One of the things I love the most about my retro gaming hobby is feeling the waves of nostalgia rush over me like a surge of whimsical adrenaline when I play a game that I adored from my childhood. Being swept back to a time that was safe, happy and innocent is an addictive pleasure of mine; it is one of my defining characteristics and is my preferred form of escapism.  More so than movies or toys from my youth, video games have always potently stimulated that magical feeling in me.

For obvious reasons, a typical child from the 80s didn't have every video game released for his or her favorite console.  In fact, most kids would only ever play a small fraction of the hundreds and hundreds of games that may have been produced for a particular system. Admittedly, speaking specifically of the NES, I had a pretty healthy collection and experienced most of the more popular franchises from the 8 bit era. Contra, Zelda, Metroid, Castlevania... yeah, I had all those.  And not only did I have them, I beat them. You see, I was the type of gamer who would usually only play one game at a time until I beat it, and then move on to the next. I would cherish the games I beat like trophies, and often revisit them and experience them in different ways or explore new areas.  Needless to say, this method of playing my games was, in part, what fueled the intimacy and fondness I have for them today.




With all that said, I am brought to another aspect of my hobby that I very much enjoy. As I eluded to, there were many games and franchises that I missed as a child. Literally thousands of games are lurking about at countless garage sales and gaming conventions that I have never experienced, waiting to be discovered, curious games that I've never even heard of, and popular games that I've been eager to try.  Many of these games have made their way into my collection over the years I have amassed a small library of cartridges and I finally have the opportunity to play some of the games that escaped me as a child.  Blaster Master is one of those games.

Blaster Master is a game that I've been hearing about for years. A beloved franchise, a classic you might say, that many of my fellow gamer friends cherish and put high on their favorite games lists.  I was aware of this game as a child and in more recent years have been exposed, quite often, to its imagery and especially its music.  Having some extra time in the evenings due to the quarantine, I decided to finally try my hand at Blaster Master and, after throwing up a quick screen shot on Twitter, the comments flooded in: "Good luck with that one, tip: youre going to need save states, you're a better man than I."  I didn't realize that this was one of those NES hard games and the comments just intensified my desire to play it - and beat it. Personally, if Im not going to try to beat a game, I have little interest in it. Thats how I've always been. The satisfaction I get out of mastering a game through trial and error is what gaming is all about to me. In my mind, not finishing a game would be like putting together a puzzle and just walking away because you had a hard time finding a piece. So I blew into the cartridge extra hard, cracked my knuckles and set out on my next challenge. 


As I started, a twinge of hesitation fluttered through my mind. Can this be the game that defeats me?  Can I master this game on original hardware with an original controller - with no walkthroughs or save states?  For this happens to be one of those games where it has to be played all in one sitting. No codes, no battery, no level selects, just good ol' fashioned hunker down and play it till you beat it.  I shook off the cowardly thoughts that had invaded my mind and pushed the power button.

I recorded my efforts in a four part series and welcome you to come along on this a adventure with me. This is the third time I've put together such a series. I also recorded a Pitfall and HERO video series for the Atari 2600, in the same vein as this one; both of which are on my YouTube channel.  I really enjoy making videos like this and I hope you have as much fun watching as I had playing. 

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