How big is your retro gaming habit?

[The Curmudgeon]

Nostalgia is a tricky beast. On the one hand, yaaaay, Pac-Man! Space Invaders? AWESOME.

But to PLAY? To actually sit down and play nowadays? Classic, timeless gameplay is one thing, iconic characters are another, but when it comes to retro gaming, these, let's face it, limited games just don't have any pull for me. Fun for a five minute blast, but I'm never going to spend any time on them. What's the point?

For me, retro gaming needs to HAVE a point. A story, even if it's as basic as rescuing Princess Peach from a castle. 16 Bit Snes and Megadrive/Genesis games and 90's arcade games are where it's at for me. Right now I'm playing Super Mario RPG (only released in Japan, I think) and I know I'll play it until I complete it.

The Megadrive collection for the PS3 had still great RPG's like the Shining Force series, and standard level, boss, level, boss platformers that I can easily sit and play for hours.

So, what's YOUR retro gaming habit? Do you devote a lot of time to older games with the new benefits of being able to save anywhere etc? Or are you all about the here and now?

[trashcanman]

I played Super Mario RPG. Great game. I'm not big into retro gaming. I played so much of it the first time around and being part of the gaming community on top of having so many other hobbies means I can't even keep up with the current hotness, much less go back in time. I did play Hotline: Miami, though. It's a recent game, but it's as retro as they come and damn is it fun. You should keep an eye on the weekly PSN sales because that one pops up a lot. I got it for like $3.

[The Curmudgeon]

Hmm, what kind of game is it?

I think the appeal for retro gaming is if the graphics are deliberately more basic. Mario doesn't date (and the RPG game is great if fucking frustrating at times..like all Mario games I suppose) because you can't date cutesy and cartoony. Ever played Tomb Raider on the PS1 recently? Ick.

[trashcanman]

Basically, Hotline: Miami puts you in a room with a bunch of people and you have to kill them before they kill you, sort of in the style of the original Metal Gear, but with nonstop action. It's really challenging and so fast-paced it gets addicting as hell. Every enemy can kill you as easily as you can kill them (one hit and you're gone) and they are quicker on the draw and you start unarmed so you really have to work a strategy to clear a level. It's got old-school challenge and presentation, but the controls are way smoother than true retro games so it's less frustrating.