As reported yesterday Satoru Iwata, the CEO of Nintendo, passed away on July 11, 2015. Most people knew he was having health problems and he had not participated at E3 to have surgery for his bile duct growth. Unfortunately, while it was reported the surgery was a success it seems the unpredictable happened and it took his life regardless. The magnitude of his death is still being felt today.
Personally, Iwata was a big part of my childhood growing up and even now. I still play video games, I still play the ones he had a huge part in (Super Smash Bros., Kirby, Pokemon, Mario, and so on), and I still cherish all the smiles and laughs his contributions brought me. It's extremely depressing to know the man who played a role in how you grew up is now gone -- he didn't even get to live life to the fullest.
While I did, for part of my childhood, play SEGA games it was when I moved onto the N64 I discovered Nintendo's franchises and loved them. From Super Mario 64 to Mario Kart 64 to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I was mystified and couldn't pull myself away from them for hours at a time. Those were the years I played video games every day.
The first game I can recall where Iwata had directly contributed to that I played was Kirby's Adventure. I remember my parents having bought a used NES sometime after we had a 64 and we eventually went out to buy a couple of NES games for it. Things like Baseball, Mega Man 3, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Kirby's Adventure. The last game of the bunch is the one I remember the most fondly.
Kirby's Adventure was a game which I felt so accomplished for playing through it, I specifically remember smiling the whole time I was playing it. My memory is fuzzy on my entire playthrough but I will never forget towards the end of the game. I struggled with the end of the game and when I finally beat King DeDeDe I thought that was it but then . . . the game surprised me! I had another boss and then another to beat! Needless to say, the final, final boss gave me the most trouble.
At the time, I thought the final boss was "dracula" (since back then, I didn't have the manual for Kirby's Adventure -- I know now it's Nightmare) or something. And it legitimately kind of frightened me -- however, when the music kicked in I knew I had to beat him. As a kid, this boss was no joke -- Kirby games have always been considered relatively easy but when you're young, they can actually be pretty difficult. I remember Nightmare took me several tries to beat and when I finally did it, I jumped up triumphantly and smiled. I felt so accomplished that day . . . like I could do anything if I put my mind to it. It was one of the first few games I ever completed on my own without any help from anyone.
It's moments like that Iwata created. Even if he wasn't the one behind Nightmare itself, he was part of that project and if it weren't for him Kirby's Adventure probably wouldn't have been what it was -- what it became (became as in a long-standing franchise following the same theme of just plain old fun). I'm sure without Iwata, Earthbound wouldn't have ever touched the hearts of thousands of people because it wouldn't have ever come out. His work as a programmer has touched the lives of many.
Moments like when you first beat the Pokemon League in Pokemon Gold/Silver and go back to Prof. Elm only to be told you can visit Kanto -- for the first time -- were only possible because of Iwata. Pokemon Stadium was only possible because of Iwata. These games would have either been completely different or not even existed without him. And it's because these games existed and we played them . . . he partially shaped who we are today.
That's all I wanted to say on this -- may you rest in peace, Satoru Iwata. You will always be remembered for the smiles and fun you've given everyone.
