Nostalgia is ruining video games!

I love nostalgia, and video games, and often feel very happy when I think about fun memories from the video games I grew up with. But recently I've noticed my nostalgia for these games is ruining new video games for me, like the most recent Pokemon games and Breath of the Wild. Is it that these games are bad? Or do I have a nostalgic bias for the games in these series that I grew up with? So I made this video to discuss this feeling further and to see if there were others who could relate.

#nintendo #videogames #nostalgia

[pressaTD]

Apologies everyone for the poor video & audio quality. We recently been experimenting with green screen, but have recognized we don't have the appropriate equipment to produce the best videos using green screen. Hopefully the quality doesn't defer you from watching this video, but going forward we will go back to our traditional videos until we've purchased the right equipment to make our videos more personal. We are still learning and trying to improve with every video!

[agentepolaris]

The thing with pokemon is that part of the franchise's essence is in fact nostalgia. One day Satoshi Tajiri was remembering how fun and almost magical it was for him to go to the little forest in the outskirts of his hometown to catch bugs and that's the moment when the concept of Pokemon was conceived.

And even to this day every pokemon game gives this feeling of "glories from the past", it's in it's overall atmosphere. Even newcomers that haven't touched a single pokemon before in their lives can feel it.

And personally, I think that's great.

[DanteCrowlley]

I am nostalgic, but usually I can tell when I'm being nostalgic instead of critic, ofc I can enjoy not so good old games but notice the flaws more easily

[caritafelizd]

I hate when people buy scams just because it's their childhood

[yoshifan]

I can relate completely. It used to be unthinkable that I wouldn't be excited about a new Zelda game, but I'm unsure if I should even buy Tears of the Kingdom because Breath of the Wild just never clicked for me. I'm much more about the traditional Zelda experience.

[thelastwindwaker]

I wouldn't even call it nostalgia tbh. If you buy a ham sandwich and instead get a turkey sandwich, you're not nostalgia-blind for ham. I bought BOTW because I wanted to play a Zelda game. Instead I got a game where you spend 90% of the time running through grassy fields collecting repetitive filler materials to and occasionally solving "puzzles" that are so poorly constructed that you can solve them accidentally and the music is just someone occasionally hitting two keys on a piano. This series used to be known for its music, and dungeons.

Pokemon I get the argument a bit more, but I feel it's less nostalgia and more just... familiarity with the series. The genie's out of the bottle, so to speak. Trading pokemon to evolve them, for example, was a novel concept back in the day but now it's just expected. There IS something to be said about the Pokemon designs changing though, especially the starters. They went from being more detailed, properly proportioned monsters to being bobble-heads that turn into anime furries.

[Bigbossx]

Except older games are more engaging. I tested this unbiasedly by playing PS2 games i had never played before and it was much easier to lose track of time

[andrews]

I kind of feel the same way, this is the first time ever that I was not excited for the release of a new Zelda game. This mainly happened for me because of how long the game took to make, the style being more like Botw without fixing the problems I had with the game, and the increase in price. Hearing you talk about not getting the game and preferring older Zelda games makes me feel a bit better. Thanks

[agentepolaris]

As for Zelda BOTW... I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love it for what it is, the game is SO MUCH FUN and you can feel a lot of passion went on it's creation... but it's just not how a Zelda game should be.

[MattKimura]

Zelda ToTK is essentially just Botw all over again so if you didn't like Botw, you could feel free to skip out on ToTK.
Pokemon Scarlet/Violet was just as uninspired with its pokemon design choices, maybe worse than sword/shiled's. And it was such a buggy mess that even to this day is left as is.
Your thoughts and feelings are totally valid about these games. Many of the first party games on switch have been lacking compared to what they were back then.

[crabbuckets]

I can see your dilemma. I do prefer the old style of Zelda as Twilight princess is my favorite, but still love the new style and what it adds. I love playing old games and remembering how janky the controls and graphics are and enjoying it for what it was.

[MewtwoShadowFNaFGirl]

I think this varies from person to person. I did not start playing Zelda until Twilight Princess after finding it at a Movie Store (When they still existed) back in the summer of 2008 and I remember I used to rent the game a lot (Would have been cheaper if I just bought the damn game at the time but it was the Gamecube version) That game had me fall in love with Zelda. I did grew up with the N64 but did not play Ocarina or Majora at the time and only was aware of Link from Smash Bros. I did eventually get those games and even though I do have the Expansion Membership on Switch Online I won't give up my actual copies of those games since N64 games are becoming more rare now a days. Wind Waker was my second Zelda game I bought from a Flea Market and was a mood whiplash for me since Twilight Princess was more dark and mature since the original release was rated T for Teen. Not sure why it was change to E10 on the Wii U version and well that was off putting but I kept going cause the story and gameplay kept me interested and was a bit sad to hear that it was hated when it first came out but now a days it is loved which is what Wind Waker deserves. Pokemon I mostly watched the anime and played Pokemon games (Except for Hey You Pikachu) on the N64. Pokemon Channel I did play once but that game sucks is boring and seeing what Hey You Pikachu is like it is no wonder why I did not like it. Mario was the first to get me into gaming. So without Mario I would not be a gamer. For me though I did have noticed that many of the newer Nintendo Games are kinda dull and what not. For me though I did fell in love with Breath of the Wild. The Shrines I do agree with as they really aren't anything special but I do love the open world and I enjoy exploring the land as I do most of my time doing that. I have played a bit of Tears of the Kingdom but I only stopped for a bit cause I got busy and got sick. I hope to play more later on tonight since that game is what i was waiting for. I do understand why some people might not like both of those games since it is different from what we have seen from other Zelda games and I do think at least with Breath of the Wild more should have done for the story and LInk should have more character and emotion then just being an emotionless blank who just stands by and protects Zelda. I am hoping that was improved on Tears of the Kingdom (No spoilers please) for Pokemon I at least on handheld I only played Pokemon X for 3DS and I am kinda interested in Playing one of the open world games but I am not too sure yet. I hate how expensive games have gotten. Tears of the Kingdom in Canada is like 90 bucks. Which is a rip off. But for some odd reason when I preordered the game and it charged me. I did not have any funds on my Eshop and yet somehow i only payed 70 bucks for my order. Don't ask how as I was confused myself. But still it is insane how much games are costing now a days and I am a bit scared on what future prices might look. Nostalgia can get in the way of how some people look at games but if they are open minded they can give the new games a chance. But I don't like how many companies are using it as a way to make money without really making a new game even on some games that aren't even that old and came from last consoles. For Wii U understandable since that console did not do well in sells but Playstation and Xbox? Yeah I will forever be confused by this.

[JanTheMangaMan]

My nostalgia has often been a crutch in a judgement for upcoming games. You mentioned breath of the wild. I havent gotten to that yet but i plan on finally playing it this year anf im afraid i wont like it as much as everyone else does due to my zelda nostalgia. I was also slightly worried about Pikmin 4 because i felt it was gonna be too different from the previous games but thankfully that delivered 100% and became my goty in 2023. Nostalgia is completely fine to have but you have to be careful to not let it completely cloud you

[Alster]

As an "older fan" I personally love new games that change things up and nostalgia doesn't really hinder my experience of liking a new game in a franchise I grew up with. I'm always pumped for a new Pokémon release even if the general community opinion seems to be that it is mediocre. And Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are probably my favorite Zelda games. I don't personally get the older gamer feeling of these games aren't like what I used to play growing up. I will say that some series have gotten progressively easier through the introduction of new mechanics, and I can understand the frustration of some with that. However, I personally don't mind it since I have less time for games as I get older so an easier game means I can still finish it in a decent period of time. Plus if I want a hard game there are plenty of options out there.

[casabaixo]

Ngl, microtransactions ruined games for me. Also, "play online" on consoles...

[GhostlyDoors]

Oh for sure the days when friends around the block would come by after an evening of playing outside and slapping in the cartridge of any multiplayer n64 games haha you make a fair point about the pokemon thing too because all the lucky ones got to see the Legacys be formed and admired and nothing will ever compare to the day one times ! Nostalgia is a blessing and a curse.

[julijulijulijuli]

regarding pokemon, its valid you feel nostalgic, I mean for "older" people (30 isnt old but whatever) its very difficult to keep up with the gimmics of a game that is clearly marketed towards children. Personally I didnt buy Scarlet and Violet and im 24 years old i mean, my "childhood" or "teenager" pokemon games were black and white and x and y, and just like you I wasnt feeling so much wasting the equivalent money in the decaying currency of my second world country to buy a game that doesn't appeal to me even tho I love Pokemon.

But talking about nostalgia, I remember that black and white were BASHED in the early 2010s because people hated the new pokemons (the garbage pokemon, the ice cream one) and the new region because it was an attempt of the francise to make a "reset" by not allowing the players capture past region pokemons. Still, people seemed to forget that and nowadays it seems that the fandom is loving these games so much and shitting on the new ones. So I think Pokemon is just a never ending cycle of adults complaining about the new games and praising the past ones.

But BOTW is a different story, i think that you just dont like open world games. You said you love puzzles, and BOTW is full of them, and the temples are basically the beasts that help you beat ganon.

so yeah good video, slay

[Tierd]

Tbh I may have some recency bias but in terms of pokemon, I notice that many popular opinions have nostalgia as a big influence and I think technical issues aside, pokemon is going an ideal direction
Open world for me fits pokemon very well and those games tend to be most fun for me
2D and the grinding in old games should never come back
I can definitely understand people missing older pokemon games but future pokemon games going the direction they are atm is great
Tbh I just believe the idea of change can be used for good and we should embrace it
I’ll miss the games I’ve been playing but I wanna look forward rather than backward

[rkroll]

I definitely feel like there are two eras of Zelda. Pre-BotW and post-BotW. I really like both but I think they are very different. Totk is going back to tradition in some small ways but it’s mostly like BotW. Totk is great so far. I was a little disappointed that the wind temple wasn’t super impressive but everything else has been great. I hope they do a more traditional Zelda next (or new 2d Zelda!)

[HollowRick]

I have this exact problem I'm 31 so i grew up in the 5th and 6th gen i do struggle to get excited for new games nowadays