The Renaissance of Video Games and Their Remakes (Part 1)

I know I failed at the whole "I'll try to write one blog a week" thing so far but I started writing one and I kept going into random other topics and it was suggested that I split it into smaller, more easily digestible parts rather than making one big one. I think it's going to be more prominently like this in the future so here's the first of probably many multi-part posts!

Most people who are approximately my age (27, for the record) were fortunate to be children at a time when video games were becoming a larger part of popular culture and society in general. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES as most of us know it) created images on our TVs that were colorful and generally provided a path to follow and goals to accomplish (examples: rescue the girl or princess, save the world from evil, destroy the bad guys, etc.).  Most notably, the music in these games was inspired! Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, Castlevania, Contra, Metroid, Ninja Gaiden just to name a few that had amazing scores to accompany the addictive game-play. Before Nintendo's ground-breaking system, most systems had to focus on the limited visuals and the sound effects. Even today with huge teams and million dollar budgets, music has the largest impact on the worth of a game. Music can't save broken controls, a terrible camera, or lazy/awkward design but it's constantly with you as you play, changes depending on the situation, where you are, and when you find required items. The lasting effect of music is what makes it have such an impact. In video games, much more so nowadays, you sometimes spend hours roaming the same areas and in those areas, the same music plays. If it's catchy, well orchestrated, and fitting, then it grows on you and if you ever hear that song outside the game, visuals will pop into your mind of the level that music plays in the background. It may even make you long to play it again. Music can have a polar opposite effect as well. The music could be so awkward or poor in construction that you'll grow to hate certain areas or even the game. 


Hold on until next time...