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Why are we all gamers today?

There's something about games, be it the visual stimulus, be it the audio stimulus, be it the tactile stimulus, that etches impressions on our brains that tend to linger more than anything else.

You have songs that you love today, that you forget by next month. You keep pictures to remind you of trips, because after you return home, back to the daily grind, you tend to forget. You pull out the album and reminisce when you are feeling blue.

There's something about a great game though. Hearing the familiar music. Seeing the bright colors. Getting the adreniline rush as you pound the buttons or die for the eightieth time and just stop yourself from flinging your controllers. Everything combined makes things that much more memorable.

When you are feeling such strong emotions and your body and mind are in such sublime synch, it just creates a reality unlike any other. It snaps you completely into the present, gives you a sort of a high. You just don't FEEL that everyday. When you do, you start to associate other things around you to that moment. Who are you playing the game with? What season is it? Summer or Winter? What's your snack of choice while playing? Who DOESN'T have memories of staying up til the wee hours of the morning trying to finish a game/beat a boss/come out ahead in a multiplayer game with a bunch of buddies?

Games just bring you back to happier times. The Virtual Console has been a trip down memory lane for me as much as it's been a revisiting of some of the best moments of gaming history.

With all things there are some good and bad though. Some times things aren't as rosy as you remember them. Some games don't stand the test of time. Other games are timeless, but sometimes familiarity breeds contempt. You love the game, but you've played through it a million, billion times. It brings back great memories, but they're short lived cause it almost seems old to you now. There's nothing new to discover.

What if, though, you could have the best of both worlds? What if you could have a game that evokes the strongest of memories with sight and sound and familiar play... BUT IT'S REALLY BRAND NEW? I imagine my brain and body being absolutely fooled into saying: "Ah. This is just like that June day sooo many years ago when I got my coveted copy of MegaMan 2 in the mail! I played that game to death! But... What's this?! Who's this Concrete Man? Who is this Splash Woman? That Dragon's bulgie eyes look awfully familiar! I need to jump on my Rush Jet and get the heck outta here! Arrrggghhh disappearing platforms! If I could get by them back then, I'll sure as hell NOT be stopped now...!" And so on and so on...

The perfect blending of perfect memories, bringing you back while soundly kicking your ass in the present. This game couldn't be done justice any other way. Sure they could have done it HD. Sure they could have added frames of animation. It just wouldn't have the same effect. Imagine Mario picking up coins and hearing "plunk" rather than "ching." Imagine Link opening a chest, holding up the compass, and hearing absolutely nothing! Doesn't seem right? Does it?

MegaMan had his heyday back on the 8-bit NES. It's only appropriate to have him return there. Would you rather play a game that kicks your ass in HD and reminds you how old you are... OR ...Would you rather have a game that kicks your ass old-school and reminds you of when you were a kid?

I know what my answer would be!