Shadowgate

Shadowgate's frigging mint. I remember playing it as a wee lad, with the skeleton standing in the lake freaking me out more than that damn Steven King's It. I never figured it out too well back then, but it sure was pleasing, what with the hit-yourself-in-the-face ability.
Back then, this was on the NES mind you, the still, drawn images did look quite well detailed, and the mood the game has is very distinct. Some games can get by on mood, like this game's bastard sister, Swords & Serpents.

All that game was Awesome Tunage. I love Shadowgate. The other day, me and a oldschool Nintendo battle brother fought bravely through as far as we could go again it, till our torches choked out, but we made some decent headway.
Turns out, and I never got to see this far as a little kid, that eventually, you do get to use the sword and other weaponry loots you acquire earlier. Buddy hacks a spear at a troll, he falls off of a bridge, we proceed into some fort, and some sphinx angrily blasts us out of his room for getting a riddle wrong, and a Troll eats our hero. Cool.
This game is a worthy component of those glory days, where games were 15 minutes stretched into vile repetition for memory work stretching unto one's whole life were it not for the presence of strategy guides, and all the other lads telling you where to go in the game. And I'm sure it has devoured its share of thrown Nintendo controllers.
I have no complaints about the game, its pretty colours and aimless wandering is all one should really expect from a game. I guess maybe it could have been improved with some account for reflexive ability, rather than problem solving skills, but that's a genre thing. And of course, there's always the morons who get all worked up over the comparative lack of gravy this game has over newer games.
But I put forth, this game is more enjoyable than Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. Shadowgate's colours are sexier, the setting is more streamlined, the ambience is less nauseating, and the game has less tedium, which is astounding for a game that primarily consists of wandering around clicking on walls.
It's a fallacy to say the same game becomes less enjoyable as time goes by. This game shall rule forever, and I shall probably never beat it. But damn it's cool. Get it.