Now we have stepped into the first summer days of 2020. Let’s turn back each page of memories, piecing together every colorful fragment lingering in the subconscious from those scorching summer days over 20 years ago, what comes to the minds of gamers? For many, it must be the image of a familiar red and white four-button electronic machine, alongside a few neighborhood friends; is this what a gamer’s youth looks like?
Some gamers might recall a room about 7 or 8 square meters, filled with students wearing scarves, all of them teenagers, intently gazing at the TV screen. It was the same old TV, a thick 14-inch screen, below it sat a red and white machine with a yellow plastic “box” placed in the center labeled “Contra”.
Here it is, the game that is forever linked to a passionate youthful period for countless gamers. There’s the S ammo, there’s the M ammo, pick them up quickly and move on. Does anyone still remember the two “shirtless” characters with rifles, jumping up and down and desperately trying to grab every type of ammo? There’s the boss ammo over there, “la de” over there. Oh wow, those were truly wonderful times for any gamer.
Of course, it was a red and white machine with a glorious record in the history of home gaming consoles. Behind it was a giant in the gaming world: Nintendo. This gaming device, officially launched on July 15, 1983, sold 60 million units. This machine, carrying the dreams of countless children and became an unforgettable and everlasting memory in their hearts.
Not only Contra, but also Mario, “Ninja Rescue Mom” or Duck Hunt… all of these are memories that can never fade from the minds of players. Back then, online gaming was still a luxury for the majority of Vietnamese gamers, and mobile games were truly a “rare gem.” At that time, many of us were still attached to NES four-button systems or offline games on bulky CRT screens. These were all games with quite interesting difficulty, and often gamers had to rely on cheat codes to get through levels as easily as possible.
Does anyone still remember “Up up down down left right left right BA”? This is one of the classic, legendary codes… all the superlatives can be reserved for this code for the game Contra. Surely many players remember witnessing their older brothers or uncles breeze through Contra with ease, instantly resurrecting after dying. But when it came to their own turn, they only had three measly lives and always played in a state of anxiety and fear.
Contra on the NES is one of the monuments of the gaming world, and in the early months of this year, we had to bid farewell to the creator of this game. Now, as we have grown up, we suddenly realize that there are many things that can be bought with money, but memories, nostalgia, childhood… are values that are eternally priceless, only to be revisited in our minds, in the blink of our youth.
Now, who among those who accompanied gamers back then is still around, and who is gone? Allow me to borrow a very nice saying about student life that has circulated online: “It Turns Out Youth is Regret”. Sadly, a gamer’s childhood is also filled with such regrets.