Well, this event marks the moment I became hardcore into gaming. The moment I "grew up" in a sense, when I refined my tastes and discovered new things. Im talking about when I got my Dreamcast.
Now, a little backstory. I got a Genesis for my 6th birthday bundled with Sonic 2, it was my first console and one of my earliest videogaming experiences (although I remember playing Mario Bros at a relatives house before then). But this was IT! I finally had a machine to call my own, I loved my Genesis. I can still fondly remember the days when me and my friend would spend hours playing Street Fighter 2 and Zombies Ate My Neighbors. I was just a little kid at that time, so looking back I didnt know what was good or bad and have some pretty crappy games (Bubsy anyone?). But for the most part I had some quality titles, SF2, Sonic 1,2,3&K,Shinobi, Streets of Rage 1 and 2, Golden Axe, Vectorman and some others I cant remember too well. Now, this was when I was 6. I didnt have any money as a kid and my parents RARELY took me out to get a new game, so after a while I was stuck with what I had for the longest time...

UNTIL....



Fast forward to 1999, the hype for Dreamcast was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I had asked for a Sega CD, never got it. I asked for a Saturn, no dice. I asked for the N64, get outta town! Yes, for about 5-6 years I had been stuck with the same Genesis games. It sucked. On my....I think either 11th or 12th b-day I opened my presents and there it was, my Dreamcast! I felt so lucky! I felt like I had grown up. After we ate our cake and blah blah blah we go to my room and hook it up (RFU cables ftw!). I got Sonic Adventure, I popped in the disc and started it. I remember it clearly, just during the first boss fight at the beginning of the game the whole family practically shit their pants and how good it looked. I played that game until I couldnt keep my eyes open anymore, and I only got done with the second level! I just ran around and tried to take in as much as I could before going to sleep.

Time goes on, I get my hands on more DC games, games like Soul Calibur owned my life in middle school. I even had a subscription to the magazine (I loved the magazine and still do). One of the demo discs had a video for some strange game called "Shenmue", hm, ok, so I watched it and I wasnt sure if it was a movie or a game. It looked amazing. I was hyped. I get the game and wow, I must say, that game changed the way I look at games. The attention to detail, the realism, the things you can do, everyone you can talk to! The fact that you could go into arcades and play games blew me away. I felt like I WAS Ryo Hazuki and I was living in his world. Going into town and just standing and looking at all the buildings and being amazed at how everyone was walking around and people were going about their buisness, being able to get a job and meet new people and exploring every nook and cranny of the world felt like such an adventure. I was sucked into the story of revenge and sailor hunting. Oh my god! The huge brawl at the end and rescuing Nozomi was so epic! Jet Set Radio was another big thing for me, just gorgeous and the soundtrack was god tier. except dragula and the other crap songs tacked on. *bleh*
hey! I found that very video from DC magazine!

its been 8 years since I saw that video and Im hyped to play the game again!

The DC opened my eyes to what could be possible in videogames (seaman!!), taking art and style in new directions, it was so exciting to be a part of it. It made me the kind of gamer I am today, I have so many warm memories of playing my DC. More than any other console I own, and with the help of the internet I can *NOT* download all the classics and imports that I missed out on, making my dream library of games complete. That little white box sure kicked ass. I think Ill wrap this up.


also, shenmue 2 was good but fuck you, Im not going to carry books all day. nuts to that!

I hope you enjoyed this block of text.