It shames me every time I admit this, but I never got intoNintendogames. I’ve never finished aZeldagame, the onlyMariogame I’ve played isMario Kart(and only at parties), and I don’t even really care aboutPokemon. When people bring up Nintendo games from their childhood, my reaction is usually a blank stare and an apology. My own partner has pulled out Game Boy Advance cartridges buried in his childhood closet and shown them to me, expecting me to be excited, and been met with “What the hell is Mother?”
Again, I don’t say this with pride. I wanted Game Boys when I was a kid, but my mother thought that only little boys played games and so my brother got them instead of me. He wasn’t good with sharing. When I convinced her to buy us game consoles, I did it under the guise of my brother and I sharing them, because she would never buy one for just me. By the time I had my own money to buy consoles, we were in thePS4generation. Now I write about games for a living and bemoan the huge gap in my knowledge that will never be filled, because I don’t have the time to play all the games I missed.
Obviously, I don’t care about Nintendo as an adult. I have a Switch, but because Nintendo so often focuses on modern remasters of classic games or additions to long-standing franchises, I rarely watch a Nintendo showcase and get excited. New Mario game? Sure, I guess.Tears of the Kingdom? I didn’t likeBreath of the Wild, and I don’t really know The Legend of Zelda like that, anyhow. Iconic RPG series being made fresh? It’s not iconic to me, I didn’t play it. There’s no nostalgia at play here, so there’s very little reason for me to ever get excited about Nintendo games. MySwitchmostly languishes in its dock by my TV for that reason.
Nintendo’s strategy isn’t necessarily a bad thing – while I’m generally against constant remasters and studios rarely diverging from IP that’s already proven to be safe, we can see from Nintendo’s slate of games that every addition to each series does something new, whether stylistically or mechanically. It isn’t remastering recently released games, but bringing back classic games from decades ago in a practice that is more akin to game preservation than cash-grabbing.
I’m Coming Around To Entering Series Late
The more coverage I read about Nintendo’s latest games, the more curious I become. Sure, I might be unfamiliar with a series that other people in my age bracket seem to universally adore, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late for me to start. Perhaps I need to just pretend I’m a kid being given a handheld for the first time and build my own relationships with these games. It’s not like the lore is essential to understanding or enjoying most of them.
This week’s showcase did more to intrigue me than make me feel closed out.Mario & Luigi Brothershiplooked like so much fun, and I wanted to play theDragon Quest remakesthe moment I saw them – my favourite game protagonist Ichiban Kasuga talks about it all the time, and I know it’s a classic for a reason.The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis the first real game in the series where you may play Zelda herself, something which is new to seasoned Legend of Zelda players and newbies like me alike. AndThe Hundred Line: Last Defense Academyis fresh IP!
While I know I’ll likely play the multi-platform releases onSteamor console and not the Switch, this is still the first time I’ve ever watched a Nintendo showcase and felt that it was for me and not just longtime followers of the company. Maybe it’s not too late and I, too, can become a Nintendo fan.
