Regardless of what some people believe, the world of gaming doesn’t end with Xbox and PlayStation consoles, nor with gaming laptops that have lots of gigabytes and powerful GPUs. Retro games for 8-bit or 16-bit consoles, as well as for those “ancient” mobile phones that were in the trend 20 years ago, represented the bee’s knees at their time.
What’s amazing is that even now, in 2024, there are still people who either play retro games or are at least nostalgic about them. And let’s face it: you just cannot possibly not be nostalgic about such games if you grew up with them, regardless of how much you may now be into Fortnite, PUBG, World of Tanks, GTA 5, or any other game that has stunning graphics.
It’s time to pay some homage to some of the most amazing and influential retro games that have existed for feature phones and beyond:
Snake
If you ever had a Nokia phone in your hand, it means that you definitely know about the famous Snake game as well. The more amazing part is that this game was all in black and white when it became popular. The amazing concept of the game is to blame for the huge success: you get to control a snake that will have to move around to eat fruits. The snake will get longer the more he eats those fruits. At some point, it will become difficult to fit the snake on the screen as it becomes too long. You will have to find all sorts of creative ways to fit the snake on display, as otherwise, you will lose the game as soon as the snake touches the wall.
Tetris
Even though it was first available for the Electronika 60 Soviet computer, Tetris has later been adapted for numerous other platforms. We got it on feature phones as well, as a lot of people were occupied with playing it just about anywhere: at work, on the bus, in the park, and so on.
Tetris is a game in which you have to add geometrical pieces over a surface. As soon as you fill a layer with pieces, you gain more space to add pieces. The main goal is to find ways to not fill the entire screen with pieces, as you will have to fill as many layers as possible.
Space Impact
Space Impact was a true sensation back in the early 2000s. It was a side-scrolling shoot ’em-up game developed by Nokie for its feature phones. As a player, you had to control a spaceship as it shot its way through hordes of enemy ships and obstacles. There were even plenty of power-ups to take advantage of, while the boss battles were also exciting.
Nobody says that modern smartphones are bad, however, as they offer numerous gaming options with stunning graphics and even complex mechanics. However, a lot of nostalgics out there still appreciate retro games due to their important legacy and the impact they had on many of us.
Robert J. Smith is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including JoyStiq and Android Authority. In regards to academics, Robert earned a degree in business from Fordham University. Robert has passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.