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NES = Soothing
Let me start by saying that I've been extremely busy for the past two weeks. With the end of the first quarter of the school year approaching rapidly, with teachers trying to cram in that last unit to get the big test under this marking period, homework has been at an all-time high. I haven't been able to review a game in three weeks. Simply put, I've been too busy to play my NES.
Life was good, but there seemed to be something missing. I hadn't played more than fifteen minutes of NES for a couple of weeks. And the game I played then was TMNT...ugh.
Last night when the clocks turned back, I was allowed an extra hour of sleep. When I woke up, I felt rested for the first time in awhile.
For some unexplainable reason, I suddenly had the urge to play NES. I felt as though gravity was thrusting me to the grey box. Not one to fight against mother nature, I walked down to my basement.
I looked over my game collection and it was one of those times where I just couldn't decide what game to play. And then all of a sudden it hit me that a dose of Dragon Warrior was what I needed.
I popped in the RPG and sat down. Greeted by the cheery music, I continued my quest with my character "Quest."
I hadn't played Dragon Warrior in weeks, maybe even a couple of months. But I still knew my way around. Traveling west, north, west, south, east, and south, I reached my favorite battleground, where the enemies range from the lowly Magician to the challenging (don't chuckle - Quest is only Level 15) Werewolf.
I played for a good hour. And I had the time of my life.
When I was done playing, I realized that I was so relaxed. The stress of the last two weeks seemed to have been lifted more and more with every blow I had dealt to each enemy. So just remember - whenever you're feeling down, go find that grey box - pop in a fun cart - and just play.
For some reason, I have this sense that tells me the feeling I experienced could not have been experienced on a modern-day system. And this may make you think,"yeah, sure, you're just saying that because you're an NES freak."
But that is not the case. There is just something about the NES that makes it so relaxing and peaceful, so soothing. I don't know what it is, but I have a few guesses.
I think it may have something to do with the bypassed technology. Sure, I could play a game with state-of-the-art graphics, but why? The storyline and gameplay will probably be horrible. So what if the NES doesn't look great? It looks adequate to me, and it's sort of soothing knowing that it's so antique. Playing something that is so outdated helps, I think, to set a relaxing mood.
And NES games almost always have a great storyline, even if it's only great to laugh at. N64 games? Good storyline? Oil and water.
I also think that the fact that you can buy a video game for the price of a can of soda makes playing it fun. Even if you don't like it that much, you don't really care - there isn't a hole burned in your wallet.
But there's this thing in the back of my head that tells me that my guesses are wrong. It tells me that I still haven't figured out why the NES is so soothing. And you know what? I think it's right. I may never figure out just why the NES is so much fun and relaxing - it just is, and that's fine with me.
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