In the beginning, there was Duck Hunt, well, for me at least. The Mario Bros/Duck Hunt combo was the first game to appear in my household. The year was 1988 and nothing could have been more amazing to my four-year-old brain. As many born after the year 1984 I barely knew of the great video game crash that came before I was even conceived. As such, I grew up in a gaming renaissance, but playing games early did not make me a gamer. Games were just other toys in the house, they weren’t anything special until some time later.

With underdeveloped motor skills, my early experiences with the NES were frustrating at best. I couldn’t hit a duck flying across the screen, I couldn’t jump my way past world 1-2 of Mario Brothers. Such as it was, I didn’t really enjoy myself. The system had been purchased for my older siblings who could enjoy it. As I grew I was constantly surrounded by games. My siblings, being Nintendo loyalists, held out for the Super Nintendo. I witnessed the power of the Sega Genesis at friends’ houses but nothing could compare to the thrill of the new Super Nintendo giving off it’s fresh from the factory plastic smell in my own home. I was thrilled with the new console, but my gaming skill had yet to improve.

The fault for my sub-par gaming skills lands squarely on the shoulders’ of my two older brothers. Their size and age advantage guaranteed their ability to edge me out of any gaming session. I was the consummate observer, which in the long run gave me great patience, but certainly not great gaming skill. I would have to steal minutes at a time, when my brothers were off somewhere else or during the occasional glorious sick day.

Things gradually began to change, as one brother became more obsessed with computers and “grew out” of video games. I became the go to gaming partner for my other brother. I learned the thrill of attacking games together and my skill grew immensely. It was right around this time that Donkey Kong Country came out. It was a combination of this new found ability and the fun factor of that game that would change my life for the better. After playing the game on and off for about a year, I had a rare (no pun intended) day of solitary gaming. That session was not tinged by the usual nerves of a finite gaming session and therefore was one of the most momentous gaming moments of my life.

I sat down in that cramped basement room staring at our ancient Sony television set and began a new game of DKC. I played straight through, only dying on a mine cart level once, I stormed all the way to the final boss, a one man army on the march. I was nearly vibrating with the thrill of it. By that time, I was called to dinner, but not having finished the game did not diminish the moment. From that day on a controller would never feel the same again resting in my young hands. It was a turning point, a revelation, I had discovered the fun.

What game made you discover the fun?

-Matt Frank

Tags: Nintendo, nostalgia

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