When I think of the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), I always recall how expensive it was, and those iconic gray cartridges weren’t cheap either. Back then, not many people could afford a Nintendo console. So, whenever I saw someone showing off their Japanese game instruction-laden cartridges online, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.

Tonight, however, I stumbled upon a post where someone showcased their inherited Super Game VCD 300. The comments section was filled with nostalgic exclamations, with many people reminiscing about “Contra!.” It turns out this disc was a worldwide phenomenon.

I found some photos online of the disc, the controller, and the TV screen. They look just like I remember. Such nostalgia!

I remember one day when I was seven, a classmate invited me over to his house after school. They had just bought a new VCD player, and yes, the legendary Super Game VCD 300. We were having so much fun that I completely lost track of time. My mom thought I was missing and frantically tried to contact my classmates’ parents (not every household had a phone back then, so she must have gone to great lengths). When I finally ran into her on the way home, I got quite a scolding. Despite that, after school, a group of seven or eight kids would gather at my classmate’s house to play. Although he only let the girls he played with hold the controllers, the rest of us were happy just being spectators. Marble games, hopscotch, and paper airplanes no longer held any appeal for me.

Eventually, my family got a VCD player too, and I could finally play Super Game VCD 300 at home, even inviting the neighborhood kids to join in. But my dad quickly realized how much I loved gaming and hid my discs and controllers. Fortunately, the neighbors soon got a new VCD player as well, and their kids and dad would play Tank 1990 together. Sometimes, their dad would play mahjong or Tetris on it.

My mom wasn’t much of a gamer. I convinced her to try Tetris, but she quickly lost. She would say that playing games was a waste of time, not a serious activity (basically, she just didn’t know how to play).

Those years were mostly spent with a VCD 300 controller in hand. The games were simple, mostly from the 1980s, with basic graphics and straightforward gameplay—pixelated movements and shooting, for the most part. As time went on, classmates started bringing cartridge-based consoles to our house, with games that boasted better graphics and cooler gameplay. Gradually, the VCD 300 fell into obscurity.