There’s not an achy knee or a worry about next month’s mortgage payment among the group of teenagers that React chose to play Mega Man on the NES in their latest Teens React video, but while their futures may be filled with hope, they can never claim Mega Man supremacy.
That much is made clear in this video, but I’m not as delighted by the sight of mildly frustrated children as others are. I crave more emotion, because if you are sat down in front of an NES and you don’t curse until the controller starts to melt in your hands, then I don’t know that I can trust you as a person. Playing Nintendo should be 4% nostalgic pleasure and 96% pain.
With all of that said, I do like the life lessons that these kids pick up from the experience. Like the one kid who says, “I hate this game… everything kills you!” She’s got a head start in the race toward understanding the main theme of adulthood.
I’m not as psyched to see some of the kids merely shrug and accept their failure. One even commended himself because he got as far as he did… in the first level. There are no participation trophies in this dojo, sir.
Like all good stories, this one does have a hero, though. It’s advanced facial hair kid, who seems to “get it” when it comes to Mega Man and the complexity of classic games vs. contemporary games. I have no doubt that he took home a copy and surely eventually emerged victorious. Advanced facial hair kid is the best of us. He’s why Randy Watson sings about children and the future.
Via Kotaku