I’ve recently been going through a phase of playing retro games. I don’t know why, but something recently must have sparked off a subliminal need to bring back the glory days of the PS1 and Gameboy.

First on my quest to bring back memories of the 90s was Breath of Fire III (in case you didn’t know, arguably my favourite game ever). It was horrific. Not that I’m saying the game is bad, in fact, far from it, but it wasn’t as good as it was when I was 8. It is an atrocious thing when you see a game through rose tinted specs and when you replay it; the game doesn’t feel like it did.

I moved on to pastures new and played San Francisco Rush. I quickly remembered that I hated this game when I was a kid, and I hate it even more now.

By now I was getting demoralised by my lack of success on the hunt for nostalgia. But then came a beacon. A shining example of gaming excellence. Was it Final Fantasy 7? No. Crash Bandicoot? No. In fact, it was Pokémon. As I played the memories of travelling through the USA with my brother, trading Pokémon as we went along flooded back to me. I remembered all the Gym Bosses, all the Pokémon names and all of the towns. This was truly a magnificent feeling, and led me to play Pokémon Red a lot more than should legally be allowed.

Since then I have laid the retro games to rest, and moved back to the new games which I take so much for granted (I'm looking at you Call of Duty 4).

Labels: Matthew Meadows, Rant, Retro

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