Hung up on that one unfinished video game: Adventure Island

Is there any particular video game that still haunts you up to this very day? One that, if you died today, you’ll be sure to be earthbound because of this one “unfinished business”? Okay, so that was morbid. But that pretty much drove the point home now, didn’t it?

I first got introduced to the wonderful world of gaming consoles through the NES, otherwise known as the Family Computer in Japan. Now this little wonder brought me some very fond and special memories growing up, thanks to its wholesome and now-retro 8-bit graphics. Games like Galaga, Battle City, Twinbee, Contra, and of course, the immortal Super Mario Bros. kept me company during stale afternoons, with ignored chocolate-covered donuts sitting beside me across our living room floor.

And then came a whole new generation of gaming consoles. Handhelds like the Game Boy and its successors, and even the simplistic Game & Watch, to the more powerful modern consoles we have today, all played a part – no matter how minute – in my formative years. They certainly kept me off the streets, for sure. I guess I only have them to blame for my not having developed that “streetsmart” gene in my system.

Even after all those games and gaming machines, however, I still couldn’t let go of that one NES game that I never got to finish: Adventure Island.

Not that I didn’t find the adventures of Master Higgins interesting or exciting enough for my own amateur taste, back then. But with the onslaught of newer game titles coming along, and with the irrational, almost neurotic desire of finishing a level without any scratch or bruise or diminished life for my Master Higgins, I did not realize that I had slowly and unwittingly pushed it to the back of the game shelves.

And then I got busy with other things – Tetris, Metroid, school, dates, friends, sneak-outs at night, the X-Files, Castlevania, high school prom, college admissions, Need for Speed Underground, Sex and the City… and good ol’ Master Higgins remained in the webbed corner of my consciousness. Not to be disturbed, and more importantly, never to disturb me. Until we met again, that is.

Read on to see if we share the same hang up experience over that one unfinished game, and to see what else is on QJ’s list by clicking on Full Article!

Is there any particular video game that still haunts you up to this very day? One that, if you died today, you’ll be sure to be earthbound because of this one “unfinished business”? Okay, so that was morbid. But that pretty much drove the point home now, didn’t it?

I first got introduced to the wonderful world of gaming consoles through the NES, otherwise known as the Family Computer in Japan. Now this little wonder brought me some very fond and special memories growing up, thanks to its wholesome and now-retro 8-bit graphics. Games like Galaga, Battle City, Twinbee, Contra, and of course, the immortal Super Mario Bros. kept me company during stale afternoons, with ignored chocolate-covered donuts sitting beside me across our living room floor.

And then came a whole new generation of gaming consoles. Handhelds like the Game Boy and its successors, and even the simplistic Game & Watch, to the more powerful modern consoles we have today, all played a part – no matter how minute – in my formative years. They certainly kept me off the streets, for sure. I guess I only have them to blame for my not having developed that “streetsmart” gene in my system.

Even after all those games and gaming machines, however, I still couldn’t let go of that one NES game that I never got to finish: Adventure Island.

Not that I didn’t find the adventures of Master Higgins interesting or exciting enough for my own amateur taste, back then. But with the onslaught of newer game titles coming along, and with the irrational, almost neurotic desire of finishing a level without any scratch or bruise or diminished life for my Master Higgins, I did not realize that I had slowly and unwittingly pushed it to the back of the game shelves.

And then I got busy with other things – Tetris, Metroid, school, dates, friends, sneak-outs at night, the X-Files, Castlevania, high school prom, college admissions, Need for Speed Underground, Sex and the City… and good ol’ Master Higgins remained in the webbed corner of my consciousness. Not to be disturbed, and more importantly, never to disturb me. Until we met again, that is.

It was only a couple of days ago that a colleague of mine sent me a link containing all the factoids about my long-lost buddy, Master Higgins. And there, it was like meeting him again for the first time. See, I didn’t even know he had a name! Who would’ve guessed that a trunk-donning bearded man is actually lord over some house? I imagine it’s big, as you don’t call someone “Master” for nothing. You have to understand, I was about six when I first met him. And personal histories of made-up half-naked characters were not exactly on my priority list at that time.

Anyway, what other things I found out about him did surprise me. As to the veracity of these information, I can only assume and take in all good faith. But hey, we cook up our own little realities, anyway. So anyhow, here are some of the few facts that I only found out now about my “unfinished business”:

• The cap he is wearing actually carries the brand of Marlboro

• Master Higgins is a chain-smoker (I don’t know why they let a chain-smoking man run through the woods like that. It’s no wonder he gets all spent up so easily. His lungs aren’t made for such a physical endeavor. Then again, maybe that’s why they placed those skateboards in those eggs in the first place. To give that much-needed lift when his oxygen is already running low, thanks to all the nicotine stuck in his lungs.)

• He has a physical condition (lung cancer?) that thus requires him to be always fed. This “illness” would explain why it is imperative of him to fill up his life tank with the various tropical fruits scattered about.

Now, that’s as far as I got to Master Higgins’ personal history. At least that question mark in my head was finally answered. So now, on to the more important matter at hand: finishing the quest I started with Master Higgins. Frankly, I only got as far as Area 6, probably, in the game. And while this side-scroller basically just “recycles” its sceneries (daytime in the forest, jumping on clouds over seas and islands, nighttime in the forest, castle of the “Big Boss”), the difficulty does increase, and so does the number of those pesky little creatures out to make your adventure just a tad bit more miserable for you.

So, that would be about six Big Bosses confronted – all looking exactly the same, with that heavy bling of a skull wrapped around their necks (Randy Jackson could’ve been inspired by this character) – and still, no sight of Master Higgins’ lady. Heck, I don’t even know how many Big Bosses I have to defeat to get to the lady! Actually, I would have to be incredulous and doubt if there ever was a lady to begin with. For all I know, Master Higgins is just one of those characters who survived the plane crash in “LOST”, or he could be just out for a weekend getaway and decided he’ll have an adventure in the wild.

I don’t know. And frankly, I don’t really want to question the motives of Hudson Soft as to why they decided to plant that guy in that island to confront those snails, and birds, and swordfish, and monsters. What I really want to do is to finally see the ending of the game. Not just to see it, but to actually finish it. Savor the triumph of my good ol’ Master Higgins, now happily in the arms of his (imaginary?) lady.

Now, don’t misinterpret, guys. I am not asking for someone to spoil the ending for me by sending a video clip of it (although I’m pretty sure I could find one up at YouTube). Actually, I wouldn’t really mind as it’s the whole experience that would count more for me. And I sure as heck bet that there are oodles of people out there who have finished their business with Adventure Island, hence it is now peacefully stashed away in their basements. I just happen to be one of those unlucky enough to still be haunted by it.

Given another chance, I would definitely love to see Adventure Island on our next-gens. But it has to be the classic one. The very first Adventure Island title. We’ve been seeing a lot of retro-games coming back to life, thanks to remakes and ports on content providers like Xbox Live. So maybe my wish isn’t so farfetched at all.

Anyhow, my “unfinished business” rant is over (yes, news is slow like that today) and I just had to have company in my misery. So I asked the other guys here at QJ about what is their biggest “game frustration” and I found out that most of us still have some major NES hang-ups. Dang those classics.

Rica M:Crash Bandicoot
Victor B: Super Mario Bros.
Karl B:Evo
Ryan C:Contra
Ian C: Mega Man
Ryan A:Custer’s Revenge (LOL!)

So, which game do you need to get some closure with?