2D is the Best D

Yes, this topic is about exactly what you think.

My first gaming memory is of playing Super Mario 64. I say this so we all have a point of reference for my gaming life. For those who somehow do not know, Super Mario 64 was the first 3D Mario game and paved the way for other 3D games. As such, I was used to all games being in 3D. I did not realize it until very recently that this made me unconsciously biased against 2D games. I would put more stock in 3D games and not really pay attention to any of the 2D game announcements. I noticed that many other people would be excited for them but I did not really understand why. I never truly understood why people liked 2D games until a few years ago.

I struggle to remember when exactly my opinion of 2D gaming changed but I think the process started when I bought my Nintendo Switch on launch day. Unlike the rest of the world, I bought and played Shovel Knight first instead of Breath of the Wild. In my defense, I was saving Breath of the Wild for my vacation which was a month after the Switch came out. We are getting off topic here, I know, so I appreciate you humoring me.

Anyways, I started playing Shovel Knight because I had heard it was good. And, as it turns out, it is great. Even though I died a lot (there’s no shame in admitting it) I finished the first campaign of that game before I started Breath of the Wild. Shovel Knight showed how 2D games could be just as fun, just as creative, and just as interesting as any 3D game I had ever played. It made me realize that I had not been paying enough attention to 2D games and that I had probably missed out on a bunch of excellent games (spoiler alert: I had missed out on a bunch of good games). Shovel Knight was the start of my exploration of the world of 2D games which continues to this day.

Perhaps the best genre I discovered while beginning my 2D journey were games of the Metroidvania variety. These games involve exploring the in-game world while getting new powerups and abilities. The first two games I played in this genre (and reviewed!) were Axiom Verge and Axiom Verge 2. I loved these games. I got hopelessly lost in both of them but I love them all the same. Getting lost is a feature of Metroidvanias by the way. In my case, however, I was lost for hours although I have read that some people did not have any trouble at all so I guess it depends on the person. I suppose I’m not very good at exploring.

Another game I’ve played in the Metroidvania vein is Hollow Knight. I streamed my whole adventure with Hollow Knight which you can find over on my Pretend Gamer YouTube channel if you are curious. I will spoil it here for you though. I did not finish the game. I loved the first ten or so hours of the game but I hit a wall where I was having trouble progressing so I decided to move on. Please do not misunderstand me, I’m not saying that Hollow Knight is a bad game. I’m just saying that I did not have the patience to see it through. Who knows, maybe I’ll finish it someday.

To my great shame, I never played a certain game series which makes up one half of the Metroidvania name until recently. I’m talking about Metroid here. I still need to try out the Castlevania series. Maybe one day I’ll get to it. Anywho, Metroid Dread was my first Metroid game and I loved it. The exploration coupled with the weapon upgrades made it a special game in my mind. This will come as a shock to some but I also really liked the game’s difficulty. It felt great whenever I bested one of Metroid Dread’s bosses even though I was angry and cussing up a storm the whole time. If you have not played Metroid Dread and you like Metroidvanias, you cannot go wrong with this one. I’ve since went on and played Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Samus Returns. I also dabbled in Metroid Prime Remastered but I like the 2D Metroid games better.

Another series I did not play until very recently was The Legend of Zelda. More specifically, I did not play the 2D entries in that series until about four years ago. The first one I finished was the remake of Link’s Awakening on the Switch which is a great game by the way. I followed that up with A Link Between Worlds on 3DS which is also a great game. In fact, I played and finished both of those games for a second time earlier this year. I’m also close to finishing The Minish Cap which is also a good game.

This may be heresy to say but I enjoy 2D Zelda dungeons more than the 3D ones. Again, I think it was my unconscious bias against 2D games coming into play but I did not think they would be that good. I could not have been more wrong. The dungeons in those 2D games are fantastic and I loved picking them apart while working towards the boss. I’m glad that I finally gave these games a chance and I hope you do too.

I guess you would consider these games 2D but I really enjoy visual novel games. I mean, I’ve played through all of the Ace Attorney games over the past few years along with the Danganronpa series. Yes, I know that there are 3D environments in Danganronpa but it’s mostly a visual novel-type experience. Let me be honest here, I do not know if these games should be listed alongside the other 2D games I mentioned. I just wanted to talk about the Ace Attorney series again. You’re welcome.

As you can see, I’ve had a good time with 2D games over the past six years or so. I had overlooked them in the past and that makes me sad. What makes me happy though is that I have so many games to catch up on and I am having fun doing just that. I look forward to playing the last few 2D Zelda games along with a few more titles in the Metroid series. I will also have to keep my eye out for any other good 2D titles too.

Thanks for reading! Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever written off an entire style of games or even a whole genre because of your biases? Let me know down below! Also, if you have any 2D game suggestions, I would be happy to hear about those too.