by Joshua Pantalleresco

Created on: May 16, 2009

Who doesn't love Super Mario Brothers? Everyone remembers the magic mushrooms, goombas, king koopa and all the rest of the cast of zany characters that inhabited the mushroom kingdom. Or how about Tetris? The russian music, the never ending cascade of blocks, and just trying to avoid them reaching the top. And who can't forget Zelda? The knight crusading to save all of hyrule from the clutches of the evil ganon. Who doesn't remember classics like Pac Man or Galaga or Elevator Action? The last in particular was one of my favorite games. I enjoyed killing robbers with his ability to jump. (This may be me though).

Still, no matter what kind of classic game you play, many players all grown up still look at these characters fondly. Whether it's Mario, Link or Donkey Kong, there was a connection made with millions of people. Modern video games for the most part do not succeed at this. There are a number of reasons why.

1) Originality - Way back when video games were in their infancy, these were the games that broke ground for the whole medium. We wouldn't have games like Jax and Dexter or Kingdom Hearts without the early adventures of Zelda. We wouldn't have games like Spyro without Mario. The early games at the time came up with new and innovative concepts. The games that came after have copied aspects of the formula in different ways since, but don't quite have the same feel as the originals, and for good reason.

2) Time - Super Mario Bros, Link etc. have had over twenty years in the spotlight. And in cases like Mario and Link have been featured in countless games outside of their own franchises. In short, they've achieved recognition and branding. How many people recognize Nintendo and think Mario? How many people know the face of Pac Man?

3) Imagination - Even though modern video games outshine the earlier ones with graphics, I think that in some ways that is modern games' biggest downfall when you compare them to the older video games. As a player, I love good graphics, but have noticed a trend that sometimes the simpler graphic are much more fun. Super Mario Kart fits the bill. the graphics are fun, but very cartoony in comparison to Halo. Yet I can play that game for hours. The same can be said for Guitar Hero. The graphics aren't the focus; playability is. I think there is something to be said about how imagination fits the gaps graphics take away.

4) Simplicity - Tetris is one of the simplest concepts of all time in video games. You just put different blocks together. And yet, it is a worldwide favorite. There's something inherently great about simplicity, and many games forget that.

This doesn't take away from modern video games at all. In fact, many are entertaining and fulfilling. But they just don't have the same vibe some of the older games have. As technology evolves, it allows us to do new things, or do the old things better. And that's great. But looking at this list, I realize that many games don't try to be fun first and foremost, and maybe that's what a lot of modern games are missing.

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