Lost to antiquity: Games that have aged badly

Features
By published

Some games stand the test of time. These didn't.

Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast, Gamecube)
“One day all games will look this good but right now, only this does”. That’s what Charlie Brooker’s review of Sonic Adventure said in the Official Dreamcast Magazine, and we dared not believe it. The quality of the textures, the lushness of the scenery, the speed and the imagination on display... how could it get any better?

Above: Even Sonic's wondering where all the detail went

It’s glitchy as hell, too, and while we could overlook it back then because of the ambition and thrill of a 3D Sonic game (ahem), in the harsh light of 2008 it’s a mess. If you loved it like we did, do yourself a favour and leave it be. It’s better that way.

Mortal Kombat II (Mega Drive, SNES etc)
What’s best? Super Street Fighter II Turbo or Mortal Kombat II? Well, clearly the former. But have you played MKII recently? Maybe, like us, you bought it on PSN cos it was cheap and you fancied a nostalgia hit. Big mistake. Its punches have zero sensation of contact. Ridiculous splashes of red fly everywhere and the digitised sprites look (surprise!) like photos of people in cosplay.

This is the eternal problem for cutting edge ‘realistic’ graphics. As soon as technology moves on, they look hopelessly outdated, whereas for games like SSFIIT, quality artwork will always be exactly that.

Above: It looks fine in static screens because the sprites are digitised photos. But you'll laugh/cry if you see it moving now

Justin Towell
Justin Towell

Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.