Nintendo began as a playing card company in 1889 but it was the transition into video games in the '70s that earned it the worldwide recognition it has today. Technically, Nintendo's 125th anniversary doesn't start until tomorrow for us here in the US, but since it's already September 23 in Japan, we thought we'd kick off the congratulations a little early.

What's your earliest/best Nintendo memory? For me, it was going over to a friend's house to play through the original Metroid on NES. We slowly worked our way together through the game's labyrinth's, not using guides and way before walkthrough videos. At the time, it was intense, scary, and one of the reasons that Mother Brain still freaks me out.