It has been an incredibly busy several weeks for various reasons, some of which you will know soon, but I’ve developed a new obsession as well. I ramble on about old school games on the show on occasion *cough* every show * cough*, but I think my major appeal to these games is less the fact that they are old, but more the fact that they are 2-D. Ever since the PlayStation, gamers, developers, and publishers have been obsessed with the third dimension. This isn’t to say that I hate all 3-D games There are many 3-D games that I’ve loved, such as the recent Mario Galaxy, God of War I & II, Final Fantasy games since VII etc… But, I also enjoy a great 2-D game and they are simply too rare in this day and age. While there are some newer GBA and DS games, many of them don’t really have the quality and polish of many newer games.
As someone who looks at video games as art, it is incredibly satisfying to see a beautifully designed 2-D image that can almost be seen as a painting. The NES era to just before the PlayStation can be seen as a more minimalist design with simpler sprites, but still have a quality to them that makes them look incredibly appealing.
Besides the visuals, though, the real reason I love 2-D games is the gameplay. Gameplay can be seen as an art form unto itself as it is not easy to design a game that is fun to come back to over and over again. There is a different feel to a 2-D platformer than a 3-D platformer, or any 2-D game for that matter. I think the main thing that I notice is the tightness of controls and the speed at which the game is played. In many 3-D games one has to adjust the camera every so often so that you can see where the hell it is that you are supposed to go. To me this is an element that takes you out of the gameplay experience, and is one that is hopefully avoided more and more as games progress. In 2-D games you just keep going through the level. Everything is designed to be shown to you at the right moment, so there is no reason to have to adjust the camera.
Really the above is all preface to what I really want to talk about though. In terms of power, what is the greatest 2-D system? Its a tough question that I don’t think too many have asked, but it has a rather interesting answer. The PlayStation and the N64 were both designed to be primarily 3-D systems. For some reason SEGA failed to see the oncoming 3-D craze and opted to design their system for the best possible 2-D experience. Towards the end of the Saturn hardware design process SEGA did eventually throw in 3-D hardware, but this was nothing more than afterthought. The Saturn became incredibly hard to program games for because of this helter skelter design, and was one of the many factors leading to its decline. But, its downfalls are really many of the reasons I love it. The system can pump out some of the best looking 2-D games I’ve seen, and has two different controllers (the 3-D controller from Nights and the standard controller) that I absolutely love the feel of. Most of the best Saturn games were only released in Japan since the system failed so miserably here, so gaining the ability to play imports has really opened up a whole new world for me. Always loving Treasure, playing Radiant Silvergun, Silhouette Mirage, and Guardian Heroes has been an absolute blast. For more great games, I’d suggest looking here and here .
My Saturn love initially began when reading a review of MegaMan 8 and MegaMan X4 about how the PlayStation couldn’t pull off many of the graphical effects when they ported the games over to the PlayStation. The MegaMan series is one of my favorite series of all time, and knowing that the last two really good games were both BETTER on a different system? Somehow I had never known this face and it really drove me to find out more. And what I found out was that it was a 2-D paradise. In the days when Sony threatened developers to ONLY make 3-D games the Saturn was rocking some amazing 2-D masterpieces.
I want to end this piece by saying that I don’t have anything against 3-D games. There are many 3-D games that I love, and many that I am looking forward to, but it is also nice to play an extremely well done 2-D game. I know that there’s a lot of appeasing the masses today with higher power 3-D CPUs to deliver the highest quality in first person shooters and other 3-D staples, but I also think there’s a dedicated group of hardcore gamers that would really jump on the chance to play some great 2-D games if they just had some great ones to play. I really feel it is all in design choices. I don’t think that either 2-D or 3-D is better, but that they are suited for different genres. Obviously a 2-D first person shooter would be a contradiction in itself, but any great 2-D shmup could stand up to it in terms of fun and graphical prowess. I think that both types of games have different appeals, and maybe even different audiences, but both exist. Some recent games, such as Odin Sphere, have shown that 2-D games can be great and my only point is that I’d like to see a few more made. And that you should play M.U.S.H.A. Aleste for Genesis.
I always talk about how great old games are, and I finally realized that I just love 2-D games and there are so few good ones released presently. I don’t think that old games are better though. Just like I feel like watching a classic film I also like to play a classic game. Neither are necessarily better than the other, but simply fill a different artistic style and niche.
