It was probably about two or three years ago now that I was visiting the online auction website, ebay. I wasn’t there by accident. I was there on a specific mission. I was looking for a specific item. I was looking for a piece of my childhood. I was looking for the Regular, 8-bit, Vintage, Grey and White with Red Lettering, Beautiful, Nintendo Entertainment System. Fondly remembered by me as the NES.
I was able to get an NES for about $40.00 including shipping. When it arrived in the mail, I felt complete for the first time in years. (Ok, I’m kidding about that.) But I was certainly excited to see that beautiful piece of 1980’s equipment hooked up to my Television Set.
Some of you might be wondering at this point: Is he actually going to blog about the Nintendo? My short answer to you: Yes I am. My long answer: There are still at least three other nintendo systems out there that I will eventually blog about as well. (Hey, it’s my blog… and I’m easily amused… especially by stuff from the 1980’s.) If you don't like Nintendo... come back later. If you do... you might like this trip down memory lane.)
Anyway… I have recently been thinking about the first couple of years that the Nintendo was out. There was nothing like it on the market. The first time I played Super Mario Bros, (at Tony Polito’s house) my little 9 year old mind could barely understand what I was seeing. I remember some of my friends would come to my school (Butterworth Elementary) with the fresh new magazine: Nintendo Power. I was so jealous. Nintendo Power had all the newest hints and codes… tips and tricks. Nintendo Power had everything in it that you needed to be a sucessful NES player.
Nintendo’s marketing was tremendous. I remember one particular Christmas when both Zelda 2 and Super Mario Bros. 2 were coming out. You could not find either of those games anywhere. Everybody wanted a copy. I remember visiting Toys R Us multiple times and being turned away because they still didn’t have either game in. It was crazy. Though, not always the best games… Nintendo did a great job getting games from the most popular movies of the times: Back to the Future, Star Wars, Batman, etc. As a kid, you wanted to get all of those games.
It’s funny, because certain things will always stick in your memory. For me, many of the tunes from Nintendo games are still in my head. I can still hum certain Zelda, Castlevania, Mario Bros, Kid Icarus, and Metroid tunes that I heard when I was a kid. Another thing that sticks in my memory: Secrets. I’ll never forget Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start… that gets you 30 guys in Contra. I’ll never forget where most of the free life mushrooms are in Super Mario Bros. I’ll never forget how to beat King Hippo on Mike Tyson’s Punchout. I’ll never forget what bushes to burn with the candle to get extra cash in Zelda. (No, I really DIDN'T have much to do when I was a kid.)
I will always have a special place in my heart for the beloved NES. On that note, here is my top 10 list for Nintendo games….
Honorable Mentions: Goonies 2, Kid Icarus, Metroid, Ninja Gaiden, Faxandu, Rygar, Mario Bros., Ninja Turtles, Star Wars, Wizards and Warriors, Willow, Robin Hood, Batman, Tecmo Football, Baseball Simulator 1.000… and many others:
#10: Dragon Warrior games: I loved the first one. For the first time, I am currently playing the second one. I hear that the third and fourth ones are awesome… but they are currently too expensive on ebay for me to try out.
#9: Gunsmoke: This game is so easy to beat… I don’t even know why I like it so much. But it doesn’t matter how many times I’ve beaten this game, I still love playing it.
#8 Super Dodge Ball: Great game. It’s pretty expensive on ebay now too. So I’m not the only one who likes it.
#7 Metal Gear: So many weapons, so little time. First game that really incorporated artificial intelligence. If an enemy saw you… they alerted others and started shooting. If they didn’t… well, let’s just say that it stinks to be them.
#6: Mega Man games: The concept of beating a boss and taking his weapon to use on all the other bosses is just too cool.
#5: Contra. I guess I like this game because it just so stinkin fun to play with another person. One of the best co-op games ever made.
#4: Castlvania. The first one is my favorite. I loved the music and graphics of this game. The bosses were cool too: Grim Reaper, Dracula, Medusa. Great game.
#3: Mike Tyson’s Punchout. What a fun game! Mike Tyson was so stinkin’ hard. King Hippo and the boob flexing Macho Man were cool too. And Glass Joe… who can forget that pathetic soul?
#2: The Legend of Zelda. No game came close to it’s scope and creativity for a long time. When I first played this game… it was completely different than anything I had seen before. I STILL love playing it. I love the title screen with the waterfall too!
#1: Final Fantasy. The definitive NES game. Compared to all the other games, this game was HUGE! Hundreds of different weapons, armors, magics, monsters… bosses. The storyline was wide open… you could pretty much do what you wanted to do in whatever order you wanted to do it in… which was so much different from other games in that day.
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