Our buddy Roo, host of 16-bit Gems and Way Games Work, joins us to explore a 16-bit universe. The 16-bit aesthetic has persisted well past it’s console era. The style has shown up in countless console games, the music is still ringing through tv speakers, and remakes of Super Nintendo era games are still big sellers. Why is this? What makes this style so acclimated to game development and does it still have a place in current game development?
This conversation morphs into a comparison between 16-bit RPG’s, early PS1 era RPG’s, and western developed RPG’s. Was there a heyday of RPG gaming or did each era bring their own unique flavor to the genre? How has Final Fantasy faired over the years and do the 16-bit versions overshadow the later and technically more impressive versions?