Those of us who claim membership in the "Nintendo generation" don't just get comforting feelings from reminiscing about all the good times we had with Bionic Commando and Contra. No, it seemingly goes much deeper than that. It's as if nostalgia is the true social currency of our people. You just aren't cool unless memories of that damn underwater bomb defusal stage from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles nearly gives you angina.

Seriously, fuck that level.

Extending the metaphor, if nostalgia is our social currency, then stumbling on a project like 8-bit Dreams from artist Campbell Whyte is like robbing an old man, only to discover that he's Rupert Murdoch.

In a nutshell, 8-bit Dreams is an ongoing blog piece in which Whyte posts a drawing of a new NES title every day. With 799 official games available for the console, the end result — assuming Whyte maintains his until-now-impressive dedication — should be a hot, sticky blast of happy childhood memories for many of us.

In addition to the piece above, I'm including two of my favorites beyond the jump, but I highly recommend visiting Whyte's site and poring over the archives yourself. Whyte's a talented artist, and his adorable style perfectly captures the whimsy and innocence embodied by these classic games.

[Propers to Adam "Attract Mode" Robezzoli]

Addendum: Because cat & beard asked about it (and I apparently got rid of the link I had originally included in this post), those of you interested in purchasing Whyte's work should read this blog entry. He explains that "the illustrations are available for $50 and measure 14cm x 14cm (5.5 inches) and are rendered with black ink and water colours on thick archival paper."

Additionally, Whyte mentions that he is open to doing custom commissions from games he has yet to cover in the 8-bit Dreams series. Requests can be sent to him via his site and the pricing scheme would be identical to the pieces he's already completed.