Posted by Sir Cucumber at on Sunday, October 28, 2007

I was connecting my 9-year old little brother’s Wii to the wireless network when it occurred to me he’d never played, nor even heard of, Super Mario Bros. His idea of classic gaming is Ratchet and Clank. So I dropped $5 on a download, turned the remote around in his hands, and stepped back.



He walked straight into the goomba on his first life but then realized he could jump over them, and soon found with glee that falling on one killed it. Being the type that picks up every last bolt in Ratchet despite my groaning protestations, he turned to take out the goombas he’d leapfrogged past.



“Why can’t I go back?” he asked.



“Because you can’t.”



“But why?”



“Dude, you just can’t.”



Further investigating the leftward wall, he kicked a koopa shell behind him. It came back.



I winced as he walked past the 1up mushroom between the hill and the pit, and felt a great sense of pride when he discovered how to run across one-block wide holes. I was tempted to show him the 1-2 warp zone, but I’m sure he’ll find it soon.



It’s not every day you get to look through eyes seeing Super Mario Bros for the first time. I highly recommend it.