5 Retro Games That Helped Shape Console Gaming

onsole gaming has quite the journey over the years. From a ball going back and forth on the screen to the esports behemoths that we have to day. Over the course of that journey there were some titles that really helped paved the way for gaming world on console. There was a time when gaming was just a niche thing and like a lot of fads at the time could've came and went. But somewhere along the line gaming became a part of our culture and took as much space as tv and movies do. Now it is impossible to argue the success of the industry which has grown at an incredible speed. And I think we have some of these titles to thank for getting us to this point.

Pong

You can't ignore the significance of pong. There are other titles I can pick such as pac-man that were favourites but pong was the title that most people had on home console. This showed people that gaming didn't have to only be in the arcades as players could now play pong whenever they wanted. Sure it was just two paddles and a ball that went back and forth on the screen but it was interactive gaming. You had no control over your television when you watched it now you decided if that paddle went up or down.

Super Mario

The NES really lead the way from the Atari and brought the console world home. The atari had some amazing titles but the at home console invasion didn't really happen until the NES came out. Every kid wanted one and those who didn't have one wanted to have friends who had one. The Nintendo still has some amazing games that have aged incredibly well. I would still play it today if I had one and these is a reason the retro one sold so well.

I could pick a lot of titles that helped shape console gaming but you can't ignore the first title Super Mario. How is this game so much fun still over the years? With levels and a story this was a game that made you the hero. It was easy to pick up and play so anyone could enjoy it but was actually pretty hard to beat so it gave it a lot of replay value. It was also quick to pick and play at any time as you really didn't need a lot to get into it. It could be argued this game really set the ground for a lot of other 2D games that came after on the Nintendo. I also want to shout out Mario 3 as the complexity of that game at the time really showed what the console could do.

Street Fighter 2

Why do I need to go to the arcade to spend my money when I can stay home and play the same game? Street Fighter 2 was a massive arcade hit and had kids feeding quarters into the machine like there was no tomorrow. At this point in time the arcade experience was still rivalling the console one. Sure you could get different games on the console but you couldn't compete with the sweet graphics of the arcade. The Super Nintendo didn't have arcade perfect ports and the graphics didn't match the arcade but it was close. And one of the main titles that brought that arcade experience home was Street Fighter 2. You had all the characters and gameplay that the arcade had and it looked pretty sweet too. Now you could sit in your pajamas and game all night or have your friends over for a party. This wasn't the only title that competed with the arcade as games like NBA Jam were a blast on home consoles.

Mario 64

Mario really had a way of paving the way. Welcome to 3D at home. This was not the first 3D game on a console but I would argue it really showed off what a game can do when it goes beyond the second dimension. I have some good memories with this title as I explored the new world where I could go anywhere. Mario 64 didn't have levels but stars you had to collect and you could do so in any order as long as you opened up the world. There wasn't a map you moved on but a full castle where you had to find the levels themselves. It might not have aged as well but it really was a ground-breaking experience that I would argue opened up the world of console gaming.

Goldeneye 64

Shooting games on a console? It might be hard to picture for modern gamers but at one point in time the FPS wasn't a big genre on the console. if you wanted to play a first person shooter you better get yourself a PC. The console didn't really have the controls for it and it wasn't until controllers has two sticks that it made sense to have shooting games on the console. But this didn't stop Goldeneye 64, one of the best Nintendo 64 games and the best bond game they ever released. Trying to play it today with the original controls might feel counter-intuitive but at the time they worked well. We flew through levels hoping to beat that time so we could unlock invisibility for bond. And the multiplayer took hours our days as we played Facility against our friends to see who was the top secret agent. Slappers only of course. I really don't know why other games (except Perfect Dark) didn't use the same design for level select as it really made the game accesible.

I would argue that this was the game that brought FPS to the console and it has become one of, it not they, dominate genre on consoles today. Games like COD really made the shooter what it is over the years but you cannot deny the awesome experience of Goldeneye 64.