The History that Veered Toward Catalogue Territory

The way that the Game & Watch (G&W) games are handled is definitely with a view to collecting them. But, what's most peculiar about the entries that Gorges has written up for each of the different games is how much he emphasizes their stories.

With the later games this makes some sense (they could scroll after all, and had multiple levels), but even early games like Turtle Bridge and Octopus are praised for their story. But these games, and others from their generation, are just one screen deals. Though attaching stories to such simple games really highlights the human mind's propensity to find patterns and add meaning where at first glance there's little to none.

After all, all of the G&W games present players with certain situations, and introduce various characters in doing so. So all the context is there, and then the story is built around it - which is kind of incredible. I mean, these games really show how the mind can fill in minor story gaps so long as all of that story's elements and context are present. Plus, the mental act of filling those gaps is sure to give a great deal of satisfaction.

Of course, as Nintendo discovered through the G&W games and onwards, stimulating players' minds helped to open up wallets as well as imaginations.