Topic: Gaming Nostalgia

[NWR_insanolord]

We all have older games that we really love, and can go back and play and really enjoy, but I've been thinking lately about how many of those games for me are things I like mainly because of nostalgia. I'm certainly not saying everything is this way; I'm sure things like Super Mario Bros. 3 hold up very well, but the more I think about it, the more I'm realizing that there are games I love that I most likely wouldn't if I were playing them now for the first time.


Two big ones for me are Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The former would fit this mold because later 3D Marios have made me realize how I'm not really a fan of the more open style of that game, much preferring the linear levels of EAD Tokyo's games. As for Ocarina, I'm basing this on the fact that I haven't really liked any Zelda since then, despite being able to go back to Ocarina on the 3DS and really enjoy it.


Does anyone else have games like this? Have you even really thought about it?

[Oblivion]

I've always wondered: why is it that nostalgia seems to hit gaming harder than any other hobby or form of entertainment?

To answer your question, I have a few games like this (Final Fantasy X and the Kingdom Hearts series, mostly) but for some reason most of my top ten games were games I've played in the last two years.

[NWR_insanolord]

I don't know that I'd say it's too much more of a thing in games. I'm sure there are plenty of movies and TV shows that I remember fondly from when I was younger that fit the bill.

[Ian Sane]

Perhaps nostalgia hits gamers particularly hard because it's a relatively new thing.  It's something I enjoyed as a kid that did not even exist until my parents were already adults.  It was very much OUR thing.  We were the first generation to be raised with it and I think that creates a strong emotional connection.

Most of the games from my childhood hold up quite well.  I have not really gone back to N64 games, however, so those might be pretty damn rough.  I did play Goldeneye about a year ago and found myself laughing at the trademark James Bond intro.  When that game was current the intro blew me away.  It had this authenticity that wasn't very common yet.

Two games I loved as a kid don't work as well a they used to: Street Fighter II and NBA Jam.  In SFII I can completely dominate the game with E. Honda's hundred hand slap.  My brother dominates with nothing but Sagat's roundhouse kicks.  While as a kid we spent all our time trying to do special moves, as adults we just abuse whatever cheap tactic gets things done.  I can't do this with later SF games but the original is just too dated for me to have fun with anymore.  It's also really slow.

NBA Jam is hurt by the fact that the computer blatantly cheats and it's obvious that towards the end of a close game you will suddenly start missing 90% of your shots.  Also as kids we all went for outrageous dunks but we've since realized that it's better to rely almost entirely on three pointers so I can't play it the old dunkfest way with my brothers anymore.  I'll get my ass kicked as their three pointers will make a lead insurmountable in a hurry.

It's typically multiplayer games that have this.  The game is essentially "solved" so that I have to play a certain way for things to be competitive with my friends and family that are as familiar with the game as I am.

One of the few SNES games we owned when we were kids was fuckin' Bubsy.  Ugh.  I know this game blows but my brother will talk it up as a good game.  Until I get him to play it where the constant blind leaps and cheap deaths will quickly frustrate him and turn him off the game.  But then in a few years he'll get all nostalgic again and forget about how much it sucked the last time he played it.  He's been talking about it again so I guess we're due for another wake-up call play session.

[Adrock]

There are too many things to consider to ultimately decide if I would still like a game if I played it for the first time today. Much of my enjoyment of a game is based on prior experiences. I enjoy a game less if I played something like it before. It's important to note that the so-called "classics" are largely responsible for advancing their respective genres. I don't think you can take Ocarina of Time, for example, out of 1998 and say the genre would still be the same today. It was made with the sensibilities of its time. What made the game so good was that there was really nothing like it back then. I can't imagine displacing a game 15 years and expecting it to be the same game. Ocarina of Time in 2013 wouldn't and couldn't be the same game. It's very much a product of its time and there are no subsequent console Zelda games without what Nintendo invented and learned from Ocarina of Time. The entire series, the entire genre would be vastly different without it.

That said, I'm not sure nostalgia is a determining factor for me. Certain aspects of Ocarina of Time are dated by today's standards, but it holds up. Additionally, would I still think the Zelda formula was getting stale if the game that started the formula didn't exist? There are definitely games I really enjoyed when I first played them that I have a hard time going back to (e.g. Yoshi's Island). If anything, I think I changed. I just can't get into some games and genres anymore. To get to that point, I needed specific experiences. I don't know if I could say I disliked Skyward Sword without first experiencing Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker. I'm not sure I'm explaining this well.

[Spak-Spang]

I think the biggest factor for nostalgia is change.

Other mediums don't change that much, but gaming has changed quite a bit in a relatively short time.

From single screen arcade experiences like Pac Man Donkey Kong
From Arcades being the place to play ground breaking graphical and technical games.
8 bit 2 button NES/SMS games
16-bit games
The big jump to 3D games
The rising of the Western game influence
The rise of 3D shooters
Multiplayer online experiences

The gaming world has had the MOST change of any other media in recent years.

But, that still doesn't mean you don't hear other people talking about classic media nostalgia.

I think the domination of CGI animated movies has brought about a change that people remember fondly the classic Disney animations.

Television has changed a lot and our parents and grandparents (and sometimes us as well) remember the classic television shows and the simple and "wholesome" message of those shows. 

I think change is what truly brings about thoughts of nostalgia and the good ole days. 

[Stoeff.at]

@OP:

I really do share your experience with Zelda. I really tried to like TLP but it just felt too stretched and I have not even finished SS because it just is not enjoyable for me.

I still own an old NES and sometimes set it up (what is a PITA on modern TVs) to play games like North&South, Ikari Warriors, Gauntlet, Castlevania etc.
It is not that I miss just the games, it is the overall nostalgia feeling. Getting games just for events like birthday and Christmas, playing with my brother for hours or trade games with friends.

Today I am so oversaturated with games (especially on steam) and can't even finish most of the pearls. Xenoblade is still waiting with another awsome 40 hours I guess but it seems impossible for me to find the time to give it a go.

Awsome games to come back to are the RPGs/ARPGs from the golden SNES era like FF, ChronoTrigger, SoM, SoE, Lufia and so on.
Also there are a lot of DS games that bring back the feelings of my childhood. Check out the 3 Castlevania games on DS. You can get the PAL versions on Amazon still new for unter 20 Euros.

Sadly enough I kind of broke up with the Mario series. I did not like NSMB on the DS and also 3DLand.
My brother on the other hand, who had played the same games as I did in the past, loves 3DLand.

[lolmonade]

I adore, ADORE Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for NES (no, not the relatively fun arcade ones, this one).  I objectively know it's a terrible game, but the time I threw away playing that game as a child because I loved the cartoon compelled me to play it all the time, which caused me to get through the game by rote memorization. 


When I play the game, it brings me back to the joy I had as a kid playing the game, and when I fluidly get all the way to the technodrome because my memory comes back while playing, it's a great feeling. 


It's kind of like a comfort food.  I may know that Chef Boyardee ravioli's are absolutely terrible, but I can eat them occasionally and genuinely enjoy them because of the association with my childhood.




That being said, I think another challenges you encounter over time is that time becomes much more finite when you finish school, get a full-time job, get married, and start a family.  When I was a kid, I could play for hours (or until my parents forced me to go outside).  You have a lot more time to learn and master a video game as a kid, and there's a lot of satisfaction in conquering a game that's a challenges, especially if it's an unfairly difficult game.  When I game now, I don't have the spare time to hammer away at a game like I used to, and I'm guessing this isn't an unfamiliar feeling with others in a similar situation.

[Fetalisk]

I have played A LOT of N64 games in my past, and I still have the cartridges from years ago. When I count them today I have twenty-three! However, the games I remember most fondly are Mario Party 2, Mario Kart 64 and Goldeneye 007, and if I were to narrow it down to just one, the definite answer would be Mario Party 2.

I LOVED having my friends and family play an everlasting round of Mario Party 2 with me. I loved the idea of a Mario party-type game, and since my dad wouldn't let me get the first Mario Party, my childish self went out with a few friends about two years later at the launch of Mario Party 2 and we played it for the whole rest of the night until about six in the morning. And I was 14! Sadly, I lost my Mario Party 2 cartridge in '06, a day I will dread for the rest of my life. I can't count the endless amounts of minutes I was poking my head under tables, IN tables, sneaking into other's privacy and looking at friend's houses.

Luckily, just recently, I found exactly the game I was looking for on the Wii Shop channel for ten bucks - Mario Party 2. So for endless amounts of hours I play the game I haven't played in seven whole years. So, yes, Mario Party 2 may just be the best game ever on my list, even though I'm way into the mature genre.

[Spak-Spang]

Now, that is an interesting topic.  What are the 3 games you remember most fondly for each gaming system.  Not the best game...since this is a gaming Nostalgia thread, and we don't need another thread, I will just continue the discussion here.

SNES:
The Legend of Zelda,
Super Mario World
Super Mario Kart

Nintendo 64:
Super Mario 64
Perfect Dark
The Legend of Zelda

Gamecube:
Smash Bros. Melee
Super Mario Kart Double Dash
Metroid Prime

Wii:
Wii Sports
The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
Super Mario Galaxy


I don't remember much about NES and SMS era of gaming. 

[Wah]

Kid Icarus and starfox 64 3d

[Sarail]

Now, that is an interesting topic.  What are the 3 games you remember most fondly for each gaming system.

I'll take a stab at this one.

Atari 2600
Megamania
Centipede
Dig Dug

NES
Super Mario Bros. 2
Kirby's Adventure
Battletoads

SNES
Chrono Trigger
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Super Metroid

Nintendo 64
Jet Force Gemini
Goldeneye 007
Killer Instinct Gold

GameCube
Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 3
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO

Wii
Monster Hunter Tri
Xenoblade
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Project M mod)

PSX
Final Fantasy IX
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Chrono Cross

PS2
Final Fantasy XI Online
DDR MAX
DDR MAX2

PS3
Uncharted 2
Darksiders
inFAMOUS

[broodwars]

Now, that is an interesting topic.  What are the 3 games you remember most fondly for each gaming system.  Not the best game...since this is a gaming Nostalgia thread, and we don't need another thread, I will just continue the discussion here.

Hmm...let me see...

NES

Super Mario Bros. 3
Clash At Demonhead
Mega Man 4 (yeah, I said it. I played the **** out of that game as a kid, & I never owned MM2 or MM3)

SNES

Chrono Trigger
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinestrals

N64

Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Calibur
TLoZ: Majora's Mask
Perfect Dark

GameCube

Baten Kaitos Origins
Tales of Symphonia
Metroid Prime

Wii

Xenoblade
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Disaster: Day of Crisis

PS2

Final Fantasy X
Kingdom Hearts 2
Persona 4

PS3

Valkyria Chronicles
Bioshock
Batman: Arkham Asylum

[Spak-Spang]

My first Mega Man Game was Mega Man 3, and it rocked.  When people say Mega Man 2 is superior (it might be ) but I just can't imagine Mega Man without a slide move. 

If I tried to guess the most memorable NES gaming experiences for me are:

Mega Man 3
Super Mario Bros
Bubble Bobble

My cousin had a NES, but his parents were very careful what games they had.  They had Bubble Bobble Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros.  So those games are the ones I am most fond of.  My next door neighbor had Mega Man 3. 

[Ian Sane]

I'll only go with systems I owned when they were current.  The SNES top three is only including games I played when the system was current.  I have fond memories of my first time playing Zelda and Metroid but that was years after the N64 was already out.

SNES:
Super Mario World
Street Fighter II Turbo
Super Mario RPG

N64:
WWF No Mercy
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

GBA:
Fire Pro Wrestling
Metroid: Zero Mission
Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

GC:
Pikmin 2
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Metroid Prime 2

For the Gamecube I actually had trouble narrowing it down to three and Mario Sunshine and Wind Waker weren't even in consideration.  Not bad.

DS:
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Korg DS-10

Seriously my DS was a wasted purchase.  My GBA was pretty much saved by the GB Player.  The DS had no such option and my general dislike of handhelds made me give up on this soon.  My most vivid memories include cursing Phantom Hourglass for controlling like **** and getting bored by New Super Mario Bros.  Phoenix Wright however was so addictive that I found myself playing it on the toilet because I didn't want to stop.

Wii:
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Guitar Hero: World Tour
Xenoblade Chronicles

[Traveller]

N64:
Super Smash Bros
Mario Kart 64
Zelda: Oot


GBA:
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Golden Sun
Pokémon Sapphire


GameCube:
Sonic Adventure 2
Smash Bros Melee
Mario Strikers


Wii:
Super Mario Galaxy
Guitar Hero
The Last Story

[marvel_moviefan_2012]

Now, that is an interesting topic.  What are the 3 games you remember most fondly for each gaming system.

I want to get in on this


Atari 2600

Asteroids
Q*bert
Pinball


NES

A Nightmare on Elm Street
Little Nemo
Legend of Zelda


SNES

Sim City
Super Mario World
Kirby Super Star

Genesis

Sonic 2
Turrican
Toe Jam and Earl Panic on Funkotron

Playstation 1

Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Final Fantasy 7
Tetris Plus

N64

Mortal Kombat 4
Super Mario 64
Mario Party

Game Cube

Star Fox Adventures
Sonic Adventure DX
Harvest Moon A Wonderful Life

Wii

Wii Sports
Wii Play
Metroid Prime 3

Game Boy Advance

Super Mario Advance 4 e ( had the e-Reader and all the cards)
Classic NES Castlevania
Classic NES Zelda 2 Adventure of Link


PC

Duke Nukem (classic side scroller NOT 3D FPS)
Legend of Darkmoon Eye of the Beholder 2
Colors of War (still play this game from time to time)

PS3

Ducktales Remastered
Castlevania Symphony of the Night
Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection

Wii U

Super Mario 3D World
New Super Mario/Luigi U
Shovel Knight Adventures

Steam

AVGN Adventures
Morrowind
unEpic (also have on Wii U but play mostly on Steam)

that is about it.


Looking back on it I am almost certain nostalgia plays a huge role as some of my games others consider terrible but I still enjoy them a lot. Especially Elm Street for NES and Star Fox Adventures on Game Cube.

[Spak-Spang]

I had a Sega Master System longer than I had a NES...

I remember playing some great games on that system.

Sega Master System
Wonderboy in Monster Land
Choplifter
Space Harrier

For classic Arcade experiences I loved:

Arcade
Trog
Galaga
Street Fighter series

[Evan_B]

SNES:
Goof Troop
A Link to the Past
Super Metroid

GB:
Super Mario Land
Super Mario Land 2
Tetris

GBC:
Pokemon Silver
Wario Land 3
Dragon Warrior Monsters

N64:
Super Smash Bros.
Goldeneye
Mario Kart 64

GCN:
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Metroid Prime
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

DS:
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Digimon World Dawn
Chrono Trigger DS

Wii:
Xenoblade Chronicles
The Last Story
Mario Kart Wii