Retro Gaming

My Origin

Let’s go back to the 90s! For me, this is where the debut of the Nintendo and Gameboy started. I can’t remember which one I played first, but I do remember my oldest brother buying a Nintendo from our neighbor at a garage sale… and that’s when Contra was first introduced in my life. The classic side-scroller shooting game that opened up my imagination to playing with sticks that looked like guns. Also, Tetris was another classic I enjoyed before the world of Pokémon took over a good chunk of my childhood. From Gameboy to collecting cards, it was huge. And the nice little comeback it made with Go! that got people to go outside, go for a walk and get a little exercise.

When the SNES and the N64 came out, one of my favorite games to play was Mario Kart. I had a passion for cars and racing. Sometimes when I’m not playing games I would be playing with my toy cars. Just a kid with a big imagination. I had this rug or mat with a town in it that I got lost in for hours. Having these Hot Wheels car wash stations and all sorts of things you could get to build your collection. When Need For Speed: Underground 2 came out, that’s when my love and passion for cars felt complete. On top of The Fast and The Furious and me getting my first car. To have an open-world concept like that was mind blowing. And if that wasn’t enough there was the sexy Brooke Burke voice acting in the game.

Blast From The Past

As I got older I started opening up to a lot more different types of games. Final Fantasy VIII was the only game from the franchise I played but I loved it. Unfortunately I never beat the game. Only got as far as disc 3. One of my old neighbor Jerry, was a big influence in my life. I don’t think I would have ever heard of Metal Gear Solid or Dragon Ball Z if not for him. He introduced me to the world of Anime and so much more. Here’s to ya! Alongside Jerry, some of my closest friends to this day, we were brought together by video games and other things I’m sure. Madden was a big hit with NBA2K right there with it. But the biggest game to us at the time was Socom II. That game got us in trouble a lot. I would have my friends over often on the weekends. One of the things we would do is play basketball on the driveway, order pizza and we would play Socom online late into the night. Having difficulties keeping quiet, we would get yelled at either by my oldest sister or parents. It definitely was fun while it lasted though.

A lot has changed when it comes to gaming. Quality to say the least. But something that I enjoy about video games more recently is the story. There’s just so many to name and maybe in future posts I’ll talk about those games. Of course, I would like to actually finish the game first. Which is something I’ve noticed about myself. I played a handful of games without beating the main story. Almost as if I’m not ready to finish it because I just don’t want it to end. Like the side quests itself might not have much meaning after the fact. I’ll be sure to make it a goal of mine to do so… sooner, rather than later.