I’m setting up my MiSTer FPGA and want to prioritize a bit. I currently have DOS and Win 95 running, but plan to setup Macintosh and any other worthwhile computer platforms. Any computer platform welcome (I already have the consoles figured out). What are your “must try” game suggestions?
Edit: I just got back to this post and am pleasantly surprised by the response. I’ll probably be adding most if not all of these to test since I have the space. Thank you to everyone who commented.
X-Com - UFO Defense and Terror from the Deep (I remember hacking my demo copy of UFO Defense and bypassing the shareware check. Still my all time favorite strategy game)
Doom
Duke Nukem 1, 2, and 3D
Wolfenstein 3D
Jetpack
Commander Keen
Raptor: Call of the Shadows
Rise of the Triad
Monster Bash (Just pretty much anything 3D Realms or Apogee related was gold)
Moraff’s Dungeons of the Unforgiven(Only ever had the shareware version as a kid, but I played it over and over)
Carmageddon is a game that I loved at the time, and am very hesitant to revisit… I suspect it hasn’t aged well!
I’m old so a lot but I always mention SSI DnD games like Pool of Radiance. I think the games would be a bit of slog for most people today. All the Ultimas besides 9.
- Turrican 1-3 [Amiga]
- Command and Conquer
- Monkey Island 1 [Amiga]
- Sim City 2000 (Network edition)
- Unreal Tournament
- Super Metroid [Super Nintendo]
- Metal Slug [Neo Geo/Arcade]
- Pinball Dreams/Illusions (made by DICE before they renamed themselves)
Gex
Mario Teaches Typing
All of the ‘Blaster Learning System’ games like Math Blasters: In Search of Spot
I was pretty young still so those educational ones were hella fun and my parents would let me play as much as I wanted
So how was your typing and such after playing them? Did they actually work?
Yeah they worked amazingly. I went into classes already knowing a lot of the math and science material and the teachers lessons taught principles instead of just formulas. I would say they are still beneficial for todays kids although there may be better ones now. There’s nothing like saving your little video game buddy to force you to memorize things haha
For the typing yeah it trained me not to look at the keyboard and type things very quickly. One trick my typing teacher in school used was to put cardboard over the keyboard so you can’t see. I think that would probably pair nicely with the game.
I don’t know how popular it was since none of my friends remember it but I loved Phantasmagoria. Its a point and click horror mystery game with video captured graphics.
Right on Y2K was NFS Porsche Unleashed aka Porsche 2000. As long as you play the PC version it’s an amazing game and there are a few graphics enhancing mods too.
I always go back to the original Age of Empires as a classic.
Terranigma. Still my favorite RPG to this day and one of my favorite games to this day, but it’s hard to gush about this game without any spoilers and its written in a way that requires a bit of attention from the player. You do need to either have an EU / PAL SNES or emulate it though, because it never released in the Americas due to publisher drama.
Secret of Mana is great too, or if you already played that, Seiken Densetsu 3, which is the sequel title that never got released in the West, but got fan translated roms out there. Seiken Densetsu 2 being SoM, and the original Seiken Densetsu 1 was released as Final Fantasy Adventures and sort of a side story to the Final Fantasy franchise, which got dropped and became its own franchise with the second game. SD3 (or “Secret of Mana 2”) is a significant step up to the first game in many aspects and even has multiple characters & branching endings based on your character selections.
On the PC definitely the Command & Conquer’s Tiberian series, starting with the first game and a GDI campaign run, followed by a NOD campaign run. It got those cheesy but amazingly entertaining little clips between the missions that actually get you immersed into the story and it has a killer soundtrack too. It’s one of the many great franchises ruined by EA, but I heard the remastered version is actually decent (I still won’t buy because I still boycott them). The already suggested Red Alert is a spin-off series with some references to the Tiberian series, so I would not start with that one until you played the Tiberian one.
Starcraft!
Star Control 2
All challengers can GTFO 🧐
Campers who disagree are silly cows and we will have to dance with them.
Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy. I still own this series on steam and play it when I get nostalgic.
Bruh, you just made my fucking MONTH with the knowledge that this is on Steam! I never even thought to look for it there.
Holy nostalgia. I spent so many hours as a child trying to beat this game!
Just bought the complete pack for $2. Thank you for this!
Yeah. You can buy the complete collection on steam and I was ecstatic when I found out too.
Myst is an all-time classic. I’d just wander around exploring the world.
I tried so hard to get anywhere in Magic Carpet but our home computer ran the game too fast. I needed the “turbo button” to slow the game down but we didn’t have one.
Also had the PC version of Garfield Caught in the Act (just called Garfield on PC). Played through it over and over again. The Genesis game with improved graphics, an exclusive level and one of the most underrated soundtracks in gaming. Seriously, look up the soundtrack to the PC version, the entire thing jams.
EDIT: Also, Age of Wonders. I actually spent more time in the level editor than in the game itself, building Middle Earth as a map and placing cities, factions and leaders on it as something of an “old school” (for the time) Battle for Middle Earth.
Tie-fighter was a good one.
And StarCraft like someone mentioned and Warcraft.
Tie fighter is one of the best games ever, my dad pirated a ton of games from a guy he didn’t like just to get those games for me and my siblings… I bought a flight control stick, I still love the game nothing has come close to the fun
I still remember the “match speed” control but haven’t found any game with it since.
Infantry. My first online multiplayer game. Somehow I made it into a squad that got 2nd place in the seasonal tournament and also had arguably the best player in the whole game. I didn’t play in the matches but I was in the squad!
