Sunday Thoughts: Nostalgia
How powerful are rose tinted spectacles?
Published: 18:00, 13/11/2011 by Kris [Halbpro].
14If you follow my articles or my Twitter you’ll know that there are two topics I’ll let flow on at the drop of a hat. First amongst these is Halo, a series whose lore I have a lot of love for. The games, in my opinion, present a different approach to shooters, allowing for a more open play style than most shooters on the market these days.
However it really is the universe they’re set in that I love. No, the games themselves don’t do anything that interesting in the way they tell stories or in the core story that’s told by the main trilogy, but looking at the books and other works that surround it the universe itself is fairly vast and really feeds back into the games to help to expand the story in both.
The other topic I’ll happily talk about forever is the original Sonic the Hedgehog, and its status as the greatest game of all time. I know that there’s more than a few people who disagree with me on this, and that’s fine, but for me no game has ever managed to top Sonic. I’m talking very specifically here about the first game in the series, although I share a similar level of love for titles up to Sonic & Knuckles.
Frequently these two things are swirling around in my head together, but this weekend seems a good time to talk about them and something they both embody. You see at the start of the week I reviewed Sonic Generations. Going into it I knew I wouldn’t like it as much as it’s ancestor, but I was more than willing to give it a shot.
Sadly it wasn’t quite as good as I hoped, and certainly fell short of that first Sonic title from twenty years ago now.
Standing just on their own merits are Sonic or Halo actually that good?
Here is where we get to the point of it though, were those games actually as good as I recall? Is it just nostalgia? I’ve had this question asked of me frequently whilst I’m holding court on just how good Sonic was, how perfect the level design of the Green Hill or Labyrinth zones were. It’s not normally phrased as a question though, it’s quite frequently just a response of “Rose tinted spectacles.”
That’s something that’s always worth considering really, just how big of a role does nostalgia play in my perception of those games. I mean it’s certainly not just my memory of playing those games earlier in my life that forms the entirety of my opinion. Although I haven’t gone back to Halo much as I lack a copy at present, I do go back and play Sonic at least once a year; in fact there was a point a few years back where it was pretty much all I was playing.
On the other hand my first experience with those games certainly mixes in with any future playthrough. For example I can’t help but think about sitting down with my Dad when I play Sonic, to this day I can’t get through the jungle zone without him giving me a helping hand.
Those memories are part of the experience for me, and I can’t help but say that they are certainly part of the reason for me holding them, Sonic in particular, in such high esteem.
Of course that won’t stop me calling Sonic the Hedgehog the greatest game ever made, mostly because it really is.
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Sonic Generations
13/11/2011 at 18:03
Member since: Forever
I used to consider medal of honour: front line to be the best shooter ever but when I played the copy that came with the new medal of honour I was massively disappointed at how crap it is compared to shooters of today.
Moral of the story, old games are crap.
13/11/2011 at 18:07
Member since: May 2010
I knew somebody would mention this. I actually enjoyed it more than MOH 2010 given how bad it compared on every level.
13/11/2011 at 22:44
Member since: Feb 2011
I still play Sonic Adventure on a regular basis. I guess thats just your opinion :3
13/11/2011 at 18:06
Member since: May 2010
I see what you mean. In the MTR feature I said Harry Potter 1 on the PS1 was my all time favourite game. It will probably be terrible the next time I play it (nothing to do with visuals) but the memory alone of playing it makes it fantastic. Something I wouldn’t like to ruin as well.
13/11/2011 at 18:16
Member since: Jul 2009
I feel most of the older JRPGS are better than their modern counterparts, in terms of gameplay and story. I still believe FFVI has a better battle system than FFXIII, a better story, better side-quests and a better equipment system.
I feel that the older 2D games have held up a lot better than a lot of games on PS1 and PS2 as the main driving force for how good a game was… well gameplay.
One more thing, Halo: CE is the best FPS I have ever played and I didn’t play it until after PS3 had launched, so that shows how well the game has held up for me.
13/11/2011 at 18:28
Member since: Jan 2009
For me, the acid test as it were, of rose tinted spectacles, is playing the game nowadays. If it still stands the test of time, and you can have just as much fun with it, then it’s a perfectly good game.
Take Banjo Kazooie on the N64. I adored that game back in the day, and I dig out my N64 a few month back, plugged it in, and had an absolute blast playing it. Sure I was bombarded with nostalgia, which added to the experience, but I would have been perfectly happy playing it anyway, without the nostalgia, as it’s a great game anyway. The flip side to this though, for me, is Extreme G. I loved playing it when I was a child, equally so to Banjo Kazooie, yet when I played it recently, I couldn’t help but to think it was a bit naf. Sure I was experiencing nostalgia, but I couldn’t get past realising it was, in my opinion, rubbish.
Anyway, the point of this is to say, while nostalgia does help in loving an older game, it won’t make you think a crap game, is actually good. Not for me anyway.
13/11/2011 at 18:34
Member since: Aug 2011
I always wonder if the Jak games are as good as I think they are. Seeing as I played them almost ten years ago now, there’s always that nibbling feeling that nostalgia may of clouded my perception of it and there’s a slight scared feeling inside me that when I play the first 3 games in HD next year, I will be disappointed with what I regard as my favourite franchise.
13/11/2011 at 18:40
Member since: Mar 2009
I have the same concern, as it is mine also. But I just remember the insane amount of hours I put in to that game and remember the fun I had with it on so many levels. Can’t wait for the re-release.
13/11/2011 at 19:55
Member since: Aug 2011
Yeah, me neither. I’ll be there day 1.
13/11/2011 at 19:09
Member since: Mar 2011
I think it’s 50/50, some games i remember being amazing because they will be forever, but yeah, some are just happy memories.. Some are both too. To me anyway
13/11/2011 at 19:21
Member since: Jun 2009
I have yet to enjoy one blast from the past be it in its original style or its glossy HD remake. So as soon as the nostalgic glow starts to wash over whenever some news is released I die a little inside as my memories slip further away.
13/11/2011 at 19:21
Member since: Aug 2011
A lot of games that I have recently purchased from my first gaming years have still been great games. I.E. The original Zelda, Sonic and Mario. Time Crisis! and a few others. Now and then I will be fooled by happy memories though. Still, I think having the original games on the original consoles means a lot to me and 1 day I will be able to give my kids a proper history lesson in gaming :)
13/11/2011 at 19:28
Member since: Aug 2010
To be honest I wouldn’t even put Sonic as the best platformer ever let alone best game ever! But the when asked by TSA for Meet The Reader last week, I said Indy Heat on the Amiga!
13/11/2011 at 19:34
Member since: May 2010
for me graphical fidelity means nothing to my rose tinted speccies, i can still love system shock 2 and quake 1 + 2 with all their foibles as much as they day i fell in love with them but what does ruin memories is antique control schemes.
Dungeon keeper 2 and Red alert on the psx being prime examples of great games thoroughly ruined by my adapting to modern control methods, such a shame but then these games are supposed to be locked within our memories never to be assaulted by our kids who`ll think they`re ugly, clunky dinosaurs of games, or by our own aging reflexes as we suck at levels our younger selves never gave two seconds of thought to, ahhhhhhh rose tinted glasses :D