Dude, Where's My Muscle Memory?

Home » Aeropaused, NES, Retro, Super NES, Wii Virtual Console

Dude, Where’s My Muscle Memory?

Submitted by Stephen Munn on July 28, 2009 – 9:37 am12 Comments

Dude, Where's My Car? movie poster I’ve been noticing a change in myself lately as I progress through my thirties: I seem to be losing my muscle memory. Muscle memory is what allows you to go back to a game you’ve played many, many times and play it easily, even after years away from the game. The idea is that, by playing the game over and over again, you’ve memorized all the timing necessary to pass all those parts of the game that confounded you when you first played the game, and continue to confound new players today. See the Mega Man series. When Mega Man Anniversary Collection came out for Gamecube, I bought it and blasted easily through the first three games, which I’d played so many times as a child that I’d memorized every jump and shot. Mega Man 9 was hard for me at first, but by the time I got through the stages, I had them down.

When I realized yesterday that I’m losing my muscle memory, I was in denial.

In December 2006, Super Castlevania IV came out on Virtual Console. I hadn’t played through the game since the early 1990s, but I sat down with it and easily worked my way through, remembering every hidden item, every jump, every whip. Earlier this year, Castlevania III came out on Virtual Console, and I found playing the game a struggle. I’d played through the game more recently than I had IV, but still I couldn’t get the timing down right, and have yet to beat it on Virtual Console.

I gave up on III yesterday, thinking I had done something wrong in choosing Sypha as my companion through the game, and started over. I chose Grant, and found that I couldn’t even progress as far as I had with Sypha. Deciding I couldn’t play the game right now for whatever reason, I figured I’d try Super Castlevania IV, which I knew I had down perfectly… and had the exact same experience. The timing is gone, and I was dead as quickly as with III.

It’s not just Castlevania, either. I have trouble with a lot of games that I found easy even just a couple of years ago. Maybe my reaction times are slowing as I age. I’m afraid to boot up Mega Man 9, because I don’t know what I’ll find. Whatever it is, I’m not quite sure what to do about it. Is anyone else having a similar experience?

Image source: IMP Awards

Tags: castlevania iii: dracula's curse, mega man, muscle memory, super castlevania iv

http://www.aeropause.com mclazyj

Who's the old man now? Should I get your AARP membership card ready. You should join me for the senior special at Denny's. We can get our plaid pants, pull them up to mid chest and complain about everything that the waitress does, along with everything about our meal. Then we can take our our abacus to figure out the tip down to the fraction of a penny, for fear of overtipping. Then get in our 1982 Caprice Classic and roll out of the parking lot, 10 miles under the speed limit for fear of crashing.
http://www.aeropause.com Shane

Bah I'll be 34 soon good god. My MM loss is most noticeable in FPS – those kids just whip my ass sometimes. So there needs to be “30's Only” servers!
JoeFourhman

Maybe this is why I do not enjoy those old-style 2D platformers.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tony-Sadowski/506807615 Tony Sadowski

It's a muscle. You have to work it out to keep it ready to rock.

I suspect that other games we're playing these days are conditioning us to play in a less twitch-oriented and more laid back style.

These classics are not easy games, and never were.

Sure, I could work my way though Mega Man 3, again. But not like I could back when I was playing it frequently. Play, die, repeat as necessary until end boss is defeated. I'd have to relearn it.

Like a broken leg. You know how to walk, but have to relearn it.

That's the simple beauty of those games, and the same process still applies. You can't take for granted that you'll always breeze through them. Where's the fun in that?

I'm sure we do get slower and our reaction time isn't as quick, at some point. (I suspect Fourhman is actually about 74 years old, hence his vehement distaste for such games, even “back in the day.”)

I think you're overestimating said “muscle memory,” or at least attributing to yourself super powers of digital dexterity and assuming that they'll never fade.

If I pick up Super Mario Bros. today and miss that big jump I used to be able to nail every time at full speed in world 8-1…then I ain't who I was, man. Time passes.

I've been playing games like Harvest Moon, Wii Sports, and Guitar Hero in recent years. That I even got through Mega Man 9 at ALL is a miracle. It took work. And I realized I came to rely VERY heavily on the slide in later games in the series.

Keep at it, and you'll eventually be able to beat those games again. No doubt. But you have to want to invest the time to get up to speed properly, again. Knowing what to do and being able to do it correctly are very different.
Jake'm

I certainly hope it doesn't go with me. I still own awesomely at the Mario games I have on the SNES.
Jordan_Snyder

The “Enter” button. Use it less.
Vixx

Amen, my friend. Amen.
tomterranova

maybe gamers have grown more savvy about games and we've all collectively decided what constitutes good, reasonably difficult and fun gameplay.When games don't feel fun, we know better than to keep playing, since we can seek out better-designed games. a decade or two ago, it was all new and we were more enthralled by that newness. now we are more experienced and we seek to have our imaginations and emotions more engaged, whereas before just having our raw reflexes challenged was new and exciting enough.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tony-Sadowski/506807615 Tony Sadowski

Handle my style, you can not. -Yoda Tony
Jordan_Snyder

Do you want to get in my backpack so we can roam Dagobah?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tony-Sadowski/506807615 Tony Sadowski

Despite how vaguely dirty that sounds, I'm in.

It'd make a great web comic for Aeropause, at the very least.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tony-Sadowski/506807615 Tony Sadowski

Despite how vaguely dirty that sounds, I'm in.

It'd make a great web comic for Aeropause, at the very least.