Wreck-It Ralph Is A Gamer’s Trip Down Memory Lane

One of the most exciting things I saw at E3 didn’t even have anything to do with gaming. Well, not directly, anyway. Turns out, Disney’s got an awesome new animated film in the works. It’s called Wreck-It Ralph, and it tells the story of an 8-bit, 1990s video game villain who’s suffering an identity crisis. He finds solace in a support group for antagonists of the era and speaks to well-known personalities like Bowser, Zangief, M. Bison, a Beholder, a House of the Dead zombie, Doctor Eggman from Sonic the Hedgehog, and Clive the Ghost from Pac-Man. 

“Ralph,” Zangief tells him, “You are bad guy. But that does not mean you are bad guy.”

At that point, Ralph has an epiphany. He announces that he doesn’t want to be a villain any more, much to the shock of his peers, and he makes plans to leave his game for greener pastures. Obviously, it doesn’t go over well with the other characters in his game, who I can only assume embark on a quest to track down Ralph. After all, you can’t really have a video game hero without a video game villain, can you?

The whole trailer gave me goosebumps, and it honestly feels as if it was designed specifically to tap into the nostalgia of people who grew up gaming in arcades or on early consoles. When I found out that Dr. Wily would have a cameo (remember, I’m a huge Megaman geek), I was sold.

Come November, I am going to see this movie. If you were a gamer back then, there’s a good chance you want to see it too. Wreck-It Ralph hits theaters on November 2, 2012. If you grew up on titles like Mario Brothers and Megaman, check out the trailer, and tell me you aren’t looking forward to this movie.