge" made me laugh, but oh so true!" I still love the old Mario/Duck Hunt combo personally. I think it's all about the nostalgia. That dog's laugh still makes me so angry!

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 9:33 AM

PO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 09:33:39 -0400

Final Fantasy VII and Zelda Ocarina of Time. Without those two gaming would be a Joke.

Response by SGT John Wesley made Jul 27 at 2015 9:36 AM

SGT John Wesley — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 09:36:07 -0400

Definitely Asteroids

Response by SrA Edward Vong made Jul 27 at 2015 9:36 AM

SrA Edward Vong — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 09:36:19 -0400

(Insert Asian Joke Here)

Goldeneye 64, Starfox 64, Pokemon Gold/Silver, Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros. 3, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy IX, Super Smash Bros, Command and Conquer Series, Rainbow Six, Counter-Strike, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Final Fantasy, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Tetris, Dr. Mario, Falcon 4.0, Starcraft, Street Fighter II, Street Fighter III, Street Fighter Alpha Series, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, Perfect Dark, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.....

And the list goes on.....

Response by Maj Chris Nelson made Jul 27 at 2015 9:44 AM

Maj Chris Nelson — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 09:44:49 -0400

I always enjoyed Space invaders.... then Crazy Climber, Donkey Kong, and Galaxia. I still tend to go towards pinball machines myself (if given the choice).

Response by A1C Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 10:45 AM

A1C Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 10:45:24 -0400

I grew up playing 007 goldeneye, diddy kong racing, super Mario 64, wolfenstein (for the N64), and star wars on the N64 as well. Any of those would get me acting like a little kid again.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 10:53 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 10:53:23 -0400

Perfect Dark, N64. That or any of the older Tomb raiders

Response by SSG Michael Hathaway made Jul 27 at 2015 11:13 AM

SSG Michael Hathaway — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 11:13:20 -0400

Pre-2000? I would venture to say old-school would be 16bit or earlier, like the SNES, Sega Gensis, TG-16, Neo-Geo. It could be argued that perhaps the 32bit systems were old school as well. But to me, the old school will always be 16bit and older, once it got into CD's it got 'modern'.

Bonk and Splatter-house on TG-16 were cool,

Response by TSgt Marcus Ayala made Jul 27 at 2015 11:45 AM

TSgt Marcus Ayala — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 11:45:26 -0400

No mention of Mortal Kombat?!

For shame!

Response by PO3 David Fries made Jul 27 at 2015 12:12 PM

PO3 David Fries — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 12:12:29 -0400

Battlezone
Missile Command

Response by SN Greg Wright made Jul 27 at 2015 12:24 PM

SN Greg Wright — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 12:24:37 -0400

SGT Ben Keen Oh man, sarge. Super Mario bros 3, donkey kong for Super Nintendo.

Response by SP5 Joel O'Brien made Jul 27 at 2015 8:55 PM

SP5 Joel O'Brien — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 20:55:39 -0400

I'd try my hand(s) at our son's "DuckTales" games now and then. I understand "DuckTales2" commands a steep price on E-Bay

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2015 11:29 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 23:29:45 -0400

I fell in love with Crono Trigger and FF3.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2015 11:10 AM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 11:10:46 -0400

I vote for Super Mario Brothers. I loved to play that game! Made it to the end, with my daughters by my side. We had some good times playing that game.

Response by SFC Joseph Weber made Jul 28 at 2015 11:55 AM

SFC Joseph Weber — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 11:55:24 -0400

Galaga.

Response by CPT Pedro Meza made Jul 28 at 2015 12:09 PM

CPT Pedro Meza — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 12:09:24 -0400

Atari Video Computer PacMAn.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2015 12:09 PM

SGM Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 12:09:57 -0400

My 2 cents: Atari - Pitfall/ Nintendo - Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Bionic Commando/ N64 -007 Goldeneye

Response by Sgt Kelli Mays made Jul 28 at 2015 3:29 PM

Sgt Kelli Mays — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 15:29:10 -0400

oh my gosh! I loved Donkey Kong, Space invaders, Centipedes and sometimes Pacman. lol this pretty much dates me. lol....oh, and Sonic the hedge hog...and sometimes Mario Brothers.

Response by Sgt Kelli Mays made Jul 28 at 2015 3:30 PM

Sgt Kelli Mays — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 15:30:40 -0400

old school PC games were great too...like Tomb Raider and Doom! wow, played these two for hours with my kids...and sonic the hedge hog.

Response by CSM Michael Poll made Jul 28 at 2015 4:27 PM

CSM Michael Poll — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 16:27:57 -0400

Atari PITFALL... this was and still is my favorite!

Response by SSG Drew Cook made Jul 29 at 2015 9:24 AM

SSG Drew Cook — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 09:24:33 -0400

Super Mario speed runs! Oh and A Link to the Past.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 29 at 2015 11:14 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 11:14:32 -0400

Chrono Trigger... the best of what the golden age of the SNES had to offer. It was the first team up of Squaresoft (Final Fantasy) and Enix (Dragon Warrior) before the two companies merged. It also had Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball fame doing the character designs. It was a perfect storm of talent that led to the most cherished game of my youth!

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 31 at 2015 7:25 AM

PO1 John Miller — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 07:25:03 -0400

In no particular order my favorites (that I can remember):

NES:
Super Mario Brothers/Duck Hunt (was I the only one who tried to shoot the dog?)
T&C Surf Design
Skate or Die
Contra
Mike Tyson's Punch Out
Legend Of Zelda
RC Pro Am
Double Dragon

Sega
Sonic The Hedgehog
Altered Beast

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 27 at 2015 12:28 AM

TSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 00:28:56 -0400

If it's any system, to include PC, then I would definitely have to say Starcraft: Brood War. Best RTS ever made, and the game the evolved eSports into what it is today.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 27 at 2015 1:18 AM

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 01:18:08 -0400

In the past year I have managed to collect the original NES, SNES, N64, and PS1. Some of my favorites from NES are Dragon Spirit, Turtles I & II(Arcade), the Mega man series, Battletoads, Double Dragon, Bad Dudes, and Mike Tyson's Punch out.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 27 at 2015 7:17 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 19:17:24 -0400

Ms. Pac Man for sure!

Response by SrA David Steyer made Dec 14 at 2015 2:18 AM

SrA David Steyer — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 02:18:47 -0500

I will say some of my favorites were Quake on the PC, Rise of the Triad on PC, Streets of Rage 2 on Sega Genesis, Doom 2 on PC, Sonic 2 or Sonic 3 and Knuckles on the Sega Genesis. I know I am forgetting some.

I have been collecting Sega since 2001 so I am biased towards them but I do like Nintendo just collecting Nintendo is too rich for my blood.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 14 at 2015 9:13 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 09:13:04 -0500

So, my generation started out on the original Nintendo. But, mid 90's we upscale to N64. For that system: 007 Goldeneye, Star Fox, Mario 64, Perfect Dark, Mario Cart and Banjo Kazooie.
Then I jumped to a PS2 lol
Classic games though like centipede and Tron and a few others will always have a place in my heart. Even if I sucked at em

Response by PFC Robert Morrison made Dec 23 at 2015 11:58 AM

PFC Robert Morrison — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 11:58:38 -0500

The memories come rushing back, playing the original NES and Sega systems in the barracks until you passed out(possibly from alcohol). Waking up the next morning and seeing your roommate still playing some RPG that just came out. Great times

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 23 at 2016 9:23 AM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 23 Jan 2016 09:23:18 -0500

BurgerTime, loved it. Perfect Dark for the shooter genre. Final Fantasy VII for RPG

Response by CPT Enrique M. made Jan 26 at 2016 9:11 PM

CPT Enrique M. — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 21:11:52 -0500

Super Mario 3 , or Castlevania 2 Simon's Quest.

Response by PFC Zanie Young made Jan 28 at 2016 11:14 AM

PFC Zanie Young — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 11:14:13 -0500

I have too many to count... I practically lived in the old video game arcades! I have played everything from Pong to Star Wars. My personal favorite (besides Final Fantasy) is Donkey Kong Jr. from the Game and Watch Series.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 5 at 2016 3:13 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 05 Jun 2016 15:13:13 -0400

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitfall_II:_Lost_Caverns

Definitely wins my vote. I remember this game being sold out everywhere. I would borrow this cartridge from a neighbor and would play it for hours. I did not get my own copy until I saw one on eBay in 2003. I quickly registered for an eBay account and a few days later was in heaven.

Pitfall II: Lost Caverns - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pitfall II: Lost Caverns is a platform video game originally released for the Atari 2600 video game console in 1984. It is the sequel to the popular Pitfall!. Both games were designed and written by David Crane and published by Activision. The star of the games is Pitfall Harry, an 8-bit jungle explorer. The game's plot was later loosely remade into Super Pitfall for the Famicom/NES. Released after the North American video game crash of 1983,...

Response by Sgt Christopher Wenzel made Jun 11 at 2016 7:43 PM

Sgt Christopher Wenzel — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 19:43:04 -0400

As for NES games, The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. 3 are my favorites.
N64: Ocarina of Time
SNES: Final Fantasy III (VI) and Chrono Trigger
Saturn: Dragon Force and Panzer Dragoon Saga
Mega Drive: Phantasy Star IV and Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Master System: Phantasy Star
TG16: Ninja Spirit
PSX: Final Fantasy VII

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Oct 17 at 2016 11:24 AM

Cpl Justin Goolsby — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 11:24:13 -0400

All-time favorite pre-2000 video game has to be the original Metroid on the NES. The soundtrack was hauntingly perfect. I loved the exploration. The majority of the game was trial and error. There was no map. I remember after getting lost the first dozen times to start mapping things out. Discovering power-ups that were just out of reach until later on kept you exploring the same areas multiple times to try different solutions. It was such a fun game that I've kept coming back to the Metroid series with each new entry and have rarely been disappointed.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 17 at 2016 11:47 AM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 11:47:13 -0400

Where to start........

Nintendo:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (#1)
Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt
Streets of Rage I and II

Sega Genesis (32-Bit/64 bit)
Road Rage
Sonic the Hedgehog 1&2 (#1)
Streets of Rage III
Revolution
Echo the Dolphin (music put me to sleep)

Play Station (1997)
Tomb Raider I, II, III, IV, V, VI (#1)
Wild 9
Final Fantasy VII
Spyro the Dragon
Crash Bandicoot
Parasite Eve
Resident Evil: Directors Cut, II, Nemesis (#2)
Cool Boarders II
Tony Hawk Pro Skater
Dave Mirra: BMX
Silent Hill I, II (#3)
Medevil

Just to name a few......

Response by SGT David Baker made Oct 18 at 2016 8:16 AM

SGT David Baker — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 08:16:51 -0400

Tetris. I have two original Game Boys and the cable to link'em together to play Tetris against a partner. Last played it with my 9-year-old nephew (has a newer X-Box at home) and while he thought them odd, enjoyed it.

Response by TSgt David Holman made Feb 1 at 2020 1:01 AM

TSgt David Holman — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 01:01:15 -0500

Turtles in Time... has to be one of the best games of that generation. It surprisingly still holds up well today. Going back to the NES, I always loved Zelda, and Batman was a surprisingly good licensed game.

Response by CPT Tim McCaghren made Feb 3 at 2020 9:58 PM

CPT Tim McCaghren — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 21:58:32 -0500

Hmm...Pre-2000? Pretty sure my favorite of all time was Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Before that, it was TMNT IV: Turtles in Time.

Before that, Super Mario Kart, and then it was Triple Action on the Mattel Electronics Intellivision II.

PC is a completely different animal though. The first Half Life Came out pre-2000 as well :)

Response by Cpl Richard Besser made Feb 5 at 2020 8:18 PM

Cpl Richard Besser — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 20:18:43 -0500

One nice afternoon I decided to visit my brother and his family.
He put in the original Mario on the 8 bit system and told me to try it. I explained that I was not good at those games with everything running around and hopping and jumping.
So he put in The Legend of Zelda....
That was my downfall :) After driving home (he lives in upstate NY, and I closer to the city)
Next day, I got out of bed and went to Toys R Us. Got the unit with the front flap that you lift and popped in the Legend of Zelda.
At age 75 I'm still playing Zelda and anything else that does not have sprites jumping all over the place.
I now have a PS4 and the Nintendo Switch. God help me :( I'm 75 and still get pissed my guy dies :(

Response by PO3 Stephen Nurse made Apr 1 at 2021 4:39 AM

PO3 Stephen Nurse — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 04:39:40 -0400

For Gameboy : Tetris, WCW: Main Event, Super Mario Land, and Metroid

In the Arcade : X-Men Arcade Game, Lethal Enforcers, Alien Vs Predator, X-Men: Children of the Atom, Area 51, and Primal Rage

For SNES : Super Street Fighter 2: Turbo, Mortal Kombat 2, Killer Instinct, Donkey Kong Country trilogy, Starfox, TMNT: Turtles in Time, NBA Jam, and TMNT: Tournament Fighters

For Sega Genesis : Streets of Rage trilogy and Mortal Kombat

For PS1 : Metal Gear Solid, WWF: Warzone, Tekken 3, Street Fighter: Alpha, Twisted Metal, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Rival Schools United by Fate, Street Fighter EX Plus, and Die Hard Trilogy