Whenever you discuss a "classic" in any field, nostalgia plays a large role. What is classic to one might be junk to another. To most people, anything that was around when they were younger is considered a classic. The rather insightful song "1985" asks a question: when did Motley Crue become classic rock? The answer is, the Crue became classic around the time that people who loved them as kids "grew up". The lens of nostalgia makes any old thing you remember look much better than it may actually deserve to be. Today's co-op classic, Twin Cobra, is a good example of this effect.
Several years ago, I took on the task of converting an old, gutted, busted up Q*Bert cabinet into a MAME machine. A friend of mine was quite interested in the whole process, and I kept him updated on how things were going. We'd discuss some of our favorite games from the past, and one that he kept mentioning was Twin Cobra. Apparently, a convenience store in his neighborhood had a Twin Cobra machine, and he fed it many quarters over the years. Once my cabinet was in playable condition, we made arrangements for he and his wife to come over. I made sure that Twin Cobra was available for us to play, and out of curiosity, I fired it up ahead of time to check it out myself.
The game may sound like a cheesy 80s Stallone flick, but instead, it's a reference to the two helicopters that players can control. Simultaneous gameplay wasn't exactly new in 1987, but still, it was an attractive feature, and words like "Twin" and "Double" made it to game titles often. Twin Cobra is a vertically scrolling shoot em up, pitting the players' copters (red and blue, naturally) against wave after wave of enemy copters, tanks, and turrets.
Large gun copters appear in your flight path from time to time, and once destroyed, they drop power ups of different colors. Your weapons power up in several ways, including adding a spread shot, changing to a continuously shooting laser, or even a very powerful four way strike. You can drop a limited amount of bombs which clear a good portion of the screen. Enemy helicopters and bullets must be avoided entirely, but tanks and turrets can be flown over without harm. Twin Cobra is fairly typical for a game of its age.
I must confess I was a bit let down by Twin Cobra. The graphics seemed bland and repetitive, there was little variety in the enemies, and nothing in the way of story at all. I The game is fairly difficult, too, perhaps since I'm not quite as sharp in the reflex department as I used to be. Twin Cobra doesn't have a health bar or shields to help you. To the game's credit, most of its contemporaries didn't either, but it still felt frustrating to me. I can only imagine how many quarters it would have taken to beat the game. My solo playthrough was nothing special at all.
However, my friend's appraisal was quite a bit more forgiving than mine. Once he arrived, we stood shoulder to shoulder, blasting away at tank after tank, poorly dodging bullets and pressing the credit button a truly embarassing number of times. As you'd expect, the game was more fun in co-op than it was alone, but still, it wasn't really spectacular. When we were finally done, my friend seemed quite pleased. "It's not nearly as good as I remember, but it still brings back old memories", he said.
For him, playing Twin Cobra was a much better experience than it was for me. I had no previous connection to the game, and thus, I looked at it more critically. When compared to all the other shooters I've played in the past twenty years, Twin Cobra came up short. But when tied to his memories, to a long ago experience, to a time that can never again be recaptured, the game was much more enjoyable. Perhaps, just for a moment, he was back in that convenience store, a Slurpee and candy nearby, his bike laying on the sidewalk outside. That little reminder of the way things used to be was enough to make Twin Cobra a classic for him.
When you hear the word "classic", immediately, cars, music, and movies come to mind. Most people wouldn't consider any video game to be classic. Yet, for those of us who grew up playing games, they are classic, in the truest sense of the word. When we play a dated old game that was something we enjoyed when we were younger, we don't see the flaws, we just remember old times and enjoy ourselves. Playing classic games can reawaken memories that we have all but forgotten. Modern games with high def graphics, compelling stories, and innovative gameplay are great, but sometimes, a little glimpse into the past is the most fun of all.