February's Together Retro Themes: Poll Closed - FF Spin-Offs

[Exhuminator]

No one is forcing you to talk about modern games, but at no point should another person be denounced for wanting to do so.

Talking about modern games? That's not the issue here. Let that straw man be free!

We're discussing playing games within a particular framework. In this case a retro framework.



Together Retro is supposed to be about playing retro games. Playing modern games instead, in an event where you are supposed to play old games, is not only disingenuous to said event, it's straight up disrespectful to the concept in general. Playing modern games for a retro event just makes a mockery of the thing. That's like showing up at a vintage Mustang car show in a 2017 Mustang. Doesn't make sense to me.

Now that's just how I see it. I realize a lot of you think I'm a humbug fuddy duddy. (Protip: I AM.) And yet there's plenty of modern gaming talk all over this "retro gaming" forum. Can't we at least let Together Retro be legitimately about retro gaming? Is that too much to ask? I apologize if it is folks.

[noiseredux]

well as previously stated I just want to see more participation here. If it upsets folks for modern talk to seep in then I'll gladly share my Type-0 progress in the RPG Progress thread rather than in the dedicated TR thread. Makes no difference to me.

[marurun]

I would say as long as there is connective tissue to retro games it fits. Final Fantasy has many forms, and being able to compare old to less old can actually be kind of fun. It is about putting things in a particular context. I would say playing FFXV might be a little out of band, but something like Type 0 is on an older system and is no longer new by any stretch. The 10 year line on retro games is pretty arbitrary, if we’re being honest. It used to be retro games had a different sensibility, but now there are lots of older games that have a lot more in common with newer game styles.

I don’t think anyone is trying to subvert Together Retro. When Retro itself is so arbitrarily and/or nebulously defined, exceptions will always need to be made. And there are enough folks here committed to older games that it will never be transformed into Together Modern. And the themes will always be retro-rooted. If anything, I think an occasional 7 year old or last generation game actually helps keep us grounded in gaming as a continuum, and as a shared space where folks of different ages can share how things compare.

I am really fond of definitions and accuracy and rules, but in the proper context. And as a mod, I am not going to delete, remove posts, or warn because someone didn’t play a 10 year old game. The majority who participate are enjoying as the theme suggests, and I don’t see much evidence that the outliers are diluting the experience for most others.

[Exhuminator]

If it upsets folks for modern talk to seep in then I'll gladly share my Type-0 progress in the RPG Progress thread rather than in the dedicated TR thread.

February is your month, as curator you have final say. If you want to play a 2015 HD remaster of a 2011 release as your own TR month's pick, that's all you man.

I don’t think anyone is trying to subvert Together Retro.

I think differently on occasion. But I'm not Racketboy or a mod, so it doesn't matter. I just wanted to vent a little steam, and explain my TR stance more clearly. At the end of the day though, I'm just glad to see TR having more momentum this year, then the last few years. That's what ultimately matters.

[noiseredux]

February is your month, as curator you have final say. If you want to play a 2015 HD remaster of a 2011 release as your own TR month's pick, that's all you man.

I do. Yes.

At the end of the day though, I'm just glad to see TR having more momentum this year, then the last few years. That's what ultimately matters.

Agreed.

[BogusMeatFactory]

We all have different perspectives on what should and should not be defined as label A. And Label B. I am always of the idea of inclusion.

For me, I believe that discourse is the most important thing. Take for example, kings field. How many people has exhuminator brought into he series by just talking about it? Tons! Together retro should bring people in to talk about games by having a broader definition like Final Fantasy spinoffs. If someone picks a modern game, listens to all the talk about the older retro games and hears people enjoy them, they might try those older titles.

Why discourage that by only encouraging retro only. That is living in a bubble of like minded people. This is why together retro was faltering. It was restricting people. You can be a good source of inspiration to lead by example for retro and make people want to play and appreciate older stuff through enthusiasm and discourse.

[BoneSnapDeez]

It's my prediction, and observation, that threads with "no rules" regarding what ages of games should be discussed are almost always dominated by talk of modern games. The same type of stuff that "everyone" (ie: mainstream forums and publications) is discussing.

(For this reason, when I am curator I am going to nail down my categories to get really specific. So, something like "8 and 16-bit ARPGs" rather than just "ARPGs" -- I don't want another Dark Souls thread).

I've always felt that something like "Together Retro" should be a place to discuss and analyze retro games. That's what makes it special, unique, and interesting. This is not "hard" to do. In the case of something like Final Fantasy spin-offs, there are literally four games on the Game Boy alone!

I understand that most people on the forums appear to prefer modern games to retro. This is fine, everyone is entitled to their own tastes. Despite all my "jokes" I enjoy modern games myself.

That said, if "Together Retro" is going to be continually dominated by talk of modern titles it should be rebranded into "Community playthroughs" or something. Attempting to justify how a game that's five years old is "actually retro" comes off as silly and disingenuous.

[alienjesus]

I look forward to seeing other peoples categories in future.

I do think we shouldn't blow this out of proportion though guys - quite a few of the people who said they will play X Final Fantasy game from 2015 have also said 'I'm also going to play Mystic Quest'.

I know, because as mentioned earlier, it confuses me every time.

[Exhuminator]

Why discourage that by only encouraging retro only. That is living in a bubble of like minded people. This is why together retro was faltering. It was restricting people.

I don't know about that man. The old TR model was restricting people, sure, but for a different reason. It was because old TR focused on one particular retro game per month. Then we all decided to completely change that model, to allow for people to have autonomy in deciding what thematic retro games they wanted to play, instead of being restricted to a pre-determined retro game they didn't choose. So in that regard, the original TR restriction was never "it's a retro game and people don't want to play retro games", but rather "I don't like/own this particular game, so I won't be participating in a discussion about playing it".

Anyway. I think the new model of TR is working great so far. January's TR thread has been a lot of fun already, and we're only halfway through said month's TR at this point. I'm also excited for next month's theme too. Everything's going great! I'm looking forward to derailing the fun train in March.

[marurun]

Well, if TR begins to get overrun by distinctly modern games, then we can start to lock it down a little more. As long as it stays predominantly retro or Retro-adjacent I think we are staying kosher.