I’m more or less current with my game equipment and enjoy it all quite a bit, but this time of year has a way of turning my attention towards and the game consoles of yesteryear. I don’t always revisit these the past systems every time December rolls around, but I still think of them and the memories they provided during their time.

They say people today are too nostalgic, and they might be right (at least in my case). Still, it’s fun to recall these things and hope that the future will also make for sweet memories one day, don’t you think?

Nintendo DS

Like the Game Boy before it, the Nintendo DS was a constant companion for me. I took it to high school and played Mario 64 DS minigames with my buddies. I took it on family trips and whiled away time in the car or plane with WarioWare Touched. I took it to the big family Christmas parties and did local races with my cousins in Mario Kart DS too.

That last point was actually pretty special too, since my cousins typically all had different interests than I, so we didn’t have much to talk about. We could all play Mario Kart DS, though. It was a pretty short-lived convergence of interests, one that would never happen again, so it’s made the DS a true highlight of my younger years.

Xbox 360

The era of the Xbox 360 will always be the golden age of online gaming to me. Not because I enjoyed the nastiness of pre- and post-game lobbies (funny the they were), but rather because of how easy it was to make online friends and the amazing experiences that enabled. It was so easy to just get lost in Halo 3 and Halo: Reach, playing game after game and just dying with laughter from the conversation and what was happening on-screen.

I remember all the fun of custom games and the rare cooperation of entire game lobbies. There was even one time when whole Halo 3 lobby stopped fighting and just helped everyone there farm the game’s annoyingly specific achievements. It was absolute peak of online fun! Destiny would enable a shadow of this in 2014 & 2015, but online gaming would, for me, never again be what it was between 2007-2011.

PlayStation 2 / GameCube

The Playstation 2 and the GameCube were and are the undisputed kings of local multiplayer. Whenever I had friends over or whenever there was a gathering at a friend’s house, one of these would be involved at some point.

Sometimes it was Burnout and MX Superfly on the PS2, other times it was Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mario Kart: Double Dash on the GameCube, but it was always a blast. Then there were the countless hours I lost with my best friend at the time playing things like Animal Crossing, Sly Cooper, Luigi’s Mansion, and Kingdom Hearts. These truly were excellent times.

Super Nintendo

My recollections of the Super Nintendo in its hey day are vague for the most part. I know I spent a lot of time on it with friends and even with my dad, but the specifics are lost to me for the most part. All that remains are a few images and warm feelings, and those have kept the system relevant to me all these years. More recently, this system has played host to a couple of annual traditions I observe together with my friends from back home.

Donkey Kong December, for me, started back in 2011 when I and my college roommates decided to play through the SNES Donkey Kong games. And, even more recently, games like Goof Troop and Street Fighter 2 on SNES have helped to establish some new friendships too. It may be almost as old as I am, but Super Nintendo still continues to provide wonderful experiences.

Nintendo 64

Despite everything I’ve said about the other systems so far, it’s the N64 that draws me back the most, especially this time of year. It’s the one I remember most fondly, the one I was glued to during snow days in elementary school and the one that brought my lifelong friends and I together in high school and college.

Until I came to Japan, the N64 was a constant in my life and the lives of my friends. For years and years we’d get on it at least once every week for Mario Party and that even continued here (thankfully) via Switch Online. Its games are old now, well known and outdated in every way, yet the charm remains. Those Mario Party sessions are one of the things I miss most about living back home, actually. For now though, I suppose I can still content myself with the single-player games and the memories they hold.

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That’s just about it for Listmas 2025. Stay tuned for our Game of the Year and Most Anticipated lists! Until then though, what consoles are your favorites?

Image by Flickr user: commorancy (cc)