WIN!

Every month, one lucky writer-in will receive a spanking copy of one of our classic retro books. Good luck everyone!

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WISDOM OF YOUTH

Good morning Retro Gamer, I’m just taking a break from fencing, decking and horticultural duties (I’m a primary teacher on summer holidays… the work never really stops!) and thought I’d drop you a line.

During a lesson towards the back end of last term I used a clip from the beloved Mario 64 in a lesson identifying 3D shapes (the kids having to spot as many as they could within Bobomb Battlefield). This opened up a conversation, not just about properties of shape, but retro gaming.

What occurred to us, aside from the usual comparisons about advances in presentation, was just how aware the children were of the ‘purity’ of retro titles (discovered through emulators and digital stores). This time before XP, character skinning, endless upgrading, modding and DLC-yourself-to-the-winning moment was one they were appreciating as they explored beyond the glut of rat-in-a-maze titles splurged at them through pop-up ads these days. They are discovering retro titles filled with joy, unforgettable characters, adventure and excitement and preferring these over modern ‘feeder mechanics’.

Hang on… I just said ‘these days’. I think I may have – yes – Ijust became ‘Old!’ like your titular tagline. Well, I’m OK with that as long as it’s part of this gaming world where retro titles can stand the test of time, not just for aficionados, but for the next generations discovering them anew.

PS. Last year I wrote in to request something, hopefully indepth, about Kasumi Ninja on the Jag… I’m hoping it’s still on the list somewhere. Loving the mag, as always.

John Roy

You should know that you’ve triggered a powerful memory of kids at Nick’s secondary school rediscovering the 16-bit era via emulation, John. Anyway, it’s a cliché but they really don’t make ’em like they used to. Of course that’s not always a bad thing as we’ve had some absolute classics this year, but if classic games are teaching kids that they don’t have to engage with exploitative Skinner Box designs, all the better. As for Kasumi Ninja, we’ll keep trying.