Back to The Basics: A Blast From The Past
Recently, Nintendo has gotten hip to the fact that many of its past core gamers are older and at times want to experience the nostalgia that those physical and online emulators have been able to capture. With the release of their Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition just in time for the holidays, Nintendo has become relevant in the gaming world again. Nintendo has hit gold with this release, so much so that the $60 console is selling out and being resold for 3 times what it was originally priced on eBay.
As you know I have been playing Rocket League very heavy over the summer and fall. Because of this my oldest son has begun showing an interest. The problem is that he is only 6 years and Rocket League requires you to have a firm foundation and knowledge of basic physics. This is easier said than done when you have to use a remote control to perform maneuvers and score goals. I noticed my son’s frustration one day while trying to match my awe-inspiring skills and said to myself, “There has to be a better way”. I was proud of the effort he put forth but I also know that it took me years to get to the point where a game like this would come easy to me. Call of Duty and many other games played these days require you to use two direction sticks in order to make your character look and move a certain way. With that being said, I’ve been playing these games for years and it took me a good month to get competent enough to score a goal in Rocket League, let alone defend. So I said “F*ck it”. I knew that I needed to give him a proper introduction to gaming. So, with that I began my search for a Super Nintendo (SNES) that I could present him for the holidays.
Finding the SNES wasn’t the hard part, it was finding one reasonably priced. I had seen some consoles priced at $200 bucks on eBay, without games. I immediately wrote the seller telling him to “Kiss my ass” unprovoked. It was then that I realized I had a secret weapon, the Let Go app on my phone. People, sell everything on that thing. I open the app and I type in “Nintendo” in the search bar. I scroll through and I see it!!! Some guy was selling an SNES system, one controller and two games – NBA Jam Tournament Edition and Bill Walsh College Football for $50. In my mind all I can say is “Heck yes”. He had plenty of pictures. The console was in great shape other than a little discoloration due to sun exposure. That’s to be expected of a classic machine as this.
These transactions are always sketchy to me but nonetheless I decide to meet him. I pull the trigger and write the guy to tell him that I was interested. We set up a pick-up time and location. I get to the location and text him to let him know that I was there. The wait seemed like forever but he walks out with a box. I was going to pay him a little extra but he made me wait 15 minutes past the original meet up time. We approach each other and he says, “Man, I didn’t know you were coming”. In my mind all I could think is how that was bullshit because we were clearly talking that morning confirming everything. Why else would I be here? His flip flops were distracting me. I ignore his nonsense and flip flops and asked, “Is that the shit?” He replies, “Yes sir, you got the cash?” I flash the cash, holding it between my index and middle finger. We exchange the dough and console swiftly and say our goodbyes. He trips and falls going up the steps to his apartment. Flip Flops are forever unreliable. I shake my head and drive off.
I rush to get home to see if the game works. I hook it into the television, change the channel and voila…it works. Within minutes I’m playing NBA Jam and it’s like I am back in the 90’s. The game is fun and addictive as ever. The bonus to it all is that it only requires you to use 3 buttons – pass, shoot, turbo. That’s it. I can’t wait to let my son get his hands on this thing. Yes, the original Nintendo came out and it has 30 games preloaded but to be honest, I came into gaming when the original NES was going out and the Super Nintendo (SNES) was coming in. So, to me this was the perfect introduction for my son and an awesome way for me to relive the glory days of gaming. Now I just need to track to down some more SNES titles to add to his collection.
