It seems like most people had either a game or system that left such happy vivid memories in their mind that they became entranced and entered the world of videogames. I think it would be really cool to have this sort of experience, but I love it my way too.




I've never had a particularly good memory, the only tried and true exception has always been videogames. Something about interacting with and creating the experience implants emotions that retain thoughts and ideas into my brain. Videogames do a far better job of getting me to memorize things than school ever has. But despite this, I really have no solid memory of why I love gaming so much. I know an SNES was my first system, and I remember the games I had, but I have no clear or definitive vision of why they dragged me in.

I would love to say that Super Metroid, one of my favorite games of all time and one that held a near-mythical spot in my mind since I was never able to beat it because of a glitch on the cart where Mother Brain's final form was missing the brain, is the game that thrust me into the vg world and kept me there. This wasn't the case though. Super Metroid was one of my most extensively played games as a kid, but it wasn't the one that pulled me in, I knew I had memories from before that.

When the Wii's VC was announced I was far more excited for it that it merited. Finally, a chance to legally play all those old games from my formative years that I had so foolishly pawned off at the local Game stop a few years back (including Final fantasy 3 and Crono Trigger, garnering me a total of $13, today I consider this to be one of the most idiotic things I have ever done). So I got a Wii the day it came out and watched the classics trickle by over the months as Nintendo tortured their fans with their drip drip drip strategy or releasing quality games. I played through A Link to the Past, Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Contra, as well as two Donkey Kongs, and while I like to think I played them with a wistful look in my eye as I explained to my younger siblings or roommates (depending on the time of year) why these games were great and what legacy they left behind, in all reality I steamrolled these games with the years of experience and knowledge of gamefaqs I had accumulated over the years while I complained to everyone about how much better gaming was "back in the day."

One bored Monday, with $8 to spare on my Wii and no good releases on the day I decided to spring for another game that I had had on my SNES years before, Super Castlevania IV. I knew for a fact that I had never progressed much further than the first level, and that I was never too into this game unlike the hundreds of hours I poured into Super Metroid, FF3 and CT. I felt weird as I booted up the game, one that I had bought on a whim more than anything and wasn't sure if I would even like. As soon as I started to enter my name though, I knew something was up. I felt very strange, light and happy but also filled with a deep sadness and longing for the past. The, once the game actually started, and I jumped onto the bridge and walked into the castle proper the music started, and I began to cry. For some reason the Music in the first level of Castlevania brings me back farther than I can actually remember, and it makes me not sad, but extremely emotionally susceptible. It feels like I'm living the very simple life of a young child and being almost entirely controlled by the tiniest whim of an emotion, maybe that's why I cry when I play that first level today, I am once again susceptible to the smallest whim of my emotions and since happiness and sadness can both lead to tears, I always end up there.
Simon's Theme: Stage 1 Entrance


I am certain now that I never beat the first level of Castlevania, but that music left such a lasting impact on me that it affects me to an incredible degree still today, which is why I consider Super Castlevania IV to be the start of my long winding affair with gaming.