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I was born in 1992, and my dad was a pretty big nerd too, so I grew up with a PC, a nintendo my dad had bought for himself before I was born, and a Sega Genesis that I don't remember when it was bought.
Some of my first games were:
-Doom [which my parents made me stop playing after I was waking up in the middle of the night, from nightmares where I couldn't find the right colored keys. I still respect that decision. didn't play any more fpses until like 2 years ago just out of my own personal aversion to them],
-Super Mario Bros [with duck hunt],
-Sonic 2 [My childhood favorite right here],
-NHL [whatever year was the first game I played, I think 94],
-Wacky Wheels [a DOS game that I only recently realized was a mario kart clone]
and of course, the more educational pc games (I WAS a kid after all), like:
Living books [tortoise & the hare, arthur's reading race, sheila rae the brave] (which were awesome).
Putt Putt saves the zoo (also awesome),
and Freddi the Fish [the first one about the kelp and then a second western themed one].
I didn't really think until just now that video games have really been a part of my life as long as I can remember.
maybe that's why I still love them so.
Some of my first games were:
-Doom [which my parents made me stop playing after I was waking up in the middle of the night, from nightmares where I couldn't find the right colored keys. I still respect that decision. didn't play any more fpses until like 2 years ago just out of my own personal aversion to them],
-Super Mario Bros [with duck hunt],
-Sonic 2 [My childhood favorite right here],
-NHL [whatever year was the first game I played, I think 94],
-Wacky Wheels [a DOS game that I only recently realized was a mario kart clone]
and of course, the more educational pc games (I WAS a kid after all), like:
Living books [tortoise & the hare, arthur's reading race, sheila rae the brave] (which were awesome).
Putt Putt saves the zoo (also awesome),
and Freddi the Fish [the first one about the kelp and then a second western themed one].
I didn't really think until just now that video games have really been a part of my life as long as I can remember.
maybe that's why I still love them so.
Hmm... i vaguely remember playing some light-gun and pong and whatever else console (which was probably a copy of some famous console) in the 80s. Then, in the 91 or something i got my own soviet "gaming PC", based on some early IBM config and played lots of DOS games (first one was called Goody from Spanish devs). Then NES copies finally made their way to Ukraine and i played lots of NES classic (but not a single Zelda or jRPG). And i loved playing them, i felt like that was going to be a very important thing in my life. It's still hard to say which, if there was one, game made me love all games. You rarely notice when you fall in love, and when you do it's too late to remember how it started:)
I really cannot remember my very first experience with games. But the one that stands out in my mind as the most important first experience is playing Chrono Trigger the day it came out. My family was visiting my Great Aunt and her family that August. All the adults had gone off somewhere and left me and my siblings in the care of my cousins. The one cousin was big into video games and had just came home earlier that day with Chrono Trigger. He popped it in while I was sitting in his room playing and that wonderful wonderful intro started to play. For the next four hours I was the most silent and still I had ever been growing up. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen! I even got to play a little that day! My five year old brain exploded! Sadly I didn't get to play it again till I was 10, but the memories of the Millennial Fair, playing the games, beating up Gato, trying to get Chrono's doll, meeting Marle for the first time, my first time warp, and that GORGEOUS music. Chrono Trigger will forever be my favourite game!
Those were awesome stories! It really makes me realize all gamers are really the same - why we nerd rage and get overly excited defending/discussing games. This is life changing shit we're into.
I remember seeing my cousins play Pong in the late 70s and freaked out when we got an Atari 2600 at my Dad's house in 1980. That same year my Mom got my siblings and I an AppleII plus "for school", which I played Choplifter on with this bad ass analog joystick we had. In six grade I had a friend named Vu whose brother had every Apple 2 game ever and I spent all my money on 5 1/4" floppies so I could have a kick ass collection of pirated games. My Mom would still buy big games for me too, like Ultima III. There was this awesome port of Robotron that looked as good as the arcade as far as I was concerned, and I played the shit out of that.
I missed out on the NES because in 1985 I got an Amiga, which had freaking INCREDIBLE games, and was my gaming platform of choice until I bought a Super Nintendo in the early nineties. Yeah, the Amiga was THAT far ahead of the competition in graphics...Commodore were complete idiots for not being able to market such an awesome computer. After the SNES I was console crazy and (like many hardcore gamers) have bought every home console since.
I remember seeing my cousins play Pong in the late 70s and freaked out when we got an Atari 2600 at my Dad's house in 1980. That same year my Mom got my siblings and I an AppleII plus "for school", which I played Choplifter on with this bad ass analog joystick we had. In six grade I had a friend named Vu whose brother had every Apple 2 game ever and I spent all my money on 5 1/4" floppies so I could have a kick ass collection of pirated games. My Mom would still buy big games for me too, like Ultima III. There was this awesome port of Robotron that looked as good as the arcade as far as I was concerned, and I played the shit out of that.
I missed out on the NES because in 1985 I got an Amiga, which had freaking INCREDIBLE games, and was my gaming platform of choice until I bought a Super Nintendo in the early nineties. Yeah, the Amiga was THAT far ahead of the competition in graphics...Commodore were complete idiots for not being able to market such an awesome computer. After the SNES I was console crazy and (like many hardcore gamers) have bought every home console since.
1993. My parents bought my brother and I an NES with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tecmo Bowl, Karate Champ, and Ghostbusters at a yard sale. TMNT was the first game we popped in, and the rest is history. We could not unglue ourselves from the TV. I loved the music and the overworld map of TMNT and even though I was terrible at it, I still somehow enjoyed myself with the graphics and presentation.
Pac man on the Atari 2600 playing a game on my TV was the greatest thing ever and it wasn't even my system. ( it was my cousin's ) Still I felt that was the greatest thing ever. Looking back at it. I feel how old it is compare to the stuff now. Hell I think My GBA was more powerful than the Atari was.
Link's Motherfucking Awakening. I got into video games a lot later than my peers, because even though they looked awesome, I could entertain myself just as well with a handful of broken action figures. My parents didn't see the point in the investment.
But after watching my friends play pokemon and zelda every day at lunch, and not finding anyone willing to let me have a file, I finally got a gameboy color and Link's Awakening in 5th grade.
I played it on and off for a few months, strategy guide in my lap. It was fun, but it was just an expensive diversion. I finally beat it over summer break. The strategy guide already told me how the game ends: you wake the windfish. But that was only half the story. You wake the windfish and EVERYONE FUCKING DIES.
I remember watching in abject horror as everyone I helped, everyone who helped me, all the places I went and even the enemies I fought faded into the ocean. And that was it. Roll credits. They're all dead. Not even Goosebumps would pull this shit. What was even worse, I pulled the trigger. It wasn't like a book where the end is always the same, even if you don't reach it. If I had just put the game down before it was too late, the windfish could have slept forever. The nightmares tried to warn me and I refused to listen. I could not stop crying for hours. When my babysitter asked me what was wrong I could only hiccup, "Everyone is dead! They tricked me! They made me kill everyone!" That poor woman.
That moment was the beginning of an obsession. Today people ask if video games can tell compelling stories, or if they can even be called art. I've known since 5th grade that the answers to both are "yes."
But after watching my friends play pokemon and zelda every day at lunch, and not finding anyone willing to let me have a file, I finally got a gameboy color and Link's Awakening in 5th grade.
I played it on and off for a few months, strategy guide in my lap. It was fun, but it was just an expensive diversion. I finally beat it over summer break. The strategy guide already told me how the game ends: you wake the windfish. But that was only half the story. You wake the windfish and EVERYONE FUCKING DIES.
I remember watching in abject horror as everyone I helped, everyone who helped me, all the places I went and even the enemies I fought faded into the ocean. And that was it. Roll credits. They're all dead. Not even Goosebumps would pull this shit. What was even worse, I pulled the trigger. It wasn't like a book where the end is always the same, even if you don't reach it. If I had just put the game down before it was too late, the windfish could have slept forever. The nightmares tried to warn me and I refused to listen. I could not stop crying for hours. When my babysitter asked me what was wrong I could only hiccup, "Everyone is dead! They tricked me! They made me kill everyone!" That poor woman.
That moment was the beginning of an obsession. Today people ask if video games can tell compelling stories, or if they can even be called art. I've known since 5th grade that the answers to both are "yes."
I know this isn't the first game I played because I know my older brothers had the Intellivision and the Odyssey, but the first game I remember playing is Castlevania for the NES. Better than that, Castlevania is the first game I ever "PWNed" somebody at. (Obviously, in those ancient times, we we would never have been evolved enough to call it that but nevertheless there was PWNage) My older brothers had brought home this cool vampire killer game that they wanted to play on the NES. I was very excited cause I hated the Count from "The STREET", but I digress. Long story...somewhat less long, my brothers didn't let me play until they got to Frankie and the Hunchback. They just couldn't beat it, and I had watched them for what seemed like hours trying. They finally let me try in an effort to shut the little jerk up. I crushed them in my 8yr old hand like so many grapes. GLORIOUS VINDICATION! TASTE MY INFANTILE WRATH, INSOLENT SIBLINGS! I shall now retire to my He-Man bunk bed. Good Night, Gentlemen.
Growing up without a TV, my video gaming was nearly exclusively portable based. I have memories of playing all sorts of Game Boy games throughout my childhood. However, it wasn't until middle school when gaming took on a much more emotional backing. The year was 1996, and the game was Kirby's Dream Land 2.
Within a month of school starting, one of my school acquaintances committed suicide. He was 12. This was the first person I'd ever known to die, let alone a peer, and it understandably messed me up. I knew I wasn't in a sound enough mental state to go the funeral, so instead, I kept playing Kirby. It was my escape. Two days after James' funeral, I finally beat true final boss and got the game's real final ending.
Looking back, it was a horribly dated cutscene with the Game Boy's graphical lackings being quite apparent. However, at that time, seeing Kirby flying through the air with the Rainbow Sword intact with his animal buddies looking on, gave me peace with the whole situation. Over the next few days, I would beat the game over again and again just to see the final cutscene and picture James and Kirby flying off together.
Yes, I know it's incredibly lame, but truth be told, I'm starting to tear up just from rememberin...I mean, from some idiot cutting a whole bunch of onions in this room.
So yeah, that's the moment when games took on a deeper meaning for me.
Within a month of school starting, one of my school acquaintances committed suicide. He was 12. This was the first person I'd ever known to die, let alone a peer, and it understandably messed me up. I knew I wasn't in a sound enough mental state to go the funeral, so instead, I kept playing Kirby. It was my escape. Two days after James' funeral, I finally beat true final boss and got the game's real final ending.
Looking back, it was a horribly dated cutscene with the Game Boy's graphical lackings being quite apparent. However, at that time, seeing Kirby flying through the air with the Rainbow Sword intact with his animal buddies looking on, gave me peace with the whole situation. Over the next few days, I would beat the game over again and again just to see the final cutscene and picture James and Kirby flying off together.
Yes, I know it's incredibly lame, but truth be told, I'm starting to tear up just from rememberin...I mean, from some idiot cutting a whole bunch of onions in this room.
So yeah, that's the moment when games took on a deeper meaning for me.
Congrats on 100 of these Chad! This one in particular was very enjoyable to read.
I grew up in an isolated town of a few hundred people in northern Canada, so access to games was more or less my problem. Thankfully, a few years before I was born there was a mini-population boom of kids, my brother included. Shortly thereafter the Atari 2600 arrived and I was all of 2 years old I think when we got ours. After finally proving to my brother that I wasn't going to chew the cables or stick a banana in the cartridge slot, I basically started gaming. I remember playing and eventually mastering, almost all of Activision's now-classic catalogue, including a title that many of the kids in my town thought was 'broken' due to the extra console controls required (Starmaster). My brother almost had a shit fit when he saw me playing that one with my feet on the console to switch to the map view to chart the course to the next enemy ship or starbase. Imagine his surprise when I 'beat' the game by clearing all enemy ships from the sector!
The best part of all however, was the community aspect of the whole experience. As I mentioned, access to games was a huge problem up where we lived, so to ensure that everyone got a chance to play as many titles as they could, we had a communal 'big plastic bag of cartridges' which contained almost everything that you could want. Knowing everyone in your town I suppose helps, since if there was something that you absolutely needed back you knew where to find it! Whenever I think about my gaming roots, I think of that white plastic bag with the cartridges bursting out the sides. Man, seeing that thing every couple of weeks was like Christmas to us. I still smile when I think about it.
I grew up in an isolated town of a few hundred people in northern Canada, so access to games was more or less my problem. Thankfully, a few years before I was born there was a mini-population boom of kids, my brother included. Shortly thereafter the Atari 2600 arrived and I was all of 2 years old I think when we got ours. After finally proving to my brother that I wasn't going to chew the cables or stick a banana in the cartridge slot, I basically started gaming. I remember playing and eventually mastering, almost all of Activision's now-classic catalogue, including a title that many of the kids in my town thought was 'broken' due to the extra console controls required (Starmaster). My brother almost had a shit fit when he saw me playing that one with my feet on the console to switch to the map view to chart the course to the next enemy ship or starbase. Imagine his surprise when I 'beat' the game by clearing all enemy ships from the sector!
The best part of all however, was the community aspect of the whole experience. As I mentioned, access to games was a huge problem up where we lived, so to ensure that everyone got a chance to play as many titles as they could, we had a communal 'big plastic bag of cartridges' which contained almost everything that you could want. Knowing everyone in your town I suppose helps, since if there was something that you absolutely needed back you knew where to find it! Whenever I think about my gaming roots, I think of that white plastic bag with the cartridges bursting out the sides. Man, seeing that thing every couple of weeks was like Christmas to us. I still smile when I think about it.
My first console was a SNES. I got it for Christmas from my aunt and uncle, despite my parents being opposed to it because they thought it would rot my brain (in hindsight they were probably right but I digress). Even though it was for both me and my sister, I was the one who was the most excited about that; remind the N64 kid? He was small time compared to five year old me. To make it even more awesome, I got three games with it: Super Mario All Stars, Super Mario World, and Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse (the last one being my first Capcom game, though I didn't know at the time). Though I only had it for a short time, the games I had for it helped build a foundation that would last for years to come.
However, despite the combined hours I spent on my SNES, my Gameboy, and even the PC with games like Doom, it wasn't until The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time that I realized video games were going to be a important part of my life. I had never played a Zelda game before Ocarina of Time, so playing a game where I killed my enemies with a sword and solving puzzles was a unique concept to my seven year old mind. Combined that with the fact that it had a deeper story than "Giant Lizard kidnaps princess" and a kickass soundtrack, and Ocarina of Time was the first game to make me think that maybe video games were more than pretty pictures on the screen that I controlled. They were interactive epic stories with rich environments and compelling soundtracks, and while it's not my all time favorite Zelda (or video game for that matter), Ocarina of Time is one of the biggest reasons I'm here typing this, wanting to work in the industry I love so much.
However, despite the combined hours I spent on my SNES, my Gameboy, and even the PC with games like Doom, it wasn't until The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time that I realized video games were going to be a important part of my life. I had never played a Zelda game before Ocarina of Time, so playing a game where I killed my enemies with a sword and solving puzzles was a unique concept to my seven year old mind. Combined that with the fact that it had a deeper story than "Giant Lizard kidnaps princess" and a kickass soundtrack, and Ocarina of Time was the first game to make me think that maybe video games were more than pretty pictures on the screen that I controlled. They were interactive epic stories with rich environments and compelling soundtracks, and while it's not my all time favorite Zelda (or video game for that matter), Ocarina of Time is one of the biggest reasons I'm here typing this, wanting to work in the industry I love so much.
For me, this spot would be filled by playing Centipede on the 2600. I dunno why, but I loved that game.
I started typing up my response...and a few hours later, it turned into my first blog entry in over a year. http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/JDefined/memory-card-response-just-stay-in-your-room-and-keep-playing-your-game--208596.phtml
Thank you Chad for sharing so many great memories. Words can never express how much I've enjoyed reading them.
Thank you Chad for sharing so many great memories. Words can never express how much I've enjoyed reading them.
Whoops. clickable link.
I remember wandering into an electronics store and seeing a playable demo unit of Super Mario Bros.. I remember constantly playing Tetris in a department store. I remember playing Duck Hunt round my uncle's house. I remember going round my friend's house and playing The Secret of Monkey Island, Lemmings and Revenge of the Mutant Camels on the Amiga. I remember when we got a SNES and played Street Fighter II, Super Mario World and Super Mario Kart constantly. I remember when we got a PlayStation, and played Final Fantasy VII and Grand Theft Auto. I remember getting an N64, and playing Super Mario 64, GoldenEye and Ocarina of Time. I remember when I did a stint as a teaching assistant when I was 17, and being able to talk to the 7 year olds because we both played Pokémon. I remember agonizing over whether to get Oracle of Ages or Oracle of Seasons on the Gameboy Color. I remember first seeing Grand Theft Auto III on the PlayStation 2. I remember Counterstrike LAN matches played in university halls. I remember getting a Gamecube just so I could play Super Monkey Ball. I remember the first time Burnout 3 let me smash lots of cars. I remember when a friend bought his XBox and Halo and playing until 2am. I remember Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Half Life 2 and FarCry on the PC my mate built me. I remember buying a Wii as soon as it came out, and playing Wii Sports over and over. I remember the first time I bought a DS and did my Brain Training. I remember buying an XBox 360 just so I could play Halo 3, but feeling the next generation jump when I played Call of Duty 4. I remember getting my PlayStation 3 so I could play Blu Rays, and getting into Uncharted. I remember my first descent into Rapture, my first escape from Vault 101, first being told "Remember, no Russian.", first boarding the Ichimura, first piloting Metal Gear Rex.
I'll always remember first making comments on Destructoid, writing my first community blog, writing my first Comments of the Week, exposing my fresh meat in the forums, putting together the first Debatoid, spending 3 days creating a picture contest that three people entered, writing the Choose Your E3 adventure, being offered a position on the staff, writing this comment, and reading the 100th Memory Card.
Thank you Chad. Here's to (at least) 100 more.
I'll always remember first making comments on Destructoid, writing my first community blog, writing my first Comments of the Week, exposing my fresh meat in the forums, putting together the first Debatoid, spending 3 days creating a picture contest that three people entered, writing the Choose Your E3 adventure, being offered a position on the staff, writing this comment, and reading the 100th Memory Card.
Thank you Chad. Here's to (at least) 100 more.
What a nice surprise. Thanks for sharing those stories with us, everyone!
I've tried many, many times to remember when I first played a videogame, but I simply have no idea. I think at some point I told myself the first videogame I ever played was Super Mario World, or Mega Man X, at only a few years of age. (Yeah, I'm a young one) I do know for a fact that three of my male cousins, who all happen to be brothers, introduced me to gaming, and I used to mainly watch them play.
I've tried many, many times to remember when I first played a videogame, but I simply have no idea. I think at some point I told myself the first videogame I ever played was Super Mario World, or Mega Man X, at only a few years of age. (Yeah, I'm a young one) I do know for a fact that three of my male cousins, who all happen to be brothers, introduced me to gaming, and I used to mainly watch them play.
My one and only gaming memory was helping you beat Bionic Commando: Rearmed challenge rooms at one of your orgy parties and Liz Alexander trying to make me eat that Vegemite shit. The rest of my life is a complete blur.
Awesome post chad and co , I got all teary when I read all of your introductions to gaming, will get on writing my own probably :)
I nearly exploded with joy upon receiving my SNES with Super Mario World. That was pure, innocent gaming bliss. I lost myself in that game - to the furthest extent I believe I am capable of. It absorbed me. I had never seen anything like it, and there are few things (games or otherwise) that have struck such a profound chord in my mind's eye.
I saw the beauty of video games that day, as well as their infinite potential. I have never looked away.
Great article Chad! Congratulations on 100. Here's to 100 more. <3
I saw the beauty of video games that day, as well as their infinite potential. I have never looked away.
Great article Chad! Congratulations on 100. Here's to 100 more. <3
I was in the fourth grade, just moved from Colorado to California, and my family moved into this small apartment/flat complex. The kid who lived below us below us was lucky enough to get an N.E.S.. I would go to his spot from time time, but when the N.E.S. arrived my visits became more and more frequent. We would play Super Mario Bros., Gumshoe, Duck Hunt and Gyromite for hours. On each visit he would eventually want to go outside and play, but not me... I was hooked and the rest, was well, history. I've been playing video games ever since. And as my Destructoid profile states, "Life is my hobby. Video games are my life."
Also, to this day Gumshoe still has a special place in my heart container.
Also, to this day Gumshoe still has a special place in my heart container.
I've played video games since I was 3, and I even grew up with the likes of super mario bros, I never particularly saw it as anything special, just as a game, fast forward to the age of 12 and I'm walking with my brother around a flea market, we go past a stand that has some games my brother recognizes, these two games are the original final fantasy and final fantasy ii(iv) for the nes and snes respectively, he recognizes them because he used to play final fantasy viii(yeah I joined the party late) with my cousin a shit ton, off a whim we decide to each buy one, I decided to go with iv, he went with the original, we'll the rest is history after that, I stopped playing Halo 1 and golden eye, and started looking for all things jrpgs and story driven, I seriously believe that if it wasn't for ff ii, I would still be borderline "casual". It is a game that changed my view on games as a medium, and for that it will always have a special place in my heart. To bad that franchise has turned to shit, as well as the company who I used to hold to the likes of The Beatles.
Pretty sure my first videogame memory was Battlezone on the Atari 2600. It's fuzzy, because I was no more than three years old. Other notable titles were Combat, River Raid, Adventure, and Kangaroo.
Then, about the time I turned 5, the NES came along. I played Super Mario Bros. for hours and hours at a time. I'd turn down the volume on my TV and try to play it in the dead of night. I always got to the Hammer Bro. right before Bowser in the last castle, and I couldn't get past him.
Then a few months went by, and after trying every way I could think of, I got past and faced Bowser for the final time. Aaaand... he demolished me. Who gets to throw that many hammers? Cheats! Eventually I defeated him as well, but that moment is when I knew I was hooked on this hobby. Getting beyond a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, I felt like the king of the world. And then I was crushed like a bug. And I knew I had to have more.
I also benefited from Phar-Mor's (defunct drug store chain) inexpensive game rentals; I got to play a lot of things I never would have otherwise. I must have rented River City Ransom more than enough times to have bought it at full retail price, heh.
Then, about the time I turned 5, the NES came along. I played Super Mario Bros. for hours and hours at a time. I'd turn down the volume on my TV and try to play it in the dead of night. I always got to the Hammer Bro. right before Bowser in the last castle, and I couldn't get past him.
Then a few months went by, and after trying every way I could think of, I got past and faced Bowser for the final time. Aaaand... he demolished me. Who gets to throw that many hammers? Cheats! Eventually I defeated him as well, but that moment is when I knew I was hooked on this hobby. Getting beyond a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, I felt like the king of the world. And then I was crushed like a bug. And I knew I had to have more.
I also benefited from Phar-Mor's (defunct drug store chain) inexpensive game rentals; I got to play a lot of things I never would have otherwise. I must have rented River City Ransom more than enough times to have bought it at full retail price, heh.
I love Chad. And this place. Really should participate even a fraction as much as I used to. Anyway, I had played video games before, but they never mattered to me as much as television. It's weird to remember that I was reluctant to actually play them at the houses of friends; I was much more comfortable watching.
Then one day my little sister and I went to my older neighbor Matt's house. He wanted us to play his new video game with him, but I was really hesitant. Instead I actually agreed to shoot hoops outside, which is kind of insane, because I've never enjoyed that sort of thing. At all. I finally agree to try out the game: Super Smash Bros. Melee. And it was FUCKING AWESOME. Played for hours, went back a lot, and learned what should have been really obvious, namely that video games are incredibly fun.
I don't get that many games a year, and now I probably care about the story more than the gameplay (although that sure as hell didn't stop me from picking up Mortal Kombat earlier this year), but I love the medium and what it has the potential for, and I always keep an eye on the industry.
So thank you Nintendo, for making the game that got me here (and the characters it drew from), Matt for buying it and having us over, Chad for the memories (this has always been my favorite Destructoid feature), and Neiro, for the amazing site where it all comes together.
Then one day my little sister and I went to my older neighbor Matt's house. He wanted us to play his new video game with him, but I was really hesitant. Instead I actually agreed to shoot hoops outside, which is kind of insane, because I've never enjoyed that sort of thing. At all. I finally agree to try out the game: Super Smash Bros. Melee. And it was FUCKING AWESOME. Played for hours, went back a lot, and learned what should have been really obvious, namely that video games are incredibly fun.
I don't get that many games a year, and now I probably care about the story more than the gameplay (although that sure as hell didn't stop me from picking up Mortal Kombat earlier this year), but I love the medium and what it has the potential for, and I always keep an eye on the industry.
So thank you Nintendo, for making the game that got me here (and the characters it drew from), Matt for buying it and having us over, Chad for the memories (this has always been my favorite Destructoid feature), and Neiro, for the amazing site where it all comes together.
My first video gaming console/computer was an amstrad with a tape deck. No idea what model or type. But i remember playing Ghostbusters, Dizzy the egg, Postman Pat (1 and 2! ROCK ON!) among some others.
Didnt get the gaming bug until i got a SNES though. Super Mario allstars <3 shortly followed by Super mario World.
Didnt get the gaming bug until i got a SNES though. Super Mario allstars <3 shortly followed by Super mario World.
AMAZING recollections!
First console memory was Alex Kidd on the megadrive
First game on the PC was probably the original Doom or something. I've been gaming for as long as i've been capable of thought.
First console memory was Alex Kidd on the megadrive
First game on the PC was probably the original Doom or something. I've been gaming for as long as i've been capable of thought.
First of all, loved the article, both the idea and the stories themselves. My first memory of gaming is playing Super Mario All-Stars on a friend's SNES, day after day. A year or two later, I got an N64 for Christmas, along with a game called Mischief Makers (had to look the name up).
Being 6 years old, I was absolutely terrible at the game. Dad traded it in the following day, for Star Fox 64 (or Lylat Wars, as it was called here). Now, I sucked at that too, but I was so amazed by it that I just didn't mind getting shot down by Corneria's boss time and again. I was in another world and nothing else mattered.
That game is probably my fondest memory of gaming, and I still gladly play it to this day.
Being 6 years old, I was absolutely terrible at the game. Dad traded it in the following day, for Star Fox 64 (or Lylat Wars, as it was called here). Now, I sucked at that too, but I was so amazed by it that I just didn't mind getting shot down by Corneria's boss time and again. I was in another world and nothing else mattered.
That game is probably my fondest memory of gaming, and I still gladly play it to this day.
I'm an ardent fan of history. I love it. Premade stories that -actually- happened to people? Epic tales of war and peace, discovery, adventure on the high seas? Accounts of ancient worlds that suddenly ceased to be, great empires that still exist to day. And you're saying I can learn practical lessons from these stories as well? Sign me the hell up.
I'm also an ardent fan of videogames. Stories of characters I control? Where the success and failures of the characters on the screen are based on my decisions and actions? Where I can interact with the characters in a risk free environment, where I can explore and discover things on my own? Where I can form my own stories, in my own imagination, while being influenced by a story someone else had written? Sign me the hell up.
Which is why, as much as I loathe to admit it, my first true great memory of videogames was Where in Time is Carmen SanDiego? Turn on the way back machine to around 1998, before my family had even thought of getting a home console. My mom had a computer. The computer ran windows 98. How old and inefficient is Windows 98? Does the phrase "ZIP Drive" mean anything to you? Each person who used the computer had a ZIP drive you had to put in a specialized slot in the computer, where all your programs were saved to. I had a few; Monopoly Star Wars and Where in Time is Carmen SanDiego are notable; Monopoly Star Wars because it's the first game that ever crashed one of my computers, and Where in Time is Carmen SanDiego because I played that game to no end. Was it basic edutainment? Yeah. Was it kind of lame with bad writing? Today I would think so. But for little 6 year old me, the game was wonderful. Learning about the discovery of America, the creation of the Printing Press (also important to my neverending love of BOOKS), sending the first man into space; all while chasing down some bitch who liked to wear her bathrobe out in public.
After that, my mom or dad decided to get my sister and I a Playstation. It came with (remember when the Big Three would do that? Send consoles along with games, in my case 8 of them?) Spyro the Dragon, Ape Escape, one of the NHL Hockey games, and a few others I honestly don't remember. I think maybe Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Either way, the love affair had officially begun. My course was set. Nerdom was to be my life. And there you have it. How I became a raging nerd.
I'm also an ardent fan of videogames. Stories of characters I control? Where the success and failures of the characters on the screen are based on my decisions and actions? Where I can interact with the characters in a risk free environment, where I can explore and discover things on my own? Where I can form my own stories, in my own imagination, while being influenced by a story someone else had written? Sign me the hell up.
Which is why, as much as I loathe to admit it, my first true great memory of videogames was Where in Time is Carmen SanDiego? Turn on the way back machine to around 1998, before my family had even thought of getting a home console. My mom had a computer. The computer ran windows 98. How old and inefficient is Windows 98? Does the phrase "ZIP Drive" mean anything to you? Each person who used the computer had a ZIP drive you had to put in a specialized slot in the computer, where all your programs were saved to. I had a few; Monopoly Star Wars and Where in Time is Carmen SanDiego are notable; Monopoly Star Wars because it's the first game that ever crashed one of my computers, and Where in Time is Carmen SanDiego because I played that game to no end. Was it basic edutainment? Yeah. Was it kind of lame with bad writing? Today I would think so. But for little 6 year old me, the game was wonderful. Learning about the discovery of America, the creation of the Printing Press (also important to my neverending love of BOOKS), sending the first man into space; all while chasing down some bitch who liked to wear her bathrobe out in public.
After that, my mom or dad decided to get my sister and I a Playstation. It came with (remember when the Big Three would do that? Send consoles along with games, in my case 8 of them?) Spyro the Dragon, Ape Escape, one of the NHL Hockey games, and a few others I honestly don't remember. I think maybe Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Either way, the love affair had officially begun. My course was set. Nerdom was to be my life. And there you have it. How I became a raging nerd.
Congrats on 100! I love reading this series every Friday morning.
Right, when I fell in love with video games. It was shortly after my little sister was born. Since she was delivered on Christmas Eve of 1988, my mother wasn't around for Christmas. To a four year old, it was pretty crushing. To my little brother who was two, he just didn't understand. While we were excited to have a little sister, Christmas without everyone didn't make sense. My parents knew this, though. Slowly, they made plans for next year.
As we ripped through gifts as shark rip through the carcass of a whale, my parents simply smiled. It was then my father pulled out from behind the tree a giant box, labeled "To: The Family From: Santa". He pushed it in front my brother and I, encouraging us to open it, but do it carefully. We did as he instructed. It was a Nintendo Entertainment System. We recognized it from the commercials. Although I can't remember if we badgered my parents about it, they got it. My mother was given a gift as she held my sister, and she peeled the away the paper. It was the golden cartridge of The Legend of Zelda. This is where my love of video games started.
In the times where she wasn't taking care of three children, working and working around the house, she'd sit up in her bedroom, playing the Legend of Zelda. We'd all watch her play, hypnotized by the character fighting off a multitude of monsters. I decided to start playing myself, trying to catch up to her. I loved it though. The challenges, the puzzles, the difficulty. I would quiz her on it or ask for help.
It wasn't until she got the very last dungeon in the game. It took her a long time to complete it (I can't remember because I was five at the time and trying to figure out a time frame from over two decades ago is pretty damn difficult). She couldn't find the map for it, so she drew up her own. It had where mini-bosses were, where stairs were and where they would take you, the location for the oh-so-crucial silver arrow, the compass and where to fight Gannon. I watched her take him down and save Zelda. I was enchanted by it. But something was getting to me. Actually, two:
-If there was a compass, there HAD to be a map.
-All blue items in the game had a red upgrade (the candle, the boomerang, etc). So, there absolutely had to be a red ring. And it must have been in the last dungeon.
When I wasn't being sent outside or in a kindergarten class, I was combing through Death Mountain. Bombing every wall, following my mother's map, adding to it, looking for areas she never explored. I'd ask her to watch, but she was usually busy with being a mother. My father was doing a multitude of things from softball to helping my mother. I was on my own for this task.
It took time, but then I asserted my two thoughts. I found the map one day through randomly chance. While it wasn't brag-worthy, it did make me happy. And then it pointed out an obvious statement: Just because there wasn't a room marked there, that didn't mean a room wasn't there. The hunt for the Red Ring was on.
Shortly after that, after days of hunting, I found it. My own Holy Grail (at that time). I picked up the Red Ring and watched Link turn from blue to red. Elation filled me. I raced downstairs, shouting "MOM!" all the way down. I told her of my accomplishment. She smiled and told me to beat Gannon.
And that is when I fell head-over-heels in love with video games.
Right, when I fell in love with video games. It was shortly after my little sister was born. Since she was delivered on Christmas Eve of 1988, my mother wasn't around for Christmas. To a four year old, it was pretty crushing. To my little brother who was two, he just didn't understand. While we were excited to have a little sister, Christmas without everyone didn't make sense. My parents knew this, though. Slowly, they made plans for next year.
As we ripped through gifts as shark rip through the carcass of a whale, my parents simply smiled. It was then my father pulled out from behind the tree a giant box, labeled "To: The Family From: Santa". He pushed it in front my brother and I, encouraging us to open it, but do it carefully. We did as he instructed. It was a Nintendo Entertainment System. We recognized it from the commercials. Although I can't remember if we badgered my parents about it, they got it. My mother was given a gift as she held my sister, and she peeled the away the paper. It was the golden cartridge of The Legend of Zelda. This is where my love of video games started.
In the times where she wasn't taking care of three children, working and working around the house, she'd sit up in her bedroom, playing the Legend of Zelda. We'd all watch her play, hypnotized by the character fighting off a multitude of monsters. I decided to start playing myself, trying to catch up to her. I loved it though. The challenges, the puzzles, the difficulty. I would quiz her on it or ask for help.
It wasn't until she got the very last dungeon in the game. It took her a long time to complete it (I can't remember because I was five at the time and trying to figure out a time frame from over two decades ago is pretty damn difficult). She couldn't find the map for it, so she drew up her own. It had where mini-bosses were, where stairs were and where they would take you, the location for the oh-so-crucial silver arrow, the compass and where to fight Gannon. I watched her take him down and save Zelda. I was enchanted by it. But something was getting to me. Actually, two:
-If there was a compass, there HAD to be a map.
-All blue items in the game had a red upgrade (the candle, the boomerang, etc). So, there absolutely had to be a red ring. And it must have been in the last dungeon.
When I wasn't being sent outside or in a kindergarten class, I was combing through Death Mountain. Bombing every wall, following my mother's map, adding to it, looking for areas she never explored. I'd ask her to watch, but she was usually busy with being a mother. My father was doing a multitude of things from softball to helping my mother. I was on my own for this task.
It took time, but then I asserted my two thoughts. I found the map one day through randomly chance. While it wasn't brag-worthy, it did make me happy. And then it pointed out an obvious statement: Just because there wasn't a room marked there, that didn't mean a room wasn't there. The hunt for the Red Ring was on.
Shortly after that, after days of hunting, I found it. My own Holy Grail (at that time). I picked up the Red Ring and watched Link turn from blue to red. Elation filled me. I raced downstairs, shouting "MOM!" all the way down. I told her of my accomplishment. She smiled and told me to beat Gannon.
And that is when I fell head-over-heels in love with video games.
Congrats on hitting #100, Chad!
One of my favorite gaming moments ever has to be playing through Super Mario 3 with my dad every night and beating it for the first time.
One of my favorite gaming moments ever has to be playing through Super Mario 3 with my dad every night and beating it for the first time.
I figured this would be a good first post.
My first real gaming experience was with Pokemon. On the weekends I went to visit my real dad when I was a young’un. He knew my mother hated video games so, to piss her off I’m sure, he bought me the original GameBoy and Tetris. Since then I have had a great affinity for Tetris but the thing that I really remember and made me fall in love with games was Pokemon. The Christmas of the year that Red and Blue were released in the US was the Christmas I found Red under my tree. I had seen this commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tTc8__lXkM prior to playing but didn’t really know what it was about. When I first tried to play, having little experience with any game beyond Tetris, I couldn’t figure out how the hell to get out of the house you start in. It’s embarrassing to look back at now but a few days later on a trip to my Grams I figured it out and played the whole way, 4 hours, until my GameBoy died but I didn’t think about saving. Good times. So on the way home, with fresh new batteries satisfying the hunger of my GameBoy, I finally got started on my adventure and eventually caught them all on that cartridge without cheating. Despite the disappointing reward for catching them all I still wish I had never erased that save file but I did so I’m now on a quest of gathering them all in White. Half way there.
Since then I have had an affinity for Pokemon games and beyond. I’ve used them as a retreat when life has tossed shit my way and I didn’t want to have to live with the fact I live in this world and instead immersed myself in these virtual worlds which has probably helped my sanity about as much as books and TV and probably more than other people ever have which may not be the best thing to say but there it is. I’ve also used it to remain close to my real father in a way. Despite the fact he isn’t dead I just don’t see him anymore due to some fallings out so it’s nice to have a positive tie to him.
Over the years I’ve owned a GB, SNES, GBC, GBA, Gamecube, PSP, Wii, PS3, and Pokemon was the thing that pushed me to finally grab a DS Lite back in ’07 and the thing that made me know I needed a 3DS for when the inevitable game is released. Did I really need a day one launch system probably not but I got it and I’ve enjoyed using it so far.
That’s my first real impactful memory of games and the effect they’ve had on my life. Sorry it’s a little long but hope it was an enjoyable read. Congrats on the .100th Memory Card Chad!
My first real gaming experience was with Pokemon. On the weekends I went to visit my real dad when I was a young’un. He knew my mother hated video games so, to piss her off I’m sure, he bought me the original GameBoy and Tetris. Since then I have had a great affinity for Tetris but the thing that I really remember and made me fall in love with games was Pokemon. The Christmas of the year that Red and Blue were released in the US was the Christmas I found Red under my tree. I had seen this commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tTc8__lXkM prior to playing but didn’t really know what it was about. When I first tried to play, having little experience with any game beyond Tetris, I couldn’t figure out how the hell to get out of the house you start in. It’s embarrassing to look back at now but a few days later on a trip to my Grams I figured it out and played the whole way, 4 hours, until my GameBoy died but I didn’t think about saving. Good times. So on the way home, with fresh new batteries satisfying the hunger of my GameBoy, I finally got started on my adventure and eventually caught them all on that cartridge without cheating. Despite the disappointing reward for catching them all I still wish I had never erased that save file but I did so I’m now on a quest of gathering them all in White. Half way there.
Since then I have had an affinity for Pokemon games and beyond. I’ve used them as a retreat when life has tossed shit my way and I didn’t want to have to live with the fact I live in this world and instead immersed myself in these virtual worlds which has probably helped my sanity about as much as books and TV and probably more than other people ever have which may not be the best thing to say but there it is. I’ve also used it to remain close to my real father in a way. Despite the fact he isn’t dead I just don’t see him anymore due to some fallings out so it’s nice to have a positive tie to him.
Over the years I’ve owned a GB, SNES, GBC, GBA, Gamecube, PSP, Wii, PS3, and Pokemon was the thing that pushed me to finally grab a DS Lite back in ’07 and the thing that made me know I needed a 3DS for when the inevitable game is released. Did I really need a day one launch system probably not but I got it and I’ve enjoyed using it so far.
That’s my first real impactful memory of games and the effect they’ve had on my life. Sorry it’s a little long but hope it was an enjoyable read. Congrats on the .100th Memory Card Chad!
I really loved this article and given some personal facts (My mom died a month ago this past Monday) the unabridged version of my story kind of reminds me how how lucky I am to have the parents I do.
I have to say my love started right out of the womb,and actually my story actually sound a whole heck of a lot like Nicks with a little dash of Andrew's to be honest. I used to sit up as best I could when I was a baby watching my dad play his Atari. Then to my dads dismay the first times I ever picked up a controller was to teeth on the joysticks rubber covering, but somewhere there after I was playing myself and one of my earliest memories was playing Pitfall! (Horribly) by the age of 3.
Then about '86 or '87ish I asked for a Nintendo. I can't remember where I even learned about it but now that I'm reading Nick's story I have to say I probably saw it on TV too, since I was always glued to the TV after preschool. Thing is, I knew, even at that age, we couldn't really afford it either, mom and dad would tell me it was just too expensive to get CONSTANTLY.. But I remember (another of my earliest memories) one night my parents telling me they had to talk and closing me out of the living room, which for them was seriously unlike them to do (they've never been the type to ever hold back in front of me), so I knew something big was going down.
So for about an hour I'd sneak past the room, not snooping directly at the door, knowing I'd be caught, but trying to hear what they said as best I could. If the floor creaked I made like I was going to the bathroom down the hall of our tiny apartment.. Then I heard it, Dad said "I got it" to my mom and I knew immediately what he meant, It was my NES!
Of course I had to wait till Christmas day to open it and it was the more expensive action set -meaning my dad had to have used up the whatever bonus he had gotten that year on that present alone (which was the only money my parents really ever had for presents when I was young)
So yeah, my love for gaming started when I wasn't even playing a game, that night I heard the words "I got it, through an old wooden door. And just like Nick said: Thanks, Mom. Thanks,Dad. Look at what you've done.
I have to say my love started right out of the womb,and actually my story actually sound a whole heck of a lot like Nicks with a little dash of Andrew's to be honest. I used to sit up as best I could when I was a baby watching my dad play his Atari. Then to my dads dismay the first times I ever picked up a controller was to teeth on the joysticks rubber covering, but somewhere there after I was playing myself and one of my earliest memories was playing Pitfall! (Horribly) by the age of 3.
Then about '86 or '87ish I asked for a Nintendo. I can't remember where I even learned about it but now that I'm reading Nick's story I have to say I probably saw it on TV too, since I was always glued to the TV after preschool. Thing is, I knew, even at that age, we couldn't really afford it either, mom and dad would tell me it was just too expensive to get CONSTANTLY.. But I remember (another of my earliest memories) one night my parents telling me they had to talk and closing me out of the living room, which for them was seriously unlike them to do (they've never been the type to ever hold back in front of me), so I knew something big was going down.
So for about an hour I'd sneak past the room, not snooping directly at the door, knowing I'd be caught, but trying to hear what they said as best I could. If the floor creaked I made like I was going to the bathroom down the hall of our tiny apartment.. Then I heard it, Dad said "I got it" to my mom and I knew immediately what he meant, It was my NES!
Of course I had to wait till Christmas day to open it and it was the more expensive action set -meaning my dad had to have used up the whatever bonus he had gotten that year on that present alone (which was the only money my parents really ever had for presents when I was young)
So yeah, my love for gaming started when I wasn't even playing a game, that night I heard the words "I got it, through an old wooden door. And just like Nick said: Thanks, Mom. Thanks,Dad. Look at what you've done.
Congratulations Chad!
I don't remember how the poorest kid in mexico got an Atari (a pirate Atari 2600 with 100 games included, of course) but it was really good. I loved Enduro, 5 different versions of Space Invaders and Pitfall. Then I got my first original game - Dark Chambers
The boxart was awesome! AWESOME! I could imagine the the most vivid and detailed monsters, dungeons and treasures while looking at the humble sprites. And it was a very hard and long game (chambers from A through Z!) so it was a fulfilling experience too :D
I don't remember how the poorest kid in mexico got an Atari (a pirate Atari 2600 with 100 games included, of course) but it was really good. I loved Enduro, 5 different versions of Space Invaders and Pitfall. Then I got my first original game - Dark Chambers
The boxart was awesome! AWESOME! I could imagine the the most vivid and detailed monsters, dungeons and treasures while looking at the humble sprites. And it was a very hard and long game (chambers from A through Z!) so it was a fulfilling experience too :D
I have so few memories about me and video games, but I was a 90s baby and my folks bought me an SNES, and that began the love affair. I have many memories with Super Mario World and Super Mario All Stars, and that's where it all started.
I can't remember too much more than that, but come to me being 21 today, I still have my SNES (and N64), and if I get a chance away from the modern systems, I might jump into some good old SNES fun again one day, maybe introduce a kid to it in my future someday.
I can't remember too much more than that, but come to me being 21 today, I still have my SNES (and N64), and if I get a chance away from the modern systems, I might jump into some good old SNES fun again one day, maybe introduce a kid to it in my future someday.
Wow. Every single one of these stories is beyond incredible. Thank you so much, everyone. I am touched and moved by all your memories.
Videogames are amazing. <3
Videogames are amazing. <3
Conveniently enough, the moment I fell balls-deep in love with video games was actually a previous Memory Card article.
Klonoa. Crying as hard as I did at that firmly cemented me. Forget all the other games I vaguely recall beforehand, ~Klonoa is the one that hooked me~.
Klonoa. Crying as hard as I did at that firmly cemented me. Forget all the other games I vaguely recall beforehand, ~Klonoa is the one that hooked me~.
My first knowledge of video gaming was presented on television on some children's game show. I guess I must have looked at the skateboarding game presented and thought 'I'd like to have a go on that'.
I remember my dad brought home a Commodore 64 for my brother and me to play on. I didn't know why Dad was being so generous, but that was my first taste of gaming. I can't remember my first game, but I remember completing platformer Count Duckula: No Sax Please, We're Egyptian, the first one I ever completed. Good times.
I remember my dad brought home a Commodore 64 for my brother and me to play on. I didn't know why Dad was being so generous, but that was my first taste of gaming. I can't remember my first game, but I remember completing platformer Count Duckula: No Sax Please, We're Egyptian, the first one I ever completed. Good times.
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