Vintage Video Games


Childhood is a special time - time so shirt yet vast. Sometimes there was so much time to do so many things or and sometimes none at all. Once an adult you only wish your childhood was longer especially when it is full of lovely things and beautiful memories. And one of the things that took a lot of our time were Video games. Every mothers tool to make you do everything in lieu of reward, punishment or discipline. 

As a kid of the 80s I have my own share of video games. visits to friends and family during summer holidays meant playing video games on summer afternoons. Moms were ok with less study burden and keep the kids busy and quiet while they enjoyed summer siesta or finished chores. The home was peaceful and kids got along well only if they played fair turn by turn. 


Tetris
I loved this one simply because I have spent hours and hours playing it. Competing with self, others or even computer. Stage after stage, row after row, the game has kept me engaged. In retrospect I feel I like games with patterns and aren't video games all about patterns. 


Battle city
I loved this one. Can you imagine the options to play two players against the villain tanks. The brick and metal blocks, power and the life boosters. You could even create your own battle field. I had awesome fun creating interesting symmetric patterns and sometimes weird ones. I created metal blocks around the sacred eagle base and locked myself in another metal cocoon. Ha ha the fun of creating stupid battle grounds mostly to confuse the villains. Only battle city allowed that. 


Mario
It will probably tops the list of all kids. There are no two doubts about it. It was a cute game with amazing surprises planted. Bonus points, mushroom power, flag jump, cute dresses, and fancy caps. I loved it all. 


Contra 
The awesome commando guy was like the video version of Rambo. What physical strength and fighting skills. Climbing mountains, jumping valleys, skipping waterfalls, rolling cylinders, and killing villains who weirdly kept running into him just like that unless the main villain of each stage came for the big fight. Each villain was unique and bigger than the previous one and they were all magnificent. Any one who loved a good fight would love contra. 


Road Fighter 
Tiny cars and tight time limits to reach the finishing time line. I obviously couldn't beat my brothers in but I still enjoyed it. The left and right moves, the crashes, and the refuel stations. Time is kicking. 


Circus 
Remember the swingy music that played with this game. Each stage was like a circus show and I loved each with its fire circles, monkeys, swinging and all. 


Pacman
The sound for pacman was unique too. The maze of eating circles and the boxy aliens, what more is there to say. Just keep playing. 


Excite bike
This game was so much fun. The Olympic style bike lane which requires right amount of accelerator and clutch and even brakes. The hurdles and the jumps accompanied with falling and getting back up. Did you also pull the speed button to save time to get back up on the bike, it was standard but I still kept pushing  the button. 

Such wonderful memories. There were more like donkey kong, tennis, space invaders, and so many. The video games evolved but some continue to stay with us. May be the next time the cousins get together we should have a round! 

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