Brain Candy

Excitement and Childhood


Whenever I write, I often find myself returning to my childhood and with good reason. It's not only something easy to grasp at and express, but it's the time in my life where the most joy can be found. Not only, as a child, is everyone free from the responsibilities of a job, or schoolwork, the stress of not knowing what you wanted to do with your life, or about making your significant other happy (and no, proposing to your childhood friend in kindergarten doesn't count as having to worry about a girlfriend). Life as a child is a blissful time, for most, and a lot of people would give a whole lot to be back into that mindset.

Let me digress to another childhood memory. I'm about seven years old and somehow NBA Street finds its way into my home. Who bought it? Maybe my brother, or my parents as a gift. I dunno, I don't really like basketball. When I started getting into this game, though, I was glued to it. I didn't know any teams or any individual players, but the game was so fluid and well-crafted that I didn't care. I blew through career mode and my brother and I played a bunch of the multiplayer. Hours and hours of my time was sunk into this game.

My uncle Doug, the one that got me into videogames in the first place, happened upon this game as we were playing it. This was when he was still pretty heavily into games, so he was better than my brother and I at them. After he was acquainted with the controls, he played me in a match and, of course, he easily bested me. As a kid, I was apt to cry at the slightest provocation, and this was enough to do it. I started bawling and denying that I was crying over losing the game, but There was no doubt that losing was the reason. It's kind of embarrassing now, but, as a child, this was the biggest worry I had. Losing to my uncle in a basketball game.

It takes a lot to pull an adult or a teenager into that mindset again, but Nintendo has always been able to tap into my inner child and make me want to buy everything they pump out. From consoles to entries in their tried-and-true series, I really want everything they have to offer. I stood in line for the Wii at 4 in the morning with my dad, I pre-ordered Twilight Princess nearly two years before it was out, and now the 3DS has grabbed on to my eyes and forced them to stare at its secret parts. Whenever anything about the 3DS comes on screen, whether it be on the television or on the computer, my head turns.

What's that? Augmented reality? Count me in. Glasses-free 3D? Yes please. Ocarina of Time remake? I have to change my pants. To link this back to what I've said earlier, the 3DS erases all of my worries when I hear about it. Something about the thing just taps into my childhood and I've no idea why. All of its features, all of its promised titles just make me want to dump $250 on this device.

Thank you, Nintendo, for bringing my childhood back.