Modern Games' Roots In 8- And 16-Bit Consoles

 In the modern world of gaming, just about everything that hits shelves is hailed as a new achievement of gargantuan proportions. And to be sure, the recently released "next-gen" gaming consoles, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (and Wii U)‚ are absolutely incredible in terms of their capabilities and power. The games that are already out, and those on the way, are surely some of the most impressive video games we've ever seen.

Furthermore, other corners of the gaming industry are also celebrated for innovation and groundbreaking ideas. Consider the mobile app market, where "console-quality" games are now available for download in a matter of seconds. Then there's Internet gaming, where players from across the world can link up in multiplayer experiences.

The truth, however, is that despite the undeniable advances in gaming tech and ability, most of the genres and individual games are far from breaking new ground. Many of the most popular options out there actually have their roots in the now ancient 8- and 16-bit consoles of the late '80s and '90s! Here are a few prominent examples.

Batman & Comic Gaming

For those who love the modern "Arkham" series, it's worth noting that Batman games extend all the way back to the NES! Games like Batman: Return Of the Joker by Sunsoft set the tone
early. And it wasn't just for Batman and comic games in general, but for stand-alone and comic-based games not based entirely on recent films. Perhaps even more surprisingly, modern gamers should know that there was a Captain America And The Avengers NES game in 1991!

Casino Gaming

This is a great example of a gaming genre that is viewed in a very modern sense. The reason being that it's true that certain modern casino gaming platforms offer exceptional online and real money gaming capabilities. In examining the online casino at Betfair, you can see that it features everything from arcade slot machines to live interactive tournaments with real players. But modern gaming options like these are far from the first personal casino simulations. Games like Caesars Palace on NES, 777 Casino on SEGA Genesis, and others tapped into the public's desire for home casino activity long ago.

Fighting Games

This is perhaps the easiest genre to trace back through older consoles because the actual franchises still endure. Series like Street Fighter, Tekken, etc. have been around for longer than many modern fans realize. Street Fighter debuted on NES with a side-scrolling adventure (oddly titled 2010 Street Fighter) in 1990, for example.
And with Capcom rumored to be developing more games with classic Street Fighter and Tekken characters for next-gen consoles, these could become a few of the most long-lasting themes in history.

Ultimately, these are only three examples out of dozens and dozens. Sports games, Super Mario Bros. games, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Star Wars, among many others, are all gaming franchises and themes that exist on modern platforms. Those include app gaming markets and next-gen consoles, but when you look back, you'll see that they too have origins all the way back in 8- and 16-bit console gaming.

What Was Tecmo Thinking?

Today's video laments the lack of save features in some Tecmo games, particularly Rygar.

Beats, Rhymes, and Uppercuts: Ten Years Of Def Jam Fight For New York

The relationship between video games and Hip Hop has always been peculiar, with game developers
relegating Hip Hop strictly to the soundtrack of most games. Electronic Arts struck gold with Def Jam Vendetta, and when gamers began to ask about a sequel, EA actually decided to go in a slightly different direction, and in 2004 They released Def Jam: Fight For New York. Fight For New York, unlike it's older sibling, was a fighting game. While it wasn't Street Fighter III: Third Strike, it was a solid game with tight mechanics, a fairly decent story, and pretty deep character creation engine.

 At a glance it shouldn't be as deep a game as it is gameplay wise, but with the ability to blend up to three fighting styles, it's easy for gamers to find some surprising depth in their character's play style. On top of the "play as yourself (if you're a guy)" story mode, there's also a pretty large roster of characters encompassing a wide berth of popular names in hip hop at the time of the game's release. There was a pretty fun, albeit silly, storyline to back everything up, and the soundtrack is superb, as expected.

Ten years after it's debut, and Def Jam: Fight For New York is still a quality fighting game. It's blend of Power Stone's frenetic multiplayer brawls and Def Jam Vendetta's knock out centered wrestling based gameplay were a great marriage and would have been an amazing send off for the series. EA had to run a good thing into the ground though, and Def Jam: Icon was released in 2007, effectively killing the series.

Was Fight For New York created to be a major player in the world of fighting games? Probably not, but it did prove to be a marvelous fighter that is still a lot of fun to play despite the majority of the rappers in the game being widely irrelevant now.

Super 3D Noah's Ark Is Back...And It's A Cartridge!!!

The infamous unlicensed Super Nintendo game, Super 3D Noah's Ark is seeing a reprint. For the first time since it's debut in 1994, Wisdom Tree's lone Super Nintendo release is available in it's original state.

2014 Is Upon Us, And I Want To Be Excited.

So, 2014 is in full swing, and to be honest, I can't say there are a lot of things in gaming that truly have me excited. There isn't a glut of things coming for the Xbox One or the PS4 that are inspiring a great deal of excitement outside of Titanfall and the third proper game in Capcom's Strider series, and they both have Xbox 360 iterations on deck as well. As for the Wii U, there are a few titles, but I actually have to get the console first. Then there's the Steam Machine, which is in the same position as the Wii U. I don't think I've gone into a year with this level of apathy in regards to gaming in a long time, and that saddens and worries me.

All isn't lost though, as I felt a degree of apathy at the beginning of 2013, but it proved to be a great year in gaming outside of the titles that garnered all the hype. My concern though is that major game publishers are more interested in making blockbusters than games that will stand up to the test of time. However, there are games like Keiji Inafume's Mighty No. 9, a long awaited new entry in the cult classic Oddworld series, and several other great games that won't immediately catch the eye of the crowd that didn't get into gaming until Call of Duty went yearly, but they'll win any gamer over who appreciates fine game artistry over big budgets.

Here's to hoping that 2014 proves to have as many great experiences as 2013 gave gamers. I want to give my money to game publishers, so I hope they provide experiences that will give me a desire to part with my funds.

Can Capcom Get It Together In 2014?

Today's video finds me discussing Capcom's new commitment to Fighting Games while neglecting big chunks of their Arcade backlog.

Planning To Late Adopt PS3 or Xbox 360 Consoles and Games? Buyer Beware!

Fanboys yelling at each other on message boards, delayed launch titles, and console shortages during Christmas. Yeah, it’s console release time. With the release of Sony and Microsoft’s new consoles, the 8^th console generation is officially here. With this comes a great time for late adopters, collectors, and cheapskates. Consoles and games from the 7^th generation are about to become very affordable, and the deals will become quite enticing, but all isn’t health packs and blue koopa shells.

The biggest concern one should have is the dependence so many titles have on online patches. This is the first instance we’ve had where some console games have needed downloadable patches to properly function. This means a percentage of titles simply won’t function correctly if at all. Also, at some point all of those titles you heard folks talking about playing online wouldn’t be possible. This isn’t unique to just consoles, but it is definitely not as easy to work around on consoles.

Another problem lies with the consoles themselves. For all intents and purposes, the 7^th console generation saw a fail rate the likes of which many modern gamers have ever seen before. The Red Ring of Death was a nightmare for the Xbox 360, with many gamers going through several consoles before giving up on Microsoft’s console. Sony had several problems of their own with Playstation 3 consoles being affected by console failure errors indicated by a yellow light. The led to a lot of console gamers either giving up completely or venturing into PC gaming. With the dependability of PC gaming and its graphics superiority (if you have the right components), More and more gamers became console expatriates.

Any gamer worth their salt knows how to find great deals on treasures they missed earlier on at the end of a console’s life. The conundrum lies in whether all the intangibles involved in dealing with online dependency of some games in this generation have made it a tough row to hoe for some. Will “retro hunting” for the 7^th generation even be as fun as it is for previous generations, or is it pretty much a bust? Maybe some of you will find great deals on collector’s editions for the price of a budget title. Will we see a sad pile of First Person Shooters and Sports games in the corner of a local Gamestop? Hopefully the need to have everything online won’t make this entire console generation landfill fodder within the next 5 years.