Why Retro-Style Games Still Matter Today

[cocguidehub]

Retro-style games have always fascinated me because they prioritize core gameplay over graphics. It’s fun to see how many modern games still use mechanics inspired by older titles.

I’m looking forward to reading discussions here and learning from other gamers who enjoy both classic and modern games.

 

[Zerohour2k12]

Maybe cuz' tried and tested mechanics and gameplay that stood the test of time are still better than modern games at times and oldschool graphics are still appealing. For me, nostalgia is just a bonus.

 

[Not_Red]

Sometimes newer games try too hard and add too many stuff that end up scaring potential players, like QoL stuff is always welcomed but if a game has 10 different systems to keep track of and you actually have to tinker with then I'm probably just playing a menu game when I could just be killing slimes in Dragon Quest just by choosing the attack option.

 

[Jeff]

Retro games have color, imagination, basic and simple gameplay, full of surprises, no DLC, and a challenge than modern games with no color at all with the same boring looking realistic character.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin TruxtonTatsujin]

First off, Welcome! Enjoy your stay.

they prioritize core gameplay over graphics.

I've heard this said many times, but I've never entirely agreed because it downplays just how appealing these games still look, plus there very much where games that existed solely to push the tech for visual spectacle. imo the average retro classic had just as much thought and effort put into the graphics as the gameplay.

 

[Dr.Kisaragi Dr.Kisaragi]

Well I was still planning old games and the Master System is still in my conquer list I'll say they still beautiful hidden gems hiding on the Sand sometimes they are good games need to be discovered this why I love retro games.

 

[MDGeistsfavMC5song]

Why Retro-Style Games Still Matter Today​

*ahem* ... mmmm.. *clearing throat* ... ok... CUZ I SAY SO.. ok.. thank you

 

[Izzy]

It's the only kind of game that'll outright kick your ass no matter how old you are. The new era of gamers have no clue that when you step into something that's been around older than you, has more experience than you and still know how to grin at you even at the base level of difficulty. That's when you punk-ass snot faced ragamuffins get humbled down to Level 1 REAL quick.

Thank you.

 

[Bonkers225]

It's the most simple, safe approach to make a game fun, and addictive, especially in short bursts.

 

[JPchicre]

Sometimes, old games prioritized graphics, i think it tended to be more forgivable because games tended to be less complex, and core mechanics could be more easily polished.
One case of a older game that I personally dislike the mechanics but like the graphics is the arcade Sega game Altered Beast.
But impressive graphics have always helped sell games, even less fun titles. "The first bite is with the eyes" goes the saying.
Retro games will always matter, they do things modern titles are less wiling to do(simpler straight forward game-play, more experimental mindset), even if they did not, any unique game has a place in someone's heart and deserves to exist. Even Bubsy has fans.

 

[Ezri_Muldoon]

... What?

Considering the majority of Retro styles games have incredible simplistic gameplay mechanics, there's no way that retro games as a whole "prioritise core gameplay over graphics"

Go to steam, set the price filter as low it can go and just wade through the nearly endless sea of "Retro" content.
The majority of those games don't even capture the pixel art aesthetics they claim to be replicating.
"It's 8-bit" but using impossible colours and sprites that even back in the 80's would have been criticized.

8-Bit gaming can look gorgeous, with fluid animations and cinematic presentation.
Just look at Prince of Persia on the BBC Micro, and it still has better gameplay than most indie games running on astronomically more powerful hardware

As of course we have the Master systems offerings, A console from 1985 offering better gameplay & sprite work than 80% of modern "retro games"

Good retro games are hard to come by, most could be considered lazy and hide behind simplistic graphics as a shield from criticism rather than embrace the self imposed limitations as a challenge to be overcome.

 

[blahbleh]

Actually, retro games did prioritize graphics. They might look poor by today's standards, but that doesn't mean developers didn't focus on visuals at the time. the snes is a great example for that

 

[rollobobo]

Ive always loved Retro games because of the "general" simplicity and it prioritized Gameplay. No long 30- minute cut scenes before you could play. Just would let you jump right in and play. Plus, control scheme was usually simpler too. A few buttons as opposed to ever button being used on a newer controller. I think SNES was perfect for a choice control scheme.

 

[MDGeistsfavMC5song]

Ive always loved Retro games because of the "general" simplicity and it prioritized Gameplay. No long 30- minute cut scenes before you could play. Just would let you jump right in and play. Plus, control scheme was usually simpler too. A few buttons as opposed to ever button being used on a newer controller. I think SNES was perfect for a choice control scheme.

yep.. snes controller vs sega saturn controller is a difficult argument

 

[AuroricStar759]

Retro games have a personality to them that most if not all modern games lack. To add more, they are just plug-n-play without begging you to purchase microtransactions or DLC.

 

[Graves Ruinwalker]

I fully agree but the developers from back then tried different gameplay approaches with a focus on what it should be archieved in the said genre .

We had alot of variaty in its gameplay and it was either simulative or more arcadey . Games even left the story only to its premise alone or want to be vast in its story .

The problem nowadays is games are developed on one kind of concept in every genre and arent very simulative but arent arcadey too that it ends up being bland overall .

While older games set the importance of graphics in a high priority too , they still knew that the gameplay is the mainpoint of a videogame that could make or break its success .

Alot of great game-concepts from long closed studios are still awesome and wait to be realised as videogames .
Its not the problem of creativity what we nowadays have with videogames but what videogames overall is used for .

And its definitly not for entertaiment whatsoever .

Unseen64 is a website i often visit because alot of cancled games and concepts are ready to be taken . Not exactly how it was originally shown but still great to take over and give the world some fresh and good gaming content .

 

[SherionVane]

Things with deeper content are more beautiful.

 

[Badseed Badseed]

Modern "retro" games are killing it right now, so don't expect that to go
away anytime soon. THERE IS MONEY TO BE MADE...

 

[saturnsh2x2]

A problem I've had with a lot of "retro-style" games released within the past decade and a half is that they usually don't fully commit to the look and actual limitations older games were held to. As a result, you end up getting stuff like mixels (pixels of different sizes), gradients slathered everywhere, assets not locked to a pixel or grid or rendered at a lower resolution (especially noticeable with rotation), lending itself to an overall cheap look.

By and large, I would say that more recent titles that try to go for this style are much better about respecting these limitations than much of what came out of the 2010s; stuff like Shadow of the Ninja Reborn or Freedom Planet 2 are examples off the top of my head.

I've heard this said many times, but I've never entirely agreed because it downplays just how appealing these games still look, plus there very much where games that existed solely to push the tech for visual spectacle. imo the average retro classic had just as much thought and effort put into the graphics as the gameplay.

This is also, like, incredibly pedantic, but imo blanketing a game's entire art direction under "graphics" paves over a lot of nuance. There is a discussion to be had about separating art direction from technical competence.

 

[BrawlMan]

Damn straight they do. Especially the actual games or retro style games that still play great back then, now, and in the future.

 

[VideoKojima1]

A lot of older games did prioritize graphics, but they also played a lot on art style.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that since everyone is going for super realistic looking graphics, or things are supposed to look hi fidelity now in the realm of AAA, your brain isn't engaging with it as much as it used to. They used to put pixels and triangles on the screen and your brain had to fill in the gaps. Every generation felt like a huge leap from one to another. In 6 years we went from the tail end of SNES to PS2. Firing up FFX in 2001 blew my damn brain apart, and it still does when I think about the context of it all and watch the opening cinematic. But now you NEED to look like that in your trailers to try and grab the mainstream audience. And you need to grab the mainstream audience because you, the company, spent so much money and time animating and trying to make everything beautiful. That's cool and all, but now instead of my brain filling in the gaps, it's going to be looking for what is wrong with it because we expect it to be perfect this day and age.

I think that's what made Expedition 33 shine a lot. The environments were so strange and obtuse, the character design was weird and memorable. The animations were different and had a lot of impact, and it's extra content was really tongue and cheek. But your brain was actively engaged with it. Different enemies had different animations for their attacks, and often sound would help you dodge or parry those attacks. But stuff was so different and strange to look at that you needed to engage with it to make heads or tails of it. And you appreciate enemy design because of it. It wasn't about making things look realistic or animating everything perfectly, you were drawn into it. The imperfections didn't matter because the game tied everything about being a game together. A lot of other games these days I feel like people are trying to judge the technical aspects, and it didn't feel like that with E33.

 

[Quiggling]

In 6 years we went from the tail end of SNES to PS2.

The last Sega Genesis game released in North America was in 1998. The same year it's successor console the Saturn was discontinued there, and one year before the release of the successor to the Saturn, Dreamcast, was launched. The 16-bit generation as a whole was so so wild. It did not go quietly into that good night.

 

[MDGeistsfavMC5song]

The last Sega Genesis game released in North America was in 1998. The same year it's successor console the Saturn was discontinued there, and one year before the release of the successor to the Saturn, Dreamcast, was launched. The 16-bit generation as a whole was so so wild. It did not go quietly into that good night.

for real.. and it still gets a huge number of games for it.. even compared to the SFC/ SNES which eventually outsold it.. people love to make games for the Mega Drive/ Genesis.. I love both to death, (my first console was a Master System after my older brother got a NES, then he got a job and got Genesis, and years later I got a SNES, so these are my jam in a way) but I also absolutely adore the Sega Saturn, PSX, and PSP but especially Sega Saturn in particular.. I wish it got more modern love.. but I guess they dont want to spend the money on disc based systems since they are so easy to pirate compared to cartridge games.. maybe not really, especially with all the tech now, but Ive heard that's why newer retro game devs making games for the Neo Geo dont like making Neo Geo CD until they absolutely have to for piracy reasons..