Playing Older Video Games

Just because they aren't new doesn't mean that you can't have some fun.

Feb 21, 2019

By: Max Cannon

There are a lot of games to look forward to in 2019 and beyond. It's easy to be excited about Super Mario Maker 2, Anthem, Yoshi's Crafted World, and all of the other awesome looking games on the horizon. But, there are hundreds of excellent games from yesteryear and if you're not playing older games then you're definitely missing out.

Thanks to advancements in modern tech, you may not need an old cartridge to play the classics.

Appreciating the Classics

Though gorgeous graphics make modern games stand out more than ever, that doesn't mean that you won't find tons of fun in older games. You can still squeeze hours of fun out of older games like Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog, or Super Smash Bros. Melee. These game are so good that we're still talking about them 20 years later! In fact, there is a nearly endless collection of older games for you to revisit and there's no way to play them all. If you consider yourself a fan of gaming, then it's important to be up to speed on retro games. You don't need to beat the first Metroid -- I doubt I'll ever finish it myself -- but trying out the first level for yourself will really give you a great idea of how far we've come in such a short time.

A PS1 Classic Returns - Kidzworld Weekly News

One of the best parts? Older games are far more affordable than the modern $60 titles. For example, less than $20 a year could get you access to the original Mario, Metroid, Zelda and even more games that you've probably never heard of all on your Nintendo Switch. It's getting easier and easier to play these retro titles too. If you're looking to try out a handful of the best games on the original Nintendo or Super Nintendo then you could pick up the NES Classic or SNES Classic to play around 50 of the best games on those machines. Heck, you could even download some PlayStation 2 classics onto your PlayStation 4, and as gaming tech evolves we'll hopefully have an even easier time finding these golden oldies.

Just a friendly reminder to try out Kirby's Adventure on the Nintendo Switch.

What's Old is New

Alright, let's say you really don't want to play older games. Maybe it's the nasty visuals or the dated controls that prevent you from wanting to play the classics, then you should really consider checking out some remakes. Remakes of older titles are massively popular, last year's Spyro Reginited Trilogy and Shadow of the Colossus were personal highlights of 2018. These remakes do an excellent job at letting you experience these games without the hitches and hiccups of older technology. Not all remakes are created equally but when they're as stellar Shadow of the Colossus then they completely overtake the original game and become the best way to play.

The PlayStation Classic helps you check out some blocky games from a simpler time.Courtesy of PlayStation

Of course, you could just stick with the options you have on current consoles and be perfectly content as a modern gamer but you'd be doing yourself a disservice by ignoring some of the greatest games ever made that released on some ancient machines. Next time you're looking for something to play, I'd really encourage you to consider the classics.