'New' Favourites List
Impactful experiences from 5 years of my retro journey
This post was inspired by recent lists by Margot and Katya Ryabova. Go and check those out too!
I mentioned in my mammoth post on the Sega Master System that the console was going to be the last in my retro library: the cherry on top. So with 5 years and the entire Sega, Nintendo and half of the Xbox and PlayStation console line-ups in my collection, I decided to make a post commemorating some of the games that have hit me the hardest so far.
This isn’t going to be a list of my favourite games necessarily, or even the ones I enjoyed most, just those few experiences that have really stuck with me and made purchasing their respective consoles feel worthwhile.
I’m going to try and avoid featuring more than 1 game from a console but already I can spoil that I fell deeply in love with the Dreamcast after getting one in late-2023, so that will be an exception.
I will be listing alternative methods to play each game if you want to check them out yourself.
Shenmue 1 & 2
Platform: Dreamcast (PAL and JP only for Shenmue 2) Xbox
Genre/Gameplay: Adventure, Fighting, Detective, Minigames
Where to Play: Steam, PlayStation 4 and 5
I’m throwing Shenmue 1 and 2 in here under a single entry because they are two halves of the same game, which was chopped in two and they play and look pretty much identical.
Once upon a time, Shenmue was the most expensive video game ever developed and you can see how, on its original Dreamcast, despite the weaker hardware, it looks just as good as most Xbox games, both games sprawl across a set of multiple discs that come in big cardboard sleeves and playing both games back to back: the intended experience, will likely take you a good 30-35 hours on a first go, even more if you spend a lot of time playing Sega’s arcade games, some of which are included through cabinets in the game world. Because of all these mini-games, the urban Japanese/Hong Kong setting, the game’s Virtua Fighter-based combat and the quirky characters, Shenmue is often labelled a proto-Yakuza (Like A Dragon) but anyone who’s played both with tell you that they’re not really alike at all, Shenmue’s tone is a lot more grounded and it draws more heavily on mysticism and martial arts philosophy than Yakuza’s anime and mafioso swagger; the famous leaf catching mini-game has you time your button presses while your master lectures you after a good scolding. If Yakuza is Bloodsport, then this is more Karate Kid.
Shenmue was the first of its kind. You play as Hazuki Ryo: a Japanese teenager on the hunt for revenge after his father is murdered in his own dojo by Chinese gangsters, it takes place in a breath taking 3D world that features an absolutely beautiful soundtrack, the pioneering use of variable weather effects and a day-night cycle paired with some seriously hilarious voice acting but it was impressive that there was so much of it at the time. To this day, the fact that the game world moves even if you don’t advance the plot or win, flipping through the weeks and months with Christmas even celebrated, is incredibly charming and innovative. You can get your ass beat black and blue in this game: a bitter reminder to Ryo that he is ultimately, just a young punk with a good heart but the kids of the town will thank and admire him all the same and our hero dusts himself off and resolves to keep going.
They were proud of all this tech too, you can open the drawers and cupboards of almost every building and find all sorts, even a Sega Saturn by Ryo’s TV, which depending on whether you’re in the West or Japan will either make you smile or wonder what the bloody thing is.
Shenmue’s plot and soundtrack left their mark on me, it’s like a playable martial arts film and I think every young man relates to the plight of Ryo: a kid with a good heart doing his best to make things right despite being way in over his head and having little understanding of the world he finds himself in. Possibly my favourite game on the console and hits that elusive cosy spot for me. Shenmue is more of an experience than a game. That’s not to say it isn’t fun, that’s to say that you need to be mentally and spiritually invested in it: no picking up your phone during dialogue, no distractions and lots of patience, this is an experience best enjoyed in a dim room, with a good pair of headphones and refreshments. I’m not from a wealthy background, finding a job in the UK is a mean task at the moment and people are only getting poorer, it’s unlikely I’ll ever make it to a place as far as Japan so the digital tourism is much appreciated.
I own Shenmue 3 on Steam but have yet to play it due to its poor reputation and my lack of faith in the series ever being finished, if anything, that game seemed to prove that it was 2 decades too late.
Sega Ages Volume I
Platform: Sega Saturn, Arcade
Genre/Gameplay: Racing, SHMUP, Shooter
Where to Play: Games Individually Re-Released in Many Places
Sega Ages Volume I (or just Sega Ages in the US) didn’t receive a volume 2 in the West, nor was it the same volume 1 that Japan got, this compilation disc features high-quality ports of Out Run, Space Harrier II and After Burner II, the first of those running at an absolutely crisp 60 FPS making it even better than in the arcade.
It’s not high brow or emotional and I wish I had some heartfelt anecdote to go here but simply? The Sega Saturn’s games are really expensive so I spend a lot of my time wishing I had the cash to get more games I really want for the system like Dragon Force, Astal (which didn’t release in Europe, necessitating an import or marked-up price) and Dark Saviour; I really want to delve deep into its library, it has so much to offer but it truly is an investment, unless you want to import or get a bunch of ROMs. But this restriction means I have been playing the same 3 titles: Virtua Fighter 2, Sega Ages Volume 1 and Wipeout for more than 2 years now and getting to know them well; this compilation really made me fall in love with arcade games and I plug in the Saturn just to play Out Run half the time.
Super Mario Sunshine
Platform: Gamecube
Genre/Gameplay: 3D Platformer, Collectathon
Where to Play: Don’t… but you can play it on the Switch
Super Mario Sunshine isn’t a game I like very much.
The glitchy physics mean you slide off or even through platforms at random, I’ve fallen through the map before just playing the game as normal, there are some absolutely detestable Shines to acquire in this game and the F.L.U.D.D pack isn’t particularly fun to use and its inclusion actively harms the platforming by replacing the long jump… but there’s still something about this game that makes me replay it.
It’s annoying: the worst 3D Mario game by miles and is emblematic of all the things Nintendo was getting wrong in the early to mid 2000’s: endless gimmick, old-hat game design and half-baked games but the charm, whimsy, immaculate tropical atmosphere and the shit voice acting mean that I still stick this in my Gamecube every now and then.
Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood
Platform: PlayStation, Sega Saturn (JP Only), PSP, PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 (JP Only)
Genre/Gameplay: Metroidvania, 2D Platformer, RPG
Where to Play: PlayStation 4 and 5
My retro journey started back in 2020 when I still had a PS4, streaming old PS2 games I missed out on as a kid, trying Tomb Raider on a PS1 a friend I used to play with sent me in the mail and buying a lot of old game compilations, one of which was Castlevania Requiem containing the PSP version of Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood. I’m absolutely desperate for this bundle to be released from custody on PlayStation because Rondo of Blood requires I get a console that never released in Europe otherwise and Symphony of the Night is absolutely extortionate to buy today.
This is the most expensive retro game I’m aware of, even Panzer Dragoon Saga costs less. The inferior Japanese Sega Saturn version is a much easier to swallow £90-110 so I’ll likely grab that and slap the fan patch and translation in it.
Simply put? These are the two very best Castlevania games and these are what got me through lockdown. While the world was crumbling outside my window, I was at home unravelling the mysteries of Castlevania as Alucard and busting my balls to beat Rondo of Blood: the hardest game I’ve ever played. These are absolute classics: hell, half a genre is named after Symphony of the Night, and today unless you own Sony’s overpriced midrange gaming PC substitute, want to play on a tiny screen or you’re a millionaire, you can’t play them without jumping through hoops.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Platform: Nintendo 64, Gamecube
Genre/Gameplay: Adventure, RPG, 3D Platformer
Where to Play: Nintendo Switch Online, 3DS
I actually don’t love Majora’s Mask.
Yes, yes, I know it’s one of those games you’re not allowed to criticise on the internet and it’s probably surprising coming from me who’s favourite Nintendo game library is from the N64 but I find Majora’s Mask tedious to play, lacking in the charm that made the previous Zelda a childhood classic and my attempt to replay it earlier this year was cut short because I found I just didn’t have the patience for it a second time.
All of this being said, I managed to somehow avoid this game all my life despite growing up with the Gamecube, the N64, knowing it existed and loving Zelda so it felt good to tick this one off my list and even if it was frustrating most of the time, I still thought Majora’s Mask was a tremendous piece of art and a fascinating world to just exist in.
Blowing away the final boss with the Fierce Deity Mask was a really nice power trip and reward to finish on, it reminded me a little bit of getting the Water Sword in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.
Resident Evil - Code: Veronica
Platform: Dreamcast, PlayStation 2 (X Version), Gamecube (X Version)
Genre/Gameplay: Survival-Horror, Puzzle
Where to Play: PlayStation 3 (Digital-only) PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox 360 (No longer available for purchase, may have workarounds), GOG
Code: Veronica is the only direct sequel to Resident Evil 2 and follows Claire Redfield as she’s captured by Umbrella and taken to a prison camp on the fictional Rockfort Island: a sprawling complex complete with a European-style gothic manor and, as you probably guessed, is subject to its very own T-virus outbreak.
Code: Veronica was developed exclusively for the Dreamcast but after Sega retreated from the hardware market the game was ported to PS2 and Gamecube as Code: Veronica X but the visuals took a beating in the process and the new content badly damages the game’s plot and pacing, so I recommend the original Dreamcast version for those of you analogue-inclined, though I imagine most who’ve played this experienced Code: Veronica X.
Screenshot from ‘Every Port of Code Veronica: RE Retrospective’ by Avalanche Reviews on YouTube.
As you can see, there’s some unpleasantness going on with the colours and textures in the PS2 and Gamecube versions. I can also say, as an owner of both versions, that the PS2 version has some really nasty motion blur. I no longer bother with that version.
Before I played Code: Veronica, all I ever heard was that it was ‘deeply flawed’ and ‘only worth playing for the story’ but I picked it up for my Dreamcast and it is now my 2nd favourite game in the series after REmake on the Gamecube. Code: Veronica has some pretty glaring flaws, runs a bit too long and the fully 3D environments, tank controls and more action-heavy gameplay make it feel like a bit of an eclectic mish-mash of old and new but I adore the setting, it looks wonderful at home on the Dreamcast and every October, when I do a Resident Evil marathon, that save room theme always makes me feel warm inside, deep in the night in front of the glow of the CRT, my Dreamcast cranking away reading the disc.
October and by extension: Halloween have always been my favourite time of the year and this game is as traditional in that season for me now as carving a pumpkin or trick or treating. No matter how messed up the world has gotten, no matter how shockingly dire life in the UK gets, I know at least once a year I can enjoy some comfort with old favourites.
Resident Evil is a franchise I have a deep fondness for and Code: Veronica is an essential part of the canon badly needing a good remake to iron out those rough parts. The Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes removed large sections from 2 already short games without it being justified, whereas Code: Veronica really needs the fat trimmed.
Tekken
Platform: All PlayStations, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PSP, Arcade
Genre/Gameplay: Fighting, PvP, Mental Torture
Where to Play: Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S (Small community, poor support for peripherals)
Lumping the series in under a single entry because Tekken hasn’t fundamentally changed for the past 20 years.
I loved Tekken Tag 1, Tekken 5 and Tekken 6 as a kid so rediscovering the franchise as an adult was a real treat and set me on the path of my fighting game journey; I tried Street Fighter 6, Soul Calibur and more but this is the series I got invested in, nothing hits like Tekken.
Thanks to the launch of Tekken 8 I now have an arcade stick (a Mayflash F500 Elite for those who are into them, also great for any 2D games) a much higher blood pressure and over 450 hours of ranked under my belt. These days though, I only play on occasion because Tekken 8 Season 2 is a bit of a mess, ranked play and demotions do horrible things to my temper and to be honest, the Tekken community is kind of awful and learning the game in a communal setting: as you should with any fighting game, turns into people talking to you like crap if you make a mistake talking about a topic, or struggle with anything that more experienced players find easy.
For those who are into it, in Season 1 I reached Flame Ruler as Kazuya and Lee and had a win-rate of about 41%. I’ll return someday but not until the game is in a better place and I can somehow fix my insatiable need to win.
The End
These have been just a few of the new experiences that have made a big impact on me so far in my retro journey, I hope you enjoyed the list, reading my experiences and perhaps even found something new to play.
Excellent list! I appreciate each game you mentioned for different reasons, but what really caught my eye was you mentioning the Castlevania Requiem bundle. Since it has both the Rondo localized version and the better SotN dub from the Dracula X Chronicles, more people should give this collection some love!
I replayed Shenmue 1 and 2 last year and man do they still hold up. They are such vibe games, so surreal and otherwordly even as they try to depict real world locations. I love them. Like you, I have Shenmue 3 on PS4, but have yet to play it.
I feel the same way about Mario Sunshine. I really don't like it that much, it's probably my least favorite 3D Mario, and yet, every time I play it, I get sucked back in.
Majora's Mask is a game I respect, but don't love. Feels like Nintendo needed to get that one out of their system. I do wish they were able to make another weird, off-kilter Zelda game again, though.
Great list!