Retro Gaming Essentials – DaveGladow.com

So, I wanted to go a little more in depth on some of the classic video games I’ve experienced in the past and/or have played recently as a kind of reference guide for anyone interested in taking a similar journey back into retro gaming.

How do we define retro gaming? Well, the easiest explanation is simply any video game that is 20 years old or older.

That’s it, that’s how I define it.

As years pass, a whole new generation of gamers begins to experience nostalgia and a collecting impulse for the games of their youth, and those games become PlayStation games instead of Genesis or Nintendo or what have you. As we move forward, those games will become XBox and Nintendo Wii and so forth. As people age, the concept of “retro” will continue to evolve and ultimately expand. (When I was a kid, “retro” meant Pong and that was pretty much it.)

One of my biggest entry points into the retro gaming universe (other than my original experiences with most of these games back in the 80s and 90s) has been the proliferation of “mini systems,” which I’ve written about several times on this blog:

NES Classic | SNES Classic | Genesis Mini | Turbografx-16 Mini

I can easily recommend all four of the linked devices. These systems give you instant access to a large number of classic games. But if you’re looking for other avenues, they’re definitely out there! The original games and systems are often available in the secondary market, there are legitimate (and not legitimate) options available online (a good legitimate one = Steam), and most modern systems (such as the Playstation 4/5 and the Nintendo Switch) have a large catalog of retro games available to play.

What’s been great for me personally has been my kids’ interest in these older games too. This enables us to play together, which is just tremendously gratifying and fun. If I’m honest, this list is probably mostly for them (and all the younger folks out there) who want to read up on some history … and experience it themselves.

You can follow along with me as I play stuff (older, newer and in between) on Twitter here.

I’ll include here a list of the games I’ve reviewed, and at least initially, I’ll try to hit the games I think everyone needs to play first. This will serve as a kind of unofficial ranking of personal favs and games I think are super important for people to experience.

I hope you enjoy taking this journey with me!