Sorry it took me so long to reply, I’m neck-deep in Mass Effect 2 and have been basically doing that whenever I’m not in a meeting for school. RPGs and I don’t mix well.

So, hmmm, when you say 8-16bit ROMs you mean any ports of games from that era? There’s a ton. As far as DOS games go, though, all I’ve encountered are Doom, Monkey Island, and Lode Runner. It’s likely they played the Monkey Island remake if they’re big on arcade. It was cool, you could switch between the original version of the game and the HD remake by hitting the select button at any time. As far as other games from 8 and 16-bit consoles go, you can get most Sonic games and some other Genesis stuff, but other than that it’s all pre-NES arcade ports and remakes. Most NES and SNES games are only available on the Wii service. The PS3, on the other hand, is quickly becoming my favorite hub for crossover indies.

But, hell, if you ever wanna talk about Quest for Glory games I’m down I’ll check out that film when I finish with ME2!

(Actually, I’ll take this opportunity to inquire as to whether you’ve gotten around to that Teshigahara documentary available online yet. It’s essentially footage and music, but I think you’ll dig it. http://www.ubu.com/film/gaudi_doc.html )

Not why I’m writing, though.

This review struck a chord with me. Yesterday at work I overheard a young female co-worker mention to another co-worker that she loves videogames, and mentioned a few major 360 titles that I’d heard of, but never played or even seen in person. This is great, I thought; another gamer. We’ll have so much to talk about.

Unfortunately not. I knew that the only things we might have in common would be cross-over XBLA indies. (Or potentially a few Flash games, although this seemed so wildly unlikely that I didn’t think it worth pursuing.) Which didn’t leave much. She hadn’t heard of Braid, I knew that La-Mulana and Cave Story were Nintendo (and not out yet anyway), and Spelunky and N+ seemed like hopeless long shots.

I did what I always seem to do when I’m at a loss in connecting with another gamer; I said, “Look! This computer we’re standing next to can play DOS games! Isn’t emulation a miracle?” (The real miracle being that I can actually perform the drive mount in DOSBox from memory now.) Where I picked up this habit I don’t know, or why I would think it would be a good idea with anyone under about 30 I don’t know either.

Who the hell wants to talk about DOS games more than Left 4 Dead? No one I’ve met, that’s for sure.

But why I bring it up at all is: are there any 8-16 bit ROMs available on Live Arcade? Because that seems like my last best hope for having played something a 360 owner might have seen and enjoyed.

Additional notes:
Enjoyed the idea that JRPG’s may be what’s responsible for the fore-grounding of plot in games, as well as the explanation of the uses and dangers of pastiche. It’s funny; I used to be a diehard JRPGer, and these days I don’t even know what they’re up to. (Everything I’ve read has indicated that everything I found infuriating about Final Fantasy VIII has only continued to gain prominence.) And my favorite use of film pastiche is an example I’m sure you’re familiar with; TML having his protagonist watch a scene from 400 Blows on a small television set in What Time Is It There?

(Okay, I had promised myself I would mention Tsai’s absence from your decade round-up, but I can’t resist: no love for The Hole?! Not that it appeared on anyone else’s, either, but damned if I and everyone I know who has watched it doesn’t think it’s essentially flawless.)