What Makes Retro Gaming Great!

Metroid and Me!

The video shows my gameplay of Metroid.

Metroid is a classic NES gaming title.

I may be the only one that has never defeated this game…LOL.

I thought I would go back and explore this title.

Decades later, this title still holds up.

It makes me think of how powerful retro gaming is.

Revisiting games from the Atari, 8-bit, 16-bit, or even 64-bit eras can be a blast.

Below, I will share my opinion of what makes retro gaming so wonderful.

Click HERE to read my previous blog post on what makes gaming so great!

What Makes Retro Gaming So Great!

Here are a few things that makes retro gaming so great.

(When I say, “retro gaming,” I’m referring to systems dating to the Atari to the Nintendo Gamecube.)

NOSTALGIA

Yes, we have to be honest.

Nostalgia plays a big part.

When I think of nostalgia, I consider it as a longing for the past

As we grow older, we hold on to fond memories of yesteryear.

If you are like me, gaming plays a big part in your nostalgia.

COMMUNITY

Long before online leaderboards, gamertags, and social media, we were in community.

I used to stay with my grandparents while my folks were working.

This is where 2 of my cousins stayed also.

My cousins and I would rent a Nintendo game on Friday after finishing chores, playing it for the whole weekend.

The experience of playing a physical game with other physical people was amazing.

Before the days of Twitch streamers and YouTube gamers, we actually had to take turns playing, passing the controllers among each other.

I will never forget the agony of losing in Tecmo Bowl to an older cousin of mine.

You can’t always get those kinds of experiences when gaming online, in my opinion.

MYSTERY AND INTRIGUE

My local video rental store used to have games to rent for $2.10.

Definitely some different times…LOL.

When I rented a NES or Sega Genesis game, the only thing I had to go by was the picture on the front and the back of the box.

You either found a gem like The Legend of Zelda….

Or you had to spend the weekend playing Super Pitfall.

It was a weirdly exciting adventure to find out what kind of game you got yourself into.

Yes, we did have gaming magazines and commercials.

But there was still enough mystery to keep things exciting.

One of the unfortunate things to me is a lot of the intrigue has been taking out of gaming.

Because of social media and online content creators, we know too much about a game before playing it for ourselves.

Gaming creators already have access to exclusive gameplay they share, trailers that overly hype the game, and social media tells you how to feel about a game before experiencing it yourself.

I’m not bashing social media or content creators.

But there is entirely too much information out about games that come out now to the point where all of the newness and novelty is gone.

Not knowing what you could experience was a large part of the fun of gaming.

Our ability to form an opinion of a game is almost gone because of online gaming and social media.

Click HERE to read my article on what makes gaming so great!

Conclusion

Let me say this in closing.

I LOVE the fact that gamers are making money from social media, TWITCH, and other means.

I ENJOY watching YouTube tutorials, gameplays, and creators making content about video games.

I think it’s cool that online communities get together and bond over gaming.

And even as a Christian, I think that gaming can be a ministry tool. (I have desired to use it as a ministry tool myself.)

I don’t want to just wear nostalgia-colored glasses.

The truth is that gaming in the 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s was not perfect.

However, in my opinion, it was gaming how it should be.

Being in community with others playing a game physically and experiencing a new game is still an awesome experience.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

I invite you to also read my previous blog post about gaming by clicking HERE.

Thank you for reading this blog post.

Know that God loves and cares for you! (3 John 1:2)