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Great games you would recommend from before 1990? (feddit.org)
submitted 3 days ago by Wrufieotnak@feddit.org to c/patientgamers@sh.itjust.works
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I noticed that pretty much all games I played in my life have been released after 1990. So now I'm asking those with earlier experience here:
Which games can you recommend from before that time?

But: they should still be fun in their own right and not just interesting to play in an historian sense of trying to understand how genres developed.

Games I played that are older than 1990:

  • Tetris (classic for a reason)
  • Pacman (interesting but simple)
  • Prince of Persia (was too young to understand how to correctly play this game, I should maybe try to play it again)
  • The Legend of Zelda (too old school and clunky for my liking)
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[-] ada@piefed.blahaj.zone 8 points 3 days ago

I don't know how many of these hold up in their own right these days, but these are the formative games I played before 1990.

  • Reach for the Stars - The first 4X game. It created and introduced me to a genre that I still love today!
  • Dragonstrike - A dragon riding flight simulator set in the D&D setting of Krynn. It was release in 1990 though, so it's only here if we fudge a little
  • Pools of Radiance - The first D&D CRPG. I know for sure this one doesn't hold up, but it was amazing back in the day!
  • Tunnels & Trolls Crusaders of Khazan - Another CRPG, this one also from 1990. It sticks out in my memory mostly because I found a "gatling bow" which would empty your quiver by firing all of your arrows at a target when you took a shot. I also found a never ending quiver. It was game breaking. I'd hit things with 30 arrows per shot and just annihilate everything.
  • Kings Quest IV Perils of Rosella. A real time adventure/puzzle/RPG game. First game I played with a dedicated female protagonist!
  • Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon - Another "Made in 1990" game. It was the first (and IMO, still the best) game in the Railway Tycoon series and I believe it was also the first game in the "Tycoon" genre
  • Sim City - The first in the Sim City series, and the first of the "Sim" titled games. I loved it back in the day, even even got to play it at school. It doesn't hold up very well against later games in the series though.
[-] zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 day ago

Pools of Radiance was the first game of the series too. If you ever decide to play again, get them all.

[-] ada@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago

I played them all back then! My favourite was Curse of the Azure Bonds, because it tied in with the book that I had absolutely loved

this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2025
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