A Short History of Chasing the Gaming Bandwagon: Part 2

Approximately two years ago, Laura and I purchased a Wii. This decision was based predominately on the mass amount of fun had at a friend's apartment. Despite the Wii being somewhat in short supply (approximately nine months or so after release), the procurement process wasn't too lengthy. Early one Sunday morning, I went to Target and snagged a Wii and Wii Play. I snickered to myself for only spending two weeks searching.

From then on, I found myself reading more about the gaming in the years I had missed. Taking advantage of the Wii's backward compatibility, I tracked down old GameCube controllers and games on Craigslist. My best deal was Metroid Prime; Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Warrior Within, and Two Thrones, all for $20. I kept watching Craigslist. I started reading gaming websites. I started listening to gaming podcasts. I was spiralling out of control...

My wife picked up the hobby. She'd never played video games--ever. She started with Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and moved on to Twilight Princess. I got her hooked on Beyond Good and Evil. I spent a ton of time researching games that I'd thought she'd find interesting. Two genres started to emerge: RPGs and adventure. I ran out of ideas.

I started looking at the Sony's Playstation catalogue...

A Short History of Chasing the Gaming Bandwagon: Part 1

Growing up, I occupied many hours on Nintendo's first system, the NES. While I played heavily over the five or so years, I actually only owned about 8 games. During all that time, I only completed two of them: my sisters' The Little Mermaid and TMNT 2: The Arcade Game¹. I once rented Blaster Master and I got so frustrated I cried (this was before I had any idea what a non-linear game was). I subscribed to Nintendo Power magazine to read guides and maps for games I'd never play. Have you ever played, yet alone heard of Kabuki Fighter, where the protagonist attacks with his hair? I have. Once, I even mailed them a crappy polaroid of the credits of TMNT 2 (they used to publish photos of readers' game completion screens). Each issue came with a small poster, which I dutifully put on my wall. One I particularly remember was the box art for Final Fantasy I.

Now, nearly 25 years later, I'm finally playing it.

When I was in the 5th grade, the Super Nintendo came out; I wanted one desperately. I lusted after Super Mario World; I would accompany my Mom to Wal-Mart on the off-chance that someone wasn't playing the demo unit in the electronics department. One day, a new student joined the class (in rural Tennessee, this was a rare occasion, and obviously intriguing). I learned he had a Super Nintendo. We became friends. Occasionally, I'd spend the night at his house and we'd stay up to rediculous hours playing Super Mario World, F-Zero, and Final Fight. Several months later, his dad passed out drunk in a ditch and died. Afterwards, he moved away and I never saw him again. Looking back, I realize that he was exceptionally poor and his father was an alcoholic. That Super Nintendo was probably the most expensive thing in the house. The short time that he was at my school, I was pretty much his only friend; rural southern schools aren't exactly inclusive of outsiders (though now I know that's hardly unique to the region). I suspect my original reason for befriending him was that console--not a shining moment for me. In hindsight, I hope I was a decent friend to him, notwithstanding the inauspicious initial motives.

Once I began playing school basketball in the 6th grade, video games fell to the wayside. I wouldn't pick them up again until high school, when my new computer and phone modem brought me a tsunami of shareware games. I can actually say I played Commander Keen, back before iD Software created Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. From then on, I played casually--but always on the computer.

I wouldn't own another console until I was 27.

¹ I don't really like to count Super Mario Bros. 3 because I had to use several P-wings to get through World 8, including Bowser's Castle.

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