Are you a Retro Gamer?

[Dragon]

While I do find the newer game consoles like the Nintendo Wii U and the new games for it like Super Mario 3D World or Mario Kart 8 to be fun and all, most of the time I find myself going back to my old consoles such as my old Super Nintendo Entertainment System and play games like Super Mario World, or Donkey Kong Country 2, or heck, sometimes even going back to my NES to play Fire Emblem 1, or my old playstation to play Auto Destruct.

My question to you is, are you the same way? Do you consider yourself to be more taken by the 'retro classic games'? Which games would those be? Feel free to discuss and share anything!

 

[Sydian]

I kind of consider myself retro, but kind of not. I really like older games and I put more focus on collecting them, but I don't go that far back. I tend to stick with N64, PS2, and GameCube games. Generally that era of gaming is my favorite because it's what I remember the most fondly. I didn't have a PS2 back then, but I count it in there because of all the games I wanted to play back then, like Kingdom Hearts and Jak and Daxter. I also like handhelds from pretty much all generations, especially GBA. I should mention I grew up on the SNES, but I didn't get to play it all the time since it wasn't mind, so that's why my first console doesn't really make it into my little group I favor. I love the SNES though. Chrono Trigger. <3

And for what it's worth, I love video game history from all eras. That's probably one of my favorite things about video games. The history behind them is fun to learn about. It's definitely the only paper I enjoyed writing! (Yes, I did a full research paper on this!)

So I guess I'm a bit of a hybrid as far as actual gaming goes, since I don't think N64, PS2, and GCN are really considered "retro." And if they are, then egg on my face! I'm older than I thought! lol

 

[Morkula]

My first console was an N64, and I only had three games for that, so I never really got into gaming until the Gamecube. I feel like I missed gaming's golden years, so I've been wanting to go back and get at least an SNES and build a retro collection, but old games are so expensive and hard to find (short of eBay) that it's kind of prohibitive.

 

[welsknight]

I'm somewhere in between. I mostly play newer titles, but every now and again nostalgia strikes and I have to bury myself in games from a long-lost era. Most recently it was Dark Forces, a DOS-based Star Wars first-person shooter. I had to dig out and dust off my ancient Windows 98 Compaq Presario to play it lol.

I grew up on the NES and the original Game Boy (yes, the one that was approximately the size of a brick). It was a simpler time... and to get my games, I used to walk uphill, in 3 feet of snow, both ways!

 

[Urist McHemlock]

I kind of consider myself retro, but kind of not. I really like older games and I put more focus on collecting them, but I don't go that far back. I tend to stick with N64, PS2, and GameCube games. Generally that era of gaming is my favorite because it's what I remember the most fondly. I didn't have a PS2 back then, but I count it in there because of all the games I wanted to play back then, like Kingdom Hearts and Jak and Daxter. I also like handhelds from pretty much all generations, especially GBA. I should mention I grew up on the SNES, but I didn't get to play it all the time since it wasn't mind, so that's why my first console doesn't really make it into my little group I favor. I love the SNES though. Chrono Trigger. <3

And for what it's worth, I love video game history from all eras. That's probably one of my favorite things about video games. The history behind them is fun to learn about. It's definitely the only paper I enjoyed writing! (Yes, I did a full research paper on this!)

So I guess I'm a bit of a hybrid as far as actual gaming goes, since I don't think N64, PS2, and GCN are really considered "retro." And if they are, then egg on my face! I'm older than I thought! lol

By going by 4chan's /vr/ board, N64 is indeed retro. I suggest we limit all talk up to 5th generation, with Dreamcast and computer games up to 1999. And yes, I play a lot of retro games, having a 8.36 GB folder with sub-folders filled with hacks, obscure games, betas, pirates and homebrew.

 

[Sydian]

By going by 4chan's /vr/ board, N64 is indeed retro.

It was nice knowing all of you. I'm going to the retirement home now. Goodbye!!!

 

[Alfieri]

I love older games because I grew up with the SNES, Gamecube, and Game Boy Advance.
However I find myself playing the PS3 and Wii U more. I have been playing my Gamecube from time to time but my room is small so i hate having to set it up every time I want to play. I'm really itching to buy that screw cable thingy for the SNES so I can play some childhood favorites like TMNT Tournament Fighters and The Lion King.

 

[Sylphiel]

Kinda yes, I'd say. There are very few games coming out now that even begin to pique my interest at all. However, older games, especially ones of the rpg flavor? I will gladly play those - or try to play them at least, considering how slowly I go through most video games now. I have a few PS games that I'm trying to get through at the moment (Xenogears and Chrono Cross), and I'd guess before that era and up to maybe PS2 era are where my favorites tend to lie. Quite a range. Anything after that, eh. The shiny newer things don't tend to tempt me much anymore, for some reason.

Although even with that span of game systems, nothing quite beats stuff from the SNES era for me. I don't indulge in playing games from that system so much now, not nearly as much as I used to, but seeing as how that was a system I grew up with I definitely have a soft spot for it. Especially if it involves certain games: FF3/6, Illusion of Gaia, Secret of Mana, maybe Mario Kart (although I think I prefer the N64 version more), most likely Legend of Zelda, Chrono Trigger....and now I realize I don't even remember the rest of the games I had for it. I do wish I had my actual SNES with me, though; I'd so play the games I had for it in a heartbeat if I got bored.

(Argh, this reminds me that I got Super Mario RPG a while ago and meant to play it some more but the Wii was lent to my brother in law ugggh I wonder when we're getting it back from him.)

 

[Sydian]

My first console was an N64, and I only had three games for that, so I never really got into gaming until the Gamecube. I feel like I missed gaming's golden years, so I've been wanting to go back and get at least an SNES and build a retro collection, but old games are so expensive and hard to find (short of eBay) that it's kind of prohibitive.

SNES games are so expensive now too, so that makes it even more difficult. :( Luckily, there are ports of most the games you'd really want to play on SNES like Chrono Trigger, the SNES Final Fantasies, A Link to the Past, etc. and those don't tend to run for too much. However, they're on multiple platforms so it just takes finding the right port and assuming you don't mind playing the port. Sometimes it's better to do so though. I'll take the $25 DS Chrono Trigger over the $80-ish SNES Chrono Trigger as far as just playing the game goes. But of course if you're into collecting, shelling out the money might be worth it. I love collecting, but I'm also in college so yeah. Gotta pick my spending battles. :P

But yeah, there are plenty of SNES games that have been ported Geoff, so you can relive some stuff! And there's the eShop. I wish that they'd bring N64 games to the Wii U's eShop though. The Wii's had them so why not U's?

 

[Necrum]

I think anyone who has lived long enough is gonna be a retro gamer at some point. I'll probably never stop playing old Sonic games, especially Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

 

[Lord Scalgon]

Big fan of the old-school 90's era. Can name plenty of childhood games back then. Notably Wolfenstein 3-D, Doom series, Descent series, SimCity (pre-2000), Tie Fighter, Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, Dune 2, StarCraft (original), Warcraft II, and so on and so forth.

This is probably me, but in terms of gaming, I prefer this era. I don't know why, but the nostalgia...

 

[pkmin3033]

How old is "retro" now exactly? I'd consider retro to be SNES-era or earlier, in which case I'm on the edge of that - my first consoles were a Megadrive and a Gameboy, and I still play plenty of those titles, albeit on different platforms; my Megadrive and Gameboy gave out years ago - but I see some people saying that PS1 and N64 are now retro...I have trouble thinking of those as retro, as those were the consoles I grew up with.

I don't know if I'd consider myself more taken with the games of my childhood than I would with the games of today...yes, the games today are, for the most part, too short for their cost, and don't provide much challenge for me. Originality is also a long dead concept in gaming. But at the same time, there are still plenty of games being released that I want to play, and some of my favourite games - Xenoblade, Disgaea 4, etc - are from the last console generation. There are still plenty of quality games to be found if you know what you like and don't try and hold everything up to the rosy-tinted nostalgia spectacles of past generations.

I try not to compare older games with newer ones, and I just enjoy what I buy for what it is. Times have changed, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing - I've gotten older, I'm better at games than I used to be, and whilst the focus on style over substance of the current generations is annoying to me, as I don't really pay attention to graphics etc anyway it doesn't matter much to me.

 

[Dustmop]

I don't really consider myself a 'retro' gamer. Though I don't really consider myself any 'kind' of gamer. I enjoy lots of things - retro, modern, tabletop... All kinds! I don't really favor any era; they've all got their pros and cons for me.

Besides, like Willhelm said, those of us that grew up with them are always going to appreciate the classics. I grew up in a house with an Atari 2600, Intellivision, NES, and some older PC games. Eventually the other Nintendo consoles came in, too. And it all came with three older sisters and two parents that I had to share those with. So they don't just bring back feelings of nostalgia, they bring back fond memories of fighting over the big-screen TV with the five other kids I shared them with, lol.

 

[Necrum]

I'm almost ready to call HL2 Retro lol, it's been over ten years since its release hot damn.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

I would say I'm half-retro gamer as I'm not into old consoles (it's most likely because I didn't own any) but I did play a few oldies on PC.
I always find myself returning to Heroes II, Pampuch (Pac-man clone), Dune II and some others =)

 

[Yukari]

Over 80% of the games I play are retro games. I really don't get the chance to play many "New" games.

 

[Dreg]

Considering I grew up with a lot of retro games, I play these on a daily basis. I'm beginning to hate the direction that most games are going now, so I play the classics a lot. Really starting to get into the likes of Phantasy Star, once again.

 

[El Héroe Oscuro]

No, I can't say I am. I'll play the occassional old school game from time to time because of childhood memories, but because of the advent of new generation graphics I've found it really difficult to go back to games say on the N64 (sooooo 3D)

 

[TRIFORCE89]

Eehhhh.... yes and no.

I grew up with a NES, SNES, and Game Boy. But... this was before the Internet. And I was very young. And I didn't really know anyone else who played video games. So, I just played what was given to me. Nintendo and Disney mostly.

I did not know any better or different.

It seems weird to me that I have a NES and my only games are Super Mario Bros., Tetris, Blades of Steel, and a Sesame Street game. XD Like... I did not know what existed. No Mega Man, Castlevania, RPGs, nothing.

Even later when the N64 hit, more kids had that but no one really... played it? Like by that point I had Internet, so I knew what games were coming out. I would look forward to things and anticipate and know what I wanted. Other kids though... nope. They had Super Mario 64, a racing game, and a sports game and they were set forever.

So... just that wonderful school playground video game tips and secrets sharing word of mouth interplay completely passed me by :C


I am rectifying this though. And slowly playing through a lot of retro games. I've done about 70 games so far since September. Only beaten a handful, but played the rest and have enjoyed alot of things I didn't know existed.

 

[Entermaid]

I loath the NES...sorry :(

I love a few of the SNES games (Star Fox, Mario RPG!!!!!!!!!!!!, Killer Instinct, Donkey Kong Country, Link to the Past, Super Mario Kart)

PS. Mario RPG might be the greatest game of all time and an important precedent to today's rpg adventures.

N64 is my hands-down favorite system ever! Too many games to list that are still enjoyable to me. The console of 3d platforming worlds is unique, and has yet to be truly replicated by another system in its greatness!!!

As far as handheld games go the GB/GBC, pokemon, zelda, and fire emblem are the only ones I really seem to enjoy...the rest truly just don't evoke any fun or joy.

That said, modern gaming has glimpses of genius.