I’m quite certain most people my age (25 at time of this article) who have been life-long gamers started out on the NES. It was the pinnacle of home console gaming especially in 1987 as far as I know, at least until the SNES/ Genesis era. Most people I know who owned one had various games; however the one cartridge that was the common denominator was the Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt combo. (At least around these parts of Canada)

There really isn’t anything I can say about the game that hasn’t already been said; it’s a masterpiece in its simplicity and tight controls. However, 2-year-old me didn’t really have the dexterity to pull any of that off... SMB was the first game I ever played, and chronologically, probably the earliest memory in my childhood life I can remember distinctly. Playing on a small, 12 inch black and white screen; all the while trying the futile attempt to legitimately beat the underground level. Who knows how many little Italian plumbers I’ve sacrificed in the name of progress?

Speaking of deaths, I remember giggling my toddler ass off when he died. I guess the part where the music stops and you hear the twiddle (that’s the best word I can think of for it, probably wrong) followed by the rest of the game over anthem was funny sounding to me. (That or it’s a sign for some sort of mental deficiency?) I knew the main theme by heart pretty quickly. Then again, who didn’t? It’s the single most recognizable videogame song in history, even the 7 note intro is all you need to get the rest of the song playing in your mind. Sometimes I’d just let the game idle just to listen to it, until the timer ran out anyway.

I also remember being frustrated I could never time my jumps well enough to land on the top of the flag pole. This is something I eventually achieve a few years later down the line, and man was that... kind of underwhelming, actually, hah. After the early years I just about never touched the game again until my college year in an attempt to race a friend to see who could beat it faster, seeing that neither of us had up to that point. I did finally get that damn princess peach, but lost the bet on account that I was more cautious of a player whenever bullet bills were flying around. That was still quite a bit more satisfying, especially when we celebrated with an order-in pizza. I imagined the mushrooms were Toad, sliced and baked for making waste my time going to all the wrong castles. :P

Victory was indeed, sweet.

I’m hoping to make more blogs based around my videogame memories /stories, and perhaps you’d like to share your own memories regarding this game in comments? I’d like to read them!