super mario bros. 3

Today, one of the single greatest games of all-time -- Super Mario Bros. 3 -- was released for the Game Boy Advance in Japan. Super Mario 3 holds a special place in my heart for several reasons: 1) It's my favorite NES game ever (and I've played almost all of 'em); 2) It's my favorite of all the Super Mario games; and 3) It was the first import game I ever played, which led me to being interested in learning more about Japanese games, the Japanese language and eventually Japan itself. In a weird, roundabout way, you could say this one game is partially responsible for my being here right now.

Back in 1989, on a routine trip to Toys 'R' Us, I nabbed the very first issue of GamePro magazine, which had a two-page spread on the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 3. I remember seeing the Japanese box art for the game (below) and all the fantastic screen shots and falling in love on the spot. Of course, this was the first time I'd even heard of a "Famicom" (the Japanese NES), and I figured it was going to be months, if not years, before I could play the game, so I relegated it to the back of my mind and got on with my life.

However! Less than a month later, I walked into my local video store and what did I find? They had started renting Japanese Nintendo games! (This was -extremely- rare back then -- the import scene didn't really pick up until a couple of years later when the Super Famicom hit.) Of course, Japanese games were far more expensive to rent than domestic games, and they came with a funky adapter (the infamous HoneyBee) to allow you to play them on a U.S. machine, but as soon as I looked up on the shelf and saw "it" sitting there, nothing else mattered. There in front of me, like a gift from the heavens, was... Super Mario Bros. 3! A full year before it was slated to hit the U.S. (in fact, at this point, it hadn't even been announced yet). I quickly laid down the cash for a three-day rental and sped home to play it. I even faked being sick so I could stay home from school the next day and play all day. For a 14-year-old Nintendo freak, it was like a dream come true! (It didn't hurt that the game was absolutely spectacular, either.)

After three days of intense playing, I finally finished the game and brought it back. From that day on, I became enamored with Japanese games (there was always a feeling of 'leetness' associated with getting all the cool games months before your friends), and that's ultimately what led me to learn more about the Japanese game scene and eventually start learning the language.

Of course, I eventually started working in the game industry, and 11 years later I moved to Japan. My reasons for coming over here were only partially related to games -- over the years I happened to develop a genuine interest and enthusiasm for Japanese people and Japanese culture -- but I'm happy (and proud) to say that playing that game way back when was the spark that got the fire going in my inevitable journey to this place.

I guess I'll celebrate the occasion by playing a few levels of the new GBA version tonight before I crash. Natsukashii na... :)

Posted by john tv at July 11, 2003 10:19 PM | TrackBack