Here on Planet Virtua, we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve! Strange, yeah I know, but who cares! Come have egg nog! We're not going to invade you! While we sit here and eat our cookies, we like to think about the good old Christmas mornings of old. Some of the old systems showed up in boxes and we all remember that we couldn't get the boxes open fast enough.
Sadly, it seems that those days are from the times of old. More and more, we're seeing video games on digital systems with no disc. It's a good thing that Stadia went nowhere, but that's not saying it wouldn't have worked. The longer we stick with physical media, the better. Is there a good side to owning digital? Of course, but who wants to wake up and open your Playstation store, find new games in your library only to need to download them, install them and patch them over the next three hours?
Classic gaming is the way to go when you give new media to loved ones. Give them something they can pop in and play, or you'll just be deleting games from your storage to make someone happy. Santa is there to deliver the presents, he can't just sit there and pick which games you don't want to play, making way for 20 gigabytes a pop.
The solution? Hit the game stores! Used game stores have consoles of old and they can be some of the most engrossing titles. You don't need to spend much more than a 100 USD to have a Merry Christmas or whatever other holiday you celebrate. If you have people you want to entertain, take some of these into consideration.
Nintendo 64
While these better known titles can be rather expensive, nothing can be said about the hours upon hours of family entertainment that it is clearly capable. The cartridges it has in its library are sturdy and long lasting. You will be hard pressed to not find some great 2-player game or two. Even if you can't get 007 GoldenEye, the chances are you can find Mario Kart 64 for at least a decent price. Quake is a multiplayer capable port for this and you can have mindless fits of glee killing each other in arena combat.
If you wish to do cooperative, there is plenty of that here as well! Gauntlet Legends will allow you to work together to cut through rows upon rows of orcs sksletons and goblins. The N64 is perfect to just pull out and play whether you want to play with someone else or if you want to play by yourself and/or with someone as a spectator.
Sega Genesis
That's right, we're going Sonic 2 and 3 for some of the greatest in 2-player goodness. Whether you want Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter 2, this is your baby. Blast Processing may not be an actual thing, but it sounded cool and honestly became something of a fond memory in early gaming memes.
For a little extra co-op, look toward the Adventures of Batman and Robin (not the movie of the same period, mind you) along with Toejam and Earl! Some of the greatest 2D titles can be seen on the Sega Genesis, even if it doesn't seem to get as much praise as the SNES. Streets of Rage 2 and Contra Hardcore are two hidden gems that seem to go overlooked a lot on the Genesis but you put any of these games into your machine and you're bound to find one that you'll quite possibly love.
Playstation 2
This system was made especially with families in mind. While you may not consider it an old school system, it still doesn't require patching. Even the PS3 is guilty of patching and updating games before you play them, and then it's not nearly as bad as the ones we have now. The Playstation 2 came at the time right before multiplayer went primarily online. There are still so many games with local multiplayer like the legendary title, Twisted Metal Black.
To say destroying your loved one's vehicles with missiles and miniguns is satisfying would be such an enormous understatement. You completely destroy them in huge gales of smoke and fire and it is glorious!
Baldur's Gate II: Dark Alliance is 100% co-op friendly. In fact, the game is easier with two people with the puzzles you need to solve. With one as a caster and another as a warrior, you can beat down your enemies with no problems and have a ton of fun while doing it. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is an amazing example of technology that is scarce even today. With such an enormous world to explore, having two people in one game to do it is something of a marvel in gaming in general.
There's a ton of local multiplayer options in the early to mid-2000's, and even into the PS3 era. Here at Planet Virtua, we're all about the physical media you can pop and play with a loved one. Christmas morning, don't forget the money-saving presents that can bring a family together. Even if it's a passing fancy, it gives them something that they can come back to. Just a few titles in your library like this and maybe a few for some self therapy with some good story.
