My grandkids won't even know what hit 'em

Speaking as a person who can still beat Super Mario Brothers (anyone who visits can witness this feat and play along on my retro NES from junior high which I still own) I found this to be an incredibly entertaining video, even if it isn’t exactly a spot-on re-creation of the first level. Close, but not exactly.

The sad thing is that I really have no ability to play video games anymore other than those I learned how to play when I was a kid. Have you *seen* the controllers these days? I mean, the simple joysticks of the Atari 2600 and the paddles from Pong have mutated into unrecognizable hunks of plastic covered with eleventy billion buttons that require at least three people* to actually use. I was okay from Atari through the Super Nintendo but i think my ability maxed out with the idea of "shoulder buttons". I happen to own a Playstation and a bunch of games I bought off a friend cheap. but I can't play any of the games without looking down to see which button I should be using. This makes me sad. Sad that I cannot share in America's passion for whichever version of Madden is current, sad that I will be getting schooled by my grandkids in "Madden 2045" much the same way that my grandpa used to school me at pool. Why am I getting the short end of the stick on both generational ends?

But then I throw my cartridge of Super Tecmo Bowl** into the ol' NES and charge through the playoffs on the strength of Lawrence Taylor's coke-induced speed on defense. Then, suddenly it all feels better. Sure, I may not be able to operate the 17-button combos to use Finishing moves in Mortal Combat. Sure, I may never have experienced the joy of beating a virtual prostitute to death in Grand Theft Auto. But I have laid waste to every buffalo between Jefferson City and The Dalles in Oregon Trail, my Lemonade Stand taught me how to run my own small business, mastered the woodland and aquatic food chains thanks to Odell Woods and Odell Lake***, and always knew where Carmen Sandiego was. And I feel somewhat better about myself knowing that kids of the future won't have anywhere *near* the patience to learn how to master those games so I'll be able to school them every time they come over. Now I just have to keep my old school, non-HD TV working until I'm 85...

* Two of which are either double jointed or tentacled like octopuses/i
** Or the original if I'm feeling particularly retro-hipster
*** Watch out for the Osprey!