Number 10 [Most Memorable NES Games]

My posting streak had to end.  I posted four days in a row.  In over three years of blogging, I've never gotten close to that.  Life...  Anyway, here's the next installment:
10.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  II: The Arcade Game

December 25, 1990.  South Park Apartments, Colby, Kansas.  My trembling 10-year-old fingers gripped what I knew to be a Nintendo game hiding under that festive wrapping paper.  But which one?  I was still shocked we were even getting games this year.  

My brother had already opened his- Little Nemo: The Dream Master.  Hmm.  We had never heard of that one.  That delightful game would go on to be one of my brother's all-time favorites, although nobody ever seems to have heard of it.  

I remembered being burned a year earlier with Back to the Future.  Shudder.  With closed eyes, I tore into that gift with all the grace and precision of an ice skating elephant.  This game was the beauty I held in my chubby hands.  

My friend, Laramie, would have sleep-overs at his apartment with my brother and me.  His mom, Cleo, was a saint.  She would let us stay up so late, being rowdy, and allow us to cook all concoctions of ramen noodles in her kitchen as we played this.  The discovery of a secret code for 10 lives let us eventually defeat Krang and Shredder.  It took us months, but victory rarely tasted sweeter.

I don't really remember wanting this game.  I was kind of over my Ninja Turtle infatuation.  That was so 1989.  But man, was I glad I got this!  What an excellent game.

I still have my copy from that Christmas.  Complete with my red JUSTIN sticker on it.  Every time I see it, I can't help but remember those crazy sleep overs and the simple joy that playing a game with friends could bring.

Come back tomorrow for my next game.  And be sure to check out all the posts in my Most Memorable NES Games list.

[Screenshots courtesy of GameFAQs]