A Nintendo Love Story

My mom moved out of my childhood home this summer. She packed up all of the junk that had been collecting dust in my garage and attic and tried desperately to find somewhere to put it. Among the things she packed up was my brother and my old Nintendo and Super Nintendo. My mother, being the wonderful person that she is, asked both my brother and I if we wanted them. My brother passed, the fool that he is, but I decided to hang onto them, because you never know when you might be in the mood for some Duck Hunt.

Boy, was that a good idea. The box has been sitting next to my TV for about 6 months. Finally, on Sunday, I decided to open it up and see if I couldn't hook something up. What I found was a veritable cornucopia of 90s awesomeness. As I pour through my old games, I found a well of nostalgia I didn't even know I existed. I barely played when I was younger! But I could remember hours and hours of watching my brother play, cringing whenever he made a wrong move, or trying to jump with him as he dodged opponents. Yes, I was THAT kid.


I started out with Metal Marines, on Super Nintendo. I used to play this game constantly, rarely getting past level 2, but always coming back for more. I became determined to beat it. I would finally defeat the game that had thwarted me for so long. I sat down at 3 pm, thinking that I would play for an hour or so. I looked up 7 hours later, and realized that the entire night had past. Opps.

The best part about this rediscovery however, were people's reactions. My best friend laughed. My boyfriend sighed and shook his head. When I told my cousin, who had spent about as much time watching my brother play the game as I had, immediately burst into the theme song for Metal Marines as if she had heard it yesterday. We both started singing along at the top of our lungs in the middle of the restaurant, and got more than a few stares.

I have yet to get to my Nintendo. I was having too much fun to switch systems. But I did realize that the last game I played on Nintendo was Duck Hunt. I'm glad that my former self had as good of taste that I have today.

For anyone who has a Super Nintendo, I fully recommend the throwback. The early 90s were simpler times, with easier controllers and blocky graphics. No need for cameras to watch your actions or voice commands. It was easy- up, down, left, A, right, B, up. What more could a nerd ask for?