Retro games and its influence

Cartridges used to be all the rage back in its heyday, back then all you had to do was pop in a cartridge and you could play in an instance. With games such as Tetris that was bundled with the GameBoy, Nintendo kicked started the handheld wars and monopolised it for many years to come. But before the GameBoy, there was the Game & Watch (G & W) handhelds, each having a game of its own to be played on a LCD screen. Also included in the handheld, is a watch and an alarm, hence the name, Game & Watch.

 

 

Nintendo aficionados, will no doubt know the history of this great company. But did you know that long before the GameBoy and G & W handhelds, there was Hanafuda cards, playing cards to those not familiar with the term.

 

With that, the point of this blog is to identify which retro games are still accessible till this day and the franchises that are still going strong even after all of these years.

 

Pushing blocks of all various sizes to clear lines?

 

Bundled with the GameBoy was the ever addictive puzzle game, Tetris. A game where you had to arrange blocks of many different sizes, line them up to clear lines and repeat. With such a simple premise to a game, it was surprisingly addictive and coupled with the GameBoy's form factor, it could be played whenever and wherever one desires. Yes, even while taking a ****. There I said it! 

 

 

Most Recent Game?

 

Tetris DS

 

Online multiplayer coupled with the addictive formula of Tetris and touch screen controls to boot = Instant success!

 

Eating mushrooms to get bigger?

 

Saving Princess Peach from the hands of King Koopa while jumping on Goombas and Bo Bombs? Its all in a days work for Mario, the ever cheerful plumber who goes to great lengths to save the princess. Yes, while the storylines for all of the Mario games are very similar, its charm and great platforming levels is what keeps it fresh. The fact that it influenced other great games such as Metroid and Castlevania, is testament that with great controls and ingenuity, brings more great spinoffs and other franchises of the same irk.

 

 

Most Recent Game?

 

Mario Galaxy

 

Following the formula of Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, comes another open world Mario game for the Nintendo Wii.

 

Infiltrating an enemy base using stealth?

 

Metal Gear (Not to be confused with the MGS games)

Mixing tactical espionage and stealth, Hideo Kojima was the mastermind behind Metal Gear, a game that is widely considered to give birth to the stealth genre.

 

Premise

 

Playing as Solid Snake, a special forces operative, you are tasked with the mission to destroy the Metal Gear, a bipedal tank that can launch nuclear missiles from anywhere on earth. If that wasn't enough, the mission entails him to infiltrate Outer Heaven, a fortified state that houses the Metal Gear by himself.

 

How did this game influence other stealth titles?

 

Simple, just take a look at the Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid games, they all share the same similarities in a sense that, stealth is the best option to finish a mission. Not to mention, while the missions require you to play through it alone and may border on the impossible, you are well armed with a whole slew of gadgets and gizmos. This alone evens things up considerably and when used correctly in the right circumstances, it can turn what may seem like a lost cause in your favour.

 

Most recent game?

 

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

 

Set five years after the Big Shell incident, Solid Snake is once again cast as the main protagonist but a lot has changed since Sons of Liberty. For one, he looks a LOT older and almost unrecognisable throughout the game.

 

How did he age so rapidly in such a short period?

 

Advanced Cellular Degeneration

 

A flaw in the cloning process used to create him has made him aged prematurely.

 

With Metal Gear Solid 4 being the last game to star Solid Snake, its convoluted plot and intriguing story ties all loose ends in the series and its a must have title for all MGS fans.

 

Level grinding, saving the world and a guy named Cid?

What began as a game to save Squaresoft from bankruptcy in 1987, the Final Fantasy series turned out to be a huge success and it also helped popularized the genre in other countries.

 

 

Mixing a great tale and memorable characters, each iteration focuses on a group of characters that are joined together to take down an evil, and sometimes ancient antagonist. Stories in the series frequently emphasize the internal struggles, passions, and tragedies of the characters, and the main plot often recedes into the background as the focus shifts to their personal lives.

 

Also another staple in the series, is a character named Cid, who has featured in all of the FF games and various spinoffs since the inception of Final Fantasy II. Although his appearance and personality differs in each iteration, he is almost always involved as part of the airship crew.

 

Upcoming game

 

Final Fantasy XIII & Final Fantasy XIV

 

Enjoy these screenshots!

 

 

 

Final Note: The next time you play a title, don't dismiss older games that have ancient graphics and traditional gameplay. As if it weren't for these old gems, games such as Batman Dark Asylum, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metal Gear Rising wouldn't have seen the light of day.

 

Peace and see you in the forums. :P