Top Stories

People Explain Which Old Video Games Still Hold Up Today

People Explain Which Old Video Games Still Hold Up Today
Joey Kwok/Unsplash

Not long ago, I rented a vacation rental for my dad's birthday.

It was a really cool apartment downtown near restaurants, and the building even had a rooftop pool! Unfortunately for him, this is summer in Florida, which means we got slammed with a tropical storm and that rooftop pool was closed.

The arcade was open, though... and that's where the entire family proceeded to get our butts handed to us because, evidently, my father is the Galaga master.


Reddit user _Mr_Cheeks asked:

"What is an old video game that still holds up so well today?"

Honestly, had it not been pouring we may have skipped the arcade entirely. And had we not been with my father we would have picked something newer than Galaga.

But the game still slaps!

Here are the games Reddit still swears by.

Worms!

"Worms Armageddon. It looks nice enough and the fun is still there."

- the_amateon

"Our whole floor played this in the dorms 20+ years ago. We had our own network, but the lag times were so bad you could obliterate someone on your machine and then run to stand behind them in their room to get their real time reaction. One was always concerned when a crowd showed up behind you...."

- DocLof

"Many moons have passed since the worms went to war"

- thprk

"Yeah, this should be the top answer. This game is far superior to any of it's sequels, even the celebrated W.M.D"

- lurker12346

"When we got our second computer (which I still think of as the new computer) in 2000 it came with worms and my dad and I would spend hours playing it."

- cherry_armoir

A.O.E.2

Khan Ageofempires GIF by Age Of Empires CommunityGiphy

"Age of empires 2"

- kr4kenz

"The devs are still working on the game and have recently released new DLC with new campaigns and civilizations."

- NativeMasshole

"Honestly, I think AOE 2 is in the top 5 games of all time."

- superfast_jellyfish_

"That's because it is."

- PadishahEmperor

"One of those timeless classics that will just never die. 20year and counting, how many games are out there with a similar track record? Maybe a few MMOs, CS and crew."

- Executioneer

Chrono Trigger

trigger ktwfc GIFGiphy

"Chrono Trigger"

- WoodcockJohnson_

"One of the greatest games ever made"

- _Mr_Cheeks

"Was literally my gateway drug into RPGs. I still judge pretty much every game’s story against the standard Chrono Trigger set. It’s also the reason I’m always expecting karmic effects down the line for early game decisions (looking at you 'old man’s lunch' at the Millenial Fair)."

- Dr_Beardface_MD

"One of the best soundtracks in gaming, fantastic spritework, pioneered multiple endings in video games, ABSOLUTELY holds up."

- MeniteTom

Best Of The Tycoons

video game physics jet GIFGiphy

"Rollercoaster Tycoon"

- 123Fake_St

"For anyone who has an itch to play: open rct2 has resurrected this game and added some qol improvements"

- IAlwaysL0se

"I used to hire new park workers at the first of every month, then on the last day I'd drown them because then you didn't have to pay them..."

"I'm actually a union member today, not Jeff Bezos. Turns out violent video games aren't a precursor to our society's problems after all!"

- markmargles

"Made by a single person (Chris Sawyer) over the span of two years. Absolutely insane feat."

- Goodk4t_

Street Fighter II

street fighter vs GIFGiphy

"I swear Street fighter 2 still has relatively nice graphics. It came out in 1991"

- FantasticSweet5902

"It changed everything. Play any fighting game prior to Street Fighter II and it feels almost unplayable. Yie Ar Kung Fu, Karate Champ, hell Street Fighter 1 is so awful compared to it that no one remembers it."

"Street Fighter II is so well thought out and fully realized. It's hard to emphasize how amazing that game is given how ubiquitous it is now."

- Boon3hams

"Sprites tend to age much better than polygons!"

- ChunLi808

"I think most 16 and 32-bit games still hold up really well graphically. Just something about that spritework, particularly when done well, is timeless"

- Stuff2511

"I remember playing minigolf and seeing streetfighter II on an arcade across the way, it looked so cool compared to anything else at the time i had to play it."

- jeffryu

"haduken"

- SupremoZanne

Tetris

"Tetris"

- Amberskin

"True. They say playing Tetris after experiencing trauma decreases the likelihood of developing PTSD."

- overthinkingagainlol

"Tetris is my one example of a literally perfect video game."

- JoakimSpinglefarb

"This was my very first thought."

- NoodleDoodleGirl

"Ah, Tetris, the game that teaches us that success doesn’t last and mistakes pile up quickly"

- Micaiah9

"And now I have Tetris music in my head all night."

- nigelofthornton

"I still keep an OG GameBoy in my bathroom so i can play Tetris when I sh*t."

- Serenity650

"The game so addictive it has its own psychosomatic effect named after it."

"The Tetris effect: researchers had participants in a study play tetras for extended periods of time. Afterward the participants experienced weird psychosomatic effects where they could see the blocks spinning outside of the game in their thoughts and even their dreams for up to days."

- Whybotherr

Final Fantasy Tactics

"Final Fantasy Tactics. Amazing story, great music, fun battle mechanics. The only issue is the difficulty (once you understand the game or grind levels) becomes trivial... but with mods - boom bam."

- NateProject

"Yes, everytime I try to play a Japanese SRPG, I keep getting disappointed because its NOT FINAL FANTASY TACTICS, which is of course the pinnacle of the genre. Or maybe I'm just old and don't have as much fun as an old person."

- DryEyes4096

"No, FFT is absolutely the pinnacle of the genre and it's not even close. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together gets honorable mention though."

- TragicHero84

"God this game is such a masterpiece. I played War of the Lions as a kid and I loved this game. Recently I picked it back up, and this game is still great. Even better than I remembered as I really got sucked into the story and just love how vile the villains are in this game."

- Jalina2224

"My favorite game ever. The difficulty is no joke though if you don't use guides or have much patience to grind. I knew two people back in the day that gave up on the game because they got stuck on a battle but also couldn't back up and grind. Honestly the only reason I avoided this is because it almost happened to me at the Gafgarion fight, so I always maintained a save file where I could grind if necessary."

- Qurdlo

Mario 3

Super Mario Bros 3 Sun GIFGiphy

"Mario 3"

- Keksis_theBetrayed

"A kid brought Mario 3 into school the day it came out to show off, yes I’m that old. We were all in awe. Everybody had already seen gameplay footage from that movie the wizard, which was pretty rare at the time. I got it a short time later and it 100% lived up to all the hype. Still love playing it today on emulators."

- littlegreenb18

"I still play Mario 3. My original NES still works perfectly and is set-up in my living room. I remember the 'secrets' published in Nintendo Power magazine on how to get hidden 1-ups, an extra whistle, the coin ships, etc."

- SubAtomicSpaceCadet

"Came to say it. Now I'm gonna go play it."

- staggere

"The angry sun is one obstacle to deal with!"

- SupremoZanne

"My teen saw me playing Mario 3 and said, "What, did somebody take a modern game and make it look like the 90s?" This is why Nintendo is Japan's most profitable company - their creators have always focused on creative, engaging gameplay, and they've done it so well that 30-year-old games still feel contemporary."

- schlockabsorber

"When I was younger and still got emotional over stuff, I would always play Mario 3 when depressed or upset. It was just a soothing way to just turn off my brain for awhile."

- Ashitaka1013

Doom

"Doom"

-mike_markerson

"Most old games feel clunky. Doom 1 and 2 are still as smooth as butter."

- Matt463789

"Yes, the OG. I replayed classic Doom, as well as 2 and 3 recently. Then I replayed the original Wolfenstein."

- smoffatt34920

"this reply is way underrated. love classic doom game with its literally tens of thousands of fan-made maps."

- ritaremton

"I’m upset I had scroll down this far to see Doom."

- YuShtink

"Why is this so far down? 30 year old game, and I was playing it this morning"

- ogGarySe7en

"People complain about all the rereleases of Skyrim over the past decade. Meanwhile I've bought DOOM on Win 95, Win 98 (Collector's Edition), SNES, PlayStation, SEGA 32x, Jaguar, Xbox Live Arcade, GBA, Steam, Mobile, Switch... And I'm sure I'm still missing one or two. And I don't regret a single one, even if some of the older console ports are rough."

- LandauTST

Now for my personal little interjection here - Elder Scrolls:Oblivion.

It kind of crushes my soul to think of a 2006 game as "old school" so let's just focus on the reasons it's amazing, kay?

Oblivion gave us options on options on options. The programming was a masterpiece, so much so that even the glitches become glorious works of art.

And Sheogorath??? Perfection.

You know what the gamers of Reddit feel, and you know my vote - though my regular readers are probably tired of me ranting about Oblivion by now.

But what about you?

What classic game still gets you going?

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.