Get to know the team: Bhav the Hylian, writer at Gaming Retro, talks Nintendo, Tetris, and Zelda with John Bowe.
Nintendo fans are a particular type, even as their fandom has grown and spilled into each new generation of followers. Being an old-time Sega crusty I have feelings towards Nintendo too, which you can probably guess, but I never hated Sega’s true rival.
When I first saw an import Super Nintendo back at the dawn of the nineties it was captivating and I shuffled around and waited to play it along with everyone else at the local games shop. I didn’t waver from Sega, but you couldn’t argue for a second that the person next to you would.
And Bhav the Hylian, writer at Gaming Retro and my interviewee for the day (I’ve already spoken to editor Christian Cawley), is the sort of girl who would. And she still can because Nintendo didn’t go bye-bye for all intent and purpose like Sega did. Still, no old scores to settle at my end. I’m trying to get to know my fellow writers here.
Just keep it light.
DS, I love you
I go in first with that pre-eminent of retro questions; if you could play any game at this moment, what would it be?
‘A retro game that I would play as of this moment would be Tetris Party Deluxe,’ she says. ‘I particularly enjoy the challenge of getting 100% in the Shadow Mode stages! The variety of shapes you have to make with classic Tetris blocks is also very enjoyable.’
That’s a pretty fair start, Tetris being a more than reasonable answer to many a retro question. To be honest, I am just thankful that the answer wasn’t Ocarina of Time. I actively hate upon that game, but I am certainly not going to bring it up if she doesn’t.
‘I am going to have to ask then, what was the first Tetris that you played?’
‘The first Tetris that I played was Tetris DS! I loved how it did a crossover with some of Nintendo’s biggest IPs, and did some cool music remixes for classic games like Mario and Zelda!’
The DS wasn’t a machine that I owned I say and admit that I didn’t graduate with handhelds beyond the Game Boy Advance.
‘So how far back before the DS does gaming run for you?’ I ask.
‘I must have been between 8-10 when I got my first DS, which was a Lite! My first home console was the Wii, accompanied by Mario Kart. I am quite the Nintendo gamer generally! As was my brother back then, so I had to buy an original DS to stop the fighting over it! I still have it alongside a 3DS!’
So definitely a Nintendo fan. I wonder aloud on the Discord thread that the Wii might be a pretty unique console to start out with in the scheme of things. I mean, whatever did she make of the controller at the time?
Wii vs PlayStation
‘I did used to play my cousin’s PlayStation when we visited, but the Wii was so different and interesting. The motion controls for Mario Kart and Wii Sports were a gimmick that was difficult not to fall for, it was so clever! I was probably split between the Wii and DS equally as a kid.’
‘And how much, if anything, did the arcades mean to your gaming experience growing up?’
‘I tended to go to arcades during seaside holiday trips’ she says, which would be relatable to most of us. ‘Me and my brother liked playing different games like driving sims and shooters. I can’t remember the exact names, but it would have been something like Need For Speed, and Space Invaders (possibly the original, possibly not – Ed) more than once or twice! It is a bit of a blur to try and remember.’
No Sega name-drops there, but that’s okay. As I repeatedly say, the arcades were cruel to us all.
Media, fashion, culture…
Moving on from the coin-crunchers, I go for some general prodding as to any migrating away from Nintendo towards Sony and the emergent Xbox options. Did she see any allure there?
‘The PlayStation was only ever with my cousin,’ she reiterates. ‘We all enjoyed Lego Star Wars as kids and as we went into our teens we started to play Tekken. My brother also had a PSP and I would play Tekken on that from time to time, but I generally enjoyed the more varied DS collection of games.’
And there is the rub with real console manufacturers,I think. The gratifyingly bespoke nature of the machine and the will of their first parties to lay foundations for the third parties to build on.
‘My brother was more of an Xbox gamer at that time, and we did play a lot of Minecraft, Battleblock Theatre and Castle Crushers. The game that was solely mine for that machine was The Golden Compass! I always found the PlayStation controller difficult to get used to and very much preferred the Xbox 360 controller. Sometimes it was actually nice to play with a traditional controller, for when I wasn’t in the mood for motion controls!’
Playing the Ocarina (of Time)
I do briefly think if not being in the mood for motion controls is code for when they had flown out of the hand and broken, but neglect to follow it up. I ask about Ocarina of Time instead.
‘Ocarina of Time is a game that I remember wanting to play since being super invested in Zelda since 2017, when Breath of the Wild was released. I grew up with the games Twilight Princess and Phantom Hourglass, but I really wanted to play Ocarina of Time since I knew how iconic it was to the series and gaming as a whole.
“I’m currently playing it on 3DS and definitely enjoying it so far! It’s nice to see the game that went on to inspire Twilight Princess and later Zelda titles! It’s a shame that Nintendo can be so protective of their games, that there are a lot that aren’t accessible to new audiences or later consoles. As someone who doesn’t own an N64 or GameCube gear, it’s nice to have more accessible ways to play the game. I remember being hyped about it being on Switch Online’s Expansion Pack, but as I wanted a 3DS for other games anyway, I decided to purchase Ocarina of Time 3D and give the 3D gimmick a go!’
I remain mystified, but that old Zelda enthusiasm clearly isn’t going anywhere fast. Perhaps the problem is with me? Perhaps not, but either way I am fast running out of time and do want to ask if Bhav is surprised to be involved in retro gaming to the degree that she has become.
‘It definitely surprises me that I’m interested in retro gaming as much as I am today. Even though I grew up with titles and consoles that were released in the 2000s-2010s I have so much nostalgia for them and I enjoy learning about earlier games from the 80s and 90s. I’m going through an era where I’m actively invested in retro media, fashion and culture and gaming is no exception! Even though I naturally have a soft spot for nostalgia, I never thought I would be writing about it!’
Well, thank goodness for Gaming Retro that the thought did occur and you can now find her talking all sorts of Nintendo right here.
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