GOOSE

Gee Darren, the NES came out 30 years ago - that's older than me! But it was a special machine, and it had a huge impact on the world of gaming. Don't we have one here in the den of gaming?

DARREN

Ahhh, affirmative... somewhere. Hold on a minute - hardware scan initiate! Scan complete, it's right under your chair.

GOOSE

Oh! Thanks Darren... aww look at it! Did you know, when the NES first went on sale in Japan in 1983, it was actually called the Family Computer - or Famicom, for short. Before it launched in America, Europe, and Australia, Nintendo gave it a new outer shell and a new name - and the NES was born.

DARREN

It wasn't a terribly powerful console, even by the standards of the 1980s. The NES had an 8-bit processor at its core, and less than 5K of RAM. In comparison, the Commodore 64 home computer had 64K of RAM! But the NES was designed to be expandable. Game cartridges, or 'Game Paks' as they were called, could include special chips called MMCs, or Memory Management Controllers. MMC chips boosted the graphical power of the NES, and some even had extra RAM. This tech allowed the NES to keep up with the times, and the console stayed relevant well into the 1990s.

GOOSE

I think what really made the NES special was its games. Nintendo has a strong tradition of research & development when it comes to new game ideas. Instead of copying what everyone else was doing, they hired the very best engineers to come up with new ideas. Nintendo's most famous game designer is Shigeru Miyamoto. The creator of Super Mario, Donkey Kong, Excite Bike, and The Legend of Zelda, he designed games that let players interact with game worlds in ways they never had before.

DARREN

Of course, Miyamoto-san's games weren't the only NES classics. Metroid was more than a platformer - it was a game of exploration. It made you feel like you were gingerly probing your way through a scary alien world. River City Ransom was highly customisable, adding RPG properties to the fighting game genre. And who could forget Tetris, the block-stacking puzzle arcade hit from Russia. Tetris won over millions of humans with its compelling 'just one more go' gameplay.

GOOSE

At their best, NES games weren't just compelling to play. They rose above the limits of graphics and sound, and became portals into the world of the imagination.

DARREN

Nintendo innovated with hardware as well. NES game 'Paks' supported battery back-up, so players could save their games. This was a big deal in the 80s!

GOOSE

Oh yes I remember! that was a game changer Darren! Before you could save your game straight to the cartridge, you had to write down these really long passcodes with pen and paper and re-enter it later just to pick up where you left off!

DARREN

Nintendo also paid close attention to every aspect of the console's physical design, from the optimal number of buttons for the control pad, to the peripherals - like the light gun.

GOOSE

Ah yes, the Nintendo Zapper! I can't tell you how much fun I had with this thing, back in the day. I found the best way to win at Duck Hunt was to press the gun barrel riiiiiight up against the screen. That way you couldn't miss your targets!

DARREN

Ahahahaha! Lasers!

GOOSE

Pew pew pew!

DARREN

Ahahahaha!

GOOSE

That dog was so infuriating.

DARREN

Affirmative!

GOOSE

The NES is gone now, but its heroes endure - it was where game series like Advance Wars, Kirby, and Mega Man got their start.

DARREN

Consoles come and go, but the soul of the NES lives on. Happy birthday, NES!

GOOSE

Yes, happy birthday my old friend!

DARREN

Alright Goose, it's time to go answer all my fan mail at the Ask Good Game desk!

GOOSE

Don't you mean answer questions?

DARREN

Oh, I suppose we can do that too...come along...