Videogame Geriatric

 

I realized that I’ve been playing videogames consistently for at least 30 years.  Isn’t that nuts?  One of the earliest memories I can lock down is being in second grade and renting a Nintendo from the local video store and playing Super Mario Brothers.  I remember playing that and Bible Adventures(the blue cartridge).  Also, my friend had just learned the word ‘bastard,’ but didn’t know it was a swear, so we kept saying ‘bastard!’ over and over while playing the Noah’s Ark levels of Bible Adventures.  Pick up a sheep, throw it into the ark, call it a bastard.  Repeat.  We did get in trouble for that one.

There are some games that I’ve continued to play over decades, and I know I’m not alone in that. Obviously, the big eternals boys like Doom 1/2, Quake 1/2/3, Ocarina of Time, Starfox, and the various Mario games.  Let’s not forget Final Fantasy 7, either. 

I wonder if the teams that worked on these titles ever thought that people would be playing their games thirty years later.  Not only playing, but ENJOYING, and in some cases, discovering for the first time.  For instance, I only played Earthbound for the first time a few years ago, and I thought it was terrific. Even better than Chrono Trigger- yeah, I said it.

I’m currently replaying Quake(the Nightdive remaster), which I haven’t played since I was 15.  It’s so good, especially on a Steam Deck.  By the way, the Nightdive remasters are an excellent way to revisit these classic games, and I highly recommend them.  Now, they just need to do Wolfenstein 3D and Duke Nukem 3D.

But, yeah.  I’ve been playing videogames a long time, and I’ll probably continue to do so.  What’ll it be like being a 70 year old dude playing Doom still?