The Nintendo Entertainment System just turned 30 years old!

It’s strange talking about the NES, a console that defined my childhood, as being 30 years old. I’m only 31 years old myself, so it’s shocking that this console has been in my life for almost the entirety of it. The NES was my friend, my favorite toy, my transportation to another world and my babysitter as a child. I remember my parents would allow me to rent a couple of Nintendo games each weekend as long as I did my chores and didn’t act like a turd or throw objects at my older sister. If my parents wanted me to be quiet and out of the way, all they had to do is hand me an NES cart and sit me in front of the television and I would be there practically the whole day. It isn’t any surprise that gaming had such a huge impact on me growing up with this console and to this day gaming has always stuck with me.

Even though the NES wasn’t my first console (we had an Atari 2600 first), the NES had the largest impact on me. It was the console that introduced me to the iconic Super Mario, my favorite series of all-time Legend of Zelda, and my first RPG with Dragon Warrior. I still own an NES console to this day and pop in a copy of Star Tropics (after blowing on it for a few minutes) to relive a little piece of my childhood from time to time. As gaming has evolved and move on since then, the Nintendo Entertainment System is still just as iconic as it was before. Happy birthday, you big grey box, you!