Day 150: Retro stuff is the best...

...or is it? I mean, we all cling to what we see as "the good ole' days," but are they really that great? I love the 80s, and will swear up and down that 80s' films are better than most of the rotten shit come that hits the silver screen nowadays (ticket prices were better too). Music definitely was better in the 80s than what we've been spoon fed the past decade and a half.

Video games are no exception to this rule, but as I go back and replay classic video games, I wonder even more intensely if the games themselves are better, or was it the memory of playing the first time that we hold onto so dearly? Often times I think it's the latter that dictates our decision to judge the new nowhere near as awesome as the old.

Not that all these reboots and remakes aren't total shit sometimes. With so much product placement in most movies, you can hardly call them art. Oddly enough, I like the scene in Wayne's World where they poke fun at blatant product placement.

On the other side of the coin, sometimes a reboot is what is called for to bring back a positive feeling in regards to a film franchise. Batman Begins & The Dark Knight did just that when compared to the two pieces of shit following the Michael Keaton versions of Batman. And as much as I love the OG Karate Kid films, I really think Daniel-San can suck it. Frankly, the movies aren't that awesome to watch, and the only reason I like to watch them at all is for Miyagi's scenes, but Jackie Chan's "Mr. Han" did a more than okay job in my book in the recent remake/reboot.

Remaking music really isn't an option, so no harm there. For the most part, it's the same with video games. The games themselves can be rehashed and re-released with all sorts of upgrades, but it's still the same exact game down to the most minute details. It's squeezing the tit a bit harder to get a bit more milk; a few more bucks out of the game, and sadly a few junkies eat it right up.

As one of those junkies, I've purchased no less than seven versions of "Final Fantasy" since it came out on the Nintendo in the late 80's, the latest version being on the iPod touch. I have paid for several alternate versions of the Megaman games, Dragon Warrior games, Metroid games and several others. Wii Virtual Console be damned too! Remake a movie and I'm not immediately sold, but remake Final Fantasy 6, and I'll buy it before it even comes out.

*sigh*