Satisfying Things In Old Games

[FieryReign]

A few things I find satisfying about games. If anyone else wants to chime in, feel free(both of you). Simple things that some developers still fail to implement to this very day. Parts of a game that make it fun to play and addictive.

*That "crunch" and feeling of impact in a solid brawler. Double Dragon(arcade), Streets of Rage 2 and Final Fight(arcade) get this concept down to a tee. Especially when they let you hit 2-3 guys in a single combo. Yet so many brawlers fail with this and make it feel like you're punching jello.

*Another brawler tradition. Smacking a barrel or crate to find a perfectly cooked turkey or roast on a plate. If that only worked in real life. There'd be a lot of sore knuckles and feet but hunger would be a thing of the past.

*Shooters and Runner Gunners with bosses that blink when you blast em in the right place. And they must turn red when they're getting close to death.

*FPS or TPS shooter games with a satisfying "pop" when making headshots. It should burst like a puss-filled zit. And if the torso squirts blood while the unfortunate fellow is still standing before falling on his chest, all the better.

*A short and catchy jingle or sound effect when gaining a 1-up or leveling up.

[celerystalker]

Definitely agree about the crisp pop of a hit in Capcom brawlers and a few others. It definitely gives a better feel than stuff like TMNT, which has great presentation, but feels like you're using NERF weapons.

A good explosion on a boss in a shooter is satisfying. Not too much and exaggerated, there's a sweet spot...but when it's right, it's great.

Getting rapid spread in Contra always just feels right.

I'm sure I'll think of more... pretty tired at the moment.

[WulfeLuer]

Yes, that little jingle you get when you level up. I liked how Final Fantasy Tactics had a second, quieter one for leveling up your job. My friends and I used to have a ritual where we all chimed in "Ding" when somebody got a level in Borderlands 2.

[Daltone]

Not so old, but the noise you get when you hit a goal in THPS 1 - 4

Putting a game in to a console and playing the thing within 30 seconds. No lengthy logos, no 'signing in to server' or day one patches. All that waiting just sours the anticipation.

[Steven]

Always been a sucker for bosses flashing as you pelt them. Every time I see it it takes me back to Rocksteady from TMNT II on the NES. Good times. So yeah, agreed with OP on bosses flashing! So satisfying in any genre.

[Alianger]

I find that a low resolution or even lack of scrolling can add to the immersion for exploration-based games.

The "3D" in the arcade scaler games often have more of a presence than in actual 3D games.

[Az]

*That "crunch" and feeling of impact in a solid brawler. Double Dragon(arcade), Streets of Rage 2 and Final Fight(arcade) get this concept down to a tee. Especially when they let you hit 2-3 guys in a single combo. Yet so many brawlers fail with this and make it feel like you're punching jello.

Those 3 very games form a trio of audio awesomeness that I'm pretty sure every other beat 'em up put together can't touch. The short metallic whistle when swinging the pipe followed by that godly skull busting crunch on SoR2 is hands down the most meaty and satisfying hit effect I've heard. Besides those 3 the only other game I can think of that was of the same caliber was the original Golden Axe. Whoever chose to steal those blood curdling screams from First Blood and Conan was a genius.

One thing that I always love that has been lost to technology (and probably applies to beat 'em ups most of all) was how developers used the inherit scratchiness and low-quality of sound samples directly to their advantage by making some of the most iconic, unique, and downright awesome effects ever. Some of those "BLEEEAAHH" and "ARRRGGGHHH" death sounds in SoR/FF are just total badass, recognizable has a human-in-distress voice but so amazingly low-tech distorted that I don't even think you could replicate 'em if you tried. Sodom's death scream, Damnd's laugh, Axel's sandpaper and gravel throated "GRAND UPPAH", totally amazing and iconic things that would probably be laughable if done as a clear sample.

Barbon's "Comon!" clip, included only for the single instance when he tears his shirt off.... now that's badass.

[PizzaKat]

This is mostly about a console. But that hum you get when you turn on the NES and play it. I think it was the RF cable. TV? No clue but its nostalgic

[Edmond Dantes]

Not quite an "old" game but I'm beginning to understand why so many people love "OBJECTION!" in Phoenix Wright

I think my classic gaming equivalent would be those dings you hear in some of the Sierra "Something Quest" games when you found the correct item to use on the correct puzzle.

I also for some reason always liked the poof Sonic makes when he jumps on a badnik.

[Steve W]

The short metallic whistle when swinging the pipe followed by that godly skull busting crunch on SoR2 is hands down the most meaty and satisfying hit effect I've heard.

For me, the best hit effect is in the arcade version of Splatterhouse, at the beginning when you pick up the board and bash the first baddie and there's a satisfying "swoosh" sound followed by a good hit sound, and the creature's echoing roar tapering off as his corpse splats against the wall. I loved that arcade game, and when I bought a TurboGrafx-16 back around 1991 or so and the port of Splatterhouse, I felt so let down when it had a terrible sound effect instead of the awesome, meaty sounds of the arcade.