I have noticed that I am probably a "retro gamer".

I always told myself I would never become one of those "I like the older stuff better/my generation of stuff better" person. I was always annoyed by adults who didn't like my stuff because it wasn't their older stuff as a kid, and I even more hated the assertion that I would do exactly the same. Here in the internet, I'm surrounded by people who are just that in everything. Heck, it's becoming the thing to be a kid who hates the new stuff pre-emptively and says their parents generation was much better. Including retro-gaming elitism.

And you know what? Even though I'm constantly getting into new everything. In terms of video games, new games, new franchises, better graphics, ect. I notice it all goes through a nostalgia filter. My favourite gaming generation is still the Super Nintendo.

Why do I keep playing jRPGs? Because playing Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger were defining moments of my childhood. Leaving me mystified and enthralled for them for the rest of my life. An emotion that never left, and I notice this because I'm surrounded by people in today's gaming climate of people who think Japan hasn't made a good game in years, or ever, and "why are you still playing those old nasty jRPGs and living in the past? Oblivion is the future, Oblivion is the RPG now. Those old games were on terrible engines that couldn't do anything, now Bethesda is soaring above all gaming with their masterpieces!". And while ST Gs, or "Shoot Em' Ups", are considered an overly Japanese thing of the past much like jRPGs, while FPS games are the now. I find myself being much more attracted to Shoot Em' Up type games, rather than FPS games, at all. FPS games are supposedly pumping out all the graphics and innovation, but they're not using them for something I like.

I find myself thinking "who cares what you think is the "future"?". "Who cares what companies are utilizing technology the best?". Why? Because I just want one more Super Mario game, one more great jRPG, one more great scrolling shooter, and so forth.

And I'm stuck, right in that SNES era sweet spot, right on the cusp of 3D and looking forward to the 3D future and how it will enhance my SNES style gaming. And now what I'm getting the feeling of, is that my SNES style gaming is a thing of the past. And I'm stuck between people who like retro gaming far too much, and people who hate weeaboos/retro-gaming.

And I never thought I'd say this, but I guess I'm more on the side of retro gaming. I have a massive nostalgia filter going on. I don't want what people want, and even what people find to be innovative. I just want to continue my SNES days in each new technology. And not enjoying this pressure to play the latest Grand Theft Auto, or Mass Effect, or Spore, or all of the many examples. Heck, I largely can't wrap my head around the MMORPG. At best, it would take all of the things I like about SNES RPG gaming and take it to a massive multiplayer format. Instead, it seems to lack all of the best elements of the RPG. Not immersive at all unless you join a roleplayers guild or something.

I was probably just happy to play any video game as a kid. But as I've grown up, I'm just so picky. And it's hard to try new things, as my mind is living in the SNES frame of mind.

Genkidama for Japan, even if you don't have money, you can help![1]

I'd say you're better off, anyhow. A lot of current gen games these years just aren't going to match the classics as far as gameplay goes.

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

Robotron 2084 ended gaming. With its innovative controls (which effectively separated attack from movement) and its morally gray story line, it really left the industry with nothing to do from a creative standpoint, and its been floundering ever since. From that point on, video games have been pure garbage.

Except [condescending response follows]. Because [sarcasm here]. You do understand [snark], right? POTHOLE TO SARCASM MODE

OP, that's not actual Nostalgia Filter, that's common sense. As was discussed extensively in the "freedom vs. creativity" thread somewhere nearby, there are moments when the drive for better visuals overshadows the drive for better quality, and the breakthrough of 3d accelerated gaming in 1997 has effectively ruined the usual tug-of-war of "this year, story-driven games win" (1992, for example), or "this year, balanced games win" (1994/1995 were this very much), "this year, graphicky things win" (1997, 2002), "this year, Me-Too is t3h winner" (1998/1999) - driving to find reportedly better, more "realistic" graphics, whilst forgoing better, more engrossing gameplay.

YMMV is in effect. This Troper mainly refers to PC gaming, and is not responsible for any assumptions made about console gaming. Also, This Troper has never even played DKC =(

edited 6th Jun '11 4:32:02 AM by Noelemahc

Videogames do not make you a worse person... Than you already are.

Yeah, like Donkey Kong Country!

I'm sort of a "retro gamer", but not a "console retro gamer". I prefer the Ultima games, Bard's Tale, Wizardry, and Doom, over most of the games today. I also miss the days when proper point-and-click adventure games were being made. That said, some of my favorite games came out in the mid to late 90s and early 2000s like System Shock 2, Thief, Planescape, and Deus Ex. Being mainly an RPG fan, the last great game to me was Baldurs Gate 2, and while there are some later games I enjoy, the majorty recent RP Gs are too dumbed down for me, and it's only getting worse if Dragon Age 2 and Elder Scrolls V are any indication. Recent trends with FPS's aren't much better either (too much multiplayer focus, and crappy cover systems). I think I'd still rather play Oblivion over most jRPGs, old or new, though.

edited 6th Jun '11 4:38:06 AM by brc2000

Hmm. On the one hand, I like my First-Person Shooter and Real-Time Strategy games, but on the other hand, I lose myself in WRPGs and totally prefer JRPGs instead. And good ol' platform games.

@Ukonkivi, I think you should try some Retraux games.

edited 6th Jun '11 5:08:22 AM by Medinoc

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."

Yeah, it's not as prominent, but there are quite a jrpgs, metroidvanias, etc that get major inspiration from the old school. Try Radiant Historia, Etrian Odyssey, Cave Story, La Mulana, and Lyle in Cube Sector, for starters.

Taking a break from FE1, for the FE8 draft instead

I've been meaning to try Radiant Historia. I sure hope it is a lot better than Radiata Stories.

Cave Story is grand and I love it. Definitely have to second that recommendation. Though who in the heck hasn't played Cave Story by now?

edited 6th Jun '11 5:28:15 AM by Ukonkivi

Genkidama for Japan, even if you don't have money, you can help![1]

Haven't taken the time to, only watched a Let's Play. I played Iji a fair bit, though (got the Null Driver, didn't try Ultimortal Maximum Charge Tor)

edited 6th Jun '11 5:31:41 AM by Medinoc

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."

Meh. I don't really care about old games that much. The furthest I'll go on a nostalgia trip is play through Half Life all over again. It does annoy me when in a blanket generalisation people dismiss all post-'90s games as inferior to their "classic" ancestors.

With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars.

Only speaking for computer RP Gs, but unless you look to indie games, most post-90s games are honestly not that great from a gameplay standpoint. It has nothing to do with "older is better". The role playing elements are noticeably dumbed down to appeal to the MMO crowd, and there are too many limitations on what you can do nowadays. Even by just comparing Dragon Age: Origins to Dragon Age 2 or Morrowind to Skyrim, you can see the differences. The fact that Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls and Mass Effect are considered the faces of CRP Gs is not good sign. The Witcher was okay, but had too many negatives to be consistently enjoyable, and a crappy combat system to boot.

There's an exception to every rule of course. Its just that you have to do a LOT of sifting this generation.

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

But Sturgeon's Law was just as valid back in the day.

This reminds me of my dad's wisdom when I wondered why I liked classical music better: Sturgeon's Law always applied, but the "classics" have been already filtered for you: The bad ones have faded into oblivion.

The corollary of this is that the "classics" will always average better than the current "unfiltered" stuff.

edited 6th Jun '11 7:06:15 AM by Medinoc

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."

Hey man, I'm must playing what i can afford right now, and everything else i've missed out on XD

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

I was merely trying to say that I have a bias towards SNES styled games or mainstays.

Going from playing a game like Chrono Trigger, to then Tales of Phantasia and then Tales of Vesperia is perfectly workable. Even Disney's Magical Quest to Kingdom Hearts, despite a lot of the flack the Kingdom Hearts franchise gets. Zelda games are still Zelda games. Super Mario games are still Super Mario games. And people are still releasing ST Gs.

This is not necessarily all retro-gaming, also, it's a specific kind. It's a specific console style thing that I became comfortable with and shaped my outlook on games as a child. And the SNES had a certain culture around it. A gaming culture that isn't quite seen by today's gaming. And this perspective would seem to be a bit of a retro gaming thing. I still look forward to the same types of games that a lot of people aren't saying the same things about now, because my childhood contained anime-cartoony platformers, fighting games, shoot em' ups, RP Gs(jRPGs, before the term became used at all), and well, not much else.

Top games of nostalgia being games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IV. But there were other childhood defining, but a bit less prominent as those top two, such as Final Fantasy VI, Super Mario RPG, Earthbound, Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Kirby Super Star, Disney's Magical Quest, Mega Man X, Donkey Kong Country 2, and a huge plethora of other games. That also mean a whole lot to me and are childhood defining. I looked on from games like that to future, also a bit with of course other systems such as Sonic the Hedgehog games.

Speaking of which, I'll always look forward to new Sonic games since my childhood, no matter how terrible they are. Because the part of my mind that still loves those old 2D Sonic games, never cared about the shortcomings of 3D games. The only reason I'm not a huge Sonic fanboy, is that it's been many, many years since I was significantly involved in the Sonic fandom. And I was pretty obsessed with Sonic one time as a kid, buying and reading the Archie comics repeatedly. I haven't been anything like that in years, but sometimes I'd like to settle down and Archive Binge Sonic for a change.

I've also noticed, with each new technology I get, I'm always thinking of it in terms of emulation, and "can it play SNES", first and foremost. Which every system has for a long, long time. But nonetheless, it's always what I think about first. As I'm always looking for one more way to freshen and re-experience games I already love and have played hundreds of times. Much before I think of it a computer or system can play the latest and greatest games. Like people are always talking about Android and Mac OS phones, and tablet P Cs, and all the great things they can supposedly do. And if I was a kid, I'd be looking forward to all the latest and greatest games. Now, every time people mentioned things like cellphones and what they can do, I think of things like, "but can it play SNES games?". I don't care about things most people talk about cell phones being able to do, like use Facebook. I would just think it is cool and be pleased as peach and in awe and amusement for months, if my cell phone had Mega Man X on it.

Of course, I don't have one, because I've spent my money on other things. But that's a feature I'd want on one. As silly as that sounds.

edited 6th Jun '11 7:54:19 AM by Ukonkivi

Genkidama for Japan, even if you don't have money, you can help![1]

I think you're right on this. I love the Fourth Generation culture as well.

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."

Looks like you have emulatoritis. Be thankful you don't have the DOS strain, because the list of platforms that can safely run DOS games is infinitely shorter than that can run SNES games =)

Indeed! Another fun corollary is that the worse the game, the more obscure it becomes with the passage of time, and therefore - harder to find! Well, except for the improperly marketed good games and post-beta vaporware - they can be awesome and playable and stuff (the Unreal-engine-driven remake/reboot of Hired Guns was awesome, if a bit glitchy, but it was caused more by the revision of the Unreal engine it ran on, nothing more), but they're underexposed, and therefore underpreserved, and therefore harder to get. Which is what the Home of the Underdogs was for back when it wasn't a zombie. Oh, 2003, how I miss you!

edited 6th Jun '11 8:11:14 AM by Noelemahc

Videogames do not make you a worse person... Than you already are.

I'm not sure where I belong in video game fandom. Right now I guess the two categories that describe me are "old school fan" and "crazy indie niche fan." I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. It's kind of good because I can intelligently talk about games as old as Galaga, and I can intelligently talk about games as new as Planet Stronghold. But it's kind of bad because I find it tough to relate to most of today's popular games. I feel like I've drifted so far from the mainstream that it's difficult to understand or appreciate most current stuff.

And while I like a lot of games from the 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit eras, I try to remind myself how difficult it was to wait for the next game that I really wanted. And there's plenty of games that haven't improved with age, or which were lousy even when they were new. (I'm thinking specifically of Paladin's Quest, which I consider a lame Dragon Quest 5 knock-off. I only finished it in the 90s because of boredom.)