‘Feel the energy’: How Super Nintendo World fuels young at heart

​​I have stormed the castle of Bowser, the king of the Koopas, hundreds of times. When I was 6 or 7 years old, I raced past messages from mushroom-capped mascots who told me that the princess was in another castle, and I vanquished King Koopa for the first time.

As the years went by, I laid siege to different castles with Koopa kids and kin. My weapon? A gray controller with a familiar brand name: Nintendo.

It never occurred to me in my childhood that a fortress with Bowser’s likeness – much less the Mushroom Kingdom – would ever come to life. Then, last month, I walked through a pipe at Universal Studios Hollywood and before I could blink, I had warped to the dreamscape of my 6-year-old self.

Super Nintendo World is a paradise for nostalgia, with callbacks to various themes from the nearly 40-year history of Super Mario Bros. Some people make pilgrimages to Disney World or Comic-Con. For me, this was a homecoming. We visited close to the occasion of my 40th birthday, and though my wife’s participation was in the “good sport” category, she knew what she was getting into. Strewn and stacked around our home are mementos of my childhood – superhero figurines and video game decor. 

So when I learned there was an interactive power-up wristband that would let me gather coins like Mario himself, “punching” the question blocks scattered throughout Super Nintendo World, of course I bought it. I even took on my wife in the Koopa Troopa POWer Punch, which lets participants “send up” a Koopa turtle shell to knock out the unsuspecting foe.

But what does it mean for a 40-year-old to be excited about punching turtle shells? Was I getting in touch with my inner child or just refusing to grow up?

Much to my chagrin, my wife turned out to be rather good at the Koopa Troopa POWer Punch. One would think that my experience with Power Gloves and Power Pads would have given me an edge over someone who can’t tell Mario from Luigi, but unfortunately mastery of the video game did not appear to assure mastery over its real-life version.

I will admit the failure did not sit well with me, at first. I asked the POWer Punch attendee for another shot at the game. He respectfully asked me to go to the end of the line, which meant a 30-minute wait. I asked again, and then it hit me. This is a kid’s game. 

However, I am old enough to learn lessons, even from Super Nintendo World. Humility, as it turns out, is the beginning of community. Part of the camaraderie of video game communities is in failure, whether it’s an unbeatable dungeon in Zelda or the indomitable title character in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out. But in that failure is also a bond – a bond that connects people through game controllers and over oceans.

That seemed to be the case in the real-life Nintendo World, too. Chased by California’s version of an angry sun, I found an oasis near the power-up bands, along with a kindred spirit who was also glad to see Mario come to life.

“Super Nintendo was the start for me,” explained Derick Malone. “This takes me back. I can feel the energy here.”

That energy can be revitalizing, no matter what your age. In my pursuit of greatness, I left my own princess in a nearby pipe similar to the one at the park’s entrance (she was pacing herself) and worked my way to the Piranha Plant Nap Mishap. This is arguably Super Nintendo World’s most difficult course, needing teammates to silence an assortment of alarm clocks before they elicit the fury of wild plant life.

Serendipitously, I happened upon three members of the visiting Bee family – Ziggy, Zenith, and (because it’s a video game park) Zelda. Quirky and longtime gamers (such as myself) are familiar with the Super Mario Galaxy series mushroom that turns Mario into – yep, you guessed it – a bee. So I knew I had found my crew.

I was proud to be an honorary member of their family that day, and like good workers, we covered our zones and quieted the clocks. As it turned out, the trio of Bees and their parents, Cristian and Roxy, were veterans in their own right.

“This is our second time here. ... We know what to do now,” explained Mr. Bee. “The first time, there’s awe. It’s eye-opening – amazing with all of the structure and how beautiful everything looks. The second time, we became professionals.”

Sometimes, it seems, that bond of gaming isn’t just about failure. It’s also about successfully mowing down Piranha Plants with new friends.

Super Nintendo World might be in Hollywood, but for some of us, the gaming world is a universe that spans generations. When my parents placed that gray box under the Christmas tree many moons ago, I never thought that it would be the start of a more than 30-year love affair.

For most of my gaming life, I’ve been trying to save a princess from the castle. On my trip to Super Nintendo World, I entered the castle with the princess (who was admittedly ready to pull the plug on the day’s adventures before I was). At Bowser’s Castle, the mischievous Bowser Jr. reminded me of my youngest kid, whose clever smirk is often the precursor to some shenanigans.

True, I am no longer that 6-year-old laying siege to a Koopa castle for the first time. But the park reminded me that it’s OK to still be a kid. Like Nintendo, a part of me is ageless. And I don’t see the game being over any time soon.