/vr/ - Retro Games

If it's got the chief in it

>>2662631
Good simple game mechanics that are well thought out and well explored. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

>Control>Fun Factor>Sound>Graphics=Challenge (depends, it makes the games better, but not necessarily fundamental if the controls and the "fun factor" are top notch, sometimes it's better to have nice graphics, some others it's more important a good game design with decent challenge)

>>2662631
Fun
Usually interesting gameplay mixed with solid gameplay though theres content/challenge issues that can hinder that.

>>2662642
This. Controls determine how the game plays. Take a well designed game, like one of the Mario games then make the controls ass backwards. Now the game became less fun. Of course the game can be designed with control restrictions, or similarly bad controls in mind, with the level design taking the controls in account, like Castlevania, which have restricting controls compared to most.

Whether or not I enjoyed it.

>>2662631
Even game reviews have gotten casualised, srs.

Back then we used to get a breakdown of various things like graphics, sounds, etc. Gamepro had a really good system, loved their 'fun factor' deal. Nowadays they just give us an arbitrary number based on how much the publisher bribed the company. gamespot used to have a fully fledged rating system with everything on display out of ten: graphics, sound, gameplay, etc. They'd then take an average of that for the final score. Now they just give the number with nothing really backing it up.

It used to be hard to get a 10 on Gamespot, now they give the score out like skittles. This year alone they gave 10s to Witcher 3, Journey PS4 version and MGS5: Extra Casual Edition.

Too bad.

>>2662854
Famitsu used to pride itself on how rare 40s were.

Their perfect score.

They then gave it to Final Fantasy 13.

And then Final Fantasy 13-2.

>>2663013
WTF? I know they've had their problems recently, but I didn't know they were that blatantly bought.

>>2662631
Graphics.

>>2663013
>>2663319
There were double the number of Famitsu 40 scores in the three years between 2009 and 2011 than the ten years between 1998 and 2008.

>>2663013
>>2663319
There were double the number of Famitsu 40 scores in the three years inclusive between 2009 and 2011 than the eleven years inclusive between 1998 and 2008.

>>2662854
Game reviewers have always been "bought".

Not necessarly in the way it is nowadays, that is to say that the ads they live on are paid by the same people who make the games they have to review, but publishers have always taken good care of reviewers, like inviting them to "test" a game and all that happens is they get presents, food and drinks, watch a video of the game or one of the publishers playing the game, or worse, get to see the arcade version when they have to write a review of the console port.

At the time it just wasn't that obvious, because in those cases they'd give a score not too good but good enough to please the publishers without iritating them.

Also you may not simply not have realized it at the time. Caring about game reviews is something you do when you're a kid or a teen. Few people still care about those when they've grown up honestly.

Workrate.

>>2663343

But that's because video games have improved, anon.

>>2663543
improved right into the toilet

>>2663543
This is what publishers and console makers want you to believe so you keep buying their shit at the high price.

Why are you even on this board again if you seriously believe that ?

>>2663543
Nothing has improved on NetHack.

>>2663549

I thought it was obvious I was baiting, relax.

>>2662631
best rating system even. I miss gamepro.

>>2663339
This. With so many hundreds of games out there to play I go for the ones that look the nicest. I like pretty sprites. Games are a visual medium. If they're not nice to look at what's the point. Plus if the art direction is bad it really leaves you wondering how bad the rest of the game is if they couldn't even get the style right.

>>2663339
>>2663618
lol plebs

Gameplay > Graphics, always

Gameplay makes the fucking game. Even if it doesn't look great, as long as it has great gameplay it will be a timeless and awesome game. That's why some games lives forever while others just have that 'wow factor' upon release due to graphics and are forgotten a few years later. Hell it's why a board like /vr/ even exists tbh.

>>2663649
To add to this, text adventures can be fucking awesome.

>>2662631
two types

classic arcade, pick up and play within seconds. you have to learn by failing like galaga

then the ones now like Diablo with randomized content you enjoy replaying over and over, learning about the system, spending hours perfecting your character or stats or technique. the ones that play so much differently once you learn more about the game and care to learn

>>2662631
Competence across most areas [controls, presentation, gameplay] and one overriding high quality factor.

Take Shadow Dancer MD for instance. Average presentation, short length, mediocre challenge, gameplay not anything to write home about, except nigh-perfect controls and sharp sfx make it a great game.

>>2662631
Controls should be intuitive and work well with the game.

Sound should benefit the setting and enhance the experience, not detract from it.

You should feel cool and powerful, but not overpowered. Challenges should be tiered so you're constantly facing new and exciting things.

Graphics should be as good as possible, and fit the games style and aesthetic.

Being able to do cool things in the game, with basic gameplay being simple to learn, but advanced gameplay being hard to master and very rewarding to the player.

>>2663649
Gameplay's important too but if the graphics look like ass I'm not going to want to look at it enough to play it. I can forgive weaker gameplay if the artistic aspects of the game are there to make up for it. A good example would be Legend of Mana. Beautiful game but pretty spartan with its combat. But I kept wanting to play it anyway since it was so aesthetically nice.

>>2663742
that's a really shitty opinion tbh

I bet you love RPG and story in vidya too. that's all shit, seriously.

really gay tbh. I bet you're not even good at video games lmao

I'm completely the opposite. If a graphically amazing game has shitty gameplay, there's no way I'm playing it for more than the time that I've established that the gameplay SUCKS!

If we knew each other irl we wouldn't be friends.

>>2662631
What is major mike doing these days?

>>2662631
I actually miss that rating system.

>>2663691
>except nigh-perfect controls and sharp sfx make it a great game.
this
Fucking love Shadow Dancer on MD.

also, the later stages really do get some real fucking magic (4-2's in the dark bit is amazingly cool)

it's a pretty straight memorizer, but it's fun to blast through even still on defaults
and then with the difficulty cranked up, it's actually pretty hard and even when you know what's coming up, you still have to deal with it

A game is good if I am personally enjoying my time with it, pretty much.

freedom . its not simply free roam its the ability to complete a objective multiple ways potentially. TES is a great series but you really only have 2 options most of the time for any quest line. do it or dont do it. rare exceptions are seen like in oblivion with the dark brotherhood but it was sparse and skyrim almost had none of that

the game doesnt have to be as big as a TES game but choices that matter and the ability to do things in a free thinking sort of way are good. non linear

Attention to detail.

>>2663618
>>2663649
>graphics

well sure gameplay/fun > graphics, but i guess there's a minimum acceptable threshold for the graphics, beyond which it becomes only a tie-breaker

and i dont mean a higher polycount or bigger 2d resolution

>>2663013
FF13 got 39/40, but right at the release fans required explanation why one of the reviewers gave a 9 instead of 10.

>>2667728
There are people who liked 13 other than Toriyama?

>>2663652
no

challenging, good mechanics, enough content, interesting content, no filler, has clear endgame/objectives, high skill ceiling, good controls, graphics, campaign mode and multiplayer,

>>2663560
Not even DynaHack? UnNetHack maybe? You've gone cynical.

>>2666605
>but i guess there's a minimum acceptable threshold for the graphics
you guys are killing me

If I can tell what's going on, the graphics are acceptable.

>>2662631
For me the most important marker is how often I get to make an interesting decision. That applies to both action and turn based games alike.

For action games after that is precision of control.

After that it's how the game looks and sounds. It's a visual medium, and the better that's presented the better. But if the game is excellent in the first two regards this can be of pretty low importance.

Finally after that is story and characters. Ultimately unimportant, but if it's either really good or really bad it can affect the overall experience.

A good piece of cake is a good analogy of games for me. The actual cake is the gameplay and controls, how many interesting decisions there are to make and how well that's actually handled.

Graphics and sound are the icing. It's nice to have a bit of icing to enhance things. But if the icing overshadows the cake it's not very good. Also a ton of icing on top of a shitty cake won't save it.

Story and characters are the cherry on top. It's nice to have one, but not necessary and like with icing a ton of cherries aren't going to make a bad tasting cake any good.

>>2663368
>>2662854
>>2663013
Paying any attention to reviews is pointless anyways. Tastes are far too subjective. Unless you find one reviewer you almost always agree with, reading them is a waste of time.

There have been so many games that are praised by critics that I found horribly disappointing and ones that were panned that I love to bother paying any attention to what other people tell me I should or shouldn't like.

>>2669651
Pretty much, also if you're intro retro games most of the stuff we play would get destroyed by modern reviewer standards.

>>2669657
Or the opposite. Where reviewers will make some obscure piece of crap sound like a buried treasure just for hipster points. It's a clusterfuck either way.

>>2669189
They were people who had yet to even play the game, but still mad because it came one point short of perfect score.

>>2670187
Every part of the world has stupid fans apparently. Anyone who pays serious attention to reviews needs their head checked.

>>2669189
I fucking loved it as I have with all Final Fantasy games.

Why 13 gets shit on for doing things that Final Fantasy has done for decades, I don't know.

>>2662631
If at least 3 teenagers agree a retro game has shitty graphics and is too hard It's almost guaranteed I'll love it.

XIII is a complete clusterfuck
All of them
Fucking x2 was better than that shit

Please provide objective reasons why these games should be considered for play through

inb4 comparisons to early titles, I don't want them

>>2671496
>Please provide objective reasons why these games should be considered for play through

It's a game, you play it for fun. There's no such thing as objectivity. I have zero desire to play XIII, or any of the FFs past IX for that matter but that's just me. I know for a fact there are people who had a great time with XIII and that's what the purpose of a video game is.

>>2662631
shit it's been like 20 years since I saw those little gamepro rating faces ;_;