Most gamers when asked about retro games speak on nostalgia and simplistic play mechanics, responsiveness, memorization, and timing. Perhaps we can approach the question differently…

Retro games are akin to books. They are rather simplistic in presentation, bring you a sense of enjoyment, and transport you to a different place. However, they also require a great deal of skill, patience, and specifically the reader / gamer’s imagination. 

Modern games are akin to cinematic movies (no coincidence that many often are cinematic experiences). They are all about graphic presentation, bring you a sense of enjoyment, and also transport you to a different place. These experiences often require checkpoints, more complicated game mechanics, and are presented through the imaginative interpretation of the director / developers. 

Now with our analogy set… Have you ever read a book, and then watched the cinematic representation at the movies? Sometimes the movie adaptation manages to capture some of the experiences in the book but are not able to include all the book’s nuances. Sometimes the movies take creative liberties with the material provided (i.e. Ready Player One or the Bourne Identity). Experiences would differ depending on whether you watched the movie first or read the book first. This would explain why opinions vary with games that have made the transition to more modern aesthetics. For example, we experienced an impressive amount of joy and frustration playing Ninja Gaiden for the Nintendo NES. We then experienced a far different amount of joy and frustration playing Ninja Gaiden Black for XBOX. Now imagine if we were “Millennial” DW, and started our experience with Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Millennial DW would have rage quit the first time they got knocked into a chasm by that damn crow in the NES version (let alone be made aware they would have to start the round from the beginning). Granted, ole crusty DW also felt like rage quitting with Ninja Gaiden Black as well.

This analogy also provides other similarities. In both books and retro games, it is a simple thing to place yourself in the role of the hero / protagonist. In movies this experience is changed when a particular actor is cast to play the role (Hmm…We wonder what handsome devil would be portrayed as DW? He looks nothing like us!!!). Apart from games with a create-a-character feature, this seems to apply somewhat in modern games. Although changes in technology have allowed impressive feats to be translated to cinema, some imaginative experiences in books are difficult to translate in movie adaptations. Sometimes the movie does a far better job of capturing the imaginative experience then a book’s words impart. This also applies to both retro and modern games, which would also play a part in what makes the game appealing.

There are always exceptions with both games and gamers. However, it does offer another way to speak to the appeal of retro games.