I usually hate to alienate anyone with my editorials but in this particular case, I'm afraid I'll only be catering to the gaming veterans; i.e., those who were around to enjoy the 8-bit – and perhaps even 2-bit – days. You guys know who you are; I've come to know so many members over the past few years, I can almost predict the names who will reply. 😉
Anyway, the question in the title means this: as most of you know, some gamers like to be called "purists," in that they believe the '80s and perhaps even most of the '90s could be considered the "golden age" of gaming and that despite all the industry's advances, nothing we have now is quite as memorable. Obviously, as I've written about before, nostalgia is a powerful weakness (yes, it's a weakness; admit it), which is why we can still place Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda at the top of "Greatest Games of All Time" lists. Logically speaking, anybody outside the industry would look at something like the original Donkey Kong , compare it to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves , and then look at you with climbing eyebrows when you say it's "tough to choose between the two." Heck, to them, one isn't even a video game, anymore.
So yes, nostalgia plays a role. But now I'm starting to wonder… Here's the thing: I've always said that today's great games will be tomorrow's classics. Sure, I always said I've gone back to sample old-school greats like Super Mario Kart and even games on my old GameBoy (original, baby!) from time to time. And of course, I've played many of my beloved collection of PS1 RPGs multiple times, including my all time favorite, Final Fantasy Tactics . Now, if my previous theory was correct, shouldn't I be starting to get the urge to play some PS2 games…? After all, I've got about 60 and I only have 40 PS1 games and maybe 15 SNES titles, and the PS2 generation is rapidly dwindling into the past. How could I possibly be playing older systems more when the PS2 is now considered "old?" Shouldn't those PS2 greats be classics now? Why do I have no inclination at all to go back and play some of them?
There are exceptions. I've always wanted to go back through FFX, for example, but when it comes to RPGs, that's a different thing for me. But I keep going back to older systems and "simpler" games, so perhaps there's something to this "purity comes from simplicity" in the video game industry. Granted, FFT isn't exactly "simple," but…well yeah, in a way, it certainly is. Maybe it's just because what we have on the PS3 now can simply be considered upgrades of the PS2 titles. Why should I play God of War again when I've got God of War III ? Why should I play GT4 again when I've got Gran Turismo 5 ? I suppose one can't make the same argument for franchises where the story is always a focal point – see MGS – but when it comes to certain titles and genres, I just think the PS2 mostly has lesser versions of games we've already got this generation.
And in addition, the separation between the PS1 and PS3 is much greater, thereby making the experiences even more drastically different. I mean, in all honesty, what's the difference between racing and sports games on the PS2 and PS3? Uh…the PS3 ones are usually just better the whole way 'round. But I could have difficulty choosing between good ol' RBI Baseball and MLB: The Show , and perhaps that's the answer. Maybe it's just that we crave something different along with the nostalgic glow, and many PS2 "classics" aren't really "different;" they're merely the start of what we've begun to accomplish on the PS3. Well, that's how I see it, at any rate. And now, back to FFT… 😉
I remember the day analogs showed up on the PS controller. I was like, "who the hell wants THOSE?" I hated them at first. 🙂
And I hate to say this, but I can be more nostalgic about games than girls. LOL
Man, how about walking/riding to the arcade with a pocket full of quarters or a few bills. The excitment on the way there and the disappointment on the way home when you dropped your last quarter in the machine instead of buying a soda for the longer feeling return trip. Ahhhh, those were the days!!!!
the best gaming experiences i've ever had have come from the NES, SNES, Genesis, PSOne and to some extent, the PS2. back then, playing nes for hours and hours on end, till the whole console became hot…every game was an epic adventure. every screen held something new, something wonderful. take legend of zelda; the first time i found out you could burn a tree, or bomb a wall, i went throughout hyrule, burning and bombing every tree and wall i could find! and the sense of wondrous discovery was amazing…games to me just dont have that anymore. the last time a game shook me to the core was in Final Fantasy 7 when aeris died…i kinda sat there in disbelief, then a tear came down my cheek and i shut the Playstation off. i came back a day or two later and finished the game(thanks knights of the round!:) i've replayed ff7 at least ten times and that part is still the most powerful moment in gaming to me.
so i agree games now don't hold the same sense of wonder and discovery, or the same intangible magic that made games so amazing to me (us?) back in the day…maybe age (i'm 26)has something to do with why i'm more jaded…or maybe it's something in the games themselves.
Last edited by Rings0fUranus on 12/19/2009 11:59:09 AM
"Intangible magic" is exactly the thing that keeps me playing games, I think. I can review all the games in the world but I can never assign a score to what may be most important. But then again, something like "intangible magic" is 100% subjective, so…
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 12/19/2009 2:28:57 PM
@Ben,
<<<<I remember the day analogs showed up on the PS controller. I was like, "who the hell wants THOSE?" I hated them at first. And I hate to say this, but I can be more nostalgic about games than girls. LOL>>>>
And that's probably because all girls came with analog nubs, but not all games did! LOL
Last edited by BikerSaint on 12/19/2009 1:10:08 PM
More because games had more to be nostalgic ABOUT. 😉
Don't forget, some came with snubs too.
A great video about both, gaming & nostalgia.
Check out this user-made video on YouTube on gaming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUbyM…layer_embedded
I think you'll all agree, "It says all there is to say"……
I think it is the vets who have demanded all these sequels. Gamers have fallen in love with FF, GoW, GT and many others. They demand that those franchises keep up with the times and not fade off into memory. So the developers put out.
The problem lies in the fact that the original game is often the brain child of a person with real creativity. The sequels are either just more of the same, which is not a bad thing, or they suffer from lack of inspiration, which IS a bad thing.
In this way I feel that games are a lot like music. The classics will always be great, but we still want to hear something new as well. Remakes can be interesting, but usually they're hit or miss. The PS2 is like the hits from five years ago. The market was saturated with everything and anything. It's still good stuff, it's just not yet old enough for anyone to feel nostalgic about.
Last edited by Alienange on 12/19/2009 2:49:13 PM
I disagree
It only happens if each sequel doesn't evolve enough (GT, MGS4)
OR
If it's not something new altogether (Final Fantasy)
Example of something that doesn't evolve:
Call of Duty and Halo
I bring a different perspective, possibly unique on this site. I'm old enough to have seen the beginnings of the industry. I remember when the first arcade machines started to appear. I own a Pong machine and a 2600.
However, I never really found that old-school type of gaming very interesting or fun. It takes a certain amount of masochism to play the same "screen" over and over and over again…and I don't have that gene.
So, I visited the arcades from time to time and played some PC games (Wolf 3D, Doom, etc.), but I never got "into" either and I didn't buy another console for many years. Meanwhile, I played true ("pen and paper") RPGs, which I found a more engrossing and fulfilling experience than anything digital.
Until the PS2 appeared. PS2 games seemed to offer the sort of immersive experience that earlier games did not. 3D open worlds. Characters who could perform a variety of different actions. Full voice and animation, not just in FMV cut scenes, but during gameplay.
I'm not saying that games before PS2 couldn't be immersive, only that I didn't see anything that made me believe that they would be.
I have since bought and played a number of the best PS1 games and most seemed lacking, though I could recognize what was special about them. Silent Hill, for instance, seemed really clunky and cheesy compared to SH2, but it was still fun.
FFTactics, on the other hand, is one of favorite games. Despite all its many flaws, I love it to death, more than more recent Strategy RPGs like Jeanne D'Arc (which is also awesome).
So, I don't have any nostalgia for older generations or for the IPs/characters from those generations.
For me, the golden age is now.
Last edited by Fane1024 on 12/19/2009 4:26:07 PM
Interesting take. And so long as you love FFT, I have nothing else to say. 😉
Edit: You know what's annoying? The fact that Orlandu doesn't have Accumulate. Grr…
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 12/19/2009 8:39:17 PM
Why is RoadRash 3D & RoadRash JailBreak more fun than any racing game on PS2 or PS3? Is it because unlike the sharp turn, slippery control new racers you could actually make it around a corner at high speed? Is it because you had precise control of your acceleration with up down movements of the right analog stick before acceleration in every new race game was moved to the full on or full off imprecise R2 button? Is it because in the quest for today's realism they've lost a lot of the skillful playability? Or is it because of numerous other factors? I don't know. All I know is that if RoadRash on the PS1 had Burnout Paradise quality graphics & customizeable soundtracks it would still be the only racing game I'd play & if it had online multiplayer then it would be unbeatable.
Last edited by NetheRealm on 12/20/2009 12:36:55 AM
The shoulder buttons on the Dual Shock 3 and the Sixaxis are analog buttons, that are pressure sensitive. So, you can feather the accelerator if you want to.
This takes me back! Not as far as some of you, I'm sure, Lol. But my favorite and most memorable game ever that nothing will ever contest is Azure Dreams. It is a turn-based RPG. This was my first turned-based RPG and I loved it to death. The charm of the tiny characters on screen. Going into the tower finding eggs and items to upgrade and make more powerful. I'll never forget the day I used truth glasses on an vermilion egg and it turned out to be a dragon egg! I was overflowing with joy and tears! I remember having the roche fruit (throw this fruit at a monster to turn the monster into an egg) too but I refused to use it on a dragon in the dungeon because I wanted to find the egg myself (foolish pride)! Then you could build up your city (Monsbaiya) and get girlfriends. There were mini games as well!
This game will always remain incomparable and my favorite game of all time. There was something about the simplicity of it; the catchy music and tunes, the memories I had with it, the fact that you the player lose your level when you leave the tower while your familiars maintain their levels, the randomly generated dungeon floors, all which molded together and formed an experience I loved and a game I will never ever forget. Til this day I can pick it up and have a blast with it, more fun than any of my PS3 games! 1080p/HD experience, I would give it up any day to play Azure Dreams!
Final Fantasy Tactics is second on the list, only because this was my second turn-based RPG. My second best game of all time also boasting the best genre ever invented. Turned-based RPG's FTW!
LBP
This was a very interesting article, I just really enjoyed reading it for the fact it actually made me think of my days as a child when I was on the NES. I was playing one of the Megaman games on the original NES and I couldn't get over this bottomless pit, and I was cursing that game out every time I fell in the pit, lol.
Why is everyone making huge comments, this could take hours to read.
I have just finished through my first playthrough of Uncharted 2.
That, right after I finished the single player campaign of Killzone 2 for the first time (yeah, I was late for that party).
I've not yet opened my copy of Dragon Age: Origins, coz I have a brand new water level idea for Little Big Planet that I want to conceptualize first.
For me, gaming has never been better 🙂
Last edited by swapnilgyani on 12/20/2009 11:15:02 PM
Interesting editorial Ben. It's strange — PS1 brought me SO much happiness in its heyday in the late mid- to late-nineties, but for reasons I never really thought about I haven't played a single PS1 game in years. I even downloaded MGS from the PlayStation Store a while back and never even powered it up. For me, I'm a lot more likely to play through a trusted PS2 classic — I revisit the God of War games regularly, I just played through MGS 3 (Subsistence version) a few months ago, etc. — and I'm amazed at how well those games have held up.
While the "dated" graphics of PS1 aren't really a disincentive for me, the load times of those games are. Good LORD! I messed around Final Fantasy VIII maybe three years ago for the first time in ages, and I could not BELIEVE how patient we all must have been to deal with those bloody load times between pretty much EVERY room!
For me — and, just in case there was any doubt, I'm not hatin' on anyone who disagrees, just sharing my opinion — my appreciation for PS1 games is pretty much solely based on nostalgia. PS2 games trounced its predecessor in terms of graphics, presentation, LOAD TIMES!!!, and in my humble opinion, gameplay as well. PS1 games pioneered a lot of new ground, and for that they should be commended. But the PS2 vastly improved the execution of those new ideas, and for that reason I keep my trusty PS2 hooked up to my TV alongside the current generation consoles to this day.
Oh, one BIG exception I just realized — Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is as perfect a game as I've ever played and I revisit it at least once a year. That game was game of the decade, as far as I'm concerned!!! 🙂