One of the major differences I see between videogames and other mediums is that more than likely, the classics are not actually going to hold up very well. Yes you get the odd movie or book that actually kinda sucks these days, lookin' at you James Bond!...For both of those platforms actually. But more often than not whenever I see people talking about the "objectively" best videogames of all time they frequently feature games such as Super Mario Bros or Space Invaders or Tetris, fucking Tetris! Now look, i'm not saying these games aren't good and they most definitely deserve their place as pop-culture icons and revolutionary for the time and can be enjoyed for generations with little signs of dating, provided you can find the right platform to play it on. But seriously people, in what world is Tetris the best videogame of all time? Take the nostalgia, iconic status and historical context out of the picture, say Tetris came out today, would it be considered the best videogame of all time? No. It's pressing left and right arrow keys to make a bunch of colourful blocks fit together, this is not impressive in means of gameplay, art style, story or anything that could actually be considered impressive!
I'm not saying you can't subjectively love this game and truth being told it's impossible to make an objective list of the best videogames ever but really analysing this, Tetris does not deserve to be seen as one of the best. You could make an argument for Super Mario Bros for it's simplistic yet charming nature, timeless style, catchy score and influential status but at the end of the day you're jumping up and down for a few minutes then it's over. I don't know any games that were inspired by Tetris, nor do i know anyone who gives a shit about Tetris. Now i'm not saying classic games can't be seen as some of the best, games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy III & Metal Gear Solid are outstanding and even if they're not my favourite games I could perfectly understand why they would be put onto a list like that.
Thing is, all of these games should be remembered, they came out in an important time in gaming's early history, are still fun to play and are pop-culture icons. But if any professional in the industry would actually say above Sonic The Hedgehog, Shadow of the Colossus, Portal, The Last of Us, Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto, Half-Life, Mass Effect, Minecraft, Chrono Trigger, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, World of Warcraft, Red Dead Redemption, Metroid Prime, GoldenEye 007, Bioshock...that Tetris is better than any of those in terms of gameplay, story, art style, effort or anything that is actually important when discussing art then they do not deserve to be considered a professional. For the record i don't even necessarily like all those games featured in the ones I just listed, lookin' at you James Bond...Again. But if they were to be featured on a best videogames list, i wouldn't be shocked, nor would i really debate it. But i will if it's fucking Tetris.
-Danny
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