Old School Gamer And Proud Of It

Once upon a time there was a game called Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong was the pack in game for a home console system called the ColecoVision. This system was the first one I ever owned and it was Coleco's answer to the Atari 2600. From the moment I held that joystick in my hand I knew I would never be the same (pause).

From there I moved on to having an NES, a SNES, N64, Playstation and a number of other systems. I was also that guy in the arcades with not many quarters in my pockets but games on my mind. I'd like to go through two of my favorite games from the NES era of gaming. Some of these you probably know while others you may have never heard of.

Game #1
Solstice
This was a sort of adventure/RPG light game. I got this game on a humble one year from my father. I'm glad he copped it because it became one of my favorites on the Nintendo. You are this sorceror who has to save a princess by assembling a broken staff. As you journey your map gets bigger an you have these magic potions to help you. The game play is addictive.



Game #2
Flying Warriors
Growing up my mother wouldn't allow me to trade games with my friends. So like any other normal kid I did it on the sneak. One game I borrowed was called Flying Warriors. This martial arts game was so on point. It's a shame NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT IT!



Game #3
Ninja Gaiden
Ahhh I remember playing this game so much as a kid. I mean who didn't want to be a ninja? This was one of the first games I played that had cut scenes and dialogue. I loved it.



Game #4
Double Dribble
I'll never forget those infamous words "DOUBLE DRIBBLE". From the moment I heard that I knew it was on! From the first ever slow motion cut away dunks to real calls in a basketball game, Double Dribble was a gem. I would always play with Chicago even though there was no MJ in the game (or any other player names for that matter). Double Dribble is an NES classic.



Game #5
Super Mario Bros. 3
Possibly the greatest video game ever created SMB3 caused a shift in platform games. From the moment I got my first Raccoon leaf I knew my life would never be the same. From being able to use whistles to fly through the game in about an hour's time, to slugging it out through 8 fully fleshed-out worlds SMB3 was very complex. I loved the water world where you get to use the frog suit. To this day I can turn this game on and completely enjoy it. A Nintendo legend.

Colecovision... My Old Friend

When I was a young lad growing up in the 80's like most American kids I was stuck on video games. The first video game system I ever owned was the Colecovision. This system was a powerhouse of gaming back then. Back in a world where Atari ruled with an iron fist providing games that looked nothing like their arcade counterparts Coleco stepped the game up. The system came with two joysticks which operated more loosely like an arcade stick than Atari's (before the 7800) and the games had better graphics. The game that came with the system initially was the arcade classic Donkey Kong (produced by Nintendo). This version unlike Atari's looked pretty much just like the arcade version.

I didn't realize how great this system was at the time, at least until I got Turbo. Turbo was a cool driving game in the arcade, and it came with an actual steering wheel and gas pedal for the Colecovision. It doesn't get much better than that my friends. This is before any light zapper or a power pad was created by Nintendo. Other Colecovision classics I owned were Smurf, Ladybug (MAN I LOVED THAT GAME) and Time Pilot.

Unfortunately the Colecovision came out right before the Video Game Crash of 1983 and it suffered the wrath of low popularity. When Nintendo came in 1985 and gave life to video games again the Colecovision was officially dead and gone.

I'm paying tribute to an old friend who held me down before I knew what a Mario brother was. This weekend I'm going to my mothers to pull out the Colecovision. I think I need to get a game of Ladybug going.