Game on!

WHEELING — Princess Toadstool is in trouble. The King of the Koopas, Bowser, has kidnapped her and it is up to you and a two-button controller to save the princess from utter demise. It sounds complicated, but thousands of residents of the two Virginias have been saving Princess Toadstool since 1985. And while Nintendo has produced new and more complicated game systems, the old classic is still a favorite among adults, who want to save a princess.

On a snow day or a day off from her job as a Mercer County teacher, Princeton resident Jenny Hill, 28, likes to play the classic game system, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

“I am actually still playing the old Nintendo I had when I was 8-years-old,” Hill said. “I like to put in the Mario game and save the princess.”

Hill has other Nintendo games for her Nintendo Entertainment System, but she keeps returning to Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt. It is a classic that never gets old, no matter how many times she saves the princess or fires the NES zapper.

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For more than two decades, Super Mario Brothers was the best-selling video game of all time until 2009. Excluding Game Boy Advance and Virtual Console sales, the game has sold 40.24 million copies. The original Mario Brothers inspired dozens of spin-offs, even a television series and movies. It is a pop culture phenomenon, one that adults fondly remember as retro, classic and simple.

Josh Bishop, also of Princeton, has no plans to get rid of his NES. He received the system in the fourth grade and randomly plays old games. During a blizzard, he pulled out the Duck Hunt game and spent four hours killing 8-bit ducks and trying to shoot the little dog.

“The original NES is classic,” he said. “It was a staple of my childhood and still brings back old feelings and memories. Its simplicity is untouchable. You can’t beat a 2-button controller and blowing in a cartridge to make it work.”

At age 31, Bishop said nothing is better than firing up the NES with friends for a trip down nostalgia lane. And he isn’t the only adult who likes to travel down memory lane. Hill compares the NES to an antique store, where one sees items from childhood. Playing the game, is a refreshing past time, reminding Hill of the difference between now and then.

“When you were younger, problems didn’t exist,” she said.

When Hill was about 5 or 6, she received her NES at Christmas.

“I was a little girl and didn’t often ask for electronics. I usually asked for skates or girlie presents. That year, I asked for a Nintendo, but I didn’t think I was going to get it. When I went downstairs, my dad already had it hooked up and ready to play. We played for hours,” she said.

Hill and Bishop, along with millions of children in the middle to late ’80s, helped spur the rush of the gaming industry. The original NES is responsible for the success of the company, especially products like Wii and Nintendo DS. Now adults, initial fans still crave the classic system, preferring the original game system to new technology. As a teacher, Hill said she has seen students spend days trying to play one game or figure out a secret passage, a new code or hidden door.

“All those other systems get so complicated,” Hill said. “I want to play something rewarding that doesn’t take all night.”

Hill has saved the princess plenty of times, but still finds level eight a challenge at times. In Super Mario Brothers, there are eight worlds, with four sub-levels in each world. Of course, there are bonus and secrets in the game, but nothing too complicated for gamers.

“The last level is the hardest to me. You are in the dungeon and you have to save the princess and dodge balls of fire that come out of the pits,” Hill said. “It is a challenge, but doesn’t take time to figure out.”

Hill doesn’t want to purchase other game systems in the future. Content with her NES, she will ask her husband Jason to play, using the second controller. When she gets tired of Mario, she plays Duck Hunt, using the same zapper from childhood.

“I guess there is nothing like making that little dog stop laughing at you,” she said.

In the game, the dog retrieves the ducks, but laughs at the player if both birds escape or the player fails to advance to the next level. In a spin off, the player can actually shoot the dog in a bonus round — putting an end to the laughter.

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To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Brothers, Nintendo will re-open the flagship Nintendo World store in New York on Sunday. Fans can dress up as Mario, Luigi and the Princess, play games and more. The anniversary bash will allow adults and children a chance to play both classic and new Super Mario Brother games. And on Dec. 12, game fans can purchase Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition for the Wii. The package will include four classic games, a soundtrack CDs and an commemorative booklet. The book will share never-before-seen sketches, photos and secret insights.

The special edition will give another generation a chance to save the princess — without having to blow dust out of the cartridge.

— Contact Jamie Parsell at jparsell@bdtonline.com.

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Zap it : Local residents still play classic Nintendo games from childhood

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