XYXZYZ
05-15-2013, 02:26 PM
Let's talk about our most meaningful conquests, did you ever have one of those challenges that made you feel like Captain Ahab obsessively hunting Moby Dick? And remember that rush of awesome when you finally emerged victorious? Isn't that what video gaming is all about?
The real Moby Dick for me was Super Mario Bros. The first time I played Super Mario Bros. was in a department store, HG Hills I think. (Remember when we had stores besides Walmart?) It must have been 1986 or 1987, the Nintendo NES was getting hype all over the place. I knew my parents weren't going to go for a $200.00 thing at Christmas, so I didn't bother getting excited about it. But I played Super Mario Bros. for a few minutes... I thought it was the greatest thing ever. The side scrolling jumping guy was so intuitive, I understood it in a way I never understood things like Dig Dug and Pacman. But there were a lot of other kids lined up, and I didn't get a very long chance to play. That Christmas, my cousin got an NES, primarily for Ghostbusters as he was a Ghostbusters fan. But I was excited to play Super Mario Bros. again, that game was just magic. I played that game whenever I could, on my cousin's NES, in department stores, sometimes my grandparents would rent an NES when I would visit. I played other games, but Super Mario Bros. was the one that called me like a siren song. When I finally got my NES, I think it was in 1988 or 1989, I only had one game, the Mario/Duck Hunt pack-in. But that was fine with me, because only one game mattered... I played the hell out of it... slowly progressing further and further... discovering the warp to World 8 was exciting, was I close? No! The challenge of World 8 was much too great for me. My progress was soooo slow... I just couldn't save that damn princess no matter what. I recall one summer when my family went on vacation all over the south, two weeks without my NES. I met some kids on vacation who had an NES, and I watched another guy save the princess. I was eager to try it myself but I had to leave and didn't have my trusty joystick with me. We finally got back around to my Aunt's house, where my cousin had a cool new game called Goonies II. I said "This is cool, but I have a job to do." I dug out Super Mario Bros. and he wondered why I was playing that old thing. I knew I could do it now. I dug into that game, and it was like a trainwreck. I was playing worse than usual! I did not save the princess that day.
Now mind you I was not a bad video game player; the first games I finished were Contra and Life Force with the 30 lives codes. Granted that's not hard, but a decent first achievement, like training wheels. But I had since finished Megaman 2, Castlevania II, Double Dragon, Legend of Zelda and Zelda II (Which were both great challenges with their own story) Super Mario Bros 2, and several other games... and eventually, I finished Super Mario Bros. 3. But it felt so wrong... The ending to SMB 3, where the princess made the "our princess is in another castle" joke, just reminded me about my greatest failure. I had still not saved the original Princess. I don't remember much about the gaming I was doing at the time, just that the Super Famicom was big news in the video game magazines, and the Super NES just announced. The first Super Mario Bros. 4 screenshots had surfaced. But to me, it was called "I still haven't saved the first Princess Bros. 4" At some point I had given up, I was starting to get tired of SMB, everyone else had stopped playing it a long time ago. Like I said, I don't remember what games I was playing at the time, but one morning at my grandparents' house, I just felt like playing a little Super Mario Bros. Now, at this point I could get all the way to 8-4, but I still couldn't get through it. Anyway, on that morning I somehow slipped under that last hammer brother, and I charged directly at Bowser, stopped, ran under him and grabbed that axe.
It was not a feeling of great victory, but... it's like I actually couldn't believe it. I just sat there staring at the screen, "PUSH BUTTON B TO SELECT A WORLD"... there was no feeling of satisfaction, it just wasn't enough. If Goliath was going to fall, he was going to fall hard; hard enough to make a believer out of me. I reached up and tapped start on my NES Advantage, beginning world 1-1 of the second quest, the Goombas were all Buzzy Beetles now. I went through every world without warping. I saved the princess, finished the second quest. Then, I did it again, this time selecting another world with the B button. Then I did it again, without warping. And again, and again.... that morning, I saved the princess seven times in one setting. Then I felt an intense feeling of satisfaction. I didn't just conquer my greatest challenge, I mastered it!
I know you guys have similar stories, so tell them!
The real Moby Dick for me was Super Mario Bros. The first time I played Super Mario Bros. was in a department store, HG Hills I think. (Remember when we had stores besides Walmart?) It must have been 1986 or 1987, the Nintendo NES was getting hype all over the place. I knew my parents weren't going to go for a $200.00 thing at Christmas, so I didn't bother getting excited about it. But I played Super Mario Bros. for a few minutes... I thought it was the greatest thing ever. The side scrolling jumping guy was so intuitive, I understood it in a way I never understood things like Dig Dug and Pacman. But there were a lot of other kids lined up, and I didn't get a very long chance to play. That Christmas, my cousin got an NES, primarily for Ghostbusters as he was a Ghostbusters fan. But I was excited to play Super Mario Bros. again, that game was just magic. I played that game whenever I could, on my cousin's NES, in department stores, sometimes my grandparents would rent an NES when I would visit. I played other games, but Super Mario Bros. was the one that called me like a siren song. When I finally got my NES, I think it was in 1988 or 1989, I only had one game, the Mario/Duck Hunt pack-in. But that was fine with me, because only one game mattered... I played the hell out of it... slowly progressing further and further... discovering the warp to World 8 was exciting, was I close? No! The challenge of World 8 was much too great for me. My progress was soooo slow... I just couldn't save that damn princess no matter what. I recall one summer when my family went on vacation all over the south, two weeks without my NES. I met some kids on vacation who had an NES, and I watched another guy save the princess. I was eager to try it myself but I had to leave and didn't have my trusty joystick with me. We finally got back around to my Aunt's house, where my cousin had a cool new game called Goonies II. I said "This is cool, but I have a job to do." I dug out Super Mario Bros. and he wondered why I was playing that old thing. I knew I could do it now. I dug into that game, and it was like a trainwreck. I was playing worse than usual! I did not save the princess that day.
Now mind you I was not a bad video game player; the first games I finished were Contra and Life Force with the 30 lives codes. Granted that's not hard, but a decent first achievement, like training wheels. But I had since finished Megaman 2, Castlevania II, Double Dragon, Legend of Zelda and Zelda II (Which were both great challenges with their own story) Super Mario Bros 2, and several other games... and eventually, I finished Super Mario Bros. 3. But it felt so wrong... The ending to SMB 3, where the princess made the "our princess is in another castle" joke, just reminded me about my greatest failure. I had still not saved the original Princess. I don't remember much about the gaming I was doing at the time, just that the Super Famicom was big news in the video game magazines, and the Super NES just announced. The first Super Mario Bros. 4 screenshots had surfaced. But to me, it was called "I still haven't saved the first Princess Bros. 4" At some point I had given up, I was starting to get tired of SMB, everyone else had stopped playing it a long time ago. Like I said, I don't remember what games I was playing at the time, but one morning at my grandparents' house, I just felt like playing a little Super Mario Bros. Now, at this point I could get all the way to 8-4, but I still couldn't get through it. Anyway, on that morning I somehow slipped under that last hammer brother, and I charged directly at Bowser, stopped, ran under him and grabbed that axe.
It was not a feeling of great victory, but... it's like I actually couldn't believe it. I just sat there staring at the screen, "PUSH BUTTON B TO SELECT A WORLD"... there was no feeling of satisfaction, it just wasn't enough. If Goliath was going to fall, he was going to fall hard; hard enough to make a believer out of me. I reached up and tapped start on my NES Advantage, beginning world 1-1 of the second quest, the Goombas were all Buzzy Beetles now. I went through every world without warping. I saved the princess, finished the second quest. Then, I did it again, this time selecting another world with the B button. Then I did it again, without warping. And again, and again.... that morning, I saved the princess seven times in one setting. Then I felt an intense feeling of satisfaction. I didn't just conquer my greatest challenge, I mastered it!
I know you guys have similar stories, so tell them!