Throwback to the games from the 80’s that changed gaming forever
Video games’ popularity keep spreading every year, but there was a time where they were not to the taste of everybody. Yet, some games in the 80’s clearly contributed to today’s video games’ fame, design and long story. Let’s remind us of the games that shaped the gaming world!
PAC-MAN
One of the most memorable games from the 20th century is certainly Pac-man. Released in 1980, it is the most sold arcade game ever, with more than 400,000 sales worldwide. Two years later, the game was launched on the Atari 2600, and then on several other game consoles.
The concept was simple : guide Pac-Man in a labyrinth, gobbling up dots while avoiding ghosts. To add some strategy, Pac-Man could swallow super-powers to kill the ghosts. This simple concept clearly helped the democratization of gaming to a wider audience, everyone could easily enjoy the game’s aesthetic and gameplay. 40 years after its first launch, the pie shaped mouth is still famous in the gaming community.
SUPER MARIO BROS.
He is certainly the world’s most renowned plumber, instantly recognizable with his iconic outfit and mustache, cherished by both children and adults. Originally discovered in the Donkey Kong series, a global hit with over 49 million sales, Mario took center stage in 1985 as the protagonist of “Super Mario Bros.”.
Set within a 2D universe, Mario embarks on adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom, deploying superpowers across themed worlds in order to rescue Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser. The game’s captivating aesthetics and innovative mechanics earned it a spot as the 12th highest-selling video game, reaching 43 million copies sold for this singular opus.
TETRIS
It is rare to play a video game without any characters, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be popular! It’s what Tetris proved with its unique gameplay. The concept is simple : various blocks of 4 square shapes fall down, and the player must manipulate them so as to create lines. When a full line is formed, it vanishes, allowing players to continue stacking blocks. If the player manages to vanish 4 lines at once, he creates a Tetris, which gives much more points than erasing a regular line.
If the game seems simple, it actually requires a lot of strategic thinking and quick reflexes to win the most points and not make holes between the squares, that can be a real handicap in the game. The game’s popularity exploded with the Gameboy, allowing people to play during their commutes, breaks, travel and more, making it today’s 2nd most sold video game ever, with more than 100 million sales worldwide.
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA
Peach isn’t the only princess who needs to be rescued. In 1986, The Legend of Zelda introduced us to the heroic Link in a fantasy world. With its large exploration, combat and puzzle-solving system, the game was far from being as simple as other popular games at the time such as Tetris, Space Invaders and Pac-Man. Yet, the story-line and the universe became extremely popular, reaching more than 6 million sales for this opus.
Whether you played these games or not, they surely had an influence on the games we play today, with their great gameplay and unique world, especially Mario and Zelda, which are games that are still highly popular nowadays. Those can make us nostalgic of the great improvement gaming has made since its creation!
If you miss retrogaming, how about watching some talk-show that discusses it? BIGG TV broadcasts some of the best talk-shows about retrogaming every month, so make sure to not miss it!
