Retro Nintendo

Retro games are more popular today than ever. With one generation of gamers pursuing them for a blast of nostalgia from the past, and a whole new generation catching up on the exploits of their favorite characters. Auction sites such as eBay make obtaining classic consoles and games easier than ever.

Hailed as the console that saved video games the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES returned video games to their previous popularity and beyond. Although the character Mario had made arcade appearances in Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers the NES saw his most popular incarnation yet with Super Mario Brothers. The green cap wearing Link appeared in The Legend of Zelda, and he remains one of the most popular characters today. The first video game female action hero appeared in the form of Samus Aran. She jumped, rolled, and blasted her way through Metroid.

Nintendo entered the 16-bit arena with the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System or SNES in 1991. Mario and friends were back with the pack-in game Super Mario World. Gamers would have to wait longer for the 16-bit incarnations of Link and Samus, but when they appeared in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Super Metroid respectively both were phenomenal successes.

In 1996 the Nintendo 64 or N64 was released to clamoring Nintendo fans who had been anxiously awaiting a next generation console. Mario was again immediately available via Super Mario 64. This entry allowed gamers to take Mario into 3D for the first time, and was well loved by fans from the start. Again fans would have to wait for Link to make his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Both are held by many fans as some of the greatest video games of all time. Unfortunately Metroid fans would be left out in the cold, as Samus would not appear on the N64.

Nintendo finally left cartridges behind and began using optical disks with the Nintendo Game Cube or GCN in 2001. Absent from the software lineup at launch for the first time was a Mario title. However, Mario's green clad brother Luigi made his first solo debut with Luigi's Mansion. Again fans of Link would have to wait for the release of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Walker. Which gave Link a pseudo-2D look that sparked controversy among fans. Samus made her triumphant return in full 3D with Metroid Prime, something long awaited by fans.

Luckily gamers too young to have experienced these moments of video game history, or nostalgic older gamers need only log onto an online auction site such as eBay to purchase their favorite generation console and games featuring their favorite characters.

Another option for PC Gamers is to buy the Retro Nintendo games for the PC, there are many compilation discs available now. Take a look at this PC World Voucher Code and you could find a Nintendo / PC related special offer