Oldest Games in My Backlog

I talk about my backlog on a regular basis, usually to blame it for why I haven’t played [insert popular game here]. But this year, I’m going to make a concerted effort to work through my backlog and finally experience these great games.

Sure, I said that last year and it didn’t work out, but I’m not giving up! Introducing Operation Backlog Completion!

In honor of my new backlog-completion resolution, I thought I’d take a look at the games themselves. I often mention how many old classics are in my backlog… but just how old are they?

So I decided to look at all the games from before the year 2000, looking at their North American release dates only. I excluded remakes (so Tales of Phantasia doesn’t count, since I have the 2006 GBA version) but include straight ports (Dragon Quest doesn’t count because I’m not sure which version the iOS port is based on) to platforms like the Virtual Console.

Let’s take a look.

1999

The most recent games on this list are from 1999, and I have five of them to play… or at least try.

Age of Wonders is a turn-based strategy RPG which I got free from some sort of GOG.com promotion. This might be one I try and quit. Strategy games and I don’t always get along. For now, however, it’s in the backlog.

Dino Crisis is a survival horror game from Capcom about dinosaurs. I watched a Let’s Play of it, but it looks like it’ll be fun to play, as well.

Then there’s Darkstone. Ah, Darkstone… It’s an action RPG, and one of several I “inherited” from someone who never found time to play them. It has… mixed reviews. Maybe I’ll be one of the people who loves it, but those reviews are the reason Darkstone will remain in my backlog a while longer.

Ape Escape is an unusual one, because I actually played and enjoyed it as a kid. I just never finished it. As I recall, I though I was at the end of the game, and when it turned out to be a false ending, I lost heart and quit. I’d love to return to it again and actually finish, especially since my strongest memory of it is the multiplayer boxing mini-game.

As I mentioned in my Top 5 PS1 Games I Still Need to Play article, I read the manual for Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete repeatedly, but never touched the game. People still seem to love it, and I hope I will too.

1998

Let’s travel further back, to 1998, where we’ll find another game from that list: Xenogears. I really want to play Xenogears. Once I catch up on the Kingdom Hearts series, maybe this will be my next long RPG to dive into.

Tales of Destiny was also on the list, the Tales game I had before I knew it was a series. I love the Tales games I’ve played (yes, including my in-progress playthrough of Zestiria), which bumped this one way up on my list. Part of me fears an older game won’t have the features I love… but I might have that backwards.

Gex: Enter the Gecko caught my eye because it’s a 3D platformer, and you know how much I love those. I actually tried it out earlier this week! …And it aged badly. I’ll stick with it for a time, but this one might leave my backlog by means other than completion.

1996-1997

Two games on my backlog are from the years 1996 and 1997, and they’re both from the same series. Although I call myself a Crash Bandicoot fan, I entered the series with the third game, Warped. Therefore, both Crash Bandicoot and Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back are on my list. Unlike Gex, I felt Warped aged pretty well, so I look forward to giving the original games a try.

Now, where’s our new Crash game?

Update: When I made this list, I forgot Super Mario RPG, which I’m currently playing. It also debuted in 1996.

1994-1995

In a peculiarly similar situation to Crash Bandicoot, I have another pair from 1994 and 1995: the first two Breath of Fire games. I played Breath of Fire III, but neither of the preceding games. Fortunately, they’re both on the Wii U Virtual Console now. Despite a long hiatus in the middle (and by “long,” I mean “many years”), I enjoyed Breath of Fire III and look forward to trying I and II.

Lastly, thanks to another GOG giveaway, I have another 1994 game, Ultima VIII. It could be rough, but we’ll see how it goes.

Those are the oldest games on my backlog right now, but maybe they’ll be gone by next year! What are the oldest games you still want to play? What are your thoughts on these? Which pre-2000 games should be in my backlog that I somehow overlooked? Let me know in the comments.