Old Skool

Growing up, I used to hate when my grandparents, aunts/uncles, random strangers would begin conversations with the dreaded words, "Back in my day..." I knew I was in for a diatribe of praise for Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, and any movie that only featured two colors in it. I always swore to myself that I would never ever ever EVER allow myself to become a crotchety old man, longing for the "glory days."

Well, the other day, I had a conversation with someone at OL about video games. It was one of those moments where I didn't realize what I saying until I finished saying it. I actually muttered the words, "These kids today don't know what a good game is."

In that instant, at the ripe old age of 24.9, I became "one of them."

So to celebrate my newfound "old fogey" status, I whip out a feature geriatrically known as...

Back in the Day...

• You could only go one way in video games...to the right. If you forgot that "extra life" two screens back, you were shit out of luck.
• There were no memory cards or hard drives. You had to beat games in one sitting. ONE SITTING. Oh, and might I add you only had 3 lives and 3 continues to beat said games?
• Games were freaking hard. For anyone who complains the difficulty of today's games, I dare you to play any one Mega Man game for the NES and still have your controller in one piece. I also challenge you to play any one Mega Man game and NOT scream, "Mother Fucker" less than 10 times in one sititng.
  
• We didn't have scratched CDs; we just had to use all of our oxygen to blow every last dust particle out of a cartridge. And don't get me started on the "Press the Nintendo game up and down ten times to get it to work" trick.
• We plopped down $75 PER GAME. Ok, our parents plopped down $75 per game. Ok, my parents never would plop down $75 per game, because it cost $75 PER GAME.
• Publishers weren't afraid to have a game endorsed by Mike Tyson. He bites one ear, and everyone is up in arms. Patsies.
• Controllers did not have 761 buttons.
• Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Select Start...need I say more?
  

I'm sure I'll think of more, but until next time, I'm going to go walk 50 miles to school barefoot in 10 feet of snow...
Dan