The Retro Renaissance

Tek7

Tek7

CGA President, Tribe of Judah Founder & President
Staff member
Mega Man 9.

Braid.

Cave Story.

Castle Crashers.

All are examples of what might be called a "Retro Renaissance," a return to the roots of what made gaming great during the 80s and early 90s.

Just as the Renaissance was sparked by the "rediscovery of ancient texts that had been forgotten by Western civilization, but were preserved in the Byzantine Empire, the Islamic world, and some monastic libraries," (Source: Renaissance, Wikipedia) the Retro Renaissance has been sparked by developers purposely dismissing resources made available through technological advancement in favor of focusing on and honing the application of (or "rediscovering") core game design principles.

Instead of studying the works of Plato or Cicero, Capcom and Inti Creates studied the brilliant level design and minimalist platforming of Mega Man 2.

Downloadable content networks like Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, and WiiWare help make the Retro Renaissance possible by reducing development costs and allowing independent developers to take greater risks. I doubt we would have ever seen Mega Man 9 as a $49.99 or even $19.99 Wii retail release, but the game was highly successful as a $10 download.

What excites me most about the Retro Renaissance is the opportunity to re-visit genres that were a favorite during my days playing NES and Genesis games (I didn't own a SNES). Playstation-era platformers tend to be needlessly complex and I was one of a very few people who didn't enjoy Super Mario 64 (though, inexplicably, I loved playing Super Mario Galaxy). Games like Mega Man 9, Cave Story (which, admittedly, was originally released in 2004), and New Super Mario Bros. (which is a 2.5D spiritual successor to Super Mario Bros. 3 with elements of Super Mario World) return platform games to their roots with fantastic results.

Brawlers like River City Ransom and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set the standard "back in the day." Behemoth took the core elements of the brawler and added hand-drawn art, online multiplayer, and a lot of retro love to create Castle Crashers.

So what's next?

And what games of the Retro Renaissance have you played? Did you enjoy them?

What other games would you add to the roster of Retro Renaissance titles?
 
Don't forget the new-school shoot em ups.

Super Stardust HD is awesome, and Soldner X looks really cool. Also, Ikaruga on XBLA
 
blackgravity said:
Super Stardust HD is awesome, and Soldner X looks really cool. Also, Ikaruga on XBLA
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I haven't played Super Stardust HD or Soldner X, but I played Ikaruga on the Dreamcast (region-free consoles ftw).

Another exciting aspect of the Retro Renaissance is the fusion of old school (streamlined game design) and new school (online play).

I don't have an Xbox 360, but I watched the first few minutes of someone playing through the Castle Crashers trial on Youtube and was very excited about the idea of a brawler with old school design, HD hand-drawn graphics, and online co-op with 3 other players.

It's awesome to see the developers who grew up playing NES-generation games creating games of their own.

True, nothing beats playing TMNT in an arcade with 3 friends (or X-Men with 5 friends), but arcades are somewhere between dying and dead in America, so online play, LAN parties, and local console multiplayer are all that's left.

On a side note, it's cool that mainstream tech is finally catching up with what emulator users were doing years ago (playing 4-player arcade games over the Internet using MAME32 and Kaillera).

Mega Man 9 included another great example of fusing old school gameplay and new technology: downloadable content. I downloaded the special stage for $1 (one buck, man! THAT's how DLC should be done) the day it came out. Paying money for a harder difficulty setting, though? That's just crazy.

In my first post, I asked "What's next?" I can't speak for others, but I'm dreaming of a Metroid DS with gameplay like the original and in the style of New Super Mario Bros. (3D graphics but fixed in two dimensions). I'll settle for Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (the latest and one of the best entries in the Metroidvania genre) in the interim, but Nintendo should really start work on a Metroid sequel pronto--if they haven't already.
 
Hescominsoon said:
the entire moo series
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I think it's time for 4X games to rise again.

EDIT: Imagine a Starflight III with a persistent world!

And I think adventure games are past due for a return to the mainstream (though one could argue the Wii retail release of Sam and Max: Episode 1 could be considered exactly that).
 
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The-Pixie said:
I want a reboot of the 4 screen playing of James Bond "Golden Eye":D
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Oh my gosh... earlier I had this insatiable urge to dig out my N64 and start playing Perfect Dark. That still ranks (with me at least) as one of the most fun FPS's ever played, HL2 and episodes included, Halo included, etc etc.

I dug out my 64 and it turns out I don't know where my controllers are.

/extreme sad face
 
As fun as some classic N64 games might be, the retro titles I was referring were from the second, third, and fourth generations. (The Nintendo 64 was part of the fifth generation, which popularized 3D graphics.)

What are some of your favorite NES-era and SNES-era games?

What are some of your favorite Retro Renaissance titles (e.g. Mega Man 9, Braid, Castle Crashers)?

And what about computer games during the same time period (c. 1983-1996)?
 
I really got into gaming around the time the N64 came out.

I posted wanting to play Perfect Dark because The-Pixie posted something about wanting to play 4 player GoldenEye (Rare made the two games).

The earliest computer game I really got into were EA (back when they knew what they were doing) racing games: NFS II, Hot Pursuit, High Stakes and Porsche Unleashed... and then I got into DAoC... the rest is history... :D

Edit: I take that back... we had a Sega like the one pictured at the top right of the page.
 
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Tek7 said:
All are examples of what might be called a "Retro Renaissance," a return to the roots of what made gaming great during the 80s and early 90s.
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This term doesn't strike me as accurate. Platformers don't really attempt to replicate the real world. It could be more closely attributed to the impressionist movement. I just think it is sorta wrong to attribute renaissance with what is basically a step backwards in terms of technology (not arguing for or against playability).
 
Tek7 said:
All are examples of what might be called a "Retro Renaissance," a return to the roots of what made gaming great during the 80s and early 90s.
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If you mean having Super Street Fighter/Puzzle Fighter in HD, those are rare to come by.

I don't think Nintendo would make a HD version of the original Super Mario Bros.

What are some of your favorite NES-era and SNES-era games?
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Mostly SNES-era. NES-era would be the known games; Duck Hunt, Tetris, Super Mario Bros. 3, etc.

What are some of your favorite Retro Renaissance titles (e.g. Mega Man 9, Braid, Castle Crashers)?
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Well, none, since they don't support PS2 or is part of a compilation for the PS2.

And what about computer games during the same time period (c. 1983-1996)?
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- Strike Commander
- Syndicate Wars
- The Journeyman Project

Mostly sci-fi games.

Another list.
 
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