Sometime in the late 90s it seemed like everybody I knew had a Nintendo 64. Every time I went somewhere there was a room full of kids all huddled around this gray console with its oddly shaped controllers. I did not have a Nintendo 64. Instead, I had a PlayStation. The PlayStation was of course a wonderful system in its own right. It had its own amazing games, and it even shared some popular titles with Nintendo. I of course had fun playing with it, but it seemed like many of the games for the system were really geared toward single player options. A quest you went on alone. This was always fine for a time, the story immersion, and the gameplay would keep you going for a while, but there was something undeniably missing.
When it came to community play the Nintendo 64 was the undisputed champion of the 90s. If you've never played Super Smash Bros in a room full of people all yelling at the television while frantically pressing buttons you've missed out my friend. In those days I was always Pikachu. He was small and agile. He could zip in and out of the fray, and if you were bounced off the stage a quick attack was always a reliable way to get you back on solid ground. This was especially useful when you were playing with three other people. A hit here, a hit there, all while your friends were focused on other targets. That is until they got wise to me, and then it was suddenly a three verses one run for survival.
To be honest, a lot of my gaming nostalgia comes from a system that I never actually owned myself, though I played it extensively. My cousins had a Nintendo 64, and every other weekend more or less I'd be there with them playing it. It became a ritual of sorts for us. The weekdays dragged on and on, and then the weekend would come around, and it was like magic had happened. Being a kid comes with this wonderful ability to let go of everything, and to completely engross yourself in your activities, and so we did. We would be gathered in the living room for as much time as would be allotted to us. Every controller port happily transmitted our frantic button mashing to the system in front of us as we worked diligently to outsmart the others in our game of choice.
Sometimes that meant waiting for the perfect moment to fling an opponent off the screen into the abyss of Super Smash Bros. or maybe it meant clutching tightly to a red shell in Mario Kart; gleefully waiting for the right time to send a frustrated racer to the end of the line. When it came to Mario Party, arguably our favorite party game, the competition was cut throat. Or about as cut throat as children can be. There would be threats. There would be anger. Tempers would flair. Some controllers might even be thrown when somebody landed on Bowser, and their heart sank as he robbed them of all their coins. We also shared our victories. A new character unlocked, a new level beaten, a valuable item gained. This comradery was the foundation that we had built our house of memories upon.
Do you know what made a 90s kid happier than you could imagine? An adult saying "we're going to blockbuster". Future generations will never know the joy of going to this magical land and suddenly having access to tons of games you could browse. Maybe rich kids can still go to the store and get any game they want, but we couldn't. We would be limited to getting games on holidays most of the time if not for the gaming Oasis of Blockbuster.
Of course we could only pick one or two, and we'd try desperately to convince each other what games we should get. Some strange form of childhood politics would take hold as we debated the pros and cons of each game. More often than not the number of people who could play was the deciding factor as nobody ever wanted to wait for their turn. I admit, my memories shed a tiny tear when Blockbuster vanished. Yes, there are Steam sales, and I can buy all the games I want there now, but it's not the same feeling. It's lacking in excitement. It's not something you can hold in your hand. It's weird how something as simple as a trip to the video store could become a favorite memory. I guess everything is just way more special and exciting as a kid. Where does that enthusiasm for small things run off to in adult hood?
The years came and went, and we made attempts in vain to hold on to this small piece of our childhood. As a child you don't really have a schedule. You just have this mass of free time you're allowed to devote to whatever you want. As an adult that time is fleeting, and you must be more careful with it. There's college, there's work, and the ever present pressure of trying to keep everything from falling down around you. This worked for a while, but as we got busier the time evaporated still. Sometimes we'd play on holidays when we had the time, but we all worked more and more. Even the time we could manage to spend together on holidays grew smaller. Our schedules conflicted, and slowly this sliver of happiness vanished completely.
Now a days it seems every game is online. In a matter of seconds it's possible for your console or PC to connect to a server and drop you into a game with anyone in the world. Everyone in the entire world literally has the potential to be your Player 2, and for a time, I tried to rekindle the tiny flame of these memories in online games. A good MMO can be a great team experience, but it is not the same. Is it the lack of energy? Is it the lack of human contact? Or am I just missing the people that formed those original memories? It's hard to say, but I can say that online play, no matter how challenging has not filled this gap.
Fast forward a few years, now I live with my best friend. The games have changed, but the feelings have not. Sometimes he rants and yells. Sometimes I get frustrated and rage quit, but I have back a feeling I've not had for many years. Something that the internet can never provide. We have a chemistry. We're a team. Maybe everything is not exactly how I remember it. How can it be? Technology changes, people change, but none of that matters. In the blink of an eye new becomes old, and then old becomes new again when it strikes just the right nerve. When it evokes just the right feeling. Then you're home again.
)
I remember super smash bros, and many other older retro games. Back then before online gaming was big the retro game consoles really sold big. I recall having friends own various NES and Sega consoles with hundreds, and sometimes thousands of game titles. It's cool to see someone write long posts about playing games in the old days. I miss that stuff, it reminds me of being a kid and living with my parents.
haha we still have quite a few of those systems in my house including a Sega, Super Nintendo, Gameboy Color, Nintendo 64 and others. I need to get some more games and start playing them more again. : ) N64 party tiiiiime!!
Online play can be fun, but nothing can be like having someone next to you, commenting, teasing you, just spending time with another person. I remember playing various fighting games with friends, or many beat em ups. Finishing Halo and Gears of War with my friend. Online play will never have that feeling.
I miss this :'(
There are still games like this out there :) it's just that they're not as prevalent as they use to be.
@thewriterguy I agree and I wondered for a long time why gaming was just not as fun these days or why I always preferred the nintendo system bringing people together, yes even with todays online play its just not the same.
There are some interesting and fun things about online play, you can meet people from all over the world. People you might have never met before, as well as experience what it's like to go on a quest with 50 other people.
I've done my share of online play, and it can be fun. It can also be super frustrating to get 50 people organized to do something! There's always somebody either idle, not ready, not listening, or just plain trolling to try to derail the mission.
It can happen and it can be a problem, and I'm not a huge fan of it, but when it does happen it can be amazing :)
At least with online play you can turn on your system and play with people at any time of the day without worrying about whether your friends are available to come over, it's better for people who want to spend 24/7 gaming
That's one of the better things about the online play. I do prefere single player games, but I do like ocasional multyplayer games as well.
Sometimes I feel kinda sad because I didn't get to experience so many excitement in gaming back then. I had the chance of playing games with friends and old consoles such as NES and PS1, but not long enough to not missing out. Though I didn't experience it much, I could tell that the feeling of buying games digitally and holding it physically is definitely different.
Great post.
It's never too late! Start a retro gaming club in your town right now! haha
We all remember the day of goldeneye 64! you are right its something younger generations will miss out on! I was so annoyed with my xbox one when i found out halo 5 had no split screen for the average person who wants to play in their free time it 's lost a part of the enjoyment being able to laugh in your friends face after you beat them. Side note although I am sure its helped the rain forest remember booklets in the front of games? now its just a page or two if i'm lucky
So much nostalgia. I miss the 90ties.
Some games are simply meant to be played in local co-op. The best example I can think of is the game 'Artemis' where you roleplay as the crew members of a spaceship (like Star Trek). Playing that online is significantly less fun than co-op (I've done both).
This brings back many memories of me playing with my best friend smash brothers melee and mario kart. We had always a blast. In fact we still play together and defintely will in the future.
And also i gotta admit thats why i don't really got into online play all that much. That aspect of playing together and sensuallly feeling what the other is doing right now was alwqays important to me.
Oh man @michellerhey I loved those times imagine 8 people playing and taking turns with super smash bros, mario kart, mario party 1 and 2, bomberman 64 and perfect dark that was me and my friends around mine, the screaming and shouting was amazing but we was all best of pals, wish those days never ended.
I friggin love Bomberman! It's one of the titles I'm most excited about for the Switch right now. So, hopefully they didn't mess it up. haha
You're so right, and I honestly felt that with few exceptions (little big planet, towerfall accession) those types of experiences would never come back. I have to say though that the Nintendo Switch has completely brought me back to that time.
For the first time in years an actual activity I can expect to enjoy with other people in the same room as me, is video games. The second Mario Kart dropped I began taking my switch everywhere, playing with everyone.
Drunk at 3am in an Atlantic City Hotel room? Time for Mario Kart! Housewarming Party? Mario Kart!
Then I bought Arms, which has actually become perhaps my favorite split screen experience to date. It has a great playlist system for going online (or offline) with 2 players split screen. My girlfriend and I hop on together and sometimes we get to team up against others and sometimes we gotta fight eachother. My friend got a Switch, brought it over and then all of a sudden we had 4 friends in the same room all in the same Arms online playlist just running havoc.
With Splatoon and Smash in the future, I'm finally optimistic about social gaming experiences again.
Little Big Planet multi-player is amazing. That was one of our more recent favorites. Playing the user made survival levels is crazy fun. We got so into it, and we were yelling so loud that other people in the house had to come tell us to shut up. lol (We were typically pretty quiet.) I'm still waiting for more games to be announced on the Switch before I get it, but I'm still optimistic. My biggest multi-player right now is Monster Hunter on 3DS. Probably the best multi-player experience on the system if you like RPGs.
I do have a 3ds and an appreciation for rpgs, will have to check the title out. Little Big Planet 1 and 2 have so many wonderful memories wrapped up in them. My friend and I used to even go into the creator mode together and create 2 separate death trap vehicles and then pit them against eachother...
A game you really owe it to yourself to check out in terms of couch play is Lovers In Dangerous Spacetime.
I'd never heard of it, but it was free on the ps4 last month and it has CHANGED THE GAME for me.
That game looks pretty sweet! I'd totally play that, but we don't currently have a PS4. Boyfriend really wants one though so, we'll probably end up picking one up in the near future. There's a couple titles I want for it as well, and I'll add this to the list too.
I am glad to hear about monster hunter @michellerhey its a game I have always had interest in.
@drwatson I always found nintendo were the masters at bringing people together with games which is why I have always supported them.
What a nice trip down gaming memory lane. I was in about the exact same situation as you, owning ps1, ps2 playing mostly single-player games. But all my friends(and my cousins, lol) also had it, just as for you, and those memories playing nintendo 64 with smash brothers, kirby and pokemon arena was awesome!
Can't even compare online gaming to that feeling, that was what really caught me at a young age. It was so social and "alive" back then, i hope more games start to focus on nice co-op experiences.
The last one i had was the GoW series (awesome co-op gameplay) which i played with a friend at a bit later age, smoking weed and cutting locucst in half with a chainsaw...
God damn it i need a time machine right god damn now....
Good times for sure. I'm hoping the switch is going to make co-op gaming awesome again! If you want a great co-op game for PlayStation though Little Big Plant is amazing, and it's super fun with friends to play survival mode levels on the "user created" levels area.
definitely agree with the author, there´s that empty feeling when you connect via internet in a multiplayer game, that yelling, that smiling, that frustration when the other team in the room is winning the round, nothing can be compared to that. I miss those days too, the first Halo games were boom in my days, even here in Costa Rica, an in-development country not used to video games, sooo great to play with 4 friends in a split-screen ! miss those moments...
THE BEST experience in playing games is sitting right beside someone, push him, yell at him, curse the gods for loosing, hide your controler while shooting free kick, and next thing you know is that look on his parents faces when they come through the door, and you know that is GAME OVER boys :)
Nintendoes what the others don't.
Get yourself a Switch
I might get myself a Switch. I'm waiting for more games to be announced, but I loved the Wii U, so I probably will.
I can relate to your post a lot!
I think we will never live again exactly these crazy parties in front of the television to share a common experience. Not because the games have changed, but because we've changed!
We are a little less amazed by video games, that's all, because we know them well now.
But nowadays, children are much more fortunate than us, despite online games! They can play all our old games on emulators plus new ones!
If I had had TowerFall or Rocket League at the time, I would have break some more controllers with my brothers!
True that. Everything just seemed to be so much more exciting as a little kid. Re-playing games you loved though gives a little of that original excitement back in the form of nostalgia at least. It would be pretty awesome being a kid now though with the huge collection of titles available to you. In addition to retro games, they also have access to TONS of indie games through Steam and App stores. When I was a kid you couldn't get stuff like that so that's certainly something I'm a little jealous of. haha
I really miss playing Mario Party 3 with my friends.
The fun thing is that emulators give me that little piece of happiness.
Greetings from a passionate gamer!
I've played emulators, but they're hit or miss for some games. Mario Party just isn't as good without the console. I'm going to have to invest some money into buying them on eBay before the cartridges get outrageously expensive!
Hmmmmm. Why don't you try RetroArch? it is a great emulator :)
Can it play Pokemon Snap? That's one game I really loved for N64, but none of the emulators I've tried will allow it to work properly. : (
Great post. Mario Kart 64, lived in a house with three other guys. We'd get high and play, for hours and the insanity that ensued. Now of days, battleblock theater and Rocket league are great for couch multiplayer, but it's sad more games don't make it an option.
I'm hoping the Switch will deliver some more games like this in their upcoming title announcements. Maybe something that'll be a new Nintendo party game classic?
Even if they do, I'm afraid they will never capture the nostalgia we have for the old games. Goldeneye after all these years just doesn't hold up without rose colored glasses.
Yeah you can never replace those times on the couch. Slugging each other in the arm or wrapping cords around your frienemies neck.... Skip that last part but I sure thought about it. So much fun to be had.
haha We never actually got actually violent, but we thought about it. My younger cousin, and I can be quite competitive over multi-player games.
Especially Smash Brothers right and probably Mario Kart. :)
100% Super Smash Bros. We were so excited over that game when we got it.
Some games are simply meant to be played in local co-op. The best example I can think of is the game 'Artemis' where you roleplay as the crew members of a spaceship (like Star Trek). Playing that online is significantly less fun than co-op (I've done both).
I've never done any local play concerning PC games. All my PC play has been online, because it just always seemed like a pain in the ass otherwise, but upon inspection that game does seem like it'd be pretty lonely without co-op.
Amazing blog! I've never cared about online play or local play but this changed my opinion on the subject. It seems like the most important part of local play is that you can see the feelings that the other players portray.
Yea, it really seems like author feels strong nostalgia toward gaming. As we all do.
Forgot to mention. I used to play on Game Boy all the time. It was monochrome green screen.
I remember playing a naruto game on PSP with a friend locally. We played battles through local connections because he also had the game. And almost all of our friends who didn't like the original song enjoed playing it. We really had fun.
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Thanks! That's really cool of you. : )
Nintendo always did a great job with multi-player games, although most of my experiences with them were with the original NES.
More recently (well, 14 years ago...) we got into playing multiplayer Halo on the the original Xbox. My wife and I and a couple of friends sniping at each other from the caverns around Blood Gulch - such good times. (We owned our own business at the time and it was surprisingly effective stress relief.)
I played a lot of Double Dribble in the NES days. My mom's boyfriend at the time was obsessed with the Chicago Bulls, and he'd play that game with me a lot. haha Pretty fun multiplayer title for that console if you like sports games!
I'm glad you made this post @michellerhey, and yes, nothing will compare to the countless hours between real friends in person yelling and screaming at each other. Hahahaha.
Those were super fun times. I wonder what the viability would be for local gaming clubs? haha I know there's a few places in the country with gaming bars where you can go out and play with friends. Seems like a cool idea, and I'd like to visit one sometime.
I totally agree with your post. The 90s games were much more fun regarding the multiplayer feeling. Sure, they were small and very high level but the feeling of sitting on the couch playing with or against your friends was so much more fun.
It surprises me that these split screen games are hard to find nowadays. Back on PS2 it was a very common thing for games to have a split screen functionality next to the single player mode. Nowadays I own a PS4 and it seems the only way to play with my friends is using the PS4 network and all of us need a PS4 Plus account. With the exception of just a few games it saddens me that this functionality has somehow become less popular...
Yeah, it's kind of a bummer. Nintendo seems to still be on the local play train with many of their titles at least, and I'm hoping the Switch will have more great 'party games'. I just found out about a cool feature on Nintendo 3DS too! It doesn't work for all games, but some of them have a "download play" option where if you own a copy of say Mario Party your friend can still play with you on their own 3DS for local play even if they don't have their own copy. It's a pretty neat feature of the console that's not well advertised, but they really should!
The perfect oportunity to hang out for hours with your friends... maybe i'm too retro but it seems much better to be with pple sharing and laughing than online gaming.
yeap you right. :)
Thanks for reading.
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