Nintendo Quest

Nintendo Quest (2015)

*** (out of 4)

This documentary is a thirty day challenge where a man tries to collect all 678 official Nintendo releases.

That's pretty much all their is to this film. If you're looking for a hard-hitting documentary then you certainly won't find it here. I'd argue that there are some questionable filmmaking moments as well but I honestly didn't judge this thing too hard. I think the film was mildly entertaining just because it can strike up memories that you had in regards to these games and especially if you're old enough to where you could have collected them as a kid.

I had a good time with the journey of the main character as he traveled around trying to locate copies of each game. What I enjoyed most was just watching them travel around and in my own mind I was amazed at how many of these games I remembered. I had honestly forgotten about most of them but then there they were on the screen.

This was originally a Kickstarter project I believe and some are really crushing the film. I'm really not sure why. For what the movie was I thought it was entertaining.

I rated Nintendo Quest (2015) 5/10. A whiny man child (and someone who I'm sure I would find interminably annoying to be with any amount of time, let alone a massive road trip) buys video games for nostalgic reasons. This really didn't need to be a feature doc and I'm sure would have been fine as a YouTube show. Feels too much like a student film to be good.

"Nintendo Quest" had promise, but the execution is way off. The idea itself is cool: you've got 30 days to hunt down every last official NES title in existence (no online purchases). That means road trip, and already we're talking great movie, right? Game over, man.

It's not that this is a bad movie, but it suffers from reality TV production methods and it doesn't give us all of the relevant information. We never know the budget for this quest or how the majority of these games cost. And the negotiating scenes are painfully drawn out. Why spend screen time listening to an awful speakerphone or listening to someone read aloud text messages when this could be better conveyed through a graphic? When all else fails, let the director insert himself into the thing and scream plot information.

The odd thing of it is that it actually becomes a downer after awhile. Jay spends his time in one store after another, getting depressed over the price-gouging and cynicism that collecting can engender.

There's good to be had, but it's primarily in the opening; an examination of the console's enduring longevity and appeal. That sequence gets into the gamer in all of us. If only the rest of it weren't so morose.

4/10

Seems like the whole thing was a kickstarter to get a mate of theirs a bunch of games cheaper than what they usually run for. The camera is there to simply shame people into giving them what they want. I don't know if there is a term for this? Docogrifting?

I did enjoy them meeting the other collectors and stores. In fact, I wish that is all the doco was about.

A bit disappointed when they started slamming the owners of stores. Jay ends up as a guy you just aren't hoping to succeed.

There is some fun information in here, but the concept ends up getting in the way strangely.

The documentary follows Jay Bartlett on his quest to purchase all 678 officially licensed NES games in 30 days with no help from the internet. Along the way, director Rob McCallum narrates on the history of Nintendo, interviews gaming legends, and explains the enjoyment of retro gaming today. Scenes transition seamlessly between Jay's story and Rob's narration. Much can be said about the quality of Nintendo Quest's editing.

It can easily hold its own against higher profile gaming documentaries such as King of Kong and Video Games The Movie

A level of connection is made with Jay as we go along on his journey through the ups, downs, and in-betweens. The challenges and triumphs faced throughout create an emotional experience for gamers and non- gamers alike