Your favorite era of video games

[batson]

What is your personal opinion regarding which is the best era of the medium? Which one produced the most games that you love?

For me it's the so called fourth generation of games, in other words the era of the Super Nintendo and the Sega Mega Drive. My favorite game genre are 2D platformers, and this is the genre that utterly dominated those years. Of course, 2D platformers became the most prominent genre even back in the third generation after the release of Super Mario brothers on the Nintendo Entertainment System. But I feel that appart from Mario's games and some other exceptions, the genre for the most part didn't really come of age untill the fourth generation. I find that the controls in many 8-bit platformers are often a bit unforgiving compared to what became the standard during the 16-bit era. In my opinion, the fourth generation was also when games in general both looked and sounded the best. In terms of graphics, the childlike colorful worlds and characters that marked the third generation was still in full swing, but with an unprecedented level of detail. For the first time, characters could actually exhibit facial expressions, for one thing. And in terms of sound, the genre we tend to refer to simply as "video games music", those catchy, hummable melodies, was the standard to utilize. This started to gradually change with the fifth generation of consoles, where a trend started to only feature traditional video game music in gertain genres, such as platform games, while the soundtrack in other genres, such as most shooters, started to trying to emulate background movie music instead.

As for my absolute favorite games of the fourth generation, these include Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island, Sonic 1, 2, CD, and 3&K, Donkey Kong Country 1,2 and 3, Earthworm Jim 1 and 2, Cool Spot, Pinocchio (the Disney game), F-zero, and Pocky & Rocky.

[Solister]

This reminds me of my first topics here, if I haven't made/replied to one. Maybe I'm confusing with older forums.

Hm. As much as I love 16-Bits games and sometimes there are no better feeling than dust off some Genesis games, I think my affection goes to Early 2000s and the PS2 era. After all, it was this kind of games I grew up playing, even if a few years later. The Sims, Need for Speed Underground 2, Unreal Tournament 99/2004, Sonic Adventure, RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, The Simpsons Hit & Run... heck, I can spend a full day writing a list of this era of games. If it's not cheating, more recently, I have been playing some games from years before and after like WipeOut on the PSX and the Tomb Raider Legend trilogy. Not that influence much, because these would still play on PS2 easily. After all, LEGO Indiana Jones, my first console game, was released in 2008, already for PS3 but on PS2 as well.

Nonetheless, despite with all gaming modernity and a new generation of consoles just here, and after always owning a PS2, I still believe I'd buy another PS2 more preserved and build a decent collection than risking a new gen.

A second place then comes to the 16-Bits era. Sonic 3 & Knuckles is one of, if not my favorite game ever. Sonic build this era, and more than ever, it probably was what defined video games, not just time killer, but a colorful and melodic art which can dive into histories as good as the best-selling books. Again, is it cheating if I played most of these on SEGA Genesis Collection on the PS2?

Still on subject but honorable mention, to the PC games classics. It's hard to not appeal to Nostalgia, but here we are. There's also a list of games I grew up playing on my weak PC with Windows 98 (This circa 2009). This time, games more unknown, some which today their authors are kind enough to give them for free.

Lastly, 2017 me probably would kill today me if I said this, but now I do concede we still have great games today, I just struggled a lot to find them: Tomb Raider (2013) [My introduction to the series], some LEGO, Cities Skylines, Sonic Generations, Sonic Mania, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed... Pretty much one of the few pros after spending so much into buying a laptop to play some more advanced games.

[Guest]

Interesting topic!

So I think my favorite "era" would be the fifth console generation- the first mainstream foray into 3D for our home TV sets! I'm not sure if I actually enjoy the games themselves that much, or if it's all nostalgia. I'm working on a constructed world/country (just as a fictionak project in my free time), and the video game tech in that world is based on our fifth gen lol.

I'm not sure why I'm so into it. Maybe just something so charming about early 3D visuals, 32-bit and 64-bit graphics, all the new gameplay mechanics we got, the mix of both cartridges and CDs becoming a thing for gaming (well, more than they already were). My main experiences were with the N64 which I loved, although I admit the nostalgia glasses have worn off a bit. Still loved my GameBoy Color though.

But I was very young during the era, so my real favorite in terms of games was the following era, with Gamecube (and Dreamcast) being my favorite consoles ever. So many good memories with my best friends and brother! Really got me into gaming as a whole. Oh and add GBA too.

Of course I also liked the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, though I experienced them way past when they were current. As for the eras after the sixth console gen,... meh. Even if the games were/are great, it just feels like the magic isn't there as much. =\ Or maybe I'm just a boring and depressed adult.

[Madalass]

For me i'd say it's the Xbox 360, 2006-early 2010s era. There was something about that era of the internet that just can't be matched today, where 90% of content seems to be on all the same main sites. And i think the Xbox 360 embraced that far better than the PS3, even if they were the same generation 'n all. 
The way people interacted back then was way more interesting, with most people interacting through services specific to things like Steam, Windows or Xbox, all of which had interesting layouts and features that 90% of social media today totally lacks, and that's where most people talk now. 

[Salamander]

Probably the time a lot of people will feel most "at home" in gaming is around when they got into it.  Certainly that's the case for me; I increasingly miss the days of the GBC and GBA, when games were more compact but also seemed more experimental.  Indies have kind of moved into that space, but I feel far less engaged with the progress of some of the big-name franchises than I would like.

3 hours ago, madalass said:

For me i'd say it's the Xbox 360, 2006-early 2010s era. There was something about that era of the internet that just can't be matched today, where 90% of content seems to be on all the same main sites. And i think the Xbox 360 embraced that far better than the PS3, even if they were the same generation 'n all. 
The way people interacted back then was way more interesting, with most people interacting through services specific to things like Steam, Windows or Xbox, all of which had interesting layouts and features that 90% of social media today totally lacks, and that's where most people talk now. 

Ditto on the Internet.  The 2000s were sort of the age of messageboards, and they tended to have such a strong sense of community which is utterly lacking in the individual-centric agglomerations of social media.  Well, it didn't hurt that I was a huge fan of Flash gaming, too, which was in a similarly compact and experimental stage.

[batson]

The internet of the 00's was friggin wild. Anything was met applause as long as it was either funny or sexy. Nobody took the internet seriously. It was just a playground for bored teenagers and man-children to do and say absolutely anything they wanted completely free of consequence. I loved it.

[Madalass]

20 hours ago, batson said:

The internet of the 00's was friggin wild. Anything was met applause as long as it was either funny or sexy. Nobody took the internet seriously. It was just a playground for bored teenagers and man-children to do and say absolutely anything they wanted completely free of consequence. I loved it.

Not quite what i was going for- i mainly have a lot of nostalgia for the far more unique 'social media' from the time, for lack of a better term. Messaging services, Online gaming services, Forums, the internet had so much personality back then and now it doesn't because corporations have realised the perfect way to design everything to totally exploit as many people as they can, get everyone using their service by making it as sterile and universally appealing as possible.

I think that for the time, the internet was INCREDIBLY toxic and i DON'T like toxic. I think there is a lot of value and impact to/on people in what happens on the internet, so i don't wanna excuse transphobia or racism or generally just being a piece of shit just because 'no one took the internet seriously'.

I think it's a good thing the internet has become more accepting- it's the corporatization of the internet that concerned me. 

Obviously not that anyone gave a damn about some silly toxic kid on Xbox live- obviously there's a difference between that and literally telling someone to go to hell for being X thing. Just to clarify that. I don't take silly Xbox live hate seriously, don't misunderstand that.

[Guest]

It feels way more toxic today than it did back then. Could just be my perspective, but... nobody got "cancelled" back then. The mob mentality wasn't there for it. It was everybody for themself. Then Zoomers came and ruined everything.

I feel like internet forums etc. back then were for the weird dorky kids who had little to no IRL friends and just wanted to discuss their favorite games etc. Now it's a popularity contest where the same normies who win IRL are the ones winning online, and that leaves us misfits with nowhere to go anymore.

[Ravenfreak]

I love the fifth and sixth generation of gaming the most, the 16-bit era to the early 3D era. I became a gamer when I was 4 in 1994 so this was the era I grew up with and had the most fun playing. I also didn't have much money growing up so I rarely upgraded to a new console until a few years after they were released. I didn't get a 360 until five years after it was released since I got money from college. I often find myself going back and playing games from both the fifth and sixth generations even to this day more so than playing my PS4/Xbox One and Switch.

[Piko]

I adore the sixth generation of games. Games were just as experimental as the previous generation, but they felt more polished since devs were starting to get used to 3D. There were so many new gameplay mechanics, IPs and even genres during that time.

I also just enjoy the aesthetic of them. JNCO, Hot Topic and Linkin Park were all the rage at the time so a lot of games tried to be cool and edgy which, while it seems cheesy now, adds a ton of charm. Games didn’t take themselves too seriously back then; you don’t see that a lot nowadays.

[Plumbers_Helper]

I'd have to go with the Genesis/SNES era to the PS2/Gamecube era, though probably not for reasons you might suspect. It's mostly just because that's the time period that really amazed me with what video games could do. Wow! Looks at those moving clouds! Wow! How did they get the music to sound like real instruments?!? Going from the Genesis/SNES to the PS1/N64 to the PS2/Gamecube felt like giant leaps in technology each time. Everything afterwards just felt the same, but ever so slightly better.

This isn't a bad thing by any means - it just means that our imagination is no longer limited by the technology. I can't remember the exact quote or who said it, but they said something like: "The imperfections of technology will be what we are most nostalgic for." Things like the mistakes of a hand painted figure, the scratch on a record player, the fuzziness of VHS tapes - all imperfections - but so visually and auditorily distinct that we still cling on to these imperfections even by generations that didn't experience them.

Luigi's Mansion always sticks into my mind because it's last time I was ever amazed by what the visuals in a video game can do. Specifically, the animation of Luigi turning the door knob in Luigi's Mansion. I still appreciate and love the visuals in video games, it's just that my enthusiasm has changed from "Wow! I can't believe they managed to do that!" to "Wow. That looks really good.".

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Plumbers_Helper said:

Going from the Genesis/SNES to the PS1/N64 to the PS2/Gamecube felt like giant leaps in technology each time. Everything afterwards just felt the same, but ever so slightly better.

Also gonna add the handheld consoles of the 7th gen... I was like 11 or 12 and blown away by the fact that the DS and PSP could play 3D games on the go! 3D on handheld was extremely rare before then, practically unheard of. And they could go online too! That was probably the hugest leap for a handheld I'd experience... until smartphones became common place.

Now, nobody is really innovating, just doing the same thing that's been done for the past decade+, only with slight improvements each time. Which is fine- if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But man I miss the innovative period of handheld consoles.

The only next step I can see really blowing my mind is hologram projection, or actual virtual reality (no, VR doesn't count), without needing a headset maybe! And I honestly don't think that'll happen at all.

[Plumbers_Helper]

3 hours ago, Angyu said:

Also gonna add the handheld consoles of the 7th gen... I was like 11 or 12 and blown away by the fact that the DS and PSP could play 3D games on the go! 3D on handheld was extremely rare before then, practically unheard of. And they could go online too! That was probably the hugest leap for a handheld I'd experience... until smartphones became common place.

Now, nobody is really innovating, just doing the same thing that's been done for the past decade+, only with slight improvements each time. Which is fine- if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But man I miss the innovative period of handheld consoles.

The only next step I can see really blowing my mind is hologram projection, or actual virtual reality (no, VR doesn't count), without needing a headset maybe! And I honestly don't think that'll happen at all.

I remember after playing Super Mario Advance thinking someday we would be playing Super Mario 64 on our Gameboys. I felt vindicated when Super Mario 64 DS was released.

Now thanks to Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy are portable too. Super Mario Galaxy didn't even exist back when I used to dream of playing Super Mario 64 on my Gameboy.

[Madalass]

On 1/2/2021 at 8:43 AM, Angyu said:

It feels way more toxic today than it did back then. Could just be my perspective, but... nobody got "cancelled" back then. The mob mentality wasn't there for it. It was everybody for themself. Then Zoomers came and ruined everything.

I feel like internet forums etc. back then were for the weird dorky kids who had little to no IRL friends and just wanted to discuss their favorite games etc. Now it's a popularity contest where the same normies who win IRL are the ones winning online, and that leaves us misfits with nowhere to go anymore.

Well, you're right and you're wrong. Twitter is a cesspool of people with superiority complexes and a desire to be some kind of hero, i agree, but there's a good chance that anyone making this argument about 'cancel culture' probably mixes in actual, deserved consequences as 'cancel culture' because it's against someone they like. 

Not all of them are justifiable, but not all of them aren't, and frankly, part of me would rather play it safe in this culture as opposed to the younger internet where i'd basically be e-lynched for being trans, if not being a woman at all. I don't use Twitter much, and i like to leave it that way, but as the internet is now, at the very least i can exist as who i want to be and not be bullied off the internet for it. Twitter is like the one exception to the internet being kind of a good place now- minus the corporatization of the whole internet.

[Madalass]

Edit:

And, to add to that, you're pretty well wrong about the idea we have 'nowhere to go'. As i said, Twitter is like, the exception. I'm one of those people who had no friends in school and turned to the internet to discuss the things i like, and in my experience, 90% of people who 'win' irl either stick to Facebook or generic-ass Twitter accounts that only their friends follow, anyway. If anything, with how corporatized the internet has become, the people on forums like this are no less misfit-like than they used to be, it's just that people used to be more spread thin on the internet due to the wealth of places and sites, and now theres hundreds of millions, if not a couple billion on just a handful- it really puts into perspective the scale of the internet, unlike the more decentralized nature of how it used to be.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, madalass said:

Well, you're right and you're wrong. Twitter is a cesspool of people with superiority complexes and a desire to be some kind of hero, i agree, but there's a good chance that anyone making this argument about 'cancel culture' probably mixes in actual, deserved consequences as 'cancel culture' because it's against someone they like. 

Not all of them are justifiable, but not all of them aren't, and frankly, part of me would rather play it safe in this culture as opposed to the younger internet where i'd basically be e-lynched for being trans, if not being a woman at all. I don't use Twitter much, and i like to leave it that way, but as the internet is now, at the very least i can exist as who i want to be and not be bullied off the internet for it. Twitter is like the one exception to the internet being kind of a good place now- minus the corporatization of the whole internet.

 

6 hours ago, madalass said:

Edit:

And, to add to that, you're pretty well wrong about the idea we have 'nowhere to go'. As i said, Twitter is like, the exception. I'm one of those people who had no friends in school and turned to the internet to discuss the things i like, and in my experience, 90% of people who 'win' irl either stick to Facebook or generic-ass Twitter accounts that only their friends follow, anyway. If anything, with how corporatized the internet has become, the people on forums like this are no less misfit-like than they used to be, it's just that people used to be more spread thin on the internet due to the wealth of places and sites, and now theres hundreds of millions, if not a couple billion on just a handful- it really puts into perspective the scale of the internet, unlike the more decentralized nature of how it used to be.

I understand your viewpoints.

That said, it's one thing to defend someone from being bullied. It's another to form a doxx-mob because someone said a word without knowing what it meant, or for a video from 10 years ago. Good that some people benefit from this stuff, but for those who don't, it's pure hell. Websites etc. for marginalized groups always existed.

I guess it depends what you call "win". Everybody wins compared to my shit life so maybe I'm biased.

But you gotta admit, victim mentality and Oppression Olympics does go too far at times.

[RadicalLaRuby]

For the internet since I've seen so comments on it, early 00s for sure, for same reasons. Although I can understand why one would think otherwise.

For games, I grew up on Sonic 3, Streets of Rage 2, and Super Mario World. I love those games, and I didn't play much else, not that my pre adolescent self would care to. After my emulator craze late post high school, I saw the overwhelming library of great games those systems offered.

The favorite ultimately goes to the early to mid 2000s since I'm alot more familiar with that era. I got a Gamecube in 6th grade, and that was the time I sank hundreds of hours into that and my Gameboy Advance. It's also when I actually made real friends.

Wario Land 4, Mario Kart Double Dash, Mega Man Battle Network/Zero, Pokemon Emerald, Sonic Advance, Tales of Symphonia, Paper Mario TTYD, Billy Hatcher, Spongebob BFBB, man that list goes on... Nostalgia and ports aside, there has been nothing like that era so far. Indies recently are the closest I get to feeling that same magic.

[SB Party Knuckles]

I'd say the days of sega genesis would be my first initial thought. Playing sonic games; MMPR, Ninja Turtles, Dynamite Headdy and Streets of Rage my goodness those were the days of just nonstop play action style games for a console that still stands the test of time.