Number 1 [Most Memorable NES Games]

1.   Final Fantasy

I finally made it.  I have loved writing all of these Nintendo stories.  It's been therapeutic.  But, I've got to say, I'm glad it's over.  Maybe there's a good reason for Top 10 lists and not Top 12 + 5 Honorable Mentions.  No matter.  Here we are at my number one, all time most memorable NES game- Final Fantasy.

This game holds such a special place in my heart that only Batman, The Siimpsons, or Star Wars come close to it.  Except for, you know, real people.  I love Jesus and people first and foremost.  I was just talking about fiction and abstractions.  Promise.

I don't want to cheapen this game by over analyzing it or getting into obscure amounts of detail.  Let's just say this was what kindled the RPG spark into a blazing flame that still warms me to this day.  This game took my imagination to places where my favorite books and movies had not treaded.  It was even more epic and grandiose than The Legend of Zelda.  The characters, setting, and plot were almost more than my eleven-year-old brain could stand.  The one word that keeps popping into my head is captivating.

So many hours of my life have been spent enjoying this game, but I've only officailly completed it once.  It is a Great Wall of China kind of game.  It takes about 40 -50 hours of game play to get through.  I tried to play through it again last Christmas break.  Unfortunately, I only got about mid-way before school started up again.  Maybe it's for the best.

The All-Nighter

I have so many memories of Final Fantasy that it's hard to know where to begin.  Back in the prime of my Nintendo years I woke up early to play it, stayed up late to play it, watched others play it, played it while eating lunch, played it while eating supper, played it instead of eating supper, talked about it,  read about it, made phone calls about it, and even fought over it.

The time I remember most was at my friend Adam's house.  He would have these insane, all-nighter sleepovers on Friday nights.  We'd play outside riding our bikes and shooting model rockets until the sun went down.  His mom would always have a good supper for us.  Adam's older brother and sister were already moved out, so it was just him, his mom and dad, and me.  It was great.  I loved not having little kids around.

We'd creak down the stairs to the basement after we ate.  The basement was Adam's man cave before there was such a term.  Shelves were jammed with model cars and airplanes.  There was a dilapidated couch against the wall.  The far corner had nothing but a mini trampoline.  Of course the mighty Nintendo and TV were center stage.

Adam had rented Final Fantasy for almost two weeks straight.  Rentals back then were three dollars for three days, or something like that.  So he had racked up at least a $20 charge.  I remember his mom telling him that it was going back tomorrow no matter what.  Good thing he was close to the end of the game.  We knew our mission that night- achieve Nintendo conquest or hang our heads in shame at the video return counter at Gibson's Discount Store.

We embraced the all-night madness with open arms.  Adam played, and I took notes and navigated the maps and magazines.  I even remember we had to call the Nintendo Power hotline.  We got to talk to a Nintendo "game counselor" to help us get past a tough spot in the game.  I couldn't believe his mom let us call.  It definitely wasn't toll-free.  I don't think calling the President of the United States could have been any cooler.

Our late night hunger got the better of us in the wee hours of the morning.  I remember creeping upstairs to make one of our patented concoctions, as we called them.  Part of the all-nighter deal was that we couldn't wake Adam's parents.  Not a problem if we just stayed in the basement.  Yeah, like that was going to happen.

The stairs were so creaky that we only dared to mount them one man at a time.  One man, one step, easy does it.  Easy does it.  There were two terribly creaky steps right next to each other.  That double-headed beast had to be skipped entirely.  Step on those the wrong way and the whole house sounded like it was going into labor.  Compound all of this with an incurable case of the giggles, and you've got the beginnings of a bad situation.

We managed to mount the stairs with trapeze-like dexterity that night.  The dull roar of laughter simply got a "Quiet down" from the bedroom of Adam's parents.

Our "concoctions" were usually some type of dip for bread or chips.  We dug all sorts of things out of his fridge.  There were loads of unholy ingredients that should never be mixed together- Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, mayonnaise, lemon juice, jelly, jalapenos, and the secret ingredient was always pickle juice.  We'd mix all of that sinful mess into a Frito Lays can of bean dip.  This got chased down with copious amounts of potato chips and Pepsi.  So much Pepsi.  It's no wonder we stayed up all night.  I still blame any indigestion problems I have on nights like that.

We finally destroyed the evil villain, Chaos, and restored the time paradox to complete Final Fantasy.  It's amazing what the friendship of two boys and the the love of a game can accomplish.  It was just around the crack of dawn as I recall.  How fitting.  A new day; a new victory.  And few Nintendo victories ever tasted as sweet.

The Now

I haven't talked to Adam in almost a decade.  I wonder if he still remembers that night?  I wonder if he has a Most Memorable NES Games List?  I wonder if video games mean as much to him as they do to me?  Video games will always be inextricably linked to that time in my life.  Not for what they were, but for what they created.

I can't help but wonder if my own kids will have things like this.  Those silly, inconsequential things that turn out to be more than the sum of their parts.  Those are the things that are much more than things.  Those are the things that end up being about the people and relationships that change our lives, however young those lives may be.  I can't help but wonder...


[Box art courtesy of GameFAQs]

Number 2 [Most Memorable NES Games]

2.  The Legend of Zelda

This list was fun, but incredibly hard to make.  The top five was especially challenging.  The top two?  Yikes.

Where do I even start with this one?  This was the first game I wanted.  I mean really wanted.  I wrote in an earlier post that my Nintendo life came in two phases- the second phase in high school, and the first phase when I was nine to twelve-years-old.  I could even divide that up into smaller pieces.  This game was at the front end of my Nintendo days.

I wanted The Legend of Zelda before I even had a Nintendo.  It was the game that sank its teeth into me more than Mario.  The first time I laid my young eyes on this beauty was a magical moment.  It was epic.  It was mesmerizing.  It was The Legend of Zelda! Cue the medieval blasting trumpets...

The Prequel to Gaming

My first adventure with this game happened when I was eight.  My mom and dad's friends, Don and Margaret, were having a party.  The whole family was invited.  They lived in a country neighborhood on a country road a few miles out of town.  Their home was on a long gravel street with several other tract houses.  It was the kind of neighborhood where all the kids knew each other and ran around outside all day in their bare feet.

Don and Margaret would have get-togethers sometimes with lots of families.  All the grown-ups would sit around cussing, listening to music, and drinking beer.  The kids would go buck wild and run all over the neighborhood without the shackles of adult supervision.

All of us kids would have to check in with them every once in a while.  As the evening got later, we could talk our dads into giving us a sip of beer.  It was very important to make sure no one saw you gag.  Then you could go back and tell all the other kids how great it was.

We went indoors once it got too dark to play outside.  Don and Margaret had a son named Roger.  We would go hang out in his room while the adults took the music, brew, and bad words into the living room.  Roger was pretty much one of the coolest guys I knew when I was eight.  He was just a year older than me, but seemed on the verge of growing a bad teenage mustache.  The walls of his room were littered with Guns 'N Roses posters and a rack for his pellet gun.

Of course he also had a Nintendo.  I watched him play The Legend of Zelda for hours one night.  It was about the most incredible thing I'd seen in my eight years on earth.  I was entranced.  I remember bugging Roger, and Roger was not the kind of guy you'd bug, about the story, characters, and different locations in the game.  I about had to find a change of underwear when he actually let me play it for a few minutes.  I'm convinced my experience with this game on that night is what got me into video games.

Joby and I begged my mom and dad for a Nintendo that Christmas.  Our hopes and dreams rose like steam from a smoke stack.  But, alas, it was not meant to be.  Instead we got an Atari 7800.  My dad said it was "just as good."  Unfortunately my dad did not understand that The Legend of Zelda couldn't be played on an Atari.  Parents...

We finally did get our Nintendo- a whole Christmas later.  Joby and I tore down the stairs like mad men, because we just knew.  My mom had taken it out of the box and set it up like a store display.  She didn't know how to hook it up to the TV, or I'm sure she would have.  It was like Ralphie finding his BB gun behind the desk.

I didn't get Zelda for a few more years, but it stayed heavy in the renting rotation.  I've gone through this game many times and loved every minute of it.  It's an incredibly memorable game for me that is a lot like having your first kiss.  Better things may come along, but you'll never forget it.

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

[Box art courtesy of GameFAQs]