Quote:
Originally Posted by Angrist
I can't believe you remember all that. I guess it made a real impression.
|
It really did. The only other system that has had as much or close to an impact on me as the NES did, was the SNES. That might be my other all-time favorite console as well, and it was the highlight of my high school years. I also have an N64, PS2, GameCube, and a Wii. Even though I enjoyed the systems, the memories don't really compare to that of the NES. The games back then were all about fun, and even with the Sega Master System being active (albeit for a short time, here in the states anyway) and the Genesis being active, and the Turbo Grafx 16 being active, the NES still held out just fine, and there wasn't really that much emphasis on annoying console wars.
Here's a story. Last December, I was driving around with one of my cousins, and we got to talking about video games. He talked about the days of the NES and how we used to think its games were the coolest ever. He apparently doesn't think so anymore, but I told him that they still are. He doesn't think he can play them anymore, since he thinks he'd be thrown off by the simplistic look, after being spoiled by the high-end looks of X-Box 360 games. I find that saddening, especially since HE'S the cousin who got me into the NES craze. He was even surprised when I told him that people still play the NES to this day, since it takes them back to a time where video games were, as I already said earlier, were much simpler and more about fun, and probably the lack of console wars.
Even after playing video games that mostly look like what they do today, at least I can still go back to NES video games and play them just fine. In fact, I played Super Mario Bros. a few weekends ago in honor of its 25th anniversary, and managed to get through the whole game without warping, and also did it without losing a single solitary life.
Subscribing to Nintendo Power also added to the fun of owning an NES back in the day. During the 16-bit era however, I got ragged on a few times for being seen with an issue of NP. One person commented that I'm probably the only one who still gets them. Another person goes "do you now how OLD that is?". Though one person had just simply said I should get GamePro since it's better. The magic of NP seems to have dwindled for some, but when I saw that a future issue would be commemorating the 25th anniversary of the NES, I knew there was a reason why I'm still subscribing (since January 1990).
The Genesis and Turbo Grafx 16 were already out around the time I got my NES. I remember how this guy in my school told me that Nintendo was going out of style, and that I should have gotten TG16. As you can see, I'm happy with my choice. Ironically enough though, he might have changed his tune since he got the chance to play my copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 a year later. By that time, he was out of our school, but his sister was still there. So she was the first person I lent the game out to.
Part of me wishes I had gotten into the craze a bit earlier than I had. I've seen commercials for NES games and other products long before I got into it in early 1989, but they didn't really stand out to me as much as the ones for action figures such as Transformers and G.I. Joe did. Kids from the school I was going to at the time never even talked about the NES anyway. I had started a new school in the fall of 1987 when I was going into the third grade, and that's when the NES was more active in discussions. Much more active once I started fourth grade though. Though if I did get an NES much earlier than I did, I'd probably have more games for it than I do now, and the nostalgia factor would have been even greater for me. Though at least I got mine at a time when I was around people who actually were talking about it.
Re: Happy 25th to the NES!
Hybrid Mode
