Retro Gaming Returns!

Yes, the gaming world has been through some trying times recently. And by recently, I mean at least a decade.

One of gaming's most important franchises is the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. This series is mostly known for its first four games (and portable offerings) being so great that they could compete with Super Mario Bros. and such. The games are so good, I still play them just like I do the old Mario games.

But times changed. Sonic entered the 3D space and had some growing pains (Mario did too, in my opinion) and has since been overtaken in popularity by many new franchises over the years. That doesn't mean Sonic is a bad franchise, however. Sonic Colors for the Wii and Sonic Generations for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, are two of the best games in the series. The latter even features 2D levels like the old games do, only in glorious HD 3D graphics.

All that said, there's something about the old games that hasn't quite been matched.

Sega, celebrating the 25th anniversary of their most enduring franchise, agrees. To get Sonic the Hedgehog back to prominence where it belongs, they decided to try something new, yet old. What did they do, you might ask.

They revealed this:

A full fledged new Sonic the Hedgehog game done in the style of the old games. 2D graphics, the same character physics and controls, and the same speed and jump gameplay. It's as if they are making the Sonic game the ill-fated Sega Saturn never got.

I'll be honest, ever since the PS2 generation of gaming, I've begun to drift. The games were no longer simple, creative, and fun, but overwrought, needlessly convoluted, and all samey. As someone who grew up on Nintendo and Sega games, it wasn't what I got into the hobby for. It became a chore to keep up with.

That doesn't seem to be changing, but at least it seems the old guard is well aware at how far away we are from what made gaming fun in the first place. Nintendo still makes games as great as they did back in the day, and it looks like Sega is keeping up.

If you don't believe me, well, just check out this game.

Sometimes, going back to the past is the only way we can move forward. Just because something is old doesn't mean it has no value. This is a fact the gaming industry needs to realize before it falls into more of the rut of milking a successful formula dry instead of seeing just why it worked in the first place.

Hopefully the game industry will learn this before their sales entirely crater out. A video game world without Nintendo or Sega is not one I want any part in.

As an aside, this is currently my most anticipated game of 2017. If that doesn't show my age, nothing will.