Happy 2001, Revolution-Europe! Alright, I know it's 2006, but I have been tasked with reliving the last five years as a Nintendo fan for the purposes of getting you all warm and nostalgic for the consoles you probably still have plugged into your TV. But it wasn't all (Super Mario) sunshine and lollipops... I will also be reliving those moments of despair.

Let me set the scene for you... it's 2001, I'm 17 years old and at a sixth form college, final year. I have been working hard to make up for the fact I am not doing exceptionally well at my studies. One reason for that is that I am in a relationship that has more to do with arguing than having fun... the other reason is Pokémon on the Game Boy Color. I have been inseparable from the series ever since its belated release. I have been a regular visitor on Pokémon forums, absorbing strategies and building an awesome team � and now I have Gold and Silver to play as well. I have been working on a website called Pocket Monster Island for a few months and it's coming along � not too badly, but good enough.

Then, in May, all of that begins to change. It's the E3 where we get our first proper look at the Gamecube software library. Luigi's Mansion looks amazing, Wave Race looks like a step-up from the original (well... first impressions aren't always right), Pikmin looks like a peculiar little title... oh, and let's not forget Super Smash Bros. Melee. Suddenly everything changes. I drop Pocket Monster Island in a flash, and set up Nintendo Database. My love for Nintendo � old and new � is revitalised by the trophy mode video at IGN. I need SSBM more than anything else right now... but in the meantime I establish my website and celebrate at the fact that the PS2's graphics look dire, the Dreamcast is already on its last legs and the X-Box is a (literally) massive failure waiting to happen. It must be Nintendo's time to shine once more!

Oh, and let's not forget the mid-year release of the Game Boy Advance! I didn't snap one up straight away (the first few games weren't all that inspiring), but I still got hold of one later that year... with the obsessive-compulsive Kuru Kuru Kururin. Never before has an odd little title been so adorable and yet so infuriating within the first few seconds. Suffice to say, the rest of the year is spent catching up on classic Nintendo titles.

So 2002 appears. I am now 18 and at university. The Gamecube is due out in May, and I have one on standby with Luigi's Mansion and Wave Race. I have been trying to play my Game Boy Advance, but it has two major drawbacks � the screen is very dark and there are only two places in my university accommodation where I can see the screen, and the batteries don't last long enough for me to get very far in the excellent Advance Wars. I also betray my instincts in the lead up to the Gamecube launch by purchasing a Dreamcast with a few games. When Luigi's Mansion finally arrives I fall in love with the graphics, but even more with Luigi's bumbling character. Wave Race, on the other hand, fails to inspire me in the same way � the controls are over-sensitive, the water effects are choppy, and it generally pales next to the amazement I felt when I first saw Wave Race 64 in action.

Then Super Smash Bros. Melee arrives shortly after. I don't put it down for a week. The game sells like hot cakes, and the Gamecube sells well along with it. Brilliant stuff. During the summer I attended the 'Game On' exhibition at the Barbican Centre in London, play some classic arcade games (Donkey Kong got a lot of attention) and have my first go on Super Mario Sunshine. It's as good as I hoped it would be � a real feeling of dizzying vertical scope in a Super Mario 64 style game. I have always loved Mario games and I always will. When Sunshine arrived I had come down with a particularly nasty cold, giving me the perfect excuse to sit in front of it for hours on end, not attending lectures. I traded my Dreamcast in to buy Pikmin and Eternal Darkness. The Cube was on a roll.

I got a job working in the games department of Norwich Toys R Us, and eventually caved to pressure to buy a Playstation 2 with Ico and Kingdom Hearts. I also got around 70% of the way through StarFox Adventures � a game I didn't particularly enjoy, but which I was determined to complete. Then in January 2003, came the first crash in my enthusiasm...

My student house was broken into, and the Gamecube, PS2 and all of my games were stolen, along with a housemate's �500 watch and both of our bags to carry the loot. I felt dead inside � they hadn't just stolen my property, but hours upon hours of my time and effort (they didn't leave the memory cards � perish the thought!) Insurance? Bah... Endsleigh Insurance � the official insurance company of the Student Union � had hidden away in its smallprint that no videogames or videogame systems were covered by the policy. I was without either of my consoles... the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo 64 were all I had... Oh, and the Wavebird controller (but not the wireless receiver), as the thieves had dropped it on the way out.

So, we got good at Mario Tennis 64, and Metroid Fusion became the first Metroid game I completed all the way through. My parents donated a sum of money to help me replace the system, and an independent videogame retailer gave me a discount on replacement games � they deserve a plug for that � Chips in Norwich helped me get my game collection back up and running.

Oh, we got broken into again on the 6th March (my birthday) � they didn't take my replacement games console this time, but they did nick someone's mobile phone and rummage around for cash. The next day we were due to renew our contract with the landlord � surprise surprise we didn't.

With my job at Toys R Us at an end, and my student loan finally getting me out of the red, it was time to catch up on what I missed. I did complete StarFox Adventures, and it sucked just as much the second time through. Super Mario Sunshine was re-completed and loved, and I got all of my trophies back in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Metroid Prime and Wind Waker were released, and I lavished a lot of attention upon them � but to this day I've never completed Prime. Wind Waker was another sit-down-and-play-till-it's-done game. I loved it, even the sailing, but the Triforce Hunt at the end was a bit of a farce. In May we also had WarioWare, Inc. This fantastic Advance game was as mad as the reviews said, and grew in popularity through word of mouth, rather than marketing. Insane, fast, and a call back to gaming styles of old.

During 2003 Rare separated from Nintendo and joined Microsoft. I heard about this in the Guardian newspaper � as I had no internet connection for nine months. I tried to get one, but instead spent literally hours each day on the phone to technicians and help desks trying to work out why the connection wasn't working on my computer. In July we moved to a nicer house and got broadband immediately... NTL worked it out. I was back online, back in action with Nintendo Database and back in the gaming loop. Lucky for me E3 2003 wasn't all that exciting. Donkey Konga and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga were the biggest announcements in my eyes. I had returned to a dejected fanbase. It's funny how much can change in a few months.

Wind Waker had divided opinions so much that Zelda websites were closing down or nearly dead. Nintendo's strategy for the next year wasn't the most encouraging, and people all over were thinking the company was on its way out. Despite putting out some excellent games, 2003 became one of Nintendo's darkest years � at least towards the end. Would they pull out of the console race altogether? Would they allow themselves to be bought up by Microsoft as well? How can a company so far behind in sales still be going in such a competitive market? Stores weren't stocking Cube titles, and third parties were leaving. The same happened during the N64 days, and like those days, the Nintendo fans grew anxious.

Nobody bothered to mention at the time that Nintendo's profitable (yet affordable) hardware and software, and their almost total dominance of the handheld market, meant that of the Big Three console manufacturers, they were in fact the most profitable, even with fewer sales. The company was still thriving, and nobody knew it yet, but the success of WarioWare, Inc. had given Nintendo a new philosophy that would launch it into 2004 to the present day and beyond.

Well into my third year of university, at the start of 2004, I was back to where I began � Pokemon Sapphire and Colosseum were top of my play list, only to be usurped by Mario Kart: Double Dash for the week or so it took me to unlock everything � I always love a new Mario Kart. So what would this year hold for Nintendo? More rumours of the company's impending doom? More suggestions that they should drop out of the console race? Well... at first perhaps. Then rumours circulated about the Nitro, later to be called the Nintendo DS. And then E3 happened.

At first, the Nintendo DS looked insane. It was a 3D handheld system with heavy 2D support. Almost a new 3D Game Boy... but then it had two screens like the old Multiscreen Game & Watch games (tricky blighters to control), and one of those was touch sensitive. Oh, and it had a microphone, rechargable battery, GBA cart port and wifi access. Nintendo had gone mad in the head. 'Who wants new kinds of games?', the people cried. As the year went on, the system garnered more and more support. The Gamecube took advantage of the new philosophy with the DK Bongos and the microphone, the Game Boy Advance suddenly grew a load of quirky minigames and puzzle games. This was a new face for the company... and the only thing that could ruin it would be if the DS failed. 2004 closed with the DS available in Japan and the US. Early signs were promising, despite strong competition from Sony's PSP.

Oh, and let's not forget � E3 2004 was also the first time we saw the new Gamecube Zelda. When I first caught the screenshots and movie, I quickly told a friend over Instant Messenger: "Don't fool around, that's not funny!" they said... "The link is broken, is this a joke?" � No joke, I cried... keep refreshing the page... it's just busy. "Holy S**t!" � I take it the page loaded for them then. It was enough to lift the spirits of any wavering Nintendo fan. If the DS didn't do it, the Twilight Princess certainly would.

Before we leave 2004 for good, I just want to step in with my two cents regarding other releases that year. First of all came the NES Classics series. Cynical attempt to cash in or not, they sold well. Some games were more cynical than others, but no-one can deny that having the original Xevious or Zelda on a Game Boy Advance is a good thing. On Gamecube we were blessed with Pikmin 2 � the brilliant, massive sequel to the brilliant, short Pikmin. We also finally received Animal Crossing after just two and a half years of waiting for Nintendo Europe to translate it. 2004 was not Gamecube's best, but the 2005 lineup was already looking pretty good. It ended on a high note with Zelda: The Minish Cap turning out to be one of the best Game Boy Advance games to date � perhaps second only to Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.

And so we move on to the year just passed. As we all know, 2005 saw a massive turnaround for Nintendo. Not only did the Game Boy Advance continue to dominate the handheld sector, but the Nintendo DS launch in Europe mirrored the success of the other regions (plus the early VIP Pak for people who had lots of Nintendo games to spare). We also received Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat � one of the finest 2D platformers in two console generations, StarFox Assault (which is actually very enjoyable, though short), Four Swords Adventures (which is just as fun in multiplayer as Nintendo promised). Then Nintendogs on the DS caused sales of the system to skyrocket worldwide.

E3 brought more good news again, as Nintendo unveiled the basic hardware for the Nintendo Revolution. Sleek, compact, boasting the ability to play Gamecube and Revolution discs, and with an internal Virtual Console that allowed you to download and store games from the NES, SNES and N64 libraries. Oh, and of course it's wifi enabled. It was a confusing moment though, as no games and no controller were shown. How was it a Revolution? What were its specs? Why was no software shown despite Sony and Microsoft showing off their next-gen efforts? Didn't matter... the fact that Nintendo was still in the console market was enough for some, and the mystery behind the controller � the real revolutionary aspect � caused excited fans to guess frantically as to what it could be.

And we found out. It was a motion sensitive remote control, capable of detecting motion in three dimensions, and with a port for limitless peripheral support depending on the games you use. This was the revolution right here. As insane as the DS, but just as accessible and easy to use. Its success seems assured, right?

As the year 2005 came to a close, Nintendo unleashed an army of games: from Pokemon XD through to Super Mario Strikers. Sadly Twilight Princess was pushed back until 2006, leaving many wondering what the game of the year would be. Turns out it was Mario Kart DS � Nintendo's first foray into wifi enabled gaming. Connect up to a wireless network (or create one at home), race against anybody in the world... it was Nintendo's first shot at online gaming, and a userbase of nearly half of all owners of the game shot Nintendo from last place in the online race to first. Again, I completed the whole thing before settling down to take on the rest of the world � and I won my first challenge easily. Heh heh.

And so, I started 2001 with high hopes for a runaway Nintendo victory, and I end in 2005 even more elated. The Game Boy Advance is clearly on its last legs, and the Gamecube has some last-minute games to squeeze in before it too dies out, but with the DS and the Revolution garnering so much support from developers worldwide, here's hoping that by 2011 Nintendo will still be surprising us and exciting us.

And here's to a happy 2006 � with all the WiFi Pokemon and Mario Kart we can handle!

~Fryguy64~
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