When I was a kid growing up back in Edmonton Canada in the 80s and 90s, I normally had excruciatingly long waits when it came to entertainment, particularly video games as they were the new craze and tended to cost quite a bit more than standard toys. This caught a lot of parents off guard including mine. This made me and my brother kind of mad at the time as we were very well behaved and caused literally no trouble and felt like we deserved it. Seeing my hell spawn cousin get his goodies as soon as they hit the shelf was especially upsetting.

The one thing that all that waiting did for me at least was give me a deeper appreciation for it when I got it and ultimately made those games stick out in my mind with great fondness. The introduction to the NES was a shock to say the least, my brother and I had just got home from school and to our surprise there was a small television, NES console complete with zapper and a few games to enjoy, this was back in 1990 (no I'm not kidding)




Super Mario Bros, everybody in the world has played this one. I really liked duck hunt for a while and can't figure out why everyone hates that dog so much, I'd scratch his belly and share a beer with him. Ha



This game was ungodly bad, just atrocious, not that the arcade version was any good but I'll always remember it for better or worst.



I absolutely love this little bastard, the puzzle solving was so fun and the concept so simple. The later stages got pretty complex though and really grew my problem solving skills at the time. It is very colorful and has pretty good music as well. I still pop this one in from time to time, no doubt my favorite game of the lot I had at the time.



Golgo 13 blew me away, I was very much into detective stories and spy stuff at that age and this mother f'er was tough as nails. Comparisons to James Bond have been made but at the time I had no idea who that was, now that I do its not even close. This game though, won me then lost me pretty quick. The atmosphere and cut scenes were cool but this is one hard bastard of a game. The different play mechanics were interesting such as the first person shooting and side scrolling portions but what really did it for me was the swimming stages, it was difficult to tell where I was supposed to go. It's been a while since I played it, maybe it was too advanced for my preteen brain at the time.

Anyway, that's the last of the games that I initially received for the NES but there are a few more I'd like to mention before I leave you.

Anyone here remember arcades? Dave and busters doesn't count lol

There was a couple of games in my local arcade at Londonderry Mall in Edmonton that I remember standing head and shoulders above the rest, in fact they were permanent fixtures in the place and usually had pretty steady action.



Mortal Kombat: This is the only arcade game I remember having any impact on me whatsoever. The first time I saw it I was 12 years old, it was in the back corner of the arcade and the first thing I noticed(after the shitload of kids standing in front of it) was the music, foreboding, loud, bass heavy and epic. I walked up to it with caution and got a look through a couple older kids shoulders and my first sight of this game was Johnny Cage upper cutting some guys head off. I was stunned but interested. They sure knew how to get a kids attention alright. Traumatize him Lol Great memories playing this one.



Daytona USA: Unlike the MK cabinet, this one was right at the entrance. They had to know they music would pull you to it, even today it's my favorite arcade racer. It was even fun to play this one alone.

My time in arcades was limited due to the availability of them near to me but the one at Londonderry Mall in the early nineties was the best place in the world to race some cars and dismember your fellow digitized man....or woman.

One more for the road...



Super Adventure Island

This game has a special place in my heart, not because its a fun game or even a great game, because of where it came from. When I was kid, we were poor. We had what we needed most of the time but no more. I remember one year my birthday was about a week away and I knew nothing was going to happen and I was alright with that, I knew the struggle and didn't want to be a big deal when whatever money there was could be used in more productive ways than buying me toys.

When the day arrived, I was in my room and my mom walked in and said happy birthday and handed me a small package and hugged me, I could tell what it was when I felt it, I unwrapped it and found an SNES cartridge, no box or book just the cartridge. It felt so amazing to know that she had gone through the trouble to find something I would love when things were so tight, it wasn't like it is today where finding a used game store was easy either. That was the only gift I got that year and that was fine by me. That moment is one of the sweetest moments I remember having with my mom. She was a saint.

She passed in Dec or 2016 and that memory was the first one to come to mind. Its amazing what you remember when you look back and appreciate what you had. Keep making memories retrojunkies.