The Cycle of Retrogaming

[Nightcrawler]

I've started to notice an interesting pattern in my game playing habits lately. It seems I get stuck in a time warp and play the same games I know and love over and over. By the time I play through them all (typically a few years), it's been long enough to play through them again and relive the experiences again.

I rarely play many new games and instead keep on cycling the same old games. Yet, they are still fun, I still want to play them. I wonder if I will ever escape!

Just this week, I've gone way back and started playing some of my old DOS classics again in DOSBox. I've got renewed interest in all those classics once again. By the time I get done with them, I'm sure I will be ready for the usual NES/SNES classics all over again!

I also am saving up some money for a MAME Cabinet which I'm sure will prompt me to spend several years reliving arcade memories since there are none around me in driving distance.

It appears to be a never ending cycle. I'm stuck on mostly the same old things. Does anybody else get caught up in this cycle? New games don't really interest me nearly as much though I do have a PS2.

I'm baffled how playing the same games over and over is still so much fun! Thoughts on my condition?  

[ultpaladin]

I go on spurts like that too where I will only play old SNES games (I played a bunch around the time Emerald Dragon was released) and then switch to old PC games like Ultima 7 but now I am actually playing PS2 games the most for whatever reason.  I finally was persuaded to give FF12 a try and it is better than I thought but it certainly wouldnt crack my top 5 for the series.

[syuviel]

I agree its fun to go back and play older games. I usually play roms on my psp when I'm away from home and play ps3/2 when I'm at home so I usually play 1 to 3 different games a day. (unless I'm working which sucks) Anyway I'm glad i have found a place were so many people enjoy 'retro' gaming.

[Next_Gen_Cowboy]

I am bad for this, but I enjoy it still. I have weird regiments as well,, not conscious but I will usually play Wild Arms 3 (for this example) twice before I pick up WA2.

I do pick up new games, but not very often (I know pretty much what I am getting beforehand, due primarily to lack of funding) those games get "added to the stack"

Some games I play (I think this is a part of the root of the condition) even if they are not great enough to be playing over so much. I play Final Fantasy 10 once every year and a half, not because it is great, but the connotations associated with the game make me try and recapture some semblance of happiness I had when I played it the first time.

I refuse to play Chrono Trigger for an opposite reason, the bad memories =(

Edit: For the mame cabinet, I always did want to set one up, but every time I think I have a spare computer, I end up having to use that as a primary machine, yet another endless loop.

[Dragonsbrethren]

For me, it's Final Fantasy IV. I could finish the game, go right back and start a new one, and never get tired of it. I've even been known to play more than one version at a time (Right after I got the Japanese DS version I was playing that, plus the European GBA version, and the US PSX release. ).

There are plenty of other old games I play more often than new ones, but I don't think it has anything to do with nostalgia. I thoroughly enjoyed a small number of classic games, the same thing applies nowadays. Likewise, occasionally I'll try an old game I've never played before, and have it quickly become one of my favorites.

[aspire]

For me, it's Final Fantasy IV. I could finish the game, go right back and start a new one, and never get tired of it. I've even been known to play more than one version at a time (Right after I got the Japanese DS version I was playing that, plus the European GBA version, and the US PSX release. ).
.

God I love that game. The music causes instant calm in me. When I first played this on the snes so many years ago, I was hooked within 5 minutes and to this day it remains my favorite game. My parents acutally banned the snes for a year in my household because they didnt like how addicted I was to the snes (mainly that game). I am playing through the wii version of FF4: The After Years and its like im 10 years old again - in heaven and ignoring all external influences. Kain just become a Holy Dragoon!!!!

[Dragonsbrethren]

Yeah, The After Years is great. See here and here for more opinions and a few playthrough comments.