[Forty years agothis weekend, Nintendo released itsfirst game system, and video gaming and American culture changed significantly.So this week I’ve blogged about a handful of other games that likewise changedthings, leading up to this weekend post on Nintendo classics!]

Life lessonsfrom some of the legendary system’s most iconic games.

1)     Super Mario Bros.: There’sa lot I could go with here: the importance of siblings (for my boys); the needto yeet some turtles (for my wife). But perhaps the wisest lesson from Nintendo’smost enduring game is that we have to descend into the most potentially crappyplaces if we’re gonna find hidden treasures and save the day.

2)     Double Dragon: Fromwhat I can tell, Double Dragon was the first console game to introducetwo-player cooperative gameplay; certainly it was one of the most prominentearly examples of that trend. I don’t think I really need to say much moreabout why we need solidarity and support to take down all the bad guys, do I?

3)     The Legend of Zelda: I didn’tplay Zelda back in the day (what can I say, I was more of a Gauntlet kid), butone thing I know is that at the start of the game Link has only a shield, andhe has to talk with amysterious old man to gain the sword that will be crucial to his survival. Don’tdiscount the wisdom of us elders, y’all.

4)     Tecmo Bowl: Thereare various ways that one of the first football video games pales in comparisonto 21st century classics like Madden. But one of those ways—thefact that individual players like Bo Jackson could become completelyoverpowered and dominate the game—I kinda dig. You all know I’m a huge fanof teamwork, but sometimes we gotta just do the damn thing ourselves, y’know?

5)     Kirby’s Adventure: Nomatter how much the world throws at us, we just have to keep our appetite for adventure,taking it what life gives us and turning it into fuel for our continued growth andsuccess. Kirby was a real one.   

Next seriesstarts Monday,

Ben

PS. Whatdo you think? Video games, past or present, you’d analyze?