Here we have a very special Angry Video Game Nerd episode. Not only is does this one cover an incredibly important game in Nintendo history, the Nintendo World Championships competition cartridge, but it also features a crossover between both James Rolfe as the Nerd and Pat Contri as Pat the NES Punk. During this time Pat was focusing his creative efforts on his NES Punk character, doing his own series of NES game reviews in a method similar to, but still distinct from, that of James and the Angry Video Game Nerd character. With Pat gaining possession of not one but two copies of the Nintendo World Championships cartridge, one gray and one gold, a crossover project began involving the Nerd and the Punk, with one story-line as a part of Pat’s videos and a slightly different one being put into the Nerd episode we’re looking at here.
At the time I was a fan of Pat Contri’s work. I still think the NES Punk series and character were pretty cool, but Pat has decided to take his creative efforts in another direction that I just can’t really follow. It was damn cool, though, at the time to see both James and Pat, as their respective characters, do such a project, especially one focused on such a special game as Nintendo World Championships. Enough back story, though – on to the video itself.
It opens with The Nerd getting a box of games (presumably the ones procured in the Pat The NES Punk videos) which includes the extremely rare Nintendo World Championships. The Nerd tells the story of the contest and the cartridges. Excited to no end, he tears into the box to find nothing more than a modern reproduction cartridge. A cool find, sure, but incredibly disappointing. The Nerd laments this until he realizes he knows another guy crazy on game collecting who “may have a copy.”
He gives Pat a call to invite him over (along with this NWC cartridge) so they can play it together After a bit of back and forth, Pat agrees to bring the NWC cartridge over. Reluctantly handing it over, the Nerd claims it’s fake and offers to trade it for a copy of Combat on the Atari 2600. After that obvious false start, he changes his offer to anything in the box the Nerd got in the beginning of the episode. This box, of course, is filled with generic junk for the most part until Pat pulls out a copy of Zelda. What he thinks is a copy of Zelda anyway – instead, it’s actually a Nintendo World Championships gold cartridge — the “holy grail” of NES collecting.
The Nerd notices this and, after a quick bluffing game from Pat, the two pull the cartridge out and begin to practically worship it — the “most sought after video game on the planet” according to Pat. Thanks to the trade offer the Nerd made, Pat claims the game should be his as opposed to the Nerd. There’s a back and forth where they try to bluff one another to each get the gold cart each one dreaming of what they would do with it if they had it. Their greed and urge to own both rising, eventually deciding that the best way to determine who gets both games is to compete by playing the game!
Of course, they can’t play the real cartridges — after all, they must “never be played” and instead they choose to try out the reproduction cartridge. After a comedic exchange about the “Nintoaster” the Nerd uses, the competition is on!
The Nerd goes first, unfamiliar with the game in any capacity. He’s shocked to learn it’s just Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer, and Tetris with special rules – the goal being to complete the game requirements and get the highest score possible by the end of the time limit!
All through the Nerd playing, Pat taunts him, all while the Nerd begins to realize the game isn’t actually anything special — it would be the same experience were they playing the real cartridges as opposed to the reproduction ones. While Pat plays, the Nerd reaches his limit, taking a hammer and smashing both the Gold and the Gray cartridges to bits!
In absolute shock, Pat tries to pick up the pieces and rebuild the games, with the Nerd offering the reproduction cartridge to him as a consolation gift. He clearly doesn’t give a damn about Nintendo World Championships and would rather give away the cartridge than keep it in his collection. In a hysterical fit, Pat laughs maniachally before attacking the Nerd, which ends the episode.
Of course, the actual cartridges weren’t damaged – stand in cartridges, one being The Legend of Zelda (note the save battery during the smashing scene) were used, cleverly modified to look just like the real carts — even better, in fact, according to the commentary video for this episode.
Final Rating: 4.5/5
This is really a great episode. Pat was, I’d say, at his peak in creative quality at this time, and while the story the Nerd presents here doesn’t match the version that was set up in the NES Punk videos, it was still a pretty cool crossover, especially since at the time I was a fan of both creators.
The episode does a great job taking a serious look at the culture surrounding Nintendo World Championships, poking fun at the seemingly worshiped game that’s really nothing special. What it represents to gaming culture is certainly significant, but the actual games themselves? They are nothing special to play and were they not rare no one would probably care much for them. It’s a take on game collecting that I can relate to, to say the least.
The jokes were good, the editing was superb (the glow on the gold cart was a nice touch) and all in all, this was quite the surprise episode. A good one to watch, only flawed by the fact that NWC itself is such a boring game.
On a side note, I do suggest, if you enjoy AVGN and haven’t already watch his stuff, to at least give the Pat the NES Punk series a try. It’s different, but enjoyable on its own.