When I was a kid, I couldn't imagine that a lot of years later l'd be playing video games, even more, collecting them, worshiping them, writing about them and now in the XXI century I say Damn!, why did I sell my old console?!, with all the games, booklets and related paraphernalia.
 |
Too late for regrets, but perfect time to remember the love I feel for videogames, we are watching in first person the golden era of video games being reborn through the emulators, a growing interest for the hobby, and even more, a renewed love for old games from the hand of indie studios creating nostalgic and beautifully hand crafted retro style games. For some people this is just a fashion, a thing that won't be here in 5 years, but for us is... I ll say it... A DREAM COME TRUE, not everybody can do what we do, relive the wonderful years (What would you think if I sang out of tune?) everyday! we can play video games. In the last months we have seen the rising fame of many indie developers with games like Slain, Cursed Castilla, Axiom Verge and Cuphead and many others, some of these studios only have a few people on board, a programmer, a musician and a graphic artist, whom most of the time do different roles at the same time.
Cursed Castilla and Ghosts and Goblins compare
The oldest of them is the internationally known Spanish programmer “Locomalito” who incarnates the definition of a retro programmer, he conceives the games on a notebook and with a "little" big help from his teammate “Gryzor87” the musician, they have created more than 5 games in a pure retro style that immediately evokes the 8-16 bit era.
Cursed Castilla is one of these jewels, a platformer ambiented in the medieval period where the hero is a knight whose mission is to free the kingdom from the horde of demons that stalks the “Tolomera del Rey” region, sounds familiar?, right! It’s inspired in the Ghosts and Goblins/Ghouls saga, it's a tribute that has all the look and feel of the Capcom´s game.
Following in the supernatural platform games, Slain from Wolf Brew Games studio is another platform game that feels like a child between Castlevania and Rastan saga, a barbarian fencer/axe wielder that slashes everything that interferes with his mission, the dark but colorful scenarios remindful of some of Conan the barbarian and the aforementioned games, imagine terrifying enemies with vivid sound effects and metal background music to enjoy a good game session.
The Cuphead storm took everybody by surprise, a run ´n gun game flavored with a graphic style that’s reminiscent of the old cartoons coming alive in front of your eyes, this game is the opera prima of two brothers who wanted to combine the best of two worlds, the vintage style of these cartoons with the frenetic mix of sound and color of the video games in a unique mix that tastes like a rush of nostalgia right to the heart, mind and soul, hard to resist... I became instantly an addict.
And last but no least, Axiom verge , another indie treasure of the genre known as Metroidvania or side scroller action adventure game, this title inspired (obviously) in Castlevania and Metroid for its game mode/style, but also takes elements of games such as Contra, Turrican and Bionic Commando, a very special mix that tastes like something new but with twists of the mentioned games. The color palette is more on the side of the 8 bits and at times, like the early SEGA Genesis titles.
That's the current panorama, and it's not a fashion, but now lets meet the actors; In the middle of all these events, changes and a growing scene, a community has given the indies full support, it has become stronger than ever, a group of video game lovers who like to keep the console and games alive, playing them, hunting them on garage sales, Internet and fan conventions.
Collecting video games and consoles is one of the most challenging hobbies, and one of the most rewarding, it's not a just accumulate, is keeping safe both, history and stories, every console and game generally has shared part of our lives, and even more, gives us the opportunity to relive some of the funniest moments of our lives.
Cursed Castilla is one of these jewels, a platformer ambiented in the medieval period where the hero is a knight whose mission is to free the kingdom from the horde of demons that stalks the “Tolomera del Rey” region, sounds familiar?, right! It’s inspired in the Ghosts and Goblins/Ghouls saga, it's a tribute that has all the look and feel of the Capcom´s game.
Slain: Back from Hell
Following in the supernatural platform games, Slain from Wolf Brew Games studio is another platform game that feels like a child between Castlevania and Rastan saga, a barbarian fencer/axe wielder that slashes everything that interferes with his mission, the dark but colorful scenarios remindful of some of Conan the barbarian and the aforementioned games, imagine terrifying enemies with vivid sound effects and metal background music to enjoy a good game session.
Cuphead
The Cuphead storm took everybody by surprise, a run ´n gun game flavored with a graphic style that’s reminiscent of the old cartoons coming alive in front of your eyes, this game is the opera prima of two brothers who wanted to combine the best of two worlds, the vintage style of these cartoons with the frenetic mix of sound and color of the video games in a unique mix that tastes like a rush of nostalgia right to the heart, mind and soul, hard to resist... I became instantly an addict.
Axiom Verge
And last but no least, Axiom verge , another indie treasure of the genre known as Metroidvania or side scroller action adventure game, this title inspired (obviously) in Castlevania and Metroid for its game mode/style, but also takes elements of games such as Contra, Turrican and Bionic Commando, a very special mix that tastes like something new but with twists of the mentioned games. The color palette is more on the side of the 8 bits and at times, like the early SEGA Genesis titles.
That's the current panorama, and it's not a fashion, but now lets meet the actors; In the middle of all these events, changes and a growing scene, a community has given the indies full support, it has become stronger than ever, a group of video game lovers who like to keep the console and games alive, playing them, hunting them on garage sales, Internet and fan conventions.
Collecting video games and consoles is one of the most challenging hobbies, and one of the most rewarding, it's not a just accumulate, is keeping safe both, history and stories, every console and game generally has shared part of our lives, and even more, gives us the opportunity to relive some of the funniest moments of our lives.
London Gaming Market
Call me corny, but every time I insert a game into the console I hear in my mind the intro song from “the wonder years” I hear Kevin Arnold´s adult voice and the Joe Cocker song, and in that instant when I start to play, feeling the control pad in my hands, the world spins around, only me and the game. Thats the magic of playing a game on its original hardware, the controller´s weight, the texture, the ritual, everything combined to travel in time.
But as I said it's not an easy task not everybody shares the love for console and games, many of this material is damaged and dirty, if it's hard to find this stuff in good shape, is almost impossible to find functional booklet or boxes, most of them end its life in the trash.
No comments:
Post a Comment