8-Bit Nostalgia
Happy retro vector art!
I just stumbled on a band after Youtubing a new game on Steam, Audiosurf.
After listening to the tracks they have posted on their Myspace Page I’ve become a big fan. They’re mostly guitar accompaniment to a pre-written Nintendo synth track (from what I can tell), but the appeal is undeniable. A lot of bitpop bands that I’ve heard just seem to write normal music and filter it through the old-style instruments. Anamanaguchi really knows what made the old music special; they impart that certain simplicity and sincerity that was inherent to the old music, and a real sense of adventure. Their song “Helix Nebula” does an excellent job of this. The bouncy lead with its close harmony, with the thumping authentic Nintendo beat behind it drives the whole feeling of old-school Nintendo home.
Finding stuff like this makes me jones for the classic NES/SNES vs. Genesis days. Maybe it’s just nostalgia, but games seemed simpler and better back then. Games actually needed merit to do well (although I know there were a fair share of big name flops that sold well), emphasizing solid control, replayability, and innovative system tricks (hell, SNES games were written in Assembly. That’s hardcore) that pushed the hardware to its limits. Plus, any modern RPG has yet to top Final Fantasy III (Japanese VI) or Chrono Trigger, even with their fancy polygons and DVD quality FMV.
If I hear one more person exalt Halo as an excellent game, I’m gonna send them a download link to Starsiege: Tribes, a game that’s better in every way (except graphics) and beat them to the punch by 3 years. Not that they’re qualified for direct comparison, but there are so many first person shooter games that wipe the floor with Halo several times over.