Flashback to video game escapades of the 90s

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

A vivid memory from the summer holidays of the '90s is of spending the long afternoons playing video games. Seated on the floor, with the ceiling fan whirring above, and remote controls in hand, we were too busy chasing high scores, teasing each other and reaching out for snacks or glasses of milkshake, to think we needed to be elsewhere!
Who needed trips to exotic places when we could escape into a make-believe world that had castles, forests and oceans with a cheerful tune playing in the background?
God save anyone who dared to move across the room, between us and the TV. A single second of the screen being blocked could mean a lost life or a missed jump. Of all the games we played, nothing could beat Super Mario. It wasn't just a game, it was the game.
We believed we were Mario, the plumber in red overalls racing through the Mushroom Kingdom, full of green hills and strange creatures, leaping over turtles and gladly banging his head into floating bricks in search for hidden coins or a power up. We didn't need a map in this crazy land as we knew everything by heart and so we raced ahead, leaping over toads and turtles to feel the thrill of finally encountering the dragon who had held our princess captive.
We knew exactly the point where we would get sucked into a pipe and reach an underwater level. It would be a serene blue world with bubbles floating around and the music would now be slow and serene. Mario could glide through, without the fervent rush. But watch out! Danger was always a few steps away. One had to swim past a jellyfish or a deadly plant pretending to be a part of the scenery until it trapped you if you swam too close.
Now looking back, I feel hidden beneath the playful surface of this game is a quiet metaphor for life itself. You charge ahead, world after world, only to realise that the prize is still far away.
Yet another game that seemed to teach a life lesson was Tetris and my sister was a pro at it. She would sit upright, managing the blocks with Zen-like composure. The Z-block here, the I-block there, lines disappearing! But then, the speed of the falling blocks would quicken and the well would overflow. Isn't that how life too unfolds? We keep fitting things into order and find our groove. But as we advance in careers, relationships, dreams, the challenges begin to stack up faster than we can process them. And that is when we have to stay calm and sometimes let go of perfect alignment to survive.
Perhaps, dodging those pixelated fireballs was just training for handling life's curveballs today.
In those days, we were clumsy kids bumping into furniture and getting scolded for spilling water on the floor, but while playing Contra, we felt like the fearless commandos surging ahead even as bullets sliced past us. Even though, in real life we were a mess, tripping over our own feet, but in Contra we were curling up in somersaults to jump over pits.
Excite Bike, Ice Climber, Road Fighter, Circus didn't just give us adventures. They gave us the confidence to dream bigger than our bruised knees. Because even if we stumbled in life, our fingers danced on those remote controls, our minds were sharp and reflexes quick. [e-mail]
The writer is a Jalandhar-based freelance contributor