The image above has been circulating around online for years now. It’s probably been at least 10 years since I first saw it. Back then, I was enamored with it, and honestly, I kinda still am today. I just wish we had the rest of the circular to go along with it, but I’ve never seen it surface anywhere online. I assume this is from the 1991 Christmas season, as that was the year of release for the system.
But that simple image of the SNES under the tree unlocks a core memory for me.
I was a Nintendo kid for sure. I got my original NES in late 1987, and from that point on, I was hooked. All of my friends at school had on, and Nintendo dominated the conversations in home room, at lunch, recess, and at the bus stop. All of us talked about the games we had, what level we were on, tips and tricks we had figured out, and so on. We’d trade games with each other, so we all had what felt like a fresh rotation of games all the time.
Then in 1991, I started seeing advertisements for Super Nintendo. For someone who had lived and breathed Nintendo for four years, these announcements created nothing but excitement. And then as the Christmas season approached, they put up a demo version in the main aisle of my local KMart that you could play while in the store. The game loaded in the demo was Super Mario World. I was totally enamored with that demo model. ‘Every time we went to KMart, I would dash to that spot in the store and watch people play while Mom shopped. Every now and then, the stars would align and there would be no one there when I got to it, and I got to play it myself.
The difference in the graphics was astounding. Going from 8-bit to 16-bit made everything just look better. And the new system had controllers that featured six buttons instead of two. I could tell that this new Super Nintendo was on the cutting edge and I had to have one.
It was all I talked about leading up to Christmas. Any time I was asked what I wanted for Christmas, Super Nintendo was my answer. Knowing how expensive it was, I hedged my bets and made it the only thing I wrote on my Christmas list for my parents, and the only thing I circled in that 1991 Sears Wishbook. It was SNES or bust for me. I took a big chance by not naming any other gifts I wanted. I mean, if I didn’t get the SNES, then I was at the mercy of the gift giver and whatever they saw fit would make a good present.
I had wagered my entire Christmas on getting a Super Nintendo. A few days before the holiday, my brother and I were to on a shopping trip. He asked me what I wanted, and I told him all I really wanted was the Super Nintendo. My brother proceeded to tell me in no uncertain terms that I would not be getting an SNES for Christmas. He said it was too expensive, and our dad’s business had been in a slump. But mainly, he said, that Mom and Dad weren’t going to buy an SNES since they had spent so much money on games for the NES that I wouldn’t be able to play anymore. I tried to reason with him that I would still play the NES when I got an SNES (lie), but he kept telling me to drop it because I wasn’t getting one.
This news really hit me hard. My brother is eight years older than me, and wad always privy to more adult conversations than I was, so it was very plausible that he had sat in on those conversations regarding my asking for a Super Nintendo. It was easy for him to dismiss though. He had just bought an SNES for himself. I could only play it when he was there, and this fact was killing me. Maybe my parents thought that I would get to play his more and wouldn’t need one of my own?
Christmas morning rolled around and I started opening presents. It was the usual fair…some Hot Wheels, new clothes, and trinkets of various sorts. Then out of the blue, I opened a package and found inside a copy of Final Fight for SNES. I leaped up and down at what this meant! Somewhere under the tree was an SNES for me! But my hopes were quickly dashed as my Mom came over and looked at the wrapping, then turned to my Dad and told him he had put the wrong name on the package, that is was supposed to go to my brother. She actually took the game from my hands and gave it to my brother who was very thankful that he had gotten a new game for the SNES sitting behind a locked door in his room.
I was absolutely crushed. Even now I can’t adequately describe what I felt in that moment. It was like my stomach had turned to mush and fell out my backside. Devasted is a word that comes to mind. I carried on with opening more presents with tears welling up in my eyes that I had to fight hard to hold back.
When I got to the last one, and it was in no way large enough to be what I really wanted, I resided to the fact that I just wasn’t getting an SNES for Christmas. When opening presents was over with, and we were about to go on about our days, my Dad said “Hang on a minute”, and disappeared into his bedroom. He came back carrying a perfectly sized box saying that I had one more to open.
My heart leaped out of my chest as I tore the wrapping back revealing that SNES log across the top of the box. I almost couldn’t contain myself, and a little pee may or may not have run down my leg.
I guess I was the victim of an elaborate ruse the whole time. Maybe my parents told my brother to throw me off the scent, but whatever the reason behind it, actually getting it that morning made the whole letdown experience worth it. My brother also returned the game I had opened earlier to me as well. Not only had I gotten the SNES that came with Super Mario World, but I also got Final Fight to play as well.
I still have that original SNES system today, as well as that Final Fight cartridge. As the years rolled by and I let go so many things from the past, I’ve held on that those. Maybe it’s because of the heartache I felt, or maybe just because of how strong that memory is of getting it. I don’t know, but every time I see that control deck, it takes me back to the Christmas of 1991, and I relive it all over again in my mind. While none of this was quite like ralphie’s chase of the Red Ryder BB Gun, the nervousness I felt all that season left a lasting impression on me.
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