Hobbies And Interests
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. was the flagship title for the NES; it was originally packaged with the console. The game and system were extremely popular--Nintendo sold over 40 million copies of Super Mario Bros., making it the second-highest selling game of all time as of August, 2010. The game is a 2-D side-scrolling platformer in which you assume the role of Mario, an Italian plumber that wears red overalls. Mario must jump over gaps, defeat strange enemies and beat King Koopa to save Princess Peach. Super Mario Bros. is listed third on IGN's "Top 100 NES Games of All Time," but often gets the top spot on many NES fan forums. Two NES sequels, Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3, are also critically acclaimed and have gone a long way to define Mario's popularity and fame.
Metroid
Metroid is the first installment of Nintendo's Metroid series; it was also the first game to use a password-protection system for your saved games. The story focuses on Samus Aran, an armored bounty hunter that must search the planet Zebes for space pirates. Players must shoot and jump their way through rooms and areas in this open-ended world. The game was very well received and sold one million copies in North America. Metroid is particularly famous for its plot-twist at the end of the game. If players can complete the game fast enough, they find out that Samus Aran is actually a female (she is described as a man in the game's booklet). The character is considered a breakthrough for female lead characters in popular media.
Contra
Konami's Contra was an NES release that focused on multi-player gameplay. In Contra, you and a friend can team up to play in a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up. You play as a human character that must destroy enemy soldiers, gun turrets and alien bosses by picking up firepower and life upgrades. The game was originally developed for arcade machines, but it was given a full console release on the NES in 1988. Gamespot named Contra as the fifth-best NES game in their "NES TenSpot Readers' Choice."