In this episode of The Punished Podcast, we’re covering nostalgia in games, not for the games we think are classics… but for the ones that we know don’t quite deserve that praise, but we still love anyway.
I’m not even talking necessarily about games that have aged poorly or were polarizing at the time. These games likely weren’t even beloved as a consensus upon a release, but they still hold a special place in our hearts for some reason. Why is that? Is there room in today’s economy for bad games? Should there be?
Despite not getting the same attention as the timeless classics, these “bad” games are still worth talking about, and maybe we can try to understand more about ourselves as gamers as a result.
– Sam Martinelli, Editor
The Punished Podcast Episode 22
MP3 Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Note: This episode has light swearing.
Timestamps
- 0:00 – 5:14: Introductions
- 5:15 – 24:09: Topic Exploration: Nostalgia x Video Games
- 24:10 – 29:11: Nostalgia x Remasters
- 29:12 – 41:07: Licensed Properties: Good or Bad?
- 41:08 – 50:21: Should Kids These Days Play Bad Games? Can They?
- 50:22 – 55:10: Rapid Fire Game Discussion
- 55:11: Outro: What We’re Playing
Music Credits
- “Main Theme, Huxley’s Chopper,” composed by Mike Reagan for The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999) for PC and Game Boy Color
- “Main Theme,” composed by Keith Leary for Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000) for PC, PlayStation 1, Dreamcast, and Game Boy Color
- “Logo,” composed by Grant Kirkhope for Donkey Kong 64 (1999) for Nintendo 64
- “Main Title,” composed by Stewart Copeland for Spyro the Dragon (1998) for PlayStation 1
Excerpts
- Amanda:”Being a child, getting to play that game with your siblings…It’s a family experience. Just that excitement of ‘I am a child. I am sitting somewhere. I am totally entranced with this form of media that is maybe kind of new to me.’ It’s hard to replace that kind of excitement — that feeling that if I do X, Y will occur. That I have impacted this content in a way. It feels pretty close to magic.”
- Sam: “Wow, you really sound like Nicole Kidman in that movie theater ad.”
- Allison: “Nostalgia is also comfort. Sometimes you don’t want something perfect. It’s okay to broaden your horizons, to try different things. And it’s subjective! To some people, something else might be really, really good.”
- Sam: “Yes — our tolerance for garbage in any other medium, especially television, is much more highly accepted… I might put on bad television in the background, but video games, we don’t really have that tolerance any more.”
Further Reading:
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Sam has been playing video games since his earliest years and has been writing about them since 2016. He’s a big fan of Nintendo games and complaining about The Last of Us Part II. You either agree wholeheartedly with his opinions or despise them. There is no in between.
A lifelong New Yorker, Sam views gaming as far more than a silly little pastime, and hopes though critical analysis and in-depth reviews to better understand the medium's artistic merit.
Twitter: @sam_martinelli.
Allison has been playing all sorts of games since the late ‘90s. She particularly enjoys life sims, casual games, tactical RPGs, and anything Mario. Her dream jobs are to be a Stardew Valley speed runner and a Mary Tyler Moore historian. As a recent MBA graduate, Allison hopes to use her extra time tackling her backlog and the never-ending list of 2023 releases.
Amanda Tien (she/her or they) loves video games where she can pet dogs, punch bad guys, make friends, and have a good cry. She started writing for the site in 2020, and became an editor in 2022. She enjoys writing about mystery games, indies, and strong femme protagonists.
Her work has also been published in Unwinnable Monthly (click here to read her cover feature on Nancy Drew games), Salt Hill Journal, Poets.org, Litro Magazine, Public Books, and more. She was the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Columbia University's Culinarian Magazine, and served for two years as the Managing Editor of Aster(ix) Literary Journal.
She recently graduated with a MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. Her writing, art, graphic design, and marketing work can be viewed at www.amandatien.com.
She does not post a lot on social, but you can find her on X and on Instagram.
