Hey all, so since I've been laid up I've had a lot of time to reminisce about my childhood and I thought perhaps it'd be fun to post some little snippets I remember from "the good old days" as they say. Feel free to post your own memories of gaming as a child, they can be good memories, bad memories, whatever.
My earliest video game related memory comes from when I was 4 years old and visiting my uncle, he had an Atari 2600 and I remember playing a multiplayer tank game with him for hours on end. A few months later, for Christmas of 1999 my uncle gave me my first video game console, a Nintendo 64. It came with 5 games, Super Mario 64, Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, Wave Race 64, San Francisco Rush, and Superman 64. I remember being so excited that I immediately rushed out to the living room to hook it up without even bothering to open the rest of my presents. Those first moments with Super Mario 64 were truly magical, although I confess that it took me months to even beat King Bob Omb. It also took me more than a year to realize that there was more to Ocarina of Time than the Kokiri Forest. I had markedly more success with Wave Race 64, as I was able to beat that game with some help from a friend who used to come over to play that game exclusively. I also played San Francisco Rush to an almost absurd degree, to the point that I knew every single inch of all the tracks, I was fascinated by the sort of sandbox feel that each track had, and by how many hidden little secrets could be found in them. Then there was Superman 64, I never could really figure that game out.
Another wellspring of memories for me is the daycare at my elementary school. They had a PlayStation there with Ape Escape as well as an original Game Boy with Tetris and Super Mario Land. Unfortunately, everybody was limited to 10 minutes at a time on these so I never really got into them. However, it didn't really matter since one of the kids at the daycare routinely brought a huge bag full of Game Boy Colors and games and would pass them out to anybody who wanted one and then collect them all again when he left at the end of the day. I remember playing Pokémon Silver for the first time on one of this kid's Game Boy Colors and being absolutely enthralled.
Then there was my first Game Boy Advance, which I got after seeing one of my friends playing Super Mario World for the first time. Initially I only had 3 games, Donkey Kong, Namco Museum, and the Polar Express game, all of which were bought at a used game shop. I didn't get my first new GBA game until my dad bought me Super Mario Bros 3, a game which I played for hours and hours. I played all of the Mario Advance games quite a bit, but only with Mario 3 did I become so entranced that, while at school one day during recess I played the game under the slide for the whole recess period, didn't notice that recess ended, and then continue to play until I heard the bell ring signaling that school was over for the day 3 hours later. I also recall becoming obsessed with Wario Land 4, and playing it almost constantly during daycare even though I could never figure out how to beat the first few worlds. I always found that game to be strangely unsettling and a little bit scary for a kid in elementary school, but for some reason this just made me want to play it more.
I also have good memories of playing Pokémon as a child. I played a lot of Pokémon Leafgreen and would often bring the game to school with me to trade Pokémon with friends. I still remember the day when I convinced my friend to trade me his Mewtwo. It was a snowy day, and school was ending. I remember running through the snow with my friend as he was running towards his bus. The link cable was stretched between us and I was struggling to keep up so it would not be pulled out before the trade was complete, then, just as the trade was about to finish I stumbled over a rock and the link cable disconnected, but, miracle of miracles, I looked up to see Mewtwo on my screen. Thankfully the cable had disconnected just a second too late to cancel the trade. In fact, although I have since lost the game, I still have a Pokémon from that game in my Alpha Sapphire game. This Pokémon, a Dragonite, is my oldest Pokémon and will always have a special place in my heart. When playing through Pokémon Leafgreen I was disappointed with the choice in starting Pokémon, so, as soon as the game started I convinced my friend to trade me a level 5 Dratini in exchange for my starter, thus making Dratini my new "starter".
Then there's the first time I was introduced to the Nintendo Gamecube, a friend of mine in 6th grade had one. I can recall many a time when I went over to his house after school (he lived right across the street from the school) and spent hours in his basement playing NBA Street, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Smash Bros Melee. I owned the original Super Smash Bros on N64 by this point and it had become one of my favorite games, however when I first played Super Smash Bros Melee my jaw hit the floor. At the time it felt like the perfect game, I never got tired of playing it, and when spending the night at my friend's house I would often keep playing it through the night long after my friend had fallen asleep.
Finally, one of the most frustrating and triumphant memories from my childhood. I was playing Mario Golf Advance Tour, and I had beaten all the club champions except for one, Kid. For months I fought him on the links, and for months I failed. Many times I would come within one or two holes of defeating him, only to choke at the last possible second. Then, one day I woke up early before school and decided to square off against Kid one final time. In an incredible turn of events I made it to the last hole with the score tied, and as the sun came up I watched Kid totally implode as I played one of the best and most nerve wracking holes of my life. I ended with a Birdie and at long last defeated Kid. I was so incredibly triumphant that I went running through the house and woke my dad up to show him what I had done (he didn't particularly care of course, nor did he fully understand what I was yelling about).
Anyway, I hope you guys found these stories somewhat interesting, I imagine they probably aren't all that different from the memories many of you have of playing games as a kid. I think what is most interesting about gaming as a kid is the sense of real adventure and immersion that is hard to recreate as an adult. You really get invested in the game and feel like you're part of an adventure.
My earliest video game related memory comes from when I was 4 years old and visiting my uncle, he had an Atari 2600 and I remember playing a multiplayer tank game with him for hours on end. A few months later, for Christmas of 1999 my uncle gave me my first video game console, a Nintendo 64. It came with 5 games, Super Mario 64, Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, Wave Race 64, San Francisco Rush, and Superman 64. I remember being so excited that I immediately rushed out to the living room to hook it up without even bothering to open the rest of my presents. Those first moments with Super Mario 64 were truly magical, although I confess that it took me months to even beat King Bob Omb. It also took me more than a year to realize that there was more to Ocarina of Time than the Kokiri Forest. I had markedly more success with Wave Race 64, as I was able to beat that game with some help from a friend who used to come over to play that game exclusively. I also played San Francisco Rush to an almost absurd degree, to the point that I knew every single inch of all the tracks, I was fascinated by the sort of sandbox feel that each track had, and by how many hidden little secrets could be found in them. Then there was Superman 64, I never could really figure that game out.
Another wellspring of memories for me is the daycare at my elementary school. They had a PlayStation there with Ape Escape as well as an original Game Boy with Tetris and Super Mario Land. Unfortunately, everybody was limited to 10 minutes at a time on these so I never really got into them. However, it didn't really matter since one of the kids at the daycare routinely brought a huge bag full of Game Boy Colors and games and would pass them out to anybody who wanted one and then collect them all again when he left at the end of the day. I remember playing Pokémon Silver for the first time on one of this kid's Game Boy Colors and being absolutely enthralled.
Then there was my first Game Boy Advance, which I got after seeing one of my friends playing Super Mario World for the first time. Initially I only had 3 games, Donkey Kong, Namco Museum, and the Polar Express game, all of which were bought at a used game shop. I didn't get my first new GBA game until my dad bought me Super Mario Bros 3, a game which I played for hours and hours. I played all of the Mario Advance games quite a bit, but only with Mario 3 did I become so entranced that, while at school one day during recess I played the game under the slide for the whole recess period, didn't notice that recess ended, and then continue to play until I heard the bell ring signaling that school was over for the day 3 hours later. I also recall becoming obsessed with Wario Land 4, and playing it almost constantly during daycare even though I could never figure out how to beat the first few worlds. I always found that game to be strangely unsettling and a little bit scary for a kid in elementary school, but for some reason this just made me want to play it more.
I also have good memories of playing Pokémon as a child. I played a lot of Pokémon Leafgreen and would often bring the game to school with me to trade Pokémon with friends. I still remember the day when I convinced my friend to trade me his Mewtwo. It was a snowy day, and school was ending. I remember running through the snow with my friend as he was running towards his bus. The link cable was stretched between us and I was struggling to keep up so it would not be pulled out before the trade was complete, then, just as the trade was about to finish I stumbled over a rock and the link cable disconnected, but, miracle of miracles, I looked up to see Mewtwo on my screen. Thankfully the cable had disconnected just a second too late to cancel the trade. In fact, although I have since lost the game, I still have a Pokémon from that game in my Alpha Sapphire game. This Pokémon, a Dragonite, is my oldest Pokémon and will always have a special place in my heart. When playing through Pokémon Leafgreen I was disappointed with the choice in starting Pokémon, so, as soon as the game started I convinced my friend to trade me a level 5 Dratini in exchange for my starter, thus making Dratini my new "starter".
Then there's the first time I was introduced to the Nintendo Gamecube, a friend of mine in 6th grade had one. I can recall many a time when I went over to his house after school (he lived right across the street from the school) and spent hours in his basement playing NBA Street, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Smash Bros Melee. I owned the original Super Smash Bros on N64 by this point and it had become one of my favorite games, however when I first played Super Smash Bros Melee my jaw hit the floor. At the time it felt like the perfect game, I never got tired of playing it, and when spending the night at my friend's house I would often keep playing it through the night long after my friend had fallen asleep.
Finally, one of the most frustrating and triumphant memories from my childhood. I was playing Mario Golf Advance Tour, and I had beaten all the club champions except for one, Kid. For months I fought him on the links, and for months I failed. Many times I would come within one or two holes of defeating him, only to choke at the last possible second. Then, one day I woke up early before school and decided to square off against Kid one final time. In an incredible turn of events I made it to the last hole with the score tied, and as the sun came up I watched Kid totally implode as I played one of the best and most nerve wracking holes of my life. I ended with a Birdie and at long last defeated Kid. I was so incredibly triumphant that I went running through the house and woke my dad up to show him what I had done (he didn't particularly care of course, nor did he fully understand what I was yelling about).
Anyway, I hope you guys found these stories somewhat interesting, I imagine they probably aren't all that different from the memories many of you have of playing games as a kid. I think what is most interesting about gaming as a kid is the sense of real adventure and immersion that is hard to recreate as an adult. You really get invested in the game and feel like you're part of an adventure.
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