Well, if you’re part of a younger generation and you’ve never had access to prior generations of gaming consoles, you’re seriously missing out. To prove it to you, we’ll give you five reasons why you should be gaming retro.

1. Quality

It’s important not to forget that these are the games that helped start it all. Some of the most important RPG, FPS, adventure and platforming titles started their life on consoles like the NES, the Amiga, the Master System… It’s like watching new sci-fi films all the time, but never having seen the original Star Wars trilogy.

2. Accessibility

If you’ve ever found that modern games have ridiculously complex mechanics or are cluttered with features, then you need to streamline your gaming experience, and retro games are renown for their simplicity. That’s why you’ll find so many hardcore gamers playing games that hark back to earlier times – just a score, a simple mechanic, and a difficulty curve.

3. Graphics

The high-definition world of Crysis has redefined what we can show on a screen, but that doesn’t lessen the breathtaking artwork and modelling of older games. Sprites are still used even today, and like we said in number one, it’s always great to go back and see some of the best.

4. Fun Factor

Back before the days of the internet, which helped spawn everything from Partypoker.com to, more importantly, the Xbox Live achievements system, there was no meta-game to play. There was nothing to encourage you to go above and beyond what you usually would in a videogame. Thus, earlier games relied on being a complete and engaging experience from start to finish, as a stand-alone experience. There’s no need for a 50G achievement pop when you’ve just cleared a retro title.

5. Nostalgia

Even if you weren’t around when the NES was (if so, we’re all getting a little old, which is worrying in itself), it’s so fun to get an older console. The cartridges, the reliable controllers, the many great aspects of the games and the colossal back catalogue are all reasons why people still whip out a SNES when their friends are round.

So, if you’re unsure of retro gaming, we hope this list has prodded you towards testing it out. Try it: you’ll never regret it. Think simple, think fun, and think original: retro gaming is for the really passionate games enthusiast.