I Join the New World of Gaming

On 4/14/2000 I made personal history: I complete my transition into the world of Modern gaming. I bought a Nintendo 64.  I know some reading this will be shocked and denounce me, especially since the only game I bought for it is Pokémon Stadium. Now, I am not a stranger to Modern Gaming. My sister gave me her Sega Saturn, along with 7 games, which I haven't touched yet. I got a Sony PlayStation for Christmas and I love it, especially playing Final Fantasy V-VIII. I recently bought the last, new copy of Mega Man VIII while I was trying to rent a tuxedo. I don't think there is anything wrong with playing modern systems. Retrogamers often forgot that a lot of games suck on old systems. In the NES's case, quite a lot. Retrogamers and NES lovers build relationships because we all remember the same 20 to 50 NES games that are really great and we, for the most part, ignore the ones that totally suck. I have about 550 NES games, and I would consider a figure stating that 40% of them suck a modest estimate. Just to be fair, I still believe there are fundemental problems with the N64 that 1) Play Control takes much longer to figure out because the games are 3D and in addition, often call for complex controller movements, and 2) I hate using the joystick roter and would perfer using the control pad, which most games ignore. That's why I like the PSX a lot. No joystick necessary. The reason why the NES was so popular was it was more than a gaming system, it had (and still has) a culture beyond the gaming, magazines, cartoons, food, clothes, etc. One of the reasons so many retrogamers hate Pokémon so much is that it has captured this culture to a much greater extent than the NES ever did, and the retrogamers feel threatened. Nostaglia can be good, but nostaglia to the point of denouncing anything new is insane and reminds me of extremely old people who are so long in the past they think everything new sucks. NOSTAGLIA CAN BE PROVEN TO BE AWFUL!!! Don't believe me: try watching the live-action sequences of The Super Mario Brothers Super Show or its theme song. If you still won't cave, watch any episode of the Mega Man cartoon. Both retrogaming and modern gaming can be great, and they both can suck. Still, rest assured, I still love the NES, and I will collect the 200 or so remaining games and I won't abandon my faithful NES.

Jonathan A. K. Hertzog

ShadowMan024