Nintendo on Modest Walrus

Gaming: Super Mario Bros. 3

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Game/Publisher/Developer

Super Mario Bros. 3, Nintendo, Nintendo R&D4

The Trailer

My Reaction

This is one of my all-time favorite Mario games on any Nintendo console. The graphics were sweet for an NES title and the music and sound effects are the kind every Mario fan loves hearing.

Gaming: Tetris

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Game/Publisher/Developer

Tetris, Alexey Pajitnov / Nintendo

The Trailer

My Reaction

This was a blast from the past. Still, it’s holding up today; simple to pick up and that same pull to squeeze in “just one more line” hasn’t faded a bit.

Overview

Tetris is a falling-block puzzle game created in 1984 by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov. Players rotate and arrange seven differently shaped tetrominoes as they descend a playing field, clearing horizontal lines to score points while the pace steadily accelerates. The game spread worldwide through countless ports and versions, most famously bundled with Nintendo’s Game Boy in 1989, which cemented it as one of the best-selling and most recognizable video games ever made.

Gaming: Contra

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Game/Publisher/Developer

Contra, Konami, Konami (NES)

The Trailer

My Reaction

Contra was an instant classic the moment it landed on NES. The run-and-gun action is relentless, the co-op is a blast and the difficulty makes every stage clear feel earned.

Overview

Contra is a run-and-gun action game originally released in arcades by Konami in 1987 before being ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988. Players control Bill Rizer or Lance Bean, two commandos fighting against the alien organization Red Falcon. Across a series of relentless side-scrolling and overhead stages, players blast through waves of enemies, collect weapon power-ups and face down some of the toughest boss fights of the era. Two-player co-op made it a defining couch experience on NES.