Mining Your Nostalgia For Cash!
While the video game industry is relatively young as far as forms of entertainment go, it has been around long enough for its fanbase to develop nostalgia. Gamers look fondly back on the days when they thought things were better (I won’t get into whether they were or not). Games have also been around long enough for developers to realize they can cash in on that nostalgia, and squeeze it for every penny they can. So I figured we’d chat about some games that get it right, and some that really, really don’t.
Chrono Trigger, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Trigger
Oh, Square. Two re-releases? Really? Cramming extra shit into an already incredible game reeks of greed. While I will concede that the anime cutscenes in the Playstation version were really cool, shoehorning extra areas and useless items into a near perfect game to justify selling it multiple times is just pushing it too far. Screwing your customers out of money to buy a game they already have plus extra crap is just evil. It also continues to kill any hope we might have of getting a sequel that isn’t Chrono Cross.
Nostalgia? Good. At least with all the re-releases, they didn’t change the story or gameplay, which is working in Squenix’s favor right now.
Mega Man
While the Mega Man series has really only seen one actual remake (Mega Man Powered Up), Capcom continues to revisit the same ideas. Most of the time, this isn’t a bad thing. Mega Man games are fun, and one typically knows what to expect from them. Where it becomes a problem is when the designers get lazy with the boss designs. How many robots with fire weapons can there possibly be? How much more can you do with electricity? And I understand the ocean is large, but how many undersea lairs do we really need to blast through?
At least the games are fun enough that most of the conceptual double-dipping doesn’t matter.
Nostalgia? Great. Although Sniper Joe might need a vacation pretty soon. Poor guy’s working his metallic ass off.
Pokemon
Much like Mega Man, Pokemon doesn’t necessarily kill it’s audience with remakes. However, Pokemon games can be formulaic, which makes them easily accessible. Name your trainer, pick your starter, go-fight-win, catch a legendary Pokemon, blah blah blah. Players know what to expect in a Pokemon game. They know what they’re getting into. Even with new “legendary” Pokemon that number in the double digits, and newer ones that were never mentioned until the latest game. Adding a poke-walker or whatever neat toy they’ve got for the generation just sweetens the deal for real pokemaniacs.
Nostalgia? Fair, as long as you don’t let the show color your memories. You just set yourself up for disappointment that way.
Persona 4
Okay, I admit, this one’s a stretch. But Persona 4 goes for nostalgia in a different way, by throwing together a cast that eerily resembles the cast of Scooby-Doo, and then leading them through a murder mystery. Think about it, the main character is Freddy. Yukiko is Daphne, Chie is Velma. Yosuke and Teddie? Shaggy and Scooby. Kanji and Rise? Sonny and Cher. And Naoto? She’s totally Don Knotts (possibly Sandy Duncan, that one’s kinda fuzzy). All those monsters and bosses? Guys in masks. All it was missing was Casey Kasem, Frank Welker and Don Messick to pull it all together. I see it every time I play this damn game, and I can’t unsee it. Now you will too, and I’ll be laughing like a crazy person.
Nostalgia? Jinkies. Seriously, you should have Scooby Snacks handy when you play this game.
Sonic
Poor Sonic. Every Sonic game lately tries so hard to be what the first few Sonic games were. They just keep missing the mark, and plunge right into a vat of acid. Which would be understandable, if they were moving anywhere near as fast as a classic Sonic game. But they don’t. The other key ingredient missing from newer Sonic games is his attitude. For those of you that remember, Sonic is a dick. Well, was, anyway. Now he’s flat and boring, with speed the only thing going for him. Unless you count fanart, which I’ll leave for another column.
Nostalgia? Terrible. Shadow stole Sonic’s bad attitude and is holding it at gunpoint.
Resident Evil
So many remakes, so few of them any good compared to the GameCube version. As much as I love the terrible dialogue, bad voice work, and sexism (“Hide here while I save the day, Rebecca.” “Okay, I’m just a girl anyway, tee-hee.”), the Cube version made everything better. Better voice acting, better graphics, and Richard being eaten by a giant mutated shark. Poor guy. It managed to keep the same creepy atmosphere the original did while adding even more disturbing critters to the mix.
Nostalgia? Good, if you focus on the REmake. But Jill will be the master of unlocking until the end of time.
Ah, the good old days. Some games manage to keep nostalgia alive, and others just smother it in it’s sleep with a pillow. While its possible for a series to hold on to whatever made it popular back in the day, its not as common as it should be. Not everyone can recapture the magic, but those that can manage to do it over and over again. Let’s hope they can lead by example, or atleast drag everyone else along with them.
About the Author
Paul Cross
Paul graduated high school playing video games, got bored with college playing video games, and then was hopelessly sucked into retail, where he’s been trapped ever since, still playing video games. Now he writes about them, and it would best if you got out of his way.
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