It Belongs In A Museum

A while back I bought an HD port of the Dreamcast favourite, Jet Set Radio. At the turn of the millennium my house was ruled by Sony’s Playstation, which didn’t have time for Sega’s hardware anymore. Instead I was focused on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, a series that received my love for many years. Despite happily staying on the Sony side of the camp I was always interested in Jet Set Radio; cel shaded graphics are an easy way to win my attention and it also boasted one of the best soundtracks of all time. When Jet Set Radio was released on the PSN, I knew I had to have it. It took over ten years to get to this game but I was so happy to finally jump into it. Shortly after pressing the start screen I discovered that Jet Set Radio hadn’t aged very well. In fact, I failed to see how this game could have possibly been good back in the day. What was offered beside the spellbinding art work and jamming tunes was poor controls, foggy navigation and headache inducing difficulty. Why are there army tanks attacking pre-teen skaters? Japan needs to reconsider their priorities.

It’s not hard to write off that experience as a regrettable purchase but after the disappointment wore off I was satisfied to actually play the game. 

Barriers like console exclusivity and sparse stock numbers often stand in the way between games and consumers. Yet we live in a digital era that carries many opportunities to not only celebrate the past but analyse and learn from it. The recent Rare Replay release might be the only thing that makes me want an Xbox One. At first I assumed it was a cheap attempt from Microsoft to mollify their upset fanbase. Ever since Rare joined Microsoft, their presence and impact quickly dropped to the point of near absence which is a sad story for such a prestigious and influential studio. Rare Replay opens up with a jaunty tune, featuring the entire roster of characters that span across the studio’s lifetime. Perhaps there is more to this collection than I initially thought. Sat beside the games are documentaries, trivia and bonus artwork giving more information and insight into the studio’s history which can not only provide nostalgia but a chance for a newcomer to learn about the impact of these titles. Rare Replay reminds me of the Sega Genesis/Megadrive compilation that came out a few years ago. It was a thrill to play Streets of Rage and Sonic on modern consoles but it also gave me a chance to finally play Phantasy Star IV. I never did finish it but I was happy to play one of the most celebrated JRPGs on it’s respective console. It’s fun to celebrate the titles that have been dusted off from the archives but I wonder how much more there is to extract. 

Video games – above other mediums - are at the mercy of time and evolution. It’s an industry that keeps attempting to outgrow itself. Once a new console generation launches it doesn’t take long for our eyes to shift over to the next one. It’s sad that not every game makes it to the next platform. Despite all the promises of faster technology and bigger games the two words “Backwards Compatibility” often seem to elude the hardware manufacturers. Microsoft recently received praise for their decision to open the gates and allow Xbox 360 games to be played on the Xbox One. A similar move was made last generation when the Xbox 360 was able to play original Xbox games. Sadly, this idea didn’t exactly play out the way most of us had imagined; what followed was a fraction of the original library on offer and it wasn’t uncommon for glitches and lag to be present when playing these titles. Sony’s method of making up for their lack of compatibility is to digitally stream their catalogue through the power of Playstation Now, which doesn’t exactly strike me as fair or trustworthy - There’s a difference between a bookshop and a public library. The problem runs deeper than the previous generation; my Playstation 2 doesn’t work anymore and I don’t really have the space for another console to sit on my shelf. Yet the PS3 doesn’t accept PS2 games - except for a limited range of units that aren’t produced any more but can be bought online, which is a method that still comes with unnecessary hassle. 

It’s possible to say that this problem plagues every medium; tapes went to vinyl which went to CDs and now MP3. Films went from VHS to DVD to Blu Ray discs. Yet there’s much easier access to the banks of content that film and music provide. Programs like Spotify or iTunes have no real trouble in allowing me to listen to Son House, Skip James or Robert Johnson. Any eager music nerd can go over the history of Jamaican music from the warm Rocksteady melodies of Desmond Dekker to the more brazen Ragga beats that dominated the 90s. The powerhouse actors of the early 20^th century like Errol Flynn have boxsets and collections dedicated to celebrate and explore their history to make sure that we never forget Captain Blood. Yet access to older properties and genres in video games seem to be a side treat or bonus as opposed to a priority. Besides, the evolution of consoles over 30 years is significantly faster than film or music.

While I appreciate Microsoft’s attempt to get into Backwards Compatibility the cynic in me is wondering why they weren’t really interested in it to begin with. On the other side of town are Nintendo who have embraced backwards compatibility for the Wii U product. Their method of preserving older titles is the Virtual Console which holds a wealth of content that could be enough to justify purchasing the console - yet there’s still an aura of complacency surrounding the entire product. One glaring problem is the disappointing number of Nintendo 64 titles that are on offer and the slow rate at which they are shovelled out. We’re in 2015 and it’s hard to believe that they haven’t put Starfox 64 or Majora’s Mask on there. I’m aware that it’s possible to get around this using Wii mode but that seems to come with another set of problems and road blocks. Every time a new system rolls around there needs to be this replenishment of older titles and I often wonder if these companies will stop caring. We’ll soon be hearing about the release of Nintendo’s new console yet there’s still an outcry for a release of titles on the virtual console. One great feature of the VC is the Gameboy Advance library. It’s extremely risky to shop for legitimate GBA carts these days due to pirates and scammers selling fake bootlegs. Being able to acquire classics like Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Metroid: Zero Mission at an affordable price was a very smart move. 

Give us weird, obscure titles dammit!

Not only is it important for consumers to scratch a particular nostalgia itch, it’s also pertinent to archive these titles and properties for newcomers and younger generations to learn from. Game designers and game analysts could benefit greatly from this kind of access if they wanted to learn about a particular genre or trend. There are other factors working against this that isn’t really the fault of the video game industry such as the popularity of HD TV. Trying to get these older games onto an HD TV can lead to some messy results. For a while we had a shower of HD re-releases delivering old titles from several franchises; God of War, Jak & Daxter, Prince of Persia, Sly Cooper, Ratchet and Clank, Beyond Good and Evil etc. Many cried foul at publishers attempting to make quick cash and chuck out these releases with little effort but I was happy to see familiar faces make it to modern consoles. This practice didn’t always work out so well, the guiltiest suspect being the Silent Hill HD Collection. One could point the blame on Konami being Konami and you’re right to think so. This makes me worry about other titles not being ported in the future due to the developers simply not giving a shit. Perhaps I should just be happy with what’s offered yet I always wonder about the forgotten titles that didn’t make it through the cracks like Primal or Dark Chronicle. Before any of you point out that Primal is available on PSN, I’m afraid it’s only on the US store. The same problem is present with titles like Psychonauts or Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Copyright laws separate certain titles which end up with them being allowed in some regions but not in others. Again, certain people in important positions just don’t care enough about making these decisions. These are decisions that can turn rare collector’s items such as the Misadventures of Tron Bonne into a simple digital purchase on PSN. 

There’s a reason why I have a PS Vita memory card dedicated to PSone classics – it’s because I never want these titles to be forgotten. If I had a younger family member asking me for recommendations I would want them to learn about Spyro the Dragon or Crash Bandicoot or how survival horror skyrocketed in popularity thanks to Resident Evil. And there are copyright and legal issues surrounding these dilemmas – I get why we can’t have Crono Trigger or Parasite Eve on the EU PSN due to never being released over here in the first place. Yet I can’t help wonder if it’s due to it not being possible or due to not wanting to bother at all. After all, Nintendo finally got around to that translation of the first Mother title. Konami’s recent decisions have worried me and I can’t help but wonder how their back catalogue will suffer due to their poor practice. Will older Metal Gear titles not be ported from now on due to their beef with Kojima? Will we not be allowed to access the grand history of Castlevania? Can we not appreciate the transition from 80s side scrollers to Igavania to sexy pachinko machines? (Although I’d rather not appreciate that last one). 

How about Contra? Does Konami remember Contra? Probably not… 

Perhaps I worry too much over this issue. We’re better off now than ever before which is a positive thing to take away from this but we still need to let the industry know that there’s an importance to preservation. Is this re-release thing just a trend that will blow over? Rare Replay has helped revitalise a once dormant brand along with giving Microsoft some recognisable faces to sell their console. Perhaps we’ll see a return to some of these franchises. Don’t get me wrong, I welcome new ideas, genres and concepts but it always important to keep a rich back catalogue alive and kicking. It’ll help inspire new game developers and perhaps some games will age well over time. Thanks to rereleases, games like Majora’s Mask and Windwaker can be celebrated for their unique attributes to make up for the initial lukewarm reception just because they weren’t exactly like the Ocarina of Time. The popularity of the recent HD port of the Resident Evil remake might influence the creative future of the series, which lost it’s way a long time ago. At the end of the day, this will probably be all meaningless when aliens take over and they find this whole “Entertainment” thing rather pointless.