☆ An 8 Year Old Boy's Obsession With Video Game Graphics ☆ #Retrogaming

I recently did a Guest Blog over at gameleaks.net that I thought I'd share with you all here on Games Freezer....

It's all about my obsession with video game graphics as a video game mad 8-year-old....

As an 8-year-old video games nut, I was always impressed and wowed by video games graphics. It was always the main talk of the playground. "What were the graphics like?!" would be the main question about any video game. Obviously, at the time the king of graphics were the arcade machines in the local chippy and in the video shop. Every now and again though there would be a home computer or console game that would blow me away with its gorgeous graphics.

Over the years, graphics have been taken for granted really and the key nowadays is playability rather than graphics. Graphics now are almost seen as superficial. Of course, this is the right way to think as it's no good having gorgeous graphics if the gameplay is woeful.

But as an 8-year-old there would be endless conversations in the playground about which machine had the best graphics (ZX Spectrum vs Commodore 64) or which arcade game had the finest display of graphics prowess. 

These were fun times and a great time to see how graphics evolved over the course of the video games generations.

Looking back at the games I loved for their graphics today reveals that the works of art that were produced on these machines still look pretty awesome today. For me, the Pixel Art n these games are masterpieces at 30 years old.

I'll list down for you now my 10 favourite Video Games Graphics that wowed me as a young gamer.

We'll start at the Atari 2600 and Finish with the SNES...

Let's Go!

1. Solaris (Atari 2600)

This game looked years ahead of every other game on the Atari console and was a great game too!

2. Pole Position II (Atari 7800)

I adored this cabinet in the arcade and when I saw this on the Atari 7800 I thought all my dreams had come true! It's a lovely looking conversion.

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 (Nintendo Entertainment System)

The first TMNT game on the NES blew me away and that wasn't even that great looking and played like a pig. This is a marvel on the NES hardware!

4. Wonder Boy 3: The Dragons Trap (SEGA Master System)

I was such a big fan of Wonder Boy In Monsterland and when I saw this game I couldn't believe my eyes. Wonder Boy looked more amazing than ever in what some consider to be the best Master System game ever!

5. Rainbow Islands (ZX Spectrum)

Just look at those beautiful colours. It's a Speccy marvel on a game that was awesome to play.

6. IK+ (Commodore 64)

This game is so iconic and still looks fresh today. Makes me want to play it right now!

7. Gryzor (Amstrad CPC 464)

How did they manage to squash this game into the Amstrad? It's such a great effort of porting the arcade game onto the mighty Amstrad.

8. Streets Of Rage 2 (SEGA Megadrive)

What is there not to love about the look of this game. Beefy sprites, beautiful backgrounds, and great gameplay. PERFECTION!

9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time (SNES)

This game showed how powerful the SNES was. The Mode 7 parts are awesome and the game is great to smash your way through! Eat shells Shredder!! (or something like that anyway!!)

10. Secret Of Mana (SNES)

The most beautiful game ever to be released on any console of the era. It's amazing and it felt like the pinnacle of the pixel graphics era. Just turn it on and watch it for instant karma.

What are your fave graphics from down the years?

Which consoles beyond the SNES era brought you graphical gratitude?

Let me know in the comments box below.....

Rich