They have access to the games we played but that doesn’t mean they actually will. Many of these have “not aged well” and it’s really hard for the newer generation to look past the graphics, sound and gameplay and have fun with them compared to what you can play today.
I do somewhat agree, and the trends in modern gaming (generally speaking, making games easier or hold the player's hand more) make older games a tough ask for today's generation.
I'm susceptible to this myself, I played through the Resident Evil 1 remake on the Gamecube when I was probably 12-13 and managed to beat it a couple of times. I tried to pick it up again recently with the newest remaster and found it brutally difficult (as I suspect it always was, but I feel sensitive to it in an age where CoD regenerating heath and cover systems make games very easy)
When the Ducktales Remaster came out there were so many younger reviewers that were giving the game low scores because it was hard. And it is hard.
But then, let's see these kids play the NES version of the Ninja Turtles game. You know, the one with the dam level where you have to diffuse the bombs.
Oh god. I bought an NES to play Final Fantasy, and it came with Ninja Gaiden. I never managed to beat it, and always got stuck on something like the third-to-last level. Rarely have I played so frustrating a game.
I remember playing the Terminator game on the Master System when I was about 8, getting so frustrated by it that I rolled off the couch and put my back out for several weeks.
I got hold of it recently to see if it was really as hard as I remembered.
This may just be me, but I feel like 2D ages so much more gracefully than 3D. Especially the PS1 era.
I can look at a game like Tales of Phantasia and bask in how beautiful everything looks, even at 256x224 on that limited hardware. I can even go way back to the '80s on PC-88 titles like Undine and have a lot of fun.
But I load up Grandia and ... oh dear. I know it's a great game, everyone says it's wonderful, but it looks absolutely dreadful.
I think the early 3D systems were the worst for holding up. I can load up pretty much anything that was released on NES, SNES, GameBoy, MegaDrive, and still have an absolute blast. I am sure that if you gave Super Mario Bros to an 8 year old now, they would still enjoy it. But any of the early 3D games are just so visually jarring I can't force myself to play more than a short while before I turn them off. Especially with the early, horrible 3D controls. Even the games which I loved when I was young - Metal Gear Solid, Mario64, Wipeout - they are all unplayable for me now.
