GRIZZLED GAMERS
(Posted 2003-10-02 16:41:14 by basscomm)

Since the console revolution of the 80's, gaming has been fairly
mainstream. You'd be hard pressed any more to find a household that doesn't
have some kind of game console (or PC with some games on it). I was
thinking about that when it hit me: there are kids out there who's first
system was the N64 or Playstation or even the GameCube or XBox. 

I can almost hear you saying, "Duh."

Okay, so it wasn't _that_ big of a revelation, but it is important to note
that a large number of these gamers haven't played some of the 'classic'
games and likely never will. 

"So what?" I hear you say.

Okay, so it's a minor 'So what,' but let's say someone between the ages of
8 and 16 picks up a copy of _Super Smash Brothers: Melee_, a game that is
rife with classic game references. Unless he, for some reason, seeks out
the older games that the characters appear in, he's not going to know where
Ness comes from, or that the song from Hyrule Castle is from _Zelda II_
(and remixed very nicely), or what a Birdo is, or... well, you get the
idea.

Will this make the game any less enjoyable for him? Absolutely not. You
don't need to know the full character history of every character in the
game to get enjoyment out of it, but having that knowledge greatly enhances
the experience. All of those connections to the past make the game that
much more 'complete.' 

Maybe I'm looking through the Fog of Nostalgia(TM) at this issue. Maybe I
think that since I had so much fun playing those games that everyone else
should play them too. I'd say that's at least partially true, but I also
firmly believe that several of the games I played growing up were just
simply good games. Sadly, they often get dismissed because of their
'graphics' or because they're 'old' or for any other number of reasons. 

The 'classic' games are, however, making a return on the Game Boy Advance,
which is certainly a good thing. I just hope they're successful enough that
game companies will keep on releasing them. My NES won't last forever, I'm
afraid.

That's it. I'm heading off to play some _Castlevania_.



--------

There is 1 comment on this post:

Comment #1 by  Gauauu (  ) on 2003-10-03 17:47:49
Part of the appeal of the classic games, in my opinion, is that the makers
of them didn't often get confused and think that good graphics and a story
made a game good.  Since they didn't have that much power to work with,
they focused on GAMEPLAY.  

Sadly, many modern games forget to make a game PLAY well, an instead try to
win their players over with cool gimmicks, good graphics, fancy cut-scenes,
etc.




To submit a comment on this post, email basscomm@crummysocks.com or visit
us on the web [ http://crummysocks.com ].