Number 3 [Most Memorable NES Games]

3.  River City Ransom 

Oh man, oh man, oh man!  I can still hear every note of the title music of this game.  We're getting higher up on the list, and it's getting harder for me to articulate just what these games mean to me.  They're more feeling and emotion; less words and thought.  I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but like I wrote about in my very first post, these games are fibers in the very tapestry of my youth.

So, River City Ransom.  This was yet another two player game that my brother, Joby, and I about wore out.  We didn't discover this game until well past the shelf life of our NES.  The system itself was getting long in the tooth.  We had moved on to the Super Nintendo (SNES).  But this game was so good, we couldn't stay away.  I found it in the used section of a video store for $10.  To this day, I still think it is one of the best ten dollar bills I've ever spent.

The game's heroes are two high school kids.  It had the standard story: Your girl has been kidnapped by a local hooligan, and you have to fight to get her back.  This game set itself apart by going the extra mile in the narrative.  There was hilarious dialogue between the characters and villains throughout each stage.  It would scroll across the bottom of the screen like a comedic stock ticker. You'd beat on high school thugs until they yelled "BARF!"  Good stuff.

Grandma's House

My best memories of this game were at my grandma's house.  My whole family went to stay with her the summer after we moved to Texas.  Of course we brought our video games.  Does a carpenter work without his toolbox, or a catcher without his mask and pads?  I would've soon forgotten all my extra underwear than left without my video games.  Somehow Joby and I talked my mom into letting us bring both our Nintendo and Super Nintendo, plus a healthy stash of games and a dozen gaming magazines.  God bless that woman.  I don't know if I want to high-five thirteen-year-old me, or biff him in the back of the head.

There was a sun room area by my grandma's back door.  It had that added-on feel.  The washer and dryer were there, and it was big enough for a tasteful hide-a-bed couch.  This is where Joby and I slept many a night.  But most importantly there was a TV.

It was a small, aging 13 inch number.  That tiny little box was an oasis in the desert of the week at Grandma's.  Don't get me wrong, Joby and I were Nintendo junkies, but there really wasn't anything else to do.  Seriously.  I guess there was the city pool.  We went there a few times.  But the pool didn't have video games.  You can see the bind we were in.

Joby and I kind of re-bonded over this game.  We had begun a time in which we drifted in and out of favor with each like the ocean tides.  Joby was going in to the wimpy and unsophisticated fifth grade, but I was about to start the manly and mature eighth grade.  His voice sounded like a female cartoon squirrel, but mine was doing the squeaky-voiced teen from The Simpsons.   He had no hair under his arms, but I... well... I think I almost did.

River City Ransom was a complete riot to play with with him.  We played late into the evenings, well past my mom and grandma's bed time.  We'd laugh so hard one of them got up almost every night to tell us to quiet down or go to bed.  He and I were a great team back them.  I'm glad this game helped me remember that, even if his voice hadn't changed yet.

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

[Box art courtesy of GameFAQs]

Number 4 [Most Memorable NES Games]

4.  Crystalis

It's pronounced chris • tall • iss.  I didn't realize that until I saw an online review of it a few years ago.  I went most of my life calling it crystal • us.  You live, you learn.

The post-apocalyptic story line intrigued me as a kid.  The characters, and plot kept me playing and playing.  The Zelda-esque action-adventure game mechanics with the RPG leveling system were digital candy to my twelve-year-old brain.  I played the crud out of it with my buddy, Adam.  He was a gaming machine.  Sleep overs at his house were almost always epic all-nighters.  I'm sure this game was center stage for many of those.

But this game gets such a high rating from me because it connected two major parts of my life.  Let me explain.

The Bridge

It was late in the summer of 1992.  The days were still long and the sun was still hot.  My mom, my brother and sister, and I boxed up all the things from our small Kansas apartment in a U-Haul truck and headed out for the great state of Texas.  

I was lost and terrified.  I was twelve and getting more awkward by the minute.  I knew next to nothing about girls thanks to the four student 6th grade class at Sacred Heart Catholic School.  They just combined me and the other three boys in with the 5th grade class.  I've often thought about how much that stunted my social growth.  But, that's another post.

I had just spent one of the best summers of my life (you can read about it here) with the dark cloud of moving constantly looming overhead.  I'd grown so close to my pals, Adam and Laramie.  I didn't know how I was ever going to leave them.  In The Body, Stephen King wrote, "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve... does anybody?"  No, Mr. King.  I never did have friends like that again.  

I still remember saying goodbye to Laramie.  We were at the foot of a hill about a block away from our apartments.  The sun hung low in the late afternoon sky.  We had gone to Butterfield's convenience store like we had done a hundred times before.  I didn't want to say it out loud, but I knew deep down that it was going to be the last trip I'd ever take there with him.  

We made it down the big hill to the sidewalk at the bottom.  He needed to head right, and I needed to go left.  But neither of us moved for a bit.  We both just kind of stared at our shoes in an awkward silence that neither of us were used to.  A lump began to creep up my throat like the mercury in an old thermometer.  Finally, the tears running down my cheeks betrayed me.  I couldn't look at his face.  I just reached over and gave him a hug.  A real hug.  That's a big deal when you're twelve.  

I blubbered out that I would write for sure, and call if my mom would let me.  That's when I realized that he was crying too.  I was wearing my favorite hat- a black baseball cap with with a neon pink outline of the state of Kansas.  I'm terrible with goodbyes.  I didn't know what else to do, so I took it off of my head and gave it to him.  How fitting.  I wouldn't realize the symbolism of giving him that Kansas hat until much later in life.  

We said our goodbyes.  He headed right, and I went left.  After a few steps, we both stopped, turned, and waved one more time.  Then he walked back to his apartment in Kansas, and I walked back to the truck that would take me to Texas.

Well, Crystalis was a piece of that for me.  It was a bridge back home.  I played this game but never beat it before we moved.  Once we got settled in to our new house in Texas, I kept playing it.  The first few weeks in Texas were hard ones.  The inherent awkwardness of 7th grade and the unfamiliarity of a new school only made it worse.  Living a ten minute walk from the library helped some.  But more than anything, this game was a rock for me.  I instantly felt back in Kansas every time I would play it.

After many sweltering Texas weekends, I finally beat it too.  Laramie wasn't the first person I called to tell about it either.  It was my new buddy from Texas, Craig.

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

[Box art courtesy of GameFAQs]

Number 5 [Most Memorable NES Games]

5.  Super Mario Bros. 3

I love my brother.  I mean that in the most bro hug kind of way.  There are precious few memories of when I was younger without him.  He is almost three years younger than me.  Every time I think back to some childhood moment, he was there.  I didn’t mind for the most part.

I’m sure there were times when I couldn’t have disliked another human being more than him.  There were times when I wanted to pound that smirk right off of his face.  And I know there were times when I absolutely did not want to ever speak to him again.  But even through our worst teeth-gritting arguments, I always knew, and still know, that I love my brother.

The Anticipation

Joby and I were freaking out when we saw how amazing Super Mario Bros. 3 looked on a TV commercial.  Both of us knew right then that we were going to have to get it.

Somehow we talked our wonderful mother in to putting this game on layaway for us at the local Walmart.  It was a tag team effort.  I steered the logical side of the argument with facts, figures, and payment schedules.  Joby went for the impassioned, repetitive, emotional delivery (read: crying).  I love my brother.

The plan was to pay down $7 per week for seven weeks.  That came out to 50¢ per day from each of us.  Surely, intelligent and hard working ten and seven-year-old boys could come up with 50¢ per day.  Surely...

Yeah, I’m going to say probably not.  I’m not exactly sure how much money my mom coughed up to get us this game.  I’m guessing it was some most of it.  That’s just the kind of mom I have.

The Acquisition 

The game was even better than we thought.  I can look back and say that it’s one of the few NES games that lived up to the hype.  The Stortz brothers had it, and life was awesome.

It was a two player game, so of course we’d play for hours on end.  I was okay at it.  But, Joby.  Joby was so good at it.  Like hand the controller over and say “Hey Joby, can you get me past this part” good at it.  I love my brother.  My favorite memories of this game aren’t me playing it.  They are watching him play it.

He’d get up early in the morning and play before breakfast.  Then he’d fly downstairs, inhale his Malt-O-Meal, and race back to play for a few more minutes before we had to leave for school.  The best part was, he’d just leave the game on pause for the whole time we were at school.  The game didn’t have a save feature or passwords, so this classic move was the only way to not lose your place.  Nothing does a game system good like being paused for 8+ hours a day.

The Action

One night in particular I remember him getting very far in the game.  We were playing it in our bedroom upstairs.  My mom hollered for us to get ready for bed.  We performed the requisite moaning and complaining then slipped on our pajamas.  But instead of shutting the game down, Joby just turned off the TV and left the Nintendo on.  Nice.  I love my brother.

My mom came to tuck us in.  Then she went back downstairs to toil away at her college classwork.  Joby and I turned the lights off and listened to my mom shuffle around on first floor of our apartment for a bit.  Once we couldn’t hear the clanking of dishes and sliding of kitchen chairs, we knew my mom had settled into her school books.

Joby crept out of bed.  He tiptoed over to the TV and slowly turned the knob until it clicked on, but didn’t have any volume.  I crawled out of my bed and eased the bedroom door closed.  I kept an ear out for footsteps on the stairs as I watched him play.

The Adventure

The flickering TV screen cast all kids of wonderful shadows on the walls of the otherwise dark room.  It was exciting.  He was getting close to the last levels of the game.  Then, after about an hour, we both heard it.  I’m sure I heard it first since Joby had his attention elsewhere.  Thud.  The all-to-familiar sound of a wooden stair under heavy foot falls.  Eyes wide, we both shot each other a panicked glance.  Thud.

Joby instinctively turned off the TV.  Thud.  I hopped off the bed and lightly opened the door again, so my mom would never guess anything was amiss.  Thud.  We both dove back under our covers.  Deep breath.  This was going to be close, but I felt like we made it.  All was right, except...  Thud.  The whole upstairs was completely dark apart from the blazing red power light from the Nintendo that was still turned on.  Great.  That infernal LED screamed the boys haven’t been in bed, Nintendo privileges have been abused, and Justin and Joby are going to be very cranky in the morning!  We knew that light was going to ruin everything.

Thud.  I turned to Joby and scream-whispered “The Nintendo light!”  Joby shot his arm down on the side of his bed and grabbed something.  Thud.  In what could only be described as divine guidance, Joby hurled a dirty pair of jeans through the air towards the Nintendo and its red light bull's-eye.  I can still see the slow motion arc of those acid washed Lee’s.  Thud.  The jeans landed just as my mom topped the stairs.  Perfect hit.  The pant leg completely covered the red light.  Ferris Bueller could not have been prouder.  I love my brother.

The Aftermath

We pretended to be asleep.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mom poke her head in the open door to check on us.  Joby and I laid perfectly still while she got ready for bed.  When we were sure she was asleep, we slid out of bed and picked up right where we left off.

Joby went on to beat Super Mario Bros. 3 that night.  It was his first time, but I felt like it was our first time.  There were silent cheers, air fives, and, I’m sure, a bro hug or two.  We finally went to bed that night feeling on top of the world.

This is definitely one of my most memorable NES games.  It is an absolute classic that I absolutely loved playing.  But behind all the blips and beeps, I really love this game because, deep down, I really love my brother.

And yes, we were very cranky the next morning.

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

[Box art courtesy of GameFAQs]

Number 6 [Most Memorable NES Games]

6.  Super Dodge Ball

Super friggin Dodge Ball.  Everything surrounding this game is pure happiness.  This is the only sports game on my list, so that says a lot.  Although calling this a sports game would be like calling a jackhammer a hand tool.

So, basically, you're trying to kill each other.  It's pure, simple, and easy to understand violence.  My brother and I loved it.  You're trying to annihilate your opponents in professional dodge ball matches to the death.  This was another game we'd play until our thumbs were sore.  Who needs to go outside when you can play games like this?

I'm sure it wasn't the on-screen violence's fault, but this game led to many a scrape between Joby and me. There's only so many pixelated power shots you can take before you lash out in real life.  It was all good on the co-op mode, but when we'd go versus- you'd best just back up!

It would start off slowly.  A little push here or there.  Then would come the I'm joking, but I'm not really joking, so you better stop doing that punches to the upper arm.  Next was full on smacks and kicks.  Before you know it, people are getting strangled by controller cords, whacked in the back of the head with Zapper guns, barrel-rolling around on the floor, and lamps may or may not be falling off of night stands.  By then our mom had already come in and threatened to take away the Nintendo.  That usually got our tails back between our legs.  Can't we all just get along?

"One more power shot, sucka!"

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]

Number 7 [Most Memorable NES Games]

7.  Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest

Belmonts, whips, and Dracula?  Awww, yeah!

This game came at two distinct periods for me.  The first was the the regular, nine-year-old everything sucks unless it’s a Nintendo game phase.  I adored this game back then. The gameplay was so different.  The creepy atmosphere, haunting music, and RPG elements were just killer.  (Sorry, even I can't believe I just went for that pun.)

I’d haul my NES over to my Grandma Charlene’s house and play this on her monstrous console TV while the rest of the cousins yelled at each other for cheating on Go Fish.  I remember getting pretty far, but never completing it.  My brother and I would always seem to get stuck somewhere.  Again, no internet.  (See also Metroid.)  But it was still great.  It was like a horror video game.  Which is , like, so wicked cool when you’re nine.

In my sophomore year of high school I entered into my I’m so awesome I still rock my old NES from when I was nine even though I have a Playstation phase.  This game came back hard for an entire week.  I’m not even sure where I got it.  Places weren’t still renting NES games in late 90’s, and I know I didn’t buy it because I’d never sell it, and I know I don’t have it.  I know I don’t have it because I just checked.  Like, literally, just checked.


Anyway... My second time through Castlevania II was sweeter than the first.  I’d turn the volume down, crank Metallica’s Master of Puppets, and play for hours in the evenings after school.  Thanks to the NES Game Atlas, I finally put Drac to rest in the fall of ‘96.  There is a pant load of hate out there about this game, and I don’t know why.  It’ll always be one of the most memorable bridges into my two prominent times of Nintendo fervor.

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]