Old School = New cool?!?

[Lee]

For those who don't know Sonic will be returning to his 2D roots and shall be appearing in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 due for release this summer. This thread isn't about that, you can discuss that game here. In 2006 we saw Nintendo release an old school/new cool version of Mario for the DS. Then we had a Wii version, new super mario bros Wii. However this isn't the place to discuss that game, that can be done here. How about street fighter IV? That went back to the roots, and then the rumours of Earth Worm Jim among others.

Basically what I am saying is I think we may have a revolution on our hands: Simply put we grew up with 2D games, we loved 2D games, 2D games wre a lot more challenging than modern games. A lot of franchises have suffered because of the change to 3D. I can real off a list of Golden Axes, Gauntlets, Duke Nukems, Alex Kidds, Shinobi's etc etc that just didn't work in 3D. I think with what seems to have gone on over the past year we're going to see a lot more games in the 2D format, plus with the PSN/XBL and WiiWare these are rather cheap for us the gamers to have on our systems.

So people of WZ....Are we going to see a 2D revival or am I talking BS?

 

[Phoenix]

Well 2D never really died, but remained in hibernation for some part. I mean Nintendo kept 2D alive with the Paper Mario series and games like Luigi's Mansion on the GC. Even on the N64 there were still plenty of 2D based games around.

Sonic originally went semi-back in that awful werewolf game with some nods of 2D sections not too long ago. Naturally fighting games were still 2D in some form, just they made it possible in some to rotate in a circle rather than fight in a straight horizonal battle.

Think the simple fact is that 2D never truly went away, but the companies saw a high amount of downloads for classic 2D games for each console and saw that the original never truly dies. Naturally Sonic going back to full 2D is something expected as it really did poorly 3D wise, this is something positive Sega needs for their beloved mascot.

But in simple terms, 2D never went away, it's just getting mainstream again.

Btw, love the mention for Duke Nukem, I remember playing the original 2D and going to 3D, boy how much change that was there! "It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I'm all out of gum!"

 

[ABMorales787]

I'm hoping you're right. Tatsunoko vs Capcom is another game that is going to 2D roots, or not leaving them at all. Big time companies seem to underestimate the amount of old school gamers out there. It seems they're catching on now with this recent increase in old-school styled games. Being an old school guy, I'm all in for it as I hope for the resurgence of several franchises.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Few people wish to see a revival of 2D games as much as I do. My prediction would be that we are seeing the beginning of a nostalgic era where several series will go back to their roots. Some series like those Lee listed already have, and I believe there will be many more. This might or might not truly revive 2D itself.... that will depend on how well these games do and if enough people want to see more. It could happen and I wish it would. 3D and CG have both overstayed their welcome in my opinion and I feel so nostalgic for the days when we KNEW that games were cartoonish novelties, and not "too realistic" like 90% of today's games. The classic format is much better because the emphasis was almost always on story and gameplay rather than graphics. Sure the graphics sometimes become less important in 2D games and that turns some people away from the games, but those old 2D classes were the best and several have stood the test of time! I really hope we do see a full revival of 2D games rather than just each major series having a nostalgic return to its roots before returning to the way they are now. It would be better because games as a whole were MUCH better back in the 2D era!

 

[Via Armbar]

I think some games translate better to 3D then others for sure. Super Mario has had tremendous success in doing so, as Mario Galaxy IMO is one of the greatest acheivements in gaming ever.

But others like Metroid and Sonic I always felt were better before they made the jump. The first couple Sonic games were some of the best sidescrollers ever, taking out of its element makes it lose some of its individuality. Same with Metroid. Super Metroid was groundbreaking and revolutionary, redefining what a sidescroller can be. I thought Metroidrime was pretty good, i felt it really didnt have the charm and atmosphere as it predecessors.

My all time favorite game is Zelda: A Link to the Past and i was none too happy when Ocarina of Time came out. Obviously i warmed to it as its a tremendous game, but its just another example of games being able to keep the traits that made them a success in the first place.

As far as remakes of 2D games go, i think there will definatly be more old school games being remade without having to be 3D. They were probably scared a couple years back that it would taking a step in the opposite direction, but they feel comfrtable enough with it now obviously. Just as it with movies, graphics and sfx arentl everything.