At what point is retro too retro?

[executioner]

8-bit and 16-bit gaming with emulators and save state, the only way to go back. Makes your gaming shorter but enjoyable. Thanks to that I finished this year chrono trigger, comix zone, rocket knight adventures, and some castlevanias.

[racketboy]

8-bit and 16-bit gaming with emulators and save state, the only way to go back. Makes your gaming shorter but enjoyable. Thanks to that I finished this year chrono trigger, comix zone, rocket knight adventures, and some castlevanias.

Yeah, save states make a big difference, don't they...

[fastbilly1]

Personally, there is no distance to far to go back. I enjoy many old Atari era games based not only on the technical prowess they display for that time and on the fact that some of them are still simply fun. Depending on the group I am playing with the simple colour schemes and shapes are all they need or want in a game. Sometimes playing those games where you really have to stress your imagination to play them are good for you, lord knows a round of Lode Runner, Ali baba, or Space Eggs on my trusty Apple ][+ can do more for me than games like Folklore, CoD4, or Mario Galaxy.

Circus Atari is one of my new favorites. My eldest brother got me a copy of it a while back and my little brother and I plugged a good four hours into it that day. It is Breakout/Alleyway, but the ball is a clown and the paddle is a seesaw with another clown on it. The concept is so basic, but even today it provides an amazing amount of fun. Sure I could play a prettier Breakout on my Gameboy, but for some reason this game just gripped us.

And just to nitpick, the Atari 2600 is technically an 8bit system...I know I know, I just thought I would throw that out there.

[RadarScope1]

Ditto for me: 8-bit is my limit (or third generation for fastbilly1).

However, I will say that I like arcade games that are older than that. Galaga, Space Invaders, Ms Pac-Man, Elevator Action, Robotron -- all good stuff that can command my attention. Don't know if you wanting to bring arcade titles into this though.

16-bit is a blast to go back to. Someone said sweet spot and that's it for me, too. You are far back enough that that focus is still on gameplay, but you're advanced enough to have game saves and storytelling in most games.

[kinn]

I'm the same as the rest of you guys. 16bit seems to be my limit too.

There are some games I'd like to try and play through like the Wonderboy and Phantasy Star (want to play these RPGs from the start) games on the Master System but I cannot bring myself around to the idea.

[ZenLogikos]

Predominately 8-bit. However there are some exceptions when an older game will draw my attention. Case in point - a former boss had about 20 pre-1985 vids and about 10 pins in his house, so I got to try them. It was like a time machine, so that may have helped, but I really got into Robotron especially. Best hand-eye coordination test I can think of. Simple gameplay and great sound effects make it timeless.

[claudio]

i cant play the 2600, colecovision generation anymore.

[nightwalker]

Im weird I still use my tandy color computer!!!!!!!

hehe
Well usually 8bit but I go every now and then to atari just to play the smurf or pitfall in the original hardware.

[Daniel Primed]

8bit is probably my limit also. I find that I am leanient with my gaming. Even if something is a bit boring I'll still play through it. Although I did have an Atari, I really can't think of any real decent games for the system besides the obvious. I don't think that its because of the graphics etc. but rather I don't think that the selection of games were very fun. A lot of the games were too basic and not as addictive enough to lure me in.

[aaron]

2600/coleco/intellivision games are pretty well only suited for casual game experiences. pong, kaboom, astrosmash, barnstorming, etc. perfect for cell phone gaming and things like that.

i would say games only really got interesting around the 8-bit era. i can't hang with all the really old early stuff.