I'm pausing from Wild Arms at the moment because I have this sudden urge to play oldschool games.  I'm not sure why but I have these phases that come and go and I end up playing the games that I never get tired of.  For some reason I have yet to run into a game made after 1996 that has done that for me.  Does this happen to older gamers or is this some way of me reliving my childhood?

I find it funny from a lot of people on these message forums that argue the only reason some of these classic games are good is because they remind us of our childhood.  When these kids reach their 20's and 30's will that happen to them?  Will they want to play GTA San Andreas because it reminds them of being kids?  It wouldn't surprise me.  Then who will be calling the kettle black?  ha ha

Well when I go through my old school phases like this I try to be objective when I play through a game, especially if it's been a while because I want to revisit why I loved the game so much:  is it because the game is good or is it to relive my childhood.

All in all, I find that the games I loved then I still love now, though some become stale and I acknowledge it may be the nostalgia factor, or that I'm getting better at playing games, because I find them to be easier than I remember.

Take Chrono Trigger for example:  I still love the story, I love the gameplay, the controls are solid, the graphics and soundtrack good for their day, but I plowed through the game in 25 hours!  Now I did EVERYTHING in the game to boot, every side quest and hidden twist, and yet I flew through the game.  My characters levels were in their 50's which I remember being sort of on the low side (I remember the first time being in my 70's when I beat it) and I creamed the final boss.  I seriously don't remember the game being this easy.  Hmmmm...

There are other examples that I don't want to fill up this entry with because it would be a short novel.  But the point is that I can acknowledge the short comings of classic games yet still appreciate the good things that they provided.  It's as objective as I can try to be.

Or I could be an old fart and blame it on everything going 3D, but that's another entry for another day :P  (and no I don't hate all 3D games, things just haven't been the same).