The Truth Behind Nostalgia and Games

[Thaius]

Umm... no. No, no, a million freaking times no.

I'll easily take Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy VI over most modern RPGs. I'll take Super Metroid over Metroid Prime any day. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is infinitely better than any of the 3D entries. And I only played these games in the last few years.

Just because the technology was limited doesn't mean the games weren't good. That's all there is to it. Just because modern games have 3D doesn't mean they're somehow automatically better than older ones. To say recent games are inherently better than older ones is like saying Casablanca is inherently worse than any movie made since color, which is simply not true at all. It's true that nostalgia can cloud one's vision, but your statement that "anyone with a working brain would choose the modern game" is extremely ignorant and shallow.

 

[FalloutJack]

Hmmm, sorry but no. Deluded nostalgia memories may sound compelling, but my memory isn't THAT bad.

Let's examine this, shall we? Game A is entirely retro and probably on someone's emulator by now. Game B is the world class ginormous title from Unspecified Gaming Company. (This assumes that it's not one of the really awesome ones - like Atlus - but the could-be-anyone corp.) Game A is simple and fun, and oh hey, you've still got the knack. Game B is complicated and maybe fun as well, depending on how it was built. Both are probably reasonably successful in their own times, but you know where you stand in Game A's territory.

Now, for specific obsessions. People play Halo like freakin' hell, earning whoever makes it shit-tons of money off of anyone who likes blowing stuff up. Yeah, them and every other FPS-maker. So, that being the case, nobody in the world should still be playing the original Doom series, right? Wrong. Much as it may surprise the errant reader, Doom brought about an almost cultish following in its violent death-binge which had only a semblance of a plot and an assload of gunfire. Sound familiar? Halo is merely doing the same thing for the next generation. Doesn't matter who spills the blood how.

RPGs are a nostalgia premium. You can't deny THEIR popularity when Square-plus-Enix can plunk a couple Final Fantasy games into a Playstation disc and make a profit. People still play every single Square game on the face of the Earth, regardless of era. Another good example is the Phantasy Star saga, a series of Sega-gen RPGs which eventually somebody decided to cock up. "Hey, I know! Let's change everything about Phantasy Star that made it good replace it with some MMO games that only have a small resemblance to that universe and PLOT!" If there are any PSO or PSU fans out there, I am sorry...but it's just not the same. Phantasy Star had dramatic moments long before Aeris died (or was, indeed, even born) and had story that was (except for PStar 3) comparable with Final Fantasy games, for certain.

At the moment, that's what my mind is stuck upon. I think I've said enough to make my point.

 

[Silver]

Well, some games do get worse with time, sure. Some games were just that good, and used their medium to their advantage. A game has to rely on something other than technical graphics to work. Planescape torment, for example, is a gorgeous game, and will always be a gorgeous game. Not because of high resolution, or lots of polys. But because of lovely art direction. It's just very pretty. Not as advanced as games today, or pretty in the same way, but pretty nonetheless. The same goes for Abe's Oddysee, and it also applies to gameplay. It's always going to be a very challenging game, in an enjoyable way. Super Mario Brothers as well. Curse of monkey island is always going to have a hilarious script, and a lovely story.

Some games just age well. Some don't. I used to love Earthworm Jim, and Dark forces 2. Nowadays they're almost unplayable, because gameplay has evolved, the graphics are just too dated in the latter (it relies on technical graphics, instead of good design), and they just become frustrating and headache-inducing. I still love the games, and that's sort of nostalgia, I guess, but I know I can't play them. With other games though, I'd be much happier to pick those up than many modern games.

 

[tenlong]

Say that modern games are better.

I fucking dare you.

The metal slug series is fucking awesome. ms2 is laggy at times though.