"When a game makes room for our words, our tastes, our creations, we become a part of it. And if it feels like this world has a soul, maybe that's because we infuse it with our own."

GENRE: Non-Fiction
RATING:4.25/5
FORMAT:eBook/physical ARC

Review:
What a nostalgic book on Nintendo games and what a visit through all our games that we grew up with. I'm slowly expanding into non-fiction and so I took this book one step at a time, read a chapter and just digested it in terms of nostalgia. It reminded me of so many things throughout my life in terms of gaming and my god, the memories I had forgotten. One of the games I was obsessed with was Nintendo Dogs and I had totally forgotten about it till reading this book.

Diving into Super Nintendo and reading about the various games was a fun journey. I didn't get to play all of them as I am Deaf and games didnt always have subtitles so they werent accessible. And yet, I grew up around Mario, Zelda and so much more.

This is a non-fiction that tells you so much about Nintendo itself but also tells you about how we keep our child spirit alive long after we've grown up and life has taken over and how a lot of people now are passing this love of Nintendo to the next generation.

It was also so interesting to see how Nintendo focuses on innovation and creativity as opposed to always aiming for a fast turnover, especially in today's climate. The idea that no work goes to waste in the long run was also super interesting. It's the balance between productivity and creativity that was explained so well in here and leaves you feeling inspired. It's the idea that we do things for the sake of enjoying them and then hoping it succeeds rather than designing something to succeed without any joy in it, but in an efficient and smart way.

Another notable thing was the fact that Nintendo slowly expanded to different population for gaming, which included everyone from kids to older people that would not have grown around Gaming itself. Its watching all generations fall in love with coming together and playing, whether it's truly Wii Sports, Mario, Animal Crossing and more.

And finally, the start of games because they're vibe-based and cozy started here in Nintendo and if you dont know me, Cozy games are my FAVOURITE so reading into this, seeing how the way was paved by Animal Crossing and generally Nintendo was a fun dive into the history of cozy gaming itself.

This was a lovely, nostalgic book. I think its a great read for those who don't usually pick non-fiction but love gaming to remind you of the memories we grew up with over the years (no matter when you did) and if you're new to gaming, it's a great book to see how Nintendo and the love for gaming started. I was provided a free advance reader copy and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.