This article struck quite a chord with me. I spent most of my childhood playing (but rarely finishing) a lot of RPGs and action-adventure games (chief among them Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, etc. etc.)
I've been going back over the past couple years and replaying them. For a couple of reasons: there's the sense of closure of having finished something I started a dozen years ago (shouts to Turtle Rock, which Elementary School Justin did not have the fortitude to complete). More, though, I just wanted to see if these games which I spent so much energy and imagination on a while back were worth the investment.
I've been struck by how mature and powerful these games were in their own right:
- Earthbound is this dense, bizarre paean to Western culture also wrapped up in this story about losing your innocence and the creepiest final boss fight ever;
- Link's Awakening forces players to answer the difficult question of why you'd want to wake up from an amazing dream;
- Even Final Fantasy has a narrative device that I've yet to see replicated since, of having the main villain straight up win, and then forcing you to deal with the fallout and rebuild from the literal dust and ashes.
These things are for sure enhanced by nostalgia, and a common argument against these games are that you're looking at them "through rose-tinted glasses" (the implication being that their luster is gone without my memories of playing them as a child). I'm not so sure that's true -- but, more importantly, I'm not so sure that matters.
In a lot of ways, it feels like having gotten coffee with an old friend after a long time apart, and remarking on how both you and they have matured so much. If you have fond memories of video games, I recommend you blow the dust off of the proverbial cartridge and treat yourself.
I've been going back over the past couple years and replaying them. For a couple of reasons: there's the sense of closure of having finished something I started a dozen years ago (shouts to Turtle Rock, which Elementary School Justin did not have the fortitude to complete). More, though, I just wanted to see if these games which I spent so much energy and imagination on a while back were worth the investment.
I've been struck by how mature and powerful these games were in their own right:
- Earthbound is this dense, bizarre paean to Western culture also wrapped up in this story about losing your innocence and the creepiest final boss fight ever;
- Link's Awakening forces players to answer the difficult question of why you'd want to wake up from an amazing dream;
- Even Final Fantasy has a narrative device that I've yet to see replicated since, of having the main villain straight up win, and then forcing you to deal with the fallout and rebuild from the literal dust and ashes.
These things are for sure enhanced by nostalgia, and a common argument against these games are that you're looking at them "through rose-tinted glasses" (the implication being that their luster is gone without my memories of playing them as a child). I'm not so sure that's true -- but, more importantly, I'm not so sure that matters.
In a lot of ways, it feels like having gotten coffee with an old friend after a long time apart, and remarking on how both you and they have matured so much. If you have fond memories of video games, I recommend you blow the dust off of the proverbial cartridge and treat yourself.