After the Holidays, a family member told me that he had gotten a NES Classic as a gift as was enjoying playing the nostalgic games we used to plays as kids many years ago. I remember trying to get one the previous Holiday season but could never see them in stock as it became one of the most popular gifts that year. Despite its popularity, Nintendo ultimately stopped making them without me having the opportunity to get one.
However, it was back this season along with some competition. Nintendo had also launched the Super NES version last year which also included a great lineup of games but was also more expensive. I personally did not feel it to be very interesting as only a handful of games really made it interesting. In addition, Sony launched a Playstation version that also had classic games. In line with Nintendo’s move, they increased prices to be the most expensive of the three systems. However, Sony had the poorest selection of game despite having the Behemoths of Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid in their list of games.
I was happy to drop the money to get these classics as replaying some of them like the Super Marios and Excitebike would bring great memories! There were also a number of games I was never able to play like the first Zelda game which I did get as a kid but was damaged shortly after playing (and never was able to get a replacement). The lineup of games is truly the best you can really get as I remember spending money buying these of the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console a couple of years ago as well!
While I have not had the chance to play much, I did sit to play through a dungeon in Zelda which was great to finally complete one! However, I did wonder how it was such a popular game despite its graphics. Then again, that was almost 30 year ago so technology has truly changed! I also had a session playing through Punch Out! This is one of the games that has stayed on my mind for 30 years as it was one of the few that I was never able to complete as Mike Tyson (now Mr. Dream) would always get the best of me at the end! I can also feel my sense of reflexes have changed as I am not nearly as good as I used to be as I was only able to get past half the fighters before being defeated! I can see myself playing this for hours in the coming months!