The Reach of Retro

by Blake Snow and Dave Rudden
November 17, 2009 10:53 AM PST

Retro gaming and its development ideals live on in many ways.

When a developer wants to ensnare hardcore gamers, they create a game with cutting-edge visuals, Hollywood-caliber production values, and deep gameplay. When they want to cater to the casual crowd, they create a game that features an easy-to-learn control scheme with a stripped-down design that will appeal to everyone. When they want to please everyone, they follow the trails blazed by the now-retro games that defined the concepts of gaming.

We recently chatted with some of gaming's foremost experts on old-school value, including retro gaming website curators and key staff members at the companies that are creating products in the vein of classics and reviving old franchises. This year's centerpiece in that regard is New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Everything old is New Super Mario Bros. again

More than any other Mario platformer that's been released in the last two decades, New Super Mario Bros. Wii earns its stripes by reveling in the warm embrace of nostalgia. Denise Kaigler, vice president of corporate affairs for Nintendo, explained the fondness for the franchise, stating "For people who've enjoyed video games since childhood, there may be some classic titles that will always hold appeal."

More than any other Mario platformer that's been released in the last two decades, New Super Mario Bros. Wii earns its stripes by reveling in the warm embrace of nostalgia.

Play New Super Mario Bros. Wii for an hour, and you'll come across countless homages to older games that have been missing from Mario's recent efforts like Super Mario Galaxy. The return of Yoshi in a 2D plane will be welcome to Super Mario World fans. The re-introduction of the Koopa Kids, as well as level-selection maps, mini-game houses and enemy encounter stages were reminiscent of Super Mario Bros. 3. Super Mario Bros. 2 came to mind when choosing from the four characters, but the increased amount of throwing (barrels, frozen enemies, and even fellow players could be tossed). Perhaps the strongest sense of nostalgia came across when triggering the "fireworks trick," an Easter egg laid in the very first Super Mario Bros. Finishing a level with a specific amount of time remaining will cue up the original game's "stage clear" theme, note for 8-bit note.

One company, two kinds of retro

The charm of retro-styled games is so strong, in fact, that developers such as Capcom have begun releasing new games using retro technology. "The past five years have taught us that you don't necessarily need cutting edge graphics to make a great new game," says Chris Kramer, alluding to the rise in retro, not to mention the popularity of the graphically-challenged Wii.

To put their money where their mouth is, Capcom released Mega Man 9, the first sequel in the main series since 1996, utilizing a style very reminiscent of the original NES installments. Kramer stated "Since the success of Mega Man 9, we've already begun considering what other classic Capcom titles should live again."

That's not the only way Capcom has made use of its rich history this year. Street Fighter IV was released earlier this year, adding impressive HD visuals to gameplay very reminiscent of Street Fighter II, including 15 of the 17 characters from that series. The remaining two are amongst a handful of new characters set to make their return in Super Street Fighter IV, the first Street Fighter game to earn the "Super" moniker since--yep, you guessed it--Super Street Fighter II.

Simplicity rules

Talking to retro gaming historians, we got a strong sense of how these series are still able to pull in original fans. Sure, they add features, but only ones that don't cloud the original visions. "You can really focus on what makes a game interesting when there isn't too much getting in the way," says Nick Reichert, who owns and operates Racketboy, a website dedicated to cataloging the best retro games.

When the Pac-Man series was rebooted last year with Pac-Man Championship Edition, it kept its simple premise alive and compounded that with old-school pixilated visuals, but changed the mechanics of the game so that it still felt fresh. It's been a hit on Xbox Live Arcade since its release, and an iPhone version has since been announced. James Grahame, managing editor of Retro Thing, pointed out the reasoning for the persistent appeal, stating "I can explain the essence of Pac-Man in about five seconds," he says. "Eat the dots and don't get caught."

The grammar of video games

If you look hard enough, however, you'll find that the grammar of video games introduced by the seminal titles of the 80's and early 90's are prevalent in today's biggest games. Splinter Cell: Conviction and The Saboteur are still working off of the "avoid detection" template set by Metal Gear on the NES. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Assassin's Creed 2 include amazing acts of traversal that should be familiar to fans of the original Prince of Persia.

In the end, good design will always be good design, regardless of the technology. "Any game that's truly classic will appeal to players no matter when it was released," says Kaigler.