Gaming: Why Nostalgia Works

When a video game comes back to life on a newer platform - fans lose their minds!

Earthbound was recently announced alongside a few games to make their return, with the Nintendo Switch.

Why is this? It’s thanks to nostalgia, a feeling which can also be used as not only a sales tactic but somewhat of a stimulant for people who long for the feeling of familiarity.

Most recently, the Nintendo Direct announced that Earthbound would be coming back to the Nintendo Switch console, which was eagerly awaited by lots of fans who played the original version all the way back on the SNES, and Nintendo Gameboy Advance.

“Nostalgia”

a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past.

"I was overcome with acute nostalgia for my days at university"

• A definition from Oxford.

When you think of the past, and you think about things that were great back then, you will almost definitely think of video games and probably some of the moments you enjoyed in those games.

When Pokémon Heartgold and Soulsilver came out back in 2009, fans were spoilt for choice thanks to all new coloured graphics and a remastered gameplay, updating the engine to that of the Diamond and Pearl which meant gamers had better visuals, and updated features which were not in the Gameboy Color versions of these games.

Heartgold/Soulsilver gameplay - Credit: Serebii.net

It doesn’t always work, no.

Much more recently, the Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl instalments of the Pokémon games have tried to take this route, only to fall just short thanks to the sole fact that there were not many new features, and was essentially the same game we played all those years ago in 2008.

It did not put the icing on the cake the same way the generation 2 remakes (Heartgold and Soulsilver) did.

But why exactly does nostalgia draw fans in so much? Well, it is all down to familiarity, reminiscence, and enjoying something once more. You’ve had it once, you want it again, but even better!

That’s the trick Heartgold and Soulsilver really made use of, it took people by surprise by giving more than what they wanted back from the past that was held so, so dear to them.

Here you can see a comparison between the

original Pokémon Gold & Silver as compared

to their remakes.

It is the same feeling you get when you visit an area you grew up in that you may not have been in for a few years - things have possibly been renovated and more houses/fields/whatever were added, making it look slightly different, but the feeling is still there.

If you put yourself in those boots, think of your hometown and going back after a long time away, it’s the undeniable feeling of nostalgia, that same feeling veteran gamers long for.