Dear Nintendo,
The memories that you provided my childhood with are endless, and I thank you for that. Growing up in the 2000’s, I had the opportunity to experience gameplay on video game consoles like the Nintendo 64, the GameCube, Game Boy Color and the Game Boy Advance, among others. From "Mario Party" to "Mario Kart," there was always a game to be played, whether it was solo or with friends. The hours of initial frustration and eventual triumph, though perhaps entirely unnecessary, were most definitely worth it. Moreover, think of this letter not only as a thank you note for being such a significant part of my childhood, but also as an homage to the legendary characters and games that you have imagined and created over the years.
Let’s start with characters. The imaginative minds at Nintendo have thought up a seemingly infinite number of personalities. It would take both an encyclopedic knowledge and a tremendous amount of time to name and talk about them all, so I’ll just discuss a few. The face of Nintendo as a corporation is Mario, a squat, Italian plumber with a propensity for daring rescue missions and a mustache that’s to die for.
Mario’s brother Luigi, who is also a plumber, is somewhat secondary to many of the games. Think of Luigi as the Eli Manning to Mario’s Peyton Manning. Mario gets all the attention and has the track record to warrant it. However, Luigi has his moments, and has even had his own game dedicated to him (Luigi’s Mansion -- The spookiest part about that game was how difficult it was to beat).
Mario basks in the limelight as a result of his determination to save his girlfriend, Princess Peach. Now as if plumbers saving the world wasn’t strange enough, here is the more extraordinary part: Peach, who is clearly way out of Mario’s league and too self-absorbed, manages to get kidnapped in a number of different games. All the while, Mario still sees it necessary to save her (Selfish, selfish, Peach -- you would think it’s purposeful at a certain point). Peach’s kidnapper, Bowser, is a satanic turtle-like creature whose parole officer has clearly failed the public.
Bowser’s main goal is to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, the kingdom that Princess Peach rules over, and where the gold coins used as currency definitely have production costs that outstrip their value. However, Mushroom Kingdom might as well be the name of a late Beatles record (Featuring hit singles like “Goomba Fields Forever.” Trippy, man).
The character analysis could go on and on, but it would become progressively weirder (For example, Mario rides a dinosaur-thing named Yoshi who is all too enthusiastic and has not once demanded Mario for a fair wage for his services -- Occupy Mushroom Kingdom?).
Oddities aside, Nintendo has created some of the most iconic and entertaining games of our generation. One such series of games are those of Mario Party, which consist of a variety of mini-games and are conducive to multiplayer gameplay. Another set of games that I personally enjoy playing with friends is "Mario Kart," a game that teaches aggressive driving, road rage, and drag racing skills to people of all ages.
Additionally, the Mario Kart games contain a vast number of different courses for racing, each with its own obstacles and quirks. (Go ahead, just try and beat me in Moo Moo Meadows, amateurs). Finally, another one of my personal favorite Nintendo games is "Super Mario 64," a game where Mario ruins valuable artwork in Peach’s castle. "Super Mario 64’s" follow-up game for the GameCube, "Super Mario Sunshine," sees Mario create multiple public disturbances in a tropical village as he chases his own shadow around.
In conclusion, I thank you, Nintendo, for all that you have given to me and all the bizarre people and plotlines I never bothered to question as a child.
Stay weird and stay awesome,
Sam Weiskopf
