The second controller, of course, so that multiplayer games will be possible.

Why Super Monkey Ball? Because everyone online who has played it said it's really, really cool. Really.

First stop: Media Play. They were out of memory cards and super monkey balls, and the only controllers they had were either off-brand, or the same color as my existing controller. I wanted to get a Nintendo brand name controller. Don't ask why. I've been brainwashed.

("Super. Monkey. Balls?" When used in the plural, it sounds less like a five year old, and more like something out of Beavis and Butthead. "Hehe. He said 'balls'." I shall not try to milk this one any further.)

So, after just a brief stroll through the DVD section (I didn't want to stay long enough for myself to become diverted by additional temptations) I departed Media Play empty handed. The theory was that I would hit retail stores in a pattern spiraling out from the Castle Lair until I found what I wanted. Target was the next stop.

Memory card. Check. Nintendo brand name black controller. Check. Super Monkey Balllllll! Check. That was easy. Scan. Beep. Swipe. And back to the Lair!

I noted an interesting pattern in the family: Every generation of Nintendo console ever produced has been in our household. Way back in the day, bouncing and I really, really, really wanted a Nintendo Entertainment System with Super Mario Bros. So on one Christmas, we made a deal with our parents. Since it was a more expensive gift that would normally have been purchased in our family, we agreed to chip in, and have that be the only present for both of us.

And a fun thing it was. We probably got far more hours of fun out of that than any other present ever. (Not to mention zillions of occassions where scuffling occurred over whose turn it was, how long turns should be, exactly what, technically, constitutes a "turn", ad infinitum. lol.)

Memorable games included Super Mario Bros, Zelda, Metroid, Dragon Warrior, and their sequels. My God, we played those things for hours! We (and friends at school) played them with a passion unmatched by any other activity (except, perhaps, programming; but that would come later). I remember the days when I was an avid reader and subscriber to Nintendo Power magazine. Shameless marketing, cover to cover. lol.

Later, it would be the SNES, with its superior graphics, sound, controllers, and gameplay. By then, I think we were getting a little bit more mature, so there was a bit less fighting over whose turn it was. But still, whenever a new game was obtained, every spare moment for weeks thereafter would be spent solving it. Mmmm... Final Fantasy 2. Zelda: A Link to the Past.

For a while, the Nintendo obsession seemed to subside. Then, last year (or the year before?), bouncing bought an N64, with all its amazing 3d graphics and sound. He and I both played that quite a bit. A great system, with great games (my faves: Zelda and F-Zero; bouncing has taken a liking to all flavors of racing games), but it wasn't the same all-consuming obsession of earlier times.

And now, I have carried on the tradition by buying a GameCube. I'm not sure whether that's great, or pathetic, or what. But so it is.

(In the portable department, bouncing had an original GameBoy, and I have a GameBoy Advance. I guess to truly say we've had every generation of system would also imply GameBoy Color, but that's getting nitpicky.)

So here I've been most of the day, alternating between playing Star Wars and Super Moooonkey Ball. I think I've managed to give myself a mild headache, staring unblinkingly at the CRT for so much of the day, but it's not too bad. I just don't have quite as much of an endurance built up as I used to.

I STILL haven't made it past that Death Star in Star Wars. I always lose when it comes time to fire the proton cannon into the hole. I think I must be missing some crucial bit of trickery. Or maybe I just need more practice. When I fire it, it always seems to hit the edge instead of going in. Then I crash into a wall, or run out of torpedos, or get blown away by tie fighters, or what have you. I'll get it soon. I know I will.

As for Super Monkey Ball, that game is just a little whacked out. Crazy little smiling crack monkey, running around inside a rolling sphere. At the beginning, it's easy. Now that I'm on the second set of levels, things are getting tricky.

I don't think I've played enough to give a real review of either game yet. I will say that the graphics on both are amazing. But I wanna get past that Death Star and do some whopass on Hoth! It's frustrating, because I try again, and again, and again, and I still haven't destroyed it. The shield towers and tie fighters are easy. I just wanna blow up the Death Star. Now. I can't take it anymore.

Time to go give it another shot.

(Oh, and if it seems, shall we say... immature for a fully grown adult to sit around playing Nintendo all weekend, well I say... Ptooey. Well, maybe I don't say anything. So be it. I'm immature. Big whoop. lol.)

Now, back to the Death Star!