Usually within the gaming communities, or at least Stateside, retro gaming has a very loose meaning. For example, anything produced in the PS1/N64/Sega Saturn generation would be regarded as "retro" gaming. In fact, there are even some who would label the gaming generation after that (PS2/Xbox/Gamecube) as being retro as well. Given the rapid advancement of both consoles and games as well, it seems that the traditional aspect of retro is rather loosely used when it comes to video games. Of course, you've got the "retro-revival" as well, where you see a resurgence of either re-releases of classic titles or classic titles rebranded/retooled/reformed.
Speaking of retro games, I've fallen back in love with MAME emulation, and a game by the name of Red Earth (War-Zard in Japan) in general. While the game itself is close to twenty years old, it is an absolute stunning piece of technology released by Capcom in 1996. Being the first game on Capcom's latest proprietary hardware (CP System III) it boasted absolutely gorgeous visuals and a unique spin on the fighting genre. You could fight against another individual, but the game played more like a giant boss battle. What's more, you can level up as you progress and gain new moves as well. Even further, there was a greater focus on storytelling! Sadly, the game was never released outside of the arcade circle and was extremely uncommon outside of Japan, even though it did get released in the west. You can check out the intro and some sample gameplay here!
Another game, or rather series of games, I've gotten (back) into is Darkstalkers/Vampire. I absolutely love this series! I was first exposed to it around my early teens on an arcade machine while I was staying at a hotel, the first Darkstalkers game, and I've been an absolute fan since. There's just something about the combination of fantasy/mythical characters in a Street Fighter-esque fighting game that I absolutely loved. What's more, everything was so colorful and done so well. Furthermore, the great soundtrack made it even more of a blast to play. I recently got the chance to pick up the Darkstalkers Collection released only in Japan and I'm looking forward to checking out all the arcade-perfect ports of the game!
