"Why are you playing that game again?"

[Artemisia]

A friend of my bf's came to visit several months ago while I was playing FFVIII. Oohed and aahed over the game, then asked me why I'm playing such old games. I replied simply that it was very good and I enjoy playing it. Then he asked if I'd ever finished it. I said yes, several times. He looked baffled. He then proceeded to waffle on about how there are other games out there, newer games, with better graphics, bla bla, and basically that I should 'get with the times' and move on and stop playing old games I've finished many times before. I ignored him
But this has happened on more than one occasion, with different people and different FF games. What is this mindset that once you finish a game it must be shelved and never played again? And that old games should just be forgotten? Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[Linnaete]

That definitely sounds like a few people I know. One of them happens to have sold his old consoles and old games to get an Xbox 360 a couple of years ago, so if there's a person with the mindset that we should "get with the times", it's him.

I can perhaps relate to this mindset in a slight way. It's often that when I do finish the game, I vow to myself that I've had a good time with it, but the adventure ends and I'll shelve it indefinitely to make way for a newer game I've bought. Yet a lot of the time I do end up returning to this old game and realising again just how good this game is and how well it has stood up to the test of time. And I suppose the point about graphics is always brought up in these kind of discussions. The aforementioned guy if he were into Final Fantasy wouldn't play FFVII as it is for example, he would harp on requesting for a remake with elegant HD graphics and character models that don't look like Lego. Either that or he just has the assumption that the gaming industry has got better over the recent years and that newer games nowadays are bound to be better than older ones.

I suppose there isn't anything wrong with people who wish to divert all attention away from older games and pursue the newer ones as it's entirely their preference, but I personally feel a lot of older games stand the test of time extremely well and are better in quality than what the industry provides us as a whole nowadays. Old games also have that nostalgia effect which I suppose not everyone gets, but I do like treading familiar territory that I've probably not treaded for a while. And I suppose that's what I like about the older FF games. There's always an incentive to play through them again, particularly as many believe the newer entries are more lacklustre.

 

[Bambi]

they'd just be getting telt to fuck off, its me playing the games, not them. 'get with the times' pah, why the fuch should I? maybe i think these fancy new games are just like movies that you only have a bit of control over, just to remind you that it is actually a game?!

 

[Martel]

With the quality of games these days (especially FF titles) going downhill faster than a five-year old on a rocket-powered bicycle, there is more than sufficient incentive to NOT get with the times.

Because there are always new games coming out, its quite easy to forget about older games. Quite often, I'll shelve my older games for a couple of years, then I'll pick them up again. What is the point in buying a game if you're only going to play it once? With things like RPGs its worth playing them again, because you'll usually end up picking up aspects of the story that you missed the first time around, etc...and you'll be playing for longer than 8-10 hours, the standard amount of time it takes to complete the majority of the games developers are releasing these days.

If you want style, play new games. If you want substance, play old games. I suppose it depends on your personal preference. Video Games are just one step away from being called Video Graphics or Interactive Movies, with the ridiculous emphasis people place on presentation these days. They seem to forget that the graphics for the PS1 and PS2 games were amazing back in the day as well, and that in a few years the graphics we have now will probably be obsolete. But the gameplay of old games will always be good...and, if gameplay keeps going downhill like it has, it'll be very hard to surpass them in any way but visually.

If people like titles that are all style and no substance, just let them get on with it~

 

[Rey]

Well I usually have a bit of RPG games to pass and I dont care if they are old now. I am playing the game because I want to simply complete it. I love the Final Fantasy series except for maybe a few of the games. When people ask me why I am playing theold ones again.. it is simply because it passes the time and most were great. FF VI, VIII, IX.. If I would play those again now I would not mind.. but someone who is a fan of newer games like one of my cousins.. or friends would tell me.. "hey you know what can you maybe play something else?" I ask why and they say because these games are old... wait for the new FF's. Guess what I tell them? The new FF's are not going to come out for a while and I already 100%'d FF XIII. !

 

[DarkShadow]

I don't really play old games other than the old FF's but its happened to me as well. Even if people played old FF's like FFVII or FFVI nowadays, I don't think you'd get the same feeling as if you would if you were playing it back in 97. It's a shame really how people are hearing how good the game "Final Fantasy" is, and then picking up FFXIII then binning it and never picking up an FF game again. I really don't blame them though, I've heard how amazing and extraodinary games like Legend of Zelda Ocarina Of Time and Metal Gear Solid (1st one) is, and I've played them both,I did like it but I wouldnt call them one of the greats and neither would I carry on playing them over and over again.

 

[Shaissa]

I've heard that debate... "Theres better game and better graphics out there now, why do you still play PS1 or SNES games?"
The best part is when I tell them to list these "better" games I get mostly FPS games which I always find funny but thats for another debate.

But I really don't know why people seem to have this thing that once you beat a game you can never play it again? I'm not going spend money on some kinda entertainment electronic and only use it once, I say if someone asks you that again tell them why do they watch some movies over and over again? funny what they will say.

 

[WanderingAesthetic]

I kind of understand this attitude, or at least the "Why don't you play games you haven't played before?" part.

I've played every FF at least twice, but there are still a lot of classic games I haven't played. Sometimes I'll want to play one FF or another again, because they are like old buddies, but I feel slightly guilty. There are all these other games.... I could at least replay something like Xenogears, which I played once nearly ten years ago and barely remember now. I keep meaning to...

And once you've played a game three or so times, it loses something. The second or third time is cool, because you understand the plot better and you can find things you may have missed. Or if you played the game a long time ago and don't remember a lot of things it can be fun to play again. But once you remember every turn, it may be time to find something new.

As for the "Why don't you play new games?" part, screw that. Yeah, there are some good newer games, and they're nice and shiny, but there are a lot more great old games, especially in the JRPG genre, which is kind of in a lull right now. (Which I'm oddly okay with, actually, because I feel like I'm finally making a dent in all the older games I haven't played.) I have these huge stacks of PS2 games and SNES games, but only about ten Xbox 360 games. Even if I had every 360 game I wanted, there would only be about 15 or so, whereas I'm still tracking down and collecting games for the old systems.

 

[Valvalis]

I honestly don't see the point of playing a new game just because it's new. If I have a limited amount of time to play a game, and I could choose between a new one or an old favorite, I would pick the old favorite, even if I've played it a hundred times. If a story is good, I'm not going to just be like "Oh, I know the story already so I don't need to play that again." Half the fun is in the journey, not the destination. And if you sit there just "remembering" a game, you are not going to go through all the motions of feeling happy, angry, sad, laughing etc. that you experience so strongly while you are playing the actual game. Not to mention the music I've only played FFVII and some of the ones after it twice or less so far, but plan on replaying all of them again, and I've played IV and VI at least 6 or 7 times each, I can't even remember because I was so young but as soon as one was finished I just started the next one. (Or Chrono Trigger or Secret of Mana, but that's another story

 

[Eight]

Well, though I play old games a lot, I don't actually get any comment on it, more for my taste in general In fact, when we start talking about games, we all end up commenting on how old games are the best, Pac-Man, NES and SNES Mario Games, Zelda LoZ, Space Invaders.

Chances are, I'll most likely end up playing older games at numerous points throughout the year, possibly a remaster if I got the extra money lying around or if my old versions gone to shits. I'm otherwise very picky with newer games.

New games rarely appeal to me, but when they do, they do a good job of it,

Nowadays, the only new games I only ever really get excited for are FF, KH, and AC titles, mainly because I've rarely been driven wrong by them. (only really been disappointed with FF's Crystal Chronicles series, didn't bother with DoC, knew that'd be boring, and KH's Re:Coded)

 

[Dincht]

I've never been questioned about why I replay anything, but I think that's because people know any questioning would probably result in a backhand to the face.

The FF series in particular has well known replay value - huge. It's a massive tribute to the series that people still have the craving to start from scratch. Especially when you consider how much people crave mind blowing graphics/special effects.

 

[JigoKuu]

I feel your pain!^^""
I like to relive my favourite experiences, so I often replay my favourite games, rewatch my favourite films/anime and reread favourite books. There's nothing wrong with it, but I also often get this "Why are you playing that game again?"-sentence, too :,D I try to ignore these comments, and I try to always bear in mind that everybody is different. Some people like just new experiences, some need to relive the older ones.

 

[classicgamer]

Well Final Fantasy I has replay value, I'm now trying the quest with 4 thiefs/ninjas