If 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.
[drop]The other occurrence worthy of note is that Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is launching on Tuesday, the 15th. This is a remake of the original Halo, with options such as being able to move between the original engine and the new engine added to it. This, obviously, has me comparing it to the original Halo and wondering if it’s as good, if it’s a perfect remake.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.
flatspikes
I’m often disappointed when returning to the past… Saying that I still enjoy the Sonic games, streets of rage, final fight & SFII. Lunar on Mega CD is the one I want to go back & try again though:-)
wonkey-willy
for me there is no looking back.
apart from the hd remakes old skool gaming should stay in the past.
its like when you play megadrive games on an emulator they are quite appaling.
and ps1 games on psn ..they suck ball
Sad Panda
I’m a bit of a collector when it comes to retro gaming. I still have my SNES and N64, I replaced my broken megadrive with a blaze one and have 300 or so games on the VC.
For me, most current gen games just don’t have the same fun factor as the classics. Local multiplayer has nose dived. Just yesterday I was at my brothers place with some friends, we played Mario tennis, Perfect Dark, Crash Team Racing, Smash Bros Melee and WWE Allstars. Only 1 current gen game all afternoon, and that isn’t one of those AAA top scorers.
Nostalgia is one thing, but for pure fun gameplay, nothing beats a classic.
Sitorimon
We get rose tinted for everything in thr world but I think the goalposts change – such as going back and playing the original Tomb Raider – suddenly walking in squares and no fluid movement make you go “Eh?” but once you change your thinking back it’s back to the old flow again. One other thing is I feel 16bit stuff has generally held up far better than the 32bit stuff as its at the peak of 2D gaming where everything was known and mapped out to perfection, while early 3D stuff is still finding its way and its now been smoothed and perfected over time.
Hicko
I love the simplicity of playing a game using a d-pad and one or maybe two buttons! My Master System was awesome and I miss my Amiga! I love the arcadey feel to the older games when it was all about gameplay and less about graphics. There are loads of brilliant games now but when I think back to sonic, bubble bobble, Cannon Fodder and Sensible Soccer I can’t help but smile.
tantalus_blank
I think enjoyment from a retro game can come from how different it is to today’s games. For example, I still thoroughly enjoy FFVII/VIII/IV (and many other JRPGs), as well as Timesplitters and Gitaroo Man; mostly because there’s nothing like those games on current consoles. JRPGs pretty much all have real time battle systems now, there are no decent splitscreen shooters that don’t take themselves very seriously, and I’ve never seen another rhythm game like GM.
However if I go back to Tekken 3, it’ll be nostalgic as hell but I’ll get frustrated at how much less sophisticated the fighting is. Going back to an early MoH or COD would be rubbish as the market is currently saturated with FPS war games with a lot more polish. Even in the same generation, with Dynasty Warriors, I never have any interest in playing any versions prior to the current due to a lack of features I grow used to.
Crocadillian
I’ve been trying to think of a response for a while now, but this topic is just too difficult. I think peoples priorities in gaming though will determine their experiences with old and new games.
I loved Sonic Adventure 12 years ago and I still do now, and to see reviews complaining about terrible controls and cameras like the one 1UP wrote for the XBLA version, when I have had few problems controlling and viewing my environment is amusing to say the least. This person obviously doesn’t see and understand the game in the way I do :P
stueeeee
I have a lot of nostalgia for some ps1 games, but the only one that still holds up for me is mgs1 and Rayman. Ps2 ones still hold up, but I think these HD remakes are helping with memories, as they wack some powerful rose tinted glasses on each game.
kengao
p.s:if you interested, please check this exciting club for fun seekcasual.com
Thank you very much.