Gaming often brings up lots of memories

Throughout my childhood, video games were a constant companion. From playing Sonic Adventure 2 Battle at the daycare to watching my sister kill zombies in Resident Evil 4, games were like my best friend at times.

I loved when I was allowed to bring my portable consoles out at recess. I could just hang out with other kid gamers, bridging the gap between me and them without having to say a word.

What decides gaming nostalgia?

That’s a tricky question. From the original days of Ping Pong to games with hyper realistic graphics like Grand Theft Auto 5, there are just so many eras of gaming out there. My own nostalgia lies somewhere in between, when 3D gaming in its infancy and portable systems were still newfangled concepts. It really depends on the individual — what games did you play and enjoy back in the day?

You don’t have to have owned a console to have nostalgia towards it either. I never owned a N64, but I still have some great memories around it.

My local McDonald’s used to have some N64 machines set up in the restaurant, similar to the one in the picture. There were three of them, all in varying states of stickiness and disrepair.

I spent almost all my time at that McDonald’s avoiding the PlayPlace, waiting for my turn at one of these machines. I played games such as Pokémon Snap or Super Mario 64 there, games that I otherwise wouldn’t have nostalgia for.

So…what does all this nostalgia talk mean for gaming today?

Gaming companies have caught on that nostalgia sells, using it to their advantage. Gamers who want to relive some of their favourite games without digging out their old consoles can often find those games remade or remastered.

Don’t know what a remake or remaster is? That’s alright!

A remake means that the game has been, well, remade! The game is created in a new engine and often include new features as well as prettier graphics, while a remaster is more of a fresh face of paint on the original game. A remaster typically keeps the game as is, but often adds upgraded graphics, music, and menus/UI.

Still confused? This wonderful TechRadar article should help clarify things.

https://www.techradar.com/news/game-remakes-vs-remasters-whats-the-difference

Before you go, let’s look at some suggestions on what to play

When looking to play games for nostalgic reasons, I would generally just recommend just going with any game you remember fondly. If you’re stuck though, listed below are some great recent remakes and remasters.

Super Mario 3D All Stars - a remastered collection with three retro 3D Mario games, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy available on the Nintendo Switch.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Rescue DX - A remake of the DS game Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (it’s also a remake of the GBA version, Red Rescue Team) also available on the Nintendo Switch.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 - A remastered collection of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 as well as its sequel Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, available on PC, PS4 and Xbox 1.

References Used:

https://www.reddit.com/r/retrogaming/comments/6um7v0/nintendo_64_at_a_mcdonalds_in_2017/

https://www.techradar.com/news/game-remakes-vs-remasters-whats-the-difference

Emma Cayen

Emma is in her final year in the Professional Writing program at Algonquin. Looking forward to her future in the writing world, she even finds herself dreaming of plot bunnies in her sleep. Emma also enjoys beating her sister at a good game of Mario Party, well as spending time with her beloved cat George.