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Saturday, January 14, 2006

A Little Nostalgia For Your Saturday Morning

In the summer of 1987, I had two goals for myself: make out with Ralph Macchio and solve The Legend of Zelda.

I had a tendency to aim high in certain areas of my life, low in others, and if one panned out, it was a victory for pre-adolescent self-esteem everywhere. In this scenario, which is which is based solely on your perspective and it must be said that even I knew at 11 that it would be an enormous challenge for me to make out with a guy old enough to be dating a woman named "Phyllis." There were no Phyllis's roaming the playground at St. Mary Nativity or any other parochial or public schools in the Joliet area so it was pretty clear that to me that Ralph might not find my tight perm, Dr. Pepper lip balm and my occassional penchant for an evening of Barbie doll playing as seductive as I might have hoped.

So Zelda it was and, with the help of JP, he who configured our TV, VCR and Nintendo to work together so that I could record my every move during the game and review the tape of each attempt, I defeated Ganon, the King of Evil, and rescued the Princess of Hyrule, returning peace to that oddly pixelated universe.

I cannot decide what is sadder: that I was the sort of girl who would take solving a video game so seriously that I would tape myself playing it or that I am a woman of almost 30 who continues to tell people that I did this. It probably says something about my aforementioned statement about the goals I set for myself in that nothing much has really changed and it borders on pathetic when a grown person is still bragging about the fact that she solved Zelda, both quests, without a cheat book or the Internet.

Booyah.

This is really neither here nor there. Joy and I saw The Spinto Band recently and I visited their Web site to jam along to a few of their songs (Try "Oh Mandy" for some pop-music goodness) and I followed a link on their site to "Nintendo Endings" (beware the popups) and, wouldn't you know it: Zelda.

It's times like these that I really and truly wish I'd had my old NES because I'm not kidding: I could get way more wrapped up in a morning of Zelda playing than any Karate Kid marathon they might be playing on TBS.

Posted by Erin at 08:43 AM | filed under: Random Stupidity

comments

shea, that's fucking adorable. seriously, i'm dying over here.

posted by: jacqui shine at January 14, 2006 09:43 AM

In 1987 I also enjoyed The Legend of Zelda, but pretended not to because my younger brother was better than I.

Once when I was young, my father beat my high score on Pitfall and took a Polaroid because my mother wouldn't let him wake me up to gloat.

I also liked Ralph, but I was more an Outsiders girl than a Karate Kid girl.

I am two years older than you and I still have Dr Pepper lip balm in my bag.

Now go to ebay and get the Nintendo.

posted by: Anne at January 14, 2006 07:49 PM

Here's the thing--I was playing Final Fantasy *this morning*. Classic Nintendo games are the best!

posted by: Emily at January 15, 2006 09:19 AM

I didn't know girls were allowed to play.

posted by: e d scott at January 15, 2006 09:54 AM

I never had a NES. We were a PC-and-Sega household and the Sega belonged to my brother (although it now resides under my bed - he has a PS2 these days).

So it was the PC for me and a host of classic Apogee and Psygnosis games. I never managed to complete Commander Keen or Lemmings, but I was the queen of Red Rock Rover.

posted by: Kirsten at January 16, 2006 03:38 AM

I absolutely frickin' loved The Legend of Zelda. To this day, the only video game I ever saw any point in playing.
PS 2? Xbox 360? Meh...

posted by: lisapete at January 16, 2006 06:27 PM

I'm officially O.L.D...I had an Atari....and a TI before that.

posted by: Michelle at January 16, 2006 09:22 PM

My boyfriend still _has_ an Atari. And a CPC emulator.

posted by: Kirsten at January 17, 2006 04:12 AM

Oooo! You guys, I totally had Atari, too! Before Zelda there was DONKEY KONG! And Frogger! And PAC MAN!

I love how women will, now that they're in their 20s and 30s, totally cop to having been just as crazy about video games as children as their male counterparts but were loathe to admit such a thing back then. It's sort of nice that girls who are into video games nowadays can revel in their love without compunction.

Gloria Steinem must be so proud ...

posted by: Erin at January 17, 2006 09:24 AM

Oh, Ralph.

In 1987 I was 12. I was then that I had my first, how do you say, "grown-up" dream. It was just he & I and some sweet heavy petting. He's always had a special place in my heart, being my "first" and all....

Where is he now?

posted by: Rebecca at January 17, 2006 12:47 PM

July 2008