Thalia Kennedy, age 5, answers the following questions about the 1992 Sega Genesis classic button-mashing beat ‘em up, Captain America and the Avengers.

What Game are we talking about?
Captain America.

What is this game about?
It’s about fighting bad guys! And I like Captain America!

How do you fight the bad guys?
By pressing the buttons. And it doos (sic.) the moves, the guy.

What guy? Which guys can you be?
Captain America and Iron Man and I can’t remember who else in there.
(I give Thalia the instruction manual, telling her that it should help her remember the game.)
It has pictures what you do? Ah, it does, look dad. Dad, dad, there’s the guy with the long claws.

The long claws?
I think. What’s the other guy?

(I look for the character profiles in the instruction booklet and show that page to Thalia.)

Oh, that’s not the guy with the claws. It’s the guy with the swords and there’s a guy with a cape.

(I realize that Thalia is now able to distinguish Hawkeye from Wolverine, but can’t always distinguish a bow from a sword. Such is life.)

What’s the guy with the cape like?
(Thalia points to his picture) He’s like that.

Well, what does he do?
I don’t know.

Which guy is the best to fight with?
Captain America, cuz it’s his game, right?

Which guy is the worst?
Ooooh. Hawkeye. I think.

Hawkeye is worse than the guy with the cape?
Mm hmm. Oh and don’t forget the part with Captain America and Iron Man where Iron Man doesn’t need a thing cuz he can fly! Remember that part? Why do you have the actual game out with the game book?

(I explain that I got the whole case out to get the instruction manual. She challenges me to a game after the column. I accept.)

What bad guys do you fight?
The Red Skoll (sic.). I can’t remember who else.

How hard is this game?
Uh. . . a little hard.

How is the game’s music?
Cool and pretty

Do the characters say anything?
A little things that sound very quiet, but you can still hear them.

What is your favorite stage
Uh. . . the Red Skull stage.

What is your least favorite stage?
What do you mean? What is stage?

(I explain the concept of video game levels.)

Oh, I like flying.

What is your favorite thing about this game
Fighting bad guys!

Least favorite?
What do you mean?

What part of the game do you like the least?
Oh. Uh, not fighting bad guys. Right?

Any final words about Captain America and the Avengers?
Eh eh.

WHY SHOULD IT GO WELL?