Nostalgia and Video Games

[Kazooie]

Okay first off, I just have to say that I DO love the Game Grumps, and I LOVE Mario. However, this post will be having to deal with both of these things, and what I say may or may not align with your opinion of the topic. I mean no offense to anyone, this is just a topic that's been getting on my nerves and I felt like I could use this to get it off my chest.

 

So first off, watch this video to about 2:50.

 

http://youtu.be/cQLxgeIPpos?t=1m4s

 

I hate Arin's attitude in these two minutes. I hate the whole idea of "Old Mario vs New Mario". From what I understand, people usually divide anything Super Mario 64 and older as "Old Mario" and anything past that as "New Mario".

 

I hate it. I hate the idea that a NEW game can only be good compared to an OLD game. What's the point of comparing a 3D game like Mario Galaxy to a 2D game like Mario 3? They're completely different in how they work and trying to compare them just doesn't make sense.

 

He then starts to rag on Mario 3D Land, which is just really annoying really. Was it a great game? No, it was pretty easy until you got to the later Special Worlds with almost no difficulty curve until then, and it jumped insanely then. Was it bad? Not at all. The game was a load of fun, and running around these 3D environments like a 2D game was a load of fun.

 

Newer Mario games HAVE to reuse resources. Imagine Nintendo having to build entirely new, well, EVERYTHING every time they made a new game. It would make everything take longer and even then, that doesn't mean a game will be any good.

 

Personally, I don't enjoy Mario 3 all that much. The Raccoon Mechanic with the tail feels clunky once you play with the Cape in Super Mario World. The jump mechanic in general feels odd when compared to Mario World. Mario World looks better, it has better levels design in general, the aesthetics are more pleasing in more areas compared to Mario 3.

 

Does that make Mario 3 a bad game? Not at all. I acknowledge that Mario 3 is by all standards an amazing game. The level design, while a bit shoddy sometimes with some jumps and other things, is generally wonderful, and the mechanics aren't bad, they're just different.

 

And most people would be like, "Okay sure, yeah."

Now if I replaced the words "Cape" and "Super Mario World" with the words "raccoon tail in Mario 3D" and "Super Mario 3D Land" a lot of people would have fits over it. Because NEEEW Mario just rips off Old Mario! New Mario hasn't come up with anything new, ever!

 

Bull, "New Mario" has come up with a good number of things. New Powerups, F.L.U.D.D., Mario Galaxy 1/2, hell even Luigi's Mansion, a game that most people who has played it loves, is a result of "New Mario" trying new things.

 

It's all coming back to nostalgia. I hate nostalgia in large doses like what Arin does. It's his opinion and he's allowed to have it, but whenever he talks about "New Mario" and "Old Mario" it makes me gag. He gives "New Mario" no credit where it deserves it, and it makes it really hard for me to watch Game Grumps play Mario games nowadays.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I just wanted to get this out there.

 

This doesn't just apply to Mario Games, it was just the most readily available example I had for me. Discuss your opinions on nostalgia and video games here I guess.

[Miror B]

I always did prefer Catgrumps.

 

I mean yes I do get where your coming from

 

But I also kinda get where Arin's coming from.

 

Though honestly, there's only so much you can do with a popular franchise without making it look like you "copied" mario.

 

I mean, what if mushrooms were taken away entirely and replaced with carrots? Would that make it "new" and "original"?

 

Honestly people.

 

*is rambling and may not even know what he's talking about*

 

Btw yes I have seen the video. Just so you know.

[Night]

New Mario games are shit.

New Pokemon games are shit.

New Sonic games are shit.

 

If you still enjoy said games however, I can't fathom why you'd care about my opinion. 

 

Gamegrumps is definitely shit however.

[Not-so-Radiant Arin]

Wait, people are talking about me? :D

[Kyng's Old Account]

New Mario games are interesting.
New Pokemon games are interesting.
New Sonic games are interesting.
 
I can appreciate how you're not a fan of Arin's view. I couldn't blame you really, because I don't agree with it either. I still respect his right to have one, but that's no reason to not discuss the matter.

Then again, I'm not a fan of Game Grumps.

[Just Crouton]

Three minutes in, and these guys are...boring.

 

It's nothing new for "old school" gamers to want to see the "old" version of their games come back, including Mario.

 

Sonic fans have been lined up in the back of the short bus in solidarity for years waiting for the perfect classic Sonic game Sega will never make.

 

Megaman fans just want Megaman 2/anything 8-bit over and over, even though 5 and 6 weren't as popular because people were sick of 8-bit at the time, and X was a better series on a superior system. In retrospect, Megaman's one of the most repetitive franchises ever, and honestly, killing it was better than shoveling out a Megaman 11, 12, 13, 14, etc.

 

If you want "classic", go play a Mario World or Megaman 2 romhack. There are lots to choose from.

 

I'm glad that Metroid's fanbase doesn't appear to have these issues.

[WhyDidIJoinThis-.-]

One of the biggest benefactors of nostalgia for me, is the music, the sounds. Some examples: Listening to soundtracks from the likes of Halo, MGS, Morrowind, and the old gen pokémon music (i.e. Silver). I don't know whether you'd count the likes of Halo, or Metal Gear Solid in this. But I grew up having a multitude of consoles, from sega, to the playstations, to xboxes, to dreamcasts, gameboys, you name it (maybe). It was great. The first pokémon game I played was silver, I shared a game file with my older brother.

 

  This brings me onto Pokémon nostalgia. I do prefer the old Pokémon games. This is for only a few reasons: music, looks, mechanics. I preferred the music back then, the simple, awesome, bitty kinda sound. The looks in game were also nicer in my opinion, the 3d graphics just look quite poor, and camera angles can get frustrating. This, coupled with mechanics bring me onto battles and gameplay. It just felt smoother with 2d, just straight to the point of battling, and they still look good. Of course I haven't provided any reasoning for this, and so my point looks like that of some nostalgia-fag who just is against anything new. This is not the case, I think it's just a matter of familiarity. I was brought up with the good ol' 2d pokémon where there weren't 1001 pokémon to choose from, where music was bitty and the looks pixelly. 'twas just part of the charm for me, and so from that viewpoint, Gen IV (d/p/p/ss/hg) is where I draw the line.

 

  Another thing for nostalgia, for me, is not only the memories of the games, but the era in which I played those games. For example, in the times I played the likes of Morrowind, or Lord Of The Rings, them were great days. Not a care of the world, not a knowledge of teh great evils of the Earth, or its peoples. And so listening to those great nostalgic musics, just reminds me when I was a happy, optimistic young lad, and not a pessimistic no-life :D I'm sure there's more I could add, but I just could only be bothered to participate with rough ideas.