Welcome to Tues Your Own Adventure! Join Jules and James as they take look at video games that tried to exploit nostalgia (and won)!! Happy memories.
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00:00Hello all of you beautiful little demons, Jules here for WhatCulture.com, back again
00:03with another episode of the awesomely named and awfully hosted Choose Your Own Adventure,
00:08the weekly medieval themed format where I, the Crown Jules of WhatCulture.com, take a
00:13list chosen by you, yes you the person who started off the week by replacing one door,
00:18then a lock broke on another door so I had to replace that, then another door had to
00:21be replaced as well.
00:22Three doors in one week, that's gotta be some sort of record, yes you get to decide
00:26what list I dole out to you each and every week, and this week we have none other to
00:30thank than me.
00:31Now I know it's a bit ironic that I would create this community focused show and then
00:39decide to dole out ideas that I've generated, but trust me, there is one specific video
00:44game that I wanted, nay, needed to talk about this week, and you'll understand why.
00:49So yes, today we're talking about times that video game nostalgia was exploited, but
00:54actually not for all the wrong reasons.
00:56Now using the term exploiting in a sentence rarely sets a good tone for the conversation,
01:00right?
01:01I mean, it's a word that is accepted by its implication that can mean that something
01:04or someone is manipulating a situation for their own benefit.
01:08It's also a term that has been bandied around a lot when it comes to the video game industry,
01:12and with good reason, as it seems that developers and publishers the world over love nothing
01:16more than taking pleasant childhood memories and wheeling them out for their own personal
01:20game.
01:21For example, why don't we just take the entire 1980s, which seems to be a huge source
01:27of fuel for the fire for video game publishers and developers, because they basically just
01:31grab mascots from the past and just say, hey, remember this guy?
01:35Remember this guy?
01:36Remember this guy?
01:37Well give us some money, or I'll hit him in the head, sploink!
01:41Of course you remember them, and simply by their sheer existence in their video game,
01:45publishers want you to take part in a rose-tinted transaction, no matter how shoehorned or forced
01:50the tie-in is.
01:52But that's not what we're talking about today, because we're actually going to be
01:54covering some cases of when nostalgia was still technically exploited, but actually
01:59came at the benefit of both the publisher and the player.
02:02Confused?
02:03Well, take a seat, my friend, and let's have a chat, and if you're already sat down,
02:07then sit down further, you fool, as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these
02:11are 7 Video Games That Tried To Exploit Nostalgia, and 1.
02:157.
02:16Retro Skins
02:172.
02:18Resident Evil 2 Remake, and Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes
02:21Oh boy, graphics will never get better than this!
02:25I remember saying that about Final Fantasy IX.
02:29Now upon reflection, I was an absolute idiot, but at the time, I seriously thought that
02:33the likes of Zidane and his crew were the best realised and most beautiful looking sprites
02:38that I'd ever seen.
02:40Now looking at the landscape of today, where even track-side flowers on kart racing games
02:44have more fidelity than the best-looking moments of my childhood titles, it's almost
02:48brain-breaking to think how graphics can improve further.
02:51And yet I, alongside so many others, will always get a huge nostalgia boner whenever
02:57a developer offers us the chance to play a current-gen game with classic skins.
03:02I honestly feel like bloody Ed Gein sometimes for how much I crave these nostalgic skins,
03:08and when the likes of Resident Evil 2 Remake and the almighty Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes
03:14offered us a chance to play in these low-polygonal suits, then oh, you'd best believe I was
03:19there for that, son!
03:21It might seem like a small detail to many, but the fact that the devs chose to remind
03:25people of their title's lineage in a loving and rather humorous way shows a lot of thanks
03:30for the foundations built by these classic titles.
03:33Hell, in the case of Ground Zeroes, the PS1-inspired snake-skin suit also comes with a special mission
03:39that infused the gameplay with a supremely retro tone that sends shivers of ecstasy through
03:44my blocky bones.
03:46Oh, I love it!
03:48That's...
03:49I don't know how to represent physical blocks, alright?
03:52Work with me here.
03:53Number six, everything about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge.
03:58And here we come to the crux of this list immediately.
04:01The reason why I wanted to make this list is because James Dowse and I have played through
04:05this game recently, I did it for a review on WhatCulture as well, and, ye gods, is this
04:10a blast from the past and I am strapped to the rocket, my friend.
04:14I love this game, without a shred of hyperbole, I think it's one of the best arcade experiences
04:20I've ever had.
04:21Okay?
04:22Alright?
04:23Good.
04:24This, in my opinion, is video game nostalgia done right.
04:27It is a carefully considered, beautiful homage to the past that elevates not only the TMNTIP
04:34as a whole, but also delivers such a fun and exciting time that it actually stands
04:38as one of the finest side-scrolling brawlers ever.
04:40It's also a game that will have a vice-like grip on your dopamine receptors if you have
04:44even a shredder of love for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
04:49Those pizza-munching buddy pals.
04:51I mean, where to begin with this one?
04:53The graphics are a fantastic throwback to the arcade TMNT games, but are filled with
04:58so much character and subtle animations that it's clear that this is no low-poly filter
05:02rush job.
05:03The soundtrack will slap your cheeks so hard that they will reveal your bloody skeleton,
05:08and the gameplay is so viscerally addictive and well-produced that gamers of any skill
05:12level will be able to pick this right up and get right into the action.
05:15Plus, as an added moment of true nostalgia, this game doesn't break the bank.
05:20It's not a £70 plus title release that so many other remasters, remakes and reimaginings
05:26are trying to con their way through the market with.
05:29This actually feels and gets a proper nostalgia pop from me for not breaking the bloody bank.
05:33I've got enough cash left after buying this for a curly whirly.
05:37Hell, I might even splash out for a chomp as well.
05:40A bloody chomp, James.
05:425.
05:43Taking Sonic back to his roots, Sonic Generations
05:46Now as we're all aware, Sonic, as a video game mascot and an icon of the video game
05:51industry as a whole, has had so many ups and downs that Simon Miller is personally suing
05:57him.
05:58We've all visited the absolute doldrums that were Sonic 06, and the disaster piece
06:03that was Sonic Rise of Lyric.
06:06UGH.
06:07But here's the thing.
06:09He can have an upshot sometimes.
06:11He can have a good day... sometimes.
06:14And this made the glorious love letter that was Sonic Mania all the more special.
06:19This game was piano-wired tight, looked utterly amazing and sounded like if Jesus came back
06:24in chiptune format.
06:25However, it's not being included on this list.
06:28Why, I hear you ask?
06:30Well, it's because Sonic Team didn't actually make this game.
06:35Therefore, I don't think it should be included as a nostalgia pop because of the fact that
06:38the original developers didn't create it.
06:40It was created by the fans, through nostalgia, yes, and is a moment of great nostalgic memories
06:45being formulated into one crystalline experience.
06:48But it didn't come from the original developers.
06:52That's not to say that they haven't tried their best, though, because Sonic Generations
06:54came pretty damn close.
06:56Because yes, even though it sounds like I'm bashing on Sonic Team, I want to talk about
06:59Sonic Generations, a title that was produced by the assigned devs which actually hit that
07:04sweet nostalgia target by giving fans exactly what they've been crying out for for years,
07:09and that is a 2D Sonic.
07:12Sonic Generations traded heavily on letting fans go back to the good old days with 2D
07:16Sonic sections that even featured the retro design of everyone's favourite quick-stepping
07:20hedgehog.
07:21And as you'd expect, this gambit absolutely worked.
07:24Sales were much higher than previous 3D escapades, and critical reception, especially of these
07:29sections, was through the roof.
07:31We asked, we got, we thanked Sonic Team for not including bestiality.
07:354.
07:36The Soundtrack of Your Youth
07:38Tony Hawk's 1 & 2 Remaster
07:41Now I won't lie to you, when the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 & 2 Remaster came up for pre-order,
07:47I absolutely punched my screen as hard as I could trying to hammer home that pre-order
07:53button.
07:54GET IN MY BASKET.
07:56Not a touchscreen monitor.
07:58Cost me a lot of money.
07:59The original trilogy of Tony Hawk's games was absolutely pivotal to my interest in gaming
08:03as a whole, and I know so many other gamers who list these titles as some of their favourite
08:08childhood games.
08:09And while Activision could have easily just slapped a high-res texture pack on top and
08:13wheeled it out to make an absolute bundle, they did the unthinkable and actually set
08:18out to make a decent and loving remaster of the original two games.
08:21And in amongst all of the promises of reworked gameplay additions, such as the reverb being
08:26added into the titles and online support, was a feature that filled many with that warm
08:30gooey goodness of nostalgia.
08:32I'm speaking, of course, about the soundtrack, which arrived, admittedly, with a few omissions,
08:38but with enough force to still recapture the glory days of our youth.
08:43Nearly every single absolute smash banger was on the playlist once more, and it transported
08:49you back to being a wee stupid little oik holding the controller for the first time
08:54and doing like, I don't know, a 180 melon and thinking that was the best trick you were
08:57ever going to land.
08:58It was a glorious experience.
09:01And you know what?
09:02Activision got a lot of positive feedback for actually going down, doubling down on
09:06this moment.
09:07They could have easily just grabbed in a ton of new artists, and admittedly they did put
09:10in a few new tracks as well, but they could have just replaced the entire soundtrack and
09:14said, there you go.
09:15But the fact that they went back, back to the drawing board and said, let's actually
09:18give fans what they want, rather than what we tell them what they want, and you know
09:22what?
09:23That was a good thing for all involved.
09:24Number 3, Lego DLC, Forza Horizon 4, Lego Speed Champions.
09:39Now I'll ask you, James, is there anything more nostalgic than Lego?
09:42Yes, Hot Wheels.
09:43No, I'll answer for you, actually, that, no, no.
09:46Yeah, but Forza Horizon 3 had Hot Wheels.
09:48No, Lego.
09:49Lego is the answer that I was looking for.
09:50Some of the earliest memories of your childhood may well be block-based thanks to this wonderful
09:55construction and creativity-based toy.
09:58Is it a toy?
09:59Is a brick a toy?
10:00Are we telling kids that bricks are toys now?
10:03Yes.
10:04And I know of a fair few adults with more than their fair share of Lego sets adorning
10:09their walls and shelves.
10:11The love for Lego has only grown as the brand has expanded into more and more complex sets,
10:16and tied itself to almost every IP going, meaning there is quite literally something
10:20for everyone to enjoy.
10:22And while the Lego brand has sometimes churned out a few stinkers in its time, the likes
10:27of Lego Star Wars and Lego Marvel Super Heroes really do stand out as not being just great
10:32games, but also massive dollops of nostalgia for fans of the medium.
10:36However, one of the low-key best Lego bangers ever actually comes in the form of a racing
10:40game.
10:41And no, unfortunately, I'm not going to be talking about Lego Racers today.
10:43I will cover that on a list at some point in time, but today, we're talking about
10:47Forza Horizon 4, which got a Lego-based expansion.
10:51And it is an absolute stonker.
10:53Tearing through Lego play sets at speed is just so much fun that I swear the government
10:58will likely ban it at some point, and being able to build your own house is just the icing
11:02on the blocky cake.
11:03A pseudo-realistic race simulator, and Lego should not mix this well, but it forms a sweet
11:09and heady broth that you'll be quaffing for weeks to come.
11:122.
11:13FOMO Mario – Super Mario 3D All-Stars
11:16And now we turn to the curious case of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a trilogy of Mario's
11:22best games that dropped for the Switch in 2020, only to then drop off the face of the
11:27bloody Earth a few months later.
11:29While other entries on this list have been cases of publishers putting players first,
11:33this was a case of appearing to be a gesture of goodwill that turned into a greasy marketing
11:38tactic by Nintendo.
11:40Now it's fair to say that a lot of ninty fans are incredibly nostalgic for Mario's
11:44early 3D outings, with many touting these games as being the benchmark to which all
11:48others are measured even to this day.
11:50And so they were incredibly excited when the 3D All-Stars pack was announced for the Switch
11:55and included Mario 64, Mario Sunshine, and Mario Galaxy.
11:59The fact that this was also announced alongside Nintendo's 35th Mario Celebration event
12:03made the nostalgia hit all that harder.
12:06So of course, many bought in straight away for the simple fact that this was their childhood,
12:10but now on a handheld console.
12:13And yet, for Nintendo, this apparently wasn't enough.
12:16To drive home the fact that you needed to buy this pack, Nintendo announced that after
12:20a few months, this bundle would be delisted from online sites, and that they wouldn't
12:24print any more physical copies.
12:26This was now a slice of nostalgia, with a deadline.
12:29A rather insidious move indeed, to effectively hold your childhood to ransom, but at the
12:34end of the day, people bought this in droves, so technically Nintendo exploited our nostalgia,
12:40and most definitely won here.
12:421.
12:43ALL OF THE NOSTALGIA – Mortal Kombat 11
12:46So when it came to answering the question of, hmm, I wonder what part of the collective
12:50consciousness we should mine for that sweet, sweet nectar of money, NetherRealm Studio
12:56answered with, everything, every last drop of it, I want it all.
13:03This might seem like hyperbole, but seriously, just take a look at the DLC characters for
13:07the Mortal Kombat franchise, and try and tell me that your inner child isn't experiencing
13:11a sugar rush unlike anything else.
13:14Rambo, the Terminator, fricking Robocop, joined the roster of stone-cold killers in Mortal
13:19Kombat 11 in a manner that screams, just remember these guys, and continues a rather epic trend
13:25of the studio pumping fans full of fizzy nostalgia pop, what with their previous efforts including
13:30the Xenomorph, Leatherface, and the Predator.
13:33It seems like any movie IP worth a damn has been well and truly mined, as have the wallets
13:38of fans who were more than willing to splash the gore-soaked cash.
13:41But what separates these characters from other Tesco-brand tie-ins is the fact that it actually
13:46kind of fit with the tomes of their respective IPs, I mean, splitting throats, smashing heads,
13:53and then covering their skeletons in acid, blood, or spit is actually very on-brand with
13:58a lot of these, well, other brands, so yeah, it fits so well, and that's why people were
14:04really, really keen to kill with Robocop.
14:08Yay.
14:09And there we go, my friends, those were seven video games that tried to exploit nostalgia,
14:14and won.
14:15I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in
14:18the comments section below.
14:19As always, I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Twitter at RetroJ, but the O is
14:23a zero, and the same for Instagram, RetroJ, but the O is a zero.
14:28Hope that you enjoyed that, hope that you're doing well, hope that you're treating yourself
14:31with love and respect, my friend, because at the end of the day, I've got a lot of
14:36nostalgic love for you guys.
14:37You got me here at this point on the channel with all the love and support, so I'm always
14:41gonna pay it back to you.
14:42I hope that you're treating yourself with love and respect, I hope that you realize
14:46that you are a massive legend, you deserve all of the best things in life, and I hope
14:50more than anything else that you go out today and you smash your life goals.
14:54I believe in you, and thank you very much.
14:56As always, I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak
15:00to you soon.
15:01Bye.