Filling in for John in the morning comes with a couple of things. 1. Big shoes to fill (Spoiler Alert, they cannot be filled.) 2. An earlier bedtime. Well, I failed on that one too, and old video games are to blame. I got a hold of a couple of classic Nintendo games (thanks to my buddy, Salty) and just couldn’t stop.
Was playing the original “Mario Bros.” yesterday and it’s definitely going to take some time to return to my former glory. My 4-year-old son was my wingman for a while. He played a bit but mostly watched. A total backseat driver. Screaming “JUMP!” in my ear every time he thought I should jump. Sooooo loud. I had to tell him to yell at a slightly lower volume for the health of my hearing. The decibel level was one thing, the fact that it would have been game over had I taken his bad jumping advice was a whole other. Meanwhile, when I finally went to bed, my wife was still awake and in a “Tetris” trance.
I went through some boxes from our move and found a few of my old systems. I was so pumped to get back on the “Sports Talk Baseball” train on Sega Genesis. I actually had an old season saved from when I was a kid. I finished up the World Series and thought, “What would 15-year-old Kevin have said if he knew that full-blown adult Kevin would finish that series a couple of decades later?” Actually, he probably would have said “Why are you playing Sega Genesis and not cruising around in your flying car!?” And I would have said to him, “Why are you playing Sega Genesis instead of talking to girls!?”
The Nintendo 64 occupied so many hours for myself and my buddies. The 4-player multi-player option was unreal. The Bond game “GoldenEye 007” is an absolute classic. Just hearing the music again brought me right back to Tito’s basement. It was always so fun … Unless Salty was playing. He was so good at video games we called him “The Wizard”. I have held it against him our whole lives, but since he got me these classic games, I have decided to forgive him. PS Developers have recently, and finally, confirmed. If you played as Oddjob in “GoldenEye”, you’re pretty-much a CHEATER!
“Mario Kart 64” was another game that saw so many battles. Toad for life in that one. I still hold grudges against well-placed spiny turtle shells that robbed me of certain victory at the last second.
Perhaps my favourite titles of all-time, though, are the THQ wrestling games on N64. Starting with the “WCW/NWO” games rolling right through to “WWF No Mercy”. SO … GOOD. Those battles were marathons. My hands are sore just thinking about it. Perhaps the best part was, since I was the owner of the system and games, I got to design my own player AND those of my friends. My guy, “The K-Man”, had the best moves, physique, garb and entrance. My buddies’ likenesses, not so much.
Pro Tip: Use Scott Norton in “WCW vs. NWO: World Tour”. His big punch is stellar. Also, I am not above dirtbag-play, and throwing your opponent out of the ring in order to pump up your energy until he gets back in.
What are some of your favourite classic games? Let me know if the comments!
