Hey guys, it’s Abi here again and today I’m going to be taking you on a trip down memory lane, as I re-discover the most classic and favourite games of our past. So tear yourself away from Advanced Warfare for a couple of seconds (if you can), and join me in a sentimental exploration of my fondest gaming experiences.
At this moment in time, there are a number of newly released video games (Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and The Evil Within to name a few), that when mentioned, cause me to promptly stop what I’m doing, sit up in my chair and capture my absolute attention.
However, despite this, I often find myself having more complex and enjoyable conversations surrounding the retro games we previously loved, as opposed to modern releases. So much so, that nostalgia often gets the better of me, as I swiftly find myself digging out my Nintendo 64, in an attempt to satisfy my cravings for some classic Super Mario.
As a result of these actions, I began to contemplate - are video games becoming too repetitive? Should respected video game designers take a step back and try to renew some of our childhood favourites?
For example, take the aforementioned Super Mario. An overwhelming amount of gaming enthusiast have played Super Mario at some point in their life, and I’m willing to bet that a large percentage of gamers were introduced to other titles due to our favourite Italian plumber.
Throughout the various consoles that have been produced over the years, whether it’s the Nintendo 64 from 1997 or the Wii U released in 2012, Mario has remained a timeless classic. Since our very first encounter with Bowser, the game has quite literally developed in leaps and bounds, increasing its prominent fan base.
Personally, my favourite Super Mario title has to be Super Mario Sunshine. Distributed upon the iconic GameCube in 2002, it was the second 3D Mario platformer to be created and consequently the third most popular video game upon the GameCube, selling a reported 5.9million copies. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who was instantly addicted to the game.
I’ll share a brief anecdote with you – my mom, my sister and myself were all so dedicated to Super Mario Sunshine, that we would often get into full frontal arguments over identifying who had overwritten another person’s save file. We’ve since reconciled said arguments, but that is the power of our moustached friend.
Another game that I’m particularly fond of is Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, and for those of you who are too young to remember the title, no it doesn’t involve a foam shoe. Released in 1997 for the original PlayStation, Croc was a game, IS a game in which you play as an extremely pixelated crocodile (betcha didn’t see that coming), who is on a quest to free Gobbos from the evil Baron Dante. Are you still with me?
If this simplified madness wasn’t already enough, the game also encompasses small platforms, diamonds, and a yellow gong that Croc must hit at the end of each level, before being shrunk by a yellow bird called Beany. Move out of the way Spyro, Croc was your competition.
However, aside from all of this, a great deal of my childhood was spent on the classic handheld gaming console, the GameBoy Colour. Although I did eventually progress to the GameBoy Advance SP, the Gameboy Colour simply retained something special about itself, a certain freshness that other consoles didn’t appear to have.
This wasn’t purely due to the fact that it made long-haul flights enjoyable, or made Christmas shopping with your parents at the age of 8 a lot less painful, but more appropriately, a result of the bundle of games that were released along with it. To this day, Pokemon is still firmly surviving throughout handheld consoles, and although new generations have been unleashed accordingly, we can all still remember that moment when we arrived at Professor Oak’s lab and he requested us to make that life-changing decision between Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur…
We’ll advance forward now, to the PlayStation 2 in 2003 and the release of the good old classic independent game – The Sims. Where do I even begin with The Sims? A simple life simulation sandbox video game has seemingly grown into one of the largest and most successful franchises to date, and once again, was the cause of several lengthy arguments between me and my sister. Till this day, I still remember her reaction when she discovered her Sims career had ‘mysteriously’ changed from an innocent Movie Star to a thrilling Criminal.
But oh, didn’t they go absolutely insane whenever they got stolen from? I still (frequently) imitate a Sim having a tantrum whenever there’s someone blocking my way from exiting the room, or when someone is stood in front of the sink. I hope we all remember the various cheats we had access to as well. Thanks to the help of Google, we could use ‘FISHEYE’ and happily watch our Sims cut away at their horrendously pixelated sandwich-slop-things.
Fast forward through to present day; currently the battle for our hearts and minds is lead by two heavyweights within the video game scene, Sony and Microsoft. Within the vast selection of titles offered on the PlayStation and Xbox systems, there are a number of games being created that are just as addictive as Pokemon – with Call of Duty and Dragon Age: Inquisition recently topping the charts and two examples of titles extremely hard to put down.
Personally, I am looking forward to the potential re-releases of iconic games, such as the ones mentioned above. It's particularly impresssive and heart-warming that many of the earliest franchises are still surviving today and have enough interest to warrant release on modern-day consoles. Nevertheless, I can’t help but feel a little bit nostalgic whenever I hear the Mario theme tune, or the Pokemon healing sounds in their original form!
Let me know what you think!
Until next time, happy gaming!
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