In gaming, there are certain games everyone assumes you’ve played and completed. Mario 64, FF7, Mass Effect, Metal Gear Solid. However…
Let’s be honest here, we’re all guilty of somehow or another letting classics slip through our fingers. I’m likely going to cause gasps of horror when I say I’ve never once completed one Mario game. That’s right, not a one. How did this happen, how could I have missed out on finishing every single one of the what many consider to be gamings greatest adventures?
Well, I never owned a NES or SNES, or neither did any of my childhood friends. The N64 came out, and despite playing Mario 64 a little, I never managed to actually get really good time on the damn thing. Finally, however, I was tempted into buying a Gamecube when I saw Resident Evil: Remake and Resident Evil 4 (this was before it was ported to the PS2, and Capcom maintained it’d be an exclusive for Nintendo’s cube of fun). I also bought Mario Sunshine shortly after (I got the Gamecube somewhat late), and despite liking the game, I just didn’t end up finishing the damn thing.
Mario Galaxy 2 – the start of something; surely?
I also managed to end up with a Nintendo wii – and the same damn thing happened, I bought the console late, and Mario Galaxy 2 was just being released onto the world. I bought the Wii might I add partially for Mario, but also for Zelda. I confess, I got pretty damn far in Mario Galaxy 2, but once again – more games came out and somehow I left it, only to realize a day or two ago that I’d broken my vow and STILL hadn’t completed a single Mario title.
The story is similar of course with Zelda, I’d pretty much played a little of Ocarina of Time (on the Gamecube, which was bundled on a separate disc to the Wind Waker) and I’d gotten far in the Wind Waker… but haven’t just been able to get into the series all the way.
A similar story for Zelda’s outing on the Wii, and I wonder why is it I’m just unable to finish either of Nintendo’s big guns, when I damn well enjoy them while I’m playing them. They remain high up on my “to finish list” but time will tell if I ever end up conquering them.