The other day my wife and I stopped in at Rocket Fizz to pick up some classic sodas as a treat. When we entered the store I was greeted with one of the most wonderful sites, a working Donkey Kong arcade machine!

I don’t know what it is about this machine, but Donkey Kong is the game which is most prominent in my childhood memories of the arcade in Avalon, NJ ¹. Upon seeing this machine in the corner I could hear the sounds that old arcade, and the distinctive effects of that battle between Mario and his nemesis. I remember the sound of Mario’s walk, and how I marveled at the animation of his walk and how you could stop him in so many different positions.

I was never very good at the game as a child, but I’ll always remember he question, “How high can you get?”