The Right to Remain Gaming

1996 was a huge video game year for me. The Nintendo 64 released and it featured four titles that made it into the top 30 of my top 50 list (now top 51 since I updated it).  Crash Bandicoot ,  Super Mario 64 ,  Pokemon Red  (and Blue for losers), and  Mario Kart . In the long run  Mario 64  was the most important title from 1996, as it became the template and gold standard for all 3D games of the generation, but I am going to be discussing  Crash Bandicoot . I recently purchased the  Crash Bandicoot N'Sane Trilogy , which is a careful recreation of the  Crash Bandicoot  trilogy in HD. So far I have beaten the original  Crash  so here is my retro review: Crash Bandicoot - I want to start by saying  wow this game was hard. I gave up trying to 100% every level around half way through because it was driving me a little crazy. That being said I loved it. The challenge felt fun and fair. The levels are unique ...

“Twenty minutes, and then you have to go outside,” my mom said, as she turned the timer above stove to the twenty-minute mark. My brother and I race downstairs. I open the panel to the right of the CRT television screen. There are two metal dials and a plastic knob. I push the knob in and the screen crackles to life as white noise fills the room. I then move to the top dial and twist it, every channel that goes by makes a satisfying click. I set the channel to three...or four, I could never remember what channel had to be set to turn the NES on. As I fumbled with the television that my family has had since long before I was born, my brother, Paul, was readying the NES. He placed the game in, snapped it down, and hit the power button. The screen flashes red and then black, there is no noise. He hits the reset button, nothing. The power is cut and the white noise returns. I feel panic. I run to stairs and yell up to pause the timer. Paul removes the cart...