How re-playing an outdated game can sometimes feel weird

[Evie ❤✿]

Basically, this describes when a game comes out and for the time, the graphics/content/etc. were amazing, then you play a new game in the series and return back to the older one. Sometimes perhaps if we consider the game 'retro' the effect doesn't apply, but if the game does not necessarily have that 'retro' label in our mind perhaps it can lead to us feeling unsettled/not fully content in some way about something, until we accept it again.

Examples:

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate>Super Smash Bros. U: For me, the player HUDs in a Smash in Smash U were great at the time. Then I played Ultimate and also thought they were great. For a long time in a while I replayed Smash Bros. U, and aesthetically something about the HUDs looked of lower quality and therefore made me feel weird (however I don't have a HD TV that may have been a factor)

Pokémon Sun/Moon or X/Y or Ultra Sun/Moon>Pokémon XD/Colosseum: For the time Pokémon XD and Colosseum came out a 3D models based Pokémon game with a story mode was not previously released. However, Pokémon X/Y for the Nintendo 3DS eventually changed that (addition: suddenly then, a 3D Pokémon game with story was not a 'unique' or 'innovative' thing, and in some respects traits of the newer games i.e. 3D core games for 3DS felt more 'fleshed out' in relation to Colosseum and XD). There was also a similar feeling playing Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon for a long time and going back to play X/Y for a long time in a while; as the player character models were simpler and did not blink, it felt 'outdated' It might also apply to Stadium/Stadium 2/Battle Revolution/Battrio/Tretta if the story mode is not a subject between the games you're playing, however in the case of Battle Revolution I think some models were based on the earlier games, just revamped a little.

Other core Pokémon games, Mario, Zelda, many franchises (such as big, popular long-running ones) in general.

Discuss.

[nocturnal YL]

Long story short, while I do feel some level of weirdness when switching between games, it's almost always because they're different games, and not because they are from different eras.

One exception is the button mapping of the Kirby and Yoshi games. The SNES games use SNES tradition (B = jump, Y = main action, A = secondary action), while the DS and 3DS games use A for jump and B for action, presumably to maintain compatibility with the GBA games (which can be played on DS).

I don't feel anything strange about moving to and from Smash Wii U and Ultimate. That said, I can see your reasoning for the HUD (or a lot of things about Smash Wii U, really), which looks like a mix between Brawl and Ultimate. Much like the Wii U itself, it feels like a middle-ground solution (albeit not intentionally so) between the entries before and after it, never really getting its own distinct visual identity.

[Nester the Lark]

I think this is pretty common. You either overlook or don't recognize "flaws" about certain games, and then don't realize that they've been "fixed" in later games until you try to go back to the old ones again. I used quotation marks there because sometimes retroactive "flaws" can simply be the result of technical limitations or game design standards of the era.

I do remember way back when Super Mario All-Stars came out, and suddenly realizing that I had to get used to the physics of the original Super Mario Bros. all over again because they were a little floatier than SMB3/World. Even Nintendo Power magazine made note of that back then. It's funny, because I had to get used to some of the New SMB games, too. Especially NSMB Wii. Mario felt especially heavy in that one for some reason.

[Evie ❤✿]

Apr 18, 2019 13:53:21 GMT -5 nocturnal YL said:

Long story short, while I do feel some level of weirdness when switching between games, it's almost always because they're different games, and not because they are from different eras.

One exception is the button mapping of the Kirby and Yoshi games. The SNES games use SNES tradition (B = jump, Y = main action, A = secondary action), while the DS and 3DS games use A for jump and B for action, presumably to maintain compatibility with the GBA games (which can be played on DS).

I don't feel anything strange about moving to and from Smash Wii U and Ultimate. That said, I can see your reasoning for the HUD (or a lot of things about Smash Wii U, really), which looks like a mix between Brawl and Ultimate. Much like the Wii U itself, it feels like a middle-ground solution (albeit not intentionally so) between the entries before and after it, never really getting its own distinct visual identity.

Ah, yeah I feel the button-mapping changes may apply to a lot of games actually. This was also a case between The Legendary Starfy (fifth game) and the first four games in the series. The fifth game uses B for jump, while the rest use A for jump.

I see. Yes. ✿

Also another example I thought of, is the presentation of certain Nintendo 64 games. Voice acting was not always as 'good', also Donkey Kong 64 was a memory heavy game (as so was the PlayStation Final Fantasy VII multiple discs, which also didn't have as 'good' graphics as later titles)). These modern things in comparison may seem 'trivial' now. (for some reasons for me, for games like Super Mario 64, Donkey Kong 64, Sin & Punishment it may show).

[Leon]

I'm currently playing through the original Fire Emblem on the Famicom online app, and it certainly takes some adjusting after only playing the modern games for the past few years. That said it's still fun to approach things with a different mindset.

[Evie ❤✿]

Related (but not exactly) may be the idea that once you've completed a game, it's over. Though if you haven't played the game in years, playing a game you've completed can in some respects, make it feel new again(?) or can just feel more refreshing than a new game. If you have selective memory (like me) or just forget things after a while, once you've forgotten you can revisit the game; and think "wow I wasn't aware this was there before", but it is weird because it was there from objectivity.

[Shrikeswind]

This is honestly the big reason why I still haven’t beaten Super Mario 64, of all games. It was such a critical game in the development of the 3D platformer genre because it was one of the first (if not *the* first) but later games just improved in the mechanics and storytelling by such a massive amount that going back to it, the game almost feels unfinished by comparison. It aged really poorly because there was so much that could be improved while still being good enough to deserve the attention necessary to improve on it.