It is truly a sight to behold. It stands a monumental 3.375 inches tall and spans a full 10.125 inches across. The depth is 7.875 inches. Are you wondering what this little box of heaven that has a volume of 269.1035 cubic inches could be?

I will let you in on a little secret – it is not the Game Cube or an X-Box. Think older, think better. Imagine original, 8-bit graphics. Yes, you have it now. The machine that revitalized the gaming systems in the ’80s and is still the best, the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is so beautiful, I want to cry.

Perhaps I am a tad overexcited about having full-time access to the 8-bit Nintendo, but I was deprived of it as a child. My parents thought that my siblings and I would get too wrapped up in the game. They assumed that we would suffer greatly in the areas of regular eating and sleeping habits. In all honesty, they were probably right. But I am an adult now, living on my own, making my own decisions and I choose to have a Nintendo. Hopefully Mom is not right about it affecting study habits. Only time will tell.

Actually though, the only reason I have a Nintendo now is because my roommate brought one. But really, that is such a minor detail. The power of the controller is now in my hands! OK, that sounded a little frightening. Feels like it should be followed by an evil laugh. Muhaha.

I do realize too that my love, well, obsession, may be a little bit off-center. I know more people prefer the new 3D games to my favorite 8-bit ones. Yet there will always be something about the original Nintendo. It has so much history, so much nostalgia.

The original Nintendo came out in 1985 and was released nationwide in the beginning of 1986. When it first appeared I was around the potty training age. There was nothing like it on the market. The graphics, for the time, were sleek and unfathomable. The console, which fit better with popular electronics than other systems did, saved the gaming world from being overrun by home computers. The system now has over 700 games, according to Nintendo, possibly thousands if you count pirated ones. With the system came many popular games such as The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong and Super Mario Brothers.

Super Mario Brothers was definitely the trademark game in the Nintendo era. Mario and Luigi, two simple plumbers, took the world by storm. The game really seems like the concoction of a couple fellas on too many drugs, but that did not diminish its popularity. There are mushrooms to make you stronger, winged turtles called Koopas and an evil little cloud that shoots spiky creatures at the plumbers. At the end you fight a large gentleman named Bowser who spits fire and is as ugly as can be. Bowser very well may be the result of a bad trip. Obviously this game was destined to be a classic. They even made a movie for it, but “classic” is not the best word to describe it.

Mario became an entire series of games. The best of them all is Super Mario Brothers 3. Its graphics blow the original out of the water. Not to mention in Mario 3 all kinds of new things are added such as raccoon tails, warp whistles and ice to slide down. I will sit down and play it just for a break, and wind up playing for hours on end. I suppose it is addictive, kind of like the drugs the original creators were probably on.

As enjoyable as Nintendo can be, it has its drawbacks. When NES was created, they designed a special “zero insertion force” slot for the cartridges to go in. Unfortunately for the company, this special slot became quite dust-prone and incredibly fragile. Many of the consoles have been discarded because they no longer work. The company discontinued the system officially in 1995. My friend who brought her NES to Ames has previously owned three others, all of them now beyond repair. It is disheartening that these systems are so rare to find in working order. Oh well, mine is.

I do fear that this wonderful machine is going to distract me from my everyday work. Once you start pushing the buttons, it is hard to make your thumbs stop. It becomes personal – you are on a mission to succeed. I suppose in that way NES is like life, but pixelated. Many hours this year will be spent defeating the bad guys of the Mario series. That Nintendo will be well loved. And don’t worry Mom, I will study sometimes too . once Bowser is destroyed.

Ayrel Clark

is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication from Johnston. She is a member of the Daily’s editorial board.