First off I want to apologize for my long absence. Summer vacations, and sick family have taken a toll on my free time. Any of which I have been spending with my DS. Oh, how Etrian Odyssey is calling me... no... I will finish this.

The Early Years
Anyways, I started gaming when the Atari was falling out of favor and the industry was starting to crash. Of course at the time, I knew nothing about all that, I just knew that games were pretty cool. And it wasn't until the NES that my love was solidified. I have covered in previous posts about how that NES saved me during some dark times in my life, but this article isn't about the start of the affair. This article is about, as with any relationship, my highs and lows.

So it did start with the NES, and my love of that system and its games blossomed into a beautiful infatuation that I had with gaming. These were the early years of the relationship filled with giggling blue slimes and romps through Mushroom Kingdom. During this time I would play all different types of games, not really being attached to any of them. I played everything from Sports (Blades of Steel, Temco Bowl) to Platformers (Super Mario 3, Kid Icarus) to RPG's (Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy) to Shooters (Contra), to Racing (RC ProAm), to Action(River City Ransom), to Adventure(Zelda), to Strategy (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), to Puzzle (Tetris), I could go on... well... I guess I already have.

Some of my fondest memories from this time included being able to game with friends and family, but more importantly was the time that I spent gaming on my own. Trying to better myself, trying to finish a game, honing my skills, dreaming of games. After playing Super Mario 3, I remember designing the next Super Mario game. Super Mario Adventure (the name that I had given it) was all laid out on graph paper (I so wish I still had those drawings) and it had Mario transversing the globe to places like Egypt (I remember trying to draw the Sphinx). I was hooked on games from here on out, but something happened that changed how and on what I gamed...

Favorite Games of The Early Years:
The Legend of Zelda
Super Mario 3
Dragon Warrior
Final Fantasy
Contra
RC ProAm
River City Ransom
TMNT
Kid Icarus
Excite Bike
Mega Man
Ninja Gaiden
Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Part 2: PC Gaming