With the impending release of the next Nintendo console (and possible future of gaming) the Wii U, a lot of my personal gaming sphere in recent times has been looking to the future. On that note, I wanted to look back to the beginning, and share with you all how it all started.
My gaming story began when I was a young and impressionable four year old, with the incredible achievement that was the Nintendo Entertainment System. My dad brought it home one day and, after tuning in the TV (remember that?), I took my first steps into a new world and I had no idea what to expect, or that this would become my passion for years to come.
The world that I first ventured into was Hyrule, playing as Link in the first Legend of Zelda title. I was completely thrilled, and bewildered, by this entire world that was contained among that little cartridge. The simple mechanic of exploration and combat has influenced the games that I enjoy even now. Even modern games like Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii maintain this very simple dynamic, even if it is a little more pleasant to look at.
The next huge gaming memory I have, was the first console that I was able to call mine. Not long afterwards, I was bought the Sega Master System, which came pre-loaded with Alex Kidd. The sheer difficulty of this game (and others on this console) was too much for me at the time (I have since returned and finished Alex Kidd and it’s annoying rock/paper/scissors boss ‘fights’), and so I was driven back to the NES, where I spent an unbelievable amount of time on Zelda 2 and the 3 Super Mario Bros titles. Another game I have fond memories of is Donkey Kong, Mario’s first adventure. The main reason I enjoyed the NES more than the Master System was that the Nintendo titles had a simple core mechanic that got progressively harder, unlike Sega’s.
However, then came the next generation, and I was completely blown away. Both systems; the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and the Sega Megadrive (known in the US as Genesis) both had a permanent residence in my room. Given the time it was, I couldn’t have both of them plugged into my little colour TV at the same time so I had to alternate by switching the AV cable (remember that?) over each time.
Of the two, the Megadrive was my least favourite, although it had arguably some of the best games of that era on it. Titles such as Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Ecco the Dolphin, and the incredible Streets of Rage, all absorbed a lot of my time. But none of them compared to Sega’s mascot Sonic The Hedgehog.
Sonic (or at least, ‘classic’ Sonic, as it is known now) still stands as one of my favourite retro gaming franchises. In fact, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, even stands tall as one of my favourite games of all time.
On the other hand of that (increasingly bitter and clever) console war, the SNES was nothing short of incredible. Firstly, the masterpiece that was Super Mario World changed the game for the platforming genre, with multiple exits, some of the best power ups in the series, and some incredible music. The SNES also saw the introduction of a now gaming staple, Mario Kart. This was the first truly multiplayer game I played, and even now I still find it very fun.
One day, I made a discovery at my local Argos when I played a game called Super Metroid at a SNES demo station. For the lack of a better term, I instantly fell in love with it. I played the demo to its end, and I was very glad to receive the game for Christmas that year.
There are many games I come back to regularly that I mention in this retrospective, but none more than Super Metroid. For me, it is everything that needs to be done by a developer to make a perfect game. The graphics were ground-breaking for the time (and arguablystill stand up now), the music perfectly matched the tone of the game, the story was simple but wonderfully crafted, the gameplay was balanced but very challenging. In short, it was an amazing game, that deserved the praise it received and deserves to be played still now.
Of course, Super Metroid wasn’t the only incredible game on the SNES. It was joined by gems like Yoshi’s Island, my personal favourite Zelda – A Link To The Past, and Donkey Kong Country. I spent so much time on my SNES, simply because the games were so good. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the SNES still stands as my favourite games console of all time.
For a long time, I was happy with just my little SNES and Super Metroid, but soon a challenger arrived that not only took it’s crown, but took my breath away: the Sony Playstation.
The Playstation was a huge leap forward from anything I had experienced before, the graphics were so crisp, the music so beautiful, it was the future of gaming. I will freely admit that, due to the sheer brilliance of the console, I missed out on the Nintendo 64. In doing so I missed many incredible titles (don’t worry, I have since repented for my sins), but I got lost in this disc-loaded world.
The games I ended up playing on the Playstation were varied in genre, length and (unfortunately) quality. I would say, looking back as an adult, that Sony’s systems have often been a victim of quantity over quality. But, I owe the Playstation for that as, if it wasn’t for that, I would not be the diverse gamer that I am today. This was because, whilst a Playstation gamer, I played pretty much anything I could get my hands on.
To list every game I loved on Sony’s powerful little console would take a very long time. After all, before this console I only had a few games on each console and they were usually of quite similar ilk (like the amazing amount of platforming titles I had on SNES for instance). However, there are a few games that I can think of that did genuinely amaze me.
The first was the original Tomb Raider, a brilliant piece of 3D exploration. What with a base being installed by Super Metroid of loving exploration and finding hidden things, Tomb Raider grabbed my attention and didn’t let go until I finished it. Since this title, I have played each and every title in the series and, although some have been disappointing, I love the series and the adventures of Lara.
Another is one I have mentioned in a previous article, Final Fantasy VII. For a short period, although I guess quite long in the scheme of things, I pretty much lived and breathed this game. Never before had I played a game this epic, with this much of a story, that took me this long to finish. I became entirely engrossed in the adventures of Cloud, Barrett and the rest of the team, to the point that I think this is one of the only times I have played one game to the exclusion of all others.
However, there is one title that stands above all others in my Playstation years, a game that remains as my favourite game even fourteen years on from its release. The game is, of course, the Capcom masterpiece that is Resident Evil 2. The fact that I come back to this game time and time again (even now), is a testament to how well this one is made. Excellent story, graphics (which have aged a little), characters, and even music. A sheer masterpiece.
I think that just about brings us up to the modern day. The Playstation 2 is technically not retro (yet), and the other two actual survivors of that generation have games that can be used on present systems (Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo Gamecube, the Sega Dreamcast didn’t technically ‘survive’). I hope you have all enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed taking this trip down memory lane.
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