Some of you know that the first console that I actually owned was an N64, so while I have played some older games, I'm nowhere near as well-versed as most retro gamers. I never knew the anguish of saving up $80 for Secret of Mana, or totally freaking out about Super Mario Bros. 3 in the wake of Fred Savage performance in The Wizard. I have never experienced the tear-jerking finale of Super Metroid (despite its presence on the Virtual Console). Needless to say, I must educate myself properly one of these days.

That is the same for you, though. I'm certain that most of you have enough retro gaming memories to fill some sort of specially-made space for retro gaming memories. In which case, you might be interested to know that I'm one of the judges for a little cblog event. Retro gaming enthusiast Conrad Zimmerman is putting on a contest based on his RetRose Tinted column: the Corrective Lenses Competition. Interested participants must write 500 words or less (plus 1+ images) about their favorite retro gaming memory. They also have to link back to this post and PM Conrad with their entry before the end of March, but those are mostly semantics.

I, as well as the other judges, are going to be judging it based on how entertaining the entry is. It's also probably in your best interest to use correct grammar and spelling, since I'm picky about that and it'll make the cblogs suck less.

And what can you win for your sharing your cherished memories? Feast your eyes on these:

First Prize: A T-shirt of winner's choice from the Destructoid store.

Second and Third Prize: A Destructoid beanie.

Runners-up (3): A Destructoid sticker pack.

Sounds pretty good, huh? I'd get started on your entry if I were you, so I can start being judgmental and condescending.