A while back, I wrote about how (relatively) few people finish games these days. And last night, I played through all of Mappy Kids on Evercade, a game that I've had a copy of for several years now, but which had somehow never played through to completion.
I had a really good time! And thinking about that has got me pondering how it would do us all good to just slow down a bit, pick and choose the things that we want to enjoy more carefully, and then actually enjoy those things to the fullest.
To be fair, this is something that I already do. A big change in my game-playing habits occurred… probably in the late '90s or so, but really in earnest from around 2010. I started finishing games. In my defence, earlier games from the 8-bit and 16-bit home computer eras were extremely difficult or even impossible to finish, but there came a point where it became practical, desirable and fun to play a complete game through from start to finish.
I don't know if it was the first game I ever completed, but one that really sticks in my mind was Super Mario World on the SNES. I got to the ending of that game and was blown away by how elaborate the credits sequence was. Of course, in modern terms, it's actually pretty simple — just a parade back through previous backgrounds, showing off all the sprites in the game — but back when I first reached it on my own, it was an incredible moment. Not all games have a satisfying ending like this, of course — particularly when you look at earlier titles — but there's always a special kind of thrill that comes with knowing you have beaten a game and seen everything it has to offer.
Since that time — and especially since Final Fantasy VII showed me how epic a finale sequence could truly be — I've really made an effort to try and beat the vast majority of the games I play. Except I've sort of fallen into a pattern of thinking that certain experiences are inherently more "worthwhile" in this regard; usually based primarily on how narrative-centric they are, and how long they are.
It's an easy mindset to fall into. Retro games in particular can feel rather "disposable" at times, given how easy it is these days to load up a handheld or emulation station with every game ever released for a variety of platforms, then promptly never settle on one thing to play, dipping into hundreds of things for a few minutes at a time and never really having a meaningful experience with any of them.
What you have to remember, though, is that every single entry in that massive ROMset you acquired via questionable means was once an individual release that cost anywhere up to £50 or £60. And back when that was the case, you made those games last. You made those games matter.
It's not hard to see how one can fall into a mindset where you inadvertently devalue short-form experiences or retro titles — particularly as most retro titles, when they do get an official rerelease these days, tend to come as big bundle deals with tens to hundreds of other titles alongside them for the price of one "big" game. I'm conscious of this with what I do for the day job: Evercade cartridges represent excellent value, particularly when compared to buying original media for platforms like the NEOGEO, but when you have 5, 10, 20 or more games on one cartridge, I don't blame anyone for treating the whole thing like a casual buffet when what some of these games really demand — or crave is perhaps a better word — is for someone to sit down with them for a protracted amount of time and take them seriously.
I wonder how many other people have had Namco Museum Collection 1 in their Evercade lineup since launch and have never played Mappy Kids all the way through from start to finish. Turns out it's quite easy, and pretty short! But I don't regret the time I spent playing it through last night; I ended up with a much better understanding of what the game is doing, and had an enjoyable, coherent experience as a result. Also the music in that game is brilliant.
And what about the more substantial games in that collection? I genuinely do wonder how many folks have got beyond the second mission in Metal Marines, because I know from firsthand experience how easy it is to sit down, play the straightforward but satisfying first mission and then think "oh, I better move on to something else".
Why? Why had you "better" move on to something else? I don't have a good answer as to why our brains work like that these days — other than to acknowledge that the modern media and particularly online landscape encourages this sort of attention-deficit behaviour, where everything is content, and all of the content you consume must be varied and engaging for a couple of minutes at a time, before something in your mind goes "NEXT!" and demands something new.
It takes work to resist that. But it's worthwhile to do so. If, in your travels through ROMsets, Evercade collections, retro compilations or anything similar, you have come across something that really looked cool or appealing in some way, but you only ended up spending 5-10 minutes with it, I encourage you to dedicate at least an evening to exploring it further. You might just be surprised at how much you can make one of these individual experiences really matter and feel worthwhile. Yep, even seemingly simple arcade or Atari 2600 games.
Plus, the bonus effect is that if you're one of those people who bemoans the fact that you "never have any time" to play video games any more, most retro games are pretty short! I beat Mappy Kids in a fraction of a single evening, and you can too!
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