What would $20 get you in your preferred gaming genre?
Most of us can probably rattle off crazy expensive examples of some of the best and most hard to come by games in our preferred genres of games, and gaming itself has a bit of a reputation for being an expensive hobby. The question here though is to pick something that can be had for not a lot but still might interest people in your given genre, or get them started in it (though you need not do the "gentle introduction" approach for this -- suggest Dark Souls if you want to introduce someone already versed in gaming to the Souls approach to the world). It still wants to be active in some capacity if you are suggesting a multiplayer game. For instance many would hold up the Sega Saturn version of Bomberman as one of the finest ever made, however even assuming someone has a working Saturn then a non Japanese copy of that game frequently clocks hundreds. Far more agreeable would the XBLA versions of Bomberman, or maybe Bomberman 2 on the DS if you can get past the gangly beanpole bombers.
This is part of a series on GBAtemp where we contemplate various game industry concepts, aspects of computer game culture, discuss ways games might improve, share interesting technical concepts and otherwise ponder things that are of interest to games but not necessarily news, reviews or analysis of current events.
Previously we discussed games you play by your own rules.
the state of VR and 3D and whether they had once more failed to take hold, the last game skill you unlearned, The game you invested the most money in, times where people said gameplay styles would not work for a platform, the value of online play, emulation vs hardware, a favoured game style that might have become less common in recent times, skills one might have learned or honed because of a game, games on the PS4 and Xbone that will stand the test of time, games that got better after launch, cancelled games and shuttered devs, and story canon in games.
Or if you prefer "What hobby can you pick up for not much money, gaming genres/gameplay styles edition?". Name a genre/gameplay style and a game someone might be able to pick up for it for fairly common, or easily emulated, hardware, and give a few lines on why you picked that one. What might they progress to afterwards if they like it? If it is a free game by all means suggest a good controller for it instead.