I’ve been replaying the Metroid series, as well as the Castlevania series, and I love both.
this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2025
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From the early 80’s: Qix, Pooyan, and BurgerTime were some of my favorites.
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If you didn’t like LoZ, you’re discarding a lot of games from that era. Resources were scarce, so games didn’t hold your hand with in-game tutorials, quest markers, etc. Game magazines with tips were really popular, as were official game guides from game publishers.
That being said, you might enjoy early 90s versions. For example, Phantasy Star IV (1993, Sega Genesis) feels more modern than its predecessors, it’s one of my favorites.
Dragon Quest 4 (1990, NES) is the pinnacle of the series on 8-bit. You’ll still have to guess and get lost, but it has many modern features. Playing it first will permanently spoil you for the previous ones.
Shining Force (1992, Sega Genesis) is also a pleasant turn-based strategy game with modern, although simple, mechanics. Shining Force 2 is even better.
Mr.Do! Is quite fun.
H.E.R.O. can become addicting if you don't mind initially learning its tricks through trial and error (the harder path is always the correct one). It can get pretty flow-state when you get a handle on it.
The early Space Quest games from Sierra are fun if you don't mind using a text parser. As is Quest for Glory.
Finally, a Mind Forever Voyaging by Infocom still holds up supremely well if you don't mind pure text adventures. The short story included in the manual alone is worth the read.
Edit: oh, and Street Rod is still a very fun american graffiti inspired racing game.
Pong is pretty lit
OK you got me i forgot to mention that one =D
BBC - Radio 4 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy https://share.google/rvSbuN9n4gnVMKY2c
Slow down there satan
A good place to look for good pre 90s games is the arcade cabinet games. There's a bunch of shumps that are really good and I think smash TV is pre 1990 and is great.
Starflight came out in 1986, and if you liked Mass Effect, you should give it a try. IMO it has a deeper and more interesting implementation of the space/planet exploration mechanics, not to mention a solid story to tie it all together.
The UI looks dated, of course, but it's straightforward enough to use. It influenced the Star Control games, another series that holds up (but just barely misses the 1990 cutoff).
I hope I don't antagonize the three people here that still remember Starflight, but I'll recommend the Genesis version for its updated graphics and streamlined interface.
I'd agree with that. The updated version from the early 90s is the one I played, and it's probably the easiest to find unless you really go looking for the old version.
I still think it counts. It's still the same fundamental Starflight experience.
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Not BEFORE 1990, but not after either: Stunt Island
Ultima V
E:
Bomb Jack
Klax
Lode Runner
Dungeon keeper, emperor: rise of the middle kingdom, Rome, theme hospital, zeus/atlantis, pharaoh/cleopatra why yes, i am big on world builders.
I think all of them are in the 90s, great games though.
Ack, misread.
Well earlier i'm mostly in Atari 2600 territory. But dmg you have dadalean opus, you have the assorted marios and donkey kongs, MK,, castlevania etc etc
Hubs recommends wonderboy in monster land and wonderboy 3: the dragon's trap.
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nethack, super startrek (basic), space quest, infocom games, ultima,
one of my favorite games of all time is called Rags To Riches on commodore64. you play a homeless guy getting your life together getting a job and education with very addictive gameplay in my opinion.
there is a pico8 remake you can play oline but the og is better. https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=29519
For games that "hold up" look at arcade games. So install mame and go nuts. Or buy one of those cheap "3000in1" arcade joystick systems which plug into your tv. Arcade games really are better played with the arcade "ball stick" and buttons.
Then if you insist on PC, anything by Sid Meier, and then all the quest games by Sierra.
Star Flight. Really a must-play, and get the run speed down low so you have some suffering on the long trips. Then you get really excited to find a wormhole.
Xexyz, on the NES, is an underrated gem. It's a mix of platformer and shoot-em-up, and honestly seemed a bit ahead of its time.
Pre-1990, you're mostly looking at the NES library as the go to. The older Atari games I don't think are worth it, outside of the historical context angle.
I'd say give Zelda I and II another shot. They are clunky, as most things from the era will be. But when you engage with them on their own terms, I think they're both really rewarding experiences.Don't be afraid to look for hints, some things can be obtuse - you can probably find old magazines in the Internet archives to reference.
If 1990 exactly counts, Crystalis is a Zelda-like with RPG elements that outdoes Zelda is many ways.
Castlevania is another one that's really great, but very clunky. There's no air control, so once you jump that's your arc. The game challenges are built around that in a satisfying way though.
SMB 1-3 you probably have played before, but if not those hold up.
Even more frictionless, the first 2 or 3 Mega Man games feel just as refined as if they were made today.
Ninja Gaiden is known for challnge, but it also controls super smoothly and feels good to play.
Basically I guess my recs are mostly just explore the NES library. There's some Sega worth checking out and probably TurboGrafx too, but NES had most of the classics.
What kinds of newer games do you generally like?
Pre-1990, you’re mostly looking at the NES library as the go to. The older Atari games I don’t think are worth it, outside of the historical context angle.
With all due respect, I have to disagree with you there. You seem to be lumping all Atari games into the 2600 category. The Atari computers had plenty of classics.
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Star Raiders
Choplifter
Miner 2049er
The list goes on and on, and if you add in the Commodore, Apple, and TI computers it gets even bigger. Pre 90 consoles, you have Colecovision, Intellivision, etc. Of which I personally love love love Utopia for the Intellivision.
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Hard to say which genres I like most, but I like games which present a good story & atmosphere or do interesting things mechanically. Besides sport games I play nearly everything.
Games which I really enjoyed: Disco Elysium, Outer Wilds, Hollow Knight, Planescape: Torment, Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny, Return of the Obra Dinn, Zelda: Twilight Princess, What Remains of Edith Finch, Pyre, HalfLife & Portal series
Sounds like point and click adventures might be your jam? Check out the Macventures (which had NES ports, although some of the ports go past your cutoff date): Deja Vu, Shadowgate, Uninvited.
Point and click adventures were a very popular genre at the time, although they had a well-earned reputation for difficulty and illogic. Someone who knows more about them could give you more specific advice.
I played a lot of JRPGs, and it's hard to recommend JRPGs of the period. They're rather different from both their 90s descendants and their late 80s WRPG contemporaries, and you look like you would much prefer 90s JRPGs. The 80s have two phases: the antique JRPGs focused on exploring the world with a simple plot, and the pre-classic JRPGs with a much heavier focus on plot not yet accompanied by much skill at storytelling or pacing. The best of the antique JRPGs is Dragon Quest 3/Dragon Warrior 3 (1988). It's a little complex to just jump into, so if you bounce off the complexity I would retreat to Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior (1986). If Dragon Warrior's grinding weren't so slow, it would be easy to recommend as a tutorial game to anyone trying to get into JRPGs.
If you'll take a game from 1990 on the nose, Dragon Quest 4/Dragon Warrior 4 is the most polished pre-classic JRPG in your time range. If not, Phantasy Star 2 (1989). But these games are hard to recommend nowadays to someone with modern tastes because they're not as polished as Dragon Quest 3 and don't have a 1990s-sized storage device for better storytelling and writing. The one thing I'll say for Phantasy Star 2's writing is that it has the guts to go places that games even now rarely go.
Qbert, Space Fury, Looping