Why do we love retro games?

A

Akira

I like to think of EarthBound as my favorite retro game (and also my favorite overall game) but with all of today's advanced graphics and whatnot why does this still appeal to me so much? Perhaps it brings about nostalgic thoughts (I am a very nostalgic person) or perhaps it was the actual gameplay itself. It's true that video games were a huge part of my childhood and they helped define my interests that I have nowadays. Play me a song from EarthBound, Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger, or FF VII and I will instantly revert back to my childhood. I love these games much more than the multimillion dollar slick and shiny video games that are on the market now. Maybe I love them so much because I have real life stories attached to them. I'll always remember the first time I beat the elite four on Pokemon Yellow in my best friends garage, or the first time I beat Gannon in Ocarina of Time while my friends cheered me on. I have no experiences like that these days though and I doubt I ever will recapture that magic ever again.

So what are your reasons for loving retro games? Is it nostalgia? Is it game play? Or is it something else entirely?
 
In my childhood there was only pinball. ;D When I started playing games I was in my 20's. So those retro games offer no nostalgic chidhood feelings whatsoever. I love the old retro games due to the gameplay. I find the simplicity of one or two buttons, plus directional, intoxicating. Give me a high score survival space shooter from the past and I am totally hooked, addicted, and cannot put it down. Modern gaming on my DSi, Galaxy Wars stays in that system. Soldier Blade stays in my Turbo Grafx 16 here beside my desktop. On my N64 it is StarFox 64. SNES it is Gradius III. NES it is Gun NAC or Famicom there's Crisis Force. Not even coming close to scratching the surface. To me the golden era of gaming was late 80's and the 90's.
Not saying that some of the modern stuff doesn't have its appeal, just saying my gamers heart is in the retro stuff. No matter what I play on modern systems, I always return to the retro games and that is where I spend most of my gaming time.
 
I grew up right at the time where NES was being phased out and SNES was making it's rise to the top. I love collecting old systems like the Atari 2600, NES and so fourth but the SNES and N64 will always have a very special place in my heart. I love plugging in the ol N64 and playing Mario Kart (or in our case Beerio Kart :P ) with my buddies!
 
Retro games make me nostalgic as well. I got a NES when I was 5 years old (about the time the NES came out in the US) and have been a gamer ever since. There was a point in time when I was 16 years old that I'd just stopped playing. I'd gotten a car and a new girlfriend and the freedoms and opportunities that came with both just edged out gametime! About a year later I was at a flea market and found one of the top loader nintendos and a virtual boy and on a whim I bought them both. That marked the start of me being an actual collector and helped to renew my love of video games. Unfortunatly 5 years ago I became a father and sold off my rather extensive collection to help pay for kid expenses. Now my daughter is the age I was when I first got my NES and she's just as excited about gameing. So now I'm having to start the collection all over again but have a partner.

So I guess the intertwinement in my history is the reason I love retro games
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top