I’m 37 and I play Nintendo

What is it about Nintendo that has kept me coming back since the late 80s or early 90s? Nintendo has been a near constant in my life from the NES to the Switch. Ive had them all.......

The answer is simple. The games.

The games have been consistently excellent. Mario is the obvious one but there are countless other seriously good games that are exclusive to Nintendo. From Animal Crossing to Zelda. From Donkey Kong to Super Smash Bros. All seriously good. Nintendo some how knows how to pull at the nostalgia thread in us as adults but also keep it fresh and new. That’s another reason I keep getting sucked in and why I want to talk a little about the Nintendo Switch. But I will come to that in a minute.

When I was a kid Super Mario Bros. 3 was my absolute favourite. I loved Sonic too but Mario was king in my house. I didnt have it on the NES. I had too go to my pals house to plays it. But I later had it on the Super Mario All Stars. My Mam tells a story of about how I was so excited for Christmas because I had asked for a SNES with Super Mario All Stars. On Christmas Eve I couldn’t sleep for excitement. When it came to being allowed to get up and open presents I flew down the stairs, ripped the corner off the present that looked most likely to be a SNES, saw that it was a SNES and fell asleep..... That story always gets told to my kids, nieces and nephews. They think it’s hilarious.

Another favourite of mine was the N64. I was 17 when that came out and I had just started working at Boots in Eldon Square, Newcastle Upon Tyne in the UK. I used my first wage to but a N64. I was so chuffed. I bought it after work and travelled home on the bus beaming with pride and excitement. I ran into the house and set it up. Mario 64 blew my mind. As did Goldeneye, I put so many hours into that game.

Anyway, fast forward 20 odd year and a GameCube, a Wii and a Wii U (which I thought was tremendous) later I find myself with a Switch under my TV....

Well I say its under my TV, sometimes it is. Sometimes its on the couch. Sometimes its up in the bedroom. Sometimes it on the train. Sometimes its.....you get the picture. And that is where the strength of the Switch lies. It is so versatile as a reasonably proficient home console and a superb portable. But again, it’s the games. It’s quite early in its life cycle, I think its been out about a year. But there are already a lot of quality games available. Where the Wii U failed the Switch appears to be succeeding. Zelda Breath Of The Wild is absolutely superb. As is Super Mario Odyssey. Both received excellent reviews, both receiving 10/10 from several gaming websites. I have played both extensively and I keep going back for more months after their initial release, they are that good. Ive even started saving some of the snaps I have taken in game here: www.supermarioodyssey1.weebly.com

Being able to play on the go is a huge bonus. Of course there have been compromises to make this a possibility but it doesn’t matter. Since I got my Switch my Xbox One has largely been unused which is a huge compliment to Nintendo.

Keep those fine consoles and games coming Nintendo. I love it.

Adam