2023 ViTNO Writer’s Contest – Entry #1 – “BLUE BOMBING : THE FIRST MOMENT I WISHED WOULD NEVER END”

So when I read in Nintendo Power about a Mega Man 3 game coming soon, I nearly lost control of my sphincter from joy. Despite it being slightly less exciting than Mega Man 2, this third game gave me my first “I wish this moment would never end” realization.

We all know what this is. You’re walking, talking, enjoying something, and suddenly… everything stops. The exact place where you are, the smell, the taste, the beauty of what’ before your eyes, the vibe… everything seems so well put together that nothing is important anymore, except for this precise instant. What happens around you suddenly no longer has any hold. A delicious and calm euphoria sets in and you feel the best you’ve ever felt. Despite feeling no exuberance at all, you’re the happiest person alive. You start to feel the time passing by and not affecting you at all. You invariably whisper to yourself “I wish this moment would never end”. Then, a gust of wind blows, the phone rings, the sun gets hidden by a passing cloud – something trivial jerks you back to your senses. You slowly become aware of your surroundings again. The moment is forever gone but never forgotten.

We spend a great deal of our lives trying to recreate these instants. We frequently come back to the same places, order the same food, put on the same music we listened to… sometimes unconsciously. All in the hopes of experiencing this again. Most of the time, we cannot – somehow, the tiny hint of excitement is always missing. But it never stops us from trying. Long story short, for this initial feeling of awesomeness, I must thank Capcom and the whole team behind Mega Man 3.

It was a July weekend. My parents were out of town for Saturday night; I would be sleeping at my grandparents’ about a mile away. I had permission to bring my NES; I had pushed my luck

into asking for a ride to that famous convenience store, so I could get some new game to grit my teeth on. Guess who was waiting for me next to the beer fridge?

The fateful moment didn’t happen that night. I remember not playing any NES at all, only eating dessert, talking with the gramps and my youngest aunt, who was still living with her parents at the time. The night went great. Then came the dawn.

With my parents coming back by dinner time on Sunday, nobody saw any problem with me going home and spending the day by myself. So I quickly got up at my childish-gaming time (6:30 or 7 AM), ate a peanut-butter toast, packed up, and walked the mile back to my flat in one of the most beautiful rural mornings I remember seeing. The sun was blazing, but not extremely hot. Not a cloud in sight, just the bluest sky and a cold, soft breeze on my cheeks. Nobody else was outside; the neighborhood farms usually got to work as soon as the cock crowed, but this morning, the village was slowly breathing like a sleepy dragon, in a near-total silence, lullabied by the crows and chaffinches.

That didn’t faze me at all, I rather enjoyed it, to be honest. I had always been a bit of a lone wolf. Socially, choosing European comic books over daily dodgeball or hockey instantly made me fall in the Nerd category. So with the exception of a couple of close friends and some acquaintances that liked when I made them laugh, I was used to being by myself and not getting along with the majority. Going back home this sunday morning, on a mile of burning asphalt, by all standards, I should have been making plans to go play by the river or in the nearby fields. But I didn’t care for any of that. In a short while, I’d be meeting the Blue Bomber again, and that’s all that mattered to me.

Key in the lock, get in, lock the door back, shoes off, living room. NES on the floor, RF switch on the TV, power supply in the outlet. Cartridge in the NES.
TV on. NES on.

In the house, a fresh country breeze. Through the window, a single sun ray shining on my shirt, trying one last time to change my mind and coax me back outside. No one around. In my hands, the stimulating texture of a control pad. And… the music.

For once, I’d like paper, web pages and PDF to be able to transmit vibrations and sounds, to make you feel what has amplified the emotion of this precise second. Please fire up Youtube on any intelligent device next to you, and search for ‘Mega Man 3 Intro’. The first video you’ll find should do the work. I just did the same, and now I’m writing this with childish tears in my eyes…

I probably stayed an entire hour on the title screen. Sitting down, control pad in hand. Marveled. Stuck. Unable to take my eyes away from the screen. Unable to obey the simple invitation to PRESS START. With the one-minute music that you’re hearing now if you followed my instructions. Playing in a loop. Don’t get me wrong, the Mega Man games are acclaimed for their fantastic soundtracks, but like any music, you’ll get tired of hearing them over and over. It wasn’t just that.

It was… internal peace. I felt really, really great in my skin. Comfortable with myself and the passing of time. No need for anybody to socialize with. No judging myself, or getting judged for being too introverted. No need to subject myself to life’s crazy scenarios. No school, no homework, no work. No insecurity, no social standards. No bullies. No crazy society, no responsibilities. Only me. Living. Breathing. Living again. Being one with life. One with the game. And by extension, by emotion, being one with the millions of people trying to escape life momentarily by basking in a video game’s fictional world, and trying to find comfort in a sometimes thrilling and sometimes soothing experience.

I uttered “I wish this moment would never end” with all my heart. Probably many times. After an hour, or a century, I really don’t know, even my inner kid must have thought that was enough because I slowly came down by myself. I became aware of the house surroundings again, I started feeling back the control pad in my hand… and I finally pressed start.

Writing this is my first attempt to properly explain, as closely as possible, that first experience. I don’t expect every reader out there to understand it, but going back to explore this precise instant in time took me as close as possible to that initial feeling – and that made for an awesome moment of its own.

Life made it a point quite fast of reminding me of my own place in the world and the responsibilities that came with it; but to this day I’ve never forgotten that Sunday morning, in my parents’ living room, bathed, in the sun, soothed by an 8-bit music, at peace, and wishing it would never end.

Now that I think of it, maybe the moment didn’t end after all. It just got away a bit and took a little distance. It allowed me to live other moments and to feel other feelings. But all this time, it was there, like a caring parent, waiting for me to come back to it when things would get too hectic. To take me in its arms and soothe my nerves. Only needing to be cherished, nurtured and talked about once in a while.

I guess that’s what keeps it alive.

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