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Basic Trope: A media source uses an old aesthetic.

  • Straight:
    • Jammer is an 8-Bit platformer made when HD games are all the rage.
    • Dan the Dog is a throwback to old school 1930's cartoons made in the modern era.
  • Exaggerated:
    • Jammer is a borderline Amiga video game played on a modern console.
    • Jammer is only playable on old emulators. As in, even the emulators have stopped updating years ago.
    • Dan the Dog is only available on VHS.
  • Downplayed:
    • Jammer uses retro aspects, but is mostly a modern game.
    • Jammer has a retro looking Nostalgia Level.
    • Jammer looks like a Nintendo DS or Game Boy Advance game.
    • Dan the Dog uses an old school art style, but make no mistake, it's very modern.
  • Justified:
    • Jammer was made by fans of games of old.
    • Jammer was made to prove that the creator could work within the confines of the NES.
    • Dan the Dog is designed to appeal to older audiences who are nostalgic for classic cartoons.
  • Inverted:
    • Jammer is an 8-bit platformer made for 8-bit consoles. The plot and practically everything but the gameplay sounds like something from a modern game.
    • Dan the Dog looks very modern, but was actually the originator of modern tropes.
  • Subverted:
    • Jammer starts with an 8-bit prologue, but it's just an HD game character playing an 8 bit game in the opening cutscene.
    • Dan the Dog looks pretty classic... until the CG characters start showing up.
  • Double Subverted:
    • Jammer is a throwback to the genre in a different respect, such as storyline or humor.
    • It may seem weird that Dan the Dog is about trying to get good cell phone reception, but make no mistake, it's all done in a very classic cartoon style.
  • Parodied:
  • Zig Zagged:
    • Jammer is a collection of minigames, some modern, some classic.
    • Dan the Dog is forced to meet his 1930's self.
  • Averted:
    • Jammer is a modern game, with no retro aspect at all. Same for Dan the Dog.
  • Enforced:
    • "The people working on creating this game are inexperienced. Let's make a game that's easy for them to create."
    • "Hey guys, remember the good ol' days?"
  • Lampshaded:
    • "Didn't games like this stop being made in the 80s?"
    • "Man you're old. You look like you stepped out of the 90's. Literally!"
  • Invoked:
    • A teacher in a course for programming tells the students to make their own games and start small by making simple, old-school games.
    • Travelling back in time causes a Retraux Flashback that gives newer characters old-school designs.
  • Exploited: A fan convinces their friends that not all modern games are worse than the oldschool ones by letting them play Jammer, but not telling them how young the game is before they are well into it.
  • Defied: "We are not making a soundtrack of bleeps and character sprites composed of big boxes!"
  • Discussed:
    • Some NPC talks about how he feels like he was left in a former era whenever he looks in a mirror. The protagonist may or may not understand exactly how he feels.
    • Dan and his buddies share some very nostalgic flashbacks to things the audience never saw. The flashback still use the old art style.
  • Conversed: "When was this made again? ... Two years ago?!"
  • Deconstructed:
    • The fanbase is small due to the game catering to a little niche - too small to pay off. The company's first retraux game becomes their last.
    • Copying elements of older cartoons means having to deal with all the troubles that went along with their era. Cue Mr. Toady Black...
  • Reconstructed:
    • The game becomes a Cult Classic, and the fanbase is willing to pay for merchandise that keeps the company afloat, allowing them to keep making retraux games.
    • Mr. Toady Black finally gets to show he's more than just a stereotype, paving way for his reinvention in more modern series.
    • Dan the Dog is a Wartime Cartoon for the modern era, using whatever menace to the country as a joke, so to rally people to not be intimidated by it.

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