Super Gold Controller Club

Does anyone else remember the Nintendo Super Power Club? The way you got in was buying issues of Nintendo Power; I had a subscription to the magazine from around 1990 through 1997. After a while you were kind of enrolled in this club - or cult, which is more like Nintendo's style - and through this, you were able to spend even more money on Nintendo products. Now, it's not the same as the current Club Nintendo, where you register your purchases and get rewards (at least, I don't believe so. There were proof of purchase tags on games and things, I think?). In any event, there are two elements to the inevitable story:

1. You would receive "Power Stamps" every so often in your subscription to the magazine;
2. You could redeem those stamps towards goods in a catalogue of neat products that would arrive periodically.

I'm a collector by nature, so I held onto these stamps for ages. I cut them out and had them in a drawer in my bedroom, safely sealed away and remembered their location to a higher degree than any GPS could offer now. I believe it was 1996, or 1997, that Goldeneye was coming out on the Nintendo 64. Around this time the magazine offered a special, limited edition N64 controller: it was all gold (coloured, mind you). I believe it was a celebration of some anniversary (100th issue of Nintendo Power), and it coincided nicely into the Goldeneye game that had taken over our lives at the time. This was the moment I had been waiting for. I saved up around forty of these precious stamps, which was enough to cover the cost of this precious controller entirely.

Filling out all the forms, and putting the pile of stamps together, I sent away for the controller. I was beaming: this was exciting. There were never very many opportunities back then to get a hold of limited edition video game stuff. I eagerly awaited by the mailbox for weeks, until one day, a wild envelope from Nintendo appears. It was an envelope, a small rectangular, carefully folded piece of paper, containing nothing but more paper. There were no electronics inside.

Running upstairs, I ripped the "package" open and read the letter inside. It was grim. I didn't include enough power stamps to cover the cost of the controller. The details escape me, but I swear I was only two or three short. Was it the taxes that killed me? Did I miscount the stamps? These things allude me to this day, but the fact was: I had to give them more money. I don't remember how, exactly - perhaps my parents wrote a cheque for the difference, perhaps I tumbled a bunch of quarters in) - but I sent it off again, and waited through more weeks of anguished excitement.

Another envelope appears. They are out of stock.

There was nothing more crushing at the time. This limited edition was limited and I missed the boat. They sent me brand new power stamps, but they were worthless to me. A short time later I think the Power Club or whatever it was, was dissolved and any opportunity to use them vanished. They still exist in a box somewhere, I'm sure, but I couldn't tell you exactly.

Fast forward more than a dozen years later and Nintendo is releasing a gold Classic Controller for the Wii, bundled with the Goldeneye remake. Of course, I buy it immediately, but it's not satisfying. I'm not sure obtaining the original N64 gold controller would make me happy anymore. I got over the loss, right? What reminds me of this is doing the pre-order for Skyward Sword, that includes the gold Wii-mote. My younger self momentarily took control in the games shop and with access to disposable income - something missing when I was a teenager - I was able to secure the newest gold controller without any doubt. I picked it up on release day, opened the package and held it in my hand. I flipped it around, looked at the decals on the front, then returned the controller to its box. That box was closed up and put on the shelf. I'm unsure at this point if I'll ever play the game, or even use that gold controller. But I can rest easy knowing it's there, and knowing that that gold N64 is out there too: for the right price.

Super Mario Galaxy

When did Super Mario Galaxy come out? The following Christmas I received the game as a gift, and so begins one of my greatest shames: I didn't put the disc into my system until most recently, i.e. two weeks ago. Now realize, that's not normal behaviour for anyone except those who lost faith in the Wii, and generally, Nintendo games.

I tried Twilight Princess on the Wii without much luck. I hated swinging the damn remote every time I wanted to attack. So, after a few hours I put the game away, hence ending my love for the series. It was hearbreaking. Mario was a series that I had already skipped once: Mario 64. I've played it dozens of times but never to completion; definitely not to the same vigor I played any Mario game preceding it. So, with a new Wii console under my credit card, it was time: I casually walked over to my library of games and could hear a squeek of a voice coming from the bottom of the shelf. I looked down. A cloud of dust erupted as I passed my hand over the line of white cases; I could hear the voice again. It was in my head.

Super Mario Galaxy was, all of a sudden, in the system. I was playing it. It felt...natural. It was....fun. What happened in the previous three years that prevented me from playing this? I've certainly had fun playing other games but a high caliber Mario game is something else to behold. Don't forget, this guy changed the way we played video games numerous times through his career.

I was so happy that motion controls did not take centre stage in this outing: you can point the remote at the screen the whole time to pick up gems, or not. Gems certainly help you throughout the game but you won't have a tired arm getting them. There are some "bonus" galaxies that utilize the remote in nifty ways, such as controlling Mario on a giant golf ball, or twist it about as you control Mario on a giant stingray. They are fun, as they break up the rest of the game. There are little throwbacks to coin rooms inside pipes; classic music and enemies roam about as you take on different suits such as the bee and boo.

The 3D aspect is taken to another level. I feel as though they've added another dimension to this game: you can be on one side of an object, run around and you are on the other side. You can be playing on a giant sphere with no boundaries. You get twisted around and play with gravity, and all the while the control just works. Some "planets" are big and just act like levels in previous Mario games. In other levels, you fly from planet to planet and when you step back to think about the amount of design consideration that has gone into them, you are amazed. Mario games have always had very excellent level design and that's what makes them really shine as platformers. This just amps it up a bit.

I realize that I was scared to play this game: it looked different and I wasn't sure how to play it. Perhaps that's what getting older is all about. If I was in my late twenties when Mario 64 came out, would I be too scared to play? Galaxy has reinvigorated my interest in the Wii; I play more casually, without worrying about points, achievements or how long I've been playing. I simply enjoy it.

Red Wii Attack

Oh my, what have I done? With no intention of buying this limited edition printing of the Wii, I was overwhelmed with the urge once I saw it in stores. It was easy to dismiss it until you see it in person, which is very similar to how the Xbox 360 was purchased way back when.

The problem, of course was that I have a Wii, have had it for quite some time, and never really used it to the degree that any other gaming system has gotten. The motion control stuff is just lost on me; it's more of an annoyance than anything else. But, there are a growing collection of games that deserve some attention for their more "serious" approach; they at least minimize the motion control.

So this red edition comes out, bundled with New Super Mario Bros and the new Wii remote with the Motion Plus built in. Pretty snazzy, as I estimate this in my head as at least a hundred dollar value. Somehow, I get it in my mind that if I sell my current system for a decent chunk, buying the new will be equivalent to the purchase of the game and controller. Plus, it's red. I always regretted a little bit not getting the red 360. So this kind of makes up for it.

Picked up the new Wii tonight, wiped out my old system (and a real shame they make it so difficult to transfer downloaded games to a new system) and booted up the new. I even played the new Mario game for a few minutes and had fun doing it. So now I have this colourful system in my collection, and can't help but think this is all about gaming. It's fun, it's not hiding; the Wii is what it is. Just like the goofy looking Gamecube didn't fool around with extraneous features, the Wii is at it's core a game playing machine, and now it looks the part.