5 Nostalgic Video Games That Will Always Have a Place in Our Hearts

While we will never be mad at the incredible developments that have been made when it comes to video games, we’ll still probably always be pining just a little (okay, a lot) for the good old days of those classics that feel almost pre-historic now.

Depending on when you were born, your console of choice could have been a clunky grey Gameboy (my personal favourite), a Nintendo 64 or NES, Sega Genesis, or the PlayStation.

The games we played ranged from the still-popular Super Mario Kart to The Legend of Zelda and Fortress of Fear. Some of the games we loved weren’t even in colour! But we loved them anyway as they shaped our formative experiences as teens and young adults.

Many of these games have, of course, been updated again and again for the modern-day and the modern consoles that go with it, but nothing will ever replace the simplicity of some of these iconic titles.

GoldenEye 007

If you’re still in possession of a working Nintendo 64 then you could still play this fan favourite game.

A first-person shooter experience, GoldenEye 007 allowed you to control James Bond as he progressed through a series of levels in an attempt to stop a shady criminal syndicate from launching an attack on London to cause a global financial meltdown.

There was talk of reviving the popular game a while back but, sadly, due to some licensing issues, the remaster never saw the light of day. However, about a decade ago, a re-imagining of the game was released for the Nintendo Wii, but the N64 version will always have our hearts.

The Sims 2: Pets

The Sims 2: Pets was released in 2006 and, when it was, I’ll admit to being completely hooked. The fourth expansion pack in The Sims 2 series, the game allowed you to not only play god and create your own town but gave you the option of populating it with furry friends, too.

What was even cooler was that, in Australia, one dollar from every game sold, from at least 50,000 copies, was donated to the RSPCA.

BurgerTime Deluxe

If you ever had a GameBoy then you might be familiar with the simple pleasure that was Burgertime Deluxe.

Adapted from the Japanese arcade game of the same name, Burgertime Deluxe sees gamers play as Peter Pepper, Chef Extraordinaire. The objective is to make burgers by walking across all the parts (bun, burger, veggies etc)

Of course, no game is complete without some villains, so you had to watch out for food foes, Mr Hot Dog, Mr Pickle, and Mr Egg.

Sigh, simpler times, they were.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

This was the third game in The Legend of Zelda series and was released in 1991 for the Super Nintendo system.

Why is it the third instalment that we are pining for, you might ask? Well, it is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time and it also brings back happy 90s memories for those of us old enough to reminisce about such things.

In this game, players get to be a young man named Link, who is on a mission to save Princess Zelda from the castle dungeon of the evil wizard Agahnim.

Super Mario Land

I would sell one of my kidneys to be able to fire up my Game Boy, pop in my Super Mario Land cartridge and spend an hour or two jumping on those random turtle men that became bombs when you defeated them and whistling along to the wacky background music that still gets stuck in my head to this day.

Released in 1989, Super Mario Land was the first Mario platform game to have been released for a handheld console and although video game reviewers criticised it for being too short (you can finish it in less than an hour), we won’t hear a bad word about it. Gotta respect a legend, after all.