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Sunday, August 21, 2005
Happy birthday, Mario! | I just have to stop and pay tribute to my all-time favourite character. Recently, you see, Mario turned 20. Isn't that cool?
Mario has been my favourite character for a long time - for me, he surpasses any character that I've come across in movies or novels. This isn't because he's objectively better or anything, but he has always been a very big part of my life.
My earliest experience with video games was at my cousin's house, when I was very young. I don't remember what the system was - perhaps a Commodore 64 or something like that. I don't think it was an Atari machine. Anyway, I enjoyed it and saw it as a novelty...but that was about it. None of the games really interested me, although I did think that the thing was a technological marvel at the time. And I definitely wanted one, though I knew there was no chance that I'd ever own one.
I did own video games - specifically, a couple of Game & Watch titles (including Squish!, which I still have now). Game & Watch was very popular in Australia during the 80's and I remember that a great many kids had these things on the school bus whenever we'd go on trips.
Even then, I saw Game & Watch as a novelty, more or less. Yes, it was fun. But it also seemed so limited, with the way that the characters had specified positions on screen. It did, however, keep me occupied on many bus trips. But outside that, I really never touched the games.
However, only months later, I had a totally new experience with games, at a friend's birthday party. It was a Nintendo Entertainment System and it felt like nothing I'd ever come across. Not only were the controls totally different to my cousin's system (different and better), but the graphics were mindblowing. Here I was, playing as a character clad in bright red overalls, exploring a world that was seemingly endless.
Everything about the game captivated me. The music, the way his little legs propelled him forward, the sound he made when he stomped on turtles' heads (and the amazing fact that you could kick the shells afterwards). I'd never experienced anything like it - and I knew there and then that I wanted Mario.
When I got home, I stood in front of the fire place and related my experience to my parents, who had absolutely no idea who Mario was or why he was kicking turtles.
I must have made an impression though, because on my birthday that year, I received a NES with Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt.
Looking back on that situation, it's funny, because I realize that I must never have cleared World 1 at my friend's party. I woke up one morning and played Mario, only to come across something called "World 2-1". But I wasn't standing on bricks anymore. I was standing in front of giant trees, which I could apparently leap across. Wow. I was so excited - thinking I'd discovered something truly remarkable - that I told my parents all about it that morning.
The rest is history, really. My dad was never particularly close to me - we are both very different people. But Mario always brought us together. He became as addicted to Mario as I was and we spent a great deal of time trying to beat the game at all hours of the night.
My father worked very long hours during those days, so he was often not around (leaving me to be a kind of second parent for my siblings, quite often). When my dad wasn't there, Mario was. And he never left my side. Whenever I felt sick or needed cheering up, Mario was always there, enthusiastic as ever. Within seconds he'd take me away to his magical world, where any troubles I was having would disappear.
During my childhood, I greeted new Mario releases with the kind or rabid enthusiasm that is probably rarely seen - except, perhaps, by the most socially inept Star Wars fans. It was really the one thing in my life that generated enormous excitement in me, both due to the connection I had with the character and his world, but also due to the fact that the games were always brilliant.
And in 2002, I was actually able to meet Charles Martinet, who does Mario's voice (as well as the voices of various other Nintendo characters). Apart from having his own signature, he also knows Mario's signature and as a result, I have Mario's own signature on my GameCube. It just says "Mario" with a little moustache smiley face next to it. He signs it the same way everywhere, so it is indeed Mario's signature. It's still kind of amazing to think that I have it, considering the incredibly strong connection I've always had to Mario and his universe.
Of course, I love many different games and I have a similarly nostaligic memory of Zelda (the story of how I first discovered Zelda is something I may share another time). But Mario...he was the first big hit for me and he's always been the character I've been most excited about. His influence in my life is almost impossible to comprehend.
So here we are, Mario...you're twenty years old. Happy birthday.
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