I once asked before what classic (pre infinity engine) D&D are worth playing, especially now that that they're on GOG (except dragonlance, which I was actually interested in). Honestly of the bunch, I think Curse of the Azure Bonds has the most interesting concept. But are any of these games worth playing without nostalgia and especially because, I feel, the Infinity/Aurora engine games are highly superior. I mainly look for story and an overall a unique experience. Games that would qualify are the Ultima series, Might & Magic series, and Starflight I/II.

Gonna be honest - it would be very hard to step back that far in time. I played several of these when they were fresh, and it was often challenging back then, with no automaps and some really clunky interfaces. I played the earliest ones before I owned a mouse.

If you really want to find the best parts of cRPGs from that era, I'd recommend Wasteland or Dragon Wars before any of the Gold Box games, as classic as they are.

Thanks for replying. I would like to play Dragon Wars, not so much Wasteland as Fallout is pretty similar in terms of story and experience. And that's all it really comes down to for me, story and experience. So don't worry if it's challenging, like I said, I like Ultima and Might & Magic despite the earliest ones being primitive. But like with wasteland, I feel a game like Baldurs Gate and the countless NWN modules deem them unnecessary since they're similar. In fact, you can play Pool on NWN2. I guess I already know the answer, I just want someone else to convince me.

I've always liked treasures of the savage frontier. Fairly open world with lots to do. My favorite ones are the Dark Sun crpgs which unfortunately are not on GoG, yet.

I enjoyed all of the ones on GoG at one point or another - though most would seem pretty dated by now.