Older games you didn't play until years after they came out and yet enjoyed them
 

Things age. Especially video games. Lots of classics have been important in their heyday but have aged poorly, but some others are timeless. So what are some games you didn't get the chance to play until years after they came out and still managed to enjoy then a lot?

The NES Mega Man games immediately spring to my mind. Growing up, I had only played Mega Man 2 on the SNES. For Christmas 2007 I got the Anniversary Collection for the GC and thus was able to play MM1, MM3, MM4, MM5 and MM6 for the first time ever. And I loved every of those games except for 6. Mega Man 3 is one of my favourite NES games alongside Mega Man 2. And I also have a soft spot for MM5, honestly preferring it to MM4.

Genesis/MD's Sonic games are another. I'm from a SNES and majorly Nintendo household, so I grew up mostly with Mario. I played a bit of Sonic 1 at a Genesis my brother bought years after it came out but had foggy memories of it. But with Sonic's Mega Collection I got to play Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. I really liked Sonic 2 a lot, and it's the only classic Sonic game I go back to occasionally.

I didn't get the chance to play the Street Fighter Alpha series and Third Strike until last year. I've enjoyed both a lot. Third Strike is indeed a great game that sadly didn't seel very well.

As for beat 'em ups, I didn't have the chance to play Turtles in Time until like 2009. it's a fun game for what it is and hasn't aged poorly, imo.

When it comes to Nintendo, my first Zelda was NES Zelda and then Ocarina. I also played a bit of Majora's before ever trying A Link to the Past out. It was only around 2002 or so that I got my hands on ALttP for the first time ever. And only played it all the way through around 2011-2012 and I must say I loved it. Then again I guess Nintendo is good at making timeless games, especially Mario and Zelda ones.

The original Shanta, Spyro 3, Silent Hill

those are the first that comes to mind.

Super Metroid became my favorite SNES game when I played it for the first time about 7 years ago. Also the Zelda games for GB and GBC didn't disappoint me the slightest.

I've gotten the Zelda GBC games from the Nintendo 3DS shop. Same for Super Metroid. But I'm early in Link'a Awakening and Super Metroid(stuck) still.

The Metal Gear Solid series. I didn't get to fully get into it until around 2007-2008 which was fairly "late" for the old games at the time.

Also I didn't play most of the NES and SNES Mega Man's either until around 2005-2006 or so, which again is nearly 15-20 years after they came out.

I don't really play games that are older than a few months unless it's a rerelease or remake. I'm too occupied with current games so if I miss them, I miss them.

What about classic games from the 80's and 90's? They're easy to get into because most of them are so short and only take a few hours to beat, besides RPG's.

I still need to play Mega Man X series.

Btw, I didn't like MM7 and MM8 much.

Understandable. I missed every PS1 and Microsoft console exclusives due to being mostly a Nintendo household. So I don't think I'll play those consoles classics unless thye get remade one day and are also available on a platform lie eSteam, per example. I might play Symphony of the Night since it's 2d thus means it aged better than most early 3d games.

Well that is debatable. NES games can be pretty hard. I was never able ot beat the first ever CastleVania game, per example. And I'm not very fond of the game, anyway.

Especially not those games. I make it an effort to actively avoid them.

Off the top of my head, I can think of the following:

Phantasy Star IV
River City Ransom
Tales of the Abyss
Broken Sword
Final Fantasy VI

I'm kind of in the same boat as you there. Mega Man 2 came out in 1989 but I didn't play it until 1992, when my cousin lent me his copy for the NES. When I learned that MMAC was coming out, I thought I had to get it so I could try the other games. It's the same with the Mega Man X Collection.

Also, both StarTropics games. The first came out in 1991, the second in 1994, and I found both at a TRU in 1999 for $4 each. I was curious about them, and with their price tags, I couldn't resist.

I jumped on the Valve train VERY late. L4D this year, HL a year or two prior, Portal/T42 an additional year or two behind that, even. I was missing out on some really great stuff.

There are tons of "classics" I've caught up with in recent years, too many to list, really.

Chrono Trigger for me. Great game.

So you've never bought any Virtual Console games you never played before? I didn't play Super Mario RPG till it was released on the Wii Virtual Console way back in 2008 or whatever it was, and I really enjoyed it. Never owned it back on the SNES.

I mean the only really dated games are PS1 and N64 games obviously, but aside from those a lot of games from the 2D era or the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox era still hold up.

I thought the title meant playing games that were before your time, for example I bought an Atari Flashback around ten years ago and it was my first time experiencing Atari games and as basic as they were I found some really fun ones, I can't really remember their names but I had a lot of fun with them.

But old games even if we were alive we just never played? All the time, when I have time I like checking out old NES games that I never played and to me it's like playing a "new" NES game in the present, same with other consoles and it's great, you get nostalgic about say the PS2 era and you can play a great game you never tried and get the best of both worlds.

I do this in PC all the time as well, I've never bought a game for PC that is new, I'm the exact opposite of Cure. I buy older games like 2-3 year old games super cheap and my computer runs them without a problem. It's almost like that xkdcd comic. I mean I don't really play games that often so when I do I have a huge backlog and tons of amazing games I missed so I prefer to buy and play those.
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cutting_edge.png

I still need to play Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario games.

I missed every xbox exclusive game ver since I've never owned one. Same for Sony console exclusives except for the PS2.

I own KOTOR in my Steam library, which apparently was one of the best Xbox games. I'll play it someday.

Dead Space (I think it came out in '08, I played it in 2011)

Super Metroid (though I still prefer the controls of Zero Mission and Fusion overall)

Batman: Arkham Asylum (played the "Greatest Hits" version before Arkham City came out)

Chrono Trigger on the DS

KOTOR (I and II) and Battlefront II

Toonstruck

Street Fighter Third Strike

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex on PS2.

The early 90s Star Trek games on PC (Judgment Rites and 25th Anniversary)

Aliens vs. Predator (2000) on PC and Aliens vs. Predator (2010) on PS3

The Adventures of Batman and Robin (SNES)

Resident Evil 5

Silent Hill 2

Parasite Eve

Marvel vs Capcom 3


Tomb Raider: Legend and Anniversary. I also like the 2013 reboot but waited until it got down to $20.

Splinter Cell (2002)
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Beyond Good & Evil
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Jet Set Radio
Psychonauts
Final Fantasy 7
Turtles in Time
Streets of Rage 2
Grim Fandango
LoZ: Twilight Princess
LoZ: Wind Waker
Ghostbusters (2009)
L.A. Noire

I have not. Get over it; it's almost like we're two different people.

Shell, Where do I start with this. I started gaming with sonic & Knuckles on the genesis. Which can be considered strange considering that I was about 10 then, and that game came out in 1994. I was born in 1997, and a lot of my gaming xp has been with classic games.