We all know the feeling (well...I sure hope so, anyway). It's a warm, fuzzy kind of feeling in our hearts when we play those games we grew up on. Nostalgia is one of the most powerful feelings we experience. Because of it, I will never cease to love Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and many more.
Does a video game have to be good to create nostalgia in a person years later? If that nostalgia is to be maintained, then yes, the game must be good. When I was young, my family had a computer game that I played called Stunts. I believe it's a racing game. I haven't played it in years, so to see and play it now would create a feeling of nostalgia. But I have no idea if it's a quality game or not. If not, I'm pressed to believe the nostalgia would disappear to be replaced by incredulity. "I actually liked to play this?!"
On the other hand, does nostalgia sometimes fuel our liking for a particular game? I believe so. I have most likely given overly shining reviews to games that, yes, were great, but have aged at least somewhat. Perhaps I was too kind of Super Mario 64 in my review because that game is one of those big nostalgia triggers for me. I'm afraid nostalgia can strongly effect some of my opinions, but I think it's something we should all watch out for.
Everyone has at least one or two video games that create a feeling of nostalgia. What are yours? Let us know in a comment!

I'm a sucker for the more unique older cartridges. The few that come immediately to mind are my golden Zelda and Link NES games and my oddly shaped tengen ones like Gauntlet and Tetris. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's funny how sometimes it's the hardware that does it. The shapes of things, the colors...I already have feelings of nostalgia when I look at and hold my gold Zelda Wii remote.
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