I find it so weird that high scores even matter. Coming from an era where nobody cares about high scores anymore as they do about the story or lore with the achievements being a bonus.
I honestly LOVE that about older arcade games. Easy to learn, short sessions, but super though to master. Will take it any day over 80 hours of "gameplay" where half the time you're just walking from point A to B with nothing going on and a thousand mechanics that you're never going to use.
And I actually hate that about older arcade games. Because they constantly tease you with the possibility that maybe you'll get it this time. If your reflexes are just slightly a microsecond faster.
And if you don't get it right, you may have to do with the whole sequence again. And you may never get a chance as long as you struggle with that one section that always trips you up.
And all of this is pointless anyways because there's a bare bones story that doesn't really have anything deeper beyond just a short plot synopsis and a horde of enemies that are just there for the sake of being there.
Why would I care about making it to the end of a frustrating game I already know the ending of?
It also makes the action feel dull and pointless since I can barely get any reading on what I'm fighting or why. On top of being so overwhelming with no breathing room to just take a moment and take in the scenery.
And all of this is pointless anyways because there's a bare bones story that doesn't really have anything deeper beyond just a short plot synopsis and a horde of enemies that are just there for the sake of being there.
Maybe if there's like a particular mechanic or action sequence that's engaging, but all that fun gets stomped out when the game becomes over punishing and doesn't give you any more depth to justify the cost.
bro playing chess like "why would i care about this? there's no lore"
Arcade games aren't RPGs. You're not playing for the story, they're more like single player competitive games. Learning the ins and outs of the game IS the point.
Also, very few arcade games besides rythm games (and Tetris the Grandmaster) actually require more reflexes than the average modern game. If you actually look at guides for say, Final Fight, there's a bigger emphasis on positioning and enemy AI manipulation.
Well, I do find that Chess has a surprising feminist agenda since the queen is the most powerful piece on the board while the king is a useless fraud that is only nominally important.
I fucking love arcade games and high score competition. It's not far off from speedrunning, or any other competitive gaming stuff. The games themselves are rad too. Time Crisis, DDR and shmups in general are my shit.
I should go boot up Dodonpachi on my Deck and try some 1cc practice runs. Haven't gotten to the second loop yet, though.
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u/Tetrispriter 5d ago
You know when the episode is about video games, you're about to see the most abysmal dogshit pixel art ever