Nostalgia is a beautiful thing. Reminiscing about the days of old, your very first console, sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night to play Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3… just me? Whatever your virtual entertainment of choice was back in the day, we asked you fine folks at Just About Video Games to review an old game of your choice in two separate bounties: Part One and Part Two.

What defines 'old' was up for interpretation; the only criteria was that it must be from the last generation or earlier, so essentially anything that launched prior to the PS5/Xbox Series X is eligible. You submitted a vast range of games, spanning from true classics to some slightly lesser known gems. So without further ado, here is our curated collection of old video game reviews.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Ross kicks us off with a true classic, though the die-hard Zelda fans among you may rankle at picking this specific entry in the series above certain others. Ross singles out the story, gameplay, and graphics for praise, including in this section that will sound completely nuts to anyone who isn't familiar with Wind Waker:

"Of all the things you find scattered across the vast oceans in Wind Waker, none are as unique as the sagely named ‘King of Red Lions’. In all honesty, it’s a discredit to call the king a ‘thing’, as although he appears to be just a boat at first glance, he is in fact one of Link’s chief companions during the Wind Waker storyline and an integral part of the unique navigation system. Upon completing a few relatively early quests, The King of Red Lions will bestow upon Link an ancient artifact that lets him quite literally wake the wind and take control of the elements to help sail around the island chains."

Wind Waker also introduced new abilities for Link in combat, including some fresh sword-based abilities such as a parry, along with some rudimentary stealth sections upon which later entries have expanded. It also ramps up the quality of the dungeons, as Ross explains they range from "easy early levels, to complex and challenging late-game dungeons that require quick thinking and quicker reflexes to clear", and you'll have a sense of satisfaction after completing each one. Note the screenshot above is from the HD remake in 2013, not the 2002 original.

Final Fantasy XIV

Regular community members will understand how much Lanah Tyra adores Final Fantasy XIV, and after reading her spoiler-free review, it's clear to see why. Personally, I love games that bring enjoyment and meaning to the mundane - my entire Old School RuneScape career was mostly dedicated to woodcutting and fishing, which says a lot about me - so this segment about jobs in FFXIV sounds fascinating:

"One of the big things which sets FFXIV aside from other MMORPGs is that you can open all jobs on one character, let them be fighter, crafter, or gatherer. The game gives you plenty of different content, both in the open world and in instanced dungeons where you can level up all jobs without getting bored."

Lanah also touches on the game’s rocky genesis; the original FFXIV ended up shutting down and the current iteration, dubbed ‘A Realm Reborn’ at launch, is actually version 2.0. As Lanah notes, one of the most fascinating aspects of FFXIV as it is currently is that the previous ending - which saw the world end in a calamity - is referenced throughout, and features a breathtaking cutscene.

Dishonored

Huge credit to Seán for putting in the effort with a video review, and he has selected Dishonored, an excellent steampunk immersive sim from 2012. You can watch his full review below, but here is a quote from Seán about the gameplay:

"You are given a fun arsenal of weapons and powers, and you're dropped into a sandbox with a variety of ways to complete your missions. Do you go in guns blazing? Explore, in order to gain information on your target? Do you complete side missions to earn upgrades? The choice is yours. Taking a lethal approach makes the game harder, while using non-lethal methods gives you the best ending."

 Of course, Dishonored was the first Arkane Studios game published by Bethesda Softworks, and the successful stealth formula went on to be the basis for a sequel and a spin-off - Dishonored 2 and Death of the Outsider - along with Deathloop in 2021, which shares many similar mechanics. It also features Lady Boyle's Last Party, perhaps the most iconic mission from the series, lauded for its branching paths and many solutions.

EVE Online

Thanks to our flourishing Just About EVE Online community, we expected at least one EVE review in answer to this bounty, and why not? It’s a unique achievement in video games, an epic space opera that’s been going and growing for 20 years, and offers a simulation of unrivaled depth and breadth for those who can commit past its notorious learning curve. In the end it was Melicien Tetro who took it upon themselves to review EVE, delivering a fantastically written review, with the highlight being this paragraph which should pique the interest of any gamer:

"EVE Online is not just a game; it’s a living, breathing universe. Every ship you see is piloted by a real person, every alliance forged or broken has real consequences, and every skirmish or large-scale battle has stories that players will recount for years. The game’s single-shard universe ensures that all players, regardless of their geographical location, play in the same space, making the political and economic dynamics incredibly intricate and genuinely player-driven."

No Man's Sky

From one space game to another, as Philip has reviewed No Man's Sky, the procedurally-generated essentially-infinite 2015 release from Hello Games. Many members will remember its controversial launch, whereupon it was widely felt to have not delivered on its promises, but the hard graft Hello Games has put into it ever since has entirely reversed community sentiments, such that ‘doing a No Man's Sky’ has become a byword for video game redemption arcs:

"Seven years later, the game is so much more than when released. There have been 26 named content updates which have added cross-platform multiplayer, questlines, bases, exocraft and mechs, new ship types, new weapons, new enemies, improved combat, improved graphics, an improved user interface, and more. All for free."

Dark Chronicle

The PlayStation 2 had one of the most amazing libraries of games of any console ever. Cult-classic PS2 games are a dime a dozen, and Dark Chronicle is one of the most iconic. Damien Mason explains how Dark Chronicle is "like the fusion band you can't quite describe to your mates", a combination of "action-RPG with dungeon crawling elements, but also part city-builder". Don't worry if you can't get your hands on a PS2 copy - it's available on PS4 and PS5 thanks to the remaster.

"Dark Chronicle has its warts, from aged mechanics to awkward pauses between each line of dialogue, but it’s still years ahead of its time. Don’t think too deeply into its wonky timey-wimey story and you’re treated with a wonderful cast of characters and a variety of engaging gameplay hooks that still stand up by today’s standards, let alone back then."

Madorica Real Estate 2

Almost certainly the most obscure game on our list, Kirra Luan has reviewed Madorica Real Estate 2, a puzzle game which requires printing floor plans and diagrams in real life to solve the  puzzles in-game. It's an innovative concept that certainly won't be for everyone, but Kirra does an excellent job of explaining exactly what works about it:

"Each level has a walkthrough, which is one of the main aspects that keeps me playing to finish all of the main levels. Ways to think are more varied; fold the floor plan/cut pieces/draw routes/compare permutations and combinations and so on. Each method has many branches depending on levels, so players can bask in the achievement of solving puzzles from different perspectives."

.hack//Infection

Finally, since we ran this bounty twice, Lanah Tyra is back with a review for .hack//Infection, a 2002 JRPG on the (where else?) PS2. Based on the .hack//Sign anime, Lanah explains it's based on an alternate 2010 - which at the time was in the future, but now is in the past, which gives it an "extra twist".

"Due to a computer virus attack the internet was closed off from the general public. When 'The World', an in-game MMORPG, is released it sees immense success thanks to it finally allowing interactions with others online. However some players become comatose from playing The World, and this is where the story of .hack//Infection begins. You play as Kite, a new player in The World, whose friend is one of the comatose players, and he starts to investigate the mysterious events happening in-game to save his friend."

Gameplay takes place within 'The World', and is a mixture of first- and third-person, while combat happens in real-time, though the game pauses whenever you're selecting an ability via the menus. While you can't explore the real world outside of the fictional MMO, you can disconnect from 'The World' to browse a computer desktop which includes emails, message boards, and news. Lanah explains that back in 2002, "the level of detail the developers went into with world building was one of a kind", and that even the "motives behind the events happening in The World are very much relevant today, maybe even more than they were in 2002, as it relates to AI learning and whether an AI will ever be capable of making a decision for itself".

Want to get involved in this bounty? We may run it again, so have a think about which game you'd review and keep it in your pocket! Let us know in the comments if you end up playing any of these games too - a few are certainly on my radar now.