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Yahtzee Presents A New Angle On Nostalgia (Sort Of)

Posted by Nadia Oxford

While Mr Constantine gets over his case of the vapours, I'd like to offer my own perspective on Yahtzee's scorn towards Mrs Rad Spencer. One bit in particular caught my interest.

(::Pipe puff::)

Most of North America had the honour of growing up alongside the Nintendo Entertainment System. A great deal of Europe, if my video game lore is up to snuff, did not. I remember my older brother coming home from a visit to Ireland and telling me about how everyone there still played Atari 2600. I was all like, "No waaaaay!" Then the UK's ultra-sweet take on Smarties rebelled against my stomach and I vomited everywhere.

In his latest rant against Bionic Commando and all things fun, Yahtzee briefly mentions that his household was a Commodore 64 household--in other words, he didn't grow up with Bionic Commando or a lot of our favourite 8-bit treasures. Having grown up with a Commodore 64 as well as a Nintendo, I have no trouble admitting that one system offered a complex gaming experience full of adventure and thrills whereas the other one offered me a lot of eyestrain thanks to glitchy graphics and scratched disks. Try to guess which system is which. You may be surprised.

I agree with Yahtzee when he says that way too many of us look back at our old games through rose-tinted glasses. A lot of NES games--and gosh, even games on the SNES, a system I love with all my heart--were terrible. But not all of them. Certainly not Bionic Commando, which may be difficult and frustrating at times, but is not badly put-together in the least.

Asking why Rad can't just jump over objects instead of grappling past them is like asking why we can't dig holes in water. It's just not the way things are done. We don't have to sit around and play the Game of Life. It's a cheap, plastic scaled-down version of a typical grown-up's boring lot. But there's something obscenely fun about it, so play we must.

Still, it's interesting to see how Yahtzee's place of birth affected his outlook on the games we love. I disagree with his view on Bionic Commando and Bionic Commando Rearmed, but it's also possible that our early years of gaming implants vital ideas of what a game should be. Being raised on different systems means different points of views.

Or Yahtzee's just flat-out wrong. That's possible too.

Related Links:

Nobody Puts Bionic Commando in a Corner
Yahtzee and the Webcomics Plague
Sweaty, Oily Barbarian Men Are Waiting For Your Purchase

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Posted Sep 25 2008, 03:05 PM

Filed under: yahtzee, bionic commando, 8-bit, retro, nostalgia, bionic commando rearmed, nadia oxford

Comments

Roto13 said:

I actually didn't play Bionic Commando until 2000-ish. It was after the Game Boy Color version (which was not the original Bionic Commando at all, but more of a sequel than anything) came out. I went back and played a ROM of the NES Bionic Commando and thought it was great, though too hard because of the lack of an energy meter. (That was fixed for Rearmed.) In this case, Nostalgia had nothing to do with it for me.

So suck it, Yahtzee. Bionic Commando is a great game, whether it reminds you of your youth or not.

September 25, 2008 4:26 PM

LBD "Nytetrayn" said:

Bionic Commando didn't lack an energy meter, you just had to build it from the ground up.

September 25, 2008 9:37 PM

Demaar said:

*shrugs* I had a Commodore 64 when I was a tike then moved onto Sega Master System (like many Australians). Despite that I love the buggery out of BC Rearmed. I think Yahtzee just grabbed an opportunity to bash nostalgia-tards.

I think Galaga Legions would have been a better target (despite enjoying it).

September 26, 2008 3:13 AM

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