[pier25]

Every couple of years I replay Front Mission 3. It's not exactly a JRPG but it shares a lot of similarities with the genre. Every time it surprises me how such an outdated and simple game (by today's standards) can hook me.

Many times I've fantasized about making a modern clone...

[headsoup]

There seems to be constant repetition of the idea that simple == outdated and complex == modern.

Many of those classic games may not have depth in complex mechanics or breadth of story narratives, but that does not mean they do not contain deep or significant meaning or underlying narrative constructs. At a minimum it does not mean that they lack strong and compelling game design.

I tend to view those (sorry, generalising a little) that dismiss 'classic' games by declaring them 'out of date' as projecting how clever they are by defining complexity == intelligent, regardless of the quality of design, depth of meaning or coherence in narrative.

[pier25]

I've never thought of it this way.

My biggest problem with older games is how clunky the controls can be. This is not the case with all games, but it is a very common one. Specially when video games started to move from 2D to 3D.

For example, the first Mario Kart for SNES is still an amazing game. Nintendo got everything right, specially the kart handling. I still play it from time to time and it is great fun. In contrast the first Wipeout game for PSX has terrible handling compared to the newer ones which are amazing in this respect (Wipeout HD, Fury, 2048).