For the longest time i was jaded towards the newer stuff as well - and i even still managed to get just about every new system. I'm more into the new stuff now than back then because i feel that the developers have got better equipment to work with for improvment in control and graphics.
When i first bought the PS1 i was HORRIFIED to see people raving about how 'awesome' Toshinden was. WHAT!?! That game looked like ass and controlled like one too. I was disgusted to see people talking about how 2d was dead old news and that this was the 'next gen' of 3d graphics we had dreamed about for so long. I just felt it was way to soon.
Nearly 10 years down the line the graphics actually do look good and control decently. Thank the heavens for ID software's Doom 3 engine. That was the push everyone needed to get off their asses and make thier 3d graphics look solid. Control, of course, improved gradually over time. Now look, with the DS, Wii, and to some extent the PS3 controller we are on our way to not just next gen graphics, but next gen control as well.
That's where my raving stops and my worry begins though. With the exceptions of Resident Evil, Metal Gear, Otogi and... uh...
Well, what i'm trying to get at here is that the newer games don't have the same charisma as the older stuff. For instance - my thread about Daisenpu. A game that i felt was mediocre in just about every department besides it's 'character'. That game came off as lackluster to me on every level except for it's mood/presentation/essence - whatever you want to call it. That alone kept me playing all night, straight through to the end. Just look at my avatar - Legendary Wings. Crappy game, awesome story.
The new stuff almost always feels like that certain something's missing. Look how many great 'mediocre' games came out in the eighties/early nineties that we still talk about to this day? Technically, even for it's time Splatterhouse sucked balls in the control/gameplay department - but damned if we don't love it to death just because of how ball rollikingly cool it was.
To me a video game can be alot like New York - that's a city filled with insane depravity, crime and corruption but damn... it's New York, you gotta love it - because it's got pinache', kid.
My point is that all the great graphics and control in the world isn't going to make up for a lack of essence. Tell me you get an equal awesome feeling from Kameo that you got from Bonk. How about Ghost Recon compared to Mercs? World of Warcraft to Golden Axe?
The developers of those old games really understood something alot of the newer teams don't seem to embrace. Listen to Golden Axe's awe-inspiring soundtrack - something like that isn't done because of hardware llimitations, it's done because it's part of the idea. How about that of the original Final Fight? I haven't played it but i betcha' ten to one Streetwise is just a bunch of hip hop beats/rap music with a couple remixes of the old tunes thrown in. Even if i'm wrong - you get what i mean.
I'm not saying that every new game is lacking character - on the contrary, there are alot of nice presentations out there for us. Unfortunatley most of the time those games are lacking in other areas, much like Daisenpu. Chaos Legion, Magatama and Okami come to mind. Still, there are more games that lack inspiration stealing alot of the limelight. It's probably not nearly as bad in Japan as it is in the states and Europe - because it's hard to see past all the Mark Ecko's and 50cents.
Still, i remain optimistic about the new wave of stuff about to hit the shelves. It's my belief that since graphics will look decent most of the time regardless and even the casual gamers are getting sick of the 'cool' crap that the developer's focus will shift more towards telling a respectable tale than just churning out some mindless pop-culture influenced bs.
So anyways - i don't mean to rant to hard. I appreciate everything i like enough to buy these days, which is no less than what i bought in my earlier years. I'm just saying yes, there is more crap out there than what there used to be. :p
