{"id":560,"date":"2012-01-29T15:28:46","date_gmt":"2012-01-29T15:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=560"},"modified":"2012-01-29T15:28:46","modified_gmt":"2012-01-29T15:28:46","slug":"operation-c-game-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=560","title":{"rendered":"Operation C (Game Boy)"},"content":{"rendered":"

For me, the best Contra <\/em>game is not the original, nor is it Super C<\/em>, or even The Alien Wars<\/em>.\u00a0 Despite my reluctance in the past to acknowledge hand held games as memorable ones (even though, I know full well that some definitely are), Operation C<\/em> is without a doubt not only my favourite Contra<\/em> game, but probably my favourite hand held game of all time!<\/p>\n

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1991 - Game Boy (Ultra)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I didn’t own any games in the series, so when I kept seeing previews and ads for Operation C<\/em> in gaming magazines, it was only natural for me to get excited about it.\u00a0 Not that my parents wouldn’t let me buy the NES games because they were violent – after all, I don’t know how many times they allowed me to rent both of them.\u00a0 I guess I just had my fill after a few days!<\/p>\n

On cross-border shopping trips to Bangor, ME, I was always excited to go to Toys R’ Us.\u00a0 Of course, my sisters and parents had other places to shop, and Toys R’ Us wasn’t really up there on their give-a-hoot list.\u00a0 Canada didn’t have a whole lot of those stores, back in the day, never mind little old Fredericton, New Brunswick!\u00a0 I was willing to sit through a few hours of grocery shopping to get my toy fix.<\/p>\n

There was something fascinating about walking into their video game section, and how they had it laid out.\u00a0 A full wall could be dedicated to one console’s games, and instead of having the boxes themselves on a shelf, the wall was lined with laminated flaps that had video game box art in them.\u00a0 If you wanted, you could raise the flap to check out the screenshots on the back of the box.\u00a0 When it came time to buy the game, you grabbed a piece of paper in an envelope behind it, then brought it to the counter where the customer service rep would fish it out of their warehouse area.<\/p>\n

There was something so special, so important, so Fort-Knoxey<\/em> about it.\u00a0 Behind that door the clerk just walked through, I could picture a vast warehouse of games, not unlike what I had seen at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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I'd like to think a warehouse of games like this exists, somewhere.<\/p><\/div>\n

So with a bit of convincing (I don’t think it really took all that much), my mom obliged, and we walked out with Operation C<\/em>.\u00a0 The minute I plopped my butt in the car, I started the always satisfying video game unboxing process.\u00a0 I quickly read through the manual and other things, and it was time to play.<\/p>\n

In reality, it was time for Shop and Save…\u00a0 or Stop and Shop…\u00a0 or Wal-Mart…\u00a0 I don’t quite remember, but having just bought a brand new game, there was no way I was going in.\u00a0 I didn’t care if they’d take a while, because I had my Game Boy, and I’d take Operation C<\/em> for a ride while they shopped!<\/p>\n

Well, they agreed to lock the doors and leave me in the car (it was early spring, so there was no chance of freezing or dying of heat), and I played…\u00a0 and played…\u00a0 and played…\u00a0 it was amazing.\u00a0 The minute I picked up the Homing Gun, I was hooked.\u00a0 Homing weapons are common in games now, but it was new to Contra <\/em>then.\u00a0 It blew my mind that I could just hold the B button, focus on avoiding obstacles, and let the shooting do its thing.<\/p>\n

It was like any other Contra<\/em> game, but the awesomeness had been Game Boy-ified!!\u00a0 If you think the music was awesome on the NES, it was even more spectacular coming from those tiny speakers!!<\/p>\n