Video Games from My
Childhood - NES Edition:
Part 1
By: Kristen Zeimetz
Rockin’ Kats (1991)
I have an obsession (fetish? LOL) for anthropomorphic animals, so I really loved this game. It’s a basic side-scroller where you play as a jazz-loving cat while fighting off mob boss dogs who kidnapped his girlffriend, Jill. (Jill? Who names a cat Jill?) Your weapon was a big mechanical boxing glove (think Inspector Gadget) that would stretch to punch and grab onto items. The music in the boss fights was pretty dope, and I always enjoy anything that makes cats the heroes, and dogs the bad guys. I can’t remember if I beat this game. (I haven’t beaten many.)
B+
A Boy and His Blob (1989)
Oh Lord, this game. I spent endless hours playing this game, because it was so stupid that it was brilliant. You play as an unnamed boy who feeds his “Blob” jelly beans. The different flavors of the beans turned the blog into different objects (a ladder, a trampoline, etc.), and when you whistled, the blog would turn back into, well, a blob. I know there was one bean the Blob refused to eat and would make a sad face, which was amusing. The damn music would drive anyone insane, though. I know I didn’t beat this one. I don’t think I ever got past the first level, though I remember flying in a rock ship? That seems like an important turning point in a game. Now I want jelly beans. C
Tiny Toon Adventures (1991)
Oh man! I loved Tiny Toons as a kid, and this game did not disappoint (though the Genesis version was better, imo)! You play as Buster Bunny, who is trying to rescue his girlfriend, Babs, from Montana Max. Not sure how these fellas keep letting their ladies get abducted, but either way, it’s a super fun game. You can transform into three other characters (Dizzy, Plucky, and Furball), as well as beat obstacles that Buster can’t. This took me a hot minute as a kid to figure out. I was never one to read instructions (still don’t). So, I’m pretty sure I never beat this game. Still super fun, though. B+
The Legend of Zelda (1987)
First let me start by saying, though I was obsessed with this game as a kid, I never grew to love the franchise or play any other Zelda game. I did obsess over the cartoon show, because I had a crush on Link. When I think of my childhood, this game was in my Top 10 memories. The epic music, the shiny gold cartridge, the sound Link’s sword made - they are still embedded in my mind. Unfortunately, I was horseshit at this game and only ever won one piece of the Triforce. For that reason, I can’t give it a higher rating, solely because I was so bad at it. C
