My NES Memories

In the 1980s, my parents purchased a Nintendo Entertainment System. Looking back, this video game system was the highlight of my youth and became one of my greatest passions. To this day, I can remember the excitement when on my way home from school to play the games Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt!

Many vivid memories come to mind such as playing the games Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, Kid Icarus, Double Dragon, and Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! for the first time and with my family and friends. Likewise, the first time playing Gyromite and setting up R.O.B.! I remember playing the games Popeye and Tennis with my dad, playing Kid Icarus with my older sister Vanessa (we even made a Kid Icarus book with passwords and directions for the three dungeons) and playing Dr. Mario with my younger sister Monica. Also, my mom would take time to write our home address and phone number on the inner top flaps of the game box when taking to a friend’s house.

Occasionally, my family would dine at a buffet in Highland, Indiana called Shakey’s. In the back corner of the restaurant, there was a separate dim room with an ice cream machine. It was here where I would play the arcade hits Ikari Warriors and Double Dragon!

In 1987, Clyde G. was my best friend. While in school, we would draw and exchange “war” mazes with pictures of bombs to avoid. When not in school, we belonged to a martial art class that taught Hapkido. Some of my best memories though include the times we spent playing Nintendo! I remember Clyde owning the games Lode Runner and Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode. Perhaps the best memory though was at Clyde’s birthday party where everyone was gathered around playing the newly released Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!.

Also, there were two specific game codes that I was very determined to find out at age seven while sitting on top of the army tank at Central Park in Griffith, Indiana. One was the code for infinite lives in Ikari Warriors (A-B-B-A) and the other was the direct pass key to Mike Tyson (007-373-5963) which I have remembered ever since. (And yes, Mike Tyson is beatable!).

In the early 1990s, I remember renting Who Framed Roger Rabbit and calling the 1-800 phone number discovered in the game to listen to Jessica Rabbit’s message. Also, I recall being on a waiting list at Blockbuster Video to rent out the much anticipated and newly released Super Mario Bros. 3!

One of the best memories I have was seeing the original games displayed in the stores with their one-of-a-kind cover art! Pictured below are the games that I owned in my youth. These games were all complete in box except for three. Mach Rider, one of my favorite games, oddly had been purchased from a resale shop in a 10 – Yard Fight Box, Dr. Mario was included with the Top Loader System, and the Zelda II: The Adventure of Link gold cartridge was handed down to me from my Uncle Joe.

In 2009, my interest in collecting took a significant turn. Nearly two years later, on February 9th, 2011, I added the title Gemfire to the collection which brought the licensed set total to 676/677 games!

Presently, going into 2023, my collection has grown significantly and I have published five Nintendo NES related books.

Pictured below on the left is a poster that I designed featuring all fifty main characters to commemorate the release of the Nintendo Classic Edition System. The Classic Edition System was released on November 11th, 2016, and the picture on the right was taken while waiting in line at Walmart in Portage, Indiana with my wife Mary and my sister Vanessa.

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Thanks for reading through my Nintendo NES memories article!
Alex