10 Classic Video Games That Play Horribly Today

10. Metroid (NES)

Rightly hailed as a classic, Metroid proved that Nintendo platformers didn't have to be about cutesy visuals and princesses in peril. Head-scratching puzzles added substance, and it also gave the world a kickass female protagonist in Samus Aran, long before Tomb Raider made them trendy.

But Metroid is a game that belongs back in the NES era, because tackling it today is about as much fun as extracting a tooth, minus anaesthetic.

The difficulty curve was artificially inflated because Nintendo didn't have the decency to fill your health bar to full, the levels are frustratingly maze-like and controls feel archaic. Forcing players to stand still to aim a shot just wasn't right.

Metroid at least brought fresh ideas, pitting players against a vast sci-fi world hiding untold secrets, but its layout was too repetitive and confusing to inspire exploration. Couple this with an imperfect interface and frustrating combat, and Samus's debut just doesn't hold up.

Metroid showed how forward-thinking Nintendo could be back in 1986, but as a formula, the Big N would only perfect it with Super Metroid on the SNES.