A post about retro games
I just finished The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for the third or fourth time. Every few years I'll go back and see how much of it I can figure out without a walkthrough.
It's one of the few Zelda games I can mostly get through without resorting to zeldadungeon.net for a little help. And even then it's usually something stupid like not realizing there was a bombable section of wall, or something I need to use the hookshot on.
I played it for the first time on Gameboy Pocket, but I was like five years old back then and I don't think I ever made it out of Mabe Village.
Retro games are my jam. Come to think of it, I'm realizing that even fucking Halo or the original Call of Duty games for PC are considered retro now. I feel so old 😖
I play some newer stuff, but I always feel more cozy popping in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night or any top-down Zelda game over something like Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom.
They're honestly just too much for me. I don't want something that I can put 200 hours into and still not 100% it, you know? Too many variables. I don't like motion aiming, or other super precise maneuvers that feel like landing a 747 in a blizzard, using nothing but the instrument panel.
I want chunky pixel art, a few upgradable items, and bosses that don't take days of grinding and research online to figure out exactly how to defeat. Call me crazy, but I don't consider video games to be a competitive sport. They're silly little cartoons where you're the main character.
I used to think it was nostalgia, but it's really not. Tech just moved too fast. That's why I like indie games like Stardew Valley and Terraria.
...which are probably also considered retro by now, but I digress.
I only played a handful of games when I was a kid, and most of the older stuff I'm into today wasn't even on my radar back then. I was too busy doing millennial shit like taking my bike off of sketchy homemade ramps, digging up salamanders and drinking out of the garden hose.
Metroidvanias like Blasphemous and Hollow Knight are good examples of new-ish games that don't try to reinvent the old rickety wheel. They build on modern game engines but still have that pixelated, side scrolling charm.
Pixel art isn't shit just because 3D graphics have been the standard for the last couple of decades. In 10 years, most of this stuff will probably, sadly, be AI generated and people will shit on the human-made, predetermined dialogue and progression of today's cutting edge games.