Young Writers Society

Hello there, it’s been a long time since we last met hasn’t it, you don’t look a day old. We use to have so many good times together, no matter where we went you were always a constant friend. It didn’t matter if my father’s job was in state or out of the country, as friends never last for long before moving on to the next becoming nothing but fleeting sweets that left me starved. Until you came along, always putting a smile on my face and never leaving my side, even when we traveled you were always there. But we knew eventually our time together was going to end and had no choice but to leave you behind.

As life went on, friends started growing without finally leaving the country and found different buddies to go on more adventures with them. It didn’t matter if we went on a glorious yet perilous quest, playing puzzles, or run a farm with peaceful background music. All of them were like a home away from home when day to day life got overwhelming and I just needed to get away from it all, falling back on them until I return back. Other times I would get lost for hours and time would lose all meaning, until eventually I snap back and look at the time then feel blood run cold from realization.

23 years later, while cleaning my room for extra space and getting rid of all the cumulated clutter I’ve built up since childhood and wishing for a new start. The clothes, books, and dolls were put into the donation pile since I’ve outgrown them and clearly didn’t fit, while elementary school graded homework and items forgotten by time or utterly useless was tossed into the trash. While some were donated instead throwing a perfectly good doll into the garbage and go to a good home. But there were items that fell into neither, being kept for sentimental value and couldn’t bear to part with it. I crouch underneath the bed to find a fairly large shoebox with a thick layer of dust after years of neglect, wiping it off before opening the lid to find you along with a collection of other game cartridges.

Memories came rushing back of the times we spent together and kept me company with the games during those rough times, a tear running down my cheek seeing you again. Funny, you looked different than I remembered having a small screen and no backlight with the word “color” below it, but still loved your transparent purple case. Flipping to the back to find a cartridge slotted in, then pulled it out to see Japanese characters and a large number seven in the center and a two in the upper left corner, the picture depicts a woman in a blue and white dress with cat ears hopping off a bomb shaped rat and an angry octopus then in the background was castle with dark clouds and a menacing purple shadow behind a pyramid. I put the cartridge back into the slot, but the back was missing batteries and grabbed “borrowed” them from a remote. Then flip the “on” switch to see the title screen in Japanese, warming my heart again after so many years.

But confusion immediately hits me as all three save files didn’t have one of my previous adventures reset to zero. It didn’t make sense as the game was untouched for many years. Does the rest of the game still works, and play through the entire adventure in one sitting without losing all my lives? Well, there’s only one way to find out.

The game begins in the middle of the field with simple rounded hills and a little lady in a black and white dress, the timer immediately starts ticking down and automatically start running. Along the path riddled with rats, flying chestnuts or was it a mushroom (could never tell with the sprites), and other weird enemies roaming about the level with the occasional checkpoint if an enemy kills me send me back to the beginning. On occasion the game would give me a power boost to help fend off and annihilate my enemies with a single press of a button. Near the end of the level I’d reach the top and ring the bell for a bonus stage and grab all sorts of wonderful goodies before going to the world map filled having different zones.

Each zone was free to explore in any order, almost being a kid in a candy store with too many option to choose from. The forest zone was the first stop, as it was the easiest from playing through that level numerous times and knew by memory as a kid, during the trek to the treetop I dodge immortal hornets and fought through fish like bulls swimming through bubble like sap inside the trunk. Certain areas would trigger a memory of a secret door leading to a bonus stage, but it was annoying to redo the previous level again after the clearing it. At the top of the tree, a giant angry squirrel with sharp buck teeth sitting in its nest and ate the key and greet me with an angry squeak. The fight itself wasn’t difficult as it climbs up the leaves before dive bombing on each side, while easily jump on him three times until I got my reward, a golden key with a tree emblem in the middle and ascends into the sky and into one of seven locks of the castle door.

I cheered myself for beating the first zone and continue through the seven zones from easiest to hardest. Overtime those old memories start playing, like smuggling you into school and playing in the restroom behind a locked stall until the bell rings or pass the time in the car seated between my brother and sister while our dad drives. Throughout the game your music chimed of chiptune in various tones and being more primitive while repeating the same track in different levels, yet those same sounds makes you more endearing and warm.

The ancient yet simple sprites and background had a charm to them in their own way, despite being obviously behind the current technology by a couple decades. Be it a cute simple bear on a giant rolling ball or the stars twinkling on the star zone map, but can’t help take a great liking to them. Throughout the adventure I didn’t find any glitches, corrupted sounds, or anything weird; it runs fine yet there was something broken. After the last gold key was obtained by a painful boss fight from an alien rabbit, a gentle smile cracks my face reliving the game after all those years. After clawing through the insides of a giant whale, fought a giant dancing flower, and without turning off the game the castle was finally opened and the end was drawing near.

The castle was riddled with lava pits and statues of vicious lions in various sizes spewing fireballs with questionable floor gaps, an easy way for the unprepared for gorge all their lives. Many lives were lost from past runs and replaying the entire game watching all that effort go to waste, losing is not an option. I took a deep breath and feel the air going out with the game on pause, even with twenty lives I brace myself for the ascent.

I glide past lava with large timed jumps with the help of the cat ears power up then swiftly crouch down underneath an oncoming fireball barely grazing the ears before continuing the ascent with a shot of confidence. Strangely things looked a lot harder as a kid never knowing what the first floor is ahead, but so far the first floor doesn’t seem too difficult with the same obstacles. Until I got to the dreaded long river of lava with only a small moving platform going back and forth as the way forward. Carefully hopping on the platform and duck down a small space then quickly leap onto another moving platform, all the while praying and crossing my fingers I have enough lives for the final boss. After many careful jumps, I was overjoyed finally to see stable land then swiftly hop off towards it, a brief respite from all the chaos. But like some sort of cruel joke, the game puts me back to the beginning of the level as it laughs at my pathetic excuse for a jump. I paused the game and took a deep breath before smothering the blood curdling scream into a pillow.

After losing ten lives from impatience and numerous hours of scaling up the floor once again, finally returning to my original progress and jumped to the other side. Despite all those hardships, replaying the whole journey took me back to a time free from responsibility and enjoying those peaceful times, like a warm memory and wishing to stay there a bit longer. Unfortunately I knew too well that inevitably all good things come to an end and have no choice but to return back to the other world.

Back in the game I run into a trap on the floor, summoning a giant fist and bashing my brains into the floor sparing my life with a few blinking frames but losing my power up. Unfortunately the floors doesn’t change the triggered traps, all the while crossing my fingers and hope to making it to the other side. Unfortunately there were times where my jumps barely touch the trap then get sent back to the beginning and repeat the same song and dance. Finally making through the traps and into the next room after surrendering five more lives getting there. Each room housed seven of the previously defeated bosses, required to beat all of them before meeting the final boss of the entire game. By the time the bosses were defeated, fatigue was starting to catch up as the eyelids struggle to stay open and a long yawn escape from my mouth.

In the final room was the last boss, a thin man with a long pointed nose curled upwards and strips adorning the attire except his long puffed pants with bells finishing the look, all the while sitting on his golden throne wearing a goofy smile and cackling at me. Immediately he hops into the air and plucks one of his bells growing to three times its size before throwing it at a downward angle, but I didn’t register the attack. Fortunately the game was merciful enough to put me in the previous room to redo the boss rush but still evil to go through this ordeal once again. Returning to the boss with recent knowledge of the previous attempt, I dodge the initial attack and jumped to the highest point and toward the boss with a swift stomp to the head, repeating the process a few more time until he was beaten and ran to the next room leaving a steel ball on the floor behind a cat power up as a middle finger.

I jumped over and grabbed the power up without stopping my pursuit, he still had that same smile but looked furious and stomps in frustration breaking the entire wall to reveal a giant jack n’ box version of himself before hopping into the head and takes control. The boss uses both hand separately following me before crashing down, another where he throws bells as bombs in random spaces, or use his staff to sweep across the stage to knock me out. All the while trying to run on either sides or jump higher to attack his bobbing head while trying to reach into my foggy memory on how to beat him, until the fatigue starts to become overpowering. Now it’s a fight between the boss and the inevitable veil of slumber, as movements becomes sluggish and eyes becoming heavier with each second, pausing the fight and quickly slap myself awake then resume the battle. By some miracle the boss took two hits, but felt tired again and die once again, repeating the fight over and over until only one life remains.

Eventually the curtains finally closes, only hearing the laugher of the joker and the game over beginning. Hours later I woke up to the title screen and press start, my heart was shattered to see that zero on my file never changing. All those hours invested, the struggle, deaths, everything was snatched away in an instance. Everything was silent except for the cheery background music, taking in the situation and turned off the game then take out the cartridge. There were many games I could have played, but this one held too much sentiment and played a lot like an old friend.

I tried cleaning your connectors, even fiddling with the cartridge itself to fix you, but you wouldn’t work. This was something beyond my skill set. No words could perfectly express my feelings of defeat and having no choice but to tearfully say goodbye. I picked you up and head towards the trash can, my foot steps on the peddle opening our final goodbye. My hand shaking as each digit struggles to unwrap the grey cartridge.

But couldn’t bring myself to carry the act, so many memories were contained in there and you got me through some tough times. There were other games to choose from, but you were always my favorite. There has to be some way to fix you, I couldn’t live with myself and regretted it later. Someday I’ll finally find a way to help you, then we’ll get to play again. What do you say, do you want to play one more time?