Celebration Station

What does it take to make a person feel old?

Well, one thing might be when many of your treasured childhood franchises are celebrating anniversaries. That number in the double digits.

And could do so twice over in some cases.

I digress, however. At the very least, it makes for some interesting reading. Such as the following, courtesy of 1UP.

One Girl Against the Galaxy: 20 Years of Metroid and Samus Aran(read this one)

Sonic’s 15 Minutes of Fame(this too)

Purple Reign: 15 Years of the Super NES

Tales From the Crypt: Castlevania 20th Anniversary Blowout

And finally, the celebration of a game many credit for making things as they are today…

Year of the Monkey: Going Ape Over Donkey Kong’s 25th Anniversary

And to further celebrate the qua-centennial(is that an actual term? Whatever) anniversary of our main monkey, there’s also a look back by Press the Buttons.

Want more? You got it.

Platypus Comix goes all the way back to the original Saturday Supercade cartoon to bring us not only some crazy box art(Intellivision’s rocked, all things considered), but a full episode of the Donkey Kong cartoon, featuring Soupy Sales(as your parents) as the title character, and the voice of Eeyore and Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen, as Mario.

Want more? Then how about an ep with the number-one son, Donkey Kong Jr., which you can watch here.

It ought to be noted as an aside that for the Nintendo Power Mario Mania Player’s Guide, the pics of Donkey Kong, DK-era Mario, and Pauline were chiefly taken from this cartoon, rather than using in-house art.

The cartoons are about 10 minutes apiece, and I haven’t seen Jr’s yet, but I did watch DK’s so I could say something here.

And I have to admit, it’s interesting to see what stories and settings were spurned from games back in the day that had little to no story. I think Donkey Kong‘s really works based on the merits of NOTHING but the first game.

I’d actually like to see Saturday Supercade sold on DVD, as I never got to see it when I was a kid. Damn if I remember what I was watching, I was only 4 at the time, and the most recognizable game my aunt had was Pac-man.

On another note, recently was the much-celebrated “Happy Mario 20” celebration of 20 years of the first Super Mario Bros. game. And some complained about how Mario goes back further to the original Donkey Kong title.

But you know what?

Let’s let DK have his day. If he had to share it with Mario, I think he’d be overshadowed in the grand scheme of things. And that’d be a shame.

In the end, though, as old as these franchises may be, they can still make a guy feel the same kind of happiness they felt when they were young, and I guess in the end, that’s the best thing about them.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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