Five Classic Games Everyone Should Play at Least Once

Everyone has their list of favorites. Sometimes that list includes one of the industry pioneers: a Zelda or Mario title or better yet, the grandfather of all video games – Pong (or if you want to get technical, the Cathode-Ray Tube Amusement Device). But those are the easy games to recommend. Everyone knows about them, and regardless of whether you’ve played them or not, you are at least familiar with the concept and can recognize the game if you saw it.

And then there are the true classics: Planescape: Torment, Deus Ex, Half-Life. But what of the lesser classics, the ones that are considered just as great as those mainstream titles, but perhaps don’t get the same recognition they deserve, whether by means of underexposure or as is the common case, a lack of localization? Well I’m here to tell you that these aforementioned hidden classics shall not go hidden any longer. This is a list to broaden your horizon, to familiarize yourself with games that, in all likelihood, you may have never even heard of, or in some cases were never made available at the time of release.

Seiken Densetsu 3

Surely you've heard of Secret of Mana, arguably one of the greatest Japanese role-playing games of all time, and certainly in the top 5 SNES games ever made. But I'll bet most of you have never heard of Seiken Densetsu 3, the successor to Secret of Mana. As the name alludes, it was a game only released in Japan for the Super Famicom in 1995. Borrowing heavily from its predecessor, Seiken Densetsu 3 was just as bold and brave as Secret of Mana. Thanks to an unofficial fan translation in 2000 (a common theme throughout many of the games listed below), you are finally able to play this classic masterpiece using an SNES emulator. In 2006, a patch was released that enabled the three-player mode originally intended to be included with the Japanese version of the game.

Shin Megami Tensei

When you think of the greatest Japanese role-playing series of all time, generally two names come to mind: Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest/Warrior. I submit to you a third: Shin Megami Tensei. Originally inspired by the manga Megami Tensei, and the Famicom series of the same name developed by Namco, Shin Megami Tensei (literally translated to mean True Goddess Reincarnation) is a dark and brooding old-school dungeon crawler that makes even the creepiest elements from Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest look like child's play. Featuring an engaging system of demon negotiations, brutal and intensely unforgiving combat, and a twisted, man-versus-god storyline, the Shin Megami Tensei series has earned a rightful place in the pantheon of high-quality Japanese RPGs. With a handful of spin-offs (Persona, Digital Devil Saga, Devil Summoner, Devil Survivor, Strange Journey, and more), this is one series worth checking out.

The Last Express

Jordan Mechner. Does that name sound familiar? If not, how about this: Prince of Persia. Better?  While Mechner is today known for his groundbreaking acrobatic series, The Last Express is perhaps his most thoughtful production. It follows a mystery aboard the Orient Express, days before the start of World War I. It is a classic point-and-click adventure, true to its name, but it is most notable for being one of the first and only video games to attempt to tell its story in real time. The story is non-linear, allowing the player to proceed in as little or as much time as he or she wishes, and allowing him or her to act (or not act) in whatever given situations that present themselves. As a result, the game's script was 800 pages long. It was a commercial failure, despite critical praise, and 10 years later Mechner came out with the game that he will perhaps forever be praised for: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

The Last Express is currently available on iOS and Android devices, and on PC at GoG.com for $5.99.

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri

Sid Meier is a name as famous now as Shigeru Miyamoto or Hideo Kojima. He is the grandfather of the modern strategy game as we know it. With his Civilization series, he is responsible for some of the most popular and well received strategy games of all time. But it's one of his lesser known productions that earns him his true fame. Alpha Centauri was born shortly after the creation of Firaxis Games, a team then-owned by EA that specialized in the exclusive development of strategy games. To this day Alpha Centauri is hailed as one of the greatest of the genre, with an overwhelmingly positive number going as far as giving it top honors. It combines intricate levels of customization, deep, thoughtful progression, affecting voice acting and writing, and a story line critics compared to the works of Stanley Kubrick, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, and Arthur C. Clarke. Despite the praise, Alpha Centauri had the lowest sales figures of any Civilization game.

Mother 3

Originally titled Earthbound 64 and developed for the Nintendo 64DD as a sequel to 1995's SNES classic Earthbound, Mother 3 was almost doomed to never exist. The production on Earthbound 64 was so strenuous, due in large part to the company's inexperience developing for the dismally received peripheral, that it was cancelled on August 21, 2000. 6 years later, Mother 3 resurfaced as a Game Boy Advance title, borrowing heavily from the scraps of its former self and boasting a vibrant, colorful world compared to its predecessor. Mother 3 is in many respects a far superior game to Earthbound, featuring vast improvements to combat, inventory, and character design. Sadly, the game was only released in Japan without plans for future localization.

But in 2008, a full translation patch of the game was released by Starmen.net, a fan site devoted to the Mother series, allowing anyone the ability to overwrite their copy of the Mother 3 ROM image and translate the game's text into English. The gesture was so positively received by both fans and industry veterans alike that many praised Starmen.net and its lead translator Clyde Mandelin, even sending him e-mails to express their gratitude or offering to buy him drinks. Even Nintendo has expressed their excitement for it.