Nostalgia; in gaming terms it's often noted as a feeling which blinds us to a games true features and mechanics in exchange for the feelings we associate with it in general. I'm currently writing a few episodic reviews on games which challenge me to walk outside of my own nostalgia, and I felt it was important to get your input on what you feel is a nostalgia filled gaming journey to you? Nostalgia doesn't automatically make the game in question bad by the way, but I'm looking for games that genuinely make people nostalgic, and maybe an inclusion of an opinion as to whether you think they are good or bad outside of that feeling you get from it?
Who knows, maybe I'll do an episode where I cover the games mentioned by you too, so you can see how a player without the nostalgia goggle effect feels about it.
Get commenting guys, and most importantly, have fun!
Just this alone is topic for an episode of nostalgia goggles, I recently bought an N64, and I feel like there's every reason to make videos about it since I have literally ZERO nostalgia with the system.
When I hear the word nostalgia I always think of one thing: Sega Mega Drive.
I remember wondering what the hell it was when my dad brought it home. Opening the box and unfolding that huge poster with Sonic on one side and a ton of games on the other.
It was a simpler time back then. We poured hours into Fatal Labyrinth: a game with a grand total of 5 short, looped music tracks and the majority of the game taking place in similar looking rooms with a mere 3 different literal tile sets. Compared to a lot of games even then it was quite simple. Bad guy steals light of the world and lucky old you gets to walk through 30 floors of murderous things to get it back.
Similarly, the first RPG game I ever played was Super Hydlide. Considering the other games in this series I think I was lucky that I didn't play any of those. It possibly gets written off because of them. The graphics are fairly rudimentary and the gameplay is very unforgiving and often you have no idea what you're supposed to be doing. Secret passages, cryptic clues and general unfairness. Needless to say I was no good at this as a child and I still haven't managed to finish it and that's not for a lack of trying.
It employed a weight system where if you exceeded your load capacity you slowed down to a crawl. If you didn't eat breakfast, lunch and dinner you slowly died. If you didn't sleep you slowly lost the ability to effectively fight and eventually died. If your morality was in the negative you sometimes ended up falling into pits with no way out other than to teleport.
The worst aspect was the level grinding. It takes an obscene amount of time, even with the game speed set to ludicrous levels (an option that is mercifully available on the cartridge itself) it will take hours and hours... and hours of hitting things with sharp objects to gain enough experience to advance a level. Often you'll need to level up just so that you can carry enough of the essentials that you'll need to progress the game.
Those are just two of the games that I have a great amount of nostalgia for (I wont even bother mentioning Sonic etc, because they're classics that everyone and their dog know about and at least played). Even if they're rough around the edges, simple or just plain unfair at times there's just a certain magic about them for me.
As a kid, most of the games I played were either as smart or smarter than me in terms of story, and dialogue. This is bizarrely what made me enjoy them. I guess it helps to illustrate a believable world when you don't already understand everything that's happening.
As I play through old titles I thought had deep stories and intelligent dialogue as a kid (Ratchet and Clank) I realise that the game isn't smarter than me any more.
I wasn't able to embellish the details of these worlds with my own imagination and it leaves me with a real hollow, sad feeling.
I don't think I have a nostalgic game. Apart from maybe the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro games on the PS1 which i'm not sure if they were truly good from a gameplay perpective or if they were just entertaining to me as a kid.
Maybe because I found all the games I really love (Persona 4, Okami, Ace Attorney etc) after I turned 18 so there wasn't room for nostalgia goggles despite the age of the games.
I have a nostalgic film though. Bill and Ted. I loved those films when I was younger but I don't dare go back to them now because I fear I would ruin the nostalgia...
That is exactly what happened with Spaceballs. Remember that one film that parodied Star Wars? So bad....
I really thought "Jamming" the radar was genuinely hilarious when I was younger... Ugh. I will say that "combing the desert" and "ludicrous speed" halfway redeem that film. Almost.
Tetris on the gameboy is my most nostalgic game. Like, even though I have much better versions of the game already I still bought it again when it went on the 3DS eshop.
OT: Nostalgia can be both good and bad. If you can't see clear improvements to a series, and think less of an awesome new game because you don't have the nostalgic attachment then it's bad. If you're nostalgic whilst still seeing that most things you have nostalgia for aren't as good as you think it's alright.
Crash Team Racing is always fun to play, especially the Adventure.
Crash 3 also nostalgic and very replayable.
Crash 2 was amazing but playing it now is okay.
Crash 1 definitely hasn't aged well in my opinion, though I do enjoy playing it for the nostalgic value.
Zelda 2. I am currently replaying this as i type this . I absolutely love this game and it's difficulty . I realized why i love dark souls so much , it's because dark souls and zelda 2 are the exact same game .
Finalfantasy 1 , 4 and 6 . These were the only FF games available in Canads back in the day. I played the living hell out of them as a kid , and still go back every once in a while . Still love them , they are classics .
Crash bandicoot 1. My favorite of the series . The difficulty , the secrets , the overall enjoyability . Unfortunately i don't have the game anymore , but nothig in my mind compares to the road to nothingness ( anyone who played that game will definately remember that level).
Golden eye 007 . This game MADE console shooters popular , fuck the new kids and their Halo , golden eye is where it is at . Great levels, nice challenge , tons of secrets , awsome multiplayer . One of the few amazing games based on a movie based on a book .
Perfect dark . This game pefected what Golden eye 007 started . Also , Laptop gun . Can i get a HELLS YEAH.
PS1: FF7, Wipeouts 1-3, Colony Wars, Gran Tourismo, MGS, Medievil, Legacy of Kain, Diablo 2, Tomb Raider
I suppose having poor parents played a big part so I rented most of my games past the Speccy and up till buying a PC around 1999. The few games I did buy I made damn well sure they were great games. The only problem I have is of shitty arcade to 8/16bit computer ports, but I can ignore them and play the originals like I did when I was a kid at my local arcade.
Considering how cheap gaming is nowadays and the higher levels of piracy I wonder how many PS2 and current gen kiddies look back on their games.
HELLS YEAH! ...freakin' loved Perfect Dark 64 back in the day.
Anywho...
For me, my nostalgia goggles are firmly in place for the SNES. I'd have a really hard time being objective toward my favorite SNES games, since really... those are what got me into gaming. I'd spend sooo many hours playing UN Squadron, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, the three Donkey Kong Country games, Super Metroid, Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team... ahhh, nostalgia.
I am not sure I agree with this one. I mean yes I loved it on the N64 and I did buy the 360 HD remake. While it may not hold up to modern FPS games I think it holds up well.
They are not nostalgia goggles they are past tense contacts!
Also screw the laptop gun. Dragon is the way to go! Best secondary fire ever. It is scary how many of the guns and secondary fire modes I remember.
Dodgeball (NES) is still fun, I've played it about 2 decades after I first used to play it, still good. It's hard to take the fun out of super hadouken-ing someone (with what is supposedly a regulation standard dodgeball) into the atmosphere and watching them soar across the playing field 3 times before crashing down in a heap and dieing--plus a little angel rises from their corpse . A simple, but mostly skill-based game. It's still better than the remake they did for GBA.
India is still slow and boring (it's how the game programmed them!) to play against too.
I love me some Pokemon, have many many fond memories of playing Silver version.
I will never understand people who say that Goldeneye, and any other other pre-mouse aiming/second analog stick shooter, holds up (like Wolfenstein or Doom). You're literally running and gunning because you can hardly maneuver with those controls
PS2 has the best library imo due to it's size, variety and quality, the SNES is another one that is held up in the same regard but I do not hold that opinion.
In terms of sheer quality and nostalgia it's the N64 for me.
Also funny thing. I never played Lylat Wars (Or as we call it in the states, Star Fox 64) when it came out and I downloaded it onto my wii in...I think it was around 2008, 2009, that time period. And you know what? I thought it held up pretty well. Sure the graphics were ass by modern standards but the gameplay was damn good (but the underwater level...christ I hated that.). Challenging too. I seem to recall Star Wolf's boot being placed firmly up my ass during the final fight with them.
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