I’ve been gaming for as long as I can remember. I was lucky enough to be a kid during the beginning of the NES revolution, a revolution that we owe to Hiroshi Yamauchi, former President of Nintendo, who died yesterday. Yamauchi is largely responsible for turning Nintendo from a card-game company into the video game giant it is today, thanks to the NES, the brainchild of Yamauchi. He didn’t design games himself, but he was instrumental in crafting what would eventually become the NES.
As sad as it is that Yamauchi is no longer with us, his legacy lives on through the NES and all the great games and memories associated with it. I got my NES when I was 5 years old. I didn’t even know what it was, it just appeared one day, a gift from my mom to my brother and myself. Playing through Super Mario Bros, finding the warp zones, wondering how many damn levels there were in the game…it was a blast. I remember using the Power Pad to play Track & Field and losing to Cheetah over and over until finally resorting to pounding the pad with my fists instead of running on it like we are supposed to. Cheetah went down and my hands ached, but damn it, I won.
That was just the start of what became a love affair that spanned years. Discovering how awesome a game based on Ducktales could be, getting scared from roaming the graveyard in The Legend of Zelda, having no clue where to go in Metroid and trying not to destroy my controller while playing Mega Man, it was a fantastic first console. But the memory that stands out the most is likely no surprise to those of you who know me: playing my very first Final Fantasy. From the moment I got to choose exactly what class my party members could be, I was hooked. And have been ever since.
What are your favorite NES memories? If you are too young, have you played any NES games? If so, what was your impression?
I was predominately a gamer kid in the late 16-bit era and onward. However, the release of Animal Crossing on the GameCube meant I could still take part in a sample of the NES’s catalog. My house’s basement had all the obtainable NES games, and I used to spend hours playing Donkey Kong, Excitebike, and Wario’s Woods.
I managed to experience a decent amount of NES games since my cousins owned one. It’s been so long though (back when I was 3 or 4), all I can remember is Duck Hunt, Super Mario Bros., and some game that I’ve got a really vague picture of in my head. Oh great, now I’m going to be entering really vague google searches for the next half hour. Thanks a bunch Anthony. :/
“nes game with the colours”
“nes game with the ball”
etc.
My earliest gaming memories are with the SNES (although my dad did have an NES, I just don’t remember). Fortunately I had 2 older cousins who held on to their NES, one on each side of the family, so I got to experience some weird games aside from the regular Mario Bros 3 and Duck Hunt. I particularity remember playing a really strange Friday The 13th game, but mostly remember TMNT. Thinking back on it now, going around the city streets and down the sewers was pretty ridiculous for it’s time.
Oh man the NES was what started my love of this wonderful medium of ours. My most memorable would be the very first time I picked up a NES controller in my hands at 4 years old. My brother had owned a NES growing up and still played a lot. He introduced it to me. I may have experienced the tail end of the NES lifespan but that moment of picking that grey toned, rectangular, simple controller and playing Super Mario Bros. for the first time had me instantly hooked. There are so many other memories though. Playing Skate or Die, and RBI Baseball for hours. Playing Zelda 2 (the gold cartridge) and experiencing Link’s quest to save Hyrule. Playing Metroid and being confused how to morph to ball form . The NES will always have a special place in my 8-bit heart
Julien,
That Friday the 13th game was weird and cumbersome and kind of creepy! I rented it once and I still remember everything about it. Purple Jason! WTF!
My favorite Nintendo memories all had to do with overcoming challenges. I remember that I could beat Super Contra (Super C) without using any codes, or beat Mega Man 2 in one sitting (since that’s sort of what you were forced to do back in those days). I also remember spending hours renting games that I barely can even recall any longer, and just loving the worlds that opened up to me. I really pin video games as the thing that inspired me to first create, and the NES launched me in that direction. I hope one day I can be a part of making something that means that much to somebody else.