Topher is out this week (fighting crime, natch!), so that means another show post from your friend Chad using the saucy bitch that is MS Paint. Ah, MS Paint, I love you so. You are about as user-friendly as a Speak & Spell and as classy as a glass of white zinfandel on ice. With a straw.
On tonight’s RetroforceGO! we have replaced Topher with Rev Anthony to talk about neo-retro games. What are “neo-retro games,” you ask? Well, Topher coined the term a few shows ago to describe videogames with recent releases, but retro sensibilities. Think Contra 4, The Red Star, Noitu Love 2, and Dino Run for some prime examples. They are modern games that have passed the debated retro cutoff timeline, but are made with retro graphics and gameplay in mind.
We are going to be discussing how we feel about this neo-retro revolution (hint: we love it!), some of our favorite games in the newly established genre, and what truly makes a game neo-retro.
Now it’s time for you all to chime in with your sure-to-be amazing questions and images. What are some games you would consider neo-retro? Do you think it is an appropriate term? Any games or series you think would benefit from a little hot, neo-retro injection? I am excited to read the comments already.
Chad Concelmo is Destructoid's features editor. He loves hanging out with awesome people. That's why Destructoid makes him so happy, since it is full of THE MOST AWESOME PEOPLE OF ALL TIME! Also, dolphins.
Likes
Chad enjoys punching old ladies in the face, Super Metroid, Zelda: A Link to the Past on the SNES (best system ever!), Final Fantasy VI, Day of the Tentacle, Shadow of the Colossus, Mother 3, Beyond Good & Evil, Contra III, Valkyria Chronicles, Punch-Out!!, Half-Life 2, and Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Meet the rest of the team
| BBcode help |
| [b]Bold text[/b] |
Bold text |
| [i]Italic text[/i] |
Italic text |
| [url]http://www.dtoid.com/[/url] |
http://www.dtoid.com |
| [url=http://www.dtoid.com/]Web link[/url] |
Web link |
|
| [img]http://www.example.com/robot.jpg[/img] |
 |
Post a comment! You can also post a photo below:
Comment with Facebook
Click connect and comment instantly!
|
Comment with Dtoid
New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds
|
127 comments | showing # 1 to 50
|
Comment with Facebook
Click connect and comment instantly!
|
Comment with Dtoid
New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds
|
Comments policy
Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?
Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!
Contest:
2:31 PM on 06.01.2008
| 
Also, Metal Storm.
Anyway, don't have any good questions but then again:
1. In your opinion, does a neo-retro game need to be only done on sprites or can it still be considered retro if a game is done in 3D like Megaman Powered Up?
2. Which are your favorite neo-retro games?
That's all, at this pace I'm never going to win the 25 bucks ;_;
and is there any hope from big developers to produce a game that is more niche than mainstream?
and i want more chat from Noitu Love 2!! that game is amazing
For a neo-retro game, does it need to be hard as the retro games?
I am asking this because I've seen several developers proclaim their game was inspired by RetroGames (for example: Monster Madness: The Battle for Suburbia is inspired by Zombies Ate My Neighbor), yet the end result was nowhere near as fun. METACRITICS LINK
fuck i love that game =)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=j7al5TKaR8M
1) In light of this "neo-retro" genre, where do you see the retro scene in the next ten, fifteen years? With indie development on the rise will we have an established definition of retro instead of claiming all PS2 games (for example) to be retro just because enough time has passed?
2) With a lot of developers taking "hardcore" franchises and making them "more accessible" due to video games becoming more mainstream, are you worried about the fate of games that have the more "retro" feel becoming extinct since difficulty is one thing that distinguishes retro games from games in the present?
I worry about this a lot. I'm glad video games are more mainstream because they are being taken more seriously. On the other hand, the quality in a lot of those games has had a sharp decline and I find myself not liking more recent installments of established franchises as much as older ones. I'm honestly worried that ten years from now, video games will become as shitty as Hollywood and I won't want to play games at all! The thought of that upsets me a lot. Am I worrying too much?
What do you guys think of Etrian Odyssey?
And finally...HOLY FUCKING SHIT STREET FIGHTER IV!!
It's Street Fighter II! WITH POLYGONS!
Seriously, I don't know what to think. A new trailer came out this morning, are you guys psyched for another round with Ryu and Ken?
I was also wondering where remakes fall in the sense of neo-retro. I just started Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSP, which is a remake. And of course, MM Powered Up again, and was mentioned. Are these neo-retro, or do you consider remakes as distinct? I think they should be distinct genres.
One important aspect that Chad mentioned in the post is that they are made with retro graphics and gameplay in mind. I wonder how much some of these games are designed with a deliberate retro feel; is it just fanservice, or that a retro style is easy and cheap with respect to modern games, or both?
Also:
Why don't you guys think the grappling hook ever really caught on(from Bionic Commando)? Best gameplay mechanic in my opinion.
Also, in the spirit of upcoming games, I saw this article from Atlus (shamelesssly linking to my cblog post about it :D) here about how Atlus names the FOEs in Etrian odyssey, and due to the character limit that they have for the names, they have to change the names of them rather drastically. Do you think this is good, and should be kept as it is for the sake of being retro-esque with bad translations, or should they up the character limit to allow for more elaborate names?
Also, Fuck Vamp. Bitch don't die.
I just wanted to say, that Yoshi's island ds was HORIBLE !!! :(
the orginal is one of my fav games EVER and the best mario game there is, but the ds version is WAY OFF, the music and the gap for the ds it just does not work.
I <3 it when games come back in retro form or just a plain secual but it has to be done in a good way other wise its just noting.
[img][http://www.freewebs.com/vgsm/SMW2_Logo.gif[/img]
So my question is this in a game like shadow of the colossus where you have to defeat enemies to get a similar goal does it throw that sort of morality on its head? what with the way all the colossus's die and the emotional attachement you end up having toward each of their deaths while still forwarding on to this goal of waking up the girl to finish the game.
Oh and Chad, more lists, a world with out chads lists is a sad place indeed
Examples:
"The reason you only have a jump button is because it's Retro."
"The reason there are only 2 enemy types is because it's Retro."
"We felt giving players a lot of options and freedom was unfitting in a Retro game."
So far, I feel Neo-Retro games have been done very well. So far, they've combined current-gen standards (Customization and Freedom) with Retro gameplay (<3 2D). But not every dev will get use that synergy in their attempts at Retro games, and that worries me.
;_;
Can't wait!
I would not have bought the game if Rev Anthony hadn't harped on about it. :O)
Also I present Contra kitten!
I'm still playing it (bought it in early January), and I still can't beat it on normal. I can get to level five without dying, but things just fall apart after that.
Another question: Is Contra 4 the most badass game ever made? It reminds me of every hollywood badass ever concieved.
Did anyone here see Rambo 2? When he's held captive in that Vietnamese hut, he picks up the phone and mutters to the man who just set him up "I'm coming for YOU. That must be what Bill and Lance muttered to Black Viper before grabbing on to the bottom--the bottom--of a helicopter and riding to the middle of a jungle and letting go over a river. It's at this point that they sprint (the way they're animated, it seriously looks like they're running as fast as they possibly can with those huge guns) all the way to a huge wall, where they take it down with nothing but muscles and bullets. Other highlights include running up a waterfall, taking down a rocket with their bare hands, and running up the ass of a giant alien and shooting it in the brain.
Wow.
That's Stallone, the Governator, Willis, and Brock Samson all rolled into one.
Bad. Ass.
Baby piglet
And sequential photography
AirRade Air: Keepin' the pimp hand strong since 2005!
Contra 4 was not only a fantastic game but was a worthy successor to Contra III: The Alien Wars, improving upon the previous games. However, games like New Super Mario Bros, Metroid Fusion, and all the Castlevania games not only fail to advance the series, but they often fail to even reach the heights of their predecessors. Gameplay-wise, I would place New Super Mario Bros somewhere inbetween the first and third Mario game. Metroid Fusion and the Castlevania games don't even come close to the richness, scope, and length of Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night respectively.
As a result, while I enjoy see neo-retro sequels, I am disappointed that, for the most part, I end up playing these games knowing that they are arguably worse than their precedessors. Do you think that this trend will change for the better or will these games continue to be treated as a cheap way to throw a bone to retro gamers?
1) The style of the game play is more akin to older rpgs than to the more recent (and more often than not terribad) rpgs.
2) In the end, the story is all about saving the world.
3) ANIME CUTSCENES
4) It is just an awesome game.
I sincerely wish I had a valid question, but I don't. I am sure anything I could bring up would be talked about anyways in this episode. I look forward to giving it a listen.
Does neo-retro only apply to 8-bit or 16-bit style games or is the indie game "love" a neo-retro version of Jet Set Willy for the Spectrum?
Oh and, here's Colette's painting, framed to put on Nintendo HQ's wall heh
(Like, Lost Odyssey doesn't really have a retro look... but Wartech: Senko no Ronde doesn't really have a retro feel. Bad examples, but you know what I mean.)
Neo-Retro Games.
They take the best from both worlds.
They're not naughty scamps.
PLEASE READ QUESTIONS
Question.
Do you think these games are Neo Retro?
Okami
Zelda: The Wind Waker
MGS Series
Ikaruga
Street Fighter IV
Also, what about games that tried to be neo retro, Like Sonic Rush, New Super Mario Brothers, and Megaman ZX? Do you look at them and see good stuff or weak sauce.
If so, then do game companies feel this is a good way to reclaim the hardcore gamer money that may have been lost due to encouraging casual gaming?
("We're gonna put THIS money with the OTHER money, so no matter who wins, WE end up with ALL THE MONEY!" --Redd Foxx, Harlem Nights)
The big issue is if they make another game like Super Metroid what would the plot be? Exploration based games don't lend themselves to plot too well unless you have multiple different plotlines which change depending on your actions in game.
What would your ideal 2D metroid game be that isn't Super Metroid or a remake on an existing game?
Also Dyson, sorry for breaking your mouth last week. I also want to say that you have surpassed Chad as my favourite RFGO member because of your similar opinions to mine on sugar, pizza rolls, and Metroid Prime.
@whole of RetroforceGO!; Didn't comment on your 50th episode but bloody well done on making 50 episodes of pure win (rather than just 50 episodes as many programs seem to celebrate despite being arse).
Or is it just awesome?