Growing Up With Video Games

Video Game Consoles of My Childhood

Alright, so I just want to say that back when I was a kid, around the same time as most of you guys (I was born in 2006) I actually grew up with consoles from before my time. I went over some of the consoles in my previous blog post (AWESOMEST VIDEO GAME SYSTEMS) but I would like to talk about some of my personal favorite games that I grew up with.

Super Mario World

From the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Super Mario World is one of my favorite games, and still is, because it's what I call "The perfect balance of Mario." What I mean by this is that it has pretty good graphics (considering it's on an SNES) and I'm not saying that the original Mario Bros. has bad graphics, but I'm saying Super Mario World looked pretty good for its time:

Another enjoyable part of this game is that it's not too complicated. I think anyone can pick up an SNES controller and at least beat the first few levels with ease. But that's the thing. I have played some more recent Mario games, and I do still tend to enjoy them for the most part, but they've added so many things to the Mario games over the years. Back in Super Mario World, it was jumping, sprinting, and spin-jumping, along with the occasional mushroom, fire flower, or super star. Nowadays, Mario games involve jumping, sprinting, and spin-jumping, along with wall jumping and like 500 different power-ups (Might be an exaggeration). I give this game a 10/10 for not being insanely complicated, but still being enjoyable.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

From the Gamecube. I'm sure probably 90% of the people reading this know what Super Smash Bros. is. If you don't... WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE!? Well, I still do really like all Smash Bros. games. I have played all of them on their original consoles EXCEPT for Super Smash Bros. (Commonly referred to as Super Smash Bros. 64) on the Nintendo 64 (N64), but I have played it on an emulator. I remember, back when I used to play Smash Bros. Melee all the time with my brother and sister. We were very limited when it came to selecting a character. The fighter roster looked something like this:

 As opposed to the current roster in Smash Bros. Ultimate (There are actually a few more not shown):

As you can (hopefully) see, there's quite a difference in the number of choices. Back when I played Smash Melee, I didn't really "main" anyone. I kinda just picked whoever I felt like playing and started the match. Now, in Smash Ultimate, I usually use Ness, who's from the game Mother 2 (More commonly referred to as Earthbound). I also give this game a 10/10 for the unique attacks of each different fighter.

Donkey Kong Country 2

From the SNES. Why Donkey Kong Country 2? Why not Donkey Kong Country or Donkey Kong Country 3? Well, simply because: I played the second game the most out of the three of them. The first 2 were pretty similar, anyway, but the third one was a little different, in the way that the world map worked, and also, the levels kind of had a different feel to them. In the second game, you play as a team of Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong, trying to save Donkey Kong from King K. Rool (In the second game he was actually Kaptain K. Rool). The game was a pretty simple 2D platformer.

It was a pretty cool game, and I really loved it growing up (Even if my brother always said how bad I was at it). One of the parts that I really enjoyed about the game was the soundtrack. I could listen to any song in the game for 10 hours and never get bored of it. I give this game another 10/10, not only for the incredible experience and the good graphics, but also for the sountrack. (It's going to be hard to not give these games a 10/10)

Super Mario Kart

From the SNES. Super Mario Kart. Mario Kart is a pretty awesome game. It mixes Mario (And some other Nintendo characters) with racing. There are many Mario Kart games, but Super Mario Kart is the original. Although the graphics are very blurry, it's still an incredibly good game. It uses a very early version of 3D courses.

I feel like a lot of people that play the newer games might not enjoy this one as much, because here's something interesting: Although the maps are "3D" and you can fall off the edge of the maps, the maps are still completely flat. There are no stairs, no driving up slopes, no downward hills. Crazy. I actually really enjoy this, though, because I think of it as a design element. Something to make the game stand out. But there was still jumps. Sometimes, there would be ramps that would make you "jump" upon contact. I enjoy this game and still often play it with my cousins. It gives me real nostalgia. I give this game a 10/10 once again for the soundrack and just the game in general.

Donkey Kong 64

From the N64. Donkey Kong 64 is a 3D game that involves traveling to several different worlds and collecting many different things.

I'm sure most of you know the DK Rap... yeah, that comes from this game. I personally never really got into the game myself, but I did watch my brother play it quite a bit. I do still play multiplayer, though, where you have to hunt each other down and fight each other. I give this an 8/10, because I do still enjoy the game, but like I said, I never really got into it, but once again, it has a good sountrack, so that has to count for something, right?

Banjo-Kazooie

From the N64. Banjo-Kazooie is a game that I really enjoyed playing as a kid. You travel through several worlds, searching for golden puzzle pieces, called Jiggies.

I did actually play this quite a bit, but I don't think I ever completed it. Not without help, at least. I did also start the second game (Banjo-Tooie) several times, but I never got that into it. I also tried the third game, Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts, but that was made after Rare sold Banjo to Microsoft, and my brother and I both agree that Nuts & Bolts is actually pretty awful. I rate this a 10/10, I would rate it an 11/10 but I can't. The game, once again, has an amazing sountrack, good graphics, and an amazing feel to running throughout the levels searching for Jiggies.