Basically one big Nintendo ad, but as kids, we loved it.
1989’s “The Wizard” is basically one big ad for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), but I have such fond memories of this film. I was in my NES phase at this point in time, of course, and at the time, it felt like this film was made for me. I bought the Nintendo Power magazines and strategy guides, I remember the phone lines you could call to talk to an expert to get tips on getting through parts of various games. And the game they play for the finale is my favorite NES game by far.
Nintendo Power Glove: good for Rad Racer, terrible for Super Mario Bros.
Another cool thing about the film is that one of the 3 finalists is a girl. It reminds me of how video games were for everyone back in the day. It wasn’t until you got the online military shooters that the toxic bro culture permeated like a cancer, and gave rise to Gamergate, etc.
Come to think of it, computers and video games have really had a very notable and sizable presence of women historically. I guess that threatens some people. So, now, we pat ourselves on the back for being so progressive in trying to draw women into STEM and gaming, when we have been there since the beginning… just some emotionally immature asshats couldn’t handle it. But, that’s a discussion for another time. I’m far enough off track already.
Back to the film. As I’m watching it for the first time in decades, I’m reminded that Video Armageddon took place at Universal Studios Hollywood. So, the King Kong exhibit that burned down a few years ago is immortalized in this film, which is kind of cool.
Also, I wanted a Power Glove so bad after seeing this film, but I never got one. I did have Rad Racer, though, and it was one of my faves, as well.
