Why I'm a Retro Gamer - from Racket himself

[Menegrothx]

I will say that the current generation has the most diversity in gaming in terms of genres.

So where are the following;
Adventure games
3D Platformers
Isometric RPGs
2D RPGs
Fast paced FPS games
"Thinking man's FPS games"
Stealth games
Cinematic platformers
Space sim games
Strategy games
SHMUPs
Beat em ups


There have been few standout "throwback titles" during the last few years (Deus EX HR, XCom, Dishonored, Sonic Generations, Rayman Origins, Donkey Kong Country Returns) and some promising kickstarter projects. Though the latter just goes to show you that there isn't any place for many of these old genres in today's gaming market when even very notable game designers have to ask for money in kickstarer.

Regarding indie games and kickstarter projects, I dont like how all the creative games and "niche" genres are being pushed out of the market as download only titles. I like how you could walk into a game store and find experiemental and innovative games sitting right next to the biggest AAA games on the shelves back in the day. There have been a few notable games like that during the past 5 years (Portal, Mirror's Edge, maybe Heavy Rain), but way less than there used to be.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Got to love the "I CANT FIND THEM AND ARENT AS POPULAR AS COD SO THEY DONT EXIST" argument.

[AppleQueso]

I will say that the current generation has the most diversity in gaming in terms of genres.

So where are the following;

Adventure games

TellTale's Back to the Future

3D Platformers

Super Mario Galaxy

Isometric RPGs

Disgaea 3, Disgaea 4 (unless you don't mean this?)

2D RPGs

Cthulhu Saves the World

Stealth games

Metal Gear Solid 4, Assassin's Creed,

Cinematic platformers

Lost in Shadow?

SHMUPs

Deathsmiles

Beat em ups.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

some of those other genres I'm not very familiar with so i didn't include games from them, and there's definitely a LOT more examples of these genres than I'm mentioning here, but yeah...

[Hazerd]

I still dont consider GCN/XBOX/PS2 Retro, might be a while yet... even when PS4/Xbox720/ and Wii U is out, the PS2/XBOX/GCN still feels current to me.

[Violent By Design]

I will say that the current generation has the most diversity in gaming in terms of genres.

So where are the following;
Adventure games

Off the top of my head, LA Noire, Heavy Rain and the Fate series are all adventure games. Pretty sure if I followed the genre, there would probably be a ton. They are still very popular in Japan, and I saw a top 100 adventure list that had a lot of recent titles on it. Not a genre that is dying out at all, just a niche genre that does not get press.

3D Platformers

Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations, Mario galaxy 1 and 2, Sly Cooper, Ratchet and Clank (though could say they are run and gun also). They're not the dime a dozen they were in the day, but they're there.

Isometric RPGs

What is this? Tactical RPGs? Tactics Ogre, Disgaea, Fire Emblem, X-Comm, Valkyria Chronicles (not really isometric, but I'm assuming we're talking tactical RPG). Would imagine the PSP and DS have more stuff.

2D RPGs

Not really a genre, but off the top of my head Paper Mario, Pokemon and Golden Sun. Don't see why it would matter if an RPG is 2D or not.

Fast paced FPS games
"Thinking man's FPS games"

Can we stick to actual genres?

If you mean arena based FPS, then COD (yes, COD is a fast paced death match game), Tribes and Duke Nuke Em.

Thinking man FPS? Half Life 2, Metroid Prime 3, Deus Ex, Bioshock 1 and 2, Portal 1 + 2. Not sure what you mean by this, FPS that is focused around single player?

Stealth games

I'm assuming MGS4 is not the right answer . MGS Peace Walker. Splinter Cell maybe (not sure if one came out this gen)? Assassin's Creed is kind of a stealth game. I'm not really well versed in stealth games in general.

Cinematic platformers

Don't get what this is. I mean there are games like Journey if that is what you're referring too. Castlevania? Not sure what era had a ton of cinematic platformers, they are not cinematic by nature.

Space sim games

Not sure what this is. Though I am sure it is well represented in the indie PC market as are many sims.

Strategy games

Strategy is a very vague term. Civ 5, Starcraft 2, League of Legends, Dota 2, HoN. I assume you mean something else since this is very well represented.

SHMUPs

I don't follow SHMUPs so I can't give personal examples with out looking them up, but I know for sure there are still a decent amount being produced.

Beat em ups

Scott Pilgrim vs The World and Castle Crashers. Marvel Ultimate Alliance maybe? If you consider Hack and Slash to be the same genre, then there are a lot of those, God of War, Baynoetta, Dynasty Warriors, Devil May Cry and what not.

There have been few standout "throwback titles" during the last few years (Deus EX HR, XCom, Dishonored, Sonic Generations, Rayman Origins, Donkey Kong Country Returns) and some promising kickstarter projects. Though the latter just goes to show you that there isn't any place for many of these old genres in today's gaming market when even very notable game designers have to ask for money in kickstarer.

Regarding indie games and kickstarter projects, I dont like how all the creative games and "niche" genres are being pushed out of the market as download only titles. I like how you could walk into a game store and find experiemental and innovative games sitting right next to the biggest AAA games on the shelves back in the day. There have been a few notable games like that during the past 5 years (Portal, Mirror's Edge, maybe Heavy Rain), but way less than there used to be.

I find it to be really arbitrary to be annoyed that niche games are digital download (why should they not be, they are aimed toward a smaller market, and let's be real here everything will be digital sooner than later). Games are being made for everyone, why take it for granted just because a small developer is pumping out Shoot Em Ups instead of EA?

Also, you are kind of changing your argument. You're talking about experimental and innovative games in a discussion that is about old school genres not being represented. Those are different concepts entirely, and there are still a lot of zany games that can be found on shelves. Naturally franchises are going to get most of the press, that is the power of branding, this has almost always been like this.


Though back to the first series of things I quoted, let's make no mistake I am saying that this generation is the pinnacle of every genre ever, or that even every genre is WELL represented. But I stand by my statement that this is the most versatile generation when it comes to production of games being made. There is a little something for everyone, not to mention that a ton of games are being ported over via online networks. If a retrogamer finds this generation to not be satisfying, I'm not sure how they got past the PSX/Saturn/64 and DC/GC/PS2/XBOX eras with out ripping their hair out. The 2D eras by nature are limited to only 2D genres, I don't see how this is not the most diverse generation yet. I feel like there was a pretty big movement to revisit a lot of the old genres, looking at how big fighting games got again (this was a genre I followed closely during the PS2 gen, and it was a hard and dark time in terms of mainstream appeal).

Also, keep in mind that we are discussing niche genres, so I do not follow all of these genres closely enough to give a long list. This is just what I know from general knowledge.

[Menegrothx]

TellTale's Back to the Future

Fair enough, it's been released in physical format. Though I'd argue that in order to gain fanbase they first had to make themselves a name by making Sam and Max and Monkey Island games (two very popular adventure game IPs).

Super Mario Galaxy

... was any one expecting Nintendo to turn their biggest game franchise into something else than a 3D Platformer after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine? Same thing could be said about Sonic.
How many new 3D platformer IPs have there been during this console generation? Atleast during the last generation we saw a bunch of new ones like Jak and Daxter, Ratchet&Clank, Sly cooper, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, Blinx and Scaler.

Disgaea 3, Disgaea 4 (unless you don't mean this?)

I was referring to "regular" (=more story based) RPGs like Baldur's Gate, Fallout, Arcanum and Planescape, not tactical RPGs. Games that were in their day in the same category where games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Skyrim are now.

Cthulhu Saves the World

Download only game afaik

Metal Gear Solid 4, Assassin's Creed

Haven't played neither of them that much (MGS1 is the only MGS I've played from start to finish and I havent bothered playing any AC game from start to finish yet) so correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you can do "ghost runs" in either of those.

Lost in Shadow?

Never heard of that one so I can't comment

Deathsmiles

Thanks to Japan we still have these games coming out on the 360

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Download only afaik

[Menegrothx]

Off the top of my head, LA Noire, Heavy Rain and the Fate series are all adventure games.

No they're not. Action adventure is not the same thing as adventure.

Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations, Mario galaxy 1 and 2, Sly Cooper, Ratchet and Clank (though could say they are run and gun also). They're not the dime a dozen they were in the day, but they're there.

All based on existing franchises from previous generations

What is this? Tactical RPGs? Tactics Ogre, Disgaea, Fire Emblem, X-Comm, Valkyria Chronicles (not really isometric, but I'm assuming we're talking tactical RPG). Would imagine the PSP and DS have more stuff.

Addresses this on my last post

Not really a genre, but off the top of my head Paper Mario, Pokemon and Golden Sun. Don't see why it would matter if an RPG is 2D or not.

Isn't Golden Sun a GBA game? 3D gaming hasn't been viable on hand held consoles properly untill Vita and 3DS so it's to be expected that development lag behinds on handhelds, which is why many people think that nowadays handheld consoles have a better line up of JRPGs than the PS3 does.

Can we stick to actual genres?

No, since modern FPS games are generally garbage compared to older ones.
Call of Duty and all modern warfare shooters are very slow paced as they've been designed for game pads rather than mouses. I guess you could consider any FPS game with a deep plot to be "thinking man's FPS game", but I generally mean by that FPS games that have more complex game mechanics than normal shooters, the first System Shock and other similiar games.
Tribes: Ascend does qualify as a fast paced FPS game though

Don't get what this is. I mean there are games like Journey if that is what you're referring too. Castlevania? Not sure what era had a ton of cinematic platformers, they are not cinematic by nature.

Another World/Out of this world, Flashback, Blackthorne, Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey+Exoddus and Heart of Darkness are cinematic platformers.

Not sure what this is. Though I am sure it is well represented in the indie PC market as are many sims.

Elite, Wing Commander, Privateer, X-wing

Strategy is a very vague term. Civ 5, Starcraft 2, League of Legends, Dota 2, HoN. I assume you mean something else since this is very well represented.

That's right, RTS games have become very popular thanks to SC2 and DOTA clones.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World and Castle Crashers. Marvel Ultimate Alliance maybe?

Both are downloadable games. Marvel Ultimate Alliance is ARPG according to wiki, I haven't tried it out myself so I don't know if that's true.

[3DSStrider]

Nice article. I’m 14 and retrogaming is my biggest hobby. People at my school have accused me of everything from being a snob to a hipster. Truth is, I play old games because:
a. Older games often have more variety than today’s stale rehashes. That’s not to say that this generation doesn’t have interesting games, but most of the high profile games are just brown FPS after brown FPS. I like variety in my games.
b) I don’t think something good should be ignored just because it can’t display 2 million simultanius polygons.
c) I’m a collector. I like collecting random stuff.
One last thing: I love this site and the forums. Thanks for making such a great site Racketboy.

[noiseredux]

Menegrothx, what exactly is your argument? People are naming games that exist in the current-gen of the genres you say aren't represented. But you're discounting them if they don't exist in a physical media (which is just a method of distribution) or if they are based on IP's that existed a generation before or in the case of Tell Tale if the company has even made games prior based on popular IP's... I don't even know what you're thesis is anymore?

[Menegrothx]

Menegrothx, what exactly is your argument? People are naming games that exist in the current-gen of the genres you say aren't represented. But you're discounting them if they don't exist in a physical media (which is just a method of distribution)

If you cant sell the game in physical form, you are pretty much saying that it's not a proper game. Freeware, iOS and browser games will never get the same kind of respect commercial games do for a reason. A 50 hour long RPG with decent production values, good writing and game mechanics or a well crafted adventure game should be on the same level as that annual Madden release, not on the same level as Angry Birds.

I'm not saying that all free or nonprofit games are bad, but that they rarely (there are some exceptions) have any real significance on the gaming industry the same way retail games do.

or if they are based on IP's that existed a generation before

How do you think that Sonic survived between Sonic Adventure 1/2 (depending on what's your opinnion on SA2) and Sonic Colors/Generations? By the power of nostalgia. Brand name is everything. Just because a few old timers are still able to pull it of does not mean that any new game would've been forgiven if they had published the exact same game. No one would care about any of the Mario spin off sports games if there wasn't Mario in the title and playable Nintendo characters.