Nostaglia in a Nutshell
I recently had the opportunity to travel back in time. Seriously. My son's
friend Davis had an NES Classic, which is a small scale replica of the original
Nintendo Entertainment System, which released in the US in 1985.
As a child coming of age in the 80s, the NES defined my childhood as much as anything. I say 80's, what pops into your mind? Michael Jackson's zipper jacket? His Billie Jean, Beat It and Thriller videos? Madonna and Cyndi Lauper? Yes, yes. All of these things are quintessential. But so is Mario, Princess Peach, Toad, Yoshi, and Tetris!!
So when Davis offered to let me borrow his system (which I suspect he had grown bored with, having already owned a PS4 and recently acquiring the new Nintendo Switch), I happily obliged. I have to say, I was unprepared for what came next.
The NES Classic does not come with cartridges you have to blow into before inserting just right - it has 30 games preloaded. Classics such as Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Super Mario 1, 2 & 3. Kid Icarus, Legend of Zelda. Mega Man II, Metroid, Contra. (I've got to stop fanboying or I will never finish this blog post with any dignity.) The games brought back such sweet memories.
When Super Mario 3 came out, I bought with my own money (which made me feel like a man) and stayed up all night playing it. Beat the game in a day, but I didn't realize I had an eye appointment the next day. My dad took me to my appointment, and bleary eyed and exhausted, I did poorly on reading the eye chart and was given a prescription for glasses. Ah, the folly of youth! Playing SMB3 in my 40s was like being Quantum Leaped into my 17 year old body. Some of the little known tricks erupted like lava from deep within my memory banks (the same memory that refuses to tell me where I last laid down my cell phone). I cannot convey how wistful and delighted I felt.
The kids came in and dutifully slammed the graphics. "This is the flower of 1987 technology!!!", I retorted. A friend came by, saw the little wonder, and started scrolling through the titles. When we saw Tecmo Bowl, he went nuts. He started a game, and as I falling into a wormhole, was taken back to his childhood. Nostalgia is a powerful thing.
The kids each tried their hand at Punch Out, which in my day was Mike Tyson's Punch Out, but I guess Mike Tyson's name doesn't carry the cachet that it used to. No matter. I watched these whippersnappers get pummeled by Glass Joe, Don Flamenco and Piston Honda. Primitive graphics aside, these games still can suck you in. These youngsters got a feel for how hardcore our games were back then. Some of those games - if you died, you started from the very beginning. No "save anywhere" capability. Pah.
The NES Classic. Making Gaming Great Again.
As a child coming of age in the 80s, the NES defined my childhood as much as anything. I say 80's, what pops into your mind? Michael Jackson's zipper jacket? His Billie Jean, Beat It and Thriller videos? Madonna and Cyndi Lauper? Yes, yes. All of these things are quintessential. But so is Mario, Princess Peach, Toad, Yoshi, and Tetris!!
So when Davis offered to let me borrow his system (which I suspect he had grown bored with, having already owned a PS4 and recently acquiring the new Nintendo Switch), I happily obliged. I have to say, I was unprepared for what came next.
The NES Classic does not come with cartridges you have to blow into before inserting just right - it has 30 games preloaded. Classics such as Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Super Mario 1, 2 & 3. Kid Icarus, Legend of Zelda. Mega Man II, Metroid, Contra. (I've got to stop fanboying or I will never finish this blog post with any dignity.) The games brought back such sweet memories.
When Super Mario 3 came out, I bought with my own money (which made me feel like a man) and stayed up all night playing it. Beat the game in a day, but I didn't realize I had an eye appointment the next day. My dad took me to my appointment, and bleary eyed and exhausted, I did poorly on reading the eye chart and was given a prescription for glasses. Ah, the folly of youth! Playing SMB3 in my 40s was like being Quantum Leaped into my 17 year old body. Some of the little known tricks erupted like lava from deep within my memory banks (the same memory that refuses to tell me where I last laid down my cell phone). I cannot convey how wistful and delighted I felt.
The kids came in and dutifully slammed the graphics. "This is the flower of 1987 technology!!!", I retorted. A friend came by, saw the little wonder, and started scrolling through the titles. When we saw Tecmo Bowl, he went nuts. He started a game, and as I falling into a wormhole, was taken back to his childhood. Nostalgia is a powerful thing.
The kids each tried their hand at Punch Out, which in my day was Mike Tyson's Punch Out, but I guess Mike Tyson's name doesn't carry the cachet that it used to. No matter. I watched these whippersnappers get pummeled by Glass Joe, Don Flamenco and Piston Honda. Primitive graphics aside, these games still can suck you in. These youngsters got a feel for how hardcore our games were back then. Some of those games - if you died, you started from the very beginning. No "save anywhere" capability. Pah.
The NES Classic. Making Gaming Great Again.
posted by Jahan at 7:00 AM
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