Is there any reason to actually play the original Xbox?

[dudeguy]

I'm struggling to find a reason to play any of the original Xbox games save for a few and I'll go through them...

 

1) Forza - I just have a lot of memories with this one. I really like the stages in this game and the point to point races. But chalk this mostly up to nostalgia

 

2) OutRun 2 - I think this one speaks for itself. Incredible game

 

3) Mercenaries - Always loved this game, seemed like a more polished and more sophisticated version of GTA

 

4) Metal Slug 3 - seems weird to have such a small game dedicated to an entire Xbox disc, but hey its Metal Slug, cant go wrong.

 

Hmmm I cant think of many others. Halo is good the first time you play through it but I never really felt like going back to it. Morrowind is awesome but Im pretty burnt out on it at this point. So many Xbox games were basically just advertisements for soft drinks, energy drinks, candy, etc and this generation was heavy on glorifying the stupid "street culture", like all the gangster rap based games, the "Street" version of all the sports games, illegal street racing. theres just very little I wanna play on this system.

 

What are some games you guys play/have played recently for the original Xbox?

[+wongojack]

There's a list of games that pop up that are either exclusive to Xbox or are known to have advantages on the console.  Here's some I curated from another thread for you.

 

Bloody Roar
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Chronicles of Riddick Butcher Bay
Crimson Skies
Dino Crisis 3
Fatal Frame II: Director's Cut
Fuzion Frenzy (party game)
Jade Empire
Jet Set Radio Future
Metal Wolf Chaos
Ninja Gaiden Black
Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee & Stranger's Wrath
Otogi: Myth of Demons (Action game, kinda souls-y, kinda Ninja Gaiden-y, made by FROM)

There's also Otogi 2

Panzer Dragoon Orta
Raze’s Hell
Steel Battalion <- expensive
Voodoo Vince (Platformer, Psychonauts vibes (though Psychonauts is better))

 

And there have been some who have tried to really pick through the stack for what was truly exclusive to Xbox: 

 

[famicommander]

Panzer Dragoon Orta

Ninja Gaiden Black

Jet Set Radio Future

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

Star Wars Battlefront
Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X (has all the levels from Tony Hawk 1 and 2 plus more)

Gunvalkyrie

Psychonauts

[famicommander]

3 minutes ago, wongojack said:

There's a list of games that pop up that are either exclusive to Xbox or are known to have advantages on the console.  Here's some I curated from another thread for you.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

 

We are now best friends.

[RARusk]

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay had a Director's Cut version on the PC that included additional stuff not on the OG Xbox version. The Director's Cut was given a remastered treatment when it was bundled with the sequel Assault on Dark Athena that is only available on the X360 and PS3.

[dudeguy]

thanks for the recommendations. i have a number of these games. will have to try some of them out

[str0m]

Rallisport Challenge 2, great arcade rally game, completed it back in the day then more recently when I picked up an OG Xbox again

[+Cafeman]

Rallisport challenge 2, Outrun 2, and the Project Gotham racing games are still worth playing to me. And PD Orta! Also still enjoy these not mentioned above:

 

spider-man 2

Hulk Ultimate Destruction

Burnout 3

 

 

 

[Austin]

OG Xbox has quite a solid library all things considered, and a bunch of games that are either exclusive or hard to get elsewhere. Panzer Dragoon Orta is probably my favorite game on the system next to OutRun 2006.

 

A couple dozen original titles are also compatible on the Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles. Grabbed by the Ghoulies and Panzer Dragoon Orta in 4K on the high-end models are really sights to behold. Elder Scrolls III and Hunter: The Reckoning with a perfect framerate on the backwards-compatible version is also pretty cool.

[Trinity32]

I would not call GBTG original. That game was, is and shall always be a mistake. Never played PZO. Would love for a re-release of the Punisher (2005) for the series X, PS5 or PC

 

"Tell me about bushwhacker!"

"sensitive to light's, why he's wearing glasses"

(gore fountain)

[Trinity32]

4 hours ago, Cafeman said:

Rallisport challenge 2, Outrun 2, and the Project Gotham racing games are still worth playing to me. And PD Orta! Also still enjoy these not mentioned above:

 

spider-man 2

Hulk Ultimate Destruction

Burnout 3

 

 

 

H:UD is awesome. Unfortunately, too many of the missions are either timed or involve crap tons of super hard enemies.

[Trinity32]

I don't care how much you miss it or have fond memories

 

STAY AWAY FROM BIONICLE!

 

classic or not, that game was a travesty. I hate it worse than a bugs life (which people remember fondly for some reason)

[Duke75]

I think the Splinter Cell games are generally regarded as best played on the original Xbox. They had some light/shadow effects that don't play nicely with the ports, especially on modern PCs. I've also heard that some prefer the Xbox version of Riddick to the PC version. 

 

Buffy and Crimson Skies, and various Sega games, as already mentioned.

Deathrow was a really good future sports game, sort of like an updated take on Speedball.

Hunter: The Reckoning: Redeemer was pretty good.

Breakdown is...interesting at least.

I always thought the Blinx games were underrated.

[randomcat2000]

Steel Battalion

Also there's a bunch of original xbox games you can play online now with Insignia. servers are empty most of the time but there's frequent game nights.
Nothing quite beats a good round of mechassault or midtown madness.

[Astro Rabby]

Everyones already pointed out Panzer Dragoon Orta [though if you put it in a Series X you get it in HD widescreen!]

There's also Gunvalkyrie, it's real cool! Kinda hard though. But I guess so is Orta.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Astro Rabby

[MrTrust]

Sega had quite a run on original Xbox.  There are many games from them, some of which have already been mentioned.  It was almost an unofficial Dreamcast 2.

 

There's still a good deal of stuff with playing on it, but most of that stuff is available on windows for a song, so you'd be playing an indoor version.

 

The Thing was pretty good, and The Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.  Winback 2, Red Dead Revolver...

 

Yeah, it's tough to come up with much aside from the Sega stuff unless you're willing to play a lesser version of a lot of games.

[Hydro Thunder]

I recently got a Chimeric Systems HDMI connection for my OG Xbox, and I'm loving it.

Enjoying the nostalgia of the Original Halo, played some Soul Calibur II with Spawn, Need for Speed Most Wanted, and I feel like there's never been enough love for Blood Wake and Mech Assault.  Just fun silly destruction.

I know there are remakes out, but I still enjoy Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance for the OG Xbox.

Oh and Mortal Kombat 7 / Armageddon wasn't half bad either IMO.  Especially with whatever that adventure / brawler mode was, highly underrated and fun.  TONS of characters too.  And 720P support also.

[TheGameCollector]

Nobody listed the exclusive Dungeons & Dragons Heroes.

[Austin]

On 6/13/2023 at 9:40 PM, TheGameCollector said:

Nobody listed the exclusive Dungeons & Dragons Heroes.

Was that any good? I remember the reception being pretty mixed when it hit.

[Hydro Thunder]

On 6/15/2023 at 12:12 AM, Austin said:

Was that any good? I remember the reception being pretty mixed when it hit.

I am curious also.  Never picked it up back in the day, but was interested.  But watching video now, it looks like a less well put together Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.  Collision detection seems extra questionable, which could be a big downside.  IDK.

[TheGameCollector]

One thing that was different about Dungeons & Dragons Heroes is that it had locked doors and keys like Zelda games.

 

[Gamemoose]

On 6/15/2023 at 12:12 AM, Austin said:

Was that any good? I remember the reception being pretty mixed when it hit.

It's ok.  You can have 4 players rather than 2 and it plays like an advanced "Gauntlet Legends".  You get feats (like in D&D 3.x TTRPG at the time) and abilities you can select on the fly (which switches the game to "slow-mo" so you don't get pounded easily while you flick through the options). 

 

The ex and I played through it after playing both "Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance" games.  It was all right but didn't have the same thrill for us as Snowblind's games.  A few months ago I had my D&D loving kids try it and while they had fun, they haven't asked to play it again.