Nostalgia in gaming.

Ask any gamer alive what their favorite game is and nine times out of ten it'll be one from our childhood. My answer would be no different. How many times have you heard or even have said that kids these day play garbage compared to what we had growing up? Because of this, the constant debate rages in the gaming community that the games from our childhood are far better than the ones that are released today. The problem with this argument is there are too many variables for this to be a fair debate. You can not compare anything from a  tech standpoint because of the limitations allowed at the time in the hardware.  Even comparing music and story would be a tough argument due to limitations of file sizes. Where does nostalgia come into play and how much was looking at the game through the eyes of a child versus the more refined (cynical) eyes of an adult? With that said this entire debate is still apples and oranges but lets throw some fuel into the fire anyway. 

"Lufia and the Fortress of Doom" for the snes is my absolute favorite game of all time and it is one I have never even finished. But before we start the argument let me shine some light on my personal history with the game.  I first discovered this game at my local video rental place. I had it for three days and immediately fell in love. The music, the combat system, the story, and even the graphics. Obviously I could not finish a turned based rpg in that short amount of time, so alas it was returned unbeaten.  I rented it as often as I could for months always hoping that my save file was still intact. Sometimes yes more often than not it was gone. Being a kid with a game you are absolutely obsessed with this was no big deal. Start again and memorize every inch of it. My mom even printed off an all text walk through for me. My fondest memory of the game came from a week where my parents were out of town and my grandmother was watching me. They gave her the money so she could rent it for me and the best part she sat and watched me play it asking me questions and being genuinely engaged.

Now that brings us to the argument. Is this my favorite game because of the memories I have associated with it? Is it because it was my obsession for so long when I was still so green to games? Is it because the game stands up to the test of time and is one of the best games of all time?  I chuckle to myself full well knowing it is not that last one. At release it received mixed reviews being compared to Secret of Mana or Final Fantasy. Even more recent reviews are still mixed between enduring characters and story versus being referred to as average or boring. So now this brings into question if I had played more rpgs or even more games before this would I feel the same about it? As we experience life and everything that it has to offer do we slowly and unconsciously raise the bar without us even realizing it?

Don't get me wrong, there a many current day series that I absolutely love. But time and again nothing has managed to bump my number one spot. So where do you stand? And why do you feel that way?

William