In this day and age, we the children of the 21st century never seem to be bored. There is always something new to do to satisfy our thirsty, restless souls. One of these ventures—and I am sure that every single one of us can attest to this, whether we like it or not—is video games. Everyone has at some point turned on a device, be it a phone or a PC or a true video game console, and played. There is no denying it: video games, whether they are digital renditions of our favorite board games, endless running games or virtual worlds with infinite marvels and possibilities grip our excitable hearts and demand our attention. But what if, in the midst of discussing all these electronic wonders, I were to say, “Adventure is pretty great too, isn’t it?”
You probably read the title of this article and inferred that this Adventure thing is probably an eight-bit video game from the good old ’80s, the decade of crazy hairstyles, synthesizer-ridden music, and The Breakfast Club. But I’m quite sure that you’ve never heard of this game.
Adventure is, as its name suggests, a fantasy-adventure game wherein you have to navigate castles riddled with mind-bending invisible mazes, defeat dragons, and outsmart an infuriatingly crafty bat while picking up helpful artifacts like keys and swords along the way. Your goal is to find the stolen Enchanted Chalice and bring it back to the Golden Castle.
You might be thinking that this game is eerily similar to the fantasy-adventures of our time. “Alright,” you might say. “Hand me this Adventure, and I’ll see what all the fuss is about.” Well, fair warning: you would be awed by how crude it is. You would see that your avatar is a plain square, the rooms are essentially just colored borders around the edge of the screen, you can’t even identify the different items, and the dragons… the dragons look like ducks. If you tried this game out, you might cry out about being scammed.
I admit that the graphics of Adventure and every other ’80s video game are primitive in the eyes of us Millennials and Gen Zs. But there is a certain charm to these eight-bit games, a charm quite similar to that of old European towns when compared to bustling skyscraper- dominated cities. Their simplicity, retro aura, and inviting warmth that stirs up sentimental childhood memories even if you never played them before—all of which seem to be lacking in the games of the 2010s—are what makes them worth trying out. They don’t have freakishly realistic graphics or thrillingly complex storylines or advertisements on social media, and that’s precisely what makes them so wonderful. They take you to a simpler world, a world where there are only a few rules, a world with secrets in every corner, a world where it’s impossible to deny yourself even just the tiniest bit of enjoyment.
Whether you’re escaping ghosts in the labyrinths of Pac-Man, swinging over trenches and snakes in Pitfall, blasting away to save the Earth in Space Invaders, or slaying duck-like dragons in the halls of Adventure, you will find that these old games possess an undeniable charisma. Even if you don’t find yourself hooked on them, you will notice that they make you smile softly every time you so much as think of them. That right there is the indomitable charm of the eight-bit video game. And if the bare walls of the castles of Adventure still bother you, well… perhaps it is just an invitation to imagine what these walls truly look like for yourself.
Comments