Goafer Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 I was thinking about retro gaming and generally, I have a cut off for different type of games. Before certain generations, I have very little interest, bar a few exceptions. 2D games: Mega Drive and SNES is as far back as I'll go. Before that and the games are just too basic to be fun. Weirdly, I'm totally fine with original Gameboy games, which are arguably as basic as NES games. 3D games: PS2/XBox/Dreamcast/GameCube. There are a few PS1 and Saturn games I remember fondly, but generally I find PS1 and Saturn games to be awkward, clunky and downright ugly. RPGs and Racing games are a bit of an exception, as there were some belters on PS1/Saturn, but 3D action or platformers are almost unplayable to me nowadays. Plus non-analogue controls are no fun. The N64 is an awkward middle ground to me. The games are playable in some cases, but I have no nostalgia for the console, so I tend to just go for GameCube instead. Does anyone else have a cut off? 2
Happenstance Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 I don’t really have a cut off, just maybe games I don’t enjoy playing anymore. 2D I’m a lot more happy to go back and play as they tend to hold up, I love to pull out the original Mario Bros every now and again. 3D is definitely harder but the early generations of it being clunky or ugly. The N64 in particular is a hard one to go back to, to be even at the time it just felt like a blurry, ugly console. Not every 3D game can be Croc I guess…
Dcubed Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 (edited) There is no cutoff point for me. A good game is always a good game, no matter how old it is. I had a blast playing through the original 1985 Super Mario Bros recently, and thoroughly enjoyed playing Jetpac from 1983 in Rare Replay. What time does do however is expose those games that got by on their production values, shock value and flashy graphics; which hide some pretty shoddy gameplay. This is why people look at games like GTA 3 and say that it "didn't age well"; because they're only just realising now that it was never a good game to begin with. Games aren't milk, they don't rot! But people are often very very shallow and are often blinded by pretty visuals, shock value and flashy production values (like what most modern games trade off of; as gameplay is often a tertiary concern nowadays); which are all things that lose their value over time. Edited January 23, 2022 by Dcubed
Jonnas Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 There's no cutoff point for 3D games for me. Even basic isometric ones (that are actually 2D) can be enjoyable. Regarding 2D games, it is true that anything earlier than the NES is hard to play. I don't find the monochromatic days of Pitfall, Pong, or Adventure to be appealing at all. If I were to pick a specific cutoff point, I'd say the original King's Quest would be the most borderline case for me.
Glen-i Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 Add me to the "Doesn't matter how old something is" pile. I happily played EarthBound beginnings, an old-school NES RPG that only got an official release over here during the WiiU era. You've gotta go into these kind of games knowing full well that certain QoL features expected nowadays just weren't a thing back then, and you'll do fine. At least that's how I see it. Long loading times is probably the one thing that I'll try to avoid like the plague if possible, but it's not a deal-breaker.
Dcubed Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 1 hour ago, Glen-i said: Long loading times is probably the one thing that I'll try to avoid like the plague if possible, but it's not a deal-breaker. Oh man... I can't wait to watch you play Sonic 06... you're in for a treat! 2 1
Ike Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 59 minutes ago, Dcubed said: Oh man... Loading... I can't wait to watch you play Sonic 06... Loading... you're in for a treat! Loading... Here's nice preview of what to expect. 1
sumo73 Posted February 3, 2022 Posted February 3, 2022 I still have my Commodore 16 and ZX Spectrum collections at home so I can go as far back as I want. Normally when I go back with consoles/computer the first 5 minutes is a bit odd but I soon get back to playing the game. 1
darksnowman Posted February 5, 2022 Posted February 5, 2022 On 23/01/2022 at 2:23 PM, Goafer said: Does anyone else have a cut off? I don't think so, but it is interesting to consider. There are probably games I don't envisage ever firing up again (FIFA 2004 and Conker's Pocket Tales on Gameboy Color for example), but no hard cut-offs of the generational variety spring to mind. If I see Pong or Pac-man I won't say no to a game. On 23/01/2022 at 2:23 PM, Goafer said: Plus non-analogue controls are no fun. D-pad all the way for me when it's available. A recent exception that proves the rule has been Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore in which you can control the main character with the d-pad but it does not feel good at all. Still, I applaud them for including the option. But then I've also been playing The Last Campfire which allows for d-pad control and it works a treat. On 03/02/2022 at 6:21 PM, sumo73 said: I still have my Commodore 16 and ZX Spectrum collections at home so I can go as far back as I want. Normally when I go back with consoles/computer the first 5 minutes is a bit odd but I soon get back to playing the game. Is Thundercats on the ZX Spectrum as good as I remember?
bob Posted February 5, 2022 Posted February 5, 2022 My first console was an N64, so that's my limit in terms of what games I can actually get my hands on and play, but even if I did have access to anything older, I really struggle to play 2D side scrollers or top down games in only 2 dimensions. There are exceptions obviously, but there's something about the format that I find difficult.Generally speaking though, I just don't play retro games. The thought of going into the loft, dragging down any of my old consoles and working out how to get it to display on my TV, and then actually playing any of the old games from the beginning, fills me with apathy.Don't tell my wife though, she'll make me get rid of them.
martinist Posted February 5, 2022 Posted February 5, 2022 NES / MasterSystem is probsbly the farthest i'll go. First experience with videogames was on my dad's old Atari 2600 but those games are a little...square-ish for me. Oldest system I have right now is a SNES. Also have a PS1 but I bought it mostly because I wanted to play Ape Escape. I started finding old PS1 and SNES games in pawn shops and charity shops for real cheep. Also found a boxed copy of Aladdin on the MegaDrive.
WackerJr Posted February 7, 2022 Posted February 7, 2022 No real cut-off for me. I still enjoy games going back to the NES / Master System too, and the current consoles have seen a bit of a resurgence in 8 and 16-bit games being released, either in original or updated format. Examples include Wonder Boy: Dragon’s Trap, Alex Kidd (twice!), Lion King, Aladdin, Jungle Book (in the Disney Collection), Day of the Tentacle. Even Advance Wars is over 20 years old! I think as long as you can put up with some of the outdated features or higher difficulty (save states / rewind abilities are excellent additions) then there are still many games that are fun to play now.
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