Current Events > For the most part Western games on the PS2/Xbox/GCN haven't aged great

(+) Yeah! (+)

When people talk and think about how that generation is the best I think it's based on the Japanese stuff. Games like JRPG's age overall great. PC focused stuff around those times have mostly aged okay due to the control schemes being built around M&KB I'd say.

Western console games were still overall focused on the kinds of games they'd end up making later so a lot of them feel worse to play these days as a result. There are some exceptions obviously but I don't think there are many. Even the ones I absolutely adore tend to have a major issue or two that I am pretty used to due to playing them in their peak.

It's obviously less on an issue for 360/PS3 but I think even a lot of the PS1/N64 games have aged better since a lot of that stuff wasn't really followed up on.

I will say that I agree KOTOR has not aged well. The bad companion AI is really, really bad in this day and age. I did not remember it being so bad.

No it's based on the GTA trilogy.

Prince of Persia Sands of Time

Ratchet and Clank

Sly Cooper

saspa posted...

No it's based on the GTA trilogy.

Prince of Persia Sands of Time

Ratchet and Clank

Sly Cooper

Yeah there are some exceptions like Halo and Max Payne as well. Splinter Cell Chaos Theory is another one.

But the list isn't all that long and often padded out by direct sequels. Like I don't think R&C1 has aged all that well due to the controls. But the sequels are better.

Which jrpgs have aged well?

Thinking that 6th gen aged worse than 5th gen is a little strange to me.

Killmonger posted...

Which jrpgs have aged well?

Most of the ones I have owned and played since childhood.

I will say that I realize now that Breath of Fire 2 (SNES) has an awful encounter rate. Like truly, truly disgustingly bad.

Killmonger posted...

Which jrpgs have aged well?

That isn't really my forte so I'll let others answer that. But in my experience turn based stuff has aged fine.

WrestlinFan posted...

Thinking that 6th gen aged worse than 5th gen is a little strange to me.

It's only really because a lot of Western developers were still mostly making platformers then.

The ones that weren't have aged like milk yeah.

Killmonger posted...

Which jrpgs have aged well?

Wild Arms 3 for one. I actually can't name that many, but this is one hill I'm gonna die on, that game was great.

Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis is another one I really liked, but even I'll admit that it's pretty weeb so YMMV.

And Persona 3 and Persona 4 of course, as well as Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne.

All of the ones that were always good, I don't believe in the concept of "aged well" because good is always good, and bad is bad. I say this as someone who only played said jrpgs last decade so way after gen 6, and experiencing games like the team symphonia Tales games, Xenosaga (for better or worse), Star Ocean 3, Rogue Galaxy, freaking KH (even though we wouldn't get the superior kh 2 final mix until a decade later) and then you have lesser known jrpgs that are still fun like Radiata Stories. And people forget that Persona since it persisted into the modern era unlike all other jrpgs which died off (I know Tales games are still around but with team symphonia being disbanded it's just not quite the same)

Hell, it's not my cup of tea but people swear by Valkyrie Profile 2 so if you like difficult games with unconventional battle systems, there you have it.

saspa posted...

All of the ones that were always good, I don't believe in the concept of "aged well" because good is always good, and bad is bad. I say this as someone who only played said jrpgs last decade so way after gen 6, and experiencing games like the team symphonia Tales games, Xenosaga (for better or worse), Star Ocean 3, Rogue Galaxy, freaking KH (even though we wouldn't get the superior kh 2 final mix until a decade later) and then you have lesser known jrpgs that are still fun like Radiata Stories. And people forget that Persona since it persisted into the modern era unlike all other jrpgs which died off (I know Tales games are still around but with team symphonia being disbanded it's just not quite the same)

Hell, it's not my cup of tea but people swear by Valkyrie Profile 2 so if you like difficult games with unconventional battle systems, there you have it.

It really depends I think.

Timesplitters 2 was really great for the time. But it existed in a time before online multiplayer really caught on. So it's designed completely around local multiplayer and bots. Which was great for the time but just doesn't have the appeal anymore.

Then it also is in that awkward transitional period of FPS games on consoles so it has wonky controls and the campaign has some annoying and dated level design quirks.

It's easy to forget that games used to have things like an objective to shoot up 6 computers but the game doesn't make it notable that you missed one. So if you hit the roadblock at the end you need to walk all the way back through empty levels to do those objectives. Stuff like that is in both Timesplitters 2 and Everything or Nothing and I didn't think about stuff like that back then but it feels so awkward now.

Escort missions and underwater missions are more notable things that people complained about even back then. Even the greatest games were often infamous for having some really awful sections.