Who Else Misses Nintendo?

I got an email forward earlier this week with a list of observations from someone. That person mentioned that somehow children of the eighties knew that blowing on a Nintendo cartridge and pushing down hard on the system would get the game to work. All of this ingenuity was deciphered without the internet or chat rooms. This little nugget got me thinking back to those glorious days. I remember when you could choose a video game from your collection (and yes it was a collection because games didn't cost $60 each), and you would be playing that game within the next 30 seconds. God bless the creators of the advanced systems for their graphics, gameplay, and cinematics, but why in the hell do I have to wait five minutes before I'm actually playing a game? At that point screw it. I'm just not that interested. I can put on a rerun of Seinfeld and break out Mattel football. I'm just saying that when there is nothing on tv and the PS3 loses to sudoku as next best entertainment option, that might be an issue.

I don't want to dwell on the issues with modern consoles because quite frankly I just don't care that much. If I have Grand Theft Auto or Madden, then I'll be interested for a few months, but outside of those...ehh. Who else misses Contra, Ninja Gaiden, Dragon Warriors, Final Fight, River City Ransom, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle games? Jackal anyone? Now that's fine gaming there. You drive a jeep that only goes one direction and either shoots a gun to the north or throws a grenade. That's really all you need in the end. Bases Loaded was so easy to play my dad would ask to play a game. Pull that mental image into your brain file. We had Punchout!!, Hockey, RBI Baseball, Base Wars, and the epicenter of all-time gaming Tecmo Super Bowl. Super Mario Bros 3 is still probably the most fun you've ever had as a gamer. Admit it, you're still trying to find a frog or raccoon suit on ebay. Instead of prolonging the experience like today, we used to have warp levels to conquer a game during lunch break.

What are some of your favorites? I was a big fan of Archon. It was video game chess where you actually battled to see who wins the space. Is there anyone here who didn't load up Duck Hunt when there parents weren't watching just so they could put the gun right against the screen and mow down those ducks? Has anyone ever been able to figure out why Super Mario Bros 2 sucked so bad? I'll tell you what, if being a paper delivery boy was as fun as Paperboy the video game, I'd still be doing it. I always wondered why games you would expect to be cool/fun growing up sucked i.e. Wrestlemania and oddball games designed after toys were usually awesome i.e. Micro Machines and Monster in my Pocket. So let's hear it folks. It is Friday and you know you aren't doing a damn thing worthwhile. Tell the world what your vice was growing up. Don't be afraid to admit your dorkness and affinity for Tetris and Dr. Mario. Was Higgins from Adventure Island your hero? Did you play all 100 levels of Bubble Bobble? Have you downloaded old versions of Mega Man on your Wii? Maybe you're super old school and were big into Metroid and Kid Icarus. The old Saturday morning Nintendo cartoon was great.

Weekend Wonderment

This weekend should be pretty easy to find something to do. You all should probably be saving yourselves for the Pearl Jam show at the UC on Sunday, so you'll have enough energy for the show on Monday night as well. If that's not your deal, take the long venture out to the DeKalb Airport for CornFest. It's not quite the same as Morris, but it is a cornfest nonetheless. They have free concerts going all day and night, but if you end up shacking with an NIU student keep it to yourself. If you're not up for musical adventures, then head down to Frontera Grill around 4:30 Saturday afternoon and get in line for a table. You'll be able to feast on the cuisine of the first Top Chef Master right here in Chicago. Enjoy the mild weekend in style.