Recommend games for my son

**Dudebro** · 12-02-2017, 09:44 PM

I'm looking to get my son into some older games but I'm not sure where to start. He's five and so far he's only played a handful of games and he picks them up pretty easily but most of the ones I have are too graphically violent for him. I'm not too concerned about violent games but it's probably not healthy for him to see people being beheaded and/or screaming in pain(Skyrim yo). He plays some good ones already, like Plants vs Zombies, Minecraft, WiiSports, Animal Crossing, ect but my library of games is almost all rated M or way above his understanding(I love me some slow strategy games).

I'll be playing on PC with a 360 controller. He has almost zero experience with platformers and I'm not keen on trying those out with him because I think he'll get frustrated easily like I do. He doesn't like stuff that seems like it's for little kids so don't bother with any Color a Dinosaur or the like. That being said there's no bad suggestions so fire away. Like pretty much everyone else I'm not that active on RU anymore but I'll be checking back periodically to check this topic and hopefully post more to breath some life back into the site.

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**ARedLetterDay** · 12-02-2017, 10:30 PM

Guardian's Crusade.

**Dudebro** · 12-03-2017, 02:11 AM

Thanks for the suggestion but I meant games we have on RU. I bet he'd like that game though.

**Kong** · 12-03-2017, 12:51 PM

Not sure what the current generation will think of these but I had a physical one when I was 7 and loved it. 2-XL Talking Robot Emulator Is mostly trivia for kids and choose your own adventure stories.

Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion - Sega Genesis
Aladdin - Sega Genesis
Search for disney

**Slime Slayer** · 12-03-2017, 07:23 PM

My kids like the stuff similar to what Kong posted, video game versions of cartoons essentially. That and Boogerman.

**StarfoxFan2009** · 12-03-2017, 08:29 PM

Lion King, Quackshot, Sonic... x3

**ARedLetterDay** · 12-03-2017, 09:10 PM

Phantom 2040 for either system. Any of the Jurassic Park games.

**Dudebro** · 12-03-2017, 10:47 PM

Thanks guys I'll try these out this weekend. Keep it coming.

**Kong** · 12-04-2017, 11:22 AM

**bald bull** · 12-04-2017, 04:42 PM

Hard Head - Arcade/Coin-Op

**Slime Slayer** · 12-05-2017, 08:26 PM

Also, if they get tired of games, I hear good things about those Spider-Man and Elsa videos on YouTube.

**Dudebro** · 12-07-2017, 01:08 AM

Thanks for all the suggestions. I got a lot to go through but keep them coming if you think of more. I'll report back if he likes any.

**sabby** · 12-09-2017, 12:25 PM

Can never go wrong with the classics, can you?

Legend of Zelda
Metroid

RPG Favorites
Dragon Warrior Series
Final Fantasy Series
Phantasy Star Series

Others I enjoyed
The Guardian Legend
Battle of Olympus
Blaster Master

I tried to stay away from platformers but here are some good ones:
Mega Man Series
Kid Icarus (I will beat this some day)

These are games I repeatedly go back to, but everyone has their own taste.

**Dudebro** · 12-10-2017, 06:58 AM

Those are great games Sabby but I think most would be a little too hard/boring for him right now. That being said though I have been telling him about them as bedtime stories. He really liked my summations of Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy 1. Maybe tonight I'll tell him about Mega Man, who doesn't like robot kids killing themed bosses?

**Slime Slayer** · 12-10-2017, 03:58 PM

How far have you gotten in Kid Icarus Sabby? I found the difficulty for that game to be the opposite of what it should be, it literally gets easier and easier as the game goes on, with the first stage being by far the hardest,

**CrispyChicken** · 12-12-2017, 04:42 AM

Some games I loved to play as a child:
Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday - Super Nintendo
Speedy Gonzales: Los Gatos Bandidos - Super Nintendo
Bugs Bunny - Nintendo Game Boy

I would also suggest pretty much any Kirby game:
Search for kirby

Kirby 64, Nightmare in Dreamland, and Amazing Mirror are a little bit on the easier side for a kid

If he'd like to play a more simple RPG, obvious choice is Pokemon
You can pick any of Pokemon Red, Blue, Gold, Silver, Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald

**Slime Slayer** · 12-12-2017, 08:34 PM

If I'm not mistaken, both kart 8 deluxe and that yoshi woolie world have child/parent mode. I guess the idea is that the kid gets some heavy handicap so that it's fun for both players.

**sabby** · 12-18-2017, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dudebro

Those are great games Sabby but I think most would be a little too hard/boring for him right now. That being said though I have been telling him about them as bedtime stories. He really liked my summations of Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy 1. Maybe tonight I'll tell him about Mega Man, who doesn't like robot kids killing themed bosses?

That's so cool!! It's great that you can make stories for your son based on these games.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevencassidy13

How far have you gotten in Kid Icarus Sabby? I found the difficulty for that game to be the opposite of what it should be, it literally gets easier and easier as the game goes on, with the first stage being by far the hardest,

Only a couple of levels at any one given time (I don't think I have made it to a boss). Those first levels are VERY unforgiving.

**RegalSin** · 12-27-2017, 09:54 PM

OP makes a fine point as the policing of the world continues to decays everybody lives. Like I saw this kid play a fighting game or gun game and it did a close up of the bullet or knife slicing the other player. Even so I would say Mother 3 for a decent RPG on the GBA unofficially released Bomberman N64 for a good puzzle and four player action StarFox SNES and Starfox 2 if he likes strategy. Shadowrun for RPG on the SNES or Genesis but the SNES is the one that the PC game was based on. Rockman of course. Megaman can never go wrong with Megaman. ...........Otherwise I would think about looking into games rather then running with them

**david man45** · 01-17-2018, 08:18 PM

In like 5 years theres so many awesome games but 5 year olds i assume cant handle too much complexity or story. And its not such a bad thing to have kids deal with loss or with their own frustration. Plus who *doesnt* rage at video games? Theres probably something to say about modern games and narcissism but i digress... i think platformers would be the right path to go; Theres frogger 2 for ps1 along with rayman 2 spiro and both croc 1 and 2. These are just open-world enough to avoid that sort of 'play and die play and die' problem a kid might run into. The donkey kong country series as well. resident evil might be a little too horror for a kid but i'd consider it. Oh, try to see if your kid can figure out how to play mario's time machine. To this day i can't play it.

**Razeluxe** · 03-11-2018, 05:53 PM

I'd say Sunset riders could be okay. While being about shooting bad guys, the wild west setting and general arcadiness of it I think would be fine.
Mario Kart, of course.
If you think he has any interest in RPGs, Super Mario RPG is a very good starter.

ooh, Kirby games would be perfect. Yeah, they're platformers, but they've always been very accessible to just about anyone.

**Kong** · 03-11-2018, 06:38 PM

Sunset Riders is a good one for kids.
Sunset Riders - Arcade/Coin-Op

Also maybe these. They are a bit harder but cartoony.
Stone Ball - Arcade/Coin-Op
Whizz - Super Nintendo

**Dudebro** · 03-11-2018, 08:37 PM

Lots of good suggestions. I remember really liking Sunset Riders so I'll give that a whirl. He showed some interest recently while watching the RU Youtube channel but the games he likes are pretty hard, like Super Ghouls and Ghosts. He liked what he saw of River City Ransom so I'm gonna try that soon. I gotta find my xbox 360 controller though, playing on a keyboard is kind awkward.

**Winnebagel** · 04-12-2018, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dudebro

Lots of good suggestions. I remember really liking Sunset Riders so I'll give that a whirl. He showed some interest recently while watching the RU Youtube channel but the games he likes are pretty hard, like Super Ghouls and Ghosts. He liked what he saw of River City Ransom so I'm gonna try that soon. I gotta find my xbox 360 controller though, playing on a keyboard is kind awkward.

A few of my faves from that age were Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, and the old TMNT games. How old is your son now DB?

**Dudebro** · 04-13-2018, 12:46 AM

He's six and I can't get him into retro games yet. I think if I got set up with some two player game like River City Ransom he might see the light though.