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Rediscovering the Allure of Old-School Games

Old-school gaming is coming back into fashion. While the current generation of consoles and gaming PCs may boast games that feature advanced lighting techniques such as ray tracing and environments that are photo-realistic, there’s still great appeal for older titles.

Millions of adults will fondly remember their early days of gaming. Titles such as Golden Axe Warrior on the Sega Master System and Contra on the NES were standout games that took gameplay to the next level.

While the graphics pale in comparison to current-gen titles, the allure of the 8-bit soundscapes and painstakingly created sprites create nostalgia and happy memories for many older gamers. In this article, the allure of old-school games will be explored, using some key examples from different gaming platforms.

The timeless thrill of slot machines

When many people think of old-school games, they tend to focus on older console platforms such as the Nintendo Game Boy or the Sega Mega Drive. While these older platforms certainly provide a wealth of old-school gaming action, older casino games should be considered, too.

For example, if you check out online casino games at jackpotcitycasino.com (NZ), you’ll find a huge selection of slot machines such as Adventures of Doubloon Island and Aquatic Treasures. These slot games build on the timeless appeal of some of the oldest “one-armed bandits” and may contain sound effects and graphics that appeal to gamers from the 16-bit era of gaming.

At such sites, the gaming takes place on highly regulated machines that use RNG technology (also found in video games) to control the outcomes of specific gaming features. While some slot machines use more modern graphics, they still stay true to the simple gaming appeal of older machines, where excitement and fun remain the key components of gameplay.

Classic platforming action

We’ll now move away from the timeless thrill of slot machines to some classic platforming action. Older gamers may fondly remember playing some of the most popular platform titles of the 80s and 90s. Standout games were Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Master System and Super Mario World on the NES. Both games featured timeless platforming action, which hasn’t aged to the same extent as some other games from the era.

Today, gamers who seek to recreate this classic action, but don’t have an old console can find ports of such games online. It’ll come as little surprise that Super Mario World can be found online and played on your internet browser, such is the appeal of the Italian plumber!

The joy of pixels

Finally, for some old-school gamers, the appeal of classic titles stems from the use of pixels and hand-drawn visuals. In an age where motion capture is commonly used in modern video games to create a movie-like quality to characters and environments, the appeal of more simplistic gaming worlds remains.

Even today, some modern indie games will stick to the older methods of game and character creation, using pixels, sprites, and hand-drawn gaming environments. Titles such as Shovel Knight and Terraria are faithful to their classic gaming roots and are incredibly popular games with players who are seeking nostalgia. They form a collection of games that are now commonly referred to as Pixel Art Video Games, which strive to keep the spirit of old-school games alive while improving on the controls and gameplay.