After leaving it to collect dust on a side table for four or five months, I finally attached my Nintendo Switch to the television again this week. I played the shit out of Fire Emblem: Three Houses a couple years ago, but I haven’t found much else I was interested in for that console that I couldn’t get at a better price through my Playstation 5. Leaving it there had felt wasteful, and I wanted to give it one more go before deciding whether or not to trade it in for cash I could use more productively.
This may be old news to a lot of gamers, but I was quite pleased to discover how many games Nintendo has added to its NES and SNES virtual consoles, and that I can now play some of my favorite Nintendo64 games as well.
I quickly decided to keep my Switch. Using state-of-the-art hardware to play retro titles might be a bit of a silly luxury, but fuck it; I’ve never played much Super Nintendo since I grew up in a Sega Genesis family, and I loved my N64 more than I loved perhaps any other console.
So, what’s on my to do list?
Super Mario World – I was an avid Nintendo Power reader as a kid, even after making the move from the NES to the Sega Genesis, and somehow I wound up with a strategy guide for Mario’s first SNES adventure. I read that thing over and over again as if it contained all the secrets to making me taller, cooler, and richer. It did not, and I’ve forgotten all but broad strokes of the game, but I’m still pretty excited to work my way through it.
All the Zeldas – Though Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask are some of my favorite games, I never really played the earlier titles in the series–although I do remember one very frustrating weekend with a rental copy of the Adventure of Link. If any of the weapons break, though, I’m out. I gave up on Breath of the Wild because I seriously couldn’t deal with everything I found quickly turning into junk.
Eliminator Boat Duel – I have no idea what this is, but it sounds bad ass. Why yes, I would like to pilot a boat against other boats and sink their dumb asses, how did you know? Here’s hoping for a modern re-release that lets me sink the yachts of tech billionaires, preferably while captaining MacGyver’s houseboat.
Operation Logic Bomb – Is this an actual game, or the name I’d give to my electronic campaign against the yachts of tech billionaires? Only time will tell.
Earthworm Jim 2 – I loved the games. I loved the cartoon. I will never forget trying the original at a demo booth in an Electronics Boutique and laughing like a jerk with my father the first time Jim died and his suit comically blew his face off. I still don’t understand how Jim and his groovy brand of mayhem hasn’t made a comeback, but maybe some 90s obsessed TikTokers will get a hold of this one and put my man back in his rightful place at the top of the zeitgeist.
Seems like enough to keep me busy for a bit. Any recommendations?