Something has absolutely been lost in the transition to 3d and voice acting, and all of that crap. When I was a kid, I was playing games made for adults, or at

Something has absolutely been lost in the transition to 3d and voice acting, and all of that crap. When I was a kid, I was playing games made for adults, or at least teenagers. Mega Man X, Super Mario World, Turtles in Time, Metal Slug... those games were tough! I learned to read from Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger. We would go to our mom as 4 and 5 year olds and beg her to teach us so we could play these mysterious games with amazing graphics and music. We all went into kindergarten learning to read, and I tested at a 12 grade level in 3rd grade. --- Modern game design in some ways is better than it ever has been. Games like Dead Cells have taken the arcade "keep starting over" mechanic and fine-tuned it into an amazing mechanic. Elden Ring has such rich, amazing lore, coupled with a challenging adventure game with awesome combat, and the ability to build a character to fit your personality. Baldur's Gate 3 feels like a real tabletop RPG, it really is the zenith of modern RPG storytelling. However, something has been lost in translation. Beat-em-ups, SHMUPs, and character action games like: - Devil May Cry 3 - Godhand - E.S.P. Ra.De - Ninja Gaiden Sigma - Resident Evil 4 - Streets of Rage 3 - Contra - Metal Slug - Alien vs. Predator ( the beat-em-up ) are not simple games, as they first appear. They are challenging masterpieces that emerged from arcade genres, and were developed by former arcade developers. They have intricate scoring systems that let you push-your-luck and be rewarded with a higher score. Your competition was the other kids in the arcade, and climbing that leader-board. The ultimate achievement was a 1cc, clearing the entire game on one credit. Bonus points if you get a high score! They came from a culture where scoring systems mattered. Modern games are great, but I miss the old days. There is a youtuber called "The Electric Underground" who has some great content on arcade game and character action game design. Highly recommend his review of Resident Evil 4 Remake.