So I was in Anatomy/Physiology lab today, and one guy in my group noticed what was on my shirt:



He asked, "Hey, is that a metroid?"

I said, "Yeah"

He said, "Cool, Super Metroid is one of my favorite games."

"Mine too! :D " I said.

At this time, I'm thinking, 'Holy crap, a Nintenbro at my college! I should introduce him to Neg-'

"Way better than those new first person shooter Prime ones."

...




SO THAT GOT ME THINKING...

Do nostalgia goggles cause a lot of bias towards newer games in a series?

FOR EXAMPLE:



DISCUSS!!!

Note: I love both Super Metroid and Metroid Prime. I actually enjoy the 2-D Metroids more and think Super Metroid is better, but not 'way better' as the guy smugly said.

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Your example isn't necessarily nostalgia. He may genuinely not like the Metroid Prime games. *shrugs*

Invite him to Negative World! Anand needs an ally.

I think that nostalgia absolutely CAN influence people in the ways you're describing, but I don't know that it's ever possible to prove within someone else. Hell, it can be difficult to prove in yourself to an extent.

For example, I LOVE the Legend of Zelda. It's probably my second favorite entry in the series. However, I would fully expect a "modern" gamer who hasn't played the game before to HATE it. Burning hundreds of identical bushes, bombing countless, identical walls, dungeons hidden behind the most pedestrian, unremarkable obstacles, obscure "hints" from NPCs... the list goes on. While I do think that LoZ is a great game, I do think that removed from its time, it's a bit of a bitch. The game is great, but my LOVE for it is absolutely nostalgic.

Something like Super Metroid? I prefer Super Metroid to the Primes, even though I love them both. I genuinely think the storytelling in Super is better, the action is better, the world is more interesting, the music is better, the pacing is better... again, the list goes on. I think the game is great but my love for it is NOT nostalgic.

Those are pretty compelling examples and for me they're personally objective.

Something else, like Mario Kart? I think Super Mario Kart is a lot more fun than Mario Kart 64. But I don't feel the same way about those games as I do about Super Metroid vs. Prime. I suspect nostalgia is at play... but I can't say for sure.

INVITE HIM.


Re: the topic, I am pretty much incapable of discerning how much of my love for childhood classics is due to nostalgia. I can still recognize good and bad qualities, but the bias of overall affection is impossible to separate out. That's why it's so tough to review (good) games that I enjoyed when I was young.

The bad stuff is a bit easier. I'm sure Transformers was a stupid cartoon.



But was G.I. Joe??

People like different things, deal with it. You can't attack him just because you assume he's wearing nostalgia goggles.

Nostalgia can definitely cloud one's mind in terms of quality, although I think it's more fitting for TV/cartoons than games (how many times have we heard that older cartoons are better than newer ones?). And in the case of Super Metroid vs. Prime(s), the games are different enough to make it believable that someone can vastly prefer one over the other.

Some games, especially older ones, benefit from the player knowing them really well. Among the best examples of this is The Legend of Zelda--I love the game and can easily go back and play through it once a year and have a blast. But I also know where all the secret items are, making it more enjoyable to plan out the playthrough in a certain way. Even back in the day, I'd have to consult tip books and stuff (from my local public library) to learn where some of the more hidden things were.

Does Nostalgia play a part? Sure! Everything plays a part in everything.
I also think that a "the newest = the best!" thing plays a part, too, for a lot of people in everything else..

That, of course, could contribute to why people like the Prime series so much.

@Guillaume

Anand has me: Super Metroid is better than Metroid Prime, epsecially after the two-sided diarrhea that is Echoes.

There, quick and easy.

@Guillaume

It's just from the way he said it... it sounded really smug. That's what got on my nerves.

Not to mention he also tried to overcomplicate our diffusion lab with some formula that wasn't in the lab-book. And I was saying, "Uh... where are you getting this from, 'cause I don't see it in the labbook. All I see is mm/min, not whatever you're saying." And sure enough, the professor explained what was in the lab-book.

So yeah... just needed something to rant about.

He also brought his Macbook into lab. Wtf, who brings a laptop to lab. There's shit that can fuck it up in there.

@Paleo_Orca

Man, you really don't like that guy!

@Paleo_Orca

Did you check his copy of the textbook for annotations from the Half Blood Prince?

@Mr_Mustache

I haven't liked a lot of people lately.

@kriswright

What? I don't get it. @_@

@Paleo_Orca

Err... it's a Harry Potter joke. Maybe he found that formula written in the margins of his text book by the Half-Blood Prince. It's... something... that happens... in... Harry Potter...

DON'T JUDGE ME!

The thing about this is that I honestly feel that a lot of older games just did a lot of things better... and I still frequently play some of my favorite games, so it's not like it's some distant fuzzy memories deceiving me...

When I play A Link to the Past, I observe how well-crafted the world is, how I can play through the entire game without getting all pissed off or frustrated about having to go on some tedious game-lengthening fetch quest... the game isn't annoying me with an overuse of dialogue or obnoxiously holding my hand the whole way. A Link to the Past is my favorite game in the Zelda series. I hope that it can someday be surpassed.

Super Mario Bros 3... brilliantly designed levels, fun powerups, great music, the perfect difficulty. This is my favorite Mario game... but I really hope that the next Mario game will be better.

Super Metroid... well, you get the point...

It's not that I don't like Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, and Metroid Prime. I like them tons... it's just that I can pick out a hell of a lot more flaws in these games than I can in the ones I mentioned above. I believe this. This isn't nostalgia but a preference for the game design in the older games.

@Paleo_Orca
I like you! <3

I just don't like your avatar...

I think I agree with Hinph in that there ARE a lot of things that the best SNES and NES games did exceedingly well. But in the case of Metroid, I think the Prime series (moreso the first Prime) is guilty of far less problems than most modern sequels.

Kal-El814 said:

I think that nostalgia absolutely CAN influence people in the ways you're describing, but I don't know that it's ever possible to prove within someone else. Hell, it can be difficult to prove in yourself to an extent.

Word for word.

That said, I'm not above getting irritated when I think someone is talking nostalgically about a game they love that I don't really like. But it's ultimately nothing very important. Just speaking openly, I find it annoying to hear Nintendo fans who, it seems to me, have never emotionally left the pug-ugly N64 generation. But I recognize that irritation comes from me as much as it does from them. Probably more. And I get just as defensive about Ye Holy NES as they do about Ye Diabolical N64.

It's like that Old Texas Saying: He who lives in Ice World shouldn't throw fireballs.

I'm sure the reason I prefer a lot of older games is due at least in part to nostalgia. In the case of Super Metroid, I didn't play it until 2005 and it's my favorite game of all time. So yeah, that's not nostalgia. :p I really enjoy the Prime games, but they're not for everyone, and Super Metroid is better.

I wonder if it is possible to ban someone before they join the site?

I was ready to have my nostalgia goggles slapped right off when I booted up OoT3D but as it turns out it really is the best game ever

@Mr_Mustache
YEAH! I kind of like Echoes, though.

@kriswright
The "Nintendo was so much better on the N64" people puzzle me, as well. There were a handful of fantastic games, but man, that was one dry, dry desert. Gamecube, also, to a lesser extent.

I'm a huge NES fan. But even more than nostalgia, I think it was because everything was so fresh and new then. So many classic serieseses were born on that system.

@TriforceBun
Public Libraries are great! How did bookstores ever survive??

Yeah, the N64 era was really... let's just say I'm glad I had a Playstation.

To be honest, I wasn't such a big fan of the PS1, either. Some great stuff, but not caring about RPGs or having much of an appetite for hideous, crawly 3D hurt.

The N64 library definitely had severe shortcomings, but it sure did the trick for local multiplayer fun.