Retro gaming has captured the imagination of many gamers in the last few years, with options such as the Nintendo NES Classic Edition and the Sega Genesis Mini rated among the best retro gaming consoles for re-living the games that we don’t want to forget about. However, this trend is also reflected in other aspects of popular culture that might not be immediately obvious.
TV and Film
Classic games like Super Mario Bros, Street Fighter, and Tomb Raider have inspired many movies since becoming popular, although on very few occasions have the film versions lived up to the original games they are based on. 2021’s Mortal Kombat is one of the most recent attempts at bringing a much-loved game to the big screen, with this reboot of the 1990s movie series focusing once again on the story of martial arts fighter Cole Young.
2022 should see the release of a Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie. This is to be a comedy film that follows on from the 2020 movie based on the popular Sega character who first appeared in a game in 1991. Indeed, Paramount Pictures have plans in place for a whole series of Sonic movies based on this character’s universe.
Retro Slots
Retro gaming isn’t just restricted to spin-offs of classic characters from the 90s and beyond. Another way that our love of older games can be seen is in the way that numerous online slots use the type of graphics and sound that we instantly recognize as being retro-inspired. Games like Retro Reels by Microgaming and Retro Joker by Spinomenal make their inspiration clear in their titles.
The top options for playing free spins with real money include the likes of Diamond Mine Megaways by Blueprint and King Kong Cash from the same developer, which aren’t based on specific retro characters but have a satisfying, old-time feel. Arguably, the influence of the era of gaming greatly contributes to the overall popularity of not only online slots but the wider gaming industry too.
Modern Video Games Based on Classic Characters
Who are the oldest characters in the gaming world? Ryu from Street Fighter first took on all-comers in 1987, while Super Mario and Pac-Man date back to the early 1980s. Yet, the release of new versions featuring older characters like these shows that our appetite for joining them on adventures remains as strong as ever.
Pac-Man 99 is a good example, as it is a battle royale-style game released for the Nintendo Switch in 2021. This new version adds in extra features and strategies to freshen up the gameplay that we are all so familiar with. Mario Party Superstars was brought out by Nintendo in 2021 for the Switch, while Street Fighter 6 is expected to come out in 2022.
Our love of retro games and their famous characters should ensure that we continue to see them pop up in many different aspects of pop culture in the years to come.
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