1985 Games: Karate Champ, Super Mario Bros., Hydlide, and Blackjack

I don't know, maybe I had to be there in 1985, because I don't remember ever playing this number one arcade game back then, and Karate Champ was not fun to play now.

It's quick and difficult, meaning my matches were over before I knew it. Of course, it makes a difference playing on a keyboard rather than an arcade layout, but after I was defeating handily in a couple of matches, I'd already felt like I'd had enough and there wasn't anything driving me to get back at that guy in the red gi.

I didn't even get to sweep the leg ...

https://www.retrogames.cc/arcade-games/karate-champ-us.html

Now, then: onto my wheelhouse. I 'd never played Mario Bros. in the arcades, so I can only presume that the hype commercials for the coming Nintendo Entertainment System were really driving me to pick up this new game system, rather than me gunning for the game itself.

However, like millions of others, Super Mario Bros. fed into my already deeply-rooted love of video games and guaranteed I'd be a gamer for life. This week it takes its spot as the top-selling console game of 1985.

Now, I've owned a couple of NES consoles throughout my life and an alternatingly increasing/decreasing library of games, but right now I'm on a digital kick so I played the version included with the Switch Online library. I do look forward to rebuilding a physical collection in the future, hunting for games again like it's those early glory days. 

I played it once-through using the "Time Stone" rewind feature and once through without it (but I did use warp pipes).

The game naturally feels a little small now, but every beat, challenge, secret, item, and music cue are all still permanently etched in my memory. It's not quite the same as when I played Mario 2, 3, or any other sequel. Again, those games are larger so it makes sense that it's harder to remember the whole gameplay, but it also speaks to just how many times I ran through this original game. It's a good thing the NES didn't tally gameplay hours.

Hydlide is not a game I've played, either in 1985 when it was the top-selling PC game, or today as I couldn't find a site hosting the game without asking me to follow a few sketchy steps to install it. I've read a lot of comparisons to The Legend of Zelda, but it reminds me more of Ultima, which I never owned on PC but can remember playing at a friend's house. And maybe a bit of Dragon Warrior later on for the NES, from what I remember of that.

You know the old saying: if you can't play 'em, watch 'em: https://youtu.be/NB-rXRAl9KE

Finally for this week: I played some Blackjack on a suspiciously DS-looking Game & Watch system and followed my rule for going to a real casino: I left with the same amount of money I went in with (they give you $500 to start).

Along with continuing to track arcade, PC, and console games, handheld games are now here to stay in a big way and, no spoilers here, are going to be dominated by Nintendo all the way through to the end of my project. As with last week's "Punch-Out" game with its creative detachable controllers, we have Nintendo continuing to mess about in fun and weird ways, and in so doing create the model on which the hugely successful DS will eventually be based. 

You can try to make more money than me here: https://itizso.itch.io/nintendo-blackjack