After finishing a run through a few Resident Evil games, I wanted a palate cleanser, something that I could pick up and put down as my busy adult life allowed. It seemed like the perfect time to dust off my Nintendo Switch Online membership and replay some of the classics. I try to play at least one Zelda game a year, and it had been nearly a decade since I’d replayed The Legend of Zelda (1986). Fantastic choice.
I grew up playing video games in the 1980s and have never stopped loving them despite the responsibilities and (sometimes) drudgery of adult life. Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate the “shortcuts” modern games provide: yellow paint noting the right path, helpful in-game companions ready to provide suggestions, story mode for when you just don’t have the time to master a challenging boss. That’s not to say I’ve become “soft” in my gaming skills (I loved the 500+ hours I poured into Elden Ring); it’s more a reflection of the difficulty of indulging in my gaming passion when adult life with a family demands so much of me. But I must confess, a part of me had forgotten the fires of my gaming youth that forged the skills I’ve carried into adulthood.
Playing The Legend of Zelda on the NES virtual console (via Nintendo Switch Online) felt like a time machine, transporting me back to the era when video games didn’t hold your hand, expected you to use trial and error to make discoveries, and required you to have an iron will to outlast enemies that were downright cruel. I often wonder if my fellow millennials and Gen X-ers have a different outlook on life and possess a different level of distress tolerance in part because of the video games we played. We had no game guides or tutorial videos, no shortcuts, no easy mode. It was adapt… or go play outside!
It’s been fun re-immersing myself in this era of gaming (well… except for those trap rooms full of Darknuts). I don’t know if I would have the same ability to play so many games today if all video games were still like this, not with all the demands of adult life. Perhaps I would simply play fewer games to account for the extra time it takes to progress in the “old school” format, but enjoy the sense of accomplishment that follows achievement. My time with Elden Ring suggest that might be the case. For now, I’m simply enjoying a childhood favorite and some personal reflection on my life of gaming.
Tell us what you think! Do you miss the era when video games were unforgiving challenges? Share your reactions in the comments below or join the conversation on Boss Rush Network’s Discord, Facebook, and Twitter.
Featured Image: Nintendo
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