TITLE
Why ‘The Wizard’ Captivated a Generation of Nintendo Fans
AUTHOR
Katie Baker
PUBLICATION
The Ringer
YEAR
2020
ARTICLE TYPE
Article
FROM THE ARTICLE
In the glorious and strange universe of the 1989 film The Wizard, to be a drifter kid in the remote reaches of Nevada on the cusp of the 1990s was to have some of the world’s finest contemporary video game equipment constantly within reach. Every dusty, hostile bus-depot-slash-saloon on the long, hot road between Utah and Lake Tahoe? Outfitted with a state-of-the-art Nintendo PlayChoice-10 arcade machine, the better for a bunch of young runaways to toggle between Double Dragon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles while hustling the locals.Those classifieds lying around some random rural diner? They just so happen to contain ads for an upcoming live, lucrative gamer showdown within macro-hitchhiking distance called Video Armageddon. And that one faintly-mustachioed young townie lord, who is worshiped by his pack of loitering goons? Oh, that’s just Lucas, the proprietor of not only 97 extremely organized Nintendo cartridges, but also one satisfyingly bespoke carrying case containing the semi-mythical, proto-VR Nintendo accessory known as the Power Glove.
“I love the Power Glove,” says the character, with sneering final boss menace, literally flexing on a quiet young video game savant named Jimmy as an unforgiving desert vista sprawls beyond them. “It’s so bad.” And I love that line; I remember it in the same visceral, full-body way I remember the jingles for My Buddy and Juicy Fruit gum.
GAMES MENTIONED
Power Glove
Super Mario Bros. 3
PEOPLE MENTIONED
Luke Edwards
PLATFORMS MENTIONED
Nintendo Entertainment System [NES]
TOPICS MENTIONED
Playing Games in Film and TV