Nintendo Quest

"Nintendo Quest" had promise, but the execution is way off. The idea itself is cool: you've got 30 days to hunt down every last official NES title in existence (no online purchases). That means road trip, and already we're talking great movie, right? Game over, man.

It's not that this is a bad movie, but it suffers from reality TV production methods and it doesn't give us all of the relevant information. We never know the budget for this quest or how the majority of these games cost. And the negotiating scenes are painfully drawn out. Why spend screen time listening to an awful speakerphone or listening to someone read aloud text messages when this could be better conveyed through a graphic? When all else fails, let the director insert himself into the thing and scream plot information.

The odd thing of it is that it actually becomes a downer after awhile. Jay spends his time in one store after another, getting depressed over the price-gouging and cynicism that collecting can engender.

There's good to be had, but it's primarily in the opening; an examination of the console's enduring longevity and appeal. That sequence gets into the gamer in all of us. If only the rest of it weren't so morose.

4/10

Seems like the whole thing was a kickstarter to get a mate of theirs a bunch of games cheaper than what they usually run for. The camera is there to simply shame people into giving them what they want. I don't know if there is a term for this? Docogrifting?

I did enjoy them meeting the other collectors and stores. In fact, I wish that is all the doco was about.

A bit disappointed when they started slamming the owners of stores. Jay ends up as a guy you just aren't hoping to succeed.

There is some fun information in here, but the concept ends up getting in the way strangely.

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

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.