NOTE: English is not my first lenguage, sorry for any miswritting (Is writed like this, right?)

Hi, I am SalvaPot. In the last month I have been reading all kind of information here on destructoid and enjoyed how the affair of most of this peaple start. I will not talk about the first game I ever played or that game that make me say WOW, no, Im going to talk about the experience that let me beging for more.

I must say, I was a casual gamer, even if I had been playing games since I was 4 years old, i rarely finished a game or even played a Final Fintasy game until recently, but one trip make me realize how much I love games. That trip was just 4 months ago. It was me going to Japan. What I didn´t know is that there I will found the most AWESOME game of all: Mother 3.

First a little of History. As I have mentioned, I had played game for a long time. Playing when visited a friend, mostly. Playing little pieces of clasics like Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario 64, Banjo Kazooie, Smash Bros, etc. I own only my GameCube and my Nintendo DS and had not more than 8 games. Yeah, I was casual and the only game that i really want to play was FREAKING BRAWL!!!.

There you can see me, day after day looking forward to the Dojo! daily updates. Every new character revealed was great for me until one day my eyes look at one character I had never seen before. ¿Who the HELL is Lucas? But he look cool and make me interested
"He makes his anticipated debut from the Japan-only release MOTHER 3.", ¿What? ¿Japan only? Oh well, that´s ok.



I forget about it, abount the big headed kid who looks like Elvis ¿How he puts his shirt on? I will never know.

Anyway, time passed and I was getting ready for my exciting trip to Japan (YAAAY!), but a few days earlyer, March 9th come and Smash Bros. Brawl rock my world. All the friends come together to play this hell of a game and I put my hands in the Gamecube controller. The Brawl mode window pop in and there it is, all the characters you love for Nintendo. ¿The first one I tried out? Lucas from Mother 3.

Then my mind explode. That Up Smash attack hit my balls so hard that my eyes pop out of my head. I loved Lucas (In the good mode, not in the Michael Jackson mode) and his PK Fire. I needed to know more about him and I only had 5 days to make research.

Internet make it simple. "Mother 3, Shigesato Itoi, Earthbound Saga, realeased in 2006" fans want it and waited for the game, Nintendo said "Screw u" and only sell it on Japan. Mother fanboys are sad :(. I had an oportunity to buy that game and that was my final mission. It turned into an obsession, the first time I feeled that for a game.

The airplane was ready, everything was ready, and I was up for the challenge. I wanted that game and I swear to God I will get it. I look for it, I tried ask for it with my lame, stupid, embarissing japanese and I was forced to go mall after mall, store after store, with stupid store dependants and anoying friends laughting at my disgrace.

There was only 2 days left and I had not founded the game yet. Japan was awesome, but that little cloud of frustation was strong enough to make me feel bad a few times.

The last night we stayed at an hotel, in Kyoto (Kyo-to=To-kyo, those japanese people are not very creative with city names). I was happy because the trip was just pure greatness, but a little upset because I dont acomplished my ultimate goal. Then my friend told me that the hotel has a mall just a few steps away and maybe the game was there. I went there with no hope at all, i knew it was not going to be there and i had my reasons to not believe. The mall was small and looked kinda crappy compared to the others, but i go in anyway.

My friend cheer my up and tell me to hurry to the Game Boy Advance section, that had only one small shelf that not reach even my shoulders. I look the games, all used software with the big red and yellow stickers in the face. There was no Mother 3. I looked to the floor, in disapointment. Then I see it. Glowing to me between a Supa Mario Brodurerus Advance 2 and a game about and emo RPG kid no one cares about. It was awesome. I screamed YAATAAAAA!!! And everyone looked at me in a strange form, but I didn´t care. I had my game and I bought it for 1980 yens (Used).



And I played. I played all the way back to home and played for hours and hours. I enjoyed every bit of it and printed a traduction so I can understand what they are talking about. I cried at the most touching moments and laughed at the most funny ones ("Signpost: You read me. I love you"). I loved the characters, the history, the enemies, the Pigmasks, EVERYTHING about this game and it worth all the work to get it in my hands.

And you know, I learned something that day. I was no more a casual gamer. I enyoyied Mother 3 not just for the easy fun, I enyoyied because I really wished to play it, I focused myself in the game and I look for it and when I played it finally, it was not just fun, it was a experience. A experience that will live with me for the rest of my life and that will be keeping me playing games for the rest of my life.