Do you like retro games?

[luigi_owns]

There was a blog article on this and i thought it made for some good debate. how do you guys see this decision. Zelda, metroid, and mario are my favorite series but i only liked the first mario game. i like exploration but not when i get lost b/c every room looks the same and i have no map. sight recognition is important to me. i dont even feel like the NES Era shaped the industry, they fixed alot for the SNES and thats what really changes it.

im curious to see your thoughts.

[MAGNUS-8M]

Well I'm not sure what angle to go on about this, but having played them when I was a kid, I find retro/NES games to be fun, challenging, and usually having an overall sense of polish to them, "weak" as the older systems were.

When I was a kid, I didn't quite appreciate Metroid. That's a good example of rooms looking identical to each other and getting lost. Now, though, I know exactly where I am and where I'm going(maybe getting a little lost in lower-Norfair's green rooms), and it's a lot more fun because of that.

I'm a bit of a stickler on hoping any Metroid II remake will not include a map. I think it's more challenging and rewarding to not rely on it to find all the Metroids - otherwise, it's just a simple matter of infiltrating every room, destroying everything, and completing the game. Without a map, you'll have to figure it out on your own, giving you a reason to explore, and to put out effort to not get lost. But with it, the game loses any real sense of challenge. It just becomes a means to ending the game faster, which to me, means that you're getting less play time out of it.

These days it almost seems like I enjoy retro or retro-themed games more than 'modern' games. I guess it must have something to do with just knowing a game was being played, rather than getting annoyed or feeling out of place if the game didn't keep up its intended mask of realism.

[Devil_Rising]

@Luigi_Owns
Sorry man, but having grown up in the NES era, I can absolutely say with extreme certainty that the NES had the most profound effect on the video game industry more-so than any other console.

Technology-wise, it innovated the concept of the d-pad, as well as the standard A and B type buttons, which would be copied by Sega and NEC (Turbo Graphx), among others. It also added the start and select button being on the controller.

It also innovated many conventions of gaming, within some of Nintendo's own main franchises, that are still used in most games today. For example:

Super Mario Bros. - First true side scrolling game, also set the convention for "platformer" type games, including physics, the idea of multiple power ups, level structure, worlds made of a set number of levels, boss battles at the end of each said world, hidden "bonus" areas in levels, etc. etc. etc.

The Legend of Zelda - First true free roaming adventure game. There were other similar games that predate this, but none with the true freedom of moving around an entire gaming world that Zelda provided. Also set the standard conventions for adventure and rpg games to come, with the "overworld" and "dungeon" mechanic of the gameplay, gaining money to buy upgrades, gaining permanent power ups/items, etc.

Metroid - Took Mario's Side Scrolling gameplay, which was still freshly innovative at the time, and expanded on it, not only including vertical scrolling levels in addition to the horizontal, but also providing free range to go back and forth in the gaming world as the player sees fit, making first real use of backtracking in an action game. Also took the Zelda idea of permanent upgrades to powers, and expanded it by having upgradable levels of your weapon and abilities throughout the game.

Punch Out - Not considered by many to be a "True" fighting game, but predated the original Street Fighter by introducing large, colorful characters into a fighting game environment, wherein each character has over the top personality, expression, and individual fighting styles and moves, each also complete with their own personal strengths and weaknesses. No fighting game before Punch Out (the first edition of which hit arcades in 1984), offered any of that. It even had the opponents facing in a pre fight "face off" screen, complete with personalized sayings and smack talk. All of these things would later be used in Street Fighter, Street Fighter II, and every single game that copied them for years.

Tetris - Not CREATED by Nintendo, but Alexey Pazhitnov's ingenious creation was first really introduced to the world at large through Nintendo, who had gotten the rights to it. Through the NES, but also even moreso the Game Boy, Tetris became a house-hold name, and the basic foundations of most puzzle games thereafter were set in the original classic.


Not to mention the fact that SO many great gaming franchises either saw their birth or had major appearances on the NES. No other system, even to this day, really had the sheer volume of great franchises all in one place that the NES did. I mean seriously:

Super Mario Bros.
The Legend of Zelda
Metroid
Kirby's Adventure (which was more popular than the original GB game Kirby's Dreamland)
Star Tropics
Punch Out
Excite Bike
Fire Emblem (in Japan)
Mother (also in Japan)
Famicom Wars (the precursor to GB Wars, Advance Wars, and Battalion Wars, in Japan)
Tetris
NES Open Tournament Golf (precursor to Mario Golf)
Castlevania
Contra
Ninja Gaiden
TMNT
Double Dragon
Battletoads
Final Fantasy
Dragon Quest
Ultima
Wizards & Warriors
R-Type
Gradius
Bubble Bobble
1942/1943
Bionic Commando
Adventure Island
Bonk's Adventure
Star Soldier
Rygar
Joe & Mac
Mighty Final Fight
Mega Man
Ghosts n Goblins
Gargoyle's Quest 2
River City Ransom
Prince of Persia
Ikari Warriors
Metal Gear
Batman
Rampage
Tecmo Bowl
etc. etc. etc., the list goes on

The SNES was an amazing console, and had/has an amazing library of games, but while it certainly had better looking games than the NES, and was superior at least in it's selection of fighting games and rpgs (two genres that didn't really take off in a big way until the SNES era anyway), I would still have to say the NES was king.

[Mr V]

i LOVE retro games like mario,zelda,metroid and ofc castlevania and yesterday i managed to beat castlevania 3 and its AWESOME but really really really HARD :O

[luigi_owns]

@Luigi_Owns
Sorry man, but having grown up in the NES era, I can absolutely say with extreme certainty that the NES had the most profound effect on the video game industry more-so than any other console.

Technology-wise, it innovated the concept of the d-pad, as well as the standard A and B type buttons, which would be copied by Sega and NEC (Turbo Graphx), among others. It also added the start and select button being on the controller.

Super Mario Bros.
The Legend of Zelda
Metroid
Kirby's Adventure (which was more popular than the original GB game Kirby's Dreamland)
Star Tropics
Punch Out
Excite Bike
Fire Emblem (in Japan)
Mother (also in Japan)
Famicom Wars (the precursor to GB Wars, Advance Wars, and Battalion Wars, in Japan)
Tetris
NES Open Tournament Golf (precursor to Mario Golf)
Castlevania
Contra
Ninja Gaiden
TMNT
Double Dragon
Battletoads
Final Fantasy
Dragon Quest
Ultima
Wizards & Warriors
R-Type
Gradius
Bubble Bobble
1942/1943
Bionic Commando
Adventure Island
Bonk's Adventure
Star Soldier
Rygar
Joe & Mac
Mighty Final Fight
Mega Man
Ghosts n Goblins
Gargoyle's Quest 2
River City Ransom
Prince of Persia
Ikari Warriors
Metal Gear
Batman
Rampage
Tecmo Bowl
etc. etc. etc., the list goes on

The SNES was an amazing console, and had/has an amazing library of games, but while it certainly had better looking games than the NES, and was superior at least in it's selection of fighting games and rpgs (two genres that didn't really take off in a big way until the SNES era anyway), I would still have to say the NES was king.

Sorry I didn't mean franchises. I meant style of games. I would pay 50$ for a Lttp sequel that played like Lttp but I wouldnt pay 5$ for Loz NES. I just dont like that style. I get what you mean about franchises and controls shaping the industry. I just think the way games are created now cant relate to NES very much.

BTW I grew up in the n64 era but i love SNES so i dont hate retro completely...

[mariomaniac45213]

I like retro games. I have so many VC games but if I had to choose I would choose Modern games. Don't get me wrong they were great for there time (some are still good today.) but too me they feel boring. I have 31 Wii games and 50 VC games. I barely touch the VC games. I got a lot of them to see some of the franchises origins that were in SSBB. Zelda for instance never played 1 before so I ran out and bought TP and Crossbow Training loved them both then I bought everyone on VC and didn't enjoy any of them but ALTTP. Metroid is another example bought Prime 3 enjoyed that a lot. Then bought Metroid and Super Metroid on VC and just can't get into them. (I also bought the Trilogy and hate the first Prime's just not a metroid person) There has been some instances though like Punch-Out!! saw Little Mac in Brawl. Decided to try out Punch-Out!! through VC and loved it and Super. Good thing the new one got announced and now i'm in love with the new one more. So yeah I will take modern games over older games any day. (Mario, Kirby, DK and old Pokemon console games are still fun)

[Autosaver]

"New Punch Out Announced"

Wasn't it announced like, when the Wii came out? :p They also gave out a free version which I have. ^_^

[tomtom2play]

@ Devil_Rising

I grew up in the NES era as well. Metroid was the first game I ever bought and I loved it. I almost bought Kid Icarus. Glad I did not make that mistake. I don't undersatnd the love for that game. Everyone I knew hated that game.
I do have one I would respectfully disagree with you on... namely Rygar. That game was terribly hard to finish.

[Devil_Rising]

Dude, Rygar is indeed RETARDED hard. But just like Ninja Gaiden and Ghosts n Goblins, it's still a classic.

[tomtom2play]

@ Devil _rising
You are absolutely right. I think modern games are nowhere near as sadistic as they used to be. The skill is just not required anymore.
I beat Ghost and Goblins, but, never finished Ninja Gaiden....couldn't get past the third stage. Maybe i need to go back to it.

[Styster]

I grew up playing games even in the NES era, but I was really too young to remember them. My most nostalgic memories come from SNES/Genesis era.

So while I'm really not a fan of retro games at all, I can really see how they shaped the industry and I understand their importance. I'm not blind to their faults like a lot of people seem to be, though. Just because they are important and industry-shaping games doesn't make their good games TODAY - standards have changed.

There are exceptions, of course.

[Devil_Rising]

I'm sorry man, maybe this comment is "out of line", but personally I really fail to see how anyone can honestly call themselves a gamer, when they claim to not like retro games, AT ALL. The only "standards" that have changed, are those modern gamers who value graphics or online over actual substance. Just my opinion.

Also my opinion, I've got to say, for all the fancy graphics, and physics engines, and 200 person multiplayer and all this other stuff that modern, 3D, HD games have going for them, classic games, for whatever "faults" you seem to be insinuating, will always have one thing that makes them vastly superior. They're actually FUN to play. As in more than one play through.

Make no mistake, the only thing that's gotten "better" about video games in the last 20 years, is graphics and technology. The games themselves, as much as I love some modern games, a lot, have generally gone steadily downhill, in terms of actual game quality, and "fun factor", I.E. being able to go back and play a game at any time, because it's awesome. Classic games have that in abundance, and are something people collect with good reason. Modern games, people buy (or rent), beat to see the story, and then trade it in for the next new game.

I guess I could just simply this post by saying: Retro > Modern.

Classic games that were awesome 20+ years ago, are STILL awesome today, because their gameplay stands the test of time. Period.

[Styster]

Wow, man, you're really assuming a lot from a simple statement I made. I'm not claiming that there are NO good retro games - when I said I'm not a fan of retro games, I don't mean that I don't enjoy Super Mario Brothers, Punch Out, or other classic games like those. For those kinds of games, your argument works just fine.

But I think it's ridiculous to say that the only ways games have evolved is through graphics. Take a look at a game like Final Fantasy. Even completely ignoring graphics and technology, the amount of thought and work that goes in balancing the battle system and crafting the story now is light years ahead of what they used to do. Even if you like the first game, you can't say that the only improvements when they got to FF4 or 6 were graphics alone.

Games like Adventure are the same way. It is a retro game and it may have been fun at the time, but when I try to play it now I'm bored out of my mind.

I'm not saying that games are more fun now because they are easier - rather, than challenge now comes from somewhere rather than the limitations of the system itself. Rarely now do I feel nowadays like I've died because of poor hit detection, or get completely lost because the game gives me no clue at all what to do. Developers have been learning how to make games better outside of just graphics.

The way you're talking is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about - saying that all retro games are fun to play, and lamenting the fall of actual fun in video games. Just because a game is retro does not make it a classic and, amazingly enough, some games now-a-days are MORE FUN than some old games.

[tomtom2play]

I think it's just the era of gaming you grew up with. I'm with Devil_rising in that I like the NES era the most, but, I was 13 when the NES came out. My little brother, who is 14 years younger than me loves the PS1, but, that's what he played.
I'm sure somwhere on this rock someone loves playing Pong.

[drew]

Uh, not quite Pong, but I've a soft spot for the 2600, Donkey Kong (before Rare messed him up. Cranky Kong? no.) Pac-man, Galaga, etc. The Nes was certainly the most creative time in the genre, as they pretty much reinvented the wheel. The SNES, while it had it's share of truly enjoyable games, often felt like the older games with some graphical/ sonic polish. I was surprised to see Mega man X and not Super Mega Man. Super Contra, Super Metroid, Super Castlevania... No wonder I bought a Genesis! I had basically played all those games!

Now, if we are talking about retro revival, as in the rebirth series, the Blaster Master remake, or the Mega Man sequels, well, I like those too. I would like some kind of order affixed though, or a least a promise. I would like a promise that Mega man 5 and 6 will come to the VC eventually, not to mention numerous old-school classics, before new editions appear.

[Shiiva_Wilding]

Most modern gaming has become mind numbing for me to be perfectly honest. The only game I've wanted this year is Metroid: Other M but apart from that, give me a retro game any day! Currently playing through some games like... Ocarina of time (again!) and Lylat Wars trying for all the medals all over again. Apart from that, I write to fill the void left by below par games (to me anyway, other people have LOADS of games to quench the thirst)

[thelonehuman]

As someone who was a younger kid in the N64-Gamecube era, I'd have to say that I like...Retro games much better. I don't know what it is, but the challenging gameplay, 8/16 bit graphics, and music of the era appeals to me greatly. New games just aren't as hard, which is what I like in games. I don't want to just pick up a game for $50 and beat it in a day or two and then leave it behind forever. With my VC games, it takes me forever to beat them (Still haven't conquered Castlevania after a few months at it) and they retain a ton of replay value for a much lower price. There are modern games I love, but when it comes down to it I'd prefer a good round of Castlevania or Punchout!! to any of them.

[Mako]

I used to absolutely love playing Mario games on my GBA, had no idea they were remakes of the older games until much later. So yeah, retro games are awesome. Well at least the ones that I have played so far. Classic Zelda was much harder than the current ones imo.

[Devil_Rising]

Personally, I feel like kids who grew up in these later gaming eras, and have NEVER even played any of the 8 and 16 bit classics, are really missing out. I was born in 1981. My first system was a hand me down Atari 2600 from one of my cousins. The first game I remember playing, or trying to, was Pac-Man (and also Dig Dug) in the arcade at Round Table, when I was like 4. I grew up playing NES, and that damned system was my world as a kid (well okay, besides books and monster movies). I remember renting games whenever my grandmother would let me, from the All the Best Video, and I swear I rented well over half of what they had in stock. Even if a game was outright terrible (like Defenders of Dynatron City, look it up), I would STILL always try to beat them if I could.

Course in the early 90s I finally got a Game Boy, and later a SNES. I don't really know how to describe it to people who weren't there, but that was a different time for gaming. Back when going to the arcade really meant something, back before game reviews were basically just paid trolling, back before all the internet news everyday, when magazines like Nintendo Power, Game Pro and EGM were actually good. Great time to be a gamer, honestly.

I think all gamers should do themselves a favor, and if nothing else at least look up some roms of classic gaming. Just to EXPERIENCE it. It's not the same as playing the actual system, but still, it should be like "required reading" for any gamer.

[TheGreekDollmaker]

Metal Gear

Metal Gear actually started in the MSX Computer but that was only released on japan...
...so yeah.

Snip

Well i kinda one of those kids...kinda.You see i was unfortunate to be born in an Southen Europian country that has certainly have had better days thus i wasnt able to live the huge Golden Age of Videogames as america potrays it.

Fortunatly i was lucky enough to have a variety of old school consoles with a decent amount of games.Incidently my favorite of those was the Atari Jaguar O_o.I had an NES,Famicon,Super Famicon,Game Boy Color,Master System,Sega Genesis,Some atari console and a VC 4000.And i was a huge PC fan back before the age of DRMs and the internet, when being a computer geek in the country i live wasnt completly unknow.

Personally i think that if you are a gamer it would be perferable if you atleast playied a few or had some basic knowlage of the videogame industry from the NES days and beyond.

Its kinda like film.If your a movie buff it doenst hurt to have a basic knowlage of older films before Star Wars made everyone into Geeks.Films like MEtropolis for example.

[Devil_Rising]

Yeah, I know Metal Gear started on another console/computer, and I know the NES version was kinda gimped. I was just mentioning it for the simple reason that it was one of many great games/series featured on the NES.

And while I lived through the "Golden Age of Gaming", I do kind of feel ya. I was very poor growing up, so I always got my systems later than most other kids. For instance, by the time I actually owned my own SNES, the Saturn and Playstation had just recently come out, though I did get to play SNES at my friend's houses. Hell, I didn't even know what the Sega Master System was until I read about it in a magazine, because I'd just literally never heard of it, the stores in my town growing up just didn't carry it. They had the Genesis and Game Gear, but never the Master System, that I remember.

But yeah, anyone who considers themselves more than just a casual gamer (in other words a "gaming buff"), owes it to themselves to have at LEAST played some of the biggest classics one time, I.E. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, Sonic, Street Fighter II, etc. Same with movies. Or music. For anyone to truly appreciate and love something, they really do need to know about and even experience if they can, the history of the thing, where it came from, it's progression to how it became what it is now, etc.

Me personally, I guess I'm just an "old school" kind of guy, because for the most part, I love classic games far more than I do modern ones. I love classic movies way more than I do most modern ones. I love, to some extent, older music more than I do modern music (meaning my favorite stuff is mainly from the 60s, 70s, or 80s, with some from 90s).

[thresholdXCI]

I love a lot of retro games, and there's definitely a reason behind the recent surge of revivalism in the industry (primarily with 2D platformers like Mega Man 9+10, NSMBros. etc). There's a certain simplicity behind the games and a unique charm to them. I'm a younger gamer (19) and despite fooling around with my dad's Atari 2600 when I was 3 or 4 my first console was a Playstation when I was 8. So to enjoy games like Mega Man and Excitebike - I know it isn't just nostalgia talking.

That said, I equally enjoy the games that are coming out nowadays. Because they offer their own unique positives (whether it be cinematics, truer representations of designers' artistic visions, advances in multiplayer with the internet or whatever) that you just don't get from games that came out in the '70s, '80s or early '90s.

I don't understand how people think the greatest era of gaming has gone. I think it's probably that elitist mentality of people trying to convince other people that they missed out. We're getting so much variety these days, I have to imagine that it's hard for no-one to be left unpleased.

[YoshiAngemon]

You kidding? I LOVE Retro games! I mean, come on. I practically grew up on gaming! I'm about as old as the Super Mario Bros. Series. Of course, I didn't really start until a few years later, like 1989.

[viejodani]

I love them, and mani of the classics are testament of good game design and replayability, things I rarely see in most recent games.

I have been playing since the Atari and only Atari, NES and SNES give me the best memories of gaming in my life

[TUMF]

I love retro and modern games, but I lean more towards retro. N64 is my favorite system, and I adore anything including or remotely resembling Mario.