Brainy Gamer

I picked up Super Smash Bros. Brawl today. I brought it home, turned on my Wii, inserted the disc, and loaded up the game. The opening cinematic began and suddenly, without warning, they appeared: cutis anserina.

Def. - Cutis anserina are created when tiny muscles at the base of each hair, known as arrectores pilorum, contract and pull the hair erect. The reflex is started by the sympathetic nervous system, which is in general responsible for many fight-or-flight responses. This involuntary physical response is better known by its common name: goose bumps. [1]

Am I hopeless, or what?

Here I am: an adult man no longer prone to giddy exuberance (or so I thought), gleefully reveling in every little bit of Nintendo nostalgia referenced in that opening movie. The brief shot of Peach and Zelda standing next to each other - charming. Mario and Link running side by side dodging airfire - thrilling. Of course none of it makes any sense. Applying logic to the question of how Mario could ever appear in Hyrule is a silly and unnecessary use of your cerebrum. It's fan service. It's Smash Bros.

You have to hand it to Nintendo. More than any other game maker, they have amassed a deep and rich gallery of iconic characters, locales, and music - and they know exactly what to do with it. I've only played for a couple of hours, and I'm thoroughly enchanted.  Tomorrow my wife and I begin "Subspace Emissary" adventure mode together on co-op...and I'll probably get those little bumps again. Like I said. Hopeless.

Anybody else get them too?