Written by Nick Ross

I participated in the NWC during their Hartford, CT stop. I went with my brother and my father, and at the time I was only 12 or 13 (by comparison, my 26th birthday in in 2 weeks). I had learned about the date in an issue of Nintendo Power, and had basically begged to go until my father gave up. :) I remember having a lot of fun at there - it was more like an expo, and the championships were just a small part of a much larger convention. Unfortunately lines to play new games were long and I was an impatient child. The lines to play the as-of-yet-unreleased Super Mario 3 were especially daunting.

I decided to compete in the championships. There was a small cost to get in if I remember correctly. Each batch of competitors was briefed on the rules by a Nintendo spokesperson, and then herded into a roped off area where hundreds of televisions (each one was probably about 13 inches) were set up side by side. We were each given our own station to play at. I specifically remember that during my particular round, there were quite a few unused stations. The goal of the first round was to obtain a score of 175,000.

Over a loud speaker, the spokesperson set "ready set GO" and we were on our way. I was nervous as hell, and a crowd of people had gathered behind the ropes to watch as myself and other competitors played. My father and brother stood at the ropes about five feet behind me and cheered me on.

I cruised through Super Mario Brothers in a hurry, but I had a problem once I got to Rad Racer. I had never owned a copy of the game, only rented, and I had forgotten how to accelerate! I figured it was just press A or B, but you must actually press Up at the same time to increase speed. I began to panic as my red sports car sat there at the starting line for a good ten seconds. Eventually the pudgy kid next to me got to Rad Racer and began going immediately. I freaked out and started yelling at him to please tell me how to get the car to move. It took him a few seconds, but he showed me and I finally managed to take off. I ended up running a flawless course and made it to Tetris before he did!

My Tetris run was short; however I was able to score one Tetris before time expired. I was almost positive my flaw in Rad Racer would come back to bite me, but when I was greeted with the score of 183,000, I practically burst at the seams. Only about 10 of us out of the 80-100 competitors made that first cut. We were instructed to stand by our televisions as another spokesperson came by and collected us. We were ushered behind the stage (the same one that has become famous in so many photos). Back there, there was a queue leading to a door that went to the front of the stage. After each round of playing, seven more kids would be ushered on stage for the next round.

The goal of round two was to score 200,000 points. Upon getting on stage, each of us was assigned one of the seven stations. I was in one of the six normal stations, furthest to the right (or furthest to the left if you were in the crowd). Speaking of the crowd, it was huge! I had always enjoyed having other people watch me play, but this was ridiculous. :) We were instructed to write our names down on some sort of plaque on our stations so that the MC could identify us during game play. Before long it was "Ready Set GO" and the seven of us on stage once again went through another round.

Once again I cruised through Super Mario Bros and I'm pretty sure my Rad Racer run was flawless as well. On stage there were two larger video screens, and the people behind the scenes were able to toggle various stations on and off these larger screens. I know that I was displayed on the big screens at least once during Rad Racer when the MC complimented me by name to the crowd.

Unfortunately I was unable to pull it together during Tetris, and didn't score a single Tetris. Even still, I logged a score of 190,000 - a little better than my previous score but not good enough to move on. That pretty much ended my NWC run. :) I was tempted to try again, however the whole experience was so nerve-racking for someone of my age and I chickened out.

My only reward for successfully finishing one round was a golden sticker (which I still have). A good childhood friend of mine also competed though, and he managed to finish the second round. He received a hat I believe, and was invited back the next day for the semifinal round. Unfortunately the cutoff point during that round was 500,000, so that's where the story ends. :)

In the end, I walked away with the Quarterfinalist sticker, a T-shirt that I bought (and still have), as well as a thirty-page "Insider's Guide", more or less an NWC program guide. I still have that too, and it's in very good condition. If you want scans of any of this stuff I'd be happy to oblige - although the sticker could be tough as it's been attached to my bedroom mirror for 14 years. :)