Ahh, arcade games. It’s been a while since I’ve actually played one.
Going through the list of arcade games presented at archive.org, I noticed one that I vaguely remember. It was Flying Sharks/Sky Shark. I remember I played it quite a few times when I was a kid, and boy was it hard.
After clicking the game and going through the emulation, I couldn’t help but notice that it took a while for the actual game to load. Maybe I’m just used to fast bootups, but the game took at least 5-10 seconds before going to the actual menu screen. It was probably like that before as well, but I guess when I went to the arcade when I was a kid, everything has been setup already.
Once the game booted up, I managed to figure out the controls quite easily (and by easily I mean smashing my fingers on every letter on the keyboard). This is entirely different from back then where the controls are just there in the controller of the arcade. After playing for about 5 minutes, I was finally confident about the controls. After another 5 minutes of playing, I gave up. The game was as hard as I remember it to be and I died quite a few times. Needless to say, I couldn’t even get past the first stage.
I have played numerous games on emulators before, from PSX games to Gameboy Color/Advance games. Personally, playing a game on an emulator isn’t really as good as playing it on the actual hardware/device. Sure it’s convenient to play it on an emulator and it takes up less physical space, but it just doesn’t feel the same. I don’t get the same vibe, experience, or nostalgia from it. Everything is just different.
The aspect ratio is different. The controls are different. The noise is different (i.e. background noise at the arcades). The way things are setup is different. Probably the biggest annoyance would be the controls. Compared to the actual hardware where the keys are just there for you to press/move, emulated games tend to have wonky/confusing control mapping.
Overall, emulators or emulated games aren’t so bad. It’s a way for me and a few other players to go back in time and experience the games that we grew up with. It’s a way for us to “respawn” and experience nostalgia.
A New Player Has Arrived 