Memory Cartridge: INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (NES)

(When I set out to write this, I somehow managed to convince myself that I remembered far more than I actually did. Evidence ensues.)

The brief and the fleeting. Indiana Jones as ZELDA-knockoff – a strange hybrid that never quite gelled, despite the theme music which may or not have been there – with whips and mining carts, I believe. Trading off tracks, in and out of holes, pixel fedoras and leather jackets. Were you able to swing from anchors in the walls or am I confusing this with SUPER CASTLEVANIA IV? Not sure if I made it past the first couple of levels; not sure if I'm remembering any of this correctly. Might be remembering the game as I wished it to be, not as it was; 25-30 years, give or take, since I last played it. Fucking hell I feel old – less a memory cartridge, more a memory sieve.

Maybe someday I'll get ye olde NES working again, use that 80s TV that's been hanging out in the backseat of my car since the great cabin exodus of '19, and actually play the games I write about before writing them but I still can't find the controllers, RIP.