How did you start on Nintendo?

[Anacybele]

So, I figured I'd make this thread to remind ourselves of how president Satoru Iwata began touching all of our hearts in the first place, even if we actually didn't know it at the time (I know I didn't, as I was kinda little). He might have only been president since 2002 or so, but he was a part of Nintendo for much longer than that.

How did you get into Nintendo? Where did you start? What was your first console, your first few games, etc?

I started back when I was like six or seven. My step grandmother loved Zelda, and she gave us her SNES, along with Zelda: A Link to the Past and Super Mario All-Stars. I think a few other games came with it too, not sure. I was a fan from the moment I played one of those for the first time, even though they were all too hard for me...lol I want to say Super Mario All-Stars was my very first game, but I'm not sure, as I actually don't remember anymore. But I remember having lots of fun with All-Stars, ALttP, Mario Paint, and later Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island. I only wish I'd had a Gameboy as well. But I sadly never did.

The same grandma later gave us her N64, and I continued playing Zelda on it. She never had Super Mario 64 for some reason, so I sadly missed out on that one (fast forward a bunch of years later, I did play it on the Wii VC, but it turned out to be really hard for me... :/). Zelda was my favorite series for a long time, followed by Mario, then they kinda interchanged a bit (I found myself loving certain Mario games more than Zelda, then certain Zelda games more than Mario, and so on).

Luigi was the character I loved the most, and still do to this day. I played as him in everything he was playable in and I grew up doing so. So when the Year of Luigi happened in 2013, Iwata really got me right here *points to chest, indicating her heart*

And another thing... Just when Iwata passed, I finished a playthrough of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. A game full of ghosts...which Iwata himself may now be.

Edited July 13, 2015 by Anacybele

[Jedi]

My Parents had gotten an NES before I was even born and they were living in Germany. My Mom used to play all the old classics.

After I was born I'd watch my parents play stuff and when I was 3 in 1995 I started playing, my first Nintendo game was Super Mario Bros 3.

[blyegg]

After FRLG was released, before DPPT. I saw my cousin playing FireRed and I got a GBA (or SP? idk) later. :3

[Knight]

My dad got me and my bro each a GBA and a couple games. Mario Kart Super Circuit would be the first Nintendo game I owned myself, though I played Mario 64 beforehand. I got some more games for that, mostly Pokemon, then we got a GameCube with Super Smash Bros. Melee. You can guess what happened next.

[Draco]

My grandma owned a Super Nintendo, and N64, a Sega Genesis, maybe a Playstation (I don't remember), and a few plug-n-play Arcade Games. I visited her house occasionally, and I've always been antisocial, so whenever I visited I would usually hang out in the basement, playing the games.

She had Smash 64 too, but I think Melee was still the first one I played since the Gamecube came out around when I was born. Speaking of, my sister owned one, and it's mine to this day, and I had a lot of nostalgia for Melee.

I had a Gameboy Color for some time along with Pokemon Red. I don't have much nostalgia for it but I remember having a level 75 Charizard while I had a few level 5 pokemon in my party since I never bothered to use anything else.

When I was around 7 or something, one of my sister would get a new Nintendo handheld and give me her old one, with my second handheld a Gameboy Advance SP, which I still own to this day (I keep losing the charger though so I haven't played it in years). I got a red DS Lite from her maybe a year later, and a black PSP maybe a year later there. The red DS Lite I still own but it's broken from a classmate spilling apple juice on it, and the PSP is sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

My dad owned a Super Nintendo too. I never lived with him but I'd visit his house sometimes and play Donkey Kong Country 2 on it and a few racing games. Lots of fun. I still own the racing games and sports games which I kept for the sake of nostalgia but my mom got rid of the SNES without even asking me. Very upset over that.

My siblings and I all had our share of playing Super Mario World too.

For reference with these stories saying how old I was at the time, I'm 13 now.

GBA and GC have given me a lot of good memories. Like Yoshi's Island, Oracle of Seasons (I know, it's GBC), Link's Awakening, Melee, FFCC, Mario Kart: DD,

Edited July 13, 2015 by Draco

[Anacybele]

Oh yeah, for reference on how old I am as well, I'm 24. So yeah, I'm kind of an old fan. :P

[Jedi]

Oh yeah, for reference on how old I am as well, I'm 24. So yeah, I'm kind of an old fan. :P

And i'm 23 haha.

[Radiant Dragon]

My first system was a GBA SP, with Super Mario Bros. 3 the first video game I ever played. I received a PS2 shortly thereafter and focused mainly on playing through Kingdom Hearts and the Final Fantasy series, but I also played Yoshi's Island and Mario Kart on the GBA during this time. It was a bit later, after I had played through FFT and FFTA and was looking for something similar that I stumbled upon Blazing Sword and Sacred Stones, and fell in love with Fire Emblem.

Later on I got my first 3DS shortly after the system's launch to help with my long commute to school, and was introduced to Pokemon with Pearl Version when my roommate let me borrow it. I wouldn't play Smash for the first time until I was traveling.

[Anacybele]

And i'm 23 haha.

Yay, we're an oldie club! XD

[Roflolxp54]

My first exposure to Nintendo was when Pokemon was brand new in America -- I would see kindergartners at the day care play on their Game Boys or carry around their Pokemon TCG cards; those were the days...

I will be 20 this year so yeah, I was really young at the time.

Edited July 13, 2015 by Roflolxp54

[Ϲharlie]

Hey. 29 years old here. My parents bought my older siblings an NES before I was even born. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of me watching my mother or older brother play the Legend of Zelda and Contra respectively. My first game was probably one of those two or Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt, but I was much too young to remember clearly. Since then I have owned just about every Nintendo console and handheld.

[BrightBow]

Well, technically speaking, I think my first Nintendo game was Super Mario Land. I was five years old and recovering from surgery. Another kid was nice enough to borrow me his GameBoy. However, I sucked at it rather badly, and quickly put it aside in favour of his other games. At least if my memories about all of this is correct, which they probably aren't.

Otherwise, since I was a PC gamer, me playing Nintendo games was mostly limited to playing Super Mario World or Super Mario Kart at a friends house. I never had much fun playing that way, being forced to compete with players with far more experience with those games. For all it's reputation as a casual and rather easy game, Mario is still a series were you die after just taking one hit, so it can be very frustrating.

I finally got my first Nintendo console when the Nintendo 64 was released. With the N64 library being what it is, I must have played the same games as everyone else, although I never played the Banjo & Kazooie games and I did not own Golden Eye, but I was able to borrow the game from a friend for long enough to unlock all the cheats, including those that are impossible to get without running sideways. It took me a while to figure that out, considering no one told me. That probably speaks volumes about my tenacity back then.

However, the first two games that I got myself were Mario 64 and Star Fox 64. Star Fox 64 was basically the game that I bought the console for. I wasted countless hours on that one.

The first time that I beat the game on the hard path was amazing. It took me like an hour to figure out how to beat the boss on Zoness. Eventually I made it to Venom, were I basically faced off against Star Wolf the same way that I saw my friend and his brother taking that route. Back then, they got utterly wasted, so I was pretty scared. Still, I was barely able to do it. For the rest of the run, I am not exactly sure how things turned out. Either I was able to defeat Andross on my last life without any HP or wings left... or I was able to defeat him with 1 life and then immediately crashed into a wall and lost it. Either way, I beat the game on my last life. I was so damn tense during the escape. I particularly recall that I was wondering if I should use the turbo or not, since it might be possible James is only using it to stay ahead of me. Thankfully I decided to keep pushing that button. I was so damn exited about having beaten the game, that I tried calling my friend about it. Thankfully no one answered my call, otherwise this would have been embarrassing.

Funny enough, while I always wanted play Star Fox at my friends house, when they were playing Ocarina of Time instead, I was way too scared to play against Ganondorf. To think I was ever intimated by that primitive AI of his...

Edited July 14, 2015 by BrightBow

[Pixelman]

First games I owned were Pokemon Leaf Green and Fire Red

Instantly fell in love with Nintendo

[Jiac]

My dad owned an NES an introduced me to Contra, and Mario etc.

But I got dedicated when my dad bought me a Gameboy when I was 3, and that's what started it all for me.

[Loki Laufeyson]

This thread makes me feel ancient.

An NES entered my household, Christmas of 1986. Super Mario Bros, Metroid, and a little bit later, Wizards And Warriors were our games. The library did eventually grow to an almost gargantuan size in the coming three years. My mum was actually the best at Super Mario Bros...until the jumping board of 2-1 thwarted her forever. To this day, she cant quite get it. She also started kicking my dad's ass at Golf after a while. Soon, dad didnt want to play anymore lmao. Ever since, Nintendo has been a rather large part of my life. I followed the consoles ever since. Ill never forget seeing how weird and amazing it was to see Zelda go from an 8-bit little adventure game, to a huge expansive world in Ocarina of Time.

"It looks just like a movie!" My mum said upon seeing the cinematic where Link leaves Kokiri Forest for the first time. Now, i bring the world of Nintendo to my niece.

[Anacybele]

Oh yeah, I forgot that you're kind of our resident elder fan, Florina. XD

[Shadow Stalker X]

Not really sure exactly when I started on Nintendo, but I know it was essentially part of my entire life. I know my first game was Super Mario Bros. (I remember that there is a picture somewhere in my house where I was playing SMB when I was still a baby)

[Peppy]

started playing the N64 when i was 3 years old. been playing nintendo games ever since.

[Kon]

When I was 8 my mother bought me and my siblings each a green GameBoy Color and a copy of Pokémon Crystal, and at around the same time we had gotten a Nintendo 64 with Pokémon Stadium. I remember begging my mom to get us a GameBoy pocket and Red/Blue when they first came out, but never got anywhere because those were expensive back in the day, and mom would have ended up needing to buy all three of us a handheld and a game :x

Since then I've gotten into so many amazing series and my love for the company has only grown over time. I honestly don't think I'd be the person I am if I hadn't gotten into Nintendo, especially since it led to me becoming an artist.

Edited July 14, 2015 by Kon

[Sentacotus]

My first Nintendo console was the N64. It was actually a birthday present for my dad but over time I began to use it more and more. First games for it were Starfox 64, Goldeneye 007, and Super Mario 64. All of which I played with my dad especially Starfox and Goldeneye. As time went on I would rent a new game from Blockbuster every weekend and that was the highlight. I eventually got around to renting OoT and they had a deal going on then where you could buy the game discounted after renting it so many times. So of course my library grew as a result to include Rogue Squadron, OoT, Yoshi's Island, Majora's Mask, 1080 Snowboarding, Fzero GX, Pokemon Stadium 1 and 2 and Iwata's masterpieces Kirby Crystal Shards and Smash 64.

The N64 was when gaming got big for me and Iwata definetely had a hand in that.

Edited July 14, 2015 by LordTaco42

[Magical Glace]

When I was very young, I watched my dad play Ocarina of Time. He named Link Ana and everything, and he let me fiddle with the control stick and stuff.

I grew up with The Legend of Zelda after that. The Wind Waker is my favorite game ever and likely the title will always come back to it, even if it temporarily lost its spot to A Link Between Worlds and Realms of Revelation.

[Soledai]

Hey, I'm 27

Hmm, I don't remember when it was I think I was still a single digit age, but my first console was the NES and the first game was Contra. Then later it was Super Mario Bros 3, then 2, Double Dragon, and TMNT 2, as far as I can remember.

Oh yes, stage three in Double Dragon, all of my hate.

[Misses Elise-chan!]

The GameCube. I used to play Sunshine, Melee, and Animal Crossing all the time. Sadly I didn't have Wind Waker because my sister chose stupid games like Rocket Power, there was this one weird game called Tak made by THQ and Nick. Although it may seem bad, it was actually a well designed game looking back. The third game had the best Co-op play I've ever played. Something happened to my Gamecube for a while and I got a Nintendo 64 and played Ocarina of Time for the first time. I didn't know what I was doing at the time being a kid. I guess I played Ocarina of Time real late, but I'm happy I got to play it when the nostalgia was very strong.

Around the DS era is when I could finally understand the games I played. Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, Platinum, Heart Gold, and White were the games that made me today. I used to go back and play the endings of the Zelda games because of how much I cared for Linebeck, Zelda, Bryne and especially the music.

At the time of Pokemon White I was finally starting to understand many issues involving the treatment of animals in the meat and dairy industries and moral perspectives. At the time I didn't connect my experiences to that game, but that's probably why I liked that game and especially N so much.

This new generation will have nostalgia for the GameCube, Wii, and DS games when they mature and grow up, just like how many of you older fans have nostalgia for the Gameboy and such. I can't wait to reflect on those days.

[ClevelandSteve]

Oh yeah, for reference on how old I am as well, I'm 24. So yeah, I'm kind of an old fan. :P

And i'm 23 haha.

Also 24 here. Not counting those games that come with Windows on the computer, I've exclusively played Nintendo from when I was a very young child to when I got my first non-Nintendo console (a PS2) for Christmas 2009.

When I was three years old, my dad brought home an SNES along with Super Mario Kart, Super Mario: All-Stars, Super Mario World, and maybe A Link to the Past (that last one may have come a bit later. I don't remember that well because I was very young). The first one I played was Super Mario Kart, that much I remember (pretty vaguely, honestly. The only thing I have solid memory of is picking Bowser on the character select screen). My parents divorced a few months later, and my dad got an N64 at his house when it was released, though I was only able to go there and play it on every other weekend. I got a Gameboy Color (my first handheld) in 1999 to play Pokemon games, starting with Yellow. I finally got my own N64 for Christmas of 2000 when I was in fourth grade, though I got in a fight with another kid over Pokemon vs. Digimon a few months later and my mom restricted me to one hour of gaming a day (though she relented to allowing two or three on non-school days after about a year. And my dad never restricted my gaming time at all) until she died in early 2009.

The first console I bought on my own was the Gamecube, which I got by saving up my Christmas money from 2001, my birthday money from the following May, and my small $5 weekly allowance from all the weeks between then. My dad got a GBA SP when it was released, but gave it to me shortly afterward when he got the Gameboy Player attachment for the Gamecube because he had bad eyesight and preferred to play on a larger screen. Being the first handheld I owned with a backlit screen, I used that GBA SP (and later my DS, which I got in 2008 with one of my first lucrative summer paychecks of my high school job as an ice cream scooper in the tourist trap of Sandusky, Ohio) to get around my playing time limit by playing it when I was supposed to be sleeping. My sister bought me a Wii for Christmas of 2006 because she had just graduated college and gotten a six-figure salary job as a pharmacy manager so she celebrated by buying expensive gifts for everyone that year. I bought a 3DS for Awakening when it was released and bought a Wii U in October of last year for Smash 4. Also, I technically inherited my dad's no-longer-functioning NES when he died in December, though I obviously haven't done anything with it (except a few games of Duck Hunt and Dr. Mario back when I was a kid and it still worked) due to the fact that it doesn't work anymore. So, I've owned every single Nintendo console and handheld (not counting the Virtual Boy) at some point.

The first game I played that Iwata was heavily involved in was probably the original Super Smash Bros (though he could have been involved in something else, I will admit to not reading the credits very closely especially when I was very young), which my dad bought for me when I was in third grade even though I couldn't take it home at the time because I didn't have an N64 in my house until a year later. Pokemon Gold was the next game I played that was heavily influenced by Iwata's work, and Gen II (including its remakes in Gen IV) remains my favorite Pokemon generation to this day.

Edited July 14, 2015 by ClevelandSteve

[Original Alear]

When I was about 2 or 3, our family got an NES. I don't know exactly when I started playing, but I'm pretty sure Mario 3 was my first game.

I don't think there's a single game on the NES I managed to beat while playing on the NES itself! But I was able to complete Super Mario World and Link to the Past when we got an SNES, and then more games after those.