It All Started With Tetris

I had the old Tengen cart

I have been on an extreme nostalgia binge lately. I've been replaying Persona 3 and Suikoden 3 for the PS2, trying to recapture that new millennium console magic that so consumed my high school years. I've been replaying Earthworm Jim and Battletoads, proving to my adult self that the 16-bit genre made great games that last forever, not just for that generation. When I think of my 26 year journey through video games, all of the RPGs and dungeon crawlers, all of the fighting games and shooters, the sims and RTSs, I also remember the 3 that started it all. Tetris, Tiny Toon Adventures, and Adventures in the Magic Kingdom. 

The first video game controller I ever held was the perfect NES rectangle. I got an NES fairly young, 4-ish, and unlike most other kids, I did not receive Mario Bros automatically. I'm not positive why, perhaps my mother bought the console only, or maybe gave that cart to someone, but the first games I ever played were these 3, and Tetris was literally the first game I ever played. Ever. I remember it being absolutely life changing to be playing such an intense puzzle game in the comfort of my tacky 70's style living room, trying all the different music and color schemes. Tetris was a big deal back then, and I still consider the title music to be one of the best midi tracks ever made. 

Tiny Toon Adventures was my very first platformer. The game is extremely difficult, but with great references to the show, and a decent character switch system. Every toon has their own special move and benefit, (Buster jumps high, Plucky can fly, etc). This is where I did my first double-jump, got my first extra life, collected my first carrots/coins/general collectibles, but to this day I have never beaten it. The game gets so cheap and merciless towards the end, with quick game overs and no save points. I did get Mario Bros soon after this though, and I don't think I ever came back to Tiny Toons. However, although this game may not stand the test of time, I wasn't aware of how video games worked back then, so it holds a very special place in my heart. Everything in this game was new to me, and I can still feel the wonder that I felt when I was trying to figure it out.

Adventures in the Magic Kingdom is a cult classic that us nerds still bring up all the time. Replaying it today however, you realize that this cart is really just a collection of frustrating mini-games, as opposed to a wonderful Disney adventure. This game is much cooler in my memories, because when I was a kid, I could only complete a couple of the 6 required mini-games, leaving a lot of mystery swirling around my brain. "What happens when I get all 6 keys?", "I don't have enough keys to open that door, what's behind it?" I vividly remember thinking that the game must be hiding some massive secret, a cool reward for those with the skill and patience to grind-earn all the keys, but alas, nope, the game just sucks. It was the first time I ever piloted a space ship in a video game however, and the first time I jumped barrels.

These 3 games were my very first, and while they taught me some valuable lessons in how games work, the next games that graced my NES were Mario Bros, Final Fantasy and Zelda. Their lessons were much more important.