As a kid growing up in the 80's, I can remember just how big the NES really was. I mean, if you didn't have one, chances are you were playing one at a friend's house. If the latter is true, then it's safe to assume sleepovers were a common occurrence. I was one of those kids who had to sleep over at my friend Anthony's house in order to play Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt (at least until Christmas the following year), and It wasn't easy convincing my folks to buy into Nintendo after the great video game crash. My family owned an Atari 2600, so my parents weren't strangers to video game consoles, but due to all of the negative press video games were getting at the time, they were fairly skeptical about purchasing a new one. Luckily, with enough hounding, I was able to get them to see the light, and they bought an NES Action Set for my brother and I to share.
Playing NES with my little brother is one of my greatest childhood memories. We'd take turns playing Super Mario Bros (I was always Luigi), and we'd heckle each other when it was our turn to watch. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade was an awesome 2 player game, while the first one always made us throw the controller. I remember how long it took us to reach Mr. Dream in Punch-Out and how we relished our victory when we finally took him down. There were so many great and memorable games for the NES that I could probably write a book about them, but for now I'll keep my ramblings to a minimum.
If somehow (I'm not sure how) you missed out on the NES, I am truly sorry... That really sucks! Still, you're here, which means you've taken some interest in learning about it, or you already love it and just came to geek out a little. Either way, I've gathered together a "crash course" video playlist to bring you up to date on NES and provide you first hand accounts of growing up with the system from several different gamers. There's a detailed history from Gamespot, a buyer's guide from SilverMongoose, some console reviews from The Classic Game Room and the first commercial that introduced NES to the U.S. That's right. Now your playing with power!
1. Gamespot's game history month covers the NES
2. Gamespot does a flashback look at the NES and games
3-4. SilverMongoose provides a console review and buyer's guide
4. The Gaming Historian covers the history of the NES 2 top loader
5. UnboxTherapy provides an unboxing of an NES Deluxe Set
6. Classic Game Room provides an unboxing of an NES Action Set
7. Captin 8-Bit (the Game Chasers) talk about childhood NES memories
8. The Angry Video Game Nerd covers the numerous NES accessories
9. The first U.S. NES commercial featuring Robby the Robot
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