In my mind, the day was going to be perfect. I pictured that it would be raining when I got to Nintendo World at 7 a.m. and I would be met by a sea of black umbrellas. Continuing my fantasy, I believed that as I approached the line, I would certainly be humming my favourite tune. I imagined the line would be short due to the heavy rain we have been having in NYC. And I thought I would be extremely elated.
This
morning I awoke and was met instead by the sun peeking out from the grey
clouds. It had actually been raining when I awoke at 4:30 but by the
time I got to the train, I had to wear my sunglasses.
What's even
worse, I got to Nintendo World near 8 a.m. which was much later than I
had anticipated and instead of short line with a sea of umbrellas, there
was a line that had already reached halfway down the block.
Needless to
say I was discouraged because getting a bonus gift with purchase of a
game is always quite the dicey thing when it comes to late arrivals at a
Nintendo World Launch Event (and the girl in front of me at the counter
got the last one too. That hurt).
I have to
say though, there was so much buzz in the air that it did not matter. I
was elated anyway and the day turned out perfect regardless. People
were happy, 3DS systems were glowing green from constant notifications
for street pass tags, and the excitement was overwhelming.
Additionally, two of my friends made it to the line at 7 and were
waiting for me, and an even cooler thing that happened today? Fellow
TAY'er UI 2.0 met up with me!
That's
right! Previously awesome TAY Buddy and now super awesome friend, UI 2.0
lived up to his persona on TAY. He's funny, really nice and
mischievous much like his current avatar (of the awesome Magic Man, for
those of you wondering).
It was no surprise to me that meeting him was like saying hello to a
person I've known forever. We get along really well on TAY and it was
no different on the streets of NYC. We had a great time laughing at the
many Miis we collected during our wait, and at 9 a.m. when the doors
opened at launch, there was much more fun to be had inside.
Upon entering, and much like the game, there were fun events set up to
mirror the activities you can participate in in-game. We were greeted
by a sign post and conductor directing us to all the various events.
For participating in each event, you received a little gift after
successfully completing the missions.
It was just as the sign says, there was a photo booth and a bug catching
event on the ground level. The second level contained a fishing game
and a fossil dig. If you've played an Animal Crossing game
before, these games represented all the good stuff you've come to love
about the charming, easy going life you can have in Animal Crossing.
Though, okay, maybe fishing and bug catching can be a little bit on
the stressful side and I'll be lying if I didn't tell you they made us
work for those mini gifts!
Indeed, our
Raccoon Overlord was there to ensure our hard work acted as payment for
our fun. It's confusing how he manages that secret plan and clever
trick of his. I have to say, I felt right at home with all those sordid
memories flooding my mind.
Perhaps one
of the coolest things was the music blaring over the loud speakers. I
mean, BLARING. The choice of music was not that great - some pop here
and there but all catchy and all meant to help with the excitement that
was already there. So exactly what made it cool? K.K. Slider was
cranking out some tunes in between sets. Some of it was mixed in. Some
of it was straight up K.K. Slider tunes on a Saturday night (morning in
this case, and doesn't that just make it even cooler?). All of it was
just too. awesomely. awesome.
For the first time at one of these things, I actually fully participated
in all the Launch Event had to offer. It was mighty fun and I wish I
could have stayed longer. But fear not, because the hilarious times did
not end there.
By the time we got out it was nearing 11 a.m. and the Ramen place
around the corner was calling our names. We were starving but while
waiting for our lunch, we sat around and played our early launch copies.
Well, okay. I did not play mine because I am busy writing to all of
you now and charging my 3DS some before I power it back on. But my
friend Em ( I shall call him) and UI got to messing around in each
others' towns during and after lunch.
TAY, I
won't spoil the name of UI's Town for you because it is freaking amazing
but I do want to give you fair warning. He's a total ham. In the
short time Em and UI played, they both got into a vicious fight.
It makes me think that we are going to have the best time as we play together in the TAY Community.
I am looking forward to the tricks, the gifts and the laughter.
Now, hurry up Tomorrow!
And excuse me while I go boot up and bask in some memories while making new ones.
My sister and I will be waiting for you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment