I've been experimenting with alcohol and the original Nintendo system. Its seems like if I catch just the right buzz, and get wrapped up in a game, I can actually revert to being an 8-year old again. It's tricky though, not enough booze and I get bored and too much makes it become a chore. It is a fine line of inebriation that turns simple nostalgia into magic.
I've gone back and beat a lot of old games that I thought were impossible when I was young. I've knocked out Tyson, killed Jason Vorhees, saved Zelda (1 and 2), and crushed a bunch of others. Some literally are freakin' impossible though. Castlevania 1 and 3 I've given up on. And Ninja Gaiden is a freakin' joke. I can get to the last board in one life, but will NEVER beat it.
It sounds ridiculous, but I get an enormous amount of satisfaction from going back and finishing what I started as a child. Unfinished business!
I think Mike Tyson was the reason most kids hated boxing for a long time, haha.
ReplyDelete"I've knocked out Tyson"
ReplyDeleteYou LIE. Man, going back and playing that I can't even get past Soda Popinski. Maybe I should drink more often.
Castlevania is the biggest pile of "what the hell" I've ever seen. Good job with Jason, I've heard he's a tough little son of a bitch.
ReplyDeleteGoing back and finishing what you started as a child is an interesting preoccupation, and I'd love to see you explore more of that. I would even like a deeper delve into the finessing of drinking and playing those games. Like, what happens when it gets too boring? And do others join in the play? I would dig and dig and dig.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right about finding that perfect amount of buzzed. Too much and you just can't even play, but too little and you can't get into it like you want to. And I love how you're using alcohol to feel like an 8 year old... seems almost ironic.
ReplyDeleteI find these games to be even harder now that I'm older then what I was young (no wonder my dad always sucked). But, look at the bigger picture you wrote about here... unfinished business. I think there's something to say about revisiting the child hood and patching up things that happened or playing with the memory of certain experiences. I would love to see your next piece be about Unfinished business.
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