I mention it briefly in the video, but while I was caught up in the gameplay and trying to re-figure how to actually play the game, I think I forgot to emphasize how influential this game actually was for me. Blackthorne is rarely mentioned in the pantheon of amazing SNES games, let alone is it ever included on any top 100 lists; by that very virtue, it is definitely a hidden gem.
There are actually several versions of the game available too. While the one that I played was the SNES version (bootlegged through a rom), proudly marked “Licenses by Nintendo”, there was also a 32X version as well as a Gameboy Advance re-release of the game. SNES carts can run anywhere from $30 loose, to $170 sealed, with CIB (Complete-In-Box) copies falling inbetween at about $70–80, and that’s pretty reasonable considering. I’m sure the original cost of the cart was around $70. Adjusted for inflation and collectability, you’re looking at a reasonable amount in savings.
My father was the one who ended up purchasing this game. Wracking my brain I can’t remember if it was indeed something I influenced him to purchase, or if it was a game that he chose to buy on his own. I do know that he spent more time playing it than my friends and I did. Several of my memories surrounding this game are of us watching him play. The fact that the gameplay is very slowed down and tactical would have been a turnoff for a ten or an eleven year-old me. At the time, my parents had bought me a TV for my room, specifically so that I would have something to play my games on. Often times I would come home from school and find my Dad hunkered down in my room, lost in one of the games we had purchased together… In fact, this may have been when he first injured his knee and was home on medical leave, hence the reason I remember coming home from school and seeing him hard at work trying to beat the next boss… The times when he was working, I usually wouldn’t see him home until long after I had already gotten off the bus.
My Father would often times push me to use my brain more than my body. Both him and my Mother busted their asses working menial jobs to pay the bills. Each of them slowly exhausting their physical currency to make sure the rent was paid, the power was turned on, and the Fingehut bill was paid. While I was fortunate enough to have a SNES with a Super Scope, my parents didn’t make enough money to buy these luxury items outright, they often times would buy them from “wishbooks” or mail-order catalogs that offered financing options; buy now, pay later!
To this day my Dad has a severely damaged spinal cord from all of the physical labor he engaged in during his 40s and 50s. He wasn’t versed in any one field, but he took to maintenance work quite fondly — be it hanging drywall, laying carpet, or fixing electrical problems. Years of stories from my childhood I would eventually piece together that this was something he inherited from his father. Apparently my grandfather was a bit of a carpenter back in his prime, and he would toy with fixing radios in his spare time (probably where I inherited my love of computers from). Meanwhile, my Mother worked whatever job she could land to help pay for the bills. At times she was a cashier for the local convenience store, other times she worked in housekeeping for the hotel my Dad was employed at, and other times she worked in the laundry room at a motel.
I’m extremely grateful for the fact that I’m able to toil behind a computer and work an office job, suited in slacks and a button-down dress shirt. Sure, my job isn’t without it’s stress, in fact, my beard is slowly turning white before my very own eyes… But my position in life is partially due to the sweat equity my parents paid in preparation for my future.
Often times — as gamers — we commoditize the nostalgia associated with old software… However, there’s more than a simple explanation for this. There are all a whole host of factors that have contributed, including all the people who came before us, and those that contributed to our experiences growing up. The reason we are gamers (or became gamers) is as much to do with the expanding nature of the artform as it does with the belief from our elders that gaming was a worthwhile endeavor for spending our time.
It is with this in mind that take the time to stop and reflect on some of the games that got me to where I am today, and admire the path I was able to take…. The path I’m still on as an adult.
I’ll be sure to give my parents a phone call this weekend and see if we can’t reminisce over the stupid grey and purple plastic device that spent so many years connected to the TV in bedroom.
As much as Nintendo would like to quantify the time spent delving to the depths of planet SR388, it’s impossible to meet the demand of our enthusiasm to revisit Zebes and blast our way through the Lylat system.
That reminds me, at some point in this video I mention how my parents owned a comic book store.
While that is definitely something that happened when I was growing up, it only accounted for a couple of years (if not, only a year). I do remember that time fondly, but it wasn’t long before my parents had to sell the store and the inventory, and they had to go back to working jobs they hated to buy shit they didn’t really need. Unfortunately, the reality of running your own business is an uphill battle against the statistical realities that the majority of small businesses fail within their first year.
Maybe we can all just appreciate that emulation is a thing, and that Nintendo can go fuck themselves with pre-orders all they want. I’m not here to judge, only to observe.
