A great initial experience with a game, usually when we are very young. Because we had this experience as a kid, we will never be able to have this much fun with this game again. We then download a game (on XBLA, PSN, or wherever) that we loved so much only to realize that the game is pretty boring as an adult. 

 

This inability to leave our childhood experiences where they belong (i.e. our childhood) creates an especially pernicious environment for game creators. When we praise (and ultimately buy) games based on what they remind us of, we create a gaming market full of old ideas.

 

hough we may try, we'll never be able to regain that feeling we had as a kid. It's gone. Because of the longevity of certain franchises (specifically, Zelda), we may buy what is essentially the same game for years just because of our nostalgia for the franchise.

 

All mediums suffer from this problem, but video games seem to be especially plagued by it. 

One reason is that they are an activity tied especially to our childhood. As opposed to spending a few hours a week watching movies, some of us spent all of our free time playing Gamecube or Super Nintendo. Furthermore, we don't experience video games like movies. We can be consumed by a game for days or even weeks at a time, and this isolation from everything else is part of the overall experience.

 

Secondly, games rely heavily on tropes; In a game like Zelda, this includes the overworld theme, the icons on screen, the map screen, menu screen, recurring characters, and in-game items. In other words, each game in the franchise tries to actively be nostalgic of earlier games in the series. Games like Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 also do this, but they also offer something completely new to the franchise. When the gameplay is nearly identical from each game to the next, it simply becomes pandering.

Recognize these?

 

This problem of nostalgia is not specific to Zelda, but the franchise seems to be one of the worst offenders. Part of this is due to the static story of the series. Each game is a different version of the same story (with slight tweaks), and this duplication means that developers aren't able to deviate from the established storyline in any meaningful way. In Wind Waker, the overworld was an ocean. What did this change about the story? Not much, since we still had to get the triforce, save the princess, then defeat Ganon. I'm pretty sure the Master Sword was involved as well.

Yup, there it is!

 

When the 3DS was announced, Nintendo attempted to capitalize on our love for the past by announcing Ocarina of Time, and people seemed to be genuinely excited by this. If the hardware is so revolutionary, why not design something from the ground up with the system specifically in mind? Instead, Nintendo used our own fanboyism to sell us a new system by showcasing something we already own.

 

This franchise hasn't evolved in years, but people still don't seem to mind. 

Once you boot up the game and hear the overworld theme, you'll think it's the best gam

e you've ever played; it wont be though, that's just Nintendo fucking with your inner child.