The 'take a step back' movement

[The Funslinger]

And oh, believe me, if there was ANY WAY I could get my hands on either a Dreamcast or an SNES... hooh...

My friend collects retro consoles and has both of those. My ex-girlfriend also has a NES.

OT: My ebay order came in early. A PS1 game that defined my childhood, and yet nobody has ever heard of it:

Tobal No.1!

This game was released in 1996, and I spent seven years playing it nonstop.


The graphics have such a unique style that they don't feel all that outdated, and the fighting system is so fluid! Really look at it, and you'll see some great subtleties that are lost in a lot of modern fighting games!

 

[ElPatron]

I have played the Hitman games again. They are just awesome.

I am still playing the original Operation Flashpoint. Some missions are just sadistic.



I have to agree with that video (specially because 5secondfilms). But I can't say that it's the truth.

I found a lot of things to be worse than I remember, but let's not forget that there were a lot of games back then. 80% aged like milk (lol), but 20% aged like wine.

Plus designs of games were horrible back then, nowadays game developers actually put a lot of work with test groups and stuff like map markers into making sure the player actually has an idea of where they are meant to be going and what they are meant to be doing. The amount of times I would get stuck in some old game because I saved and went to bed and the next day I couldnt remember that one piece of dialouge that said to go west or whatever...ARGHHH!!

It sounds nice in theory, but in practice it results in devs holding hands with the player trough the game.

Part of my childhood was all about getting stuck in games, and I thought that I ended up evolving as a player. Nope. It's just the hand-holding.

The most recent game I got stuck in was God of War: Ghost of Sparta. It was frustrating, but rewarding.

 

[Zeckt]

I played Septerra core for 2 hours today, horaay for obscure jrpg inspired western developed games. I also played the original lands of lore and am currently at the white tower and am taking a break.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

EDIT: And oh, believe me, if there was ANY WAY I could get my hands on either a Dreamcast or an SNES... hooh...

Spoiler: Independently owned shops. Small gushy paragraph ahead

If you're in the U.S. look for a Play-N-Trade. It's a franchise made up of individually owned shops under the same name where you can try-before-you buy. You can trade in games from any generation, rent games and, they can repair disc-based games. Since it's a franchise, each shop is held to a certain set of universal prices but many of the guys running the shop are up for negotiations. I got an SNES from the one near me for about $35 or $40, was able to use it before the purchase too. I also got a Virtual Boy from the same store (with a game thrown in).

That being said, there's always amazon and, ebay. I just got an NES from amazon for relatively cheap and it's working nicely for me.

Personally I haven't bought many modern games. I've been buying games for my 3DS but my last big, new console games were Saint's Row 3 and, Skyrim (picked up on the same day). I plan on grabbing Xenoblade Chronicals (spending extra at Amazon because Gamestop makes enough money and needs the competition). I've been trying to rebuild my childhood collections for the SNES and I've started an NES collection as well. Since I missed out the first time around, I'm also grabbing Gamecube games. Finally, I've warmed up to the Wii in a big way recently. It's my current favorite modern home-console.

 

[uhddh]

I went back and replayed OoT on the N64 a while ago. It's much harder now because I'm no longer used to the controls. unfortunately my PS2 decided to catch a serious case of dying over the four or so years since I last used it, so there go all my favourites from 2000 - 2006

 

[Skuggen]

I keep digging out my old Dungeon Keeper 2 and Wizardry 8.

For those of you who havn't played those GoG got the DK 2. Well worth your money.

As for the Wizardry. That is a different beast a lot harder to get a hold off.

That being said I am still enjoying modern gaming. The indie market is booming with funny little titles playing to your nostalgia and the triple A market has gotten me very interested.

Does the GoG version of DK 2 work on Win 7? I have seen alot of cases where it crashes all the time. I love the series

I always play Original War 1-2 times a year. Still have the old CD's. The best strategy game I have ever played. And it's still a good looking game.

 

[SargentToughie]

Snip

I think I said in the OP that I don't have any intention on abandoning modern gaming completely. Believe me when I say that I have every intention of supporting indie developers and developers that don't clog their games with player-screwing nonsense, I just want to take a step back, spend some time on an older system, and remember what it was that got me so passionate about games in the first place, that's all.

And as for the extra credits video? I kinda have to disagree with him. The weight of his argument relies on the fact that used games sales are a real thing and that shelf space is relevant? What happens when games go all digital, which is only a matter of time? Steam games that are on sale are almost always best sellers, no matter what the game is, and Skyrim has been a best seller since November of last year.

Through just something as simple as slashing the price of your game, you unleash the floodgates to a whole new mass market of people willing to consume your game. I'm not saying it's going to make you the MOST amount of money possible, but you have to admit that it's better then jipping the customer out of their content or holding the online portion of the game because you don't trust that they bought the game new.

I can see where he's coming from though, I guess... I just don't see eye to eye with him this time.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Yeah, let's go back to the old days!
*snip*

I could do this all day.

Yeah, the relative proportions of garbage games hasn't changed, but I don't see what shovelware has to do with not wanting to put up with DLC, DRM and activation codes.

That said, the OP is being somewhat unfair to the booming Indie game scene, which has a lot of the quality and focus on older gameplay he wants, but with less of the nickel-and-diming nonsense.
(not devoid of it; there's still overpriced DLC/Activation codes for stuff like Dungeon Defenders)

....Besides, when I want to discard all the modern bling and just focus on core essentials for a while, I whip out X-COM, Fire&Ice or Megaman X 1&2.

 

[Fappy]

I play old games all the time. My SNES, NES, Genesis and N64 are all currently hooked up to my old tube. Some of my other old stuff is sitting in a closet at the moment >.>

 

[teqrevisited]

I'll be going back to it in full force again in a day or so. My brother's been moving up the console generations. Started him on the Mega Drive and PS1 and now he's been given a PS2 so I'll be reliving my early 2000s. Star Wars: Battlefront, NFSU, Gran Turismo and Devil May Cry to name a few. DMC is going to be one hell of a laugh for me.

 

[DoPo]

Does the GoG version of DK 2 work on Win 7? I have seen alot of cases where it crashes all the time. I love the series

Yes, it works. Or at least it should do. GOG does ensure that their games can be played on Vista/7. I have played DK2 on Windows 7 but it wasn't the GOG version.

 

[wooty]

I play the old games sometimes, but not that often. I play games to pass the time to be honest and I'll mostly play anything.

As long as I'm entertained then I dont give a shit what I play or on what system.

 

[Chemical Alia]

I play through my old games probably more often than my newer ones. Not because I think they represented a "better era" of gaming, but because I still enjoy them. I just recently played through King's Quest VII, Ecco the Dolphin, and a bit of Super Mario Sunshine and Paper Mario, it's awesome.

For me I think the main reason is, a lot of my older games are easier to sit down and play for a few minutes or an hour here or there, as opposed to a new game where I have to dedicate a lot time which I don't have at the moment. I still haven't even played the second half of Gears of War 3, lol.

I don't think I'll be joining any movements, but I do encourage people to dust off and play their old games from time to time.

 

[GonzoGamer]

I'm way ahead of you OP.
I haven't given up on this gen either but I generally only borrow or rent now. Then if I like something, I'll get GOTY. It's just easier than keeping track of all the updates and spending all the extra money.
The ps2 still gets a lot of play in my home. It helps that they haven't been able to make a Burnout or GTA that tops Revenge or San Andreas.
It also helps that most of my friends never moved on to the ps360 from the ps2.