Games played: Donkey Kong Country (0:00), Land of Illusion (0:20), Final Fantasy IV (0:40), Tears of the Kingdom (0:55), Thunder Force III (1:20), Sonic 2 (2:58), Super Smash Bros. Melee (5:49), Cuphead (6:28), Contra III (12:00)

Sometimes the game you pick up at the flee market for 5 bucks does end up being a game you get hundreds of hours out of. I love when that happens!!!

As someone who has two young children, a dog, a house and a stressful job, I think we need to talk about determining the value of watching people talking about the value of playing video games. Because that’s all I usually manage and have done for years - and will do for years to come. Thank you Retro Bird for keeping me sane and feeling like I still have a hobby for 10 minutes on a Saturday morning before the chaos begins! 😂

You have one of the best video game channels on youtube. I look forward to every video!

“To make bananas last longer; sometimes I eat them with the peel still on.” 🤣🤣🤣 GENIUS!

With little kids in my family, the value ‘feature’ of tens of hours of content is a warning that I’ll never finish this game and shouldn’t even begin. A three hour one-and-done-you-had-fun? Now we’re talking.

As an adult, I want my games 9 hours long, like I want my movies 90 minutes long.

Dude, the banana industry should be sponsoring you. I swear I've been buying more bananas just because of your videos.

Brother i love you... You're channel is a lush and uplifting retreat. Love from Germany 🇩🇪🙏

Super random but I just wanted to say I love how you capture your gameplay footage!

I've always determined the value of a game by it's quality over quantity. DKC is definitely one game that's worth every penny. It's a short game by today's standards but it's one of those games where you experience something new each time you play it. You DO deserve to Donkey Kong.

For me, I consider games that I enjoy playing with friends extra value. After all, friendship is priceless.

Elden ring was such a good value to me for 60$ I bought it on pc and ps5, and gifted a copy to a buddy! 900+ hours later and I'm still playing in preparation for the dlc

That bite out of an unpeeled banana was pretty hardcore!

I've played Stardew Valley (not a retro game but retro in spirit) for nearly 700 hours at this point. The developer has been releasing huge updates for FREE regularly since the game came out like ten years ago. I paid $25 for Stardew Valley. Best value I've ever gotten out of my money.

The Okami backlog joke gets me every time 😂

The older I get the more I appreciate shorter games, for a lifestyle with a full time job/parenting/ etc.. a single player campaign is perfect around the 7 hour mark, if it’s more than that I tend to become discouraged or something new comes out before I can finish it and I want to play that one, I may be the minority but that’s just my take

I just had a conversation with my coworker about this the other day. He has some games he's put hundreds of hours in (3 or so modern games) and didn't see the value in shorter, older games. I can find value in both. It's fun to get lost in a big, massive world sometimes. Other times (most times) I want something more appropriate for shorter bursts of play. If I only have 40 or 45 minutes to play in a given day, I want something I feel I sink my teeth into. Retro games often fit that bill.

Although internet people are screaming about the switch to digital. 90% of deals in the online stores are better than the ones I see at retail. Just to clarify, IRL retail, that copy full of dirt from EBay at 5 USD that might not work is on a different ballpark.

I literally just bought tears of the kingdom. Got it in the mail yesterday and about to play it for the first time tonight.

Agree 100%. This is why we need Sega to be Sega again and forget the damn trends made by Sony. Games now feel like 20hrs+ Repetitive Soap Operas that almost NO ONE has the time to play. The beauty of Arcade games is that they are high quality and fun and consume vey little time with super high replay value. Hope @sega is listening…

Value is what its worth to you. Most of my favorite games are 90s Arcade Ports that are less than an hour. But ive played them a thousand times.

Shoot 'em ups are my favorite genre of video game, but a 40hr shmup sounds like torture. I want the game play loop to be about 20-30 minutes to reach the end of it. Any longer and I lose too much concentration and focus to do well. Shmups are all about gameplay density. About 15 minutes of a good shmup feels like a couple of hours in pretty much any other game.

It kind of depends on my mood. Sometimes, I just want a shorter experience, something that I can finish over a weekend. Other times, I want that open world and no boundaries. Sometimes I just want to start up a Fallout game and wander the wastelands. Other times, a quick little jaunt through a point and click that takes just a few hours to finish.

I can't say I didn't get my money's worth out of Ikaruga. I've dumped tons of hours in it. And there's even more content waiting for me if I eventually beat stage 3.

Anytime DKC is an option for a choice - always DKC.

This particular brand of comedy just really hits the spot in a way other channels can't

Man, your videos are super entertaining and have such a high production value while being somehow refreshing for being relatable. Really happy I found your channel!

As a Cuphead Guru seeing 1 HP with Chalice on Normal Root Pack with lobber and spread hurt my soul haha. Great vid.

The problem with longer games for me is if it's a 20 hour plus game I have no interesting in playing through it again. Whereas shorter games hell yeah I'll play through it many times

I still play my copy of Final Fantasy Legend 1 that I've owned since childhood. And I play it every year just about still to this day. That's a lot of personal value for a tiny Game Boy cart ❤

Love your videos! They bring me joy in a cruel, no bananas world.

Okami has been in my backlog for years 😂😅 every time you reference it it hits home harder than you think

Persona 5 Royal is one of those games I really enjoyed but was so relieved to finish. 118 hours of enjoyment was well worth it. Best bargain was picking up Final Fantasy III at a pawn shop for $6. Something about the cover drew me in as a kid. I didn't know anything about Final Fantasy at the time. One of my top 10 games to this day.

Bread bag clip gag, and gagging on bananas all in one video now this is one for the ages!!

This Retro Bird fellow is a man of the people... the kinda guy you'd like to have a banana with! I find that, for me personally, more hours of gameplay does NOT equal more value. I place a higher value on a game that gets to the point. I've gotten more enjoyment from small $20 indie games like Cuphead than from big $70 AAA titles. Those indie games feel more like the games I loved as a kid.

This has an interesting tie in with some video's I have seen with emphasis on aging and gaming. Still love games but time is a factor amongst other things in life. Lays bare what we may prioritize when we were 8-12 years old versus our 13-20's and 30's and 40's.

I actually enjoy shorter games, that backlog isn’t getting any smaller if I’m stuck playing the same game for 100 hours. Also there are games I enjoy enough to wanna play again, so again shorter is nice so that way I can go and replay said game again.

Honestly, you hit the nail on the head with Cuphead. I would've paid $60 at release for that no questions asked. I love games like Cuphead, the indie scene has been killing it for the past 10 years, it's nuts how many good games you'll find for dirt cheap online. I gotta say though, I've NEVER seen anyone eat the skin off of a banana before. That's something else wowza. I can eat a lime, peel and all, so I can relate somewhat. I feel like the only thing you didn't exactly touch on were multiplayer games. Those can have so much value whether online only or in person couch gaming. Some of my favorite games, and the ones I poured years into, are multiplayer ones.

Sometimes, the value of the game is the impact it leaves on you, not just the length or quality of the title itself. Pokemon Red and Blue gave my brother and I something to bond over when we were kids, and the Zelda series sparked my imagination and started my love of high fantasy and adventure genres. Those things are utterly priceless, you know?

There have been only a few games in my vast gaming history that were not short games, and as SOON as I beat them... I beat them a second time. -Final Fantasy - NES -Phantasy Star 2 - Genesis -Dragon Force - Saturn -Chrono Trigger - SNES -Vandal Hearts - PS1 -Dragon Age - PC (Beat this one 3x back to back) -Skyrim - PC -Persona 4 Golden - PC (SUPER long game, and second time through I 100% it) These are games that just were so immersive and I got SOooo into them, I didn't want them to end, and when they did, I was so bummed I just beat them again.

I agree with absolutely everything said in this video INCLUDING the bananas!

Great video thumbs up 👍👍👍👍

That would be like waking up to Freddy Krueger every day.

One of your best banana scenes.

I’ve replayed my older jrpg’s several times now. I’ve just come to terms with sleeping less in order to get my gaming done. I’m a night person anyway. However, I’ve recently started ff7 rebirth. With 60 hours of playtime I can honestly say that 50% of my time in that game is spent on game features that I don’t enjoy. Short or long, if a game is enthralling and fun that time is well spent for me. Great vid!

i have no idea what Chrono Cross on PS1 is worth and i don't really care. i know that i'm enjoying my first replay since launch, i'm STOKED on getting the story and music through again, and i look forward to NG+. i'l gonna get those party recruitments i missed and enjoying the art once again.

Great video on a great topic! I know I’m not the only one when I say I really look forward to your videos each week. I’m still pretty new to the hobby, and I’m so glad I found your channel early on. You’ve truly become a huge part of the hobby for me, giving me valuable insight and perspectives, and always encouraging what I think are healthy attitudes toward playing/collecting video games. All the while being fun and positive. Keep it up, man! 🤙

im thankful for this content Retro bird, a good laugh and awesome retro games. Thats all i require. It makes a difference.

So its not the length of the game that matters, but how you use it?

I like shorter games because you can start playing them on a whim and easily find the time to complete them. For example, I'm playing BOTW right now (about 30% through) but decided to fire up Super Metroid several days back and was able to complete it in 7 hours or so and it felt great. I probably got more satisfaction from beating shorter game rather than just sinking the equivalent time into progress on a longer one.

Pause menu music!!! LOVE IT!! Lol

I honestly feel like time spent has a significant impact on the value of a game for the individual. There are plenty of bad games that we've all spent time on that we value. Sometimes we know they are bad games, sometimes we don't, but I don't think that has near as much to do with the value we place on a game as the time we spend playing it.

I determine video game value by memories and gameplay. The only correct way.

Ahh sweet Final Fantasy 4 is my favorite aswell 👏🏻☺️💕Love your videos as always!! Keep up the wonderful work brother!

i think your the best you never look down on any game cause a game can mean alot things to someone. i like deadly towers from the nes. when i beat it i was like finally. it was a game that hated me. for me nes games i played the big name games pretty easy but not this one. got my garage sale $1 worth. still have it. keep up the great content and no foul language used so all can enjoy, thank you for that.

Appreciate your content. Even tho I was born in 94, I still have a huge appreciation for retro games too, mainly ps1 for me, also added some of your favorites to my collection too, ty for that ❤

Another fantastic video (as always) so much joy on the Banana bits aswell HA!

One thing that I like from the old games aside of the quality and decent length, it's that some of them can leave you with the strange but good feeling that when you re-play it again either sooner or way years later, it feels like you are playing for the first time, no matter if already know everything that you has to do, still has that good feeling. The other day I was talking with someone about it and with some comparisons, when I played both games of the Yooka-Laylee (the 3D and 2D game) while I loved both games, it didn't gave me the feeling or desire to ever re-play again just with one time was enough, contrary to the old games like Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country 2, no matter in how many times I beat both games but I always has the desire to play it again in somepoint and when I re-play them, it feels like the first time. And also it happened with other titles too like the first Silent Hill on PS1, Animal Crossing or F-Zero GX on GameCube and LittleBigPlanet or ModNation Racers on PS3.

I do prefer shorter experiences that get me wanting to come back again and again, versus a long experience I only want to play once. However, I do like to mix things up by tossing in some longer modern games in particular (most recently, Elden Ring, the other Souls games, and now Tears of the Kingdom).

Anytime I don't know what to play, I stick Sonic 2 on. Paid top dollar for it back in the day (four months' pocket money), but boy did I get my money's worth!

New, and really loving the channel, content, and humor. ❤ TY

Your videos are a fantastic value!

Another good video. I play most of my games on and off over time, coming back to a particular game whenever I feel like it. So length has never been an issue for me

Man, this really resonates with me after seeing people preemptively complain about Hellblade 2 "only" being a 7-10 hour game... That sounds perfect to me, and being priced at $50 makes it even better. It's one of my most anticipated games this year, but some people make it seem like they would've preferred the game be artificially extended & priced at $70 just to make it seem more "AAA" or something.

Being that I’m not a completionist, and play games more to experience them, rather than to beat them, I’m definitely a fan of shorter games. Then if and when I beat the game, it’s a reason to celebrate 🎉

This is something that really hits home. I don’t have the time to really dive in and play a lot of games no so something that is over 100 hours long, I will never be able to really enjoy since I won’t be able to play it at a good pace.

Love short games, I can play 10 of them a year enjoy them and then play huge games that takes weeks, Months, and kinda glad is over. Hellblade 2 will be 8 hours max? Thank you if awesome, maybe I'll replay it too.

I've played plenty of modern games that, despite enjoying them, I have felt relief upon getting to the end.

I think it's hilarious that we have the same relationship with Okami. That game deserves better than what our tiny attention spans can offer

As someone who plays Smash Ultimate regularly, what you said about Sakurai during the Melee part of the video actually made me feel bad for him... Bless that man's heart and soul honestly

That video had a lot of quality jam packed in. I'm an indie dev this subject weighs on me. I don't wanna include any filler and am thinking about the subject of my multiple planned endings; wondering if they ultimately all just count as a single play-through for my core audience. Will they ever wanna replay the "bad" endings? With 3 endings planned, I'm aiming for 15-20 hours for the first run, but ultimately I do want players to want to replay all 3 again and again. Anyhoo, just thinking out loud. Love your humor and thanks for the content!

Playing MUSHA on normal but with a 0 death challenge is incredible. It's very doable, not impossible, yet still challenging in the perfect way. It's very intense.

I stopped collecting games. I'm tired of these ridiculously inflated prices and a bunch of KZfaqrs inflating the prices with their stupid "go out and get this game now before it's too expensive!" fomo nonsense. Not your channel but others. And I have since replaced collecting games with collecting ever drives ODEs and modded systems. At the end of the day all I really care about is playing the game on real hardware on a CRT and that's what I got.

I spend the most time on games that have quick pickup-and-play design. Fighting games, puzzle, and racing. I have young kids, so hour+ sessions are hard for me to muster. It’s kind of funny looking at my Steam playtimes and seeing 100+ hours on games that I play 15 minutes at a time. Short, sweet, get my fix in small, but regular intervals. 40 year old gamer problems

My sweetie pie n I play through beat em ups all the time cause most are shorter and really fun to play together. On the flip side, I recently made it through POW on nes wich I love but was a very difficult slog. I was relieved to get through it but it'll be a long time before I play it again.

Value for me is enjoying a new system with my 5 year old - with his allowance money, he bought Sonic 1 and 2 ($30) last week and I bought the Sega Genesis to play it on - $50. We have 40+ games for the NES, but he was afraid to play it. Today, he got to Aquatic Ruin zone by himself (and then rage quit) - I could hear the music changing from upstairs. For tomorrow, I left him at Hilltop with 13 lives and 4 continues - he should get pretty far with that as I myself go to the wreckers and scour for some parts ;)

Super Mario Bros. is a VERY short game, but in 1985, when I was just 13, it took me MONTHS and MONTHS to beat it. I frequently put in hours per day, pausing the game and leaving it powered on (no saves, remember?), until I was able to FINALLY beat the game. These days (I'm 51) it takes far less time to get through it because those hours of play helped me learn the gameplay and patterns. Certainly got my money's worth on that one! (Used my paper route money to buy it myself!) Didn't hurt that I didn't have many games to choose from. I was broke, my parents were broke, and rentals were only for a day or 2 when available.

I have this argument with my friend all the time. He refuses to buy Kirby and the Forgotten Land because it’s only 13 hours to beat. But that game is such a joy to play , it’s literally a happy place. So well polished. This is one example, there are other short games he won’t get either.

Very good points. I've played some of the modern, long, condom games like Skyrim and Batman Arkham series and while I had fun finishing them, I'd only replay them if you pay me. At the same time I love replaying games like the Crash Bandicoot series and various fighting games. It doesn't matter how long is the game but how fun it is and how often you like to come back to it.

Way to turn a potentially negative subject into a positive video. Well dont banana man 🍌. Still love replaying Super Mario Land on my Gameboy for the very reason you mentioned, it's enjoyable!

I'm going to have to listen to the Golden Eye pause music now.

just found your channel and i am loving your videos, laugh out loud funny. keep up the good work

quick case and point: The original re2 is pretty short, but I've played it countless times. The replay value is quadrupled with 2 characters and the A/B scenarios but it's also just a fun run.

Being something you want to play more than once is definitely my favorite way get more hours of entertainment.

Big fan of the channel. Watched every video and liked every video. My first time commenting. I’ll say I spend my time and money on retro video games. These newer games are all woke and and with GamerGate2.0 happening, I’ve picked my side and it’s not on the woke side. I’m tired of Capcom and Sony pushing DEI stuff and making all the females ugly then blaming the fans and calling fans names. I don’t need to spend my money on that trash. My backlog is very long and I could go the next 10 years not buying a new game and still have games to play.

I re-play Mike Tyson’s Punch Out all the time because it’s still fun for me.

I think both are equally important. Longer games may not be as consistently quality as a shorter title, but just in general they do typically have more content, regardless if you saw all of it or not, the time spent making it or whether or not you relegate it to your backlog. Something like Red Dead Redemption 2 just has more content than Super Mario 64 will, though that isn't to say SM64 is worse or better than RDR2 for this, it's to say that they are obviously different experiences. A big open world with tons of missions, side quests, collectibles, skill trees and other things to do is hard to compare to a linear game made 20 years ago, with less collectibles and content overall, a smaller budget and a smaller development window. I don't think either is really 'bad' or 'not worth it' because of the length of the content, unless the game is like 30 minutes long and $50, then I'm going right over it because no game I can beat on my lunch break twice deserves to receive anything more than $15. Regardless, I just feel this comparison isn't very just. I'm sure those older consoles would output bigger & longer experiences if the developers had more power, funds & time to make it how they envisioned, and hell there are older titles that are still some of the longest games around, the one that comes to my mind on the spot is Shenmue 1 & 2 on the Dreamcast & later the Xbox. The restraints stopped them from fully realizing their ideas, but now those restraints don't exist anymore. Deadlines are no longer so strict, budgets are bigger, teams are bigger, hardware is very powerful now, & newer formats like the recent disc discovery that could let you store multiple terabytes of data on a single disc, VR headsets & mobile phone gaming have given developers more opportunities than ever to make a game how they want it. So to loop it back around, I hold the opinion that they can exist in tandem, older & newer titles being different is just the ways of the times. The same movies that flew in the 1950s were not flying in the 1980s, & those 80s movies are not flying today.

Now as an adult with very limited time I absolutely prefer shorter games. I also love longer games like Breath of the Wild or the Resident Evil remakes, but after a full playthrough I don't touch them again.

1:40 like FF7 Remake. The horrific padding.

I learned to value games differently as I get older. Now, I gauge the value of how long I think I will play this game, including replays. So basicly, if the price does not equate to at most 1 dollar and hour, it is not worth it. It's amazing how many games eventually get to $20 bucks or less on sales. With all that said, I am about 2020/2021 for "my new games"

I think the Hitman trilogy is quite a good bang for the buck. I bought the 3 games and some dlc and needed nothing else to play for five years or so.

In my experience. I think the best amount to pay for a new video game is about 1 dollar for every 1 hour it takes to 100% the game on the first playthrough. That means Breath of the Wild, which took me 125 hours to 100% on my first playthrough, only cost $60. I real bargain. (I did not feel like it was padded with fluff.)

Funny story, my sister's boyfriend kindly bought me Tears of the Kingdom as a gift from Walmart. I never actually got to play it though as he bought the digital version and gave me the paper card from the store, neither of us knowing that the code for the game WAS ON THE RECEIPT. WHICH HE THREW AWAY A DAY BEFORE GIVING ME THE PAPER CARD. I like to think some hobo who is building a receipt collection found it, not knowing what was on it and keeps it in his hobo hut along with his other cherished pieces of long white paper, and that maybe that hobo got some value from it, because I know I SURE DIDN'T.

In canada we have paper bread-clips. you would hate them

15 hours tops is my sweet spot, 10 hours is *chef's kiss*

Star Fox 64 (called Lylat Wars over here) is a game I've consistently enjoyed playing through again and again since childhood. In fact I just played through it again a week ago and enjoyed it immensely even though I didn't beat my earlier records or anything, then three days ago I couldn't help but want to play through it again and I still didn't beat my best record but I was very close and more importantly had a great time yet again. The game is just simply fun to play through and that is what lends it such strong replayability. Even now as I'm typing this I can feel myself wanting to jump into yet another playthrough, so that is what I'm going to go do! ^v^ Awesome video by the way, Retro Bird! Brought back good memories both old and new!

I remember when Donkey Kong Country came out and blew me away. I couldn't believe it was a SNES game. It looked like a 32 bit game. I seen it the first time while on vacation at my mother's in Kansas. Some neighbor kids had it, I played it, and then had to own it.

Retro Bird with the truth about being an adult and time to fit in a hobby like video games. Those freemium games with daily rewards can be a job in itself. Sometimes I have to bring myself to log in after dealing with real life responsibilities. And I feel the "how good the pause menu music is" Sonic Mania's Comfort Zone is good enough to stop me in my tracks and listen to it.

You make some good points.