My Love Affair With a Short Italian Plumber

So Valentine's Day is tomorrow, and while I'm pretty thrilled to have someone in my life that I love for the first time to celebrate this Hallmark holiday, I must confess that my true, lifelong love is a short, Italian plumber named Mario.  Yes, Mario.  While most of my friends live, breathe, and geek out over horror movies, my geekdom lies primarily in video games. You all know him, some love him more than others, some hate him. But for me, it was love at first sight.  I'm a child of the 80s, and I think I got to grow up during the best decades.  The 80s were a time when video games were beginning to rise and set the precedent for what we have today.  

Atari 2600 console

Growing up in my house, as far back as I can remember, we had an Atari 2600.  It was my parent's, but my sister and I would always play it.  Looking back, I still enjoy some of those games.  Games on Atari required you to stretch your imagination, but at the same time there wasn't much to compare it to since it took years for the graphics to advance.  One thing I always noticed though, was that the artwork on the box/cartridge was always pretty badass compared to what you saw when you turned the console on. The games were simple, but man they were fun.

Popeye game for Atari

The original NES

In 1986, Nintendo came out with their first Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), in the US.  The console itself retailed for $250 when packaged with the zapper gun and Duck Hunt.  By 1991, the price dropped to about $100 and included not only the zapper and Duck Hunt, but the beginning of my love affair, Super Mario Bros.  I never had a NES, but I always wanted one.  Luckily, several of my neighbors had it, as well as my cousin.  I could play those games for hours, even though I was never that great at them. It's the one thing I wanted more than anything as a child, and while I wasn't exactly deprived, it's something I never got.  

The first time we met, Super Mario Bros on NES

Gameboy

In 1989, Nintendo came out with the first handheld gaming console, Gameboy.  I wanted this badly, and I don't remember exactly how old I was, but my parents eventually got me one.  Maybe they were sick of me whining about wanting a NES.  The only games I had (and that I wanted, really) were Super Mario Land, and Kirby's Dreamland.  The display was black and green, and left a bit to be desired, it was able to able to satisfy my love for Mario for the time being.

Super Mario Land on Gameboy

SNES. The greatest video game console of all time.

Then everything changed. In 1991, Nintendo released my favorite console to date, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).  It retailed for about $200, and I wanted it. Badly.  Again, I was lucky enough to know people who had the system, and that only made me want it more. Now my love affair with Mario really grew.  Even though these days we have more advanced systems, I will always stand firm on my opinion that the SNES is the greatest gaming console of all time. I'll take those 16-bit games over what ever technology seems to come up with next.

Super Mario World on SNES

I dare anyone to argue with the greatness of the SNES games.  Super Mario World, Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Mario Kart, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Wario's Woods, Paperboy, the list goes on. While I longed to own one of these as a child, I didn't acquire one until all of my friends chipped in and bought it for me, along with a handful of games, for my 16th birthday.  To this day, best birthday present ever! It's still hooked up in my bedroom.

Nintendo's "competitor", Sega Genesis. No competition if you ask me.

When I was about seven or eight years old, I ended up winning a Sega Genesis. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited, but I'd also be lying if I said I didn't wish it was a SNES instead.  Sega was a decent competitor, but it still didn't come close to the SNES.  The console came with the game, Altered Beast, and since I was a huge wuss at that age, playing it ended up giving me nightmares and my mom wouldn't let me play it after 5 or 6 pm to help prevent that (which didn't really work).  My family ended up with a huge amount of games for the Sega. Among them, Sonic the Hedgehog, Flicky, T2, and which ever games came with Sega's answer to the SNES Super Scope, the Menacer.

Altered Beast on Sega Genesis

It was a decent filler until I received that SNES on my 16th birthday, after which I sold all my Sega stuff to my sister.

To this day, my love for Mario and Nintendo in general runs strong. I have the wii, and the games I play the most are all Mario related.  I grew up loving the 16-bit graphics, and I am still very iffy on the more realistic games that are around today.  One night after whining about how badly I wanted it, my boyfriend went out and bought me the limited edition Super Mario All-Stars wii for my birthday.  My love for Mario will never die, and if I had to pick one, I'd say that Super Mario World is my favorite video game of all time.

The Mario games essentially are this love story of a short, Italian plumber taking on whatever and whoever gets in his way on his quest to save his love, Princess Peach. What's more romantic than that?  All men should aspire to have such deep love and aspiration for the one they love. So here's to Mario, and our twenty-some year love affair.