The Nintendo
Entertainment System was at one point the greatest thing on
the planet. Sadly enough, anyone born after about 1990 has
no idea what it is, or the true greatness it embodied. The
time of the 2-D game has sadly gone out the window with cassette
tapes, VHS, and neon colored clothes. In the following article
I will bring tribute to a Fading Glory, a part of all Video
Games: always there, yet seldom remembered.
Most people have probably boxed up there NES to make room
for there PS2 and X-Box, younger children would stare at you
blankly if you asked the what an NES was, and if they played
one, would probably call it stupid. This is a major issue
in our video game community, people have forgotten the past,
and if we cannot remember the past, how may we move forward
to the future.
To back it up a little bit, the NES was an 8-bit system that
was released in the USA in 1985, was the only system in the
spotlight until the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and
the Sega Genesis. This system shown with a light that filled
the hearts of kids everywhere, and thankfully ended the whole
going outside thing (that is so 1980).
To highlight a few of the games: The Legend of Zelda, brought
gamers unrivaled adventure; Mario Brothers challenged gamers,
and set the standard for platformers of the future; Megaman
showed us how cool robots really are; Dragon Warrior introduced
USA to the RPG, and was mailed to Nintendo Power subscribers
(Yea they had that back then); and Ninja Turtles, that allowed
for great multiplay. There were also numerous unheard of games,
that escaped even my notice until recently, with the advent
of Emulators, Roms, and the Internet: where everything is
free. A few of the most noticeable to me are: Metal Storm,
where you get to play as a robot that can reverse gravity;
Power Blade, a secret agent with killer boomerangs; Little
Samson, a boy, mouse, golem, and dragon save the world; Blaster
Master, a kid with a tank; and Guardian Legend, this chick
tries and saves a space station. All above games mentioned
are awesome, and sadly enough mostly forgotten.
The games aren't the only thing forgotten, but the style of
the games. By this I'm talking about the 2-D game: the side
scroller, platformer, whatever you call it, this kind of game
is dead. 3-D has murdered 2-D fun and I doubt we will ever
see it again. Don't get me wrong, 3-D is great, but it isn't
the only way to make a game. Imagine if people really out
themselves to making a great 2-D now days with the technology
that is available. 2-D side scrolling is a whole new level
of gaming, which requires a whole knew level of skill. Give
someone that has never played a platformer SMB3 and see how
well they do.
So go now, look under your bed and find that old dusty box
that has all your NES junk in it. Hook it up right by your
PS2 and your Gamecube and X-Box. Get a feel for that rectangular
controller we all know and love, try 10,000 times to get the
cart to work, and give your old NES another run. You owe it
that much. Also did you catch my hint on emulators, hmmm?
Regardless of what Nintendo says, they AREN'T making money
anymore off of it. This can easily be a way to play all those
games you never did, in about 10 seconds.
