The Brothers Mario on the Coast of Ireland
In an adorable guest house on the far south-western coast of Ireland on an unnamed road on the way to Lough Fadda, there is a slender gray relic from the tail-end of the previous millennium. The sleek slab of grey with rounded corners is adorned with two smaller purple rectangles labeled with the roman glyphs making up the words “Start” and “Reset” in a white paint.
Upon entering the large open space of the living room, dining room and kitchen of the guest house, I briefly surveyed the modern furniture and light fixtures, the functional log-burning fireplace and floor-to-ceiling glass windows looking out into the darkness of the nocturnal surroundings, and had a sense that we had gotten a great deal for our money on this place we would call home for next two weeks. But then, with the widening eyes of enthusiasm, I beheld the curvaceous rectangular reminder of years of joy from my childhood, a Super Nintendo Entertainment System, with both controllers and the Super Mario World cartridge already inserted and beckoning me.
Over the course of the next 10 days, in surprisingly fewer hours of actual gameplay than I had remembered, I had unlocked every level, and beaten Bowser and rescued the Princess. Once again, Yoshi and all of his little colorful cousins were free to roam the countryside in peace.
