Who Says 2D Gaming is Dead?

Retro Gaming with Racketboy has up a feature looking at the best modern 2D games out there, all on the PlayStation 2. He highlights the best of every genre, from the modern classic RPG/beat-em-up Odin Sphere to the timeless beauty that is the Metal Slug series. "Disgaea: Hour of Darkness & Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories: Disgaea greatly resembles other strategy RPGs. Its isometric perspective, 3D battlefields, and nice-looking 2D characters are clearly reminiscent of most other games of this type, and on first impression, so is the game's turn-based combat system. However, you'll soon realize that this game actually plays very differently. The gameplay itself is, in a word, weird."

2D is dead, this list proves it

[grumbel]

Half the games on that list aren't even fully 2D, but 3D with restricted movement. The other half is made up of decade old series or derivatives from them (Street Fighter, MetalSlug). Original 2D games are near non-existent these days, except for a few ones left on the DS, but even there its mostly sequels or already 3D or well, both (Metroid, Zelda:PH).

I do love 2D games, but there really isn't much at all left these days, especially when you want original content instead of just some new food to celebrate nostalgia.

Re:2D is dead, this list proves it

[Sigma 7]

Most 2D games are being produced by "independent" developers. You can find most of these games by going to various flash portal websites rather than looking in the local stores.

As an alternative to flash portals, you can subscribe to sites that specialize in looking for these style of games. I have indygamer.blogspot.com in a list of rotation sites I have - you can probably find others from that site as well.

Even though it's not technically 2D, IFComp07 just released a batch of short adventures. If Interactive Fiction has that level of activity, 2D games have it as well.

Re:SF4 - 2D

[LKM]

So are a ton of Wii games, and probably more than half of all DS games. I love those two consoles, they are the last bastion of 2D gaming. After this generation ends, so does a huge part of 2D gaming. Even cell phones have 3D games now :-(

Re:Not dead

[LKM]

Not only is 3D not uniformly better than 2D, but 2D is very often better than 3D.

There is one genre where 3D is most often better than 2D: Car racers. There's one genre that doesn't work in 2D at all: FPS. Other than that, almost all games would be better off in 2D, in my opinion.