So, my uncle got me the system, my parents got me a couple of games and my grandparents got me yet another game on top of that. It was awesome. The Light Zapper seemed like an amazing piece of at-home technology as I shot at ducks and clay pigeons. I discovered true platforming in Super Mario Bros. Double Dribble (thanks grandma, and grandpa) was the first sports title I had ever played that actually felt like a sports title (and drove my parents nuts with the repeated sound of a basketball dribbling).
My parents got me Elevator Action (which was one of my favorite arcade games) and Dragon Power (which was based on the Dragonball universe - something I did not realize even existed until many, many years later). It was an amazing Christmas, and one that really stood out to me, even though I was somewhat young at the time.
* footnote: however, when I was 2 years old, apparently I ignored all of my newly acquired presents in favor of rolling a can of mushrooms around for like 3 hours on Christmas Eve. Clearly, I had very high standards for entertainment.
Anyway, back on topic *coughs* - for me this was the true start of my fascination with video games. The TI99/4a was something I played and enjoyed to be sure, but those titles lacked the depth the NES would prove capable of. I got really good at games like Donkey Kong or Frogger or Parsec on the TI99/4a, but I would later discover lengthy and variety-filled Mario games, RPG's like Dragon Warrior and Ultima, and adventures and innovations that titles like Zelda and Bionic Commando represented.
Maybe because I was a bit older, maybe because I had been wanting an NES for some time while the TI99/4a came as a complete surprise, but the NES was one of the biggest Christmas gifts I had ever received and to this day is still something I recall very clearly. My family always opened gifts Christmas Eve. Christmas day was for visiting relative, so this is why I am posting this article on Christmas Eve.
Any Christmas video game stories that stick out in your memories?
Also - Happy Holidays!
The only "Christmas" video game stories I really recall are the Christmas I received my Nintendo 64, which my mom still blames to this day for me not liking school afterwards(graduated with a 3.47 or something high school, not an "A", but close enough!), and the Christmas I asked for Donkey Kong Country on the SNES, and ended up running around the house acting like a monkey begging my parents to let me open it early...which worked!
ReplyDeleteAs for, "* footnote: however, when I was 2 years old, apparently I ignored all of my newly acquired presents in favor of rolling a can of mushrooms around for like 3 hours on Christmas Eve. Clearly, I had very high standards for entertainment."
Isn't that the way it is, "Look at this new awesome motorized jeep son!" *Glances around, sees the box moving
LOL, kids are pretty hilarious with "toys". paper plates, cups, magazines, spoons, forks, pots, pans...many hours of entertainment there. Tomorrow, I will just break out a can and return everything quickly!
We would always have christmas at the house on the 25th which invaribly lead to me "going to sleep early" so the morning would come sooner, sleeping under the christmas tree or waking up at 4 to see if we could open presents yet. Anyway, my parents got me a NES in 87 or 88 which I believe was quite a surprise. I was very much into games and my Intellivision II, but the NES was a huge leap forward into a different world and I don't think I knew much about it at the time.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I basically spent the rest of the day glued to the TV/NES and gave each game a solid workout. (mario, duck hunt, etc.) Though what really sticks out in my mind is the original Zelda. I'm not sure what it was, but I vividly remember playing it ALOT that day and that there was just something magical about the entire thing. The exploration, secrets, music in the dungeons, etc..
@Chalgyr: I can certainly identify with many of those memories and games like Double Dribble, Elevator Action, Bionic commando, various Megaman games, Ultima, Dragon Quest [Dragon Warrior on the famicom] and a slew of others.
Several years later I was clamoring for a TurboGrafx 16 which I got on another Christmas. Though the game selections were in such short supply it was quite frustrating and ultimately killed the system in North America. What that meant for me was tremendous hours logged playing Bonk's Adventure, Dungeon Explorer, Splatterhouse, Victory Run and maybe a few others.
I still go back to the Wii VC for some Bonk and Dungeon Explorer every now and then. Bonk is some unique platforming or at least a different feel than Mario. At some point I plan to get the rest of the series including the SNES port. DE is pretty cool as well and I'd say that the music is a huge reason I enjoy it so much.