Nothing Beats Couch Multiplayer
Online gaming is cool, but couch co-op is magic
Online gaming is an incredible feat of technology. The fact that we can have 100 players on one match at any given time on Fortnite is amazing. If you had told me something like that would be possible when I was playing 4-player mode of GoldenEye on the Nintendo 64 I would have told you were crazy. But even if online play is an incredible achievement nothing can replace the experience of playing with (or against) someone else in the same room.
Here are some of my favorite couch co-op memories. I’d love it if you could share your own in the comments, too!
Duck Hunt
My very first memory of a video game is when my father and I played Duck Hunt. It was 1998, and even though the SNES as well as the N64 had already come out, we were enjoying ourselves with what he had. There was a two player mode in the game where one person controlled the ducks while another used the toy gun, but we had no idea about this, we just competed for high scores.
I remember our bigger-than-me TV, our black leather couch, my father’s laughter, and my mom’s cheer. I don’t remember if I actually won, but this was the time I realized the true power of video games; bringing people together.
Super Mario World
I have a cousin who I always mention. Let’s call him Juan. We were inseparable. Growing up he was my best friend in part because of our love of video games. Out of all the people I knew he was the only one that was as big of a nerd as me.
One time we wanted to play all night so Juan and I slept over at my grandfather’s house. My grandpa would always go to sleep early and wouldn’t wake up even if an earthquake happened, much less two kids downstairs talking and laughing their ass off. I don’t know if you remember what staying up all night felt like when you were a kid, but I’ve never felt more alive.
Juan brought Super Mario World for SNES and we played all night. We wanted to pass the game and see everything the game had to offer, every nook and cranny, we even printed a guide, but we couldn’t finish, sleep beat us. The next day we felt awful and when our grandpa asked us why? we just laughed.
To this day I still haven’t passed Super Mario World and in reality I have barely played it since then. I think it’s because I don’t want to mess with the memory.
Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3
A few years later Juan and I had graduated from Mario to Dragon Ball Z. When he was twelve years old and I was eleven I saved for months to be able to buy Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 at launch day. The game cost me forty or fifty dollars, which in adulthood is not much, but for a little kid I had to save and sell so many of my things. I even went to the swap-meet as a last resort.
We grew up in Mexico and if there is any Latin American readers reading this, then you know DBZ is like a religion. It’s not just an anime, it’s a thing that sticks with you your entire life. I still watch DBZ and Dragon Ball Super.
Juan was Vegeta, I was Goku and we were having the match of our life. We were teleporting like crazy, parrying each of our attacks, doing incredible combos, and best of all we were evenly match. We usually talked smack when we played, but in this fight all you could hear were the smashing sounds of the controller.
Our health was minimal and our Ki was depleted. We could have kept fighting, but without words we got as far away from each other as possible started charging our Ki and released our final attack. The two attacks clashed into one another and the winner of the fight would be determined by who ever spun their analog sticks the fastest. One analog stick didn’t have the padding, it was just hard plastic so my cousin started to bleed, but he didn’t stop, neither did I. We were screaming because of how tired and hyped we were. I won and for a brief brief moment I felt like Goku.
Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
I was fifteen years old when MvC2 came out for the PS3 on the PSN store. I slept over for the purpose of buying it and playing it all night with my best friends at the time, but there was a huge party so my friend wanted to change the plans. We reached a compromise we would stay and play for a few hours, then we would go party.
That night I met my match. My friend it turns out had been hiding the fact that he too was great at video games. He was doing combos I didn’t even know was possible.
Once at the party I stayed mostly in the corner. A girl that I liked was there, but nothing happened; I was too awkward. My friend on the other hand was dancing and kissed a girl. It wasn’t long after that the police came by and we had scatter. Thankfully his house was less than a mile away so we walked. At two in the morning!
When we got home we had to sneak back through the window because my friend never asked for permission. After the party we were so pumped, we couldn’t go to sleep. We played until five in the morning that night.
I was at this weird age where I was supposed to let go of my childhood and “grow up”, but I couldn’t. I wish someone had told me that you could take your time, at least I wouldn’t have felt so weird for so long.
Resident Evil 5
Juan and I were playing Resident Evil 5 in cooperative mode, our goal was to do an all-nighter and pass it in one go. We did, but little did I know, that was going to be the last day I saw my cousin’s brother Sal.
That day my aunt made water balloons to play with. We were already eighteen, seventeen and sixteen, which felt like we were too old for balloons, but we played anyways. Everybody picked on me since I was the smallest, but I wasn’t no push over either, I got a few good ones in.
After we finished Juan and I got back to the game, and Sal took a shower. He had a party later that day, he had recently turned eighteen and graduated high school consequently he was partying a lot.
When Sal said goodbye I remember being so hooked that I just waved him goodbye, I didn’t even hug him. That was the last time I ever saw him, he passed away that very same night.
Telling you about RE5 seems almost trivial. We passed the game, there were moments that were so hyped like the main character punching a rock to move it, but it doesn’t matter. That night every thing changed. For a long time I couldn’t look at a copy of RE5 without crying, but they say time heals all wounds, and it does. Now when I think of this memory I don’t get sad at all, instead I smile because I remember Sal’s big smile as he left.
I wish I could have given him one last hug, hell if I knew what was about to happen, I would have never let him go. The important thing about this memory is the fact that he left with a big smile and that is something I would have never seen if I was playing RE5 online.
Tricky Towers
I’m now twenty six years old, I don’t play as much as I used to, Juan and I don’t have any more sleep overs or crazy game nights, but that’s okay. Every day it’s an opportunity to make new memories that’s what Tricky Towers is for me. I am engaged to a beautiful, wonderful woman and that is our game. We don’t always play, but occasionally we have mini tournaments and playing with her is one of the greatest joys in this world.
Online play is a technological marvel, but nothing beats that human interaction, that personal, tactical bond that happens with a person when you are psychically there. I left out a few memories like when my cousin and I played Final Fantasy VII all night, as well as trading Pokemon with my Elementary school girlfriend. So let me know if you would like to hear more and please tell us about your favorite memories.
