This year is the 25th anniversary of the Famicom, better known in the US as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). I still maintain that the NES is the finest video game system ever created, and its library stands the test of time as the highest quality gaming to be found anywhere.

As such, I miss those halcyon days terribly. I never owned an NES growing up, as my parents refused to let video games cross the threshold of the door. But all of my friends had them, so it wasn’t too much of a hassle to get my gaming fix. During those times, I was exposed to games of all kinds, and many of them were the foundations of what would become my favorite franchises, even to this day: Super Mario Bros., Mega Man, Metroid, Castlevania, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear (even though the NES version is a non-canon port), and many more.

What bugs me is that many younger gamers decry the NES out of hand. It’s old, therefore, it’s not cool. (It’s also used as yet another excuse to attack the Wii, since that console features many downloadable NES games.) Sure, the NES’ graphics don’t match up against the 3D powerhouse consoles we’ve got today, but that’s not the point: the fact remains, NES games are still a joy to play over twenty years later. When Mega Man 9 was announced as an NES-style exercise in retrogaming, even though it’s being released for current consoles, I was overjoyed; I’m a hardcore Mega Man fan and a hardcore NES fan. Double whammy! But you wouldn’t believe the amount of bitching that appeared on gaming forums, complaining that it was a “huge step back in the wrong direction” for gaming and other such bullshit. Seriously, kiss my ass; Mega Man 9 harkens back to a time when games were both amazing in their simplicity, and brutally fucking hard. Make no mistake: games nowadays are a breeze, and even the “hard” ones are a walk in the park compared to a lot of the NES patience-testers. When you beat a tough-as-nails NES game after busting your ass on the same boss for weeks, you felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment. People beat a game now, and just move on to the next one. (Even I’m guilty of that.)

On the subject of specific games to play, I’ve had the urge to play through Mega Man 6 again. Sure, I’ve got it as part of the PS2 Mega Man Anniversary Collection, as well as the PS1 Rockman Complete Works edition, but there’s something special about playing the game on the original hardware, without any extras or the benefit of rapid-fire. If I may go off on a bit of a tangent, it pisses me off that the later NES Mega Man games get shit on so much. Yes, Capcom started to scrape the barrel with some of the boss names and whatnot, but that didn’t make the games any less fun! Mega Man 6 was released towards the very end of the NES’ lifecycle, and while nearly every boss was a rehash of one that had come before, they still had some clever attack patterns. The level designs, loads of secrets, and unique weapon usages really made the game a gem. (I’m not the only one who feels this way.) I don’t care what anyone says; Mega Man 6 is totally undeserving of all of the rolled eyes and grunts of disgust often lobbed its way.

Back to the task at hand. I’ve actually been working on bolstering my NES collection as of late. While some games can fetch a high price on eBay and the like, most titles can be had for a few dollars or less. I’ve already acquired many of my favorites from years past, and I’ll just keep hunting for more. I generally prefer titles that have password save system, rather than a battery; after twenty or more years, those batteries tend to die out, and they’re a pain in the ass to replace! Besides, we all filled notebooks with game passwords and secrets back in the day; why not do it again? These damn kids these days with their strategy guides and cheat codes and GameFAQs just don’t know what they’re missing.

To wrap this whole thing up, I’ve got a brief anecdote for you that proves not all hope is lost. A buddy of mine has a baby daughter; she isn’t even a year old yet, but he’s already planning on raising her on the NES. (He’s also got a second child on the way, and plans to start their education in the 8-bit ways as well.) He enjoys the modern stuff, sure, but like myself, he has a deep appreciation for the classics, and knows that they just can’t be beat.

(Just in case you’d like to help me out with my reborn obsession, I keep a running list of NES games I’m hunting for right here. Though I will take just about anything; the more the merrier!)