Nintendo Quest

I rated Nintendo Quest (2015) 5/10. A whiny man child (and someone who I'm sure I would find interminably annoying to be with any amount of time, let alone a massive road trip) buys video games for nostalgic reasons. This really didn't need to be a feature doc and I'm sure would have been fine as a YouTube show. Feels too much like a student film to be good.

They leave a lot of information out that you're going to want to see.

Look, I grew up in the 80s and I thought this would be a cool little flick that brings back a little nostalgia. Unfortunately, it's mostly 90 minutes of a rich soy boy whining and overall just giving the men a bad name. Grown men getting emotional over Nintendo games. Laughably pathetic. I think I could actually feel testosterone leaking out of my body while I watched this film. 3 stars simply because the NES was an awesome part of my childhood.

I suppose I'm of a similar age to the protagonist in this movie and his friends, and I've got to say that even after all these years, seeing those grey NES cartridges getting stacked, sorted, and lined up gives me tingles. I can't help it! I still have my own personal collection from childhood stored away (all seven games I collected between birthdays and Christmases).

The movie's a fun little romp, filled with neat tidbits about classic NES games and a cool look at some independent game stores across Canada and the US.

One omission that seemed strange to me was that the filmmakers largely left out any details regarding money, both in terms of Jay's overall budget and how much he ended up paying for the majority of the games. Ostensibly, this was to keep the story focused on "the pursuit," but without key details, I found myself beginning to lose interest since it was never quite clear what was at stake.

But it was all worth it for the segment with Todd Rogers. In particular, the scene where he points out to Jay all the games he cheated on... er I mean, has the high score on. Hilarious!

The documentary follows Jay Bartlett on his quest to purchase all 678 officially licensed NES games in 30 days with no help from the internet. Along the way, director Rob McCallum narrates on the history of Nintendo, interviews gaming legends, and explains the enjoyment of retro gaming today. Scenes transition seamlessly between Jay's story and Rob's narration. Much can be said about the quality of Nintendo Quest's editing.

It can easily hold its own against higher profile gaming documentaries such as King of Kong and Video Games The Movie

A level of connection is made with Jay as we go along on his journey through the ups, downs, and in-betweens. The challenges and triumphs faced throughout create an emotional experience for gamers and non- gamers alike