Classic Video Game List

Introduction

Mar 29, 2010

As far back as I can remember I have always spent a lot of my free time, especially during the winter, playing video and computer games. It all started with the Atari 2600 we had when I was in grade school and has continued up to the present time with my new self built gaming PC.

The following is a list of games I have collected over the years. Anything with a 4 rating is worth buying and anything with a 5 rating is a classic in my book.

Atari 2600

Wishlist

Nintendo Entertainment System

The NES, the system that re-started home video gaming. Buy the time the NES appeared I, like everybody else, had gotten bored with the Atari 2600. I think one of the factors that contributed to this was that Atari stopped regulating the games that were coming out for their system which led to a lot of garbage games on the market.

My first introduction to the original 8-bit Nintendo was at the Mashak's house. Mike Mashak was my dad's fishing buddy and Sue Mashak was my mom's shopping pal so I spent lots of time paling around with their two sons, Cory and Aron. I think the Mashak's got the system for Christmas in either 1985 or 1986 and I was determined to have one of my own. I missed my opportunity to ask for one for Christmas because I had no idea they even existed until I played Super Mario at the Mashak's house (plus I thinnk it was also a lean year on the farm). I worked out that if I saved something like 65 cents per day starting in January I could buy a NES on my own by my birthday in May.

I actually manage to stay on track with my NES fund for all those months through my allowance and combing the family couch for spare change on a regular basis. When May rolled around I had the $100 to buy the system. My sister's mother-in-law worked at Walmart at the time and she offered to buy the system for me to get an additional 10% off (thanks Mary and Alar). I think my parents were impressed at my persistence and threw in a console TV so I could play up in my room.

The NES and the big console TV were the prized center piece of my room for several years. The "mind-bend-do" as Pat's dad called it was also an ever present object at all my friend's slumber/birthday parties during middle school (i.e. the Schulz family green room and later, the upstairs addition). Eventually I sold my system to my aunt Cece (my cousin Brian wanted one). At the time I had moved on to the SNES and really didn't see any reason to keep the NES. One of these days I really should ask Brian if he still has it.

During college Pat S. (my roommate and childhood pal) said I could have his system as he no longer wanted it (and it was sorta broke). The cartridge header was worn out. It took several attempt of re-seating the cartridges to get them to work and some of the games would not work at all. I took the system apart, cleaned it, and installed a new 60 pin header. That refurbished NES is the one I currently have but it is probably due up for some more refurbishing.

Personal Collection

Wishlist

Super Nintendo

In high school I worked at a plastics factory in my home town as my summer job . I made a whopping $4.25 per hour which doesn't seem like much now but back then that first paycheck was mind boggling large to me. After a few paychecks I decided to splurge and buy myself the latest and greatest from Nintendo, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System along with a stereo 21" Sharp TV.

My friend Erik and I hopped in my 79 Chevy Monza and headed up to the nearest Best Buy in Lacrosse about 50 minutes from Elroy to pick it all up one week night. I spent the next several weeks talking to anybody who would listen about how great the SNES was. Looking back I wonder how my friends put up with me. I am sure I was especially obnoxious during those first few weeks.

Personal Collection

Wishlist

Nintendo 64

One day in my late college era I decided I really needed to play the latest Zelda incarnation. I never really got into this system like I had the previous Nintendo offerings. At this point in my life I was more into PC games.

Personal Collection

Wishlist

Arcade

Between the local taverns around Elroy, city and county fairs, and the game rooms at campgrounds my family frequented while I was growing up I had a broad selection of coin operate video games to try out. One of my future hobby projects is to build a replica arcade game box running MAME to re-live some of the classics in the following list.

PC Games

About the time the NES showed up in America (give or take a few years) my parents bought an IBM PC clone. It ran at 4.7MHz and had a turbo mode to kick it up to 10MHz. It was the original over-clocker machine. Activating the turbo mode voided the warranty. I still remember Dad and I trying to get the computer to do something, anything, the night we first got it. We declared victory after figuring out typing "DIR" at the A: prompt would list the disk contents on the screen. Within a few days I had the basic concepts of what DOS could do figured out and was playing a few games a family friend had loaned us (Paratrooper and the Red Baron).