I’d love to continue talking with you via AIM or e-mail or something if you like. It’s not very often that I really encounter someone who really appreciates this kind of thing.

If you like, my e-mail’s modestmrgreen@gmail.com

I’ve been slowly building my DS collection up and have been pleasantly surprised on how many games do fit into this category. Nintendo is pretty much our last hope of the simple things we used to enjoy all the time.

I’ve been going through all of your entries today, and I’m just so happy to find a blog that really appreciates classic gaming.

Anyway, as for this topic, I 100% agree. To me, games lack a lot of the soul they used to. I really miss the old SEGA openings, the old instantaneous, colorful, and attractive title screens and introductions for games.

I recently played an older title in my collection that had eluded my attention for awhile. It isn’t really “old,” since after all, it came out in in the SNES/Genesis/TG-16 era. It had and still has an amazing level of creativity, charm, style, and more. It also has a fun logo intro. The game I’m referring to is the Genesis version of Earthworm Jim, which opens up with Jim flexing under the SEGA logo, before being embarrassed as his pants fall down. The next thing you know, the title “Earthworm Jim” is spoken outloud in a burp.

You just don’t see fun intros like those anymore, nor do you see diversity in levels and environments like you do in Earthworm Jim and its first sequel.

One of my hopes for years is that gaming would return to its roots and take on some of the original elements that made classic gaming so great. I feel that Nintendo DS and Wii are doing the best job at this so far, with pick-up-and-play experiences and instant fun being prevalent.

But I definitely agree that gaming began to lose a lot of its magic after cartridges left home consoles. As you mentioned, Super Mario 64 had quite a memorable intro. Another title from the N64 era that I felt really sucked the player into the experience immediately was Star Fox 64. The scrolling background behind the opening titles that led into the intro movie, the noise made when you press start, and the quick fun you can have while moving the “64″ across the screen was really well put together, in my opinion.

Perhaps that’s why I enjoy titles like WarioWare so much, games that bring back classic, quick-fire gaming and creativity. And what do you know, at least in the case of Nintendo’s portable platforms, I still feel like the magic is there with games like Elite Beat Agents and New Super Mario Bros. How about the first time you play Nintendogs and you’re knocking on the kennel’s door, or even after that first encounter, where as soon as you boot up, you see your dogs and are immediately engaged? How about titles like Yoshi Touch & Go that are arcade-ish in execution? How about Electroplankton, which greets the user with powerful notes and atmosphere?

As we obviously know, Toshio Iwai was behind that one, and his experience shows in the handling of the interface. The game immediately sucks the user into it without letting its logos and transitions put him/her off. I think there’s significant lessons that the game industry of today can learn from the portable market and its handling of introductions and menu screens.

But if there’s one thing that’s for certain, it’s that game developers need to remember that they’re developing a game, and thus, games need to attract players as such, and not in the way one is “attracted” while trying in vain to reach the Root Menu of his or her new DVD movie.

And yes, I totally agree that imagination and creativity is far more powerful than any technology.

I also enjoy being able to actually finish a game in a sitting and move on to something else. With all the 20 to 40 hour games out there today, it’s like every game you play is a commitment. I love how I can actually play through a couple 16-bit titles in a few hours. Try playing every great MODERN game that comes out these days. It’s very difficult, you basically have to sacrifice some games to play others as there just isn’t enough time to play all the new stuff.

I also find it funny that many companies have put out lousy Batman games on modern consoles that are far more powerful than the S-NES and Genesis, yet The Adventures of Batman and Robin on the S-NES is FAR better than ANY Batman game to come out in the past decade.

Just goes to show you, technology means nothing, it’s all about the creativity, imagination and talent of the people making the game

I don’t hate modern games. I have a large PS 2 library and a handful of Xbox and Gamecube games, but there are very few games that come out these days that I enjoy as much as the stuff on the Saturn, N64, S-NES, Genesis and Dreamcast(my fave system). Most games today are so by the book, everyone is doing the same thing and few games really feel “for gamers” anymore(I think that era died with the Dreamcast)