Once again, I spend a Saturday totally geeked out on the couch. Ever since I beat Paper Mario on the Virtual Console, I had been itching to download a few new classic console games to play. The unfortunate thing was the Wii Shop absolutely refused to cooperate. From Christmas to New Years, whenever I would try to connect to the Wii store, it gave me an error stating their servers are too busy, try again later. I would try again every few days, and get shut out over and over. I think Nintendo underestimated the demand on their services just a bit.
Today, I decided I’d give it another go. I connected to the Internet with no problems, but the Nintendo store refused to connect. Knowing it was on their end, not mine, I just reset the software and tried for a solid fifteen minutes or so to connect. I had no luck, so I went off to walk the dog and do some dishes. I tried again a little later, and still had no luck connecting.
Damn you Nintendo. You have my Wii Points, LET ME SPEND THEM!
Totally convinced I’d never get in today, I tried one last time. I tried connecting to the store, walked away to use the bathroom, and heard the Wii Shop music start up. Success. A watched store never connects apparently. Worried I wouldn’t get another chance to connect for a long time if this problem persists, I decided to go on a binge and snap up a few games to last me a while (Read: Until Brawl.). I’ve still got points to spend if something good comes out later, but now I have a few more games to keep me busy.
Current Wii Virtual Console Games:
Super Mario Brothers 3: (Level 4 kicks my ass)
Gunstar Heroes: (Every level kicks my ass)
Paper Mario: (I beat this. Actually, I kicked it’s ass. Huzzah!)
My new games today:
Kirby’s Adventure: (I’ve beaten this before on the old school Gameboy, and I’ll beat it again. It’s held up so well for a late generation NES game.)
Starfox 64: (”How do I barrel roll? Oh, now I’ve got to save Slippy, wait, what does this button do? Who’s shooting me? Argh, I died!” Holy crap this game is COMPLICATED!)
Super Metroid: (This is a classic. I’ve played the sequels, beaten some of the GBA games, but needed to play the game people were always talking about in middle school.)
Not to be satisfied spending my time trying to download old games, I also watched the documentary “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters” This is one of the funniest documentaries I’ve ever seen. It reminds me a LOT of Trekkies but is better due to the subject matter. The King of Kong is a journey into the world of competitive classic arcade gaming. People involved in this documentary treats it as the most serious thing ever accomplished by mankind. I laugh at how ridiculous the entire premise of the documentary is, but it’s a good movie.
A challenger to the Donkey Kong high score fights his way to the top to challenge this megalomaniac who was holding onto his last record of past glory. Both of the figures in the movie are sad in their own ways. One guy is holding onto the glory of his youth as he watches his records fall before him. He clearly questions his worth and will do ANYTHING to hold onto the record. Even cheating it that’s what it would take. The other is a man that’s been dealt such a long string of bad luck in his life that his high score in Donkey Kong is the only thing pushing him forward in life. He’s just a guy that wanted to get into a record book to prove that even though he didn’t have a job at the time, he could still accomplish something worthy of worldwide attention. Even as you see the game taking a toll on his life and family, you can’t help but root for him.
As the documentary plays out, you see the depths of social awkwardness and idol worship that play out in this scene. People really take something like a score in Donkey Kong seriously. I never really got into that side of gaming. I’m a gamer, and I can recognize when I’m really “into” a game. However, I’ve never, ever, approached the single minded focus and obsession these people have for their game. They play this game for HOURS to beat scores when a single mistake means defeat. I would never want to make such a sacrifice of my time, and ultimately, I don’t care that much about a score, even if it is for a record book. I’m not, and never hope to be, a competitive gamer. If it’s not fun, I’m not going to play.
