A 'Legend' 25 Years in the Making

As you can probably tell by now, this has pretty much shifted from a random thought blog to a memory blog. I'll get back to the randomness soon enough, but I have a little more nostalgia to get out, so bear with me.

Ask any male in between the ages of 25 and 35 what they remember about their childhood. You'll most likely get the expected responses such as playing tee ball or pee wee football, first days of school and going through grade school, going on vacations with family, or remembering the arrival of a little brother or sister. However I can almost guarantee that they will have another memory: Nintendo.

In October of 1985 the Nintendo Entertainment System was released in North America, along with 18 launch titles. After the video game crash of 1983, people were hesitant to purchase video games again, so Nintendo decided to call their little grey box an 'Entertainment System.' The system came with a pack-in game that would change the face of both the entertainment industry and a generation of kids: Super Mario Brothers. Tight gameplay, colorful worlds and a memorable score made both the game and the system a hit. Shortly after that, Nintendo and Mario were everywhere...cereals, TV shows, curtains (which I had), you name it and Nintendo was on it. It even made it's way into a quick scene in Ghostbusters II. Nintendo ruled the freaking world.

My 9-year old mind: BLOWN

My mother's friend Terri had one, and whenever I went over to her house I played it when I could and had a blast. Then, one birthday I opened the big box present from my parents and staring back at me was my very own NES. I played Mario and Duck Hunt for weeks on end, sharing Mario secrets with friends and trying to beat the game. (Oddly enough a feat I did not accomplish on the first Mario game until many years later)

Cut to Christmas, the season when little kids' dreams are filled with wonder and anticipation. What can really live up to that? I had no idea what to expect. I awoke Christmas morning and was pleasantly surprised with the games 'Kung Fu' and 'Mach Rider.' A karate and a motorcycle game? That's 'Kid Nirvana,' and I was riding high. I honestly thought I was going to die when I opened my Ghostbusters soundtrack tape....for me it could get no better. And I was wrong.

The last present I noticed was one more NES game that I hadn't heard very much of, but instead of the standard gray cartridges that NES games came in, this one was gold. It was 'The Legend of Zelda.'

Who gives a crap if it's good or not, it's freaking GOLD!

A whole new world lie before me, with no specific place to go and the ability to roam free through the land, this was the game for kids with imagination. You could lose yourself imaging what the creatures looked like and trying to figure out the puzzles to reach the underground labyrinths. My best friend Shaune and I double teamed the game, one of us would play through and the other would be the "map master" and would navigate and help with strategy to help the other make it out alive. Unlike Mario games, what made this one so unique was that it had a battery backup built in to the cartridge to save your progress (the first of it's kind), because the game was so big it couldn't be finished in a single setting.

After you fought your way through the 8 dungeons and collected the treasures within, slew the boss and collected the fragment of the Triforce, you made your way up Death Mountain. Epic stuff. You would then enter Level-9, which might have well been a game of it's own. It was HUGE! After you found the red ring and silver arrows, you would finally make your way to face Ganon, a pig-like monster who became invisible and shot fireballs at you. If you managed to hit him with your sword 5 times, he would turn red. Nail him with the silver arrow and poof! All that was left was the Triforce in a pile of dust. In the next room was Princess Zelda. The game was over and the credits rolled. But wait....what's this? "Another Quest Will Start From Here....Press Start." Hm. Okay, it looks the same....but it's not. Levels are moved, enemies are tougher. It's another game in one!

At this point kids everywhere were floored. Probably the only thing that floored us more (video-game wise) at this time was the discovery in the game 'Metroid' that the bad-ass gun toting, missile shooting alien killer was in fact, a woman. After that there was Zelda 2, which was completely different. It was a side scroller with RPG elements such as magic and leveling up. Many people were not a fan, and Shaune and I were no different. We played it because it was Zelda, but only in later years did I come to appreciate it more.

In 1991 Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, packing 16-bits of awesomeness that would melt gamers faces that were used to the 8-bit powered NES. We had no idea what the hell a bit was, but we did know that 16 was twice as much as 8, so it had to be twice as good. The next year we found out just how good it was when "A Link To The Past" came out. It returned to the top-down perspective that made the first one so accessible, and the expanded on every thing. The graphics were top notch, NPCs (non-playable characters) had a greater role, your inventory tripled with all kinds of cool stuff to use, and probably most importantly there was a back-story. Shaune and I played this game like it was our jobs (in between school and little league), and when we beat it we were the bad boys on the block!

Remember the first time seeing the rain? Freaking sweet.

After that the series got a portable game, which I'm playing now, however it did not get another console release until November of 1998. That being my junior year of high school I was too busy driving, working and trying to pass classes that my video game playing took a back seat, and I missed out what many consider to be the greatest game of all time: "Ocarina of Time." However, my brother who was 10 at the time had the game and carried on the Zelda tradition, something we still share today.

Over the years many new Zelda games have come and gone, and I've played and beat most of them. While they're all great games in their own regard, they can't really top those first games for me. They may be dated graphically and the technology held the storytelling ability back, but the gameplay was all you needed. I like to look at those games and remember the sense of wonder that came with them, from the opening of the golden cartridge to stretching my brain trying to figure out the puzzles and where to go. It encouraged gamers to talk and share their secrets, and through that bonded friendships. The series turned 25 years old this year and every new title is just as anticipated as it was in the late 80's and 90's. That's legendary.

Side note: I've been doing this for a month now and have really been enjoying it. Are you? I would love to hear (or read) your feedback!