Topic: Staff Sez #5: The Best Nintendo Present Ever!

[NWR_pap64]

The staff reminisce about their Christmas presents in a way that would make Ralphie green with envy!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/28776

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

Christmas is just a few days away, and our Jewish friends are celebrating their nights of Hanukkah. Malls are overflowing with last minute shoppers, children are dreaming of Santa's arrival and everyone has been swept by the warm feelings of the holidays, including our staff members at Nintendo World Report. We gathered around the Christmas tree and decided to reminisce about Christmas past.

Or, to be more specific, we asked each other the following...

What was the best Nintendo-themed Christmas/Holiday present you have ever received?

And the answers we gave were as follows...

Neal "Jacob Marley" Ronaghan said...

"Game Boy with SML2 - my first Nintendo system"

Carmine "Bob Cratchit" Red said...

"A Game Gear. I was never naughty again."

Zach "Ebenezer Scrooge" Miller said...

"On my 8th birthday, which is close to Christmas, I got a Game Boy, Super Mario Land, Tetris, and Castlevania. I basically wet myself."

Josh "Ghost of Christmas Past" Max said...

"When my future wife give me a real life Pokemon."

J.P. "Nephew Fred" Corbran said...

"There were a couple ways I could have gone with this, but I'll say "a GameCube with Pikmin, Rogue Leader and Luigi's Mansion."

James "Tiny Tim" Dawson said...

"When I got my original glacier blue Game Boy Advance."

Pedro "Ghost of Christmas Present" Hernandez said...

"Definitely a tie between the Nintendo 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time."

Andrew "Fezziwig" Brown said...

"A SNES with Mario All-Stars. It was the beginning of everything."

Nicholas "Fan" Bray said...

"When I got Mario Kart: Super Circuit & Golden Sun."

Nate "Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come" Andrews said...

"Pokemon Red Version, which I played well into the morning."

Patrick "Belle" Barnett said...

"Gameboy Color with Pokemon Pinball, I still play that game."

Matt "Little Boy that gets Scrooge a Goose" Walker said...

"My NES. It was the beginning of my obsession."

Andy "Man that asks Scrooge for money for the poor #1" Goergen said...

"The NES Deluxe Set, which came with R.O.B. & Gyromite, and the Zapper with Duck Hunt.  On top of that, I got Baseball and Super Mario Bros. on the side."

Danny "Man that asks Scrooge for money for the poor #2" Bivens said...

"Ocarina of Time, Pokémon Red, Rogue Squadron, WCW/NWO Revenge Christmas 1998!"

Minoru "Man that steals Scrooge's pajamas after he dies" Yamaizumi said...

"As many as 10 GBA games (for ambassadors)."

And yes, we are aware many of us broke the 10 word rule... but lighten up, it's Christmas!

[KDR_11k]

SNES with an SGB and SMW. I don't think it was actually on Christmas since I bought it from the money I got from parents and grandparents but I still remember how unbelievable it was that I would have my own console.

[Ian Sane]

My Mom was pretty anti-videogame.  My brothers and I wanted an NES and never got one.  We saved up for one though we had no allowance so obtaining any sort of money to do this was pretty hard.  In the end we finally saved up enough to buy a SNES in 1994.

For a long time we had two games: Super Mario World and *sigh* BUBSY.  SMW came with the system naturally and by some freak miracle my youngest brother got a videogame for his birthday and it was stupid shitty Bubsy of all titles that he wanted.

This was Christmas of 1996 or 97.  The N64 was now out so SNES games could be found used pretty easily.  I remember my Dad calling me from the store asking me if my brothers were familiar with Mega Man X and if they would like that game.  "YES! YES THEY WOULD!"  I was thrilled.  A new game (well, new for us) and it was a GOOD one, too!  Due to costs (I don't think my parents had much money when I was a kid, they probably were not keen on videogames because they were expensive) this would be a shared gift for my two brothers.  I wondered what gift I would get.

Christmas Eve I needed to wrap a present and Mom said I could do it in her bedroom as there were no gifts hidden there.  While wrapping I noticed a clear plastic case like video stores used.  This was a special design for videogame cartridges.  I looked at the side and it read "NBA JAM"!  OH YES!!!  So sure enough the next morning I opened a used copy of NBA Jam with the box and manual all beat up and covered with rental stickers.  My Dad had got it for about half the price of MMX, thus I got it as a seperate gift.  Ten seconds after I open it and feign surprise my Dad says "it came with a plastic case for the game as well.  It's in my room if you want it."  Why the hell didn't Dad wrap the plastic case with it as well?  I didn't even go looking for gifts in their room.  It was just there in plain site!

Anyway, it doesn't matter, because that Christmas we doubled our SNES game collection to FOUR GAMES!  Of course now I have like ten times that amount of SNES games but at the time that was super cool and ridiculously out of character for my parents.  That was easily one of the Christmas gifts I ever got.

[Ceric]

My Sister and I took our money from Christmas to purchase a NES.  It was $200 in the late 80's which wasn't cheap for then.  I definetly got more use out of it then she did.  We bought it at the big Toy Store that was like Toys R' Us but Castle Themed.

For the record I liked how Toys R' Us did games back then.  They were these displays that hanged with the back in it and you could see the front and back and you thumbed through these displays.  When you found a game you wanted you took out the paper slip for that game.  You take the slip to the cashier and they would ring you up.  In the front they had a caged room for the really expensive easy to steal items like games.  You give them you slip and receipt.  They keep the slip and give you your game and receipt back.  I think its a lot more efficient and cleaner then what they have today.  Though I do like how Target changed theres.

[Spenczar]

One Christmas my parents gave my little brother and I both Gameboy Colors and Pokemon Red and Blue.  It was GLORIOUS.  Perfect matching presents and the best way to get us to shut up.

[Chiramii]

Gameboy Color and Pokémon Yellow. I also got N64 for christmas the year it launched. I was 5 back then and 2 of my older siblings had not moved out yet. Many days went by before I even got a chance to play my N64 ...  >.<

[fordrob]

In December of 2007 my mom wanted me to tell her what I wanted for Christmas.  To make things easier, she gave me her credit card information and said to just get it myself so I ordered a replica of Glamdring (from LOTR lore) by Noble Collection from Skymall Magazine only to receive a notice a week or two later telling me it was on backorder and they didn't know when I should expect delivery.  Between the time I ordered it and the time I received the backorder notice, I played the Wii for the first time ever.  I was hooked.  I didn't have to contemplate long on the decision to cancel my Skymall order and get a Wii instead.  Although this was during the pinnacle of the Wii supply constraint, and I had to call retailers multiple times daily, I finally received a tip from a local Gamestop employee that I "should probably check back tomorrow morning." The next day I confirmed that some Wii consoles had in fact arrived so I called my wife and said she needed to make her daily work-related bank run NOW with an important pitstop at Gamestop FIRST!  I didn't secure the Wii until almost the end of January 2008; and yes, my story is diminished by the fact that Gamestop got my money - but when your back is up against the wall, you do what you gotta do.  Besides, Gamestop tipped me off so I suppose they earned the sale.  I never ended up with Glamdring, but a Wii has been far more satisfying.  Easily the best gaming-related decision I ever made and all thanks to Mom and Christmas!

[Tybo68]

It's a choice for me between getting my N64 DK64 bundle in 1999 and getting my gamecube with the zelda collector's edition and smash bros in 2003. I had never played through Ocarina or Majora's Mask on N64, so I would say the gamecube is the best present ever for me. I had gone two years playing melee and other games at a friends house and was so envious until I finally got the system.