Kids These Days Will Never Know: Part One

As a kid growing up in Arlington, Texas, life and times were much simpler and easier. I'm a lover of nostalgia and appreciate the things that I was surrounded with. Every day, I daydream that I'm in an 80s or 90s tv show, video game, or movie. I'm going to share some things I've experienced and had as a kid that kids today never knew about. It's going to be broken down in five separate parts and 20 items in total, in no particular order.

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

I remember playing my father's Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) at the age of two. Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt was the very first game I've played on this game system. The one accessory I enjoyed the most was the NES Zapper. Using the electronic gun playing Duck Hunt was my favorite part about the NES. Trying to shoot the ducks was the fun part. Almost 30 years later, I figured out that you can shoot the dog. Kids these days will never understand that they have three lives to beat an entire game and blowing a cartridge if a game isn't working properly.

Partying Like It Was 1996!

My youngest brother and I had lots of great memories playing the Nintendo 64. We received it as a gift from our parents for having good grades on our report cards. Kids these days will never know that the N64 had the best games like Mario Kart 64, Wrestlemania 2000, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mortal Kombat 4, Goldeneye 007, and the list goes on. Plus, we had the Rumble Pak, which was a removable device from Nintendo which provides force feedback while playing video games. Certain games like Goldeneye 007 and NFL Blitz are among the216 games thatare Rumble Pak compatible. It vibrates in certain situations, such as when firing a weapon or receiving damage.

The Power of Cheat Codes

I wish I was back in the 90s again. My brother and I enjoyed going online searching for the best cheat codes whenever we were struggling on a part in a game. We would have a list of them on two or even three sheets of paper. Other times, we had to print them out. Now, you had to pay in order to obtain cheat codes. To this day, there's a lot of them from different games I still remember by heart.

Gotta Collect 'Em All!

When I was in the fifth grade, everyone was talking about Pokemon cards and collecting them. I can remember the principal saying one morning on the announcements the following: "Pokeman cards are not allowed in school." Yes, she really said that. She had mispronounced the word Pokemon. I never knew at the time what was so bad about having Pokemon cards. However, everyone at school didn't care. We collected and even traded our cards to others. I had two decks of Pokemon cards, especially some holographic ones like Charizard, Wigglytuff, Zapdos, and Raichu. Zapdos was the only holographic legendary Pokemon in my deck.

Before there was Netflix, we had VHS tapes.

Growing up, I ran into a cupboard full of VHS tapes in the living room and saw different tv shows and movies my father recorded. He had lots and lots of them in his possession. You can record a tv show or movie with no commercials or interruptions. I remember the first tapes I've watched was different episodes of the X-Men TV series. Kids these days will never know how to use a VCR to record a show on a VHS tape. I would love for them to try it out for a day or a week.

So that's five down and fifteen to go. In the next story, I'll be sharing part two of the things that I've experienced as a kid that kids never knew about today. On my social media pages, I talk about nostalgic things I've enjoyed in the late 80s and 90s. Sure I'm in my 30s now, but at least I appreciate everything these two fantastic decades brought to me.